Chapter 29 A Stubborn Desire

A/N: Yo folks...

It has really been a while since I communicated with you. And I apologize for last week's absence. I have a bit tied up creating a stockpile for my other book Booking Glory.

If you have time, do check that out.

Anyways, I would really like to extend my sincerest appreciation and thanks to some of my loyal readers who have been supportive of me despite my absence.

TheInsaneKid! JEriEl_snow! Kanna_Gopalan! Daoistzp9FIX! Sr_Yy! Animesh_Tewary! VenerableDemon! neymar_jr_2990! Naruko_Naruko! Omar1303! Corbok! blackmojo!

Thank you for your unflinching support. I am immensely grateful for it and your encouragement keeps me going. Without further ado, let's get back to the story...

*****

Meanwhile, things have been relatively calm as far as Duncan was concerned.

True, he was being treated like a virtual prisoner by the Wang Clan. But, there wasn't anything Duncan could do about that. Having been stupid enough to get caught in such trouble, Duncan wisely kept his head down and performed the duty he was hired to do.

For the past week, Duncan has been sparring with the Young Master of the Wang Clan twice daily. Each sparring session lasted for two hours and after that Duncan was left to his own devices.

Apart from being held in the Wang Clan compound against his wishes, Duncan had nothing to complain about the hospitality that he was provided with. He even got to drink several high-priced wines daily.

If not for the proverbial sword hanging above his neck, Duncan would have truly enjoyed his stay in the Wang Clan. Unfortunately, every time he stepped out of the room he was allocated, he was reminded of his status as an unwilling prisoner.

As for the Young Master, Duncan was really surprised by the rate of progress that the child was exhibiting. For the first two days, Duncan wailed at the Young Master as he could only defend himself from the onslaught of Duncan's attacks.

Even then, Duncan was careful enough to not go overboard. While the man who supervised the spar didn't comment on the beating the Young Master was taking, he knew that one slip-up might just result in his death.

So, Duncan never committed fully during the spars.

Still, the Young Master's progress was nothing short of astounding to Duncan. From the third day onwards, the Young Master occasionally counterattacked. The timing of these attacks was spot on and it proved to be a little hindrance to Duncan's usual rhythm.

But, Duncan's ample experience in battling wild beasts prevailed and he was always able to extricate himself from trouble easily. This continued for another two days before the Young Master once more changed his strategy.

For the last three days, the Young Master switched his tactics and went on the offensive against Duncan.

If it was a life-and-death fight, Duncan would have killed the Young Master countless times by now. While the spirit of the Young Master was something to be applauded for, the child didn't have an ounce of combat experience.

Even Duncan, who had only battled against the wild beasts, was able to spot his attacks very early and take appropriate evasive measures. This frustrated the Young Master to no end.

And Duncan not striking back during those times only added salt to the Young Master's fragile ego.

But, the child learned quickly. He never tried to attack Duncan the same way twice. He always switched his tactics and tried to corner Duncan with his moves. This learning rate was really astounding to Duncan to watch.

While the child was never a true danger to him, Duncan realized that with the rate of improvement the child was showing, he could easily take on normal wild beasts without any trouble.

The only reason the child had problems with Duncan was that Duncan was not a wild beast. He was able to outthink and outmaneuver the child easily compared to a wild beast that just attacked.

There was also another curious thing that Duncan began to notice when he sparred. The power that the Young Master projected in his attacks was truly rising at an alarming rate.

Before this week, Duncan could easily take multiple blows from the Young Master and walk it off. But, with the constant sparring for a week, the power that the Young Master showcased was really something dangerous for Duncan to take head-on.

To see a mere child outdoing him in the power department within a week gave Duncan a very uncomfortable feeling. If even a child who could cultivate was able to match him power for power, then what kind of threat a grown adult would possess?

Just thinking about it made Duncan realize the true terror of cultivators for the first time in his life. Until now, he had heard about how powerful the cultivators were, but Duncan had not truly realized their terror until that moment.

To see a child blowing up chunks of the earth while landing punches on the ground truly made Duncan realize the vast disparity between mortals and cultivators. This once more ignited his desire to start cultivating.

However, having been stuck in the Wang Clan, Duncan had no way to see that come to fruition.

Initially, he had wanted to visit the Blue Wind Society Hall and learn information regarding cultivation. But, now that he was stuck in the Wang Clan compound, Duncan had no way to visit the Blue Wind Society Hall.

This created resentment towards the Wang Clan in Duncan. Nevertheless, he was powerless to do anything regarding them. As for visiting the Blue Wind Society Hall after being let go, Duncan was not foolish enough to stay in the city when such a time came.

He was really determined to leave the city once and for all the moment the Wang Clan let him go. With the money earned from this job, Duncan thought that it would be prudent to visit some other city and enquire about cultivation rather than staying here and being an eyesore to the Wang Clan Young Master.

*****

Duncan skidded on the ground a few paces and steadied himself.

Before he could put his guard up, a shadow flashed and he had to hurriedly duck under the shadow's swing. He retaliated with a kick, that was promptly blocked. But, the shadow was midair, giving Duncan enough time to once more deliver a vicious kick to its chest.

Duncan didn't hold back any of his power at this moment. When the kick landed, the shadow was thrown away for a few meters. Duncan breathed heavily. He was sweating all over by now.

The shadow groaned from the ground causing Duncan to look over. Despite knowing who it was, Duncan's eyes couldn't help but twitch at the sight of the Young Master of the Wang Clan heaving on the ground.

Duncan's kick was vicious enough to heavily wound an average wild beast. However, the Young Master merely looked winded from the kick. When the Young Master looked over, there was pure unadulterated rage radiating from him. Duncan had to forcibly curb the emotion to flee from the Wang Clan at that mere sight.

"Again!"

The Young Master angrily stood up dusting himself.

Duncan winced at the sight. It had been two weeks since the sparring sessions began. In the last week, the Young Master of the Wang Clan had improved tremendously. Compared to what he was earlier, the Young Master looked like a beast ready to rampage now.

Currently, Duncan wasn't indulging the Young Master of the Wang Clan any longer. Now, he was truly fighting the child. A single mistake could lead Duncan to get bashed very easily.

To anyone with sense, such a turn of events meant that they better get beaten up easily and allow the child to vent his anger a bit. After all, they were truly stuck in the Wang Clan as a prisoner, so there wasn't anything they could do.

However, to Duncan, allowing the little twerp to beat him up didn't sit right. He didn't care that he was being held as a prisoner against his wishes. He didn't care that he might lose his life at any moment. And he really didn't care that the twerp was a cultivator.

All Duncan cared about was his dignity.

He could never walk with his head held high after this if he allowed a little twerp like the Young Master of the Wang Clan to beat him up. That was something unacceptable to Duncan.

If he was truly powerless, then that was another matter. However, he currently had the power to stand toe to toe with the twerp. So, allowing the twerp to beat him up was not something Duncan wanted to do.

So, despite several hints from servants and guards, Duncan remained obstinate and always tried to have the upper hand in their spars. The man who was supervising the spar didn't comment on it much.

Luckily for him, this was the last day that the spar was happening.

Sometime during last week, the entire Starmist City had become highly volatile. Tensions were really high all over the city. Especially, the cultivation clans and other cultivators present in the city were very nervous.

As a side effect, the man had decreed that the sparring would come to a temporary stop and Duncan will be allowed to leave after today. He also told that it would motivate the little twerp to try harder to beat Duncan.

So, without even consulting him the sparring session came to an abrupt halt just like that.

Not that Duncan was complaining. He knew that the longer he stayed here, the more dangerous it was for him. And getting released from this prison meant, he could skip the city as soon as possible.

So, Duncan concentrated on only one thing ever since the man announced the end of sparring. His only goal was not to get beat up by the little twerp during the last few days.

Simultaneously, the little twerp's goal was to beat him up.

So, the last few sparring sessions were notched up in intensity a lot. He had been getting hints from the servants and guards to let the little twerp beat him up ever since then.

But, Duncan had ignored all those hints. According to him, if the little twerp had the skills, then he was welcome to beat him up. However, there was no chance of him throwing the towel willingly.

Something about the little twerp rubbed Duncan the wrong way.

He didn't know whether it was the fact that the little twerp was handed things that Duncan had to fight for or whether it was the fact that he was imprisoned for two weeks to entertain the little shit or something else. Something, just rubbed Duncan the wrong way.

So, he wasn't willing to lay low no matter the future consequences for it.

All Duncan had to do was survive two more hours, and then he would be free to walk away.

To hell with these cultivators and their expectations.