Chapter 45: Chapter 43: The Strongest Enemy
"Martial Uncle, is this really appropriate?" Xia Shouzheng’s gaunt face twisted into a pained expression. He clutched his red cloak tighter, looking utterly pitiful.
Across a small tea table from him, engaged in a game of Go, sat an elderly man. He was lean and distinguished, with a few strands of a handsome beard on his chin, and he possessed a rather carefree air.
In his left hand, he held a cup of hot tea. With his right, he pinched a game piece that was as smooth and warm as jade, his brows furrowed in thought.
Hearing this, the old man replied nonchalantly, "What’s not appropriate about it?"
"You’re competing for resources with someone from your grand-disciple’s generation. That’s hardly appropriate."
"It’s perfectly appropriate. I’ve reviewed the rules carefully, and not a single one forbids me from challenging him. Besides, I’m not trying to steal his resources. It’s just that when a hunter sees fine prey, his heart leaps. Seeing such a rare talent, I can’t help but want to test my skills against his." The old man finally made his decision, placing his stone on the board with a firm hand.
Xia Shouzheng’s mind wasn’t on winning or losing the game at all. He casually played a piece in response and continued to plead, "Martial Uncle, you could always spar in private."
The old man smiled faintly. "If we spar in private, what’s in it for me if I win?"
"Martial Uncle, you just said you only wanted to spar because you were impressed by his talent. Why must there be something in it for you?"
The old man pondered for a moment. He smoothed the wide sleeve of his right arm with his left hand, then picked up a game piece with his right and placed it down with a graceful motion. "I’m an old man with one foot in the grave, but what can I do? I still have descendants and old friends who are all counting on me. I’d love to be a carefree wanderer, but in this world, who can truly live as they please?"
"Martial Uncle, you truly won’t yield on this?"
The old man didn’t get angry, just chuckled. "It’s always me who has to yield this, me who has to yield that. Back then, who ever yielded for me? Was I truly not qualified to compete for that Foundation Establishment Pill?"
"Martial Uncle, there’s no point in dredging up the past."
"I’m old now. Old men like to reminisce. You’ll just have to bear with it."
By the time the game ended, the old man still hadn’t budged.
Left with no other choice, Xia Shouzheng took his leave in disappointment.
Just as he was leaving, the old man called out to him. "Tell that little friend of yours that I know his Alchemy is only at Tier Two Upper Grade, so he’d best not compete with me in Alchemy. And if he can’t forge a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact, he shouldn’t even think about challenging me in Artifact Refining."
Xia Shouzheng listlessly flicked his cloak, shook his head, and said, "Martial Uncle, this is truly unseemly. We never considered that an elder of your generation would get involved in this competition."
The old man said faintly, "That was your lack of foresight, not my fault."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
「The next day, in Mingfa Hall.」
Du Youqian carefully sized up the old man.
He had heard a little about the elder’s reputation.
Pei Guangming. A very grand-sounding name.
After joining the Sect, his reputation had never been prominent. He was always in the upper-middle ranks, clearly not one of the "geniuses."
Unexpectedly, the man had accumulated his strength over time, and before the age of one hundred and twenty, with his Qi Cultivation Perfection, he had elevated his Artifact Refining Art to Tier Two Middle Grade. Even more miraculously, his Alchemy had reached Tier Two Top Grade.
’This meant the man was a goddamn genius from the start.’
It was just that this genius had been buried.
With a Tier Two Middle Grade Artifact Refining Art and Tier Two Top Grade Alchemy, Pei Guangming would be treated with courtesy even if he went to Third-class, or even Second-class Sects.
Last night, Du Youqian had spoken with Xia Shouzheng for a long time and learned some of Pei Guangming’s history.
In his youth, his Dao Heart was firm. He was single-mindedly focused on his Cultivation, seeking only the Great Dao, and held a disdainful attitude toward the "time-wasting" Cultivation Techniques.
But Pei Guangming had bad luck, running right into the Sect’s period of decline.
The Zhongxuan Sect’s ancestors had once been prosperous, ranking among the Second-class Sects with two Great Divine Power Users of the Golden Core Realm presiding over it.
But due to some calamities, both Golden Core masters fell one after another. A large number of Foundation Establishment Perfection and late-stage cultivators were also subsequently lost or left the Sect, and no successors were properly nurtured.
During Pei Guangming’s youth, the Zhongxuan Sect had almost failed to maintain the minimum requirement of ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators, nearly dropping from a Fourth-class to a Fifth-class Sect.
At that time, the Sect’s resources were scarce, and it could only afford to nurture the absolute cream of the crop among its disciples.
A disciple like Pei Guangming, who wasn’t so stunning in his youth, could only watch his time slip away.
He had clearly reached Qi Cultivation Perfection in his early fifties, which was actually quite excellent, yet he was never allocated a Foundation Establishment Pill.
He had no luck finding opportunities outside the sect either, and ended up missing the sixty-year-old age limit for a breakthrough.
With his path to cultivation blocked, he could only pour his passion into Cultivation Techniques, which in turn opened a new door for him.
Only then did the Sect’s upper echelon realize they had made a terrible decision.
A genius who could have led the Sect to a new rise was instead forced to stop here.
If Pei Guangming had been granted a Foundation Establishment Pill back then, would he have successfully reached Foundation Establishment?
Would he have been able to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Peak?
Could his Alchemy and Artifact Refining Art have broken through to Tier Three, or even Tier Four?
It was all too tantalizing to imagine.
It was precisely because of this that the Sect’s leaders all felt they owed Pei Guangming.
This time, even though Pei Guangming was blatantly using his seniority to bully a junior, the higher-ups did not stop him.
And Pei Guangming was, without a doubt, the strongest opponent in the "pool of enemies" Du Youqian faced.
If he could successfully defeat Pei Guangming, Du Youqian would face no further resistance.
The pressure was now on Du Youqian... as if.
Du Youqian’s mindset was exceptionally peaceful.
Having already enjoyed the benefits of a True Inheritor for seven years, he had clearly come out ahead.
In those seven years, he had accumulated a wealth of resources for his Cultivation—not just Cultivation Techniques and Secret Techniques, but also various precious private notes, records, and histories that had deepened his foundation.
He was confident that in his next reincarnation, he would be able to go even further.
As for this life, even if he lost his True Inheritor Identity, it wasn’t a big deal.
’It might even be a good thing.’
Although no one had come to remind him of it yet...
...Du Youqian figured, ’I’ve enjoyed so many of the Sect’s premium resources. How will I ever be expected to pay it all back in the future?’
’Especially if I can’t break through to Foundation Establishment.’
’I’d probably be completely tied down, locked in a dark room to perform Alchemy and Artifact Refining for the Sect day in and day out. They probably wouldn’t even feed me if I didn’t meet my quota, all to repay the premium resources I’m enjoying now.’
Therefore, Du Youqian wasn’t concerned with winning or losing at all.
He was the one who genuinely wanted to have a good match with this Pei Guangming and simply enjoy the process.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was looking to get crushed.
When choosing the method of challenge, he didn’t pick Alchemy, and he certainly didn’t pick Artifact Refining.
In truth, he was more than ninety percent confident he could win at either Alchemy or Artifact Refining, since the rules of the challenge were up to him to decide.
But it pays to listen to good advice.
So he chose...
"Array Dao?" The Vice Hall Master of Mingfa Hall was full of suspicion, wondering if he was hearing things. "Are you sure you want to compete with Martial Uncle Pei in the Array Dao?"
"I’m sure," Du Youqian nodded, observing Pei Guangming with a smile. "Martial Uncle Pei, I look forward to your guidance."
In terms of lineage through Xia Shouzheng, he was of Pei Guangming’s grand-disciple generation.
But Du Youqian enjoyed the status of a True Disciple, which was equivalent to a Sect Elder, automatically raising his generational standing.
So, after some thought, he decided it was most appropriate to call Pei Guangming "Martial Uncle."
