Chapter 930: Arrogant
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Mountain Bridge City?” In the courtyard hall, Chen Fei glanced at the challenge letter in his hand, his expression slightly shifting.
“Indeed, Your Excellency is currently ranked first among the initial-stage Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners in Sky Sea City. Thus, we specially came to seek your guidance and engage in some sparring!” Zhang Kelin said with a cupped fist gesture.
“No other intentions, just to mutually validate each other, which can better aid in cultivation. After all, reaching the Sun Moon Realm isn’t something that can be achieved merely through hard work.”
Zhang Kelin wasn’t the challenger; he was here to deliver the challenge letter. The challenge was issued by Sikong Jun of Mountain Bridge City.
Sikong Jun was not the current top initial-stage Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioner in the Mountain Bridge branch; it wasn’t due to a lack of strength, but because on the very first day of the opening of the Qiankun Mansion, Sikong Jun was stationed on the border of Mountain Bridge City on a mission.
Several human cities were almost all bordered with other races.
Even if there was no border previously, in order to secure more living s.p.a.ce, the unclaimed territories would be occupied.
Among the bordering races, those with comparable strength generally formed alliances for mutual defense and a.s.sistance.
However, there were also many indifferent or even hostile relationships, such as the Ice Race outside Sky Sea City.
Mountain Bridge City also bordered a race known as the Battle Race.
This race was inherently fierce and combative, and their strength was not weak. If the Qiankun Cauldron were excluded, their strength might even surpa.s.s that of the human race.
It was rumored that the Battle Race once did not reside here but was a race from the core area of the Return to Nothing Realm.
However, due to offending a certain supreme race, the Battle Race’s strength was forcibly reduced, and even their racial limit was sealed by that supreme race to the sixth level.
The sealing and cursing of the racial limit, which covered the entire race, involved unimaginable rules and principles.
Mountain Bridge City, bordering the Battle Race, experienced constant skirmishes. Although not the most intense battles among the human cities, it had the highest frequency of conflict.
This made the people of Mountain Bridge City somewhat influenced by the Battle Race, making them more combative by nature.
“One hundred achievement points as a wager?”
Chen Fei, upon seeing the end of the challenge letter, couldn’t help but smile.
The so-called sparring and improvement were mere pretenses. The real objective was to gain fame and obtain more achievement points.
Achieving first place within his own branch brought prestige and allowed Qiankun Mansion and the human emperors to see his potential and talent.
On this basis, if he could also outshine other branches of the same rank, the fame he would gain would be even greater.
Before the opening of the Qiankun Mansion, although human cities were not isolated, challenges among them were relatively rare.
After all, while reputation might be widespread, official rankings were not established, and even if one succeeded in challenging someone from another city, the benefits gained were minimal.
Or rather, the benefits were few.
The way to truly gain significant benefits in the Sun Moon Realm was through missions and combat with other races on the borders.
However, the situation was different now. Within the Qiankun Mansion, showcasing one’s talent could yield substantial benefits and accelerate one’s cultivation.
One hundred achievement points, as mentioned in the challenge letter, seemed modest but actually represented the entire fortune of most pract.i.tioners in the Sun Moon Realm.
These points were acc.u.mulated daily through cla.s.ses, totaling only three to five points each day, which was quite challenging.
If he lost this match, the achievement points he had acc.u.mulated over the past two months would be entirely wasted.
Within the Qiankun Mansion, those dazzling resources and techniques will be out of reach for you in the short term.
“The wager is just a formality and should be insignificant to Brother Chen. The key is the mutual validation of our cultivation. That is what truly matters,” Zhang Kelin said with a smile, subtly provoking Chen Fei.
“A wager is necessary, but one hundred achievement points is a bit too little.”
Chen Fei looked up at Zhang Kelin, smiling, and said, “Currently, I have one hundred fifty-six achievement points. To make it a round number, how about we set the wager at two hundred achievement points?”
“Only one hundred fifty-six points, yet you suggest a wager of two hundred?” Zhang Kelin was momentarily stunned. This didn’t seem to be the right way to make a round number.
“Don’t worry about me backing out. If I lose, I will make up the shortfall within a month,” Chen Fei said with a smile.
“Zhang merely delivers messages and cannot decide this matter. Allow me to inquire about it,” Zhang Kelin said, pondering the request before responding.
“Of course,” Chen Fei nodded.
Zhang Kelin cupped his hands in farewell and left the courtyard. Less than fifteen minutes later, he returned.
“I’ve consulted with Brother Sikong. As Brother Chen requested, the wager has been increased to two hundred achievement points, and the duel is scheduled for three days later at the hour of Chen,” Zhang Kelin said solemnly.
“Good!”
Chen Fei stood up and formally received the revised challenge letter.
“Then I’ll take my leave!”
Seeing Chen Fei accept the challenge letter, Zhang Kelin showed a smile, cupped his hands, and prepared to leave.
“Brother Zhang, please wait. I have a favor to ask. I wonder if Brother Zhang could help me with it,” Chen Fei said, retaining him.
Zhang Kelin looked at Chen Fei with some confusion.
“Brother Zhang, what you mentioned earlier resonated with me greatly. Cultivating in the Sun Moon Realm cannot be achieved by working in isolation.”
Chen Fei looked at Zhang Kelin with a smile and said, “It is better to ask one person for help than to bother two. Could Brother Zhang help me deliver a challenge letter to Shen Yongding of your esteemed inst.i.tute? I wish to challenge him with the same wager of two hundred achievement points!”
“What do you mean by this!”
Hearing Chen Fei’s words, Zhang Kelin’s smile vanished.
“Don’t misunderstand, Brother Zhang. It was just that your words earlier inspired me. Hence, I had this thought. Only by frequently sparring and communicating with peers can one understand their own shortcomings and improve better!”
Chen Fei’s expression was sincere and serious.
Zhang Kelin looked at Chen Fei and suddenly smiled, saying, “Alright, since Brother Chen is willing to challenge, it’s no trouble for me to deliver the challenge letter. But what if you cannot provide the achievement points?”
The implication was clear: if Chen Fei lost to Sikong Jun and owed him achievement points, he might not have additional points to wager for the new challenge.
“Don’t worry, Brother Zhang. If I lose, I will simply owe it. Once I have the achievement points, I will have Qiankun Mansion directly allocate them to Shen Yongding!” Chen Fei said with a smile.
“Alright, with Brother Chen’s a.s.surance, that is enough for me,” Zhang Kelin nodded, showing no further objections.
“Then I’ll trouble you, Brother Zhang.”
After Chen Fei finished speaking, he waved his right hand, and several pieces of paper flew into the air, followed by a streak of ink. In an instant, the challenge letters fell into Chen Fei’s hands.
“Brother Zhang, if you have time, could you also deliver the other challenge letters? Of course, if you have other matters to attend to, I won’t trouble you.”
Chen Fei handed the challenge letters to Zhang Kelin, maintaining a humble smile.
Fighting one or ten is the same.
Achievement points are valuable. Chen Fei had his eyes on many techniques and resources, but relying solely on the acc.u.mulation from daily cla.s.ses was indeed too slow.
Since Sikong Jun issued a challenge, Chen Fei decided to challenge all the top initial-stage Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners from each branch.
There were a total of twelve human cities, and the Qiankun Mansion naturally had twelve branches. Mountain Bridge City had already issued challenges to two of them, leaving ten more branches. Thus, Chen Fei could still send out ten more challenge letters.
It would be feasible to challenge each branch one by one, but this approach had a potential problem.
During the duel with Sikong Jun, many pract.i.tioners from the initial stage of the Sun Moon Realm from other branches would surely attend to watch.
After witnessing Chen Fei’s duel, there was a possibility that other branches’ initial-stage Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners might refuse Chen Fei’s challenges.
After all, no one would willingly lose achievement points in a challenge they are certain to lose.
To avoid such a situation, Chen Fei needed to carefully manage his performance in the duel, ensuring he won just enough to secure victory without revealing too much of his true strength.
However, hiding one’s true abilities is not guaranteed just by performing carefully.
With so many divine abilities in the Sun Moon Realm, others might still catch some clues.
Even if no obvious signs were shown, if Chen Fei won five or six consecutive matches, the other top initial-stage pract.i.tioners in different branches would likely become wary.
At that point, they might not accept Chen Fei’s challenges.
Given this, it was better to challenge all the branches in one go, maximizing his gains.
If each challenge involved two hundred achievement points, then challenging twelve pract.i.tioners would amount to a total of two thousand four hundred achievement points.
With this number of points, Chen Fei could make significant progress towards acquiring several techniques and resources he desired.
Zhang Kelin looked at Chen Fei, astonished that he was challenging all the top initial-stage Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners from every branch of the Qiankun Mansion in one go.
Zhang Kelin had always thought the people of Mountain Bridge City were already quite ostentatious, influenced by their border conflicts with the Battle Race.
However, he now realized that the most audacious person was actually Chen Fei.
The term “audacious” was insufficient to describe Chen Fei’s current actions.
“Arrogance!”
This word could somewhat capture Chen Fei’s current demeanor.
The initial-stage Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioner from Sky Sea branch was certainly formidable, but were the initial-stage pract.i.tioners from the other branches merely weak?
“Sending out challenge letters is no trouble, but Brother Chen, have you considered this thoroughly?” Zhang Kelin said slowly.
“I’ve already thought it through. Thank you for your trouble, Brother Zhang,” Chen Fei replied sincerely.
“Alright, since Brother Chen has decided, I have no authority to persuade otherwise.”
Zhang Kelin showed a vague smile, took the challenge letters from Chen Fei, cupped his hands in farewell, and left the courtyard.
Chen Fei watched Zhang Kelin’s retreating figure and couldn’t help but smile.
Such a great opportunity was probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance; it was truly a pity.
Half an hour later, Zhang Kelin returned, confirming that all the challenge letters had been delivered and accepted.
Chen Fei thanked him again and politely escorted Zhang Kelin out of the courtyard.
With Zhang Kelin’s departure, news of Chen Fei challenging the top initial-stage pract.i.tioners from each branch quickly spread throughout the Qiankun Mansion, causing a stir.