Severing Time & Space

Wu Jian vs. Wu Yong Part I

Wu Meiying walked back down the stairs and up to Wu Jian, where she grinned and gave him the victory sign.

"What do you think, Jian?"

"I think you're incredible," he said honestly.

Wu Meiying giggled as she moved to stand next to him. He studied her profile, which she noticed. She turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

"You were holding back, weren't you?" he asked, leaning down so he could whisper in her ear.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I would never hold back when it really matters," Wu Meiying whispered back.

Something tells me this test doesn't really matter to you...

"Hmmm. Well, in either event, it seems everyone is talking about us."

"Let them talk."

"They say we're attached at the hip."

"Oh? Like this, you mean?"

Wu Meiying moved so close their hips and thighs were touching. Because it was hard to maintain their balance when they were so close like this, the two wrapped their arms around each other's waists. A grin appeared on Wu Meiying's face as she looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"Yeah. I'd say this is about accurate," Wu Jian said seriously.

"Maybe we should walk around like this from now on. What do you think?"

"It might be hard to train like this."

"I'm sure we'll manage."

While the two were messing around, Elder Wu Jinsu continued to call out Wu clansmen and clanswomen to go up and test their strength. No one's results were outstanding like Wu Jian's and Wu Meiying's, but there were a few exceptional people who had high scores. Wu Ming scored 3,367 and Wu Lang scored 4,104. Of course, Wu Lang was already fifteen years old. He would be sixteen in a few months, and if his score didn't reach at least five thousand by his sixteenth birthday, the chances of him being able to break through to the Hunger Realm were slim.

"Wu Lang isn't going to make it," Wu Meiying suddenly said.

Wu Jian glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Wu Meiying's eyes were glazed over.

"You mean he won't break through?"

She nodded. "He lacks conviction and motivation."

"Hmmm."

Wu Jian turned back to look at Wu Lang, who really did seem unmotivated. Well, not everyone wanted to become a cultivator. Chances were good that Wu Lang would go on to become a farmer on their plantation, which was how the Wu Clan earned a good portion of their income.

More people went up to test their strength, until, finally...

"Wu Yong!"

It was Wu Yong's turn. The ten-year-old son of Wu Taohua walked up the stairs, paused at the top, and turned to sneer at Wu Jian. Sparks were practically shooting off the boy's eyes. Wu Jian was almost tempted to look away, but he felt more confident now that his strength test had been revealed. It gave him the courage to look Wu Yong in the eye. That just caused his older half-brother's sneer to become even uglier as he turned around and walked up to the testing stone.

"He really hates you," Wu Meiying muttered. "I wonder why?"

"I don't know. He wasn't always like this."

"No, he was not. I wonder what changed him."

Back when they were just four years-old, Wu Yong was almost a part of their possy. He wasn't as close to either Wu Jian or Wu Meiying as they were to each other, but they would often play together. They had been true brothers back then. Wu Jian couldn't remember when the change had occurred, but at some point, Wu Yong began treating him with disdain instead of kindness. He never figured out why.