The Wagered Duel

Two days later.

Yun Ji sat cross-legged on the bed, slowly opening his eyes and letting out a long breath of turbid air.

Done!

He looked inward at his dantian. The original cyan, semi-transparent Xiantian True Qi had now turned a milky white, thick as paste, condensed several times over!

The total amount of true qi seemed much less, and his realm even showed signs of dropping, nearly falling from the mid-Xiantian realm back to the early stage.

But Yun Ji knew that his strength had not decreased—it had soared instead!

This was the true Xiantian True Qi!

Feeling the far purer and more profound power within his body, joy welled up in his heart, but unlike a young man, he did not let it show on his face.

Over fifty years of life's storms had long taught him restraint.

This Wudang Xiantian Gong was truly profound!

If the Ancestor hadn't directly imprinted the cultivation method into his mind, relying on his own groping alone, he might not have even touched the threshold in another ten years.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and felt his entire body light and brimming with power.

This feeling—damn, it was satisfying!

Nanshan Town, central square.

Today, the square was livelier than ever before.

A half-zhang-tall wooden arena had been erected, no one knew when, standing abruptly in the middle of the square.

Around the arena, a sea of people had already gathered, a dark, dense crowd, their clamor piercing the sky.

"Did you hear? The Lingyue Martial Arts School and the Zhang Martial Arts School are going at it again!"

"Pfft, isn't that a yearly thing? What's so special?"

"This time is different! That new hotshot from the Zhang Martial Arts School, Ning Wuhui, they say he's challenged all the young experts in town, and not one could last ten moves against him!"

"Really? That crazy?"

"I saw it with my own eyes! That kid, his moves are vicious, every strike aims to kill—nothing like what someone his age should be capable of!"

In the crowd, a few well-dressed middle-aged men gathered, murmuring quietly.

They were influential figures in Nanshan Town, some of them Xiantian realm martial artists.

"Old Wang, what do you make of Ning Wuhui's style?" a man in brocade asked.

The gaunt old man called Old Wang stroked his goatee, his gaze solemn. "Hard to say. That kid's attacks are subtle, but from what I can see of his force... he's probably already touched the threshold of the Xiantian realm, maybe even..."

He didn't finish, but the faces of those around him changed.

A Xiantian realm martial artist under twenty?

In Nanshan Town, that was unheard of!

"Tsk—where did Zhang Qiaoshan dig up such a freak?"

"The Lingyue Martial Arts School is going to take a big hit this time!"

"No kidding. That old Li Pinghu is probably about to spit blood from anger."

The crowd buzzed with talk, all of them pessimistic about the Lingyue Martial Arts School's prospects.

After all, Ning Wuhui's brilliant record stood there like a mountain, crushing the breath out of anyone.

Just then, the crowd stirred.

"They're here! The Lingyue Martial Arts School is here!"

Everyone turned to look, and saw Li Pinghu leading a group of disciples, pushing through the crowd toward the arena.

Li Pinghu still wore that lazy expression, but today, there was a barely noticeable sharpness in his half-squinted eyes.

Close behind, the Zhang Martial Arts School arrived.

At their head was the school master himself, Zhang Qiaoshan, an old man with a withered face and sinister eyes.

Beside him stood a tall, straight-backed young man with sword-like brows and starry eyes, his expression arrogant—Ning Wuhui.

The moment Ning Wuhui appeared, the murmuring below grew louder.

"That's Ning Wuhui? He sure has presence!"

"Tsk, with this lineup, the Lingyue Martial Arts School is in trouble today!"

"School Master Li is probably about to lose face big time."

All kinds of voices mixed together, full of doubt toward the Lingyue Martial Arts School and awe for Ning Wuhui.

Below the arena, before the two sides had even started fighting, their spittle had already clashed.

"Hey, Zhang, you old bastard, crawling out to strut again? Didn't get enough of my beating last time?"

Li Pinghu's raspy voice rang out before he even reached the spot. He shoved through the crowd, leading his disciples with an aggressive swagger to the center of the field.

Zhang Qiaoshan's face twitched at the words, a dry, thin smile stretching across his gaunt features.

"Li Big Head, your crappy martial arts school still hasn't shut down? Look at your disciples—a bunch of misfits, what the hell are you teaching them!"

"What I teach is still better than you!" Li Pinghu shot back without backing down, pointing at Zhang Qiaoshan's nose and cursing. "Your school, besides taking in some shady wild brats from who-knows-where, what else can it do? You specialize in churning out lowlifes!"

Among the crowd of onlookers nearby, it had already erupted into chaos.

"Tsk tsk, they're at it again. These two families really are fated enemies!"

"No kidding, it's like this every year. But I heard that Ning Wuhui from Zhang Martial Arts School this time is really something—he's fought his way through, and none of the younger generation in town can match him!"

"I heard their original bet was that the losing school can't recruit new disciples for a year and has to publicly admit they can't teach worth a damn!"

A sharp-faced, rat-like man lowered his voice and said mysteriously.

"Hey, that's a huge loss of face! Whoever loses won't be able to hold their head up in Nanshan Town from now on!"

Zhang Qiaoshan gave a sinister smile, not getting angry at all. Instead, he took a long, narrow brocade box from the disciple behind him.

"Li Big Head, all talk and no action is just a sham. Today, let's play for something big. You game?"

He snapped the box open with a crack, revealing a gleaming sword lying inside. Its blade was smooth, with a faint green light flowing through it—clearly no ordinary item.

"This 'Chasing Wind' is forged from hundred-refined fine steel, sharp enough to cut iron like mud. It's worth at least a thousand silver taels!" Zhang Qiaoshan held the sword up triumphantly. "If I lose, this sword is yours. Can you afford to lose?"

His eyes were provocative, his tone dripping with disdain, dragging out the last word.

The surrounding crowd let out a collective gasp.

"Good heavens, a thousand-silver-tael sword!"

"Old Man Zhang is going all in this time! He's trying to crush Lingyue Martial Arts School for good!"

Li Pinghu's face flushed red and then white, like a dye vat. Damn it, this old bastard was serious!

His Lingyue Martial Arts School had some assets, but pulling out something worth a thousand silver taels all at once hurt like cutting off his own flesh.

But with so many people watching, could he afford to back down?

If he chickened out, how could Lingyue Martial Arts School ever hold its ground in Nanshan Town again?

"Think I'm afraid of you?" Li Pinghu stiffened his neck, pulled a delicate jade bottle from his chest, and gritted his teeth. "I've got a True Essence Pill here. If you lose, Chasing Wind stays with me. If you win, this True Essence Pill is yours!"

True Essence Pills were priceless and hard to come by. Li Pinghu had been saving two of them for his daughter and son-in-law.

Now he had nothing else decent to stake, and if he lost, he'd just have to make things tough for his own son-in-law.

True Essence Pill!

The crowd erupted again, even more excited than when they saw the sword.

"A True Essence Pill? That's a treasure you can't even buy on the market! It can help a peak Body Tempering Realm martial artist break through to Xiantian, and it can also boost a Xiantian martial artist's cultivation quite a bit!"

"Schoolmaster Li is going all out too! This is going to be a great show!"

A flicker of smugness flashed in Zhang Qiaoshan's eyes, a sly grin of a scheme succeeding appearing and vanishing in an instant, but he said, "Good! It's a deal! Today, I'll make you lose so thoroughly you'll have nowhere to cry!"

Just then, a minor commotion stirred at the edge of the crowd.

"Move aside, please make way!"

Yun Ji, leading Yun Long, Yun Hu, and Yun He, finally squeezed their way in.

They had just picked up newly forged swords from the Shi Family Smithy at the east end of town. Yun Hu was carrying three long swords carefully wrapped in coarse cloth, craning his neck curiously to see what the fuss was about up ahead.

Yun He followed quietly behind her father and brothers, taking in the surroundings.

But Yun Ji frowned slightly and stopped in his tracks.

He had sharp eyes. Glancing around, he noticed that at several main entrances and exits of the square, there were now some government officials in uniforms.

Those officials all wore swords at their waists, their faces stern, their gazes sharp as they stared into the arena, vaguely encircling the square.

This matter today might not be as simple as a martial arts school brawl.

Yun Ji muttered to himself. This setup didn't look like an ordinary sparring match between schools.

The authorities were mixed in too?

What were they after?