Su Rong let out a grunt as the flying ship took off, the complete absence of any kind of turbulence throwing him slightly off despite the dozens of times he’d been on one of the sect’s flying vehicles.

Idly, he started rubbing at the bandages wrapped around his new stump, a nervous tick he’d developed during the week after his unfortunate injury, and one he’d failed to break as he was far too busy training in the vain hope that he would not become food for spiritual beasts.

A vain hope that somehow still managed to become reality.

The fiery cultivator was still in shock at his own survival, with the only price he had paid for his fortune being the loss of his arm. He scratched his stump once again, slightly weirded out at the numbness that pervaded his severed limb.

Even with the pretty alchemist’s pills and Jin Shui’s amateurish healing skills to numb the agony of his wound had still left him in a state of constant pain, which he’d done his best to drown out with his training and meditation. But the healers that had been waiting for them outside the hidden space had merely needed a few minutes to leave him in a state that he would call optimal if it wasn’t for his missing arm.

Well, he had been ruminating over that particular conundrum for days now and had even come up with a possible solution. He just needed to have a talk with his master to see if his ideas had any merit or if they were completely unfeasible.

A groan of pain snapped Su Rong out of his thoughts and made him lift his head towards the source of the sound.

Xiang Yu was laying down atop a stretcher, his body covered by a thick sheet and kept still by several leather bands to make sure he didn’t end up moving around and worsening his condition.

Ironically enough, the smug bastard had been the worst one off out of all of them, entirely because of his own actions at that. Su Rong didn’t know if the other young man had known he would be eating a direct retaliatory strike from the beast lord, but he highly doubted he’d been oblivious, which meant he couldn’t even laugh at his misfortune as he’d pretty much sacrificed himself for them all.

That wasn’t entirely truthful, he admitted to himself, there was another reason for why he couldn’t muster up any of his usual antipathy for the man.

Back then, when they’d pooled their strength together, out of both hope and desperation, their auras had joined a perilous union, kept together only by their wills and their combined skill in the manipulation of spiritual energy.

A precarious balance which the green eyed cultivator took full advantage of to craft the most powerful spiritual art Su Rong had had the pleasure of witnessing, their temporary union had even given him a chance to study his rival’s abilities, which left him itching to return to his training.

Then Xiang Yu had tapped into their Intents.

It was difficult to describe what that had felt like. The culmination of their beings had met and come together to create something great, and through this experience, Su Rong had gained the chance to take a peek at the heart of his hated foe.

What he found there left him perplexed.

There was none of the scorn that he had expected, or the indolence of someone who’d been raised from birth surrounded by riches. There had not even been any of the hate he had anticipated for himself, merely a fluctuating feeling of annoyance and confusion, which left him questioning his own conclusions on the sect born cultivator.

Had he, maybe, perhaps, possibly misjudged him? He didn’t know, hadn’t come to a decisive conclusion yet.

Silently, Su Rong watched as the green eyed cultivator woke up from his brief coma, a mumbled stream of curses flowing out of his mouth as naturally as breathing, his body shifting minutely under his restraints, the painful movements accentuated by more and more colorful words.

Su Rong cracked a smile, his previous reticence at enjoying his suffering all but forgotten.

Xiang Yu’s green eyes blinked open, squinting for a second before he started looking around their enclosed ride.

The flying ship they’d been put in was different from the barge they’d taken for their mission. For one thing, it was closed, with walls and a roof over their heads, it was also much smaller, built for speed above everything, no doubt for cases where injured disciples needed to be transported away as fast as possible.

After a few seconds, the young reincarnator’s eyes finally found him, filled with equal parts of confusion and apprehension. “What’s going on?” He asked weakly.

Su Rong’s smile turned a bit more genuine, the relief of survival mellowing him out somewhat. "We won, that's what happened."

Xiang Yu looked relieved at his words, although not completely. "What about the others?" He asked next.

"Everyone survived." He reassured him. "They're just in other ships, we got put on the fastest they had because we got out of it in the worst shape." Su Rong said waving at him with his stump for added effect.

Xiang Yu let out a sigh of relief, wincing slightly as the slight movement caused his beaten and broken body to pull at his injuries. "Did the healers pheraphs say just how injured I am?"

Su Rong hummed lowly, trying to remember what had happened exactly after they'd been carried out of the hidden world by their senior brother, the events having mostly blended together into a whirlwind of memories.

"Almost every bone in your body was broken." He said with a frown, concentrating on what he'd heard from the healers before. "You had a concussion, one of your kidneys was pulped, your left lung was ruptured and filling with blood, and... some of your other orgens got squashed pretty badly too." He shrugged his shoulders. "There was some other stuff too, but I don't really remember."

The green eyed cultivator had paled considerably at his words, now looking like the ghost he'd almost ended up becoming. "I see." He responded neutrally.

Su Rong snorted. "You're lucky to be alive, I'm sure that if brother Chun hadn't caught you before you fell to the ground you would have been gone."

Xiang Yu mustered enough energy to give him a weak glare before he huffed in annoyance and returned to his original position.

The two cultivators stayed in companionable silence for some time then, Su Rong ruminating over his newfound discoveries about his rival, while the other young man silently looked up at the ceiling.

"Why do you dislike me so much anyway?"

Su Rong flinched at the unexpected question, his head shooting up and his gaze meeting his sole present companion's inquisitive gaze.

"Have you never heard of subtlety?" Grouched the fiery cultivator with a prominent frown.

"Meh."

Su Rong sighed, taking a moment to put together his thoughts. Xiang Yu let him think it over, patiently waiting for his response.

The fiery cultivator closed his eyes, reaching up with his stump to scratch at his face before he caught himself and switched to his other hand.

"I always saw you as a symbol, I guess." He started slowly. "I come from a city far from here, ruled by a group of middling cultivators." He shook his head then. "The strongest of their group is barely in the Worldly Realm."

"They always took advantage of their position and powers, putting their people in positions of power and makings sure no one could become strong enough to put a stop to their actions." He frowned then, rising a tightly clenched fist to eye level.

"It's why I came to this sect. I wanted the power to get rid of those bastards lording all over me and the other people of the city." He cringed slightly then. "When I saw you, strutting around the inner compound like you owned the place, chatting with Elders like they were doting uncles, and getting stronger so fast I couldn't help but think the worst of you."

He shook his head. "Not to mention your partnership with an alchemist prodigy, which I believed was engineered for your benefit."

Xiang Yu took it all in silently, letting him lay it all out before he closed his eyes. "And what do you think now?"

Su Rong huffed. "I think that you're a bastard, and too smug for your own good." A beat of silence passed, in which their eyes met, sparks flying for but a moment. The fiery cultivator let out a pained breath, his next words coming out with an enormous struggle, as if he were pulling teeth. "But you're not as bad as I thought you were."

He then glared at the tied down disciple. "You happy now?" He grouched.

Xiang Yu, much to his chagrin, met his displeasure with one of his infuriatingly smug smirks, after which they returned to their silent ride through the skies.

"I still believe that something is up with you and Fen Lin." Su Rong said abruptly, receiving a puzzled look from Yu in response. "A beautiful girl, who is also an alchemy prodigy, just so happens to meet and form a bond with a favored sect born disciple?" He snorted derisively then, glaring suspiciously down at the laying disciple. "Do you really expect me to buy that?"

Xiang Yu blinked owlishly up at him, his gaze completely lost and his face a mask of total incomprehension.

The fiery cultivator frowned, his gaze cooling slightly at the other disciple's unexpected reaction. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

The green eyed cultivator just kept staring at him, his mouth opening soundlessly a couple of times before he managed to string a proper sentence together.

"Su Rong." He began, slowly and carefully, as if he was explaining something to a particularly dull child. "I don't know how you came to that conclusion, and frankly I don't care, but there is a major mistake in your reasoining."

Su Rong straightened up, lifting his chin up in the air in a challenge. "Oh really?"

"Yeah." Yu said in a deadpan. "Lin is a dude."

Su Rong blinked owlishly, mirroring the young reincarnator's previous expression. "Are you sure?" He asked breathlessly.

"Yup"

"Really, completely sure?"

"Yup."

"Did you check?"

Xiang Yu couldn't contain his smile any longer. "He's a man you thick headed idiot." A chuckle escaped him. "Just like you and me."

His chuckle then evolved into a full blown cackle as he witnessed Su Rong's expression twisting in various ways as he was struck by a sudden crisis.

"Oh, ow! Shit, Fu-!" Unfortunately for him, his uncontrollable laughter ended up only bringing him more pain.