CRYSTALBORNE: Rise of the Elemental Monarch

CHAPTER 7 STANDING HIS GROUND!!

The crowd’s whispers died down as a figure emerged from behind the group — Lin Wei.

Every eye locked on him as he strolled towards the scene with slow, deliberate steps, like a predator that already knew the prey couldn’t escape.

“What’s going on here, Lin Kai?” Lin Wei’s voice was calm, but there was steel under it.

“Brother Lin Wei, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” Lin Kai said, bowing slightly. “It’s this scum’s fault. I told him you wanted to see him immediately, but he claimed he didn’t know who you were.” He jabbed a finger at Rai Jin.

A small twitch ran across Lin Wei’s temple — a tiny sign of irritation — but he hid it quickly.

Someone in the entire school daring to say they didn’t know him? That was new.

His eyes shifted to the person Lin Kai was pointing at.

“You’re the one going against my brother?” Lin Wei asked, voice low but dangerous.

Rai Jin tilted his head. “Sorry… who is your brother?”

> Oh, for the love of—!

Da Lu felt his soul leave his body. When will this idiot pretend to be serious just once?

Mu Lan, meanwhile, was biting his lip, desperately holding in a laugh, clutching his stomach like he’d just heard the joke of the year.

“Are you playing with me?” Lin Wei’s voice dropped lower as a fiery aura began to seep from him, wrapping around the air like invisible flames. The temperature rose instantly, and chills crawled down the spines of everyone nearby.

Several students staggered back, their legs trembling under the oppressive pressure.

But Rai Jin stood his ground.

He realized he wasn’t feeling as crushed by the aura as the others. Weak wills were already buckling, but he was… fine. Not perfectly comfortable, but far from collapsing.

He could feel the subtle hum of the crystal against his chest, resisting the pressure.

> Oh, baby, I knew you wouldn’t let Daddy lose his sneeze, he thought, smiling faintly as his fingers brushed the crystal.

That little gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Lin Wei’s eyes narrowed. He had directed most of his aura specifically at Rai Jin. The boy should be kneeling and begging by now… yet he wasn’t.

“Rai Jin, you’ve offended Brother Lin Wei. Now no one can save you,” Bai Ji sneered, grinning widely.

Bai Ji had never liked Rai Jin. The guy had a talent for insults that cut deeper than a blade.

Still… he respected Rai Jin’s skill in verbal warfare — when it wasn’t aimed at him or his master, Lin Kai.

“You don’t have to tell him his plight, Bai Ji,” Lin Wei said, turning back to Rai Jin. “I’ll give him a chance to redeem himself.”

He looked Rai Jin up and down, like a merchant inspecting cheap goods.

“I heard Lin Kai call you Rai Jin. That’s your name, right?”

“I never knew I was so popular,” Rai Jin replied with a faint smile. The casual tone made Lin Wei’s jaw tighten.

“I’ll forgive you and let you go home with only minor burns… if you get on your knees, apologize to Lin Kai, and kiss his soles three times.”

Lin Kai grinned at the humiliating suggestion. “Brother Lin Wei, you’re letting him off too easy.”

“Oh? Then make it ten kisses,” Lin Wei said coldly.

Rai Jin looked from one brother to the other… and then asked,

“Do all of you in the Lin family have spaghetti for brains? In fact, I’m pretty sure when you were born, your mother rented out your placentas to a psychiatric hospital and still hasn’t gotten them back.”

The crowd froze.

Even Mu Lan, who usually enjoyed Rai Jin’s madness, stared at him wide-eyed.

He just insulted the entire Lin family… and their mother. In public. In front of both successors.

“…What did you just SAY?!” Lin Wei’s voice roared as his aura exploded outward again.

This time it was far more intense. Heat rippled visibly from his body, scorching the air. Bits of his clothes smoldered. Plants at his feet began to blacken and curl. Students screamed and scrambled back.

Even Lin Kai stepped away — he had only seen his brother this angry a few times before. And it never ended well for whoever caused it.

Rai Jin stayed put.

The heat was unbearable now, sweat prickling on his skin, the edges of his uniform beginning to singe. Without the crystal’s help, he would’ve collapsed already.

“Brother Lin Wei, you know you can’t touch him yet,” Lin Kai said, trying to calm him down. “He’s not a mage. If you use spells on him, the Magic Association will punish you.”

Lin Wei knew his brother was right… but the thought of letting Rai Jin walk away after that insult was almost physically painful.

Lin Kai quickly added, “Then let’s postpone his punishment. In three months, after the magic awakening… when he’s at least able to fight back.”

“Even if he trained for twenty years, he’d still be trash,” Lin Wei muttered, his aura flaring again. “I could kill him with a single spell.”

“I’ll handle it then,” Lin Kai said. “I’ll fight him after his awakening. I promise I won’t let you down.”

Lin Wei was silent for a moment before letting his aura recede.

He pointed a finger at Rai Jin. “Three months from now, you’ll duel my brother. If you win, I’ll let you go. But if you lose…” His eyes glinted coldly. “…I’ll burn away one of your hands for insulting my family.”

The crowd buzzed with whispers.

Rai Jin stood in thought for a moment.

> Oh no… he’s actually considering it, Da Lu thought, rubbing his face.

Then Rai Jin looked up. “I accept.”

“Oh no…” Da Lu groaned.

“That’s my boy,” Mu Lan said with a smirk. “Don’t let them intimidate you.”

“Is he insane? Lin Kai’s one of the top students. He’s going to die.”

By nightfall, the news would be all over the school. Even teachers would hear about the upcoming duel.

“But on one condition,” Rai Jin added.

Every head turned toward him again.