Chapter 18: Is It Really Worth It for That Senior Brother?

The young junior disciple took a deep breath, his eyes shining with resolute determination. He fully understood the weight of his responsibility—to hold back the formidable giant and create an opportunity for his senior brother to launch a surprise attack.

The battle resumed fiercely. The young disciple moved like a nimble swallow, darting through the giant’s flurry of punches. Although each clash left him feeling overwhelmed, he relied on his tenacious will and unyielding spirit to persist.

Yet the giant’s strength was truly overwhelming, making it difficult for the young disciple to withstand for long.

Before long, under the giant’s relentless assault, the young disciple was forced to retreat step by step. Each time he fell to the ground, waves of excruciating pain coursed through him, as if his bones were shattering.

Just when he was on the verge of giving up, his senior brother’s earlier words echoed in his ears like an invisible force, propping him up to stand once more.

“Senior brother, rest assured, I will create an opening for you!” Gritting his teeth, the young disciple seized his sword and charged at the giant again. This time, he seemed transformed, his eyes blazing with a fearless resolve that even startled the giant.

“Oh? Unexpectedly, you alone can unleash such immense power. Truly worthy of being a disciple of the Azure Sun Sword Sect,” the giant praised. But his tone swiftly turned cold. “However, that is still not enough!”

Before the words had even faded, the giant swung a fist through the air, the rush of wind howling as it struck the young disciple squarely in the chest.

The young disciple was like a hammer blow, flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground. Blood spattered from his mouth, and he was grievously wounded.

Yet even in such dire straits, he did not forget his mission. Every time he fell, he endured the searing pain and rose again, like an indomitable warrior who refused to admit defeat.

All the while, hidden in the shadows, Yun Yi observed everything keenly.

He noticed a flicker of hesitation and fear in the eyes of the elder senior brother, as if the plan to ambush the giant had lost its hope.

Yun Yi was inwardly shocked—could it be that this senior brother was about to abandon them?

Sure enough, after assessing the giant’s defenses, the elder senior brother’s mind began to entertain the thought of fleeing.

But this escape was not meant to be together with the young disciple; rather, he planned to save himself alone.

He quietly calculated that continued fighting would only increase casualties, and it would be wiser to preserve his strength and seek revenge another day.

So, while the young disciple still fought desperately, the elder senior brother stealthily retreated, seeking a chance to escape the perilous place.

All of this was taken in by Yun Yi, the inconspicuous “mosquito.” His heart churned with conflicting emotions—admiration for the young disciple’s bravery and disdain for the elder brother’s selfishness.

Meanwhile, the young disciple, locked in fierce combat with the giant, noticed that his senior brother had yet to assist or strike from the shadows. Strange doubts began to creep into his mind.

Yet out of trust in his senior brother, he refused to question his loyalty at this moment.

As the saying goes, those involved are often blinded while bystanders see clearly. Even the giant, dull-witted as he was, seemed to sense their initial plan.

Now, noticing no movement from the elder senior brother’s side, the giant laughed loudly, “Ha! Boy, you’ve been deceived by your own senior brother!”

The young disciple’s face turned pale, but he stubbornly retorted, “No, senior brother would never deceive me.”

The giant sneered, “Then look—where is your senior brother now?”

Instinctively, the disciple glanced toward his senior brother and indeed saw him slipping away during their battle’s brief pause.

This scene struck him like a thunderbolt; he cried out in disbelief, “Senior brother!”

At that moment, dazed and unsettled, the giant suddenly appeared before him and delivered a crushing punch.

The disciple was hurled like a broken kite over ten yards, landing heavily and severely injured, his clothes torn to shreds.

The giant glanced coldly at the nearly incapacitated young disciple on the ground and said, “Don’t worry. When you die, I will avenge you.”

With that, he turned to pursue the elder senior brother.

But just as he was about to dash after him, a sword came hurtling through the air, crackling with sharp sword energy.

The giant’s expression froze. He spun around and struck the sword away with a powerful punch. Then, his gaze sharpened as he looked toward the attacker—none other than the young disciple wielding his spiritual sword.

The giant’s anger flared. “He’s already abandoned you, so why do you still try to save him?”

Enduring unbearable pain, the young disciple smiled faintly and asked in return, “Why?”

His eyes grew resolute.

At that moment, memories of every time his senior brother had saved him flooded his mind.

No matter what motives the brother had, no matter if he had betrayed him, it was he who gave him a chance to survive in those moments of life and death.

He could not be ungrateful, nor could he let his senior brother die before him.

With that, the young disciple braced himself against the pain, ready to fight the giant to the death once more.

All this was observed by Yun Yi from the shadows, his feelings a tangled mix of admiration for the disciple’s loyalty and sorrow for the complex human nature behind the battle.

Despite the young disciple’s astonishing perseverance and courage, his injuries proved too severe. He ultimately fell beneath the giant’s iron fist, lying motionless on the ground. Only a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth remained to testify to his desperate struggle for survival.

Standing beside the fallen disciple, the giant glanced coldly at the lifeless form and said, “Very well. I will kill your senior brother in your stead.”

With that, he pushed off and moved to pursue the elder senior brother.

But after only a dozen paces, a barrage of hidden weapons suddenly rained down from all directions. Some streaked like shooting stars across the night sky; others slithered like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, deadly and precise.

It turned out the elder senior brother had not truly fled.

Along the way, he deliberately exposed a weakness to lure the giant into chasing the young disciple, while secretly setting traps to deliver a fatal blow to the giant.

His plan was to use the disciple’s life as a bargaining chip to secure his own escape and to eliminate the disciple as a future threat through the giant’s hand.

The giant, under constant assault from the hidden weapons, realized this. His body flickered swiftly, deftly dodging most of the attacks, but his face darkened with fury.

“Never thought the Azure Sun Sword Sect would harbor someone so despicable as you. Your junior brother has more loyalty and righteousness than you, yet you are willing to sacrifice him just to survive.”

The elder senior brother’s face showed no remorse; instead, he sneered coldly.

“Oh? Where in the cultivation world does morality hold sway? Only strength matters. Once I kill you, who will know what I have done? The junior brother’s death is merely a stepping stone on the path to true cultivation.”