126 The Human Heart is Fickle

[Three days ago. Inside the Coliseum.]

The crowd had been unusually subdued as they watched the red-haired youth walk into the Ancient Abandoned Manor. Through the mirages in the sky, they knew that the twins had prepared an elaborate trap to get rid of this red-haired youth.

But the most amazing thing happened.

At the most critical moment the control of the two 9th rank Ghost Guard Captains was snatched from the Zephyr Twin's hands by that red-haired youth.

The tides were turned unexpectedly yet spectacularly. The following scenes got the entire audience's blood pumping through their bodies. Their eyes glittered – they had long gotten sick of the twin's arrogant and despicable actions.

When Daphne used the escape talisman and Cordelia was struck down, the crowd who were watching the second battlefield couldn't help themselves. They jumped up in their seats.

"He did it!"

"He really did it!"

"The unknown Cedar Sect disciple used his cunning and insight to defeat the Zephyr Sect's top disciple, that fierce and arrogant Phoenix!"

Many people were satisfied by the show. With Cordelia's defeat, the interest people had in the red-haired youth increased by a hundredfold. Previously he had played around with the twins a bit but his true skill level was unknown – now that he was the vanquisher of the top disciple of the Zephyr Sect, people suddenly enquired all manner of details about him. If the people who were his fans numbered around one hundred before now, they were inching close to one thousand. This sounded impressive but in reality, there were over fifteen thousand people crammed into this giant coliseum. Despite this, the interest was genuine and rumors about him spread quickly.

Within minutes they all knew that the red-haired disciples name was Van, and he was not even the Cedar Sect's top outer disciple. Even more astonishingly, a few months ago he had been a servant working in the Wood-Cutting Division!

"To rise up so quickly… what kind of determination and persistence did he have?"

_____

[Simultaneously, in front of the gate to the second battlefield.]

Madam Sophia watched with a complicated gaze as the portal to the second battlefield pulsed. Her usually graceful and calm smile was somewhat faded at the edges. It was unknown if the emotion in her eyes was disappointment or regret.

Standing alongside Madam Sophia were other people who were waiting for an eliminated disciple be teleported out of battlefield. After a disciple's body inside the battlefield was encapsulated by bright light, their body would be teleported out of the battlefield and spat out of the entrance gate that they had entered in. The other people waiting included worried parents or close friends, some were also recruiters who took fancy to a cultivator and wished to draw them over to their sect.

As the darkness swirled, slowly, a point of lightness emerged in the gate to the second battlefield. Only a few milliseconds later the swirling dark spat out a young girl around twelve years of age.

Cordelia stumbled forwards, her face was pale and wan. The last thing she had seen was a 9th rank Ghost Guard Captain swinging its axe at her and blinding pain. The moment she saw her aunt, her eyes brimmed with tears and she ran forwards. She sobbed into the older woman's robes.

Madam Sophia stood stiffly. After a moment, she closed her eyes; she had nothing to say.

"How could she!?" Cordelia cried out, "I'm the more talented one, of course she should be the one to step aside!"

Madam Sophia gripped Cordelia tightly.

"Pull yourself together. What kind of shameful face are you making now while everyone is watching you!?"

The red-faced girl wiped her eyes and looked down.

Madam Sophia drew her close and quickly took Cordelia to her private lodgings where she could cry to her hearts content.

Inside her own rooms, the elegant woman sipped her cup of tea silently as the girl in front of her hiccupped. Madam Sophia's gaze became cloudy as she thought of the past.

When her sister passed away and left her with a pair of twins, Madam Sophia treated them as if they were her own daughters. Cordelia was a lively child while Daphne was quiet and docile even at that age.

Madam Sophia bonded easily to Cordelia, who most resembled herself when she was a young child, and felt it harder to take care of Daphne who would rarely speak of her own needs.

Yes, the inexplicable human heart is that easily biased. Humans are not logical creatures even when we try to be. Just like that, two twins who were born identical began to travel different paths.

As Madam Sophia adored Cordelia's bright and lively personality, she naturally spoiled her a bit more and even began training her personally as she grew up. Daphne could only watch quietly on the sidelines and gain knowledge when she could. Madam Sophia was not heartless, she tried to train Daphne for a while but soon discovered that Daphne truly was not as gifted as Cordelia as cultivating. When she realized that she did not have the talent her older sister had, Daphne's sensitive personality caused her to become more unhappy and she withdrew from the training program. As time passed, the power dynamic between the identical twins shifted to the extremes – one was tyrannical and arrogant, the other one quiet but full of dissatisfaction. With such careful nurturing and excellent natural talent, Cordelia shot up in the ranks and soon became acknowledged as the top outer disciple of the Zephyr Sect. Cordelia's glory enhanced Madam Sophia status in the sect and everyone felt that this young girl could one day be a pillar of the sect. Every time Cordelia succeeded, Madam Sophia was immensely gratified and spoiled her even more. It was only expected that Madam Sophia's overindulgence led to Cordelia's temperamental and arrogant personality. The young girl expected everyone to be in awe of her and lacked the ability to be kind and sympathetic to those who were weaker than her.

In the meantime, Daphne faded into the background – she never went against her older sister and did everything Madam Sophia told her to.

Madam Sophia sighed. She always thought that this was because Daphne was a kind and obedient soul who preferred to stay out of the spotlight, but it turned out that Daphne's dissatisfactions were hidden deeply and suppressed to the bottom of her heart.

Until they exploded today.

[I was wrong, ah.]

Madam Sophia admitted in her heart. No one would be happy living in someone else's shadow forever. If she had treated both sisters equally and given them both opportunities to grow, maybe the shameful events of today wouldn't have happened. To show such a disharmonious scene between two twin sisters would only place the Zephyr Sect into a bad light.

Maybe if Cordelia was less arrogant and treated her sister better, these shameful events wouldn't have happened.

"The older sister was too cruel and arrogant, causing the younger sister to revolt against her."

"Is this how the Zephyr Sect raises their disciples – with no respect for familial ties? Even a wild animal knows not to hurt its own brethren!"

Similar jeers still rang in Madam Sophia's ears. She put down her cup and gathered Cordelia's hands into her own; stroking them.

"Cordelia, love. As the older sister you should be able to show more magnanimity towards your younger sister. You could have shared the talisman and worked together to shake off that Cedar Sect. What Daphne did was wrong but understandable, we can only cheer her on now. When this competition is over you two need to properly reconcile and put aside your enmity. After all, you two are sisters and share the same blood."

Cordelia couldn't believe her ears. Her hiccups subsided as waves rolled through her. Even Aunt? Even the aunt who had spoiled her the most was taking Daphne's side?

It couldn't be helped – Madam Sophia had realized her mistakes too late and at this stage saying words like this were only throwing oil onto the flames. After all, Cordelia had never learned to be kind to Daphne, asking her to show more magnanimity now was like asking a fish to climb a tree. Adding to this, Cordelia felt like she was losing the person who loved her the most to the sister she usually treated like a slave. Her world was turning upside down.

Cordelia's face twisted.

"Shut up! All of you only take her side, you think I'm useless and don't want me anymore!"

With this shouted, the young girl turned on her heels and ran out of the room.

Madam Sophia became alarmed, "Cordelia!"

However, the young girl had disappeared easily – flown like the wind. Madam Sophia sighed.

[She probably needs time on her own to cool down. I can only pin the hopes of the Zephyr Sect on Daphne now. At the very least, she is sensible and knows how to strategize more than her sister.]

______

Wang Hao landed heavily onto his knees, choking on the sand that billowed up around him. He had been walking for days with no respite in sight and finally his legs had given up on him.

He chuckled lightly but it turned into a hacking cough.

Even though he was in the 8th level of Qi Distillation, the last few days had not been easy.

Each day at dusk he fought off those ten strange golem-like monsters and every day they grew stronger and stronger. He fought them off despite extreme thirst and starvation. If not for his tenacity and the sharpness of his sword; he would have fallen long ago. Towards the end, he walked and fought on autopilot. Those sword strokes were neither light nor heavy, simple and direct, done without thought. And yet these simple sword strokes began to take on a profound meaning over time. The golem-like monsters were cut no matter how strong they were. This was an effect that not even Wang Hao himself noticed.

Wang Hao coughed again. His mouth was so dry that his tongue was brittle sandpaper. He looked up into the distance but still did not see a single sign of green or blue, just endless yellow.

Wang Hao no longer had the strength to rise from his kneeling position but he still had the strength to pull out his sword and lay it before him.

The dark eyes that looked at the sword held no regret. The youth laid his palm on his beloved long silver sword. The soft sigh he let out was immediately carried away by the whipping sand.

"Ow!"

Just as he thought he was breathing his last, Wang Hao discovered something extremely painful was digging into his buttocks. He instinctively reached under and found his fingers grabbing onto something.

"…What is this?"

In the youth's thin and dirty palm, a smooth stone with several ancient engravings of a sword could be seen.