Chapter 203: Superior and Inferior
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The Qianyuan Sword has not yet advanced to the rank of a half-spiritual weapon, but its core is forged from various spiritual materials. Even though it hasn’t ascended, a hint of spiritual agility still emanates from it.
Mo Yuanfei’s eyes shimmered. It was just a sword embryo, yet its aura was so spirited. This indicates that the spiritual materials used in its forging were quite remarkable. And because it hadn’t fully become a half-spiritual weapon, its current value was actually the highest.
Because many people could continue to nurture it on their own, when it truly advanced, the half-spiritual weapon would connect with their own aura, without any usage hindrance.
“Junior Brother Chen, quite a bold move, but if you wish to challenge Senior Brother Zeng, you’re not qualified yet, unless you defeat me!” Mo Yuanfei couldn’t resist the temptation and spoke out.
“You? You’re too weak. Unless you offer an equivalent wager, I’m willing to have a match with you!”
Chen Fei glanced at Mo Yuanfei. With fifty-seven true transmission disciples, his strength was naturally not as weak as Mo Yuanfei claimed. But wanting to take Chen Fei’s Qianyuan Sword barehanded was wishful thinking.
“What did you say, and who are you calling weak!”
Upon hearing Chen Fei’s words, Mo Yuanfei stood up and stared at Chen Fei. A newly promoted true transmission disciple, ranked last, dared to boast and call him weak?
Did he really think that defeating nine inner disciples granted him the right to say such things? Utterly arrogant.
“I’m talking about you.”
Chen Fei calmly looked at Mo Yuanfei and said, “Do you want to have a match? You don’t even need to offer a wager equivalent to the value of the Qianyuan Sword. Close is enough.”
Having forged the Qianyuan Sword with all his spiritual materials, Chen Fei was more than happy if Mo Yuanfei decided to challenge him. It would be another opportunity to profit.
“You…”
Mo Yuanfei’s anger flared, his eyes fixed on Chen Fei. He said, “I don’t need your wager. Let’s just fight directly. Do you dare?”
“No wager, no deal!”
Chen Fei shook his head, flatly rejecting Mo Yuanfei. Then he turned to Zeng Zaiwen and lightly patted the hilt of the Qianyuan Sword, saying, “Senior Brother Zeng, what do you think?”
Seeing Chen Fei ignore him, Mo Yuanfei clenched his fists in frustration. Within the sect, private matches were prohibited, especially among true transmission disciples.
For a fight, they should go to the sparring grounds. It didn’t matter how intense the fight got there.
Moreover, a lower-ranking true transmission disciple challenging a higher-ranking one required mutual consent. Similarly, when a higher-ranking true transmission disciple challenged a lower-ranking one, consent was required too.
With Chen Fei’s refusal, Mo Yuanfei couldn’t force the situation.
“It’s a good sword. It’s a shame to let it sit there.”
Zeng Zaiwen looked at the Qianyuan Sword, a glint of interest in his eyes. Though Zeng Zaiwen had his own half-spiritual weapon, if he won the Qianyuan Sword, he could sell it for a good price.
Upon hearing that Chen Fei had defeated nine inner disciples and obtained a batch of spiritual materials, Zeng Zaiwen speculated that he had probably invested all of those materials into the Qianyuan Sword.
“About the sword, 1’11 take a look first.”
Zeng Zaiwen extended his right hand, generating a suction force. The Qianyuan Sword trembled slightly, about to fly into Zeng Zaiwen’s hand. Suddenly, a hand rested on the Qianyuan Sword’s hilt.
“If you want to see it, look after you win it.”
Chen Fei placed his right hand on the Qianyuan Sword’s hilt, looking at Zeng Zaiwen. He said, “Not now!”
“Ignorant and presumptuous!”
Mo Yuanfei shouted loudly from the side, then turned to Zeng Zaiwen and said, “Senior Brother Zeng, this guy insists on giving you a gift. Why not accept it and make him understand the concept of respect and hierarchy?”
“You’re right, respect and hierarchy. Some people understand so little of it.
Zeng Zaiwen burst into laughter and glanced at the Qianyuan Sword, then looked up at Chen Fei. He said in a serious tone, “1 accept your challenge, but 1 hope you won’t accuse me of bullying later.”
“In that case, Senior Brother Zeng, let’s proceed to the Hall of True Transmission together.”
Chen Fei remained composed, retracted the Qianyuan Sword, turned, and left the courtyard, heading toward the location of the Hall of True Transmission.
“Congratulations, Senior Brother Zeng, on acquiring a great sword!” Mo Yuanfei lifted the cup of alcohol from the table and toasted Zeng Zaiwen directly.
In Mo Yuanfei’s eyes, Chen Fei was truly ignorant of his own limitations, daring to challenge the tenth-ranked true transmission disciple in such a way. The hard-forged Qianyuan Sword would undoubtedly end up in Zeng Zaiwen’s hands.
“It’s premature to say. I’ll pay a visit to the Hall of True Transmission first. Wait here, and I’ll be back shortly.”
Zeng Zaiwen waved his hand, stating that it was too early to discuss, but a smile had already appeared on his face. It was evident that he had already considered the Qianyuan Sword as his possession.
Being the last-ranked true transmission disciple and a newcomer at that, having practiced true transmission techniques for just a few months, Chen Fei couldn’t be compared to Zeng Zaiwen, who had cultivated for a decade.
If it weren’t for ensuring an absolutely flawless breakthrough to the Aperture Tempering realm, Zeng Zaiwen could have started preparing for his breakthrough. Now that someone had intentionally presented him with such a gift, how could Zeng Zaiwen not be delighted?
“Senior Brother Zeng, as you wish.”
Qi Ziyi, who had remained silent throughout, smiled and spoke. She had been observing all along. Chen Fei’s composure was too apparent; he didn’t seem like a reckless individual.
However, challenging Zeng Zaiwen, especially in such an impulsive manner, left Qi Ziyi puzzled.
Zeng Zaiwen burst into hearty laughter, his figure flickered, leaving an afterimage behind as he vanished from the courtyard.
Watching Zeng Zaiwen’s display of footwork, Mo Yuanfei’s eyes couldn’t help but carry a hint of envy. Mo Yuanfei had also chosen the Soaring Heaven Technique as his true transmission technique, but compared to Zeng Zaiwen, it was undoubtedly much weaker, not even on the same level.
With a distance of several hundred meters left to the Hall of True
Transmission, Zeng Zaiwen overtook Chen Fei from behind. With a whistle, he entered the Hall of True Transmission, leaving a trail of wind in his wake.
Chen Fei smiled faintly, undisturbed, and followed Zeng Zaiwen into the Hall of True Transmission.
The attending disciple of the Hall of True Transmission watched as Zeng Zaiwen and Chen Fei entered one after the other, his eyes widening slightly.
Yesterday, Chen Fei had mentioned challenging Zeng Zaiwen. Now Zeng Zaiwen and Chen Fei had come together. Could it be that Chen Fei was really going to challenge Zeng Zaiwen directly? And Zeng Zaiwen had actually agreed?
Fifteen minutes later, the terms of the wager were set, and both Chen Fei and Zeng Zaiwen signed and sealed the agreement. The Qianyuan Sword was temporarily stored in the Hall of True Transmission. Chen Fei infused it with sufficient energy to prevent it from stagnating.
“Three days from now, a pre-match duel at the sparring grounds. Make sure neither of you is late.”
The attending disciple stored the Qianyuan Sword with a sense of regret. What a fine sword embryo it was. Chen Fei had directly used it as a wager. If he lost this competition, everything he had won previously would be at stake.
It’s as if he’s directly providing a dowry for Zeng Zaiwen, quite a big loss.
“Hahaha, how could I be late for such a great opportunity? Junior Brother Chen, see you in three days!” Zeng Zaiwen looked at Chen Fei, who was nearby, and burst into laughter. He arched his hand in a gesture of farewell and disappeared on the spot.
Chen Fei gave a slight smile, nodded at the attending disciple, and then left the Hall of True Transmission.
An hour later, the news that Chen Fei was going to have a match with Zeng Zaiwen spread throughout the entire sect. Not only did it reach the inner disciples, but even the true transmission disciples heard about it.
Being the last-ranked true transmission disciple and challenging the tenth-ranked true transmission disciple after spanning dozens of ranks was unprecedented in the many years of the Yuanchen Sword Sect’s existence.
For many disciples, this was an unheard-of event.
“1 hope it’s not just a rumor. Why would Chen Fei challenge Zeng Zaiwen? They shouldn’t have had much interaction in such a short time.”
Chen Fei’s recent reputation among the inner disciples was widely known, especially considering his recent feat of challenging and defeating nine inner disciples.
As for Zeng Zaiwen, anyone familiar with the ranking of true transmission disciples wouldn’t be a stranger to his name. Perhaps not every inner disciple knew about all the true transmission disciples, but the top ten were undoubtedly known to all. These were the future reserves for the sect’s Aperture Tempering realm experts.
“At first, I thought I misheard. But after learning more details, it turns out Chen Fei voluntarily challenged Zeng Zaiwen, which led to this match.”
“Why is this Senior Brother Chen doing this? Although he’s strong, his strength is limited to among the inner disciples. The true transmission disciples, especially the higher-ranking ones, are much more powerful.”
“Exactly. Maybe defeating nine inner disciples last time inflated Chen Fei’s confidence.”
“Those nine inner disciples had the same level of cultivation as Chen Fei. But Zeng Zaiwen is at the pinnacle of the Visceral Tempering realm and has been a true transmission disciple for almost a decade. There’s no comparison.”
“Who knows? 1 heard that Chen Fei offered the embryo of his own
half-spiritual sword as a wager. That’s why Zeng Zaiwen agreed to the match.”
“I’d agree too. I’ve heard that the embryo of that half-spiritual sword was forged using all the spiritual materials Chen Fei won last time. Its value already far exceeds that of an ordinary half-spiritual sword.”
“Tsk tsk, this Senior Brother Chen is really committed. Even with confidence, he didn’t have to invest everything like that.”
“If he didn’t invest everything, would Zeng Zaiwen have agreed to the match?” Another person shook their head, clearly not understanding Chen Fei’s actions.
When Chen Fei defeated nine inner disciples, everyone thought his ranking among the true transmission disciples would rise by around twenty to thirty places after a few months. That would already be considered a remarkable achievement.
Unexpectedly, Chen Fei deviated from the usual course of action. In a short span of time, he directly challenged the tenth-ranked true transmission disciple, shocking everyone and leading many to consider him outrageously arrogant.
Discussions among the inner disciples were intense, and the same held true for the true transmission disciples.
Compared to the inner disciples’ distant view of the true transmission rankings, those who were themselves true transmission disciples had a better understanding of Zeng Zaiwen’s strength.
For the past few years, Zeng Zaiwen had firmly held the tenth position among the true transmission disciples. His mastery of the Soaring Heaven Technique was unparalleled. Not only that, but to address his own lack of breakthrough power, Zeng Zaiwen had specifically practiced other sword techniques as well.
Rumors circulated that in a few months, Zeng Zaiwen’s true transmission ranking could likely improve by several spots, rather than merely maintaining the tenth place.
Given this situation, Zeng Zaiwen had been challenged ahead of time, and by a last-ranked newcomer at that.
Perhaps Chen Fei’s strength exceeded that of a last-ranked true transmission disciple, but the gap to the tenth position was significant.. With a bit of caution, wouldn’t it have been more reasonable to gradually climb the rankings, step by step, rather than leaping several spots at once?