Chapter Fifteen: The Challenge

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On the third day after the Blackwater Mountains incident, Xu Wen threw himself back into his usual rigorous and exhausting training. Though there were still lingering doubts about how the Gale Fox had been killed by two second-star and one first-star fire mages, Xu Wen easily managed to appease Senior Sister Michelle with his more than twenty years of experience.

The biggest hole in the story was the “Drunken Breeze” and its antidote. Since the only person present who had seen Xu Wen use these was Xie Zhan—and Xie Zhan had no idea what these things were for—he could only accept whatever explanation Xu Wen offered.

Xu Wen had, of course, already prepared his excuses. He claimed these were auxiliary potions prepared to help him stay focused during battle. As for the Drunken Breeze in his storage pouch, it had all been used up—and once exposed to air for more than ten seconds, the liquid would evaporate without a trace, leaving nothing for anyone to find. The “antidote” he applied under his nose not only countered the effects of the Drunken Breeze but also acted as a powerful stimulant.

In comparison, the death of the Gale Fox was less shocking than the expulsion of Ding Yushan from the Alchemy Peak and the news that six named disciples had died tragically.

It seemed Elder Xu had gone to handle the aftermath of the incident.

The remaining named disciples often gathered during their leisure time to discuss the matter, as well as the newly vacant inner disciple slot left by Ding Yushan.

Now...

The strength ranking among the named disciples had subtly changed. With Ding Yushan gone, Xie Zhan had become the most powerful of them, standing at second-star, third stage.

Xu Wen’s true strength remained a mystery. However, having displayed astonishing combat ability in a life-and-death battle—slaying the Gale Fox—he was naturally regarded by the others as the second strongest.

Following them were more than twenty named disciples whose strength ranged from first-star, ninth stage to first-star, eighth stage.

Xu Wen learned about these trivial rankings from Xie Zhan after leaving Senior Sister Michelle’s temporary chamber. Since the Blackwater Mountains incident, not only had the named disciples not developed a fear of the place, but the deaths of their six peers and the almost legendary exploits of the three survivors had inspired many of the young men. The magic cores of high-level, second-star beasts were legendary treasures to the named disciples of the Hortonklin family.

Over the past two days, people had been coming to Xie Zhan, hoping to join his team the next time he ventured into the Blackwater Mountains.

Xie Zhan told Xu Wen that as soon as his injuries healed, he planned to lead another group into the mountains to hunt more first-star magic cores.

Xu Wen, however, firmly declined Xie Zhan’s invitation, citing the events of their last expedition.

At present, two matters were most important to him: training to improve his fire magic and advancing his necromancy.

The last journey to the Blackwater Mountains was partly to gain real combat experience, but more so to find solitude to practice necromancy.

Now, there was no such need.

At least, as long as he remained a named disciple, he wouldn’t follow a crowd into the mountains to search for low-level beasts that were scarce on the outskirts.

If he went alone, that would be another matter.

———

“All right, if you ever change your mind, just let me know,” Xie Zhan said. His cold exterior concealed a warm interior that became especially apparent in Xu Wen’s presence. The battle in the Blackwater Mountains had shown him that Xu Wen’s abilities and combat instincts far surpassed his own.

A month passed!

Xu Wen didn’t seek out Xie Zhan. Each morning, he rose early, picked a bagful of herbs from the Alchemy Peak, and then the empty house would echo ceaselessly with the sounds of magical explosions.

Thus, more than half of the three-month training for the named disciples slipped by.

As time passed, competition among the named disciples on the training grounds grew fiercer by the day. By now, most had cultivated a decent inner composure and reached high levels of first-star fire magic; a few who started out strong had even broken through to second-star. Yet their progress was beginning to slow, and among them, the talented ones were starting to stand out.

Boom!

“...Grand Fireball!”

“Flaming Spear!”

“Explosive Fireball!”

The chaotic scene of wild fireballs on the first day was gone. Now, successive rapid-fire spells, explosive fireballs, and even the imposing mid-tier second-star fire magic were seen frequently. Draining their magic reserves just to avoid showing weakness, they kept the grounds ablaze with relentless energy. Even Michelle and the other two supervisors were left speechless, secretly grateful that the stone targets on the field were far sturdier than the smaller ones used indoors. Otherwise, with the constant bombardment from the named disciples, their workload would have increased dramatically.

Yet, the one who always holed up in his room never came out to show off...

At such moments, Michelle couldn’t help but recall the rascal who used to linger in her bed, always provoking her until she stormed off in exasperation.

The door to his room remained tightly shut.

A month had passed...

“I wonder how far Xu Wen has progressed in his training now,” Michelle mused.

She wasn’t the only one curious about Xu Wen. Senior Sister Wang and Senior Brother Li were also intrigued by the boy who stayed cooped up in his room all day.

“He must be at second-star, first or second stage by now,” Li guessed.

“Yes, at his pace, that’s likely... Oh, our junior brother is really too clever for his own good,” Senior Sister Wang remarked with genuine admiration. “There have always been disciples who used stimulant pills to speed up their training, but I’ve never seen anyone like Xu Wen, who knew to use them from the very first day, and could even make them himself.”

“True, and he’s so diligent, too... In that respect, we can only look up to him,” Michelle agreed, though her mind involuntarily wandered back to the scoundrel’s brazen words in her bed, and she couldn’t help but smile wryly.

No one knew how much time had passed before a female disciple ran up behind them.

“Senior sister, senior brother, something’s wrong!”

“Jingyu?”

The three turned. The newcomer was one of the most outstanding female named disciples—a member of the Hortonklin clan, diligent and low-key in her training, and wielding second-star, third-stage fire magic. Other than Xie Zhan, she was the strongest among the named disciples, and even when Ding Yushan was still around, she had been one of the top contenders for the inner disciple slot.

“What happened?” Michelle asked.

Jingyu, panting, answered anxiously, “It’s Xiang Nan and Shiya—they insisted on challenging Xu Wen, and now...”

“Challenging Xu Wen?” The three were stunned.

During the three-month intensive training, any disturbance among the named disciples was strictly forbidden; serious offenses could result in the loss of both the named disciple status and eligibility for the inner and outer halls.

Why were these two girls so restless?

“Let’s go see,” Michelle said. She knew that Xiang Nan, Shiya, and Jingyu were the most outstanding among the female named disciples. The three always encouraged each other and trained diligently. By now, their strength was in no way inferior to the second-star male disciples.

But what puzzled her was why these two would challenge Xu Wen.

If it was to test his strength for the inner disciple slot, it was unnecessary—Xu Wen was already the predesignated disciple of the Seventh Alchemy Peak, and none could match his alchemy skills. If it was a contest of fire magic, that would be disastrous... Without the other party’s consent, such private challenges were considered serious disturbances!

“What are they challenging Xu Wen in?”

As the three hurried toward Xu Wen’s quarters, Michelle pressed for details.

“Fire magic,” Jingyu replied, barely finishing her words as the three exchanged grave looks. So it was fire magic! In that case...

Seeing the change on her seniors’ faces, Jingyu panicked and quickly added, “Senior sister, they won’t do anything rash. The challenge is just a contest of Flame Hands—it won’t cause any harm...”

“Flame Hands?”

As they spoke, the four of them arrived at Xu Wen’s training room.

Inside, the voices of two girls and Xu Wen’s calm responses could be heard. It seemed the so-called challenge had not yet begun.