Fuming, Ding Jie proposed a contest to save face.
Hearing Ding Jie’s words, Zhan Yang fell silent.
He glanced back at Jiang Chen.
After all, the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps really did have more experts than the Warring States Mercenary Corps. If they wanted to beat one of them, they would need Jiang Chen to step in.
Zhan Yang’s gaze quickly drew the attention of others.
"Who’s that?"
"Yeah, why is Zhan Yang looking at that kid?"
Many people were confused, but they assumed Zhan Yang was just glancing around.
Zhan Yang saw Jiang Chen’s calm, impassive expression.
He had a feeling Jiang Chen wasn’t going to get involved.
He immediately decided to refuse.
"Forget it. We don’t have time to play your childish games."
"We have important matters to attend to."
Without Jiang Chen stepping in, he had no confidence.
’Defeat would be certain, so why ask for trouble? Refusing is the best choice.’
Seeing this, Ding Jie immediately sneered.
"Hahaha, the Warring States Mercenary Corps is nothing but a bunch of cowards, just as I thought."
"You’re as timid as mice. And you have the nerve to operate in the Mercenary Realm?"
"That’s right, just crawl back home! Stop coming out here and embarrassing yourselves."
The members of the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps had been holding their tongues, and now they finally had a chance to viciously berate the Warring States Mercenary Corps.
One after another, they hurled insults and jeers.
Their words were utterly vile.
Zhan Yang’s face was livid.
Faced with such a provocation, he knew his team wasn’t strong enough and didn’t dare to accept the challenge.
All he could do was stand there with a grim expression.
He said to his team, "Let’s go. We still won those one hundred thousand crystals."
He tried to act nonchalant, as if he truly didn’t care.
But who doesn’t care about their pride?
Unfortunately, his Cultivation wasn’t high enough for him to step up himself.
"Wait, Captain."
Suddenly, a voice called out from within the group.
Zhan Yang didn’t need to look to know who it was. It was Lu Beifeng.
Lu Beifeng strode forward, his sword cradled in his arm.
He said to Zhan Yang, "Captain, since they want to compete, why don’t we give them a fight?"
"Otherwise, they’ll think the Warring States Mercenary Corps is afraid of them."
Indeed, Lu Beifeng was furious.
He stepped forward, unable to bear the humiliation.
In fact, Lu Beifeng’s Cultivation had also reached Martial Master Third Heaven.
After Jiang Chen’s guidance on the Sword Dao, his Cultivation had reached Martial Master Third Heaven. Combined with his newfound insights, he was practically unstoppable.
As for the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps, their strongest members present were Ding Jie and another expert at Martial Master Third Heaven.
With two Martial Master Third Heavens, their overall strength was indeed more than a notch above the Warring States Mercenary Corps.
But now, Lu Beifeng could no longer tolerate their humiliation.
Besides, he told himself that after his breakthrough, armed with his Sword Dao, he wouldn’t necessarily be weaker than anyone else.
So he stepped forward to challenge them.
Zhan Yang looked at Lu Beifeng and gave a wry smile. "Let’s just forget it. We don’t have to prove anything by force."
Although Zhan Yang was proud, he knew he couldn’t afford for any of his teammates to suffer any losses.
They only had five members to begin with, plus Jiang Chen.
"It’s fine, Captain. Let me take them on."
"It’s not certain who will win or lose."
Lu Beifeng insisted, brimming with confidence.
Jiang Chen, meanwhile, remained silent. In truth, it wasn’t his place to interfere in everything, as his joining the Warring States Mercenary Corps was only temporary.
Zhan Yang and the others needed to handle these matters themselves.
His Cultivation was high, but he wouldn’t act unless he had to.
It wouldn’t be too late for him to step in if they encountered trouble they truly couldn’t solve.
That was why he simply observed the enemy’s provocations, remaining impassive.
When Zhan Yang had clearly glanced at him for his opinion earlier, Jiang Chen had ignored it, wanting to interfere as little as possible in the Warring States Mercenary Corps’s affairs and allow them to make their own choices.
Seeing Lu Beifeng step forward...
Jiang Chen was very satisfied.
A Mercenary Team that traveled far and wide certainly needed some fighting spirit.
How could a Mercenary without any backbone establish themselves in the Mercenary Realm?
Lu Beifeng was clearly a man who had that backbone.
Ever since Jiang Chen had guided him in the Sword Dao, Lu Beifeng’s progress had been astonishingly fast.
His Cultivation was now touching the verge of Martial Master Fourth Heaven; given time, he would surely break through.
"Yeah, look at that. Even one of your members dares to step up."
"How can you, their captain, be so pathetic?"
"Heh, a useless captain but a gutsy subordinate."
Zhan Yang looked at Lu Beifeng, then at the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps.
Finally, he looked once more toward Jiang Chen.
He was still seeking Jiang Chen’s opinion.
At this point, Zhan Yang truly saw Jiang Chen as the team’s pillar.
Then, Zhan Yang saw Jiang Chen nod at him, actually approving of Lu Beifeng’s actions.
Only then did Zhan Yang turn to Lu Beifeng and say, "Fine. But don’t be reckless. If you lose, you lose."
At this, quite a few people noticed that Zhan Yang had once again looked over at Jiang Chen.
They found it odd, but after sizing Jiang Chen up and finding him completely unremarkable, they paid him no more mind.
Slightly invigorated, Lu Beifeng stretched his limbs and fixed his gaze on Ding Jie.
He shouted, "So you want a match? Bring it on! I, Lu Beifeng, accept your challenge."
"Who from the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps will face me?"
Lu Beifeng was armed with the Sword Dao Jiang Chen had taught him.
His recent understanding of the Sword Dao had deepened even further.
The Sword Dao was a path where setbacks bred courage, battle forged strength, and the brave were invincible.
What he needed now was a trial to sharpen his skills.
That was why he had taken the initiative to accept the challenge.
Seeing this, Ding Jie felt his scheme had succeeded.
He laughed. "Good. You’ve got guts."
"Looks like the Warring States Mercenary Corps has finally produced one man with some backbone."
"As for your opponent, I, Ding Jie, will personally face you."
His other teammate at Martial Master Third Heaven wanted to step up, but Ding Jie stopped him.
He wanted to personally win back the face he had lost earlier.
And to do that, he had to defeat Lu Beifeng.
"Fine. I’ll take on anyone," Lu Beifeng said, eager for a fight.
But Ding Jie spoke again. "A simple competition is boring. Why don’t we add a wager?"
"Zhan Yang, what do you think?"
Zhan Yang’s expression flickered.
But he answered decisively, "Alright. Name the stakes."
He was going all in, if only to give Lu Beifeng confidence.
Besides, they had already won one hundred thousand crystals from them the first time.
Sure enough, Ding Jie smiled. "It’s simple. Two hundred thousand crystals. The loser gives the winner two hundred thousand crystals."
"How about it?"
Ding Jie naturally wanted to win back the one hundred thousand crystals he had lost.
That was why he had set the stakes at two hundred thousand this time.
Zhan Yang didn’t have much confidence in Lu Beifeng, but he still decided to take the bet.
"Fine. I accept."
"Two hundred thousand it is. I’m in."
"Beifeng, you’ve got this."
Lu Beifeng shouted, "I will, Captain!"
"I’ll definitely win another two hundred thousand for us!"
Ding Jie sneered.
"Such shameless boasting. If I recall, you were merely at Martial Master Second Realm before. You only just broke through to Martial Master Third Heaven, haven’t you?"
He knew the members of the Warring States Mercenary Corps well.
He was surprised that Lu Beifeng had actually broken through to Martial Master Third Heaven.
Still, he didn’t take Lu Beifeng seriously in the slightest.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter
