Nobilis of War novel Chapter 32

"Um, I'm sorry? Have I done something to offend you two?" Darren asked, growing irritated. The two young men's words were like a punch in Darren's gut. As if it wasn't already enough that he still hadn't fully come around from the pain he suffered from his cultivation practice.

"Oh, so you mean that we are in no position to displease you? That, you're so powerful, you're untouchable, is that it?" the one named Shawn Xu retorted, staring vindictively at Darren. A spasm of anger swiftly passed over Darren's face, but it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. He restrained himself, thinking it was hardly the time to whip up chaos.

However, the other guy wasn't planning on letting him go that easily. "Stop bluffing, man! I swear that if you challenge him, I would be dragging you back to your room tonight. You would be spending the rest of your life crippled and bedridden! Didn't you hear what they said? This guy has the strength of the ninth stage of the Primary Realm. In no way can you stand up against him in a fight, let alone beat him," he said, clearly trying to provoke his companion, baiting him into fighting Darren for his own entertainment. The atmosphere in the room grew tense.

"I'm going to fuck you up, ninth stage!" Shawn Xu barked with fury, falling right into his companion's trap. "You're nothing more than a despicable, weak bastard. I'm the real genius here," he continued.

Darren knew that Shawn did have a point in some respects. Just because he reached the ninth stage didn't mean that he was superior to Shawn in strength by default. The Ilmen Sect had always had the tradition of enlisting disciples who were at least at the sixth stage. Newly enlisted members all worked as attendant disciples and were trained in the cultivation skills until they got nominated as formal disciples once they reached the age of seventeen.

As the Ilmen Sect was large and famous, it had much more master resources than any other sects in the area and needless to say, the disciples of the Ilmen Sect were also a lot stronger than those from the other sects. It was said that their strengths were practically comparable to that of the ninth stage of the Primary Realm.

From the domineering, haughty tone of Shawn, Darren sensed that his strength should not be overlooked. But in his current depressed state, he didn't want to be pestered by anyone. He just wanted to be left alone. "Can you just leave? I don't want to make any trouble. Please just leave me alone," Darren said impatiently.

Hearing the request infuriated Shawn even more. "You bastard! What if I want to make trouble? Did you know that because of your idiocy today, Elsa had to be punished by our master? She's grounded for three months because of what you did, you son of a bitch! I won't get to see her for three entire months because of you. I wouldn't be able to sleep well if I don't get to vent out this hatred on to you," he said through gritted teeth. It all became clear to Darren now, why Shawn had shown up, why he didn't want to leave Darren alone, why he had been acting so agitated – he was one of the many men who held affection for Elsa.

The other guy continued to add more fuel to Shawn's anger and incite more resentment towards Darren. "Wow Shawn, since when did you become so wordy? Are you sure you have the guts to challenge this crippled piece of shit?" he abetted as he grinned maniacally at Shawn.

Shawn's face turned a deep shade of red in anger over his companion's provocation. "Shut your dirty mouth up if you don't want to be kicked in the ass! Don't forget that you are only at the eighth stage of the Primary Realm and I can just wallop you to death easily if I wish," he barked.