Chapter 4 An Insult

“Excuse me?” The stranger’s soft, husky voice had a subtle threatening tone.

Dalun and Ashur turned around to see who had spoken.

A large, muscular young man strolled into the Training Hall. It was Iacchus!

Iacchus was widely known as a bully in the Clan. At a very young age, he already managed to attain Level 31, and was the youngest Warrior in the Clan. Often, he used his power for the wrong reasons, to terrorize those weaker than him and making them bend to his will. It didn’t help that his father was the Clan’s Battlemaster, and was a highly powerful and respected member in the Clan.

“You are so full of hot air! If your ‘mysterious Cultivation Technique’ is so powerful, why not try to beat our Hon Cultivation Style?” Iacchus said brashly. “I, Iaachus, challenge you to a duel!”

Dalun narrowed his eyebrows and said sternly, “You will do no such thing! She is our guest, you can’t just challenge our guests to duels!”

A smirk emerged on the woman’s face. “Clan Leader, it’s alright,” she assured him.

Looking right at Iacchus, she announced, “I accept! It will be a duel to the death!”

Hearing this, the Battlemaster gasped. But Iacchus was not fazed.

“Alright! To death, it shall be!” He shouted in agreement.

Almost immediately after that, the stranger sent a huge fireball in Iacchus’s direction. After a brief moment of surprise, Iacchus recovered and launched a shield of energy to block the fireball.

The stranger tilted her head back and let out a laugh. “Not bad, young one, not bad.”

Iacchus summoned a sword and waved it threateningly at the stranger. “Let’s see how you fare against this sharp blade. You think you’re so good, huh?”

Instead of responding to his taunts, she flicked her fingers and sent a gust of air towards him, knocking the sword out of his hands.

“I don’t think, I know.” She said smugly.

This only enraged Iacchus further, and he let out an angry roar. In the blink of an eye, he summoned a large axe and swiftly teleported behind the stranger, intending to take her by surprise and launch an attack at the back of her head.

But without even turning around, she raised a hand and the ground beneath Iacchus trembled violently, causing him to trip and fall.

“Damn you,” he cursed. He stumbled to his feet, intending to continue his attack with the axe, but found that the wooden handle had broken into two.

On the sidelines, Ashur watched their duel with awe. How he wished he could be as powerful as them!

Without taking a moment to pause, the stranger summoned a rain cloud and sent over Iacchus’s head. Black raindrops poured down, but just before they landed on Iacchus, he threw up another shield to stop them.

“Haha, you’ve used up the four elements already. Fire, wind, earth, and water. I bet you have no other tricks up your sleeve.” Iacchus said slyly, mocking the stranger.

All of a sudden, the stranger released a ghost dragon that flew right into Iacchus and knocked him to the ground.

Dalun gasped in shock. “What the hell was that!” He exclaimed. Never had he ever seen this kind of magical powers used in battle before.

“This was the Ghost Technique I was talking about, Clan Leader,” The stranger said proudly. “It’s a very effective fighting technique.”

“Ow!” Iacchus was still lying on the ground and moaning in pain. He couldn’t seem to get up to resume the duel.

Looking at the pathetic figure on the ground, the stranger laughed lightly. “I think I’ve won, don’t you?”

There was no need for anyone to respond. It was clear who the victor of the duel was.

Thud!

Upon hearing this, the Battlemaster fell to his knees. It was the norm for the winners of formal duels to take the life of the defeated Warriors.

“Miss, please spare my son, please spare his life! He is young and ignorant, he didn’t know any better!” He begged. “He is my only son!”

“But I won fair and square...I should have the right to his life!” The stranger said with a mocking smile.

Dalun’s face turned pale. He hadn’t anticipated that this would happen, and hurriedly interceded, “Miss, on behalf of the hospitality our clan is showing you, could you make an exception just this once?”

Her expression momentarily softened. She was indeed grateful for the kindness they gave her.

“How about this. Instead of killing him, he will leave with me and become a servant in my hall.” The stranger offered an alternative proposal.

“What?” The Battlemaster exclaimed in surprise. This was beyond what he was expecting. “Miss, please give me a moment to consider,” he said. He didn’t want his son to die, but he also didn’t want his son to become a servant.

Conflicted, he walked over to Dalun to discuss with him. “Dalun, what should I do? Should I just accept the second option? Surely it’s better for my son to be alive than dead at any costs?”

“No!” Dalun outrightly disagreed with him. “If he lost a duel, he should die honourably, not live a life of shame and humiliation! This is an insult to our clan!”

Overhearing their conversation, the stranger shrugged her shoulders and said nonchalantly, “Then I have no choice but to kill him then…”

“Wait!” Ashur, who had been remaining silent all this while, suddenly interrupted her.

Everyone turned to him as if he had gone crazy. What could he possibly want to say?

“Let me take his place,” Ashur said confidently.