Hongyan Sect

"I'd like to ask young friend Lin to spar with me once on that arena."

The arena naturally referred to the one being built in front of the marketplace.

Hearing this, Lin Jun did not answer at once. He simply continued eating in silence.

Seeing that Lin Jun remained unmoved, He Jing continued:

"Though Hongyan Sect is considered a reputable orthodox sect and has some renown in the martial world, Green Forest County lies in a remote location and knows nothing of our sect's great name. If we do not put on a display, how will these people know our strength? How will they join our sect?"

"I ask young friend Lin to lend me a hand. Once it is done, there will certainly be generous recompense."

Chen Feng dearly wanted to dump the bowl in his hands straight over He Jing's head.

From beginning to end, this fellow had carried himself with an air of lofty superiority. Though his words were polite, everyone could sense the arrogance in his tone.

It was as though his arrival in this place was an honor for the place itself.

Chen Feng knew He Jing did not mean it deliberately. These famous orthodox sects had been trained this way since childhood; that pride had already been carved into their bones.

But Chen Feng was still annoyed.

Moreover, He Jing's tone seemed certain that Lin Jun would agree. That face of his made Chen Feng's stomach churn.

What a self-righteous bastard.

Lin Jun set down his bowl and chopsticks, let out a satisfied burp, then looked at He Jing.

"Are you finished, Senior?"

He Jing froze, then nodded instinctively.

"If you're finished, Senior, then please leave."

He Jing was instantly dumbfounded, disbelief filling his face.

He had been refused?

"Young friend, why not think it over? This is nothing more than a lift of the hand for you."

"After this matter is done, consider it that I, He Jing, owe you a favor. Why not reconsider, young friend?"

He Jing assumed Lin Jun had some concerns and continued trying to persuade him.

"Senior, unless you can prove that you are a Demon, I have no interest in drawing my blade against you."

"Demon Exorcists do not involve themselves in martial-world disputes. That is the rule."

At this moment, everyone around them who had been eating paused with their bowls and chopsticks, quietly turning their gazes toward Lin Jun's table.

With so many people watching him, He Jing felt deeply embarrassed. Then a surge of anger rose in his heart.

He Jing restrained the fury in his heart as his imposing aura slowly spread outward.

"Young friend, I fear you are worrying too much. I know you are merely an external Demon Exorcist. Those rules simply do not apply to you."

He Jing placed particular emphasis on the words "external."

However, Lin Jun no longer wished to waste words on this fellow and rose directly to his feet.

"Get lost!"

Lin Jun slammed a palm onto the table.

"You old bastard, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit, huh!"

Lin Jun mercilessly tore away the veil of hypocrisy. His utterly unrestrained curse made He Jing's face flush red.

"Does young friend Lin truly intend to make an enemy of my Hongyan Sect?"

Lin Jun shot He Jing a glance.

"What the hell are you? What can you represent?"

Could the will of an entire sect really be swayed by one disciple?

If so, it would be a miracle that such a sect had survived until now.

He Jing gripped his black iron sword tightly, yet still failed to draw it.

The aura around him rose steadily, and pained expressions appeared on the faces of the people nearby who had been preparing to watch the show.

This was the absolute suppression that Transcendent Realm martial artists held over Mortals.

Yet not the slightest discomfort showed on Lin Jun's face.

"Senior, would you care to test whether my treasured blade is sharp?"

In the end, He Jing did not dare make a move.

"Young friend Lin, you are merely an external Demon Exorcist. What do you stand to lose by doing this...?"

"Farewell!"

With that, he leaped straight out the window and vanished in just a few breaths.

The people around them promptly withdrew their gazes and lowered their heads, pretending to focus on their meals.

Chen Feng's expression was not good. He looked somewhat worried.

"My lord, you should not have angered those martial-world people."

Lin Jun was not an official Demon Exorcist. That meant that if anything happened to him, the Demon Exorcism Bureau might not even intervene.

Offending these martial-world people would inevitably invite retaliation.

Demon Exorcists practiced martial arts to deal with Demons, but these martial-world folk practiced martial arts mostly to deal with people.

These martial-world people might be useless at slaying Demons, but when it came to killing people, every one of them was swift and ruthless.

"There's something you need to understand. He was the one who came to provoke me first."

He called it a sparring match, but in truth, he intended to use Lin Jun as a stepping stone.

As the man with the greatest prestige in Green Forest County, if He Jing defeated Lin Jun before everyone, he could borrow Lin Jun's reputation for his own convenience.

Although Lin Jun might not necessarily be weaker than He Jing, if they truly fought, it was still hard to say who would win and who would lose.

But why should he fight He Jing?

He was not a Demon. There would be no experience to gain from beating him.

Not worth it.

Chen Feng sighed. The reasoning was sound, but this world did not reason with anyone.

"You brat, when you talk back to me, you fear neither Heaven nor earth. Why are you suddenly such a coward now?"

Lin Jun recalled the memories of the body's former owner. Whenever Lin Jun did something inhuman, Chen Feng had always been the first to jump out and stop him, though it had never done much good.

"It's different..."

Chen Feng froze. Right, when had he become so hesitant and overly cautious?

It seemed to have started when Lin Jun no longer needed his protection...

Chen Feng sank into thought.

"Waiter, pack me a roast chicken, and add some honey!"

"Right away, Master Lin!"

Seeing Chen Feng still lost in thought, Lin Jun did not disturb him. Carrying the roast chicken, he returned to the Demon Affairs Prefecture.

He had eaten his fill, but there was still someone at the prefecture waiting for his meal.

When Lin Jun returned to the Demon Affairs Prefecture, He Jing had already gone back to the guest room where he was staying.

Replaying what had just happened in his mind, he grew angrier the more he thought about it.

When had he ever suffered such humiliation? Someone had actually pointed at his nose and cursed him.

If an official Demon Exorcist had cursed him like that, he would have pinched his nose and endured it. After all, the Demon Exorcism Bureau's pack of imperial lackeys was famously protective of its own.

But what gave Lin Jun, an external Demon Exorcist, the right to do this?

How did he dare?

He had originally wanted to use Lin Jun's prestige in Green Forest County to recruit disciples, only to end up being humiliated himself.

In truth, the mountain-like heap of Demon corpses Hongyan Sect had displayed upon entering the city should have greatly enhanced their image among the local people.

Yet because of Lin Jun's previous Demon hunts, the city's people had grown used to seeing Demon corpses, causing more than half their plan to build an image to fail.

Green Forest County was too unusual. Lin Jun's existence was practically their greatest obstacle. Whenever the children here spoke of martial arts, the first person they thought of was Lin Jun.

If this continued, he would be unable to complete his sect's mission.

Damn Demon Exorcism Bureau. If those imperial lackeys were not pressing them so tightly, would he have needed to come to such a tiny place to take on disciples?

The urgent matter now was recruiting disciples. Lin Jun's matter could be set aside for the moment.

As for taking revenge on Lin Jun?

Heh. Hongyan Sect was, after all, a reputable orthodox sect. How could it kill someone over such a small humiliation?

Still, a small lesson was in order.