NOVPUBI'll be alternating between Wei Jun's and Damien's names throughout the chapter.
You don't have to worry, and if it gets too confusing, let me know and I'll change it.
That's it. Enjoy!
~~
Damien remembered when he first stepped into that ring. He was only ten. It was a year before his father threw him into the vicious world of merchants, modern businesses.
Damien had always been treated well by his brother. He taught him how to do sports, philosophical ideologies, human nature, how to flirt with girls, and everything an elder brother could teach a younger brother, whom they treated like a kid. Like their own kid.
However, there was one thing he had never ever done. Hit Damien.
So...
"Kugh!"
When that straight punch landed in Damien's stomach and the contents of his stomach spilled out of the path he had consumed them, what should have been apparent on his face was shock. However...
"Argh!"
Damien hit back. His first instinct was to strike back. He was always a bright kid, doing whatever he could to learn new things, and of course, that included martial arts. He had mastered a few martial arts on his own in their house's garden instead of playing outside with kids his age, like it was normal for kids his age.
Yet, even with all that, he couldn't see it.
"Blergh!!" Another punch to his stomach made him fall to his knees.
"Come on, now, little brother. You're not gonna let this throw you down, is it?" The first words his brother said to him ever since he entered that ring weren't of worry. No benevolence could be heard in his voice, which was his usual tone.
Instead, nothing but coldness could be heard in that tone. All that remained in that voice was a chill that ran down one's spine even when the sound was laid-back as the term itself.
It evoked one's deepest fears.
"Kargh!!" Damien yelled and hit his brother once again, but his brother only chuckled and, without any fancy moves, simply kicked Damien in his abdomen with a straight kick, a speed Damien's eyes couldn't follow.
"Cough! Cough!" Damien fell down once again, not only his stomach, but his whole body, in pain.
"Get up." The same chilly voice fell in Damien's ears, and contrary to what anyone would have expected, Damien's body followed. As if he was programmed to do so, as if from deep within, his soul was compelled to do so, he stood up and raised his hands, guarding his face and chest with his forearms and fists.
His back hunched slightly to guard and react against strikes that went for him. A classic boxing stance.
Seeing the determined expression in Damien's eyes, his brother didn't say another word. He simply smiled with pride and moved forward, his feet moving as if he had teleported through space, hitting Damien's chest with his full foot.
"Get up," was all his brother said.
"Get up." Damien looked at the man before him in blue boxing gear. The same smile on his face, but the cold look in his eyes as he had all those years ago.
No matter how many times Damien had been in that ring, his brother never said any other words, he never made any other move, he was never hit even once. It was always one single strike, whether from his foot or fists, aimed straight at a vital part of his body, which, for some reason, hurt the rest of his body too.
Until finally, today...
"Urgh!" Damien, frustrated by all his pain, by all the times he fell, and most of all, all the times he had been defeated, threw all caution to the wind and attacked his brother in a frenzy.
But...
"Kugh!"
Two hits. For the first time in Damien's life, his brother had used two strikes to take him down.
He bled, as always. Pain in his body, passing through his entire being. Yet, he suddenly remembered that feeling on the first day. The first day, his brother had struck him. While he should have felt shocked, he felt thrilled, happy, with a grin on his face, by the fact that he had finally grown up in his brother's eyes. He was no longer a kid.
And today, his body in pain, yet the pain was twice as strong as the ones he had ever felt before, yet the grin on his face displayed his happiness to the extreme.
He was finally strong enough for his brother to use two strikes.
"You've finally grown up, brother." Damien heard his brother's voice, the cold and chill nowhere to be spotted, but instead, there was that expression of pride. The expression Damien so wanted to see.
"I think it's time to properly teach you." Damien's brother snapped his fingers, and everything around them changed. The next moment, Wei Jun found himself in the middle of the desert. Scorching heat assaulted him, and he felt lightheaded.
"That's strange." Wei Jun couldn't help but say as he instantly felt his throat parched. Being a cultivator, even intense heat from a dragon wasn't enough to kill him.
"Death is the closest thing to us, which is ironic considering we're alive. I chose to delve into life because I was fascinated by it and wanted to rebel against Dad, but even my true talent lay in Death."
"As for you, little brother, I have to say, I have never seen a talent such as yours when it comes to death.
"Why?" Wei Jun asked.
"Death is chaotic, and you have always been chaotic ever since you were a kid. Death is moody, and you have been moodier than a teen girl." His brother replied, making Wei Jun look at him with narrowed eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. It's the ugly truth. Now..." His brother waved his hand once again, and the scorching heat suddenly intensified. The intense heat began to assault Wei Jun's senses, and he began to feel lightheaded.
"Death is the end for others, but for us, death is just the beginning. You have begun your journey with death in tandem and wisely chose to disregard everything else other than death. You have learned to coexist with it, now I'm gonna teach you how to be one with it." Wei Jun's brother said.
"How?" Wei Jun had a bad feeling about this, but he still asked with great effort. He felt like his throat was shrinking from the heat, and every ounce of moisture in his body threatened to end.
"How else? By dying, of course." His brother replied nonchalantly. Before Wei Jun could say anything, his brother snapped his fingers and the heat in Wei Jun once again intensified that Wei Jun fell on the sand, his body becoming lethargic, "In here, no matter how many times you die, you won't die. Die and die again, little brother. Until you come to understand what death truly is." n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
"Aack!! Kack!!" Wei Jun tried to say something, but the next moment, only he was left in that space, awaiting his death in pain, while his brother was nowhere to be seen in the entire space.
"Argh!"
"Kargh!!"
"AAAAAHHHH!!!!"
~~
"What do you want?" Lin Ruan looked at the bewitching man sitting in front of her with a hostile expression. The man, bearing a pair of deep black eyes and deep auburn hair, smiled and asked, "I heard the chairman of Ruan enterprises is currently... out of commission."
Even if it was him, he had to choose his words carefully. One wrong word uttered, and he risked a battle he would have a hard time with. Besides, there were many keeping an eye on him in the capital, so he needed to be on guard all the more.
"Watch it." Yue Peng, who stood behind Lin Ruan near the window, warned the young man with a pale complexion.
"Haha." The young man laughed and said, "I mean no harm. I only wish for a collaboration. There's no need to be enemies if we could just put our differences aside and share the pie among us."
"With you getting the bigger slice, of course?" Lin Ruan sarcastically said.
"Haha." The young man chuckled softly once again, "Well, of course. After all, there would be nothing for you if I decide to retract this offer."
Although his words were soft, the hostility in his tone was as bright as a sunny day.
But, they weren't wrong. With how things were going, Ruan Enterprises would be pushed out of the capital. It was either take a piece of it and acknowledge being under someone else, or fight back and inevitably lose. There was also the option of backing out, but with how the young man before them was expanding, it was clear where he would set his sights afterwards.
"I'll let you make a decision. I hope, in the absence of your boss, you can make a good decision." The young man said and left with these parting words, leaving both women to click their tongues in annoyance.
