Path to Transcendence

Chapter 744: Duel

Julius stood there in awkward silence as the guy stared at Julius.

“You do know what the Nine Peaks Sect is, right?” Soren Dawnfield finally said with a frown.

Julius nodded. “Yeah, I know what it is.”

“And you still interfered and let the person who assaulted me get away?”

“First off, I didn’t know who you were a few minutes ago. Secondly, I don’t care if you’re some inner disciple of the top-ranked sect. You can’t just kill someone in the middle of the street."

“Just leave him be, Soren; he is clearly just an ignorant commoner who doesn't understand the circumstance,” the girl in the blue and white dress said, coming up from behind Soren and laying her hand on his arm. Her voice was like warm honey, soothing the ears of anyone who heard her speak.

Soren gently moved her arm away. “Then it is up to me to help him understand," he said with a dark tone.

Julius frowned and decided that this wasn’t worth his time. He turned around and walked back over to Lily, who was waiting for him.

“Don’t turn your back on me,” the guy barked out and sent out another burst of aura at Julius.

Julius paused and let the aura wash over him before turning around. It was actually quite potent, especially for a Tier 4. “Don’t do that.”

“Oh, and what if I do? What are you going to do about it?” the guy taunted.

Julius rubbed the bridge of his nose. What was wrong with this guy? Was he actually this arrogant and pig-brained? Or was he just trying to get underneath Julius’s skin? If it was the latter, then he was doing a very good job.

Julius was successfully annoyed.

However, he did his best to stay calm and swallowed his pride, bowing slightly. “I apologize, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I also apologize if I came across as rude.”

“Fuck your apology.”

Julius’s eye twitched. This little shit.

The girl tried to defuse the situation and placed her hand on the guy’s chest, batting her eyes at him. “Come on, let’s just get going. We are going to be late for our reservation,” she said smoothly.

The guy didn’t seem to hear her; rather, he was looking at Julius with spite.

“I challenge you,” he finally said to Julius.

Julius scrunched his nose. “Huh?”

“I challenge you to a duel.”

He squinted his eyes as he stared at the handsome man. “No thank you.”

Soren’s nostrils flared. “You can’t say no.”

“Yes, I can. In fact, I just did.”

“You have offended me and my honor. I demand a duel to settle this insult,” Soren demanded loudly.

“I’m not going to fight you just because you demand it. Are you slow in the head?” Julius asked, shaking his head.

“What is going on here?” a voice rang out from behind them.

Julius let out a sigh of relief when he saw several guards approaching them. Thankfully, they should help keep this crazy guy away from him, at least long enough for him to get away.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be that simple. Soren immediately began spinning a story for the guards and even used the same introduction he had for Julius. However, unlike Julius, these guards seemed much more impressed, and their entire attitudes changed the moment they heard this.

Soren told them that Julius had stopped him from apprehending the guy who attacked his carriage, making it sound as if the driver had done it on purpose. It didn’t help that the other old man in the carriage had run off. Also, none of the bystanders seemed willing to say anything. Many of them just stood by and watched silently.

Julius looked over at Lily. “A little help, maybe?” he asked mentally.

“I thought you didn’t want me to interfere?” she asked, slightly amused.

“Well, I didn’t think it would become such a large issue.”

“Let’s allow it to play out for a bit,” Lily said, surprising him.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m curious about the Nine Peaks Sect. I have heard many things, but I haven’t really had any experience with them. This might be a good opportunity to see what kind of sect they are and how much influence they actually have in a place like Goldmere where the Golden Cauldron Sect is dominant,” she explained.

“So you want to use me as bait?”

“Yeah, a little bit,” she admitted shamelessly.

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“What if they actually decide that I am guilty and do something?”

“I will step in before that happens. Plus, you don’t think you can handle them if it really came to that?”

“So you’re saying you want me to accept his duel?”

“No, let’s see if they force you to accept the challenge first. Honor duels are common in Corvus, but they are rarely enforced if the other party does not accept it or if they aren't associated with a related party. This will tell us a lot about the respect and opinion people have for the Nine Peaks Sect.”

“I don’t know if I like this idea.”

“Yes, you do. I bet you’re even a little excited about the duel. Don't you want to try out your new skills?”

Julius rubbed his nose. He wasn’t exactly excited, but he wasn’t that opposed to it. Rather, he just didn’t want to accept it because the guy was an asshole.

However, before he could talk with Lily further, he was interrogated by the guard. Julius told him the truth about what he saw and how he stopped the bolt of mana from piercing the teen’s back. But that was it.

The guard seemed to understand Julius’s position at least and appeared to believe him. Yet, when Julius saw another figure approaching them, he frowned. The man had the uniform of a city guard, but a little more polished and with more gold on it.

The guard who had been asking Julius questions, and the others around, all saluted the man.

“Captain Aldon!” they shouted out simultaneously.

This captain nodded toward his men and examined Julius for a few moments. He examined Soren as well, but Julius could have sworn the man recognized him. Julius didn’t think that was a good sign.

Captain Aldon had black hair and light brown eyes. He was also quite large, his uniform barely stretched over his bulking frame, and he had a buzz cut with a clean-shaven face. Additionally, there was a slight burn mark over the man’s left eye. However, the man’s aura was quite heavy, indicating that he was a Tier 5.

Captain Aldon was quickly briefed on the situation, and he instructed everyone to clear the area. This included all of the spectators. He also inspected the scene of the accident carefully.

Only when he was finished did he walk over to Julius.

“Young Master Soren claims that you helped the driver of the other carriage escape. Is this true?”

Julius shook his head. “I didn’t help him escape. But I did stop a bolt of compressed mana that could have killed or severely injured the driver.”

“Young Master Soren also claims that the driver had hit him purposefully and that you helping him escape means you aided a criminal,” Captain Aldon added.

Julius narrowed his eyes. “I can’t speak of whether or not it was purposeful, but I don’t see how stopping a deadly attack constitutes aiding a criminal.”

“Well, I have determined that the carriage that hit Young Master Soren’s carriage was indeed the one in the wrong and was ultimately the cause of the accident.”

“And?” Julius felt like there was something else the captain wasn’t telling him.

“And Young Master Soren is demanding that you accept his challenge as a consequence for your actions, and in exchange, he will drop all charges against you.”

“You gotta be joking, right? How am I getting charged with anything? Wasn’t he the one who tried to murder someone in the streets?” Julius asked in disbelief.

At least the man captain seemed aware of the absurdness of it all and gave Julius a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, but based on what we found, I can’t confidently say that wasn’t what happened.”

“And because of his sect and his position, you have to take him at his word,” Julius said, stating what was obvious but couldn’t be said.

“The Nine Peaks Sect and Clan Dawnfield are quite respected and revered in Corvus,” the captain said after a few moments. He didn’t say anything more, but Julius got the feeling the man didn’t like this any more than he did.

“Well, this sucks,” Julius muttered.

“Young Master Soren did mention that the duel won’t be to the death. It will end once one of the participants is no longer able to fight.”

“So he’s just saying he wants to beat me up until I am unconscious?” Julius asked with a scoff. That was what he was getting out of this.

“I have offered to mediate the situation and act as judge. I will ensure nobody will get seriously injured,” the man said, as if it made it all better.

Julius smiled emotionlessly at the guard captain. “Thanks.”

***

“This is all your fault,” he accused Lily as he stood at the center of a training yard. The training yard belonged to the city guards, but it was located very close to the city lord’s mansion. Which also meant it was quite fancy.

“I think this is going well. We are learning a lot,” she said with a pleased nod.

“Really? Maybe you are, but I feel like a guinea pig.”

She rubbed his back soothingly. “Stop being such a baby. Remember I saw you spar with Marcus; if you can hold out that long against that brute, then a stuck-up Tier 4 isn’t going to be a danger to you,” she said encouragingly.

“You’re not worried about the Nine Peaks Sect causing problems if I beat their disciple up?”

She chuckled. “This guy is only an inner disciple. He might be talented and comes from a good family, but he was the one who challenged you and insisted on it. They won’t be able to say anything without embarrassing themselves in front of the Golden Cauldron Sect and City Lord Zheng. Plus, they are supposedly very strict with how they treat their disciples. A very harsh meritocracy from what I heard. So if he loses, they might even punish him for making the sect lose face.”

“And his family?”

She looked at him offendedly and patted her chest. “Who do you think you’re talking to? You’re backed by House Violet and House Zenith, something they will probably figure out if they bother to investigate the issue that far. Not to mention, not everyone is unreasonable like this arrogant sod. They won’t come after you unless you actually do something to deserve it. A little beating of their disciple isn’t worth their time.”

“But yet you wanted me to do this?” he asked with a knowing look.

“Hey, he was being extremely rude. Is it so bad that I want to see him beaten a little bit?”

“You could have done it on your own,” he pointed out.

“Nah, I’d probably be forced to use my mental skills, and there’s something intrinsically more satisfying about watching someone else beat an idiot over the head with their fists,” she said with a sagely nod.

He couldn’t even argue with that point.

Instead, he looked over at the pompous inner disciple with a sigh. The guy had been trying to say stuff to rile Julius up, but just to save his sanity, Julius purposefully blocked out everything he was saying, jamming pieces of mana into his ear canals. This only irritated the young man even more.

He only walked over to the circle when Captain Aldon gestured at him. Only then did he remove the earplugs. The rules were pretty simple. No killing blows and no use of external aids. Then they would fight until the other could no longer continue. It was all relatively standard.

Julius still had a bored expression on his face, whereas Soren seemed like he couldn't wait to start beating up on Julius. The guy didn’t even pull out a weapon; instead, he went with his fists.

Funnily enough, the girl who was with the guy didn’t seem as pleased about this outcome. Rather, she had a twisted expression on her face as she watched from the sidelines.

Julius saw the guy’s mouth moving, probably saying something not very nice. But his ears still weren’t listening. He was only waiting for the captain’s signal.

Julius wouldn't hurt the guy too much...