Chapter 56: A Bet

Qing turned toward the young man and saw that he was the same person who had directed killing intent toward him during the test. He narrowed his eyes as he took in the features of the man, noticing the same white robe that every disciple wore, along with a long ponytail tied behind his back and sharp eyebrows.

He had the face of a handsome man, but from the way he had been acting all this time, Qing couldn’t help but become suspicious about whether he was also someone dancing on the Sect Master’s palm.

’Hmm, he says he wants a duel? Is he nuts? He is a Golden Core Realm cultivator and he wants to fight someone like me?’ Qing couldn’t help but feel that the guy had some kind of brain problem, especially when he suddenly heard his voice echo again.

He looked toward him without changing his expression as the young man continued speaking.

"Do not worry about cultivation Realms, I will use a formation to lower my strength and rank to match yours." Qing narrowed his eyes again when he heard that, his suspicion toward the young man increasing even further.

’Why the heck is he so intent on fighting me? No... rather, killing me?’ He frowned again before deciding to answer him.

Qing answered with a smile and a slight bow, "Senior, I would like to avoid fighting anyone as I am new here, and I would like to tour the sect some more rather than challenging someone." He maintained the polite expression on his face while speaking, although his thoughts were completely different from his words.

’It is better to stay put than make a ruckus, I have already gotten too much attention on me. This guy seems to have some enmity with me. If I beat him up, he will come back again, and maybe next time he won’t even care about rank equalization just like those Novels have.’ Qing remained silent while thinking about it, while the young man in front of him clenched his teeth and took a few steps forward, stopping just in front of the bowed Qing.

"Then how about we bet something?" This time, the young man’s voice sounded rough and slightly angry. Qing narrowed his eyes as he listened to him, ’You could have trapped someone else with a good deal in this situation, but unfortunately, I already have things beyond what you can give.’ He lifted his head and spoke up, "Sorry Senior, I would still like to step ba-"

Before he could finish his words, the young man interrupted him, "If you win, I will tell you every secret information I know about."

Qing immediately arched an eyebrow at this and thought, ’Well, well, well, look at that, this guy is not some face-slapping character who bets treasures like some moron character from the novels.’ A small smile formed on his lips as he continued thinking about it.

’He knows the pros and cons of the world too well. Information is the most expensive thing in every world.’ For the first time, Qing’s interest in this man was piqued, and he finally spoke up, "And if I lose?" Hearing his question, the young man finally smiled as he realized that Qing’s previous hesitation was gone.

"If you lose, then you will do only one thing I ask after the Duel, remind you it is nothing like being servant or anything. I will reveal it only after you lose." Qing remained silent with an indifferent expression while thinking, ’Someone who is releasing Killing intent uncontrollably wants me to do something? This doesn’t add up...’

His suspicion toward this guy grew even more, and more importantly, he wondered what he was even going to ask him to do.

’He must want something that is really ’Expensive’ if the deal is equal. Hmm... this is a risky bet where I won’t know what he wants until the match ends.’ Qing kept thinking about it for a long moment, leaving the man waiting in front of him. He carefully considered the deal before making his decision.

’Well, that will only happen if I lose, right? Hehe~’ Qing amused himself with that thought for the last time before finally answering him, "Alright then, I accept." The young man immediately grinned and spoke, "Follow me to the Dueling Area."

The young man flew high up into the sky the very next moment, while Qing looked at his fading figure for a moment before following him. Some disciples followed both of them without hesitation as they became curious about who would win.

"Do you think Jin will beat that new guy up? He is one of the top three among us core disciples, let’s go see this match." The remaining others immediately nodded and followed behind everyone, clearly interested in seeing the duel.

The old man who had been sitting on the chair and had gazed back at Qing just moments ago smiled and spoke, "These little hens will be surprised quite a bit, after all..."

"...that new lad is a monster under Human Skin."

With that, he stood up from his position and vanished without leaving anything behind.

...

A few minutes later...

In a different location within the sect itself, the massive dueling area was already slightly filled because of all the core disciples who had come to see the match. Qing and the young man, Jin, stood opposite to each other with about ten meters of distance between them. The young man suddenly threw a small ring above his own head before speaking.

"I should introduce myself first, I am Jin, Jin Wein." Qing nodded before seeing the ring above Jin suddenly expand and cover his entire body as it fell onto the ground. The moment it hit the ground, a small illuminating light appeared, and a formation emerged from the ring in one circular motion.

The formation remained active for just a single instant before vanishing completely. The moment it disappeared, Jin took a stance as the ring also vanished from the ground, and he spoke again, "Now that we are equal in cultivation rank, the rules should also be clear: Only No Killing, everything else is allowed." Qing exhaled and took his own stance before answering him.

"Alright Senior, I hope to learn much from you."

- - -

[A/N: I should Clarify Something that these earlier fights will contain something close to ’Martial Arts’ mixed with Cultivation Energy, but the more we progress into the story the fights will show Cultivation aspects more.]