Bi Fan could see that w.a.n.g Zhong was taking his time to make a call, and he definitely didn’t mind it, as it meant that he could restore more of his energy.
“Devious boy, you think you can scare me with your gimmicks. That’s not so easy huh. I promise you all, I will swear a Blood Oath.” w.a.n.g Zhong bit his lips, as he agreed.
Although w.a.n.g Zhong had a notorious reputation, this was one commitment even he couldn’t dare to back out of. Once those words were said, there was no going back.
He was regretting it somewhat, as he hadn’t been able to stifle Bi Fan into doing his will.
“Good! I, Bi Fan, swear by my blood, that if I lose today’s contest, I will willingly subject myself to w.a.n.g Zhong’s leadership.” Bi Fan bit his middle finger, and made it bleed, as he swore his pledge.
w.a.n.g Zhong also made his Oath. Blue Dragon hesitated for a second, but then made his Oath as well.
Lone Leaf was the only one present, who hadn’t yet made his Oath. He very much believed in Bi Fan’s abilities, but he was aware of the fact that Bi Fan had just emerged from a tough, and exhausting, battle. And on top of that, w.a.n.g Zhong had a reputation for defeating even the strongest fighters of their generation.
Bi Fan was more than happy to see Lone Leaf stall, as it meant more time for him, to prepare himself for the contest.
w.a.n.g Zhong sneered: “Bei Ming kid, you better swear your Oath right now, or else, I will kill you right here, and then go about settling out my contest with your pal.”
Lone Leaf’s expression changed to a very grave one, as he eventually made his Oath.
No matter what happens, it was vital to stay alive.
“Good! Now that we have all made our Blood Oaths, let’s talk about the contest. Bi Fan, you say that you’re better than me, how do we decide?” w.a.n.g Zhong could feel that he was stronger than Bi Fan, and felt that he had a pretty heavy advantage over his opponent. And hence, was arrogant enough to allow Bi Fan a chance to make the first suggestion; a pretentious generosity on his part.
Bi Fan thought for a while, and then he said: “We will both take a small stone, of the same size, and then use them to see who’s more powerful.”
w.a.n.g Zhong’s facial expression changed slightly, as he couldn’t understand this contest, and so he asked: “How will use the stones to determine the winner?”
“You see that tree one hundred meters away? We will both stand here, and throw the stones at the tree, whoever manages to embed the stone deeper in to the tree, wins. This contest, won’t just test strength, but will also test skill. Unless of course, you have a better idea.” Bi Fan explained.
w.a.n.g Zhong thought for a second: “Well, I’m game!”
w.a.n.g Zhong had been born with a natural gift for physical strength, and over the years, with hard work, had managed to build his inner energy as well. So naturally, he was confident that he was going to win this contest.
Bi Fan’s heart starting singing as w.a.n.g Zhong accepted his challenge, but he kept his poker face up.
Bi Fan’s secret technique, A Snap of the Finger, which employed ‘the immortal finger’, was immensely powerful and accurate. He was sure of his victory, and an easy one at that.
They picked up a stone each, and the contest official began.
Bi Fan and w.a.n.g Zhong, took their positions about one hundred meters away from the tree. They were both very strong, and very skilled. So naturally, aiming and firing wasn’t going to be an issue.
“w.a.n.g Zhong, why don’t you go first?” Bi Fan made a gesture for his opponent to go first.
w.a.n.g Zhong wasn’t exactly the kind to indulge in formalities, and so he prepared himself. He held the stone in between three of his fingers, and mustered all his strength and energy.
“Whoosh!” A very crisp sound followed as the stone left his hand.
The stone flashed through the air, and embedded itself into the tree.
“Poof!” A loud sound emanated from the tree as the stone dug itself into it, with a force so amazing, that it made the tree’s branches and leaves shake.
“Your strength is amazing.” Bi Fan complimented his opponent; it was a genuine one as well.
Blue Dragon’s and Lone Leaf’s faces were looking overly gloomy all of a sudden now. If Bi Fan lost, then the two of them would have to subject themselves to w.a.n.g Zhong’s whims; a reality, which would be very difficult for the two of them to accept.
w.a.n.g Zhong had managed to embed the stone fairly deep into the trunk of the tree, and he was visibly happy with his performance.
“Your turn.” w.a.n.g Zhong smiled, but his smile wasn’t a very polite one, in fact, vicious, would be the correct description for the smirk on his face.
Bi Fan placed the stone in between his fingers, and prepared himself. He employed all his strength and cast out the ‘immortal finger’, secretly.
“Ah!” Bi Fan put every ounce of energy that he had, and let the stone fly.
The stone left his hand silently. But, it pierced through the air, at the speed of lightening, almost invisible to the naked eye.
Bi Fan’s face was calm and composed, as he felt very relaxed and rea.s.sured of his performance, even if the result hadn’t yet been declared.
w.a.n.g Zhong’s face, on the other hands, had completely changed colors. He saw the speed of the stone, and realized that he might end up losing the contest, and his freedom along with it.
“Poof!” The stone made a slight sound as it inserted itself into the trunk of the tree, but the sound was barely audible.
Then, two more, ‘puck’, sounds were heard. The first one, was a result of Bi Fan’s stone managing to pierce its way through to the other end of the trunk, and out; and the second one was accounted to his stone hitting the tree that stood behind the target.
“Hahahahaha!” Lone Leaf erupted in ecstasy: “w.a.n.g Zhong, you lose!”
Lone Leaf was so excited, that started to jump and down, like a bunny.
Blue Dragon looked at Bi Fan and nodded, in relief. He had been so nervous the entire time, that, he had even forgotten to breathe.
w.a.n.g Zhong simply couldn’t believe his eyes, and he ran over to the tree to take a closer look at things. He carefully inspected the situation, again, and again, and again.
Bi Fan’s stone had penetrated straight through the middle of the trunk, and through to the other side. There was no mistake about it, Bi Fan had won.
“Tell me how you did that?” w.a.n.g Zhong walked directly over to Bi Fan, and stared him in the eye, as he asked his question.
Bi Fan smiled: “Ready to admit your defeat now?”
w.a.n.g Zhong had gone pale, and he said: “I lost, and now, I’m your loyal follower.”
“Good! That’s very good; I’ll tell you how I did it.” Bi Fan smiled.
Bi Fan had just procured the services of a very strong man, and so, obviously, he was in a very cheerful mood.
Anyway, they had made a Blood Oath; so naturally, he was convinced that w.a.n.g Zhong wouldn’t dare to go back on his word.
Even if he tried to plot against Bi Fan and cause his harm, then he would end up suffering the backlash of the Blood Oath. That’s just the way it was, this was no joke!
Bi Fan was ecstatic on defeating and acquiring w.a.n.g Zhong. Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf, were both, very happy as well, as now, they weren’t afraid of becoming w.a.n.g Zhong’s subordinates.
w.a.n.g Zhong starred at Bi Fan and accused: “You resorted to cheating! That qualifies as cheating?”
“No that doesn’t, the means of throwing the stone weren’t restricted.” Bi Fan stated.
“You’re a devious little boy.” w.a.n.g Zhong looked extremely depressed.
“Well, we are all, roughly, the same age here, so let’s address each other as Brothers, Brother w.a.n.g.” Bi Fan smiled.
w.a.n.g Zhong was furious: “No boy, I will not call you brother.”
“You will not call me boy; you will address me as ‘Brother Bi Fan’!” Bi Fan said: “And that is my command!”
“Brother Bi Fan, congratulations on getting yourself such a powerful a.s.sistant.” Lone Leaf walked over to shake Bi Fan’s hand.
Bi Fan smiled: “Thank you!”
Bi Fan could barely contain himself. He had just managed to acquire the services of such a powerful fighter. w.a.n.g Zhong was even stronger than the Chimera, just a little bit though, but would still be more valuable.
The Chimera had a lot of room for growth and evolution, which meant that it had a lot of potential for the future enhancements. But even then, it could not do the things a human could, nor did it have a human’s intelligence; it simply wasn’t a human being.
w.a.n.g Zhong was incredibly strong, and with the help of sufficient Dan pellets, he could easily advance to the ‘emerging from the womb’ layer in no time.
However, at present, w.a.n.g Zhong was very depressed, which was reflecting on his face; he had lost the bet; a bet, which he was sure that he, was going to win.
“Bother w.a.n.g, you will never regret this. Practicing with me will get you much better results than practicing alone. ” Bi Fan said: “I will help you in acquiring the required Dan pellets for your practice, and will help you increase your strength; instead of hindering it. I will not force you to join my School or Sect, so you will be at liberty to exercise your own free will in that matter. However, I might ask you to help me out every now and then.” Bi Fan said.
w.a.n.g Zhong said: “Now that we have made a Blood Oath, I will, naturally, have to follow you wherever you go, but I will never join your School, you can be sure of that. I don’t like restrictions.”
“No problem.” Bi Fan could tell by his personality, that w.a.n.g Zhong was going to need some time to digest the reality, and that he wouldn’t do so very easily either.
In time, he would have to win over w.a.n.g Zhong’s confidence and faith, and only then, he would able to truly convert him into his real right-hand man.
Bi Fan was unaware of the changes in his temperament. He hadn’t noticed that he becoming more and more confident of his own abilities.
Soon, once things had calmed down a bit, Blue Dragon, Bi Fan and Lone Leaf, started to meditate and restore their inner energies, after all, they had consumed most of it.
Devil’s Abyss was always br.i.m.m.i.n.g with dangers, and so it was very important to maintain a good level of inner energy, at all times.
It took almost three hours for the three of them to fully recover their energy.
As they set off again, the Chimera joined them, adding to their ranks.
As soon as w.a.n.g Zhong saw the Chimera, he lunged in its direction, ready to slice it, but Bi Fan intervened.
“This isn’t a random beast, this Chimera follows me, do not attack it.”
w.a.n.g Zhong’s heart felt very uneasy after he realized the Chimera’s true strength. He began to realize, that he never really stood a chance. Even if he had attacked the trio, instead of entering into a bet, the Chimera would have attacked him from behind; and he would have ended up dead.
“This boy is really sinister!” w.a.n.g Zhong secretly, and silently, rained curses at Bi Fan.