Chapter 43: Chapter 41: I Will Defeat You Where You Are Strongest
Tomorrow, he would face a powerful challenger. If he failed, he would lose his status as a True Successor Candidate and the special treatment he had enjoyed for the past seven years.
But Du Youqian wasn’t nervous.
His advantage was that as long as he didn’t do anything stupid to get himself killed, he could reincarnate almost indefinitely. Of course, he first had to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm within ten lives.
Therefore, he didn’t need to fight over short-term gains, worry about a single victory or defeat, or let temporary fortunes sway his heart.
This "short-term," of course, couldn’t mean a millennium.
In Du Youqian’s view, "short-term" meant a century or two, at most.
So, Du Youqian genuinely wasn’t afraid to lose.
Even if he lost, he could get it all back after another life or two.
Ten lives was a bit of a tight deadline, but not overly so.
With such a relaxed mindset, Du Youqian—who hadn’t slept in a long time, using meditative Circulations to replace rest—even took the luxury of a short nap to bring his body and mind to their peak state.
The next morning, he headed to the Zhongxuan Sect’s Mingfa Hall, full of vigor.
His opponent was already there, waiting.
The man looked to be in his thirties, with a pair of handsome, well-groomed mustaches and long, slender phoenix eyes that shone with spirit.
He wore a light blue swordsman’s uniform with a decorative Treasure Sword at his waist. A Crane Robe was draped casually over his shoulders, giving him an air of dashing nonchalance.
’What a handsome middle-aged man!’
Du Youqian knew everything about this man.
Little Fatty Guo Mingsheng might have been a bit slow, a little ugly, lacking in perseverance, and emotionally clueless... but he was a master at gathering intelligence, seemingly suffering from an incurable case of being a social butterfly.
It seemed that whenever anyone saw his comical, doughy face, they would unconsciously let down their guard.
Yang Zaisi, a fourth-generation disciple of the Zhongxuan Sect. He was just over sixty, a Qi Cultivation Perfect Practitioner with a Middle Grade Wood Spirit Root.
He was said to be poor at Magical Combat but skilled in all sorts of Cultivation Techniques.
He had once mentored Meng Yushan in Alchemy and had even been invited to serve as the Talisman-Making Steward of the Talisman Treasure Hall, an offer he had refused.
He was on excellent terms with a Vice Hall Master of the Treasure Hall, who had once commented, "As long as he practices diligently, he’ll surely be qualified to compete for the position of Vice Hall Master of the Treasure Hall after reaching Foundation Establishment."
He was also proficient in the Array Dao. Ten years ago, he had supposedly participated in the maintenance and repair of the Sect Protection Array. Although he was only assisting the members of the Array Dao Hall, it was still an impressive feat.
His reason for challenging Du Youqian was simple.
Though he was past the sixty-year mark, if he could obtain the status of a True Disciple and the vast resources that came with it, there was still a sliver of hope for him to advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The struggle for the Great Dao was a battle to the death.
To him, Du Youqian was an enemy blocking his path to the Dao!
Du Youqian could imagine the torment Yang Zaisi must have endured over the past few years as he approached the sixty-year deadline, yet hadn’t reached it.
How he must have wanted to strike, to seize Du Youqian’s resources as a True Successor, and exchange them for a Foundation Establishment Pill to gamble on his future.
It was only the example of that unlucky disciple with an Upper Grade Spirit Root, who had been expelled from the Sect, that kept him from acting rashly.
But now, Yang Zaisi simply gave him a slight smile, appearing perfectly composed.
Du Youqian smiled back, but his internal guard went up another notch.
The Vice Hall Master of Affairs from the Mingfa Hall asked in a deep voice, "Qiu Yuanqing, as of today, only the fourth-generation disciple Yang Zaisi has challenged you. You may accept now, or you may accept a challenge from anyone within the next seven days. What do you choose?"
Du Youqian smiled. "Then I shall ask Martial Uncle Yang for his guidance!"
"I wouldn’t dare presume," Yang Zaisi replied courteously. "Junior Qiu is a True Successor Candidate, a station comparable to that of Sect Elders and Vice Hall Masters. Just call me Brother Yang."
The Vice Hall Master of Affairs remained cold. "Qiu Yuanqing, the specific method, time, and location of the challenge are yours to decide. Formulate the terms quickly and report them to me."
With that, he prepared to turn and leave.
Du Youqian had already considered this and saw no need to delay. He smiled. "Martial Uncle, please wait. I can decide the terms right now."
Then, he turned to Yang Zaisi. "I hear Brother Yang is quite proud of his skills. Of the Sixteen Arts of Cultivation, which are you best at?"
The Sixteen Arts of Cultivation is a collective term for the following sixteen techniques: Array, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, Talisman Making, Refined Treasure, Spirit Plant, Spirit Chef, Spirit Embroidery, Puppet, Beast Taming, Gu Technique, Dao Soldiers, Refining, Feng Shui, Qi Observing, and Divination.
Any Cultivation Technique in the world can be classified into one of these sixteen arts.
Among these, Array, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and Talisman Making were naturally the most widespread, offered the greatest aid to one’s cultivation, and were pursued by countless Cultivators. They were the "premier league" of Cultivation Techniques.
The other twelve were comparatively more obscure, but not without their uses.
Currently, having had few lives so far and with limited energy, Du Youqian had only studied the first four.
But he planned to learn the others as well, should the opportunity arise in future lives.
Of course, he was just bluffing, acting with extreme arrogance as if to say, ’Pick any art you want. I’ll defeat you in your own area of expertise.’
In reality, he didn’t know the first thing about the other twelve.
As expected, Yang Zaisi was provoked. His smile lost its warmth and grew rigid.
He said with a smirk, "I’ve dabbled in many arts but mastered none, so there’s nothing I’m especially good at. But whatever you’d like to compete in, Junior Brother, I’ll be happy to oblige."
He was being just as arrogant.
"Heh," Du Youqian chuckled, a laugh so fake it was obviously dismissive. "I hear you once gave Meng Yushan guidance in Alchemy, and she’s always been looking for a chance to compete against me."
"I haven’t had the chance to face her yet, but being able to test my skills against you first would be a great pleasure. So how about this: today, in Room A of the Pill Furnace Hall, we each refine a cauldron of elixirs to see who is better. What do you say, Brother Yang?"
"That suits me just fine." Yang Zaisi was grinding his teeth in anger but couldn’t lash out, so he forced himself to endure it.
"Let’s refine a cauldron of Tier Two Top Grade Regeneration Pills. What do you think, Brother Yang?"
Yang Zaisi was so stunned he forgot to be angry. "Junior Qiu, you must be joking. You’re only at the Qi Cultivation Middle to Late Stage, yet you can refine a Tier Two Top Grade Elixir? Your Magical Power isn’t even enough to last until Pill Formation!"
Tier Two Elixirs corresponded to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Normally, they required a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to refine.
Of course, geniuses could rarely be measured by common sense.
But for a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage to be able to refine a Tier Two Top Grade Elixir?
That was simply unheard of.
"Whether I can or not, words are cheap. Why don’t we both just give it a try?"
"There’s no need!" Yang Zaisi’s expression darkened, but it quickly twisted into a sneer. "A Tier Two Top Grade Elixir is beyond my abilities. If you have the skill to refine one, Junior Brother, I’ll admit defeat on the spot without another word."
"Kowtowing won’t be necessary. Then I must ask you, Brother Yang, to adjourn to Room A of the Pill Furnace Hall and witness it for yourself."
Yang Zaisi sneered, "After you, Junior Brother!"
"No, after you, Brother Yang!"
The news spread quickly.
By the time the two, escorted by the Vice Hall Master from Mingfa Hall, arrived at the Pill Furnace Hall, a crowd of disciples had already gathered outside to watch.
It’s human nature to be drawn to a spectacle. Cultivators are still human, so how could they resist a good show?
Soon, the crowd in front of the Pill Furnace Hall was several layers deep. There were even some Qi Cultivation Late Stage Cultivators with ample Magical Power hovering in the sky on precious Flying Spiritual Artifacts to get a better view.
As for the Foundation Establishment Elders, they wouldn’t be caught dead in the standing-room-only section. They were, of course, watching the show from the VIP boxes.
