Soul Emperor Awakening

Wan Ning’s move was tantamount to forcing Lin Xuan’s hand. Refusing would be an admission of insufficient talent and a lack of confidence. But if he agreed, the difficulty was too high. His opponent had clearly come prepared; to make such a proposal, he must be certain of victory.

Lin Xuan furrowed his brow. Wan Ning’s visit was similar to Zhang Qi’s last time—both were here to intimidate him. But this Wan Ning was clearly far more insidious than Zhang Qi; he had even proposed a wager!

"Wan Ning, you’re playing this trick again! Brother Lin, don’t agree to it!" From Liu Xuan’s words, it was clear this wasn’t the first time Wan Ning had pulled something like this.

Among the top ten, Wan Ning was undoubtedly the one who was challenged the most. Anyone who wanted to break into the top ten had to challenge him. Thus, he was challenged every month or two. Of course, a wager was always mandatory, or else there’d be no prize to speak of.

"Junior Brother Liu, what are you saying? Do you not have confidence in Junior Brother Lin?" Wan Ning maintained his smile, the very picture of a smiling tiger.

"This..." Liu Xuan frowned. He certainly had confidence in Lin Xuan, but this was obviously a trap. Agreeing would mean falling right into it.

"A Weapon as a wager? That’s fine. But if we’re going to bet, why not bet big? I’ve heard Senior Brother Wan has a pretty good Celestial Level Martial Art. How about we wager that? My Cyan Cloud Step can’t be taught to outsiders, but I have another Celestial Level Martial Art I can put up." Lin Xuan was also smiling. Far from backing down, he had actually raised the stakes!

Wan Ning was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. A flicker of delight flashed in his eyes as he said joyfully, "Since Junior Brother Lin is being so generous, how could I refuse? A Weapon and a Celestial Level Martial Art it is! This wager is effective immediately. Let’s sign an agreement right now."

As he spoke, he had already taken out two copies of an agreement from his Identity Token. The contents were already written out. Since a Celestial Level Martial Art had been added, he just needed to add it to the document.

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes. ’So Wan Ning has done this sort of thing plenty of times.’ For such an obvious trap, many people still walked into it. After all, they were the ones challenging him; who wouldn’t have a little confidence in themselves? Adding some stakes was also appealing, since there was normally no reward for breaking into the top ten.

"Come on, sign it." Wan Ning had already affixed his thumbprint and passed the agreement over.

As Lin Xuan took it, Liu Xuan anxiously tried to stop him. "Brother Lin, you absolutely can’t! This is clearly a trap, and Wan Ning’s strength isn’t as simple as it seems on the surface!"

In his panic, Liu Xuan spoke bluntly right in front of Wan Ning.

Wan Ning shrugged. "You can choose not to accept. But then I won’t accept your challenge. As long as I accept someone else’s, I can completely ignore yours."

This was the biggest loophole in the challenge matches. The person being challenged could choose their opponent. Once they chose, other challengers would have to wait for the next opportunity. After all, a person’s energy was limited. Even those in the top ten couldn’t be challenged indefinitely, so the rule was that they could only be challenged once!

Chen Yun, ranked twelfth, stood beside him with an equally insidious smile. This was precisely why he was here. As long as he issued a challenge, Lin Xuan would have no chance.

Of course, it wasn’t that he’d have no chance at all. The challenged party could only refuse three times; the fourth challenge had to be accepted. But three refusals alone would mean a delay of three months.

Lin Xuan was on a tight schedule. He couldn’t issue a challenge before his Cultivation was high enough, but being refused when he was finally ready would be a major problem. If he exceeded the time limit, his objective would be forfeit.

"Here."

Without a second thought, Lin Xuan took the agreement, pressed his thumbprint on it, and handed it back.

Wan Ning took it with delight and quickly added his own thumbprint, as if afraid Lin Xuan would go back on his word. He then waved the agreements and said, "One for each of us. I hope you’ll work hard these next six months! Junior Brother Lin, you’ve really given me a huge surprise."

Wan Ning smiled as if looking at a plump piece of meat, then turned and left with Chen Yun. The moment they were away, his smiling face fell, replaced by a sinister grin. "We ran into a real idiot this time. I thought a Weapon would be enough, but he even threw in a Celestial Level Martial Art... Does he really think he’s some super genius? In front of me, even a dragon has to coil up!"

"Big Brother, I think he’s just a reckless fool who got this far on sheer momentum... Does he really think your strength is only enough for tenth place?" Chen Yun laughed as well. The two exchanged a smile, as if they could already see the Celestial Level Martial Art in their hands.

Normally, it would be impossible for them to obtain a Celestial Level Martial Art, especially not the Cyan Cloud Step. Qingcheng Mansion would never allow that particular Celestial Level Martial Art to be taught to outsiders. If they were discovered passing it on, they would face severe punishment! However, Lin Xuan could pass on his other Celestial Level Martial Art, so there was no major issue.

"No, no, right now I’m just ranked tenth..."

Wan Ning and Chen Yun exchanged a knowing smile, the meaning clear without words. In their eyes, breaking into the top ten within six months was just a fool’s dream, especially since Wan Ning’s strength was far beyond that of a mere tenth-ranker...

"Brother Lin, you were too reckless... Actually, regarding the challenge, if you had just explained it to the Fifth Elder, this restriction wouldn’t have been an issue for you at all!" Liu Xuan sighed.

The rules were the rules, but if Lin Xuan had brought it up, he could have completely changed the situation. He was an exception, after all. He had a specific time limit, whereas the others did not, so they could take their time.

If the Elders had spoken, wouldn’t Wan Ning have had to obediently agree?

"Of course I know that. But since they want to play this game, I’ll play along." Lin Xuan laughed nonchalantly.

"Sigh... You don’t know. Wan Ning stays at tenth place on purpose. With his real strength, he could at least reach the top five! He’s always done this, trying to scam others into making wagers. Anyone who wants to get into the top ten has to challenge him, and he uses this to force bets," Liu Xuan sighed. But it was useless to say anything now. Lin Xuan had already put his thumbprint on the agreement; there was no backing out.

"I know that, too, of course," Lin Xuan snorted. He was well aware of this information; otherwise, how would he have known that Wan Ning possessed a Celestial Level Martial Art?

Among all the Inner Hall Disciples, if you had to say who had the worst reputation, it would undoubtedly be Wan Ning! It was so well-known that it was difficult not to know.

The Elders were naturally aware of this, but they turned a blind eye since it wasn’t technically against the rules. Thanks to this indulgence, Wan Ning had amassed quite a fortune. After all, plenty of people challenged him, including a few stubborn ones. Who wasn’t confident in themselves? They all had their pride.

Unfortunately, all of them ended in failure and heavy losses. The trap was extremely obvious, dug and left open for people to jump into. You could refuse the wager, sure. See you in three months!

No one wanted to wait three months. Waiting three months either meant you were too poor or that you had no confidence in yourself. For the many rather conceited disciples, how could they tolerate waiting for three months?

Waiting for too long could easily become a Heart Demon. Wan Ning’s move was nothing short of venomous.

"If you knew, Brother Lin, why did you still agree?" Liu Xuan asked, stunned.

"First, I have confidence in myself. If you want to become a true expert, you can’t back down from a challenge like this. Second, I’m very interested in his Celestial Level Martial Art. Since he delivered it to my doorstep, it would be rude not to accept! Does he really think I’m a pushover?"

Fewer than ten Inner Hall Disciples possessed Celestial Level Martial Arts, and Wan Ning was one of them. Furthermore, his was said to be an extremely vicious one.

Who wouldn’t want something so good? Lin Xuan was no exception. ’Surpassing Wan Ning in six months is by no means a difficult task for me! Besides, without a little pressure, how can there be motivation?’

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