Chapter 43 – Refusal to Accept
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But at this moment, Muyi opened his mouth and said with a smile, “How about I take up that bet with Elder Xu?”
“Mm?” Elder Xu was startled as he heard this. He did not think that Muyi would open his loud mouth and speak such words at that time, moreover with such a smiling expression and happy laugh as if he were filled with confidence.
That moment caused Elder Xu’s confidence to shake a little. Was it possible that this boy Lin Ming had some sort of hidden card up his sleeve that he did not know of? But he could not reason out why this mere medium third-grade talent could in any way exceed the superior fourth-grade talent Wang Yanfeng. He had also spoken such high and haughty words in the presence of so many peers. He had already jumped on the tiger, how could he get off now? So Elder Xu could only clench his teeth as he said, “Good, of course, what would Mister Muyi like to bet?”
Muyi smiled and said, “For something of this nature, a casual bet should be alright. It’s best not to harm friendly relations; I think a treasure of the human-step should be fine.”
Human-step treasure! Could this still be called something casual?
The corners of Elder Xu’s mouth twitched. Muyi had been a famous inscription master for so many years that out of everyone present, he was without a doubt the one with the most wealth.
Elder Xu clenched his teeth and said, “Good, then I will bet a low-grade human-step treasure, a spatial ring.
The spatial ring was a type of interspatial storage treasure. You could carry it anywhere on your body and use it to store any type of goods that you wanted. This sort of treasure was very difficult to refine, so its value was also several times higher than something at a similar grade. A human-step low-grade spatial ring would be approximately the same worth as a middle-grade human-step treasure.
“Great.” Muyi readily agreed. He laughed casually, giving off a feeling of self-satisfied assurance.
The matter of Lin Ming as the first place candidate was thus decided.
However the inspection had already carried on for most of the day, and it was already a late hour. The results would be announced tomorrow in the afternoon; besides Lin Ming as first place, the second through tenth place spots also had to be assessed. The age, results, and talent of these remaining candidates would have to be discussed between the Seven Profound Martial House elders to decide.
“Xingxuan, let’s go greet Lin Ming.” Muyi said as he stood up. Although Lin Ming had awoken by now, Muyi was sitting with the Seven Profound Martial House elders, so Lin Ming naturally did not walk towards them.
“Mm.” Qin Xingxuan nodded. As the Seven Profound Martial House elders had talked, Qin Xingxuan had shown etiquette and courtesy for her elders and had been sitting silently and peacefully at one side. But the truth was that in terms of status within the Seven Profound Martial House, Qin Xingxuan was on equal footing with these elders.
This was because Qin Xingxuan was the most talented core disciples who, if in the future all things went smoothly with no major accident, would enter the Seven Profound Valleys and become an official disciple.
This was the greatest glory. It must be known that even the Heavenly Abode’s number one senior apprentice Ling Sen had no chance of entering the Seven Profound Valleys. The only slight glimmer of hope he had was if he could reach the peak of Body Transformation – the Pulse Condensation boundary, in a short time.
But reaching that distant boundary was easier said than done. Ling Sen was twenty years old and was only at the peak of the Fourth Stage of Body Transformation.
In the evening, Lin Ming and Muyi chatted with each other before Lin Ming returned to his bedroom that the Seven Profound Martial House had prepared for all candidates. He rested in the bedroom and meditated.
A quiet night passed.
It was the afternoon of the second day and the weather was clear and beautiful. In the Seven Profound Martial House contest field, many important figures were gathered. Among them were the 53 candidates who had successfully passed.
Today was the announcement of results.
After an evening of debating, the final results had been decided.
When Lin Ming arrived at the field, the people gathered there sent him frequent looks filled with envy, jealousy, and even some admiration. Lin Ming had become famous after a single night. Reaching the fifth floor of the Exquisite Pagoda, even the senior apprentices of the Heavenly Abode paid attention to him.
“Congratulations.” At this time a slightly cold voice sounded. Lin Ming followed it to see Wang Yanfeng standing nearby holding both hands to his chest with a fake smile. “Your luck is truly good. A mere medium third-grade talent could reach the fifth floor, ah, incredible, incredible!”
Wang Yanfeng spoke very loudly, and the people around them heard him. They were surprised that Lin Ming was only a third-grade talent. Although a third-grade talent was a one in a hundred cream of the crop talent, in the Seven Profound Martial House this could be considered only ordinary. They thought that Lin Ming was at least a superior fourth-grade talent; how could it be that he was just a medium third-grade talent?
The surrounding people immediately began talking, and Wang Yanfeng heard this all with a smile on this face. Yesterday he had especially sent his lackeys to look up Lin Ming’s talent.
“You, the one called Lin Ming, I do not know when a stray dog like you managed to eat some rare herb in your childhood and nor do I care, but if you think that you can rely on this to pressure me and win against me, then go and daydream some more! You just have a bit of good luck and you think your combat prowess is good? Using inborn divine strength to deal with the clumsy, stupid beasts of the Exquisite Pagoda is easy, but if you want to challenge a real human? Humph, with your stupid little basic skills you probably learnt from some cow, you think you can actually defeat a real person?”
The truth was that yesterday in the Exquisite Pagoda, Wang Yanfeng had also killed the two Iron Armor Bears of the fourth floor, but he had been fatally wounded and thus kicked out. This made Wang Yanfeng feel aggrieved. If only he could have lasted one more breath, he could also have entered the fifth floor.
If only he had entered the fifth floor then he would have had the same result. Wang Yanfeng could not believe that Lin Ming achieved anything on the fifth floor even though he was there for a quarter of an hour. Wang Yanfeng believed he would only have had about 10% of his true essence left and would only have run away like a little dog with his tail between his legs to pass that time.
Wang Yanfeng’s fault had been that he was too eager for quick success and to immediately pass the fourth floor. The result was that he had to resort to desperate, all out tactics. If he had slowly taken his time to deal with the two Iron Armor Bears, he would not have been fatally injured.
Moreover the most important part was that in the Exquisite Pagoda, he could not use his rare equipment!
Without his treasures, Wang Yanfeng could not fully utilize the power of his secret family skill, the ‘Nine Paths of Truth’. Its might would be greatly reduced which would cause his striking power to fall, resulting in him having such a hard time passing the fourth floor.
But in battles of martial artists, treasures and equipment were not forbidden, just like pills. They were items that belonged to the superiority that one’s own family would bring, and were also a part of a martial artist’s total strength.
Wang Yanfeng touched his saber and looked at Lin Ming with a face colored with absolute contempt.
“If I could only use the Nine Truth Saber, then killing you would be easier than killing a chicken!” Wang Yanfeng viciously thought in his heart though he did not say these words aloud. “How could I possibly lose to you! Not even in the future, but even now I would win!”
The thick tension in the air was palpable. Lin Ming did not respond to or dispute Wang Yanfeng’s words, as he did not want a needless conflict. He was also disinclined to pay any attention to this Wang Yanfeng.
“Stop. My family’s son is speaking with you. Are you deaf? Are you stupid? Can you not hear? A lackey bossily said as he stood by Wang Yanfeng’s side.
The servant’s speech was coarser than the master’s. Lin Ming stopped his footsteps, calmly turned around, and gave the man a shiver-inducing glare. “This is the Seven Profound Martial House contest field. How could a little lackey like you who is only at the First Stage of Body Transformation come on?”
“You….!” The scolded lackey turned red in the face with anger and shame. According to regulations, he really did not have the qualifications to enter.
The atmosphere was strained, but at this moment an elder of the Seven Profound Martial House walked up on a stage and said, “Quiet. We will now announce the results of the entrance exam.”
The people downstage naturally silenced themselves. Even the lackey could only curse in his heart and he silently stood there.
The elder took out a long list and said, “For this examinations results, candidates were judged on the results of the three trials, their age, and their talent. All three factors were considered and discussed for the final assessment by the elders. Now we will announce the first ten as follows. Tenth place, Zhou Zhenyang, prize: ten Soul Gathering Pellets. Ninth…”
The elder slowly announced the results in an unhurried voice until he reached the second place…
“Second place, Wang Yanfeng, prize: a Golden Snake Scarlet Pill. First place, Lin Ming, prize: a Crimson Gold Dragon Marrow Pill. The results have been announced. Congratulations everyone. If there are no objections, then we have invited Elder Sun to hand out the awards.”
“Wait a moment! I have an objection!” Wang Yanfeng raised his hand. The Seven Profound Martial House’s Elder Xu was his father’s good friend, so he had already known the results of the assessment. This time he had objected because of Elder Xu’s advice.
“Mm? What objection do you have?” said the elder who had read out the announcement as he frowned.
Wang Yanfeng smiled and stepped out to the front of the square. His voice was clear and resounded as he said, “As far as I know, Lin Ming’s talent is only a mere medium third-grade. My talent is superior fourth-grade. The elder earlier said that the results for the final assessment take into account the three trials, age, and talent. The final decision-making is in the elder’s hands, but the subjective factor is just too big. I refuse to accept the choice for first place candidate.”
To Wang Yanfeng, the Crimson Gold Dragon Marrow Pill was something he could absolutely not give up. If he had this pill, he was confident that he could break through the Fourth Stage of Body Transformation before he was eighteen years old, and even reach the peak of the Fourth Stage before he was twenty. With such strength at his disposal, he wouldn’t even necessarily lose to the Heavenly Abode’s senior apprentice, Ling Sen.
If this happened, then no one in his family would doubt his status anymore.
At this time, Elder Sun stood up and with a cold snort said, “You dare to question the final assessment of the elders?” This cold snort was filled with true essence. As it came out, those in the periphery were shocked with an icy chill as the temperature dropped several degrees. Wang Yanfeng could not bear the brunt of this disdainful pressure and was forced back several steps.
“Sun Sifan, an elder like you is bullying the young?” Elder Xu said as he also stood. He did not originally like Sun Sifan either.
By now Wang Yanfeng said, “Elder Sun, please calm down, I do not dare to question the elders’ decisions, but I only think that it is not fair. In the third examination trial I also killed both vicious beasts. It was only because I was too hasty for victory that I became fatally injured and was unable to step into the fifth floor. If I had progressed slowly then I too would have achieved the fifth floor.”
“Therefore I cannot do anything else but refuse to accept this result. I do not believe my strength is worse than Lin Ming’s!”
“Then what do you want?”
“Simple. I want to fight Lin Ming. If I lose, I will completely admit defeat. But if I win, then I want the first place candidate spot to be turned over to me!” Wang Yanfeng suddenly swiveled to Lin Ming and with provocation in his voice said, “Lin Ming, do you dare!?”