Reborn as an Immortal in a Martial World

Chapter 8: Warriors

Normally, Aiden would have ignored such a provocation, too bored to bother with it.

But then he saw Lucy step outside with red eyes, plainly having just cried. Irritation stirred in him, and a distant figure slowly overlapped with hers in his mind.

"Don't think I don't know. You've been secretly practicing that old breathing method. Back at school, I saw you doing it on the rooftop at dawn. On Celestara, that technique is considered worthless. It was discarded long ago."

Garrett was talking half to himself, and the crowd stared, surprised and doubtful, glancing up at Aiden on the second floor. They had never guessed he was practicing cultivation.

Aiden frowned. It was true that before his past-life memories awakened, he had secretly practiced it. He had made no progress at all and never succeeded.

But looking back now, he understood that those so-called life-nourishing methods could extend life, yet they could never be called true cultivation.

They were the most basic and incomplete of techniques. Anyone who insisted on practicing them would eventually suffer serious side effects, damaging their foundation and harming their organs.

"Let me be honest with you. I'm already a warrior in the early stage of the Yellow realm, so this really isn't fair to you. Tell you what, I'll fight with one hand. You can use both if you can't handle it."

Garrett was insufferably arrogant. He waved at Aiden, then added, "Here's something else for you. Someone on Celestara has taken a liking to Lucy Hartwell and wants to arrange a marriage."

Everyone was stunned. They had never imagined that Lucy's talent had already caught the eye of Celestara, or that a powerful house wanted to take her as a daughter-in-law.

"Want to know more? Beat me, and I'll tell you," Garrett sneered.

Aiden turned to look at Vanessa and saw her frowning as well, clearly unaware of this. Still, he suspected it was true. The man had no reason to lie.

"Aiden, don't listen to him! What age do we live in? Marriage is a matter of personal freedom. I will never marry into Celestara." Lucy rushed to speak, afraid he might misunderstand.

Aiden watched her struggle to explain herself. He stayed calm and smiled. "Don't worry, I believe you. But I'd like to see what a so-called warrior is like."

"Aiden..." Lucy stared at him blankly. He felt so familiar and yet so strange. The timid, cowardly Aiden of the past seemed to have vanished.

Garrett watched Aiden walk toward him and bared a mouthful of white teeth. His aura changed in an instant, turning dangerous, his sharp eyes like a predator's locked on its prey.

"Lucy, Garrett's strength is well known on Celestara. If you don't stop him, what if Aiden..." Vanessa did not like Aiden, but she did not want to see her friend heartbroken.

"I believe in him." It was only four short words, but Lucy said them with absolute firmness.

Vivian, Sophie, Vanessa, and several other girls looked at her in shock, wondering where her confidence came from. A warrior in the early Yellow realm was no ordinary opponent.

Aiden heard it too, and a smile touched his lips. He looked at Garrett and said calmly, "I hope you won't disappoint me."

Garrett grinned, radiating wildness. His steps made no sound, and he did not approach in a straight line, a sign of rich combat experience.

Seeing the two on the verge of clashing, Vivian, Sophie, and even Vanessa looked worried. But since Aiden had already agreed, they could not stop him.

"Let's make one thing clear. This is a friendly spar." Vanessa took out her phone and began recording. Whatever happened, she stood on Lucy's side and did not want any blood spilled here.

Garrett's pupils narrowed slightly. He understood that Vanessa was giving him a silent warning. Celestara placed strict restrictions on warriors, and if this escalated, he could lose his chance to go there.

He nodded. "Fine, it's settled. I wanted to see for myself whether that breathing method works, or if it's only good for keeping old men healthy."

Garrett was very tall, with short hair and tanned skin that gave him a strong, powerful look. In his fighting stance he was truly intimidating.

"Why don't you rest first? You've had quite a bit to drink." Lucy was still worried about him. If not for Aiden's sudden confidence, she would never have wanted them to fight.

Aiden smiled. "All right. Give me two minutes."

With that, he began circulating the Primordial Chaos Scripture within his body. Many people had the illusion that a layer of pure white light surrounded him, as though the stars and moon had blessed him, making him look hazy and ethereal.

After a moment, the effects of the alcohol condensed into a cloud of murky air, and he exhaled it from his mouth.

The strange sight astonished everyone. Could the breathing method really work? Could it actually be practiced continuously?

Garrett narrowed his eyes. He had already investigated Aiden's background thoroughly. He knew this kid had been bullied heavily in the past and never fought back or talked back.

Could he have been playing dumb all along? Garrett wondered. He lowered his hands from behind his back to his sides, resolved to use all his strength and crush him with overwhelming force.

After all, he had come to this villa at someone's request, not out of worry for Vanessa, as he had claimed.

"Ready." Aiden opened his eyes. He was tall and lean, not thin, but well-proportioned and strong. In the darkness his face was calm and composed.

"That's exactly what I was waiting to hear!"

Garrett charged, kicking up a gust of wind. He was so fast that many people did not even have time to react before they saw several deep footprints in the lawn.

Everywhere he stepped, soil and grass burst apart. It showed just how powerful he was.

BANG!

Aiden reacted swiftly. He kicked up a long wooden table laden with food and sent it crashing into the figure hurtling toward him.

What was truly chilling was that Garrett, like a beast in human form, did not slow down at all. He smashed the solid wooden table apart with a single palm strike.

With a cracking sound, the whole long table exploded and scattered in every direction. Everyone scrambled to dodge, their faces changing.

Garrett was ferocious, wild by nature, and his attacks were terrifying. If that palm had struck an ordinary person, it would have been fatal.

Aiden turned his body slightly, moving with incredible agility, and slipped past Garrett's brutal palm. It left the man lunging like a tiger or leopard, only to strike empty air.

Immediately he slashed diagonally at Garrett as he shot past, with such force that the air rippled and whistled.

But Garrett had long since dropped his carelessness and was fully serious now. In the instant he lunged, his right elbow snapped backward and met Aiden's palm with a dull thud.

Both men swayed slightly and separated the moment they touched, opening a gap of several yards between them.