Chapter 108: The Haymaker

Preparing to fight next to his twin again after so many years separated by resentment and then just absence made Paike feel some way. He wasn't sure how to put it into words, but it was intense.

It was like coming home but also holding a venomous snake by the tail. As much as he liked Guan Li or respected Li Feng, they would never be his brother. His siblings were special. Not just because they all shared the blood of Mother and Father, but because they were different. It was something impressed on them from birth. They were Kongs, and more was expected of them.

And as much as Paike loved Liming, she would always be his little sister. Taka was his twin, his other half. For almost ten years, everything was shared, and nothing was held back. Liming might contend that Taka had been using him long before he awakened, but Paike still didn't see it. They had different roles in their partnership. Taka was the face. He needed the accolades and the acclaim.

Paike was the tactician; he was the muscle. Taka got them into situations, and Paike got them out. Taka would set up an advantage and trust Paike to capitalize on it. Taka was the flickering jab while Paike was the haymaker coming from behind it.

Then it all stopped, and Paike had to find his own way. His plans had been lackluster: follow Liming around until he was just a burden? Or go teach at home? Taka would have never settled for something like that no matter what. He might not have been able to see it through, but he was the dreamer; Paike was the doer.

For a while, Paike had tried to be both roles, but when he had really gotten his feet under him with cultivation, he found it so hard to care about that stuff and had pawned it off to Liming. Looking back at it, shoving the decision on what to do about the outer sect onto her was not as kind as he had thought.

Now, how was he standing next to Taka again?

However, everything was different. In their time away, Paike had found that he didn't like Taka's job, but that he also didn't need it.

No, Paike didn't need those grand plans anymore. There was no need for someone to plan how to take over the world or gain their own territory to rule. Now he had his own plans, and they couldn't be simpler. He would never need to update them or rethink them. All he had to do was cultivate. He would go as far as he could, and then he would keep going.

It freed him from his dependence on Taka, but at the same time allowed him to let go enough that they could work together again.

He wouldn't be taken in fully to a scheme he didn't care for. Nor could he really be used, not in the way one might think, because he would be progressing until the end, and everything was in service to that in one way or another. That had always been Paike's role: to make things happen, and advancing was something he was going to make happen.

So when Father gave them a challenge to work together, he had no problem falling in line.

Their first challenger was not particularly impressive. No, that would come later. None had wanted to be the first to fight them, so only those weak enough that they could be forced to the front would first fight. It made sense to save up as much hidden information as they could until then. Taka was obviously more well-known, so him handling the most first would make sense.

The challenger charged, but he wasn't even Emerald. Paike hung back and watched the difference between realms be put on full display. Compared to the last time he had sparred with Taka, he had a lot easier time tracking his brother. His recent advancements were doing wonders.

However, even with all his advantages, he was sure he couldn't match Taka. Yes, he hit nearly as hard as an Emerald realm cultivator by Elder Song's metrics, and his physical cultivation increased his reactions beyond his level, but that only took him so far. Against a new Early Emerald that wasn't partly skill, Paike was relatively confident.

Even thinking that was ridiculous. To jump stages was something only the very elite could do. Well into the next realm? Paike felt weird thinking of himself as a prodigy, and he wasn't in terms of cultivation, but in combat? maybe.

But Taka wasn't just beyond the realm threshold. He was well into Emerald, and Paike knew that he was far from an average cultivator. If Paike had his advantages, Taka would surely as well.

Not that any were shown during the first spar. Taka didn't even use qi, laying out his opponent in seconds with pure martial arts.

Several saw this display and left the line. Many more closer to the front just looked discouraged. There was little hope. And what hope was left? Taka crushed over the next five spars.

At that point, almost everyone not in Emerald had stepped aside.

Father would surely be disappointed; he wouldn't want just fighters in their expedition. He would call those kinds of people boring, but giving up so easily was also a sign of character, even if Taka was being so oppressive in totally suppressing his opponents.

When the first Emerald cultivator stepped forward, Paike also decided it was time to act. He didn't want Taka to waste qi. So he circled lazily to the side. The cultivator kept half an eye on him, but most of his attention was on Taka, for obvious reasons.

This wasn't so much a mistake as there was no way for him to win. If he had paid too much attention to Paike, Taka would have torn him apart with little effort.

Instead, he and Taka started to exchange strikes, and just at the right moment Paike extended his staff and tripped the cultivator, giving Taka the opening.

The simple action took him back. They had used similar tactics in so many fights and tournaments. Normally they were outnumbered by their cousins, or it was them against the field in whatever trial their family had cooked up. So when Paike helped Taka in the past, it was so much harder. He would have to find the right moment while still concentrating on his own fight. They managed it time after time.

Now it was so simple; there was no desperate struggle, just a little patience, and it was over.

The next opponent was more wary. Paike had to wait a little longer, and Taka finally dipped into his qi. That was the critical moment of that fight.

The challenging cultivators got progressively more and more careful and forced Paike to work to find the openings.

After the cautious approach, one young woman charged at him directly, attempting to bypass Taka and take him out. Paike was surprised that no one had tried this earlier. He had actually been surprised long enough ago that he had plenty of time to meticulously plan how he would handle it.

Backpedaling, Paike used the butt of his staff to anchor a transient shield near shin height and then formed a blunt hammer and swung high at her head.

The swing was more than just a feint. If it connected, it would do real harm and had to be avoided. However, its primary purpose was a distraction. It was classic sleight of hand. Even some principle of it had been beaten into him by Taka, even if the performances weren't typically his thing. But applying it to fighting was.

Ducking under the blow, she failed to notice the trap and tripped. The force of the Emerald's charge was such that his shield shattered nearly instantly, but that was the original intention for such a shield. His stubborn qi only kept it up for longer.

She didn't go sprawling, but recovered into a roll. It was the first actual surprise that Paike or Taka had experienced in the entire series of bouts.

Such was Taka's surprise that the kick he had aimed for where her head would have been missed and connected with her ribs. The impact lifted her in the air and sent her tumbling sideways rather than cleanly knocking her unconscious, as had been their plan.

Nevertheless, they were quick to adapt, Taka running forward as Paike circled around. She was on her feet before either of them was fully into position.

Seeing how their enemies were learning and adapting to their tactics, Paike signaled the switch. From now on, he would be the bait and distraction. The rest should see that he was tricky, but still not think he was actually strong. So they could get some more use out of that before it was seen through as well, if he played it right.

So Paike was the one to attack first. His staff was whirling with all the angular momentum of his qi behind the massive hammer, with a staff longer than he was tall. The cultivator tried to block. It was the wrong move.

It was an understandable mistake. She was a higher realm than him, and if she moved out of the way, the actual threat, the Emerald cultivator, would be able to strike.

But Paike's qi didn't care if she wanted to move or not. It wasn't asking, and she moved. It wasn't quite a ragdoll, but she certainly weighed less than a blood jade ant.

Taka moved without instruction to preserve their plan. He shoulder-checked the cultivator moments after Paike's hammer connected. Coming from behind, even Taka was staggered, but the cultivator was caught between the full strength of an emerald cultivator and a blow that could send one flying.

The imparted forces canceled each other out. Instead of flying in any direction, she simply collapsed to her knees and started to vomit blood.

For the first time, Father spoke up. He was enthusiastically clapping. "Well done! I want to talk to you!"