A Strong Contender for the Championship

Although Lin Xin was a gifted fire mage, he refused to learn explosive, high-damage offensive spells and knew only defensive magic.

No matter how powerful he became, he could never place in the top three of the finals like that. And once this secret came out, no one would want him as a teammate.

Jiang Feng smiled faintly and said no more.

By now, quite a few people had arrived in the hall. Yang Wenzhao spotted Jiang Feng from a distance and hurried over.

"Uncle-Master."

After Saint Moon had severely injured Jiang Feng because of him last time, Yang Wenzhao had finally become willing to call him Uncle-Master. Now, he no longer deliberately avoided the title even in front of others.

"Uncle-Master, how are your injuries? Have you recovered?" Yang Wenzhao asked with concern.

"Not bad. After these days of recuperation, I should be able to handle the upcoming round-robin matches." Jiang Feng motioned for Yang Wenzhao to sit down.

"That's good. I heard from Grandfather that the Assassin Temple has settled on your compensation. I don't know what it is, but one thing is certain: they're being very sincere this time," Yang Wenzhao said.

"Ah, who needs compensation? As long as it doesn't affect the friendship between our two temples, that's enough. Look, aren't I fine now?" Jiang Feng felt a surge of delight, but let out a soft sigh instead.

Yang Wenzhao snorted. "They absolutely have to compensate you. Our Knight Temple is the foremost of the Six Great Temples. For the sake of unity within the Temple Alliance, we've already compromised on many matters, but that doesn't mean we're pushovers who are easy to bully."

"That's true," Jiang Feng agreed. "Constantly backing down won't solve anything. It only makes others think we're weak. Strength secures our standing, and only a firm stance can protect our interests."

Yang Wenzhao nodded. "You're right, Uncle-Master."

Lin Xin watched from the side. Although he was curious about their relationship, he had the sense not to ask.

Jiang Xinran, however, looked over curiously, then leaned close to Jiang Feng's ear and whispered, "Jiang Feng, since when did you become an Uncle-Master?"

"Be good. It's a long story, so let's leave it at that," Jiang Feng said with a smile.

"Tell me." Jiang Xinran reached for his waist and pinched a bit of soft flesh threateningly.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Men and women should keep their hands to themselves. Don't touch me, or I'll make you take responsibility!" Jiang Feng raised his voice.

"Hmph! As if I'd want to touch you." Jiang Xinran turned her head away.

Seeing Yang Wenzhao's puzzled look, Jiang Feng made the introductions. "Xinran, Lin Xin, this is Yang Wenzhao, who took first place in our Knight Temple's preliminary round. Wenzhao, this is my friend Jiang Xinran. And this is Lin Xin, who took first place in the Magic Temple's preliminary round."

"Hello, hello." Jiang Xinran smiled.

"Hello, Miss Xinran." Yang Wenzhao smiled and nodded, then turned to Lin Xin. "Brother Lin."

"You're quite impressive, Brother Yang. You have a shot at winning the finals." Lin Xin sat down beside Yang Wenzhao with easy familiarity, took out the pills he had made, and began his sales pitch. "Brother Yang, how about we make a deal?"

"What sort of deal?" Yang Wenzhao asked.

Lin Xin then worked hard to explain just how powerful his pills were and how outstanding his talent for alchemy was.

"What do you say? I'll give you all these pills. All I ask is that you choose me as your teammate if you place in the top three," Lin Xin said.

"I'm sorry, but if I make the top three, I already have someone in mind," Yang Wenzhao declined politely.

"All right, then. Even if we can't make a deal, we can still be friends. We'll all be fellow members of Demon Hunt Squads in the future. I hope we can look out for one another and fight the Demon Race together."

Despite being rejected, Lin Xin still spoke with a smile.

Jiang Feng, Jiang Xinran, and Yang Wenzhao all nodded at his words. "Of course."

"Don't worry, Lin Xin. Have faith in Long Haochen," Jiang Feng said.

"Oh? You seem to have a pretty high opinion of Long Haochen's strength, Brother Jiang!" Lin Xin said, puzzled.

"Of course. I think he's also a strong contender for the championship." Jiang Feng thought, That guy is blessed by fate, after all.

"Which contestants do you think have what it takes to win, Brother Jiang?" Lin Xin asked.

The subject also caught Yang Wenzhao's and Jiang Xinran's attention.

Jiang Feng grinned and said confidently, "I hardly need to mention myself. I'm undoubtedly the leading candidate for the championship."

"You're so full of yourself." Jiang Xinran rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't interrupt." Jiang Feng glanced at Jiang Xinran, but paid it no mind and continued, "Next is Sheng Cai'er of the Assassin Temple. I estimate she's around level three of the Fifth Order, and she has a powerful Spirit Furnace."

At the mention of Sheng Cai'er, Jiang Feng couldn't help glancing at Yang Wenzhao.

Yang Wenzhao nodded. Both of them had fought Sheng Cai'er and fully recognized her strength.

"The third is Wenzhao. He took first place in our Knight Temple's preliminary round, so his strength is beyond question." Jiang Feng expressed complete confidence in Yang Wenzhao's ability.

"The fourth is Long Haochen. He's young, but he's no weakling. I won't go into detail-you'll find out when the time comes." Jiang Feng smiled faintly. "The top three will definitely come from the four of us. Anyone who doesn't believe me is welcome to make a bet."

"I trust your judgment, Brother Jiang. But haven't you considered contestants from the other temples-the Warrior Temple, the Soul Temple, and our Magic Temple?" Lin Xin asked.

Jiang Feng glanced at him. "Even you, the Magic Temple's number one, don't have the confidence to make the top three. That says enough about the others. They can't be all that strong either."

"I'm different. I..." Lin Xin had wanted to argue, but suddenly caught himself and fell silent.

"Then who do you think is your strongest opponent, Brother Jiang?" Lin Xin asked again.

"Didn't I just name three? All three of them."

Jiang Feng had actually wanted to name Chen Ying'er of the Soul Temple. Given how unpredictable that girl was, she might get lucky and summon a level-eight magical beast.

How was anyone supposed to fight that? Even Jiang Feng couldn't beat it. Against an enemy two orders higher, even the Child of Light and the Reincarnation Saintess working together would need that cheat, Haoyue, to win.

Speaking of which, Dragon Baby had already been asleep for five days and still hadn't woken up. Jiang Feng had no idea how much longer the evolution would take.

As the four of them sat chatting, Jiang Feng suddenly spotted two more familiar figures in the crowd.

Long Haochen and Li Xin.

However, Jiang Feng had no intention of acknowledging him. Although Long Haochen had known nothing about the incident, it had ultimately happened because of him.

Jiang Feng wasn't a particularly forgiving man. For now, he would keep his grudge against that old fellow Saint Moon to himself and wait to see whether the compensation was truly sincere. Otherwise, he wasn't someone who would simply swallow a loss.

However, while Jiang Feng and Yang Wenzhao wanted nothing to do with Long Haochen, Lin Xin, who didn't know the details, waved him over.

"Brother Jiang, Brother Yang, Miss Xinran, Brother Lin, you're all here so early." Long Haochen greeted them with a smile.

Jiang Feng, Jiang Xinran, and Lin Xin smiled in response, but Yang Wenzhao looked rather uncomfortable.

Just then, a series of taps suddenly sounded in the distance.

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