Villain: The Play of Destiny

Under the moonlight, on the surface of a massive lake, which was shrouded by mist and surrounded by mountains on all sides, a tall, young man stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the pale moon and the stars in the sky.

His dark eyes were clearer than the water under his feet, and in his mind, he was recalling a very fond memory that he shared with a certain princess in his family.

The memory was over a year old, some days after his battle with Azdaar, but still, this memory was as fresh as ever in his mind.

"Father, doesn't that make us invincible in the same Realm? And even across it?" Minami asked when she discovered the secret in her heart.

"Yes. As long as Magical Treasures are not involved and the opponent is not Divine, it certainly makes us invincible in the same Realm." He gently answered her as he combed her long black hair. "However, it is not an excuse to be complacent and to drop your guard during battles. A moment of negligence can cost you your life."

"I understand," She promisingly nodded her head and then stood up to kiss him to thank him for doing her hair.

As the memory crossed his mind, he could still recall the touch of her soft lips, and her scent that he dearly loved.

She was his Blood, and just the mere sight of her incited a smile on his face.

However, despite his mind focused elsewhere, he was still circulating the Aura inside his body, charging up for the battle that would soon start here.

Keith did not have to wait long before he saw a Golden Aura, a Serpentine Dragon, who was coming to the lake without any haste.

Qin Feng narrowed his eyes when he caught him standing on the surface of the water, a little surprised that he was already there.

They were both here now, an hour earlier than the time they had decided upon.

Seeing the vigilant eyes of the Child of Destiny, who was searching for any traps, Keith lightly smiled but did not take any action or speak any words.

Qin Feng, after staying in the air for a good few minutes, finally dropped down to the surface of the lake, landing on it as lightly as he could, only creating a small ripple that did not even travel a couple of feet.

Seeing the confidence on the enemy's face, his heart became quite restless, but recalling that they had both taken the Vow on this duel of Life and Death, and Keith had clearly stated that he was a Martial General, his quickly relaxed.

One had to state their Realm when making such a Vow to initiate a Life and Death Duel, and it was also the most basic etiquette that Aurors in the Heavens observed before engaging in any organised battle.

"Take your time." Keith shook his head when he saw that the Child of Destiny was ready to take action, and though Qin Feng frowned at his words, he stopped and started charging up, replenishing the Aura and Mana he had spent on coming here as soon as possible.

In duels like these, every unit of your Aura and Mana mattered.

For several minutes, both of them kept staring at each other, not saying a word.

Both of them kept their guards up in case the opponent made any moves, and when the fifteen-minute mark crossed, Qin Feng covered his body with his Golden Aura Armour but did not call out his Aura Soul.

As soon as he activated his Aura Armour, a ripple of the surface of the water expanded and rushed towards Keith.

The moment the ripple touched his feet, both of them blurred from their positions and rushed at each other, and on the way, Keith activated his Aura Armour as well.

Seeing that the enemy was also not calling out his Aura Soul, Qin Feng sneered in his heart.

A dull thumping sound was generated when their left arms connected, and both of them moved their right fists at once, which were accompanied by whirling sounds and shockwaves.

*Boom!*

The explosion that sounded out as they failed to move the arm out of the way in time and ended up with the fists clashing into each other, destroyed the serenity of the lake, where the shockwaves had enraged the ever-calm water and dispersed the mist.

Both of them quickly pulled back after the first exchange, which was a test of strength, and Qin Feng frowned when he felt the numbness in his right hand.

He really was not expecting the opponent's Aura and Physical strength to be as dense as his, despite the difference of the entire Realm, but he quickly reasoned it with Keith using more Aura to make up for the difference.

Then again, being a Rank 1 Martial Master, the size of his Aura Hub was three times that of Keith, who was clearly a Rank 1 Martial General.

"If you are going to play the game like this, you will lose earlier than I hoped." He smiled, taunting his opponent, but narrowed his eyes when he saw the indifferent calmness on Keith's face as he rushed at him again, still not calling out his Aura Soul.

Though he felt that the opponent was a little too confident in his ability, he did not drop his guard down or refuse this opportunity to wear him out.

Soon, the two figures, one Amethyst and one Gold were clashing against each other, clearing shockwaves of varying degrees that kept making the water under their feet restless.

At first, Qin Feng was sneering in his heart that Keith was foolish to try and beat him in Hand-to-Hand Combat, which was his forte.

For years, ever since he left the Qin Family, he had forged himself into who he was now through hundreds of battles.

Needless to say, his skills were top-notch, and for years, he had not come across a single enemy who could best him in this field.

However, he now found himself in a stalemate, against an enemy who was younger than him, an Entire Realm under him, and yet, he was just as good as him.

The numbness he felt every time they clashed, and the dull pain that followed, now weighed on his heart and pride, and throughout the exchange so far, Keith's expressions had remained indifferent.

He did not seem worried or anxious at all, and he refused to resort to using his Aura Soul or Magic, which seemed to be his forte.

What was he hoping to achieve?

Qin Feng could not help but ask this question, and as time progressed, he found it increasingly hard to maintain his composure.

He was being overpowered by his enemy now, who seemed to have suddenly sifted the gear.

The sudden change surprised him. It was only for half a second that he lost his focus, and at that moment, he felt his head ring and dizziness wash over him.

His body skidded over water, rolling and then it sank a little, coming in contact with something hard.

"Is that all you have?"

He heard his enemy's indifferent question, and he immediately jumped up to get back on his feet, cautiously looking at Keith, who was patiently standing on the water, seemingly in no rush to attack him.

"How disappointing..."

Qin Feng gritted his teeth, burning in rage, and felt a drop of liquid trickle down his nostril.

He was bleeding, and though his vision had cleared, there was still a lingering pain in his head from the kick that he had received.

A myriad of emotions rolled up inside of him, but in the end, everything turned into rage.

He had been bested by someone in the thing that he had the utmost belief in, and now he was finding it hard to convince his restless heart to calm down.

"Want to come again?" Keith asked. "I don't mind sending you on the road by beating some sense into you."

"Demiliore!" He angrily shouted before rushing forward again, and years of experience through battles finally worked as he managed to enter the focused state.

This time, he no longer held back and poured more Aura into his Armour, and seeing that his opponent was now on defence, his confidence rose.

"I will crush you!" He promised.

Unbeknownst to him, deep inside his pupils, a Blueish-Green Flame briefly flickered, which made his opponent smile.

However, in his eyes that smile seemed to mock him.

"Damn you!" He screamed and punched hard with all his might, intending to break all the bones in the enemy's face.

Regrettably, Keith managed to block his fist by crossing his arms and stabilising himself after being pushed back dozens of metres.

"Not bad." He said and smiled at the disbelief on his enemy's face. "But your strength is still lacking. It's not enough to do any harm to me."

Qin Feng felt his heart thump hard against his chest when he saw Keith rush at him, ready to show him the difference between their physical strengths.

Why was his enemy so confident? He asked himself and soon got the answer.

Every punch and kick that he blocked, numbed his limbs, and that numbness knocked on his pride, increasing the cracks on it.

He was utterly helpless to counter-attack and break the enemy's assault, and then his heart turned cold.

In his rage, his eyes turned misty, and he grunted in pain as he allowed Keith's kick to land on his side, intending to grab him.

He did manage to grab him, but to his dismay, his enemy used it to his advantage and jumped up, grabbing his head and landing a knee-kick on his face with the other leg.

His mind buzzed again, momentarily making him go blank, and the next moment, all the air in his lungs left him when he felt Keith kick him in the stomach, once again sending him flying and crashing on the surface of the lake that had suddenly frozen up.

"You are slow too." He heard another contemptuous remark, and even though he knew that the enemy was trying to rile him up, he could not compose himself.

Had these been just some baseless words, things would have been different, but the truth was that his words were nothing but facts.

He had been outclassed in speed, strength, and even combat awareness.

Seeing the blood that was dropping on the lake from his broken nose, his eyes turned cold, and at that moment, his pride shattered completely as he admitted defeat in a fair Hand-to-Hand Combat.

A Blueish-Green Flame erupted from his body as he stood back up, and under Keith's curious eyes, all the injuries on his face healed up at an alarming rate.

"Interesting power."

However, Qin Feng's heart had completely gone cold now, and he forcibly blocked away all his emotions.

In his mind, there was nothing else other than one goal, and it was to survive...

A Serpentine Drgaon suddenly erupted from his body as the Flames receded, and Keith still kept smiling as he summoned his own Aura Soul.

The real battle was now about to begin.