"Visitors are never friendly, and friendly visitors never come." Beneath his handsome and striking face, Han Lin's deep and clear eyes gazed at the other person as he thought. Then he comforted himself that what must come would eventually come; ever since the day he beat up the fat guy, he had known such a day would arrive.
The fat guy ingratiatingly said, "I am deeply ashamed for having been defeated by you last time."
"I came this time hoping to get to know you, my friend. Friends are often made through fighting, after all!"
"This is our young sect master, Xie Nan. Why don't you two get acquainted?" the fat guy said.
Han Lin felt things couldn't be that simple. He had beaten the fat guy up—how could the fat guy possibly want to be friends with him? Impossible! His suspicions naturally shifted to the young sect master, Xie Nan.
Directly opposite him in the middle of the square stood a tall, upright figure. Between his brows lingered a hint of disdain; his skin was as white as jade, his hair long and slightly wavy, and he moved with effortless grace in a brown robe. With his arms crossed over his chest, he provocatively said, "Young hero Han Lin, I hear your martial arts are formidable. How about making a wager today?"
"What kind of wager?" Han Lin asked in surprise.
"If you win, I'll give you five thousand low-grade spirit stones. If you lose, you hand your family's medicinal field over to me."
"This deal is all profit and no loss for you," Xie Nan calculated.
Spirit stones were graded from high to low into four tiers: supreme, upper, middle, and lower. Han Lin thought to himself, *Five thousand low-grade spirit stones is too little. I want to play for higher stakes with him.*
"Young Sect Master Xie Nan, five thousand spirit stones are far too few. At the very least, it has to be ten thousand spirit stones," Han Lin said loudly.
That medicinal field had been with his father for his entire life, and he thought to himself that he couldn't use the field as a stake, lest he ruin his father's life work in a single stroke.
Seeing his hesitation, his father beckoned to him and shouted, "Get him to raise it to ten thousand spirit stones, and I'll agree to your wager!"
Xie Nan, standing opposite, pondered for a moment and said, "Ten thousand spirit stones it is! Don't think for a second that I'm afraid of you."
"That guy is the young sect master of the Yunlan Sect after all. Could he possibly fail to cough up ten thousand spirit stones?" Gou Dan and the outer sect disciples whispered among themselves.
Han Longsheng had also figured it out: he would take a bold gamble this time. If they won, they would get ten thousand spirit stones. Not only could he set up a proper household for his son and get him a wife, but he could even buy another good piece of land afterward. Actually, land wasn't expensive—it was the spiritual herbs grown on it that cost a fortune.
Seeing that his father agreed, Han Lin said, "A bet's a bet! Don't think this young master is afraid of you!"
The formal duel was about to begin, and he couldn't afford to take it lightly this time. Han Lin mused, *The opponent's background is no small matter, and his cultivation has actually reached the Foundation Establishment mid-stage. How should I handle this? No need to panic—although I only appear to be at the Qi Condensation stage 3rd Layer, thanks to mastering the advanced cultivation technique in the incomplete manual recently, I can still handle this match. This guy is very strong, but that Purple Spirit Sword in his hand is merely a mid-grade magical tool, so there's nothing to fear.*
Elder Shen was acting as the referee for this match, and he certainly wouldn't give him any pointers; he would have to rely entirely on himself. Shen Wan'er, quick-witted and eccentric with a calm-as-water expression between her brows, was also standing among the disciples at that moment, everyone feeling rather anxious over his strength. But the words were already out; there was no way he could refuse to fight.
Right in the center, Elder Shen announced in a loud voice, "The duel begins!"
Xie Nan wielded the Purple Spirit Sword, its purple sword-light striking like a thunderbolt, swift as a soaring dragon and rapid as flowing water, stabbing toward Han Lin like lightning. Han Lin evaded it as gracefully as drifting clouds, gathered his spiritual qi, and slammed a palm strike onto Xie Nan, roaring like a tiger as he knocked Xie Nan flying. A wave of sharp pain seized Xie Nan's chest, and as he lashed out with the sword in his hand, the blade-light slashed across Han Lin's shoulder, leaving him bleeding profusely.
The scene before them made the disciples think Han Lin was about to lose. The opponent's sword darted back and forth through the air. Pulling himself together and enduring the searing pain of his wound, Han Lin flashed here and there, moved his spiritual consciousness, and drew out his Heavenly-grade magical tool, the Divine Thunder Spear. The Divine Thunder Spear directly summoned a divine thunder formation, and the web-like divine thunder fell upon the ground like fine rain from the sky, alternating between sudden flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder. It was utterly terrifying and immensely daunting.
At that moment, the Purple Spirit Sword and the Divine Thunder Spear collided, as if the very space was about to shatter. The ground was blasted out into several pits, and bluestone shattered all over the floor.Reply with only the corrected sentence. Both sides retreated by a zhang each, with Xie Nan gaining the upper hand. Han Lin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth; as the blood fused with the Divine Thunder Spear, its power surged explosively. The might of the thunder bore down upon Xie Nan, and as the magical tools clashed, sparks flew in all directions. With a deafening roar, Xie Nan was sent flying several yards away, spitting a mouthful of blood after hitting the ground, while Han Lin landed from the air.
With a haggard expression, he asked, "Xie Nan, do you yield? If you've got the guts, get up and fight me again."
At this moment, Xie Nan, his chest heavily injured, said, "You won. I concede." He motioned for the fat guy to toss out a Storage Ring, which contained a full ten thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Elder Shen joyfully exclaimed, "Fine lad! You've really made this old man look at you in a new light today!"
"Not only have you saved face for our Zixiao Sect, but the Zixiao Sect's prestige is growing greater by the day."
Inside and outside the square, cheers erupted as everyone discussed how formidable Han Lin's strength truly was, the Divine Thunder Spear striking terror into the hearts of the gathered disciples.
The senior disciple Li Chao said, "From now on, let's see who dares to run wild on Zixiao Sect territory."
Shen Wan'er walked to Han Lin's side and said with concern, "This is a Body-Restoration Pill. Swallow it quickly; it can recover your spiritual qi and heal your internal injuries."
"Senior Brother, from now on we can take on sect missions together." After taking the Body-Restoration Pill, Han Lin said to his junior sister, "You little imp, I'll protect you, heh heh!" Shen Wan'er teased, "Who's protecting whom is far from certain!"
This showed that Shen Wan'er, this little girl, had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage.