As the sky began to brighten, Jiang Xiaofan climbed down from the mountain to tell Tang You and the others that he would be gone for a brief while. After reaching the ninth heaven of Micro Realm, he was in a really good mood and decided that it was time for some relaxation.
Where to relax? Does this even need to be asked? When a man is ready to relax, he is, of course, off to see beautiful women!
Correct, Jiang Xiaofan's destination was the Heavenly Maiden Peak. He believed that the little fellow would be happy to see him again, and perhaps, Ye Yuanxue would be delighted with his presence and hug him again.
"Yeah. If she hugs me again, I'll definitely hug her back. I can't miss out!"
Jiang Xiaofan broke into a sly smile as he shamelessly lingered on this thought. He looked no different than a lecher as of this moment.
Just then, an unexpected event occurred. Jiang Xiaofan was obstructed by a group of people at the base of Standstill Peak. The leader of the group was a young man who donned black from head to toe. The look in his eyes was sharp.
"Jiang Xiaofan?"
The man's hands were crossed behind his back,
"That would be me," replied Jiang Xiaofan hesitantly and nodded.
*Boom*
Without saying anything, the young man directly assailed him. His right grip was in the form of a dragon claw[1] as he aimed for Jiang Xiaofan's neck.
Very powerful!
The color drained from Jiang Xiaofan's face. His assailant was frightening. This was the same feeling that he sensed from his encounter with Zhu Xidao. In other words, this man's cultivation was on par with Zhu Xidao's.
*Swoosh*
Jiang Xiaofan was fortunate enough that he had advanced to another heaven earlier. As a result, his Shadow Steps had gotten more sophisticated. He transformed into a green light and avoided the black-robed man's claw before appearing five meters away from the attack zone.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Jiang Xiaofan's expression became cold.
The people behind the black-robed man were so shocked that their mouths were agape, and their expressions varied greatly as they reexamined Jiang Xiaofan. He avoided his attack! How is it even possible?!
The black-robed man narrowed his eyes and responded icily, "You have skills."
After that, the black-robed man kept silent. His hands remained crossed behind his back and stood upright to the side. The look in his eyes was stone-cold, appearing as if everything in the world was under his control and in the palms of his hands. His eyes appeared glacial. The way he looked at Jiang Xiaofan was akin to that of peering at an ant.
"This is my Ying Shixiong from the Heavenly Sun Peak. He just came out of closed-door training today and is here to seek justice!"
Someone behind the black-robed man walked forth and angrily glared at Jiang Xiaofan as he explained. The others in the group smirked. Since the black-robed man had made his move, flattery wouldn't be able to save Jiang Xiaofan's hide. The only option left for Jiang Xiaofan is to be subdued.
Over the past few weeks, Jiang Xiaofan had beaten up the Heavenly Sun Peak's disciples twice already. The first time was when he detained them to renovate the dilapidated complex. The second time was when he beat up Wang Chong and the others to half-death. Even now, they were still lying in bed.
To those from the main sect, this was utter humiliation. Unable to suffer any longer at Jiang Xiaofan's hands of defeat, the inner disciples reported to Ying Tianyang immediately after he came out of closed-door training yesterday, pleading the black-robed man to subdue Jiang Xiaofan and to restore honor to the Heavenly Sun Peak.
The black-robed man's name was Ying Tianyang. He was the Heavenly Sun Peak's core disciple. The Emperor's Heaven Sect had seven main peaks, and each peak had one core disciple. Zhu Xidao was the strongest of them all; thus, he was known as the number one core disciple. As for Ying Tianyang, he was no weakling either since among the seven, he was second only to Zhu Xidao.
In addition, he had another shocking identity. Ying Tianyang was the son of the Heavenly Sun Peak's leader. Therefore, he, like Zhu Xidao, had considerable influence over the sect. Not only was he an extremely formidable cultivator, but his personality was also overbearing. Once he had heard the report of Jiang Xiaofan clashing twice with his inner disciples, Ying Tianyang merely sneered and proceeded to confront Jiang Xiaofan head-on.
Because of his pride and arrogance, Ying Tianyang refused to climb the steps of Standstill Peak. It was beneath his status to do such a thing.
Jiang Xiaofan calmed down and coolly answered, "It was their own foolishness that caused all of this. They intruded upon Standstill Peak and repaid their peer's kindness with enmity by relentlessly attacking him. From these two incidents alone, they have already severely violated the sect's rules. I only taught them a lesson with my fists in the hopes that they could learn from their mistakes. Even if you report to the leader of the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation, I'm still in the right!"
The colors on the disciples' faces turned ashen. This was because Jiang Xiaofan had spoken the truth. Wang Chong and the others had indeed violated the sect's rules, particularly the latter incident in which they had violently assaulted their fellow peer. This was an extremely serious offense. It was obvious that they knew of the consequences and thus, decided to beat Xiao Ping in the remote area of the bamboo forest, away from prying eyes.
"So what?!" Ying Tianyang casually retorted. He glanced at Jiang Xiaofan and countered, "I only know that someone has raised a hand against my peak's disciples. That's enough for me."
Domineering and strong! So this is the real Ying Tianyang!
"What do you want from me?" Jiang Xiaofan queried.
"Duel me. The winner will live on while the loser will die," replied Ying Tianyang.
Jiang Xiaofan remained silent because he discovered that Lin Quan and Tang You had appeared. Lin Quan mustered his courage, walked forth, and directly looked Ying Tianyang in the eyes, and sullenly stated, "Ying Shixiong, you're a Phantom Saint cultivator and our Boss isn't even at the Realm of Dust yet. This duel isn't very fair!"
During these past few days, thanks to the influence of Jiang Xiaofan, Lin Quan and Tang You had grown more valiant. However, against the Emperor's Heaven Sect number two core disciple, they more or less feared him. The fact that they could stand up and talk to Ying Tianyang was already an impressive feat.
Ying Tianyang snorted *hmph*, and his eyes were sharper than ever. Stunned, Lin Quan's complexion grew pale. Ying Tianyang then unsheathed his Sky Saber and frostily retaliated, "I, Ying Tianyang, will never take advantage of anyone!"
He turned around and bore his eyes into Jiang Xiaofan. His gaze was ensuring and exuded an air of supremacy. "During the duel, I will suppress my cultivation to your level. Well? Are you daring enough to take on my challenge?!"
Lin Quan and Tang You were astounded. Ying Tianyang's contempt could not be more clearly conveyed. The ones behind Ying Tianyang were taken aback as well, but they soon icily sneered. They had absolute confidence that even if Ying Tianyang suppressed his cultivation to the Micro Realm, Jiang Xiaofan would still be no match for him.
Ignoring their reactions, a piece of white paper materialized from within Ying Tianyang's body. He raised his right hand and channeled forth his mighty spiritual energy. Not long after, a letter of consent was already written and appeared before Jiang Xiaofan.
Lin Quan and Tang You shook their heads at Jiang Xiaofan. Even though Ying Tianyang had promised to suppress his cultivation to the Micro Realm, they didn't think that Jiang Xiaofan stood a chance of winning against him.
After all, Ying Tianyang was an esteemed figure with a prominent background known throughout the sect. They had never personally witnessed the extent of Ying Tianyang's power, but they had heard of the numerous rumors about him. Even if he were to suppress his cultivation, he would be far stronger than any other Micro Realm cultivator.
"Accept, and we will meet at the martial arena. Refuse, and you will die here."
With an intense glare, Ying Tianyang pressured him.
Jiang Xiaofan smirked. He decided to answer Ying Tianyang with pragmatism. Brilliantly glowing, green-colored spiritual energy enveloped his right hand as he raised it onto the letter and carved each character of his name with force. "I accept!"
On this day, news of Jiang Xiaofan challenging the Emperor's Heaven Sect's number two core disciple, Ying Tianyang, spread like wildfire across the sect and caused a frenzy among those who heard it.
Many disciples were already familiar with Jiang Xiaofan's name. However, it wasn't because he was a powerful cultivator, nor was it because of whatever background he had. Rather, it was because of all the things that he had done after just shortly arriving at the sect. Each incident had left everyone's jaw dropping to the ground and tongue-tied in a knot.
Firstly, he had beaten Zhu Xidao's elder cousin and younger brother. Secondly, he detained the inner disciples of the three main peaks and forced them to hard labor. Lastly, he charged up the Heavenly Maiden Peak, came back down unscathed, and could now freely enter the peak as he wished. Jiang Xiaofan had now become an idol among most male cultivators.
As for today, news of Jiang Xiaofan challenging Ying Tianyang was even more startling. Everyone who heard it was stunned as if they had gotten struck by lightning. They simply couldn't comprehend this piece of news. Is Jiang Xiaofan out of his mind? He dared to challenge Ying Tianyang? The one who's second only to Zhu Xidao?! His cultivation was frighteningly powerful!
From his name alone, it was easily decipherable that Ying Tianyang[2] was to be the Heavenly Sun Peak's greatest hope. His might, without a doubt, was fearsome, and his bearing was even more commanding. Because of him, even though the Heavenly Sun Peak was not the lead of the seven main peaks, the other disciples and leaders had to be scrupulous.
If Zhu Xidao was known for his might and mysterious but impressive background, then Ying Tianyang was known for his hegemonic and merciless practices, eliciting more prudence from others than Zhu Xidao.
"This Jiang Xiaofan's insane."
"But I think that he's not too bad of a person. It's just that…. Ay! What a pity."
"With his level of cultivation, he wants to challenge Ying Shixiong?! What a joke! He's courting with death!"
"He's just waiting for Ying Shixiong to smother him with one finger."
Some people thought that Jiang Xiaofan was an alright fellow and pitied him, but many others looked on with crossed arms in anticipation of a good show, especially those from the Heavenly Sun Peak. They were already openly jeering at Jiang Xiaofan as if he was pathetic before the life-or-death duel even began.
This made Jiang Xiaofan irate. What the hell?! Why am I known as "the idiot who challenged Ying Tianyang"?! Ying Tianyang, that bastard! At this rate, black will turn into white and white will turn into black! It was obviously Ying Tianyang who shamelessly challenged me in the first place, alright?!
"Child, how could you accept his challenge?!" Worry was written all over Liu Cheng'an's face, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to be etched even deeper. He shook his head and continued, "I will plea to the sect leader and hope that he can stop this life-or-death duel on behalf of what I have done for the sect. At your current level, you are yet not ready to fight Ying Tianyang."
Just as the old man was about to turn and leave, Jiang Xiaofan held him back and smiled. "Old Man Liu, take it easy. I'll be alright. I won't talk about other possibilities, but if Ying Tianyang really does suppress his cultivation to the Micro Realm, then there's a chance that I might not lose to him. In fact, I would say that it's difficult to predict who will win and who will lose."
Jiang Xiaofan's expression turned solemn as he assured Old Man Liu, "I am very aware that the path to Dao is a bumpy one. I have my own goals. There are some fights that I cannot shirk away from as I don't want to leave a shadow in my heart."
Confounded by his words, Old Man Liu eventually nodded in agreement.
Soon, Ye Yuanxue arrived and revolved around Jiang Xiaofan, scanning him from head to toe nonstop as if he was some alien specimen. Meanwhile, the little fellow who came with her continuously chirped and happily flew into the embrace of Jiang Xiaofan.
Jiang Xiaofan petted the little fellow's feathery head. He then looked at Ye Yuanxue and remarked, "Xue'er darling, I know that I am very handsome, but you don't have to keep staring at me like this. Otherwise, I'll be shy."
"Patooey! Perverted Wolf, stop being so indecent!" Ye Yuanxue rolled her eyes at him.
Editor: Vis
Footnotes
^ known as Southern Dragon, a boxing method of Southern Shaolin ^ Tianyang means Heavenly Sun