Chapter 952: Unreasonable
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“I’ve seen Kuang Xingfeng’s battles; it’s not that easy,” Hua Zhizun said diplomatically after a moment of thought.
When Chen Fei had just broken through, his momentum truly matched his t.i.tle of prodigy.
Originally, it was imagined that setting up a betting match between Chen Fei and Mo Qibing could have been quite profitable.
However, with the uproar surrounding Kuang Xingfeng’s advance in ranks, it was clear that Kuang Xingfeng intended to use this battle to overshadow Chen Fei.
Everyone could understand why Chen Fei did not respond to Kuang Xingfeng; after all, there was a several hundred-year gap in their cultivation times.
It was completely normal for Chen Fei to be inferior; it would be extraordinary if he were on par.
But if Chen Fei did not respond and yet made a high-profile bet against Mo Qibing, it seemed somewhat odd.
Challenges were natural, especially for gaining a better cultivation environment. Yet, combining a challenge with a betting match made the situation seem a bit strange.
Of course, it didn’t matter much if outsiders found it peculiar.
From a practical standpoint, one should focus on their own path rather than be swayed by Kuang Xingfeng’s influence.
Chen Fei’s challenge to Mo Qibing, the top pract.i.tioner in the Sun Moon Realm of the Sky Sea Branch, right after his breakthrough was already quite impressive.
If he could win, Chen Fei’s talent would surpa.s.s everyone’s expectations.
“You’ve seen it? Even better!” Chen Fei smiled slightly, and his soul began to disintegrate.
Soul Dissolution!
The first layer of the Desolate Slaughter Night Star Sword’s triple limit-breaking secret technique was not even considered a secret method for Chen Fei, who could transform his essence, energy, spirit, and soul at will; it was just a routine technique.
Chen Fei’s aura suddenly surged like a blaze.
As Hua Zhizun sensed Chen Fei’s aura, which had been slightly weaker than Mo Qibing’s, now matching and then surpa.s.sing it, his brows furrowed.
“Just a slight look is fine; don’t use forbidden techniques intentionally!” Hua Zhizun quickly advised.
As a peak pract.i.tioner in the Sun Moon Realm, Hua Zhizun was top-tier in both combat power and vision among the fifth-tier pract.i.tioners.
Chen Fei’s explosive aura growth could only be achieved through forbidden techniques.
Hua Zhizun had to admit, the forbidden technique Chen Fei was using was powerful. The key was that Chen Fei had full control over this force.
However, having forbidden techniques wasn’t a unique trait; other pract.i.tioners in the Sun Moon Realm also had them and couldn’t be used as a judgment criterion.
“This is not a forbidden technique,” Chen Fei said calmly.
“Not a forbidden technique?” Hua Zhizun looked at Chen Fei with confusion.
Could he not tell whether it was a forbidden technique or not?
Chen Fei had no reason to lie about this, as he was the one challenging Kuang Xingfeng. Deception would only backfire on him.
After waiting a moment, Hua Zhizun saw that Chen Fei’s aura remained stable at this level, without any sign of fatigue.
Hua Zhizun was somewhat surprised; what kind of Emperor Legacy could produce such stable and powerful results?
“How does it compare to Kuang Xingfeng now?” Chen Fei asked.
“Still quite a bit behind. Kuang Xingfeng’s divine powers and cultivation methods have reached a certain pinnacle,” Hua Zhizun said, shaking his head slightly.
Under these conditions, Chen Fei was already more than capable of facing Mo Qibing and would likely win.
It was astonishing that, having just broken through to the mid-stage of the Sun Moon Realm, Chen Fei could maintain such an advantage against Mo Qibing!
“Quite a bit behind?”
Chen Fei’s brow twitched. It seemed Kuang Xingfeng was stronger than he had antic.i.p.ated; the aura of the top thirty pract.i.tioners in the late Sun Moon Realm at Sky Sea Branch had seemed similar before.
The Desolate Slaughter Night Star Sword operated, and Chen Fei’s soul, disintegrated by thirty percent, trembled slightly, then forty, fifty, sixty percent!
The invisible black flames on Chen Fei’s body surged, and the surrounding world’s spiritual energy vibrated at an extremely high frequency.
Hua Zhizun watched in astonishment as Chen Fei’s aura continued to enhance.
He claimed that this was not a forbidden technique?
How could a regular technique increase combat power like this?
Despite not wanting to admit it, Hua Zhizun observed Chen Fei’s calm demeanor and fully controlled power, and it seemed that, indeed, Chen Fei’s technique was not categorized as a forbidden technique.
“How about now?” Chen Fei asked.
“Your aura now matches the intensity of Kuang Xingfeng’s battle, and you might even be stronger,” Hua Zhizun said after some thought.
“But this is just a comparison of auras.”
Hua Zhizun implied that aura was only part of the picture; actual combat, divine powers, and techniques would affect the final outcome.
However, Chen Fei’s current state did indeed qualify him to compete on the same stage as Kuang Xingfeng.
Chen Fei was somewhat surprised to find that even after disintegrating sixty percent of his soul, his aura was only slightly superior.
Currently, Chen Fei’s maximum Soul Dissolution strength was seventy percent, with thirty percent of his soul needed as a buffer; otherwise, the other forces within him would be unable to function properly.
Kuang Xingfeng truly was a prodigy among prodigies. His combat power was far greater than most late-stage Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners.
If it weren’t for the fact that the divine ability Indestructible Vision allowed Chen Fei to use Soul Dissolution as a forbidden technique at will, he would have had to continue consolidating his strength according to normal cultivation steps.
Chen Fei estimated that he would need over half a year of cultivation to master both the Desolate Slaughter Night Star Sword and the Pillar Mountain divine ability to compete with Kuang Xingfeng.
“Now, Brother Hua, shall we set up the bet?” Chen Fei retracted his aura, quickly replenishing the disintegrated soul to its original state.
Hua Zhizun observed Chen Fei’s aura closely and was astonished to find that Chen Fei seemed unaffected, as if he had merely expended some spiritual energy.
Cursing internally at the freakishness of it all, Hua Zhizun nodded.
“Although I’m not sure if you’ll win in the end, we can indeed set up the bet. How much do you want to wager?”
“How much can Brother Hua extend this time?” Chen Fei asked with a hint of a smile.
Hua Zhizun’s eye twitched slightly at Chen Fei’s words—was his merit point balance exhausted again? It had been over eight thousand merit points before!
“Like last time, five hundred merit points,” Hua Zhizun replied softly.
“How about more? Two thousand merit points?” Chen Fei started negotiating.
“Not possible, that’s too much!” Hua Zhizun shook his head firmly.
The amount exceeded his expectations, and he didn’t have that many merit points to extend to Chen Fei. He needed to keep enough points to set up the bet.
Otherwise, the rules of the Qiankun Mansion wouldn’t recognize the bet.
“Then how much can you extend?”
“At most one thousand merit points,” Hua Zhizun said, looking at Chen Fei. Given Chen Fei’s displayed talent, he reluctantly agreed to double the amount.
Indeed, Chen Fei’s talent was such that Hua Zhizun had never extended a merit point to any other Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioner, even those at the peak of the realm.
“Alright, I’ll bet on myself winning. Brother Hua, please coordinate the odds with others and inform me later!” Chen Fei agreed with a smile.
A quarter of an hour later, Chen Fei left Hua Zhizun’s courtyard.
An hour later, a message spread throughout the Qiankun Mansion:
Chen Fei would skip over Mo Qibing in the courtyard selection tomorrow and directly challenge Kuang Xingfeng.
It was a case of one wave not yet settled before another rose. Just as everyone was still talking about Kuang Xingfeng’s success in overcoming the ranks, Chen Fei chose this moment to challenge him.
Everyone’s biggest guess about Chen Fei was that he would only challenge Mo Qibing.
Even Mo Qibing himself was prepared for Chen Fei to challenge him the next day.
According to logic, Chen Fei should not challenge Mo Qibing due to low odds of success and the need for further consolidation.
However, prodigies sometimes acted unpredictably. Chen Fei might indeed challenge Mo Qibing, given his significant merit points from the last victory.
There was indeed a possibility that Chen Fei could rapidly improve his strength, even though the timeframe was very tight.
But no one had considered that Chen Fei would challenge Kuang Xingfeng.
Despite Kuang Xingfeng’s clear intention to showcase his abilities by overcoming ranks, he had not made any harsh remarks.
Without harsh words, it was often possible to ignore the matter, and eventually, its intensity would fade.
At most, people would remember Kuang Xingfeng better and recognize that his talent was on par with Chen Fei’s.
Kuang Xingfeng’s actions were quite impressive, achieving all his intended goals excellently.
But Chen Fei’s challenge pushed the situation in an entirely different direction.
How could Chen Fei have the confidence to challenge Kuang Xingfeng?
It seemed unreasonable!
Was it a response to the implicit challenge from Kuang Xingfeng, aiming to provide a strong counterattack?
But a counterattack also needed to be timely. It would be entirely possible to wait for more cultivation time to narrow the gap between them.
In the minds of many, Chen Fei and Kuang Xingfeng would surely have a showdown in the future Qiankun Mansion.
However, this battle was expected to be in a few years, not tomorrow.
The entire Qiankun Mansion was abuzz with excitement due to Chen Fei’s challenge, and people rushed to place their bets.
Over eighty percent of the pract.i.tioners in the Sun Moon Realm bet their merit points on Chen Fei’s defeat. Although the odds for Chen Fei losing were somewhat bleak at ten to four, it was still an opportunity to make unexpected gains.
In theory, the previous two betting rounds had already proven Chen Fei’s prowess. Each time ended with Chen Fei’s victory.
However, at that time, no one knew Chen Fei was a prodigy capable of overcoming ranks, leading to a misjudgment.
Now, with the knowledge that Chen Fei was indeed such a prodigy, people made rational judgments based on this premise. They believed Chen Fei would definitely lose! The only question was how many moves it would take before he lost.
Still, a little over ten percent of the Sun Moon Realm pract.i.tioners bet on Chen Fei’s victory, with odds of one to three.
This small group of pract.i.tioners had no solid basis for their decision; they simply wondered, what if Chen Fei won?
Even though they themselves did not believe Chen Fei could win, there was still a chance, however slim.