Chapter 276: Chapter 275: Chu Feng’s Challenge
Within the True Inheritance Courtyard, in the study of Chu Feng’s Villa.
"BANG! CRASH—!"
The sound of shattering porcelain, overturning furniture, and heavy, suppressed breathing intertwined.
Chu Feng gripped the newly delivered Celestial Pride List booklet, his knuckles turning white from the force. His handsome face was twisted into a savage snarl, his eyes were bloodshot, and his chest heaved violently.
On the booklet, the glaring words "Ninety-seventh: Chu Feng" and, even more glaringly, "Ninety-fourth: Fang Han" just above it, felt like a red-hot branding iron searing his heart.
"Fang! Han!"
A low growl, like that of a wounded beast, escaped from deep within Chu Feng’s throat, filled with endless humiliation, fury, and venomous resentment.
He could not accept that his rank on the Celestial Pride List had been surpassed by Fang Han—that he had dropped because of him!
This was an absolute, utter humiliation!
It was as if his dignity was being trampled underfoot and ground into the dust!
"BOOM!"
He shattered the mahogany bookshelf beside him with a single palm strike, sending books and trinkets scattering across the floor.
"Why?! By what right?!"
Chu Feng was like a man possessed, his eyes filled with manic indignation.
He had cultivated tirelessly just to get on the Celestial Pride List and secure his position.
Yet Fang Han, this peasant who had only joined the Sect a little over a year ago, had risen like a comet. All his attempts to suppress the boy had been useless.
And now, Fang Han had come from behind to surpass him on both the Martial Artist Ranking and the Celestial Pride List!
How could he possibly tolerate this?
Outside the study, the maids and attendants were deathly silent, cowering in the corners. They didn’t dare breathe too loudly, their faces etched with terror.
They had never seen Chu Feng so utterly lose his composure, so completely enraged.
Clearly, the change in rankings on the Celestial Pride List had been a massive blow to him.
"Get out! All of you, get out!"
Chu Feng whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes glaring outside as he roared hoarsely.
As if granted a pardon, the maids and attendants scrambled away, fleeing the suffocating atmosphere.
Chu Feng stood alone amidst the wreckage of his study, panting heavily, his expression terrifyingly grim.
He stared daggers at Fang Han’s name on the booklet, looking as if he wanted to eat him alive.
...
In the morning, a long line had formed outside the Qingxuan Sect’s Tingyu Hall.
At the beginning of each month, Tingyu Hall sold booklets with the latest rankings for the Celestial Pride List and the Martial Artist Ranking. For many disciples, this was a key source of information and a way to learn about the talented geniuses of their generation within the province.
The air was thick with a kind of suppressed excitement and anticipation.
When a Tingyu Hall Steward brought out stacks of new booklets, fresh with the scent of ink, a stir rippled through the crowd.
The booklets were snatched up in an instant. Disciples who managed to get one immediately began to flip through them.
"Quick, look at the Celestial Pride List!"
The gasp was like a stone dropped into a calm lake, instantly sending ripples spreading everywhere.
"Senior Brother Chu dropped to ninety-seventh, and Senior Brother Fang rose to ninety-fourth!"
"Senior Brother Fang’s ranking on the Celestial Pride List actually surpassed Senior Brother Chu’s!"
"Surpassed on the Sect’s Martial Artist Ranking, surpassed on the Celestial Pride List... Has Senior Brother Chu... been overtaken on both lists?!"
"Senior Brother Chu... has really lost face this time!"
The news spread like wildfire, sweeping through the entire Qingxuan Sect at an astonishing speed.
The dining hall, the Inheritance Hall, the Disciple Residences, the cultivation grounds... Wherever disciples gathered, the air buzzed with the names "Fang Han" and "Chu Feng," and the numbers "ninety-fourth" and "ninety-seventh."
Gasps of amazement, loud discussions, and hushed whispers all mingled together.
Many disciples who had once been oppressed by Chu Feng and his followers, or who simply disliked his methods, couldn’t help but lace their words with mockery and glee.
"Heh, surpassed on the Martial Artist Ranking and the Celestial Pride List. Let’s see how arrogant Chu Feng can be now!"
"He used his status as a Celestial Pride True Inheritance to bully Senior Brother Fang all the time. This is just karma!"
"So what if he joined the Sect a few years earlier? If your Talent isn’t up to par, you’ll eventually be trampled by your juniors!"
"Tsk, tsk. This time, Senior Brother Chu has lost all face completely..."
These conversations, sharp as needles, inevitably reached the ears of interested parties and spread even faster toward the True Inheritance Courtyard.
...
「True Inheritance Courtyard, Chu Feng’s Villa.」
The study was a disaster zone. Shattered porcelain, torn scrolls, and overturned furniture littered the floor.
Chu Feng’s chest heaved violently. His eyes were bloodshot, and his handsome face was twisted into a terrifying, savage mask of pure rage.
He clutched the Celestial Pride List booklet so tightly in his hand that it was nearly crushed.
’Surpassed by Fang Han on both lists!’
The utter humiliation burned through him like a poisonous fire, driving him to the brink of madness.
’I need to vent! I need to get out of this suffocating place!’
"Get the carriage ready! We’re going to Qingxuan City!"
Chu Feng threw open the study door and snarled at the terrified attendants outside, his voice as hoarse and grating as a broken gong.
He had to get to Qingxuan City. He needed to escape the humiliating gossip and find a place to cool the rage that felt like it would make his chest explode.
However, as he strode through the Sect grounds toward the main gate, his face dark, snippets of gloating conversation drifted into his ears.
"...and he thought he was so great. In the end, Senior Brother Fang still left him in the dust..."
"Exactly. He used to walk around with his nose in the air. Let’s see him act so high and mighty now..."
"To get passed by Senior Brother Fang on both the Martial Artist Ranking and the Celestial Pride List, hahaha..."
Those words were the final spark on a powder keg.
Chu Feng stopped dead in his tracks. He whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes locking onto the source of the voices—a few ordinary disciples chatting by the side of the path.
"What... were you saying?!"
Chu Feng’s voice was bone-chilling, laced with barely suppressed violence.
The disciples looked over at the sound of his voice. When they saw it was Chu Feng, their faces went white as sheets, and they began to tremble uncontrollably.
"S-Senior Brother Chu... We... we weren’t saying anything..."
One of the disciples stammered, trying to explain.
"SMACK!"
His Inner Qi materialized into a sharp Palm Seal and shot forward. The disciple cried out in pain.
He flew backward, spitting blood, and crashed heavily to the ground, unconscious.
"Filthy gossips!"
In his fury, Chu Feng moved like a bolt of lightning, unleashing a flurry of Fist and Foot Techniques.
He beat the other disciples until their bones were broken and their tendons torn, leaving them howling in agony on the ground.
The area near the main gate devolved into chaos. The disciples on duty watched from afar, but none dared to intervene and stop the enraged Chu Feng.
Beating them up vented some of his frustration, but the flames of humiliation and anger only burned hotter.
He spun around. Forgetting about Qingxuan City, he charged back toward the True Inheritance Courtyard.
His target was clear: Villa Number 35 in the True Inheritance Courtyard!
"Fang Han! Get out here!"
Before Chu Feng even arrived, his roar, saturated with Inner Qi, boomed like a thunderclap over Villa Number 35, making the walls tremble.
The courtyard gate was blasted open with immense force, sending splinters flying everywhere.
Chu Feng appeared in the doorway, his hair slightly disheveled and his expression savage. His eyes were locked on Fang Han, who was walking calmly out of the Quiet Chamber.
Dressed in a green robe, Fang Han appeared serene. He met the crazed-looking Chu Feng’s gaze with an air of indifference.
With his perception as a Fifth Grade Martial Artist, he had sensed the powerful aura approaching long before.
"Senior Brother Chu... no, I suppose I should call you Junior Brother Chu now. What brings you here, Junior Brother Chu?"
Fang Han’s tone was placid, betraying no emotion.
"What brings me here? Fang Han, cut the act!"
Chu Feng took a step forward, his immense aura erupting without restraint. It swept through the courtyard like a gale, flattening the grass and trees.
"You got lucky and surpassed my rank, and now you dare to be this arrogant? Today, I’ll show you who is truly stronger."
"Meet me on the challenge platform, and we’ll settle this! Do you dare accept my challenge?!"
Chu Feng’s voice was strained with emotion, filled with bone-deep hatred and defiance.
Fang Han laughed coldly in his heart as he watched Chu Feng, who was so enraged he had nearly lost all reason.
’There was a time when Chu Feng used his status as a Celestial Pride True Inheritance to oppress me, both openly and in the shadows. How high and mighty he was then?’
’He never imagined a day would come when I would surpass him on both lists, trampling him underfoot, did he?’
But merely surpassing him in the rankings felt... incomplete.
Now, hearing Chu Feng’s challenge, he finally understood what that was.
’Only by utterly defeating him in a duel, in front of everyone, can I truly vent this resentment I’ve been holding in.’
’As for killing him...’ A cold glint flashed in the depths of Fang Han’s eyes for a fleeting moment.
’If Chu Feng weren’t a Celestial Pride True Inheritance so valued by the Sect, killing him would invite too much troublesome investigation. Otherwise, I wouldn’t hesitate to find an opportunity to eliminate this problem for good.’
’But for now, grievously wounding him on the challenge platform and utterly humiliating him will be satisfying enough.’
"Since Junior Brother Chu insists on offering his guidance, it would seem cowardly of me to refuse."
Fang Han spoke slowly, his voice carrying clearly.
"I accept your challenge."
"Good! Very good!"
Seeing Fang Han accept, a savage grin spread across Chu Feng’s face.
"I’ll be waiting for you at the challenge platform! Let’s see if you can still talk so tough then!"
With that, Chu Feng said no more. He spun around and stalked away, radiating hostility.
The news that Chu Feng had challenged Fang Han—and that Fang Han had accepted—spread as if it had wings.
"Senior Brother Chu challenged Senior Brother Fang, and Senior Brother Fang accepted!"
"They’re both on the Celestial Pride List! A duel between Celestial Prides! This is a real duel between Celestial Prides!"
"Haha, I can’t miss this! Quick, to the challenge platform!"
The entire Qingxuan Sect was instantly in an uproar!
Countless disciples dropped their Cultivation and surged toward the challenge platform from all directions like a human tide.
Stewards and even a few Elders began to appear, clearly taking a keen interest in the fight.
Yun Qianyue, Li Feng, Xiao Chen, Elder Chen Xuan, and others acquainted with Fang Han were, of course, among the first to arrive.
Behind her purple veil, Yun Qianyue’s bright eyes held a trace of worry.
Li Feng’s eyes burned with anticipation.
Xiao Chen clenched his fists, his heart pounding with anxiety.
Elder Chen Xuan stood stroking his beard, his expression serene, but a hint of imperceptible concern lay hidden in his eyes.
In just a few moments, hundreds of people had already surrounded the challenge platform in thick layers. The crowd was still growing, and the din was deafening.
...
「About half an hour later.」
With a face as dark as a thundercloud, Chu Feng was the first to leap onto the tall challenge platform. His icy gaze swept over the crowd below before finally settling on a single spot.
The next moment, Fang Han parted the crowd with steady steps and calmly ascended the platform. He came to a stop about thirty yards from Chu Feng, the two of them facing each other down.
Their gazes met mid-air, and it was as if sparks flew between them. The intense animosity was so thick it seemed to make the very air congeal.
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