Chapter 238: Death Match
Jin Aoshi approached with a smug smile already in place. Flanking him were two tall disciples with ordinary features, both carrying the cultivation of Peak-stage Martial Adept and wearing it with the particular arrogance of people who had never been properly humbled.
Behind them trailed three short disciples who looked more like mischievous street brats than prestigious members of the Qingyun Sect—but their uniforms didn't lie. Despite appearances suggesting they were no older than thirteen, they were clearly much older. Their cultivation ranged from 1st to 3rd Level Martial Adept respectively, ascending from shortest to tallest.
'What a strange group,' Su Tianhao noted inwardly.
Jin Aoshi stopped a few feet away. His companions fell into formation behind him.
"If it isn't the new King of the Stonehaven Grove," he said, his voice carrying more mockery than the words themselves. "What a coincidence."
Su Tianhao watched him the way one watches a clown finish a performance—with the patient, slightly tired expression of someone waiting for it to be over. "Tell me. Why have you come looking for trouble so early in the morning?"
Jin Aoshi's eyes widened with theatrical surprise. "Trouble? I'm simply here to browse missions. I didn't expect to find you." His voice dropped a fraction. "It seems enemies are always fated to cross paths."
"Hmph."
Su Tianhao's eyes had already moved past him—settling on the three short disciples standing at the back of the group. His golden gaze narrowed. Their feet, small and narrow, matched the footprints pressed into the filth that had been spread across his courtyard with considerable care and enthusiasm.
"So it's you three," he said, his voice dropping to something quiet and cold. "The ones who defiled my cottage."
"What?!"
All three exclaimed simultaneously, their small bodies flinching under the weight of his stare before recovering into indignation.
"How dare you slander us with such accusations!" The 3rd Level disciple was first to find his voice.
"That's right—we three brothers are known for our quiet and loyal conduct. When have we ever resorted to such disgraceful methods?" The 2nd Level one added, his voice rising with righteous offense.
"Where is your evidence?!" The 1st Level one finished, jabbing a finger forward.
"I don't need evidence to deal with scum."
Dark Nether left its sheath and settled into his hand in one smooth motion, humming with quiet, dangerous intent. His presence sharpened immediately—the air around him taking on the particular edge of a sword finally unsheathed after too long in its scabbard.
"Su Tianhao!" Jin Aoshi's brows drew together as he dropped into a fighting stance. "Are you aware that Silverblade and Jadeclaw Peak disciples are forbidden from openly opposing each other? If that restriction didn't exist, do you think I would have let you walk away that day?" His 5th Level Martial Core aura bled outward deliberately—a pressure designed to remind.
Su Tianhao's expression didn't change. "You should read the manual more carefully rather than citing it incorrectly. The restriction prevents Silverblade and Jadeclaw disciples from clashing within their respective peaks. We are standing on neutral ground. As long as I don't go too far, there is no penalty whatsoever."
The veins at Jin Aoshi's temple surfaced visibly. "Well said. Then you won't mind if I discipline you myself—for making baseless accusations against my companions."
"Fool."
The word arrived quietly. Then without shifting his feet a single inch, Su Tianhao swung Dark Nether outward in a single, effortless arc.
The two Peak-stage disciples flanking Jin Aoshi lurched forward immediately—eager to intervene, to protect. Then they stopped, confused, seeing that Su Tianhao hadn't moved at all. Their expressions shifted into embarrassment, having lunged at nothing.
"What are you—"
The words died in their throats.
A pressure descended without announcement—sharp, suffocating, precise. Like invisible blades had been laid against each of their necks simultaneously. Their bodies locked in place.
Jin Aoshi's pupils constricted.
Before he could process what had happened, a chill swept through the air. Piercing cries sounded from behind him.
He turned.
The three short disciples who had been speaking with such confidence moments ago were now on the ground—visible cuts running across their robes and skin, fabric torn, blood drawn. None of them were rising.
"I didn't even see him move," Jin Aoshi breathed, a chill ran down his spine.
Just then, a voice cut through the gathering silence from somewhere in the crowd that had begun to form.
"That's—Sword Will!"
Within seconds, disciples from the surrounding area had turned. A loose crowd assembled at careful distance, watching without approaching.
Jin Aoshi's eyes narrowed in realization, expression unreadable. "Sword will."
His lips pressed into a thin line as he observed the three disciples twitching on the ground.
'One strike. Three opponents. How is he this strong?'
The wariness didn't last. It curdled quickly into something hotter.
Three of his closest companions had been cut down in plain sight, in front of witnesses. Before his very presence. It was an unmistakable insult to his reputation.
His green eyes darkened. He raised a finger and leveled it at Su Tianhao. "You struck fellow disciples without evidence—domineering, tyrannical, using your power to bully those beneath you! Someone like that has no right to lead the Stonehaven Grove. As your senior, it falls heavily on me to provide the discipline you clearly lack."
"Heh." Su Tianhao's golden eyes drifted back to Jin Aoshi with the unhurried ease of someone who had already finished thinking about this. Dark Nether had returned to its sheath without ceremony. "Jin Aoshi. You arrive at my cottage with these three to spread filth across my courtyard in order to provoke me—and now you speak to me of righteousness and domineering behavior?"
The golden eyes sharpened.
"Are you still going to deny it?"
The two Peak-stage disciples paled immediately, their necks drawing back like frightened tortoises retreating into their shells.
Jin Aoshi's face twisted. He turned to the gathered crowd and raised his voice. "Fellow disciples—bear witness today. Su Tianhao has struck my companions without a single piece of evidence connecting us to any wrongdoing. Whatever happens next is not on my conscience."
The surrounding disciples shifted uneasily, muttering among themselves. Every face knew the truth. Not a single mouth opened to say it.
Su Tianhao exhaled—a quiet, tired sound. "I have no interest in your games. You want evidence? There are witnesses who saw you in the Stonehaven Grove. When the Disciplinary Elder comes looking for you, I wonder what explanation you'll offer. Defiling a Silverblade Peak disciple's residence could easily be seen as opposing the Peak itself."
Jin Aoshi's expression darkened—then carefully smoothed itself back into composure. He had run out of angles. His original plan was to push Su Tianhao to the edge and force him into combat right were they stand. Now only the formal path remained.
"Su Tianhao! I challenge you to a duel. Do you dare accept—or do you only know how to attack those weaker than yourself?"
"I accept."
Flat. Immediate. Calm enough that Jin Aoshi blinked.
He hadn't expected that.
"But on one condition," Su Tianhao added, something that wasn't quite a smile settling at the corner of his lips.
"Name it."
Joy was already overriding rational thought in Jin Aoshi's expression—the particular brightness of someone who thinks they've won before anything has started.
"Death Match."
Su Tianhao's voice didn't rise. It didn't need to.
"If we fight—we lay down our lives."
The silence that followed was immediate and absolute.
Then it broke.
"Did he say death match?"
"A Peak-stage Martial Adept challenging a 5th Level Martial Core expert to a death match—has he lost his mind?"
"Where does he get this confidence from?"
Jin Aoshi surfaced from his shock wearing a cold smile. "I didn't take you for someone this foolish. A death match?" He laughed once—short and sharp. "Gladly."
"Then let's register with the Disciplinary Elders of both Peaks immediately," Su Tianhao said, already turning.
Whoosh.
A warm breeze cut across the space—and two figures materialized between them. Both were among the armored guards stationed at the Mission Hall entrance.
"Junior Brother." The first guard's voice was low and weighted with genuine concern. "Please don't act rashly. A death match is not something entered into or escaped from easily."
They hadn't intended to intervene—a feud between disciples was ordinary enough. But this had gone too far. Su Tianhao was no ordinary disciple. He was the first talent in the history of the sect that the Aptitude Rating Stele had ever failed to measure. How could they stand by and watch him walk into a death agreement against a Martial Core expert?
The second guard leaned in. "Listen to your seniors. You don't need to fight him. Once the Disciplinary Elder investigates, Jin Aoshi will face consequences for what was done to your courtyard."
Jin Aoshi's expression shifted—panic flickering beneath the surface before he controlled it. If the guards actually succeeded in talking Su Tianhao down, the opening would close. He stepped forward—
"I appreciate your concern, esteemed guards."
Su Tianhao's voice arrived first. Clear. Unhurried. Carrying the quiet finality of a decision already made and not available for renegotiation. "But I have made my choice. Stepping back from a challenge is not my way."
He turned to Jin Aoshi.
"One month from now. The Silverblade Peak arena."
A beat of silence.
"Do you dare?"