You Think You're Worthy?

Early morning

Luo Heng had just finished cultivating, having absorbed ninety percent of the medicinal power from five Body Tempering Pills.

At that moment, Luo Qing's urgent voice came from outside the courtyard. Luo Heng had a guess as to what was happening.

"Young Master! Young Master! Something's happened!"

Luo Heng pushed open the door and stepped out. "What happened?"

"Lei... Lei Li is here!" Luo Qing panted heavily before continuing, "He's outside the estate. He says he wants to see you!"

"Oh?"

Luo Heng raised a brow. So it was true. Was he really this impatient? Had he come looking for trouble so soon?

"How many people did he bring?"

"Just himself, but he said..." Luo Qing hesitated.

"What did he say?"

Luo Qing could only force himself to say, "He wants to publicly challenge you at the Martial Combat Stage, in front of the entire town."

Luo Heng smiled. Just as expected. People like that only knew how to bully the "weak."

Lei Li wanted to use a public challenge to force him into fighting, then defeat him in front of everyone. Not only would he restore the Lei Clan's dignity, but he could also probe Luo Heng's true strength and perhaps even seize his martial arts manuals.

"Let's go take a look."

Luo Heng straightened his clothes and headed unhurriedly toward the estate gates.

Quite a few people had already gathered outside the Luo Family estate. Some were from the Luo Family, while others belonged to different families.

Dressed in black, Lei Li stood with his hands behind his back in the open space before the Luo Family gates, his bearing imposing.

He openly released the cultivation of a Body Tempering Eighth Level Peak expert, making the ordinary townsfolk watching nearby feel stifled.

"Lei Li really came!"

"Is he publicly challenging Luo Heng?"

"Obviously. Lei Tao was beaten that badly. How could the Lei Clan possibly swallow that humiliation?"

"But Luo Heng is only at the Body Tempering Fifth Level. Isn't Lei Li clearly bullying him?"

"Exactly. An eighth-level cultivator challenging someone at the fifth level? That's utterly shameless."

The crowd buzzed with discussion. Most of them despised Lei Li's behavior, but they could only talk about it.

Lei Li seemed not to hear them. His eyes remained fixed on the Luo Family gates, growing colder and colder.

When Luo Heng emerged, everyone's attention focused on him.

Luo Heng was still dressed simply in green today, yet his demeanor was completely different from before.

Calm, composed, even carrying a hint of laziness, as though the opponent before him was not a Body Tempering Eighth Level Peak cultivator but some irrelevant passerby.

"Luo Heng, you finally dared to come out."

Lei Li spoke coldly, his voice carrying a trace of mockery.

Luo Heng glanced at him and said speechlessly, "It's my family's gate. I can leave when I want and enter when I want. Do I need your permission, Lei Li?"

He did not hold back at all. The onlookers immediately let out low snickers, though they had to suppress them out of consideration for Lei Li's pride.

Lei Li's face darkened. "Enough nonsense, Luo Heng. I came today to publicly fight you at the Martial Combat Stage. Do you dare accept?"

"A public fight?"

Luo Heng raised his brows, looking extremely surprised. "Why should I accept?"

Lei Li seemed prepared for this. He sneered, "What, yesterday you defeated my cousin in public and strutted around proudly, but today you don't dare fight? If you're afraid, kneel and kowtow three times. Admit publicly that your Luo Family is inferior to my Lei Clan and that yesterday was pure luck. Then I may consider sparing you."

His words were vicious, meant solely to force Luo Heng into accepting the challenge.

If Luo Heng refused, not only would the reputation he had built collapse, but the Luo Family would become a laughingstock as well.

If he accepted, a Body Tempering Fifth Level cultivator facing a Body Tempering Eighth Level cultivator had virtually no chance of winning.

It was a dead end, but in Luo Heng's eyes, Lei Li was merely a clown putting on a show.

The crowd all broke into a cold sweat for Luo Heng. No matter what he chose, it seemed disadvantageous to the Luo Family.

Yet Luo Heng's reaction exceeded everyone's expectations.

He laughed.

He laughed lightly, as though he had heard a particularly amusing joke.

"Lei Li, do you think that just because you challenge me, I have to accept?"

Luo Heng looked at Lei Li with a trace of pity in his eyes as he mocked, "Who the hell do you think you are? Are you brain-dead? You're at the eighth level and I'm at the fifth. Why should I fight you? You think you're worthy of telling me what to do?"

Lei Li's face turned livid from the insults. Just as he was about to explode, Luo Heng continued.

"It's not impossible for me to accept."

Luo Heng changed his tone, a playful smile curling across his lips. "But there has to be some stake involved. Otherwise, why should I play with you?"

"A stake?" Lei Li frowned. That was exactly what he had wanted, but why did Luo Heng think he could win?

"That's right."

Luo Heng said unhurriedly, "I heard your Lei Clan has an Ironwood Estate. Within several hundred miles, you're the only family that produces ironwood. You earn quite a few Yang Yuan Stones every year, don't you?"

Lei Li's heart stirred as he vaguely guessed Luo Heng's intentions. He said coldly, "What are you getting at?"

"It's simple."

Luo Heng raised one finger and smiled. "If you lose, Ironwood Estate belongs to my Luo Family. How about it?"

The entire place erupted in an uproar!

Ironwood Estate!

That was the Lei Clan's money tree!

The reason the Lei Clan had become Qingyang Town's number one family was largely because of Ironwood Estate!

Luo Heng had actually opened his mouth and demanded Ironwood Estate. His appetite was far too big!

Lei Li's expression shifted repeatedly. He had not expected Luo Heng to be so greedy that he would directly set his sights on Ironwood Estate.

But on second thought, how could he possibly lose?

A Body Tempering Eighth Level Peak cultivator against a Body Tempering Fifth Level cultivator—this was an overwhelming gap! Luo Heng must have proposed such a wager because he did not dare accept the challenge!

"Fine!"

Lei Li gritted his teeth, a vicious glint flashing through his eyes. "If you lose, I want you to hand over all your martial arts manuals in public, cripple your own cultivation, and get out of Qingyang Town forever!"

This wager was even more vicious. He did not just want Luo Heng's martial arts; he wanted to destroy Luo Heng's martial path entirely.

The crowd held its breath. The stakes of this gamble were enormous!

Ironwood Estate against Luo Heng's martial arts and cultivation—whichever side lost would suffer a devastating blow.

Everyone's eyes turned to Luo Heng, waiting for his answer.

Luo Heng merely smiled faintly, with a trace of ridicule in that smile.

"Lei Li, do you think you're guaranteed to win?"

Lei Li sneered. "Aren't I?"

"Heh."

Luo Heng shook his head, looking at him as though he were an idiot.

"Since you insist on handing money over to my Luo Family, I'd feel bad refusing."

Luo Heng looked up, meeting Lei Li's gaze directly as he said each word clearly.

"I accept this wager."

"Three days from now, at the Martial Combat Stage, I'll let you know..."

"...what true despair is."

The moment his words fell, the entire area went silent.

Everyone stared at Luo Heng in stunned disbelief. They could not believe he had actually accepted.

A Body Tempering Fifth Level cultivator against a Body Tempering Eighth Level cultivator, with such heavy stakes—wasn't that courting death?

Wild joy flashed through Lei Li's eyes. He had not expected Luo Heng to actually take the bait!

"Good! Three days from now, we'll meet at the Martial Combat Stage!"

Afraid that Luo Heng would regret it, Lei Li immediately shouted, "The whole town will bear witness! Whoever goes back on their word will be struck down by heaven!"

After saying that, he gave Luo Heng a deep look before turning and leaving.

His departing figure radiated the confidence of certain victory.

After Lei Li left, Luo Qing hurried anxiously to Luo Heng's side and said in a low voice, "Young Master, you were too impulsive! Lei Li is at the Body Tempering Eighth Level Peak!"

Luo Heng merely smiled faintly and patted Luo Qing on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

He turned and walked back into the estate, but he was calculating something else in his heart.

Ironwood Estate, the Yang Yuan Stone Mine...

If everything went according to plan, after three days, all of it would bear the Luo name.

As for Lei Li?

He was merely a minor Body Tempering Eighth Level cultivator.

What Luo Heng truly cared about was the Yang Yuan Stone vein beneath Ironwood Estate.

That was an opportunity that could send the Luo Family soaring to greatness!

After returning to his room, Luo Heng sat cross-legged and took out all the Body Tempering Pills.

Fifty-five Body Tempering Pills lay piled before him, giving off a faint medicinal fragrance.

"System, if I Swallowed Star all these Body Tempering Pills at once, how long will it take for me to break through to the Earthen Yuan Stage?"

[Based on the host's current cultivation and the devouring efficiency of the Great Devouring Art, fully devouring fifty-five Body Tempering Pills will take an estimated twelve hours. Probability of breaking through to the Earthen Yuan Stage: 99%]

"Very good."

Luo Heng nodded. This was not beyond his expectations.

"Then let's begin."

He closed his eyes, and the Great Devouring Art operated at full force. A black vortex spun madly within his dantian.

The medicinal power of all fifty-five Body Tempering Pills was drawn out at once, turning into a raging torrent that surged into his body.

This time, he would break through to the Earthen Yuan Stage in one go!

Three days later, at the Martial Combat Stage...

He would make Lei Li, and all of Qingyang Town, understand...

My Luo Family will not be humiliated!

And he would let them know exactly what kind of person Luo Heng was!