The Duel

There's no point in denying the duel, it'll just get them out of my hair for the remainder of my time here. But which one should I face? The eldest brother or the youngest?

If I choose the youngest it'll be easier to defeat him, since he seems to be weaker than his older brother. But if I choose the eldest, it'll intimidate them much more than if I defeated the youngest, and they'll probably leave me alone for the rest of my time here.

"I'll duel the oldest."

Pyo Kang and Pyo Yong looked at each other in confusion before erupting into laughter. Apparently, they something was funny.

A moment later, however, the two of them drew their swords at the same time and walked toward me.

"Why are the both of you walking towards me? I only want to fight the oldest."

"You see, there is no oldest between us. From our perspective, we were born at the exact same time.

So, their twins huh? They don't look exactly like each other though, so they must be Dizygotic twins. The family they came from must have had some pretty interesting schemes after having the two of them.

But having to fight two of them at once, this is going to be a challenge. But thankfully, my height is an advantage I can use against them.

I quickly grabbed my sword that was leaning against a tree and unsheathed it as I spoke, "That's fine, I'm ready when you are."

A second later the twins would charge at me with their martial arts techniques intertwining with each other, forming a net-like pattern of slashes and stabs.

But it's just a distraction to their real technique, I quickly parried the slashes and strikes that were aimed at my vital areas before jumping back to gain some distance.

I quickly lowered myself into a kneeling position and pointed my sword at the pair, "You two are strong, but can you defend?"

I dashed at the two from the kneeling position and unveiled the only martial art technique of the Mount Song Sect I was currently able to perform.

Golden Dragon Slash!

A flurry of forty-two slashes and strikes formed the shape of a dragon's tail as they moved toward Pyo Kang.

Pyo Kang took a step back and swung his sword to make a barrier to block the technique, though the attack didn't wield any internal energy since I currently had none to use, it was still a high-tiered martial art. So, it was much more complicated than he thought, allowing a few slashes to break through his shield and cut his legs.

While I was attacking Pyo Kang, Pyo Yong dashed in from my side and tried to ambush me, leaving a cut on my side as I narrowly avoided most of his strikes.

However, as I was about to switch my attention from Pyo Kang to Pyo Yong, Pyo Kang seamlessly spun around and swung his sword at my neck, leaving me no time to attack Pyo Yong.

"Not bad!" Pyo Kang yelled out as I jumped backward to evade his attack, "But you'll have to do much better to defeat us!"

The two of them, now on opposite sides of me, each readied a stance before dashing at me simultaneously. Both swords wielded sword qi, so it seemed like they wanted to end the duel here and now.

Good, that's exactly how a martial artist should be.

Mere seconds before Pyo Kang and Pyo Yong unleashed their sword techniques upon me, I ducked down into a squat position and dropped my sword.

I could only afford to do this once with my current body, so I might as well make it count.

I put all my strength into my arms just as the two swords swung where my head used to be. Leaving only a second for the twins to realize they had missed before I struck both of them in the stomach where their dantian's lay.

"Kuak!..."

"Cough!"

Blood spilled out of both Pyo Kang and Pyo Yong's mouths as they dropped to the ground in pain.

I had used the Golden Dragon Slash's second form, Echo of the Bite and Whip. The form was created by the sect leader when he saw Jinlong kill two animals at once, one with a powerful bite, and the other with a ferocious whip of his tail.

"I take it that this is my win unless you want to worsen your internal injuries?"

Both twins looked at me from the ground and shook their heads at the latter part of my question.

This was good, but for martial artists, their internal energy and physical strength were rather weak. Maybe I should find out why.

"Good. Now, do either of you belong to a sect within Jianghu?"

The twins looked at each other after hearing my question, I could only assume they were talking through telepathic messages again.

If these two belong to a prominent family or sect within Jianghu, they'll probably come after me even if I don't kill them. After all, two members of the family or sect were humiliated by a man with no internal energy.

"We did once, but no longer."

So, they're not a part of any sects or families within Jianghu, so no retribution will come my way from this little scuffle. I wonder, having twins of the same gender in Jianghu is normally seen as a good thing, so why are they no longer in a prominent sect or family?

However, before I could ask them why, another voice blurted out from behind me, one that wasn't too savory to hear.

"Damn it! You two were supposed to kill him so the spirit within the forest could be protected from this thief! But instead, you both go and lose at the same time?! Don't even think about returning to the cave, you won't be welcome there anymore!"

The middle-aged man then stormed off, his face burning red, almost as if he had eaten something spicier than he could handle.