Chapter 504: Soaring to the Heavens
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Disputes and grievances, relying solely on coercion, could not be suppressed. Instead, they acc.u.mulated even greater hidden dangers and eventually erupted completely one day.
Within a sect, with so many disciples sharing the same origins, each had their own cliques, leading to never-ending conflicts. In such a vast territory as the Thousand Feathers Alliance, one could not expect every faction to coexist peacefully.
The previous struggle for the secret realm was a method of resolution, following the unspoken rule among martial artists: the strongest claimed everything, and the losers withdrew.
However, if major conflicts arose between factions, one option was to secretly eliminate the opposition, a choice made by many.
As long as there was no evidence discovered by the Thousand Feathers Alliance afterward, they turned a blind eye and did not hold a grudge.
But if two factions openly engaged in a direct conflict, it was a complete loss of face for the Thousand Feathers Alliance, and they definitely held you accountable.
The Blood Battle was the place to settle grievances.
By agreeing to the Blood Battle, regardless of the final outcome, all past grudges were forgiven. However, during the battle, you were responsible for all results.
“How do you want it?” Miao Wanhong asked forcefully.
“Let’s have a round on the Blood Battle,” Chen Fei said, looking down at the disciples of the Divine Waters Sect.
He continued with a neutral expression, “Add another five hundred high-grade elemental stones, and consider it a deal!”
Blood Battles were somewhat akin to duels; in the Blood Battle Arena, there was no mercy. Of course, if you were willing to spare the other party, you could let them leave alive in the end.
However, regardless of how you left, whether walking out or carried out, all the various treasures and spiritual weapons used in the Blood Battle had to be left behind, ultimately belonging to the victor.
Compared to killing outside the sea, a Blood Battle could yield additional winnings in elemental stones. Many cultivators in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm didn’t carry too many elemental stones with them; most of the time, they were kept in their sects.
Miao Wanhong’s face turned slightly pale, and he didn’t speak, just staring at Chen Fei, regretting his decision to take on the mission from the Death Shadow Sect.
Blood Battles had interesting rules when it came to challenges between cultivators of the same level. It was impossible to refuse. Chen Fei was at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm First Stage, and so was Miao Wanhong; if Chen Fei challenged him, Miao Wanhong had no choice but to accept.
The Thousand Feathers Alliance provides protection, but it’s impossible to safeguard everything completely.
A challenge with cultivators of the same level is already the greatest fairness that the Thousand Feathers Alliance can offer. Expecting the alliance to ensure your safety in every aspect is unrealistic.
Of course, before actually stepping onto the Blood Battle, Miao Wanhong could choose to concede directly, but he would have to compensate with the maximum of five hundred high-grade elemental stones for someone at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm First Stage.
The reason why Chen Fei proposed a wager of five hundred high-grade elemental stones was because this was the maximum amount. If both sides reached the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, the quant.i.ty of high-grade elemental stones would increase to a thousand.
Five hundred high-grade elemental stones would be enough to cripple or even bankrupt any Combined Aperture Tempering realm First Stage cultivator.
Previously, Duan Muxiao had acc.u.mulated resources for so many years, and in reality, he had just a little more than this amount of elemental stones. The quant.i.ty of high-grade elemental stones alone didn’t surpa.s.s this number.
Duan Muxiao was an a.s.sa.s.sin, and money came relatively quickly, but even so, after deducting the expenses of daily cultivation, the remaining amount wasn’t this much.
Although Miao Wanhong had the Divine Waters Sect and the sect had acc.u.mulated many resources over the years, taking out these five hundred high-grade elemental stones would still deplete the foundation of the Divine Waters Sect.
“Ten days from now, the Blood Battle awaits!” Chen Fei glanced at Miao Wanhong, then grabbed Jiang Liulin, disappearing into the air.
Only the sword mark remained, serving as proof of the Blood Battle invitation.
If, after ten days, Miao Wanhong didn’t step onto the Blood Battle Arena and didn’t provide the five hundred high-grade elemental stones, Chen Fei could genuinely make his way to the Divine Waters Sect.
First, diplomacy; if one’s strength truly couldn’t measure up, then use money to avert disaster.
Blood Battle invitations could only be extended once, and after that, they could be genuinely refused. In this regard, the Thousand Feathers Alliance still provided protection. If one’s strength was insufficient, then they should lower their tails and focus on cultivation.
The world of martial artists was a place of survival of the fittest, the same everywhere, and fundamentally would never change.
Miao Wanhong stood in mid-air with a fluctuating expression, while those in the Divine Waters Sect were currently filled with anxiety.
To the entire Divine Waters Sect, Miao Wanhong was the cornerstone. If something happened to Miao Wanhong, it wouldn’t be as simple as a financial loss for the Divine Waters Sect.
If it were in the past, facing someone like Chen Fei, who had only recently broken through the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and dared to openly challenge, those in the Divine Waters Sect wouldn’t have had any worries.
However, they all knew that Chen Fei’s strength surpa.s.sed Miao Wanhong’s.
This disparity in strength wasn’t some abstract comparison; they had actually clashed before, and Miao Wanhong had suffered a crushing defeat.
In this situation, how could the people of the Divine Waters Sect not be worried and fearful?
“Whoosh!”
A piercing sound cut through the air as Mo Shiyi appeared in the sky above the Divine Waters Sect and immediately spotted the sword mark. Upon closer examination, he recognized Chen Fei’s aura, and his expression darkened.
“A Blood Battle? What’s going on?” Mo Shiyi turned to look at Miao Wanhong.
“He found out about the Death Shadow Sect.”
Miao Wanhong let out a long sigh, but his brow remained furrowed because he couldn’t figure out how to resolve the current situation.
“How could he know? The Death Shadow Sect operates discreetly like this?” Mo Shiyi’s eyes widened, and a surge of anger rushed through his mind.
Not only had the target not been killed yet, but now the target also knew the ident.i.ty of the employer. How had the Death Shadow Sect allowed things to escalate to this point?
“I don’t know how he found out, but now he has issued a Blood Battle challenge,” Miao Wanhong explained.
Miao Wanhong looked up at Mo Shiyi, his voice sounding somewhat hoa.r.s.e, and said, “What should we do now? We all made this decision together back then, and the consequences cannot be borne by me alone!”
Mo Shiyi furrowed his brow, not immediately answering Miao Wanhong’s question.
Miao Wanhong was well aware of the rules of the Blood Battle, as it was one of the ways to resolve disputes within the Thousand Feathers Alliance. To some extent, it was a relatively fair system.
However, the current situation was that Miao Wanhong truly couldn’t defeat Chen Fei, making this almost a guaranteed loss in the upcoming battle.
“Whoosh!”
Several more sonic booms echoed, and Hu Yanwu and his two companions also arrived in the sky above the Divine Waters Sect. They saw the fierce sword mark and naturally recognized Chen Fei’s aura.
“As you can see, I won’t go to the Blood Battle Arena. If I go up there, I probably won’t come back down.”
Miao Wanhong explained the situation briefly, then looked at Mo Shiyi and the others, saying in a solemn tone, “Five hundred high-grade elemental stones are too much, and the Divine Waters Sect can’t afford it. Each of us five must contribute!”
Miao Wanhong was admitting defeat directly; if he couldn’t win, he couldn’t win. Although the Flag Capture Compet.i.tion had taken place over a year ago, Miao Wanhong hadn’t forgotten how he had been completely dominated by Chen Fei throughout the entire event.
In the Haiyue Cave, losing meant you could still leave directly and salvage your life. On the Blood Battle, once you went up, whether you could come back down entirely depended on the other party’s mood.
Although battles were unpredictable, and anything was possible, Miao Wanhong had no desire to gamble on that slim possibility.
Refusing to even set foot on the Blood Battle Arena and admitting defeat directly was undoubtedly a severe blow to the reputation of the Divine Waters Sect. However, any blow to the reputation was still better than losing a member.
If someone truly disappeared, it wouldn’t just be a blow to their reputation; their strength would be severely diminished, and at that point, the Divine Waters Sect would truly be in jeopardy.
“Since he already knows about the Death Shadow Sect, why not hurry and urge the Death Shadow Sect to kill Chen Fei and be done with it?” Hu Yanwu said fiercely.
“In these ten days, Chen Fei probably won’t go anywhere, so the chances of the Death Shadow Sect getting to him are slim,” Meng Heng shook his head.
“Do we really have to give that kid so many high-grade elemental stones?” Hu Yanwu was reluctant.
Hu Yanwu had never intended to let Miao Wanhong go to the Blood Battle Arena, having faced Chen Fei himself, he knew Chen Fei’s strength.
But giving away so many high-grade elemental stones like this made Hu Yanwu extremely unwilling. They had already spent a considerable amount of elemental stones to hire the Death Shadow Sect, and now they were being asked for more money because they hadn’t killed Chen Fei.
Even if each faction contributed a hundred high-grade elemental stones, it was still a significant expenditure.
“Well, what do you suggest then?” Miao Wanhong looked at Hu Yanwu.
Hu Yanwu didn’t know either and turned to Mo Shiyi. Within the alliance, many decisions were left to Mo Shiyi’s judgment. Moreover, the proposal to hire the Death Shadow Sect last time had also come from Mo Shiyi.
“These five hundred high-grade elemental stones can be given, but if we give them this time, what will we do if he challenges another faction in the future?”
Mo Shiyi glanced at Miao Wanhong and then turned to the others.
The expressions of Hu Yanwu and his group froze for a moment. If Chen Fei continued to issue challenges to different factions, they would still be unable to defeat him. Wouldn’t that mean they would have to give away elemental stones each time?
For one faction, five hundred high-grade elemental stones each time amounted to two thousand in total. Even if Chen Fei, with his slightly stronger strength, challenged Mo Shiyi as well, what would Mo Shiyi do then?
It was hard to imagine a Combined Aperture Tempering realm First Stage cultivator possessing so many elemental stones.
Moreover, with Chen Fei’s displayed talent, if the resource issue was resolved, wouldn’t he soar to even greater heights in the future?
Hu Yanwu and his group suddenly realized that hiring the Death Shadow Sect to kill Chen Fei had, in the end, dragged them into a predicament.
If the Death Shadow Sect had been more reliable and had successfully killed Chen Fei, there wouldn’t be any issues. But now, the Death Shadow Sect hadn’t completed the task, and they had given Chen Fei a pretext.
If it were anyone else, casually challenging other sects to Blood Battles for profit would likely immediately turn them into a target of criticism.
However, Chen Fei had caught Jiang Liulin, giving it a different nature. Although Mo Shiyi and his group could deny it, others couldn’t accuse Chen Fei of anything.
“So what should we do then?” Meng Heng asked with a bitter tone. He might have to provide four hundred high-grade elemental stones in the future, and as a Combined Aperture Tempering realm First Stage cultivator who had recently broken through, he simply didn’t have that many elemental stones.
“Accept the challenge!” Mo Shiyi said coldly.
“Accept the challenge?” Miao Wanhong was momentarily surprised.
“I will lend you the Profound Origin Pearl, and before the battle, the four of us will infuse it with our power.” Mo Shiyi’s right hand moved slightly, and the Profound Origin Pearl floated in front of them..