Rise of the Sword Lord

Chapter 7

[ MIDAN CITY, WANG PALACE ]

Elder Shan walked into Elder Feng's room with confidence, knowing he had great news.

Elder Feng, who sat cross-legged on a mat on the floor, meditating with his eyes closed, remained that way even after sensing Elder Shan's presence.

"I have returned from the South Mountain," Elder Shan announced.

That moment, Elder Feng's eyes snapped open, and he abruptly emerged from his meditation.

Elder Shan continued, "I have great news. Bo succeeded in the quest and successfully attacked Kai while he was battling the members of the Yu family."

Elder Feng's curiosity grew, and he quickly stood up, facing the doorway where Elder Shan stood.

"What then happened after Bo attacked Kai?" he asked.

Elder Shan's expression suddenly turned sad. He raised his head and informed Elder Feng, "Unfortunately, the reason Bo didn't return home is because Kai killed him."

Elder Feng's eyes widened in horror and anger. Bo was a member of the extended family whom Elder Feng had sent as a spy, instructing him to disguise himself as part of the Yu family and kill Kai in battle.

“No…” Elder Feng murmured sadly.

Elder Feng gritted his teeth and asked, "If Bo was killed and Kai is still living and has returned home, then where is the good news?"

Elder Shan smiled as he spoke, "Although Kai killed Bo in the battle, Bo succeeded in breaking Kai's Elixir Field."

At that moment, Elder Feng could not hide his excitement. He froze, trying to process everything, then looked at Elder Shan and smiled darkly.

"This means Kai will not be able to advance from the Self-Striving Realm into the Qi Varying Realm," Elder Feng said.

"He will be stuck at the 5th rank and never know what it's like to possess and cultivate Qi." He smiled, relishing this knowledge.

Elder Shan added, "Without his Elixir Field, which is the storehouse for Qi, Kai will never be able to become a real warrior. Without the energy from the Qi, he won't have access to the powers of an actual warrior."

Elder Feng agreed, "This is indeed great news." With this information, Elder Feng realized that Kai was now powerless.

He needed to make a plan to kill Kai quickly while he was weak.

He faced Elder Shan and said, "What if we find a way to kill Kai now that he has no powers and is basically useless? This way, we could save my grandson Li, the new heir apparent, from fighting him in the deadly match Kai proposed, which is fast approaching."

Elder Shan shook his head quickly. "It would be a huge mistake to kill Kai," he warned. "The patriarch is likely to accuse us."

The patriarch was the father figure of the entire Wang Family, the oldest member who had aged exceptionally well. He had been meditating in a secluded mountain for days, and in his absence, Elder Feng, the second oldest, was in charge.

Elder Feng frowned, contemplating this.

Elder Shan continued, "Moreover, since Kai has helped a lot of people in the family, they might suspect us of killing him, especially since they know Li is your grandson and you would want to eliminate Kai, who is a threat to his new position."

Elder Feng sighed, seeing the wisdom in Elder Shan's words. "Then we must be cautious," he said.

Gritting his teeth at the thought of Kai, Elder Feng raised his head again and said, "We will make his life miserable by stopping the treatment for his sister's cold disease.”

“Even if we can't kill him, we will make him suffer,” Elder Feng declared in anger.

“We shall cut off all supply of food to his house, and above all, remove their names from the money shared among the Wang family for upkeep and maintenance. They will no longer get a penny from this day on," he added.

Elder Shan smiled with a nod, taking the instructions gladly.

Elder Feng continued, "I want Kai to suffer. For this, he is not allowed to leave the palace without my permission first."

Elder Shan nodded, relishing the new set of rules meant to punish Kai.

Elder Feng then thought about his grandson, Li, the awakened one and now the heir apparent.

"For Li, everything must be done to satisfy his needs. Make sure he gets double of anything he asks for—wine, girls, clothes, money, food, anything," he declared.

Elder Shan nodded quickly with a smile. Then he asked, "What about Ming, Kai's sister?"

Elder Feng sneered, "What about her?"

Elder Shan suggested, "Cutting off her medications isn't enough punishment for being Kai's sister."

Elder Feng smiled bitterly. "You're right. I will probably marry her off for free to one of the servants that work in the Wang Palace."

Elder Shan smiled slyly at this suggestion. "That will truly make Kai suffer," he said.

Elder Feng agreed, "Yes, it will. Now, let's put these plans into action."

+ + + + +

[ PRISON WORLD TOWER ]

Kai panted as he lay on the bare floor, his clothes ripped and wounds covering his body from fighting endlessly with the shadow warrior the oracle had forged to train him.

At that moment, the oracle's voice sounded in his head, asking, "How are you feeling?"

Kai breathed out, "My body is sore, but I've learned a lot over these days of continuous fighting."

The woman responded, "This is just the beginning. The road will get tougher. The Tao, which is the natural order of things guiding how one progresses as a cultivator, is tough to abide by when cultivating just Qi. But for sword cultivators who cultivate the Qi of the sword and not just the Qi, these rules are even tougher."

Kai nodded as he sat back up. "I am very much aware of the difficulty level and the difference between the Tao of the sword and the Tao of the Qi."

Suddenly, he felt his stomach rumbling and raised his head.

The mysterious woman told him, "You are hungry. You must go back to your world and feed to build your physical strength."

Kai nodded again. "But I thought there was a way Qi cultivators could somehow fast and control their hunger?"

The woman explained, "Yes, but you have not reached that level of fasting yet, so you need physical food.”

“Now, be gone!" The mysterious woman commanded, snapping her fingers.

Suddenly, Kai found himself back in his room, with no idea how it had happened.

He saw the black ring on his hand and quickly tucked it away into his pocket when he heard the sound of tears coming from his sister Ming's room.

“Ming?” He murmured.

His heart raced as he rushed to her room, freezing when he saw Ming sitting on the floor, hugging her knees and crying.

Kai rushed to her side and placed his hand on her back.

"What happened?" he asked.

Ming raised her head, and Kai's face twisted when he saw a palm print on her face.

“Who did this to you?” He asked sternly.

Before Ming could speak, Kai covered his nose, smelling something foul. "What is that smell?" he asked.

Ming, still in tears, pointed to a rotten pie on her bed. Kai's face twisted in shock.

"What are you doing with a rotten pie?"

Ming cried harder. "Where have you been for the last few days?"

Kai froze, unable to tell her he had been to a mysterious realm called the prison world.

"I went to check on our property on the South Mountain," he lied.

Ming's tears intensified. "Why are you fighting for a family that doesn't care about us? I was hungry and went to the kitchen for food, but the new manager Elder Feng hired told me there would be no food for us anymore since you are no longer the heir apparent."

Kai's heart filled with rage and anger. Ming continued, "I tried to get the food myself, and the manager told me I had to sleep with him if I wanted good food. When I said no, he slapped me."

Kai rose to his feet slowly, his eyes turning red with a rage Ming herself had never seen.

"Take me to the new manager!" Kai demanded.