25 Didn'st Think He Was So Weak

Sheng Henjian and Sheng Lijing stood opposite of each other on the arena. The crowd around them was cheering on top of their lungs. The finals of the annual competition of the younger generation of the age group 10 or younger would start any second now! The Sheng Clan's Twelfth Elder, Sheng Lutian, looked at Sheng Henjian and Sheng Lijing, both of which were concentrating on the other and raised his hand.

"The final round of the competition will start now. Both of you, on your marks."

He then abruptly lowered his hand, signalling for the match to start. Both Sheng Henjian and Sheng Lijing directly released their Soul Power and Soul Ring, which then lit up. They charged at each other and simultaneously used their Soul Skill: Mountain Lion Claw!

Sheng Henjian's arm bulked up and was covered with brown fur that had strands of gold run through them, that looked like flames. Sheng Lijing's arm also bulked up and was covered with the same brown fur, but was run through by strands of black. Their claw clashed together at full force and a loud, booming sound originated from the impact. Both still stood at the middle of the arena, but Sheng Lijing was pushed back half a step; Sheng Henjian had overpowered her in a competition of raw strength!

Sheng Lijing then turned to the side and threw a kick at Sheng Henjian, aiming for his sides, but Sheng Henjian quickly blocked it. What followed was a flurry of kicks and punches from both sides that were blocked or dodged by the other party. Sometimes, one of them voluntarily took a hit, just to attack the other party. Their match had turned into a fully grown melee brawl!

The fight on the arena quickly became more and more heated. After a few rounds, Sheng Lijing was hit in the chest, blood dripping from her lips, but she charged at Sheng Henjian again. Their melee continued, but Sheng Lijing couldn't keep up any longer and was flung back, brutally crashing into the arena. She staggered back to her feet and stared at Sheng Henjian. Just as she was about to charge at him, the Twelfth Elder, Sheng Lutian, stepped forth and benevolently smiled at her.

"That's enough. Sheng Lijing, you fought well, let's end it here. You have shown everyone your strength and willpower, there is no shame in loosing like this."

Sheng Lutian took a few steps forward and looked at the crowd of the Sheng Clan.

"I hereby declare the finals of the age group of 10 or younger as finished! The winner is Sheng Henjian!" A deafening cheer erupted from the crowd, as they clapped and shouted Sheng Henjian's name. By now, Sheng Fengtian and Luo Mei had taken Sheng Lijing back to their couryard for treatment. Sheng Lutian waited for the crowd to calm down a bit and then turned towards the platform where the Elders where seated and lightly bowed.

"The first day of the competition has ended and the second round will be held tomorrow. Now, I would like to ask Patriarch Sheng Hentian to speak a few words."

Sheng Hentian stood up and spoke with a good-natured expression as he looked at the side where the children were seated.

"All of you have truly done well today. You have shown your strength through the competition and I'm sureyou will bring our Clan honour in the future." He then turned towards the arena and looked at Sheng Henjian.

"Henjian, my son, you have proven that you are the strongest of your age group and the greatest talent of the Clan's younger generation. As your father and Patriarch, I'm filled with pride."

He then let out a small sigh and turned to the crowd with a sad expression.

"It is a shame, that my son could not show his true strength after he was viciously injured a few days ago."

Hearing his words, Sheng Lingtian frowned while Sheng Feilong was impressed by the Patriarch acting and the crowd gasped in disbelieve. Many began whispering among themselves and someone in the crowd couldn't help but speak up.

"Patriarch, what do you mean? Younger Master Henjian was injured?"

Unknown to the crowd, Sheng Hentian showed a sly smile before quickly putting on a pained expression.

"Indeed, a few days ago, my son was gravely injured by underhanded methods in a fight that resulted from an argument!" He turned a bit, staring directly at Sheng Feilong and Sheng Lingtian.

"And the one who injured him was no other then Sheng Feilong, who abandoned the clan years ago!"

The crowd again gasped in disbelieve, some who remembered Sheng Feilong's awakening ceremony frowned and whispered among themselves, while most followed Sheng Hentian's gaze and backed a few steps away from Sheng Feilong and Sheng Lingtian. Sheng Henjian went pale when he saw Sheng Feilong in the crowd, silently cursing and screaming in his mind.

'What's the meaning of this?! Why is he here? Didn't father go to kill him already?! Why didn't I know of this!'

Sheng Hentian didn't notice his son's expression and showed a grim expression.

"Sheng Feilong, do you dare to admit your fault and receive punishment based on the Clan's rules?!"

Sheng Feilong glanced at his father, who slightly smiled and gave him a reassuring smile, then looked back at Sheng Hentian and calmly spoke.

"Patriarch Sheng, what are you talking about? It is true that I fought Sheng Henjian a few days ago and he was lightly injured as a result, but I neither used underhanded methods nor did I attack viciously. His injuries stem from his inferior strength and nothing else."

Sheng Hentian was thoroughly angered, as he remembered his son's bedridden appearance. He looked at Sheng Feilong with murderous intent and spoke in a loud voice.

"Sheng Feilong, you dare spout such blatant lies?!"

Sheng Feilong smiled sheepishly and replied with a playful tone.

"Patriarch Sheng, how about this, then. I'll give my Spacial Ring to my father and take of my jacket, then fight Sheng Henjian again. Like this, everyone will see if I use underhanded tricks or hidden weapons. If I do, you may deal with me as you see fit. Ah, naturally I won't take advantage of his injured state and wait for him to recuperate before our fight!"

Sheng Henjian's face was as pale as paper and he was slightly shaking, but no one noticed it as everyone was focused on Sheng Feilong. Sheng Hentian was slightly stunned before laughing loudly and then spoke with a vicious grin.

"Very well, we'll do it like that. But if I notice even the slightest tricks, I'll kill you on the spot. Not even your father will be able to save your life!"

Sheng Feilong grinned sheepishly, took of his jacket and put it into his Spacial Ring before he gave the ring to Sheng Lingtian. Sheng Henjian quickly sat down and tried his best to heal his injuries, while silently cursing Sheng Feilong and his father in his mind. About half an hour later, Sheng Feilong and Sheng Heijian stood opposite of each other on the arena, the latter clearly nervous and while the former just continued to grin.

Twelfth Elder Sheng Lutian was acting as the referee again and gave the signal for them to start. No one moved and Sheng Feilong and Sheng Henjian only looked at each other. Sheng Lutian was about to speak up, but Sheng Feilong was faster then him.

"What's wrong? Don't dare to charge at me like last time, now? Good, then let me take the initiative!"

Sheng Feilong charged at Sheng Henjian and, again, didn't even bother to use any Soul Power. Sheng Henjian seemed to have waited for that and quickly released his Soul Power, activated his Mountain Lion Claw and punched out at Sheng Feilong. Sheng Hentian smiled at his son's thought out surprise attack and fluid Soul Power activation, but quickly froze.

Sheng Feilong ducked to dodge the punch, but didn't slow down at all. He took another step forward and punched Sheng Henjian square in the face with all his body weight and momentum behind his punch; he landed a perfect counter hit!

Sheng Henjian flew a few meters back, blood splattering from his nose and mouth as he crashed into the ground with full force. His eyes had rolled back and a tooth layed next to him. His Mountain Lion Claw quickly vanished and Sheng Henjian was knocked out cold!

Sheng Feilong stood in the middle of the arena, smiling sheepishly, as everyone looked at him in utter disbelieve. He then showed the worst imitation of a surprised expression the crowd had ever seen and spoke in a sad voice.

"Ah, oh no! Last time, you were able to withstand two hits, so I put a bit more strength into this one! Ireally didn't think you'd be this weak." He then looked at Sheng Hentian, who still had his frozen smile on his face, while the crowd cursed his bad acting, and spoke with an apologetic expression.

"Patriarch Sheng, I'm truly sorry! When I fought Sheng Henjian last time, he really withstood two strikes and didn't even lose consciousness, so I thought I could hit a bit harder! According to the Clan's rules, you wouldn't punish me for something like that, right? If you're worried then I could pay for the tooth, though!"

Many people who believed the rumours about Sheng Feilong being forced out of the Clan or those who already heard about what happened a few days ago burst out laughing and even Sheng Lingtian didn't know what he should say about his son's shamelessness. Sheng Hentian snapped out of his daze and sprung to his feet. He didn't even think about what he heard the last few days or considered what happened and just released his Soul Power and charged at Sheng Feilong with murderous intent.

"Sheng Feilong, I will kill you!"

5 Soul Rings, 3 yellow and 2 purple, sprung into existence behind him. The Sheng Clan's strongest expert, their Patriarch, a respectable Soul King of rank 53, was charging at a child with the intention to kill! The crowd was instantly silenced and gasped in terror and regret at the sight of Sheng Feilong who's about to lose his life. Before Sheng Hentian could reach Sheng Feilong, another aura burst forth from the front of the crowd and stopped in the air before Sheng Feilong.

An agonizing scream was heard by everyone in the crowd and Sheng Hentian flew back to his seat like a broken kite, with a line of blood flowing out of his mouth as he brutally crashed into the platform, breaking the ground and a few chairs on before he finally came to a halt. 5 deep gashes with blood flowing out of them were etched into his chest. His appearance was ragged and his aura had vanished.

Sheng Lingtian was standing in the air with a grim and cold expression. 5 Soul Ring had similarily appeared behind his back; 2 yellow, 2 purple and one black with the aura he gave off being even more profound than the Patriarch, while his arms had transformed into bulky, dark brown Lion Claws. He spoke with an ice cold voice while he stared at Sheng Hentian.

"Sheng Hentian, you dare to attack my son in front of me? Do you have a death wish?"

Sheng Hentian felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured over his head. He instantly calmed down and stared at Sheng Lingtian in disbelieve. As far as he could remember, Sheng Lingtian was only a Soul Ancestor of rank 47, but he became a Soul King in merely 4 years? Moreover, Sheng Lingtian's aura was even stronger then his own and to bring forth such a pressure, he had to be at least of rank 58! And then there was the Black Soul Ring behind Sheng Lingtian's back. A black Soul Ring meant it was at least a 10.000-years-old Soul Ring dozens of times stronger than a purple 1.000-years-old Soul Ring! Sheng Hentian was frightened by the strength Sheng Lingtian showed.

"Sheng Lingtian, what is the meaning of this?! You dare to attack your Patriarch?!"

Sheng Lingtian simply continued to stare at him while he stood in the air.

"Attack my Patriarch? Sheng Hentian, have you already forgotten that my family and I have nothing to do with your Sheng Clan anymore? Your Clan's life and death have nothing to do with us, and neither do your life or position. If you dare to take another step towards my son, I will kill you right here, right now."

Sheng Hentian's anger had long since reached it's peak, but under Sheng Lingtian's threat, he didn't dare to do anything. With no other choice left, he backed down and hung his head low in defeat. Sheng Lingtian sneered seeing that and landed besides Sheng Feilong, before he then recalled his Soul Power and Soul Rings as well. He still stared at Sheng Hentian and spoke with a cold voice.

"Good decision."

He turned towards Sheng Feilong and spoke with his usual calm voice.

"Let's go back to Fengtian's courtyard. We should check up on Lijing and see if we can help."

After saying that, he simply tuned around, with Sheng Feilong in tow, and went towards Sheng Fengtian's courtyard, leaving behind Sheng Henjian lying on the arena, Sheng Hentian staring daggers at their backs and a totally dumbfounded crowd.