Chapter 31: A Surprise for the Master
Watching the group of people leave, Mushroom breathed a sigh of relief, but her small face soon showed worry as she looked at Xia Feng.
“Feng, his Spirit Artifact is the Forest Scepter, renowned as invincible among those of the same rank. Are you sure you want to fight him?”
Xia Feng seemed lost in thought, his brows furrowed as he stared at the bright moon in the night sky.
The pocket watch hanging from Pingshan Yan Xujia’s chest was indeed engraved with the words ‘Pingshan,’ which gave him a very strange feeling.
He always felt that the very realistic dream he had a few days ago was guiding him towards something.
As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.
But if he didn’t figure out what was going on with his “unborn wife,” he would be restless.
“It’s annoying,” Xia Feng muttered.
“Hey! Are you even listening to me!” Mushroom pouted and patted Xia Feng’s cheek.
Xia Feng casually pushed her hand away. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
*Grumble~*
As soon as he spoke, Mushroom’s stomach voiced her agreement.
She froze, then after a moment of silence, she whispered, “I, I’m actually okay. I wanted to wait for you to come back. But Blue was starving, so I ordered takeout for her. I didn’t expect Blue to come out to find food herself, and then—then—”
As she spoke, the emotions that had been building up suddenly broke, and her small pearls could no longer stop falling. Her eyes were red, “I’m sorry! If I hadn’t gone out, I wouldn’t have conflicted with Yan Xujia and them, and I wouldn’t have caused you to have a duel with him.”
“Tsk tsk, I never thought the great Lord Mushroom would be so cute when crying~” Xia Feng rubbed his chin, nodding with interest. “Cry more, I like watching it~”
The girl in her bear pajamas stopped sobbing abruptly—
She was so amused that she instinctively wanted to laugh, but her voice still sounded like crying, with large pearls sliding down her cheeks that her small hands couldn’t wipe away.
Annoyed, she hit Xia Feng’s shoulder, trying to speak, but it was as if a pebble was stuck in her throat. “You—you—”
This was probably the tear-incontinence physique. When emotions surged, she couldn’t control them. Often, she would hold back words in her throat and couldn’t even speak, making her jump with frustration.
“Alright, alright~” Xia Feng patted her little head. “Let’s go. You must be hungry too. I’ll cook for you.”
“Blue, keep up,” Xia Feng snapped his fingers.
The white Persian cat, which had been quietly squatting under the streetlight, stood up, shook its fur, and followed the man with a proud cat-like gait.
Mushroom blinked and quickly followed.
It took her a long time to calm down, wipe away her tears, and sit at the dining table, her voice returning to normal. “Feng, I’m serious. Yan Xujia is not easy to deal with.”
“You can rest assured. He has the Forest Scepter, but my Spirit Artifact is not to be trifled with either,” Xia Feng explained as he placed a fruit salad in front of Blue and turned to her.
“Oh?” Mushroom was stunned for a moment, then reacted, her eyes widening in disbelief. “Your Spirit Energy has been unsealed?”
“Mmm,” Xia Feng didn’t intend to play dumb in front of Mushroom to avoid her worry.
Hearing this, Mushroom was still a bit shocked. She knew how small the probability of unsealing Spirit Energy was, and it was even rarer to unseal it at eighteen.
Moreover, judging by Xia Feng’s confident demeanor, the Spirit Artifact level was likely not low. Although Mushroom still found it hard to imagine how Xia Feng could defeat Yan Xujia, she didn’t ask further about the specific abilities of the Spirit Artifact.
After all, that was private information.
In fact, one of the reasons Xia Feng initiated the bet was for Yan Xujia’s Spirit Artifact. Yan Xujia’s fame for being invincible among those of the same rank relied on his Spirit Artifact—the Forest Scepter.
Such a famous Spirit Artifact was too tempting not to copy and play with, Xia Feng mused.
Seeing Xia Feng’s confidence, Mushroom felt a little relieved and said softly, “Then, alright. If there’s anything you need my help with, just say the word.”
“Mmm, actually, there is one thing.”
“What?” A flicker of joy appeared in Mushroom’s eyes. She was afraid she couldn’t help.
Xia Feng had earned two hundred and forty thousand in the past few days. After repaying the loan, paying the rent, and buying some summoning materials, he only had one hundred and ten thousand left.
The academy’s fair duels did not restrict external help, as long as it wasn’t from evil gods, it wasn’t considered cheating. Therefore, he decided to buy an “Unsolvable Stone” that could temporarily upgrade Spirit Artifacts, just in case.
However, the market price for an Unsolvable Stone was two hundred thousand, an astronomical figure for a poor person like him.
Luckily, he knew quite a few rich women.
Xia Feng thought for a moment and stated the amount: “Lend me a hundred thousand.”
*Screeeech—*
Pulling out a stool, the girl in her bear pajamas shuffled in her slippers into the bedroom. After a clatter, she emerged with slightly messy curly hair.
*Slap—*
A black gold card was slapped onto the dining table. Mushroom raised her chin, stood before Xia Feng, and smiled proudly, “One million, use it as you please!”
“.”
This scene felt strangely familiar.
* * *
The Divine Hall.
Moon Dew Lotus Pool.
A woman in a snow-white dress, wearing a beret tilted on her head, stood in the center of the pool. The water in the pool formed a vortex around her, then vaporized into star-like flowing light that entered her palm.
Using stardust as ink, she drew letters in the air, forming obscure and complex programs. As time passed, more and more programs surrounded heaven and earth, like a canopy of stars.
Until a certain moment, Cha Nai Xue suddenly stopped writing, her delicate brows furrowed. She closed her eyes and sighed softly.
The S-grade Spirit Robe ‘Moon God Domain’ was indeed the most difficult Spirit Robe she had encountered so far. Even with the help of the Moon Dew Lotus Pool to comprehend it, her progress remained slow.
After studying for several months, her progress was still stuck at the underlying Spirit Particle structure, let alone the tens of thousands of complex formulas that followed.
Simply put, her progress was stuck at 1%.
She knew this kind of thing couldn’t be rushed. After all, with enough time, the underlying structure would eventually break through. However, another quasi-saintess in the Northern Territory had successfully broken through a few days ago.
One step behind, and you’re a step behind in everything.
She didn’t like this feeling of chasing after others.
However, it was said that the one in the Northern Territory was following the “Dual Moon” path.
Logically, Dual Moon should be much harder to cultivate than Solitary Moon. But her latest calculation had suddenly revealed that several Spirit Particle structures that were difficult to construct would actually be much easier through the Dual Moon path, but it required extremely high mutual understanding between the two parties.
Perhaps this was the key to why the person in the Northern Territory could break through 1% so quickly.
Thinking of this, Xia Feng’s figure involuntarily appeared in Cha Nai Xue’s mind.
Xia Feng’s promotion to First-stage was originally an event with a very low probability, which was why she had made her choice based on profit.
But in this world, some good luck always befell some people. This was what was called destiny. Although she was a little surprised, she was not shocked.
Since Xia Feng was already a First-stage Spirit Master, he was qualified to cultivate Dual Moon.
“Perhaps… I should really try Dual Moon with him.” Her expression wavered, filled with hesitation.
However, what made her indecisive was that compared to cooperating with others, she preferred to trust her own abilities.
After a long period of contemplation, she lowered her head. “Forget it, I won’t obsess over it.”
She took a deep breath, looked up, her eyes firm, and made up her mind: “Five more days. If it still doesn’t work, I’ll come out of seclusion and switch to Dual Moon!”
Besides, her progress with Solitary Moon was less than 1%, so switching to Dual Moon wouldn’t result in too much loss.
The only difficulty was that she had estranged Xia Feng for several months and had actively introduced him to a fiancée. Xia Feng might harbor considerable resentment towards her.
But luckily, according to her calculations, the probability of Xia Feng liking her was still above 90%, and the two were not hostile to each other.
As long as she explained things properly and relied on their childhood affection, the probability of winning back this childhood sweetheart was as high as 99.99%.
Easy peasy!
* * *
“Yan Xujia! What have you done?!”
In a certain manor, by a quiet fireplace, a胖子 wearing glasses was furious.
Yan Xujia wore an unbuttoned deep red suit and sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. He slowly savored the red wine in his glass, completely indifferent to Panda’s angry roar.
Seeing this, Panda’s gaze gradually turned cold. “I don’t care if you went to get the Master’s token of love back, but last night—”
“Enough! Fatty Panda, I’m just having a fair duel with that kid, not trying to kill him.” Yan Xujia glanced sideways at Panda.
!
“Heh~” Panda let out a cold laugh. “Just a fair duel? What’s the difference between that and killing him? With your abilities, you could cripple him in three moves. Do you think I don’t know your dirty little thoughts?”
Hearing this, Yan Xujia chuckled, “Tsk tsk, you figured it out? As expected of someone smart, valued by the Master.”
Panda’s small eyes under his shiny lenses narrowed, and a glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
“But don’t worry, Fatty Panda.” Yan Xujia said with a cold laugh, “crippling that kid is just to teach him a lesson. I’ll pay to restore him later, I won’t really cripple him.”
Saying this, Yan Xujia’s eyes narrowed slightly. He indeed wouldn’t cripple the surname Xia in the academy. After all, it wouldn’t be too late to cripple him properly when Xia Feng went to the Southern Border.
Seeing that Yan Xujia still intended to harm Xia Feng during the duel, Panda frowned but couldn’t be bothered to persuade him further.
Although Yan Xujia’s actions would make the Master and Xia Feng completely hostile, it wasn’t a major issue.
It was just a pity that given Xia Feng’s current talent, his future achievements would undoubtedly be significant. However, with Yan Xujia’s interference, he would probably be completely unusable by the Master.
But so be it. Xia Feng’s existence had always had an impact on the Master’s cultivation. Becoming an opponent now might actually be better.
After all, hatred was also a way to dilute the “positive emotional bond line” before the age of eighteen.
Panda stood by the fireplace, the roaring flames reflecting on his shiny glasses. He crossed his arms and pondered.
The Master had said that she no longer had any feelings for Xia Feng. Logically, the bond line should have blurred. But after undergoing the “Bond Test,” it was discovered that the bond line still existed clearly. So there was only one possibility—
Xia Feng still had feelings for the Master.
If Yan Xujia had been able to kill Xia Feng, this bond line would have been perfectly severed.
It was a shame that Yan Xujia, this idiot, had failed.
If only the Master were like the quasi-saintess in District 3, with a slightly lower moral standard, willing to exterminate relatives and betray friends, or kill her husband to achieve enlightenment, it wouldn’t be so troublesome.
However, it now seemed that perhaps making Xia Feng hate the Master might be a good option. Having figured this out, Panda glanced at Yan Xujia thoughtfully.
“Fine, Yan Xujia, I won’t stop you this time.”
Yan Xujia didn’t expect this fatty to come to such a conclusion after his change of expression. He was a little surprised. “Really?”
“Of course, go ahead and do it.” Panda gave a mysterious smile. “As long as you don’t cripple Xia Feng, it’s not impossible to teach him a little lesson.”
Thinking this, he turned his head to look at the female knight who had been huddled in a corner of the sofa, drinking milk tea.
There were already more than a dozen empty milk tea cups on the table.
“Yin, what do you think about this?” Panda asked.
The female knight wore heroic silver armor, but her expression was blank. She looked up in confusion. “Are you asking me?”
“Yes,” Panda blinked.
“Oh…” The female knight looked down at the sofa, then looked up blankly. “I’ll watch while sitting.”
“.” Panda turned his head back to the fireplace expressionlessly. As expected, he shouldn’t have asked this foolish woman for her opinion.
Let it be. If it could truly dilute the bond line through hatred, that would be good. Panda looked out at the bright moon and smiled slightly. “When the Master comes out of seclusion from the Moon Dew Lotus Pool, perhaps she can give the Master a surprise.”
* * *
“I need an explanation.”
In the car, Uncle Wei stared at Xia Feng with a stern expression. “What exactly is this fair duel about?”
“This is a long story,” Xia Feng glanced at the liquor cabinet. “Speaking of which, do you have any soy milk, Old Wei? I’m thirsty.”
*Dong Dong—*
Uncle Wei tapped his cane, his expressionless.
“Fine, fine,” Xia Feng said helplessly and briefly explained what happened last night.
In fact, no one knew who had secretly fanned the flames of public opinion, but in just one day, the entire academy knew about his fair duel with Yan Xujia.
Even the tickets for the duel on Friday were sold out, and scalpers were working overtime to resell them.
A VIP front-row ticket could sell for as high as thirty thousand Imperial Coins.
However, after thinking about it, Xia Feng found it somewhat normal.
After all, Yan Xujia’s undefeated myth was quite famous in both the academy and the Holy See. He had many female fans and quite a few male fans.
As for Xia Feng, well, apart from being handsome, he was useless and not famous at all.
However, in the past few days, he had acquired two titles: “a dog who plays the pig to eat the tiger” and “a spawn that defiles Mu Shen.” He had accumulated a considerable number of anti-fans.
When these anti-fans formed a united force online, he believed he would not be far from becoming famous. That’s great!
“Xia Feng, do you know who you’re facing? Yan Xujia is not some nobody like Qi Xiao.” Uncle Wei rubbed his temples with a headache.
“He’s from the Yan family of the Northern Territory, a great noble family whose Marquis title has been hereditary for nearly a thousand years. To stand firm for a thousand years in a place like the Northern Territory, which has been plagued by war, the terrifying foundation it possesses is something that you, and even I, cannot imagine.”
“You both have extraordinary talent, but a true genius needs talent, resources, and time to achieve true success.” Uncle Wei’s expression was solemn. “And you only have talent. You’ve only just emerged a few days ago. How can you contend with the son of a Marquis?”
Seeing Uncle Wei so serious, Xia Feng fell silent.
Indeed, Old Wei’s words were not wrong. Weiyang Academy was not lacking in geniuses. Every year, there were a few exceptionally talented individuals, but in the end, they all lost to true geniuses.
His actions were essentially not challenging Yan Xujia, but challenging the powerful foundation accumulated by a Marquis family over a thousand years.
It was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
“But I’m sorry, you have a Marquis father, and I have a Mu Shen mother. You’re a genius, I’m a cheat!” Xia Feng thought about it. Ordinary geniuses indeed couldn’t beat true geniuses, but a cheat was different.
With Mu Shen in hand, I have the world!
Coupled with the “Mirror of Bronze” Spirit Artifact ability, he had nothing to fear.
“So, kid, you can reconsider.”
Uncle Wei said solemnly, “If you’ve thought it through, I can go to Lord Earl and discuss this matter, cancel the fair duel, and you can apologize to Yan Xujia. We’ll try to downplay the situation so that it doesn’t end too embarrassingly.”
