NOVEL WEB Ch. 102
Chapter 102: Setting a Trap, Chen You Takes the Stage
Gu Fan finished speaking and sat in the middle of the arena, his demeanor extremely arrogant.
However, despite his provocation, no one stepped forward for a while.
Seeing this, Gu Fan cursed himself inwardly for being too careless earlier.
Had he known, he would have exchanged a few more moves. It was likely that his one-move instant defeat of his opponent had put the others on guard.
He had originally planned to lure in a few big fish step by step. After all, even without using the Green Lotus Phantom in the Lower Realm, he could fight alone against an early-stage True Yang Realm cultivator.
Mere Primordial Yang Realm cultivators were not worth fearing at all!
Just as Gu Fan was pondering, a sharp screech suddenly rang out.
“Junior Brother Jin! Who! Who injured a disciple of my Sumeru Peak like this?!”
A male disciple rushed to the side of the unconscious youth outside the arena and shouted angrily.
The surrounding disciples, afraid of being caught up in the conflict, immediately backed away a few steps.
“So it was someone from Sumeru Peak. No wonder he could fight above his realm!”
“Heh, Sumeru Peak, ranked sixth among the Ten Peaks. Judging from the looks of it, he must have been a newly joined disciple of the sect, probably selected by one of the Ten Peaks, and got a bit too full of himself.”
“Haha, indeed. Brahma God Sect never lacks geniuses. To dare act so arrogant just by crossing four minor levels—he deserved that beating.”
“Too bad he ran into someone even tougher. But then again, doesn’t that mean the guy on the arena might also be from the Ten Peaks?”
When the newcomer heard that his junior brother had been injured, his gaze turned to the arena.
Gu Fan was still seated casually on the ground, then responded sternly,
“Did you injure my junior brother?”
Gu Fan nodded.
“I didn’t insist on going up. Your junior brother specifically named me and asked for a beating. Can’t blame me for that. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone seek out a beating on their own.”
The male disciple’s expression darkened after hearing Gu Fan’s mocking.
“Do you realize whom you’ve offended with this? My junior brother is a disciple of the Ten Peaks. For daring to strike him like this, I’ll give you one chance—cripple one layer of your cultivation as an apology!”
“Hah?”
Gu Fan nearly burst out laughing.
So this was the mindset of a Ten Peaks disciple?
“Did I hear you wrong? Your junior brother challenged me, I was forced to accept, then I beat him—and now I have to apologize?”
Gu Fan stood up on the arena, looking down at the other from above.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Unexpectedly, the other party showed no shame, instead nodding matter-of-factly.
“A disciple of the Ten Peaks could never lose to a mere ordinary disciple. If I’m not mistaken, you must have used some underhanded trick in the duel!”
“I’ll say it one more time—apologize, or fight me!”
Gu Fan glanced at the robe he was wearing. Because he wasn’t wearing the distinctive attire of the Ten Peaks, he was mistaken for an ordinary disciple.
So that was the angle they were playing—thinking he was an easy target.
But this deepened Gu Fan’s understanding of the sect’s rules.
Privilege was everything!
Identity determined everything!
Those with strength could act however they pleased. Even if they went after you publicly, what could you do?
They bullied you because you were just an ordinary disciple. Even with some strength, without backing, death awaited you all the same!
Looking around, it seemed everyone avoided getting involved.
They only dared whisper to one another—no one dared to speak up.
“Heh, so that’s how it is. What realm are you in?”
The male disciple paused, thinking the other was frightened, and arrogantly replied,
“Chen You, disciple of the Ten Peaks, cultivation at Half-step Primordial Yang Realm!”
To his surprise, Gu Fan didn’t show any fear or cowardice.
Instead, he nodded seriously.
“In that case, come up and fight!”
Chen You thought he had misheard—until Gu Fan raised his hand and beckoned with a finger.
“Why are you standing there dumbfounded? Get up here and face your death!”
In an instant, Chen You’s face turned grim, gritting his teeth as he squeezed out a few words.
“Fine, fine, fine! You're courting death!”
As soon as he finished, he didn’t hold back, afraid Gu Fan might regret his decision. Leaving his unconscious junior brother behind, he leapt onto the arena.
“For the sake of so-called face and dignity, you actually dare fight me? Courting death!”
Gu Fan let out a chuckle. Courting death?
“Hope you can be just as tough when you're begging for mercy later.”
Hearing this, Chen You didn’t waste any more words. With a loud shout, a powerful aura soared into the sky.
He pressed his palms together, then connected the index fingers of both hands, with thumbs touching to form a triangle.
“Heaven Surge!”
Immediately, spiritual power gathered in the center of the triangle formed by his hands, compressing rapidly before blasting toward Gu Fan with a boom!
Gu Fan took one look—it was a decent combat technique.
But unfortunately, before absolute strength, it could only end in defeat.
This time, however, Gu Fan had learned his lesson. He deliberately suppressed his strength, planning to exchange a few rounds with Chen You first.
He intended to make the victory appear difficult. Otherwise, the others might not fall for it again.
With that in mind, he feigned a close call as he dodged.
His expression turned pretentiously grim as he lunged at Chen You.
The two clashed rapidly. Once Gu Fan got close, he gave Chen You no chance to retreat.
To the audience below, it looked like Chen You was beating down Gu Fan.
Although Gu Fan appeared to be struggling under pressure, he always managed to escape danger at the last possible moment in unexpected ways.
At least, that’s how it seemed to the onlookers.
At that moment, Chen You was growing increasingly alarmed the more they fought.
It clearly felt like he was dominating the fight, but he could sense that the rhythm of the battle was not his to control at all.
Most notably, Gu Fan seemed to be teetering on the edge of danger at all times, as if he could be defeated at any moment, yet he maintained a subtle balance.
No matter how Chen You adjusted his strength—whether bursting out with more power or holding some back—Gu Fan instantly adapted.
This gave him the chilling feeling of a cold blade pressed against his back.
“Desolate Wasteland Finger!”
Chen You gritted his teeth and unleashed another attack, executing a supreme combat technique.
A greenish finger-shaped phantom shot toward Gu Fan.
The violent spiritual power surged across the arena, so intense that even the ordinary disciples watching below could feel its might!
“That’s one of Sumeru Peak’s ultimate techniques!”
“This should be it for Chen You. Gu Fan’s done well just lasting this long.”
Chen You smirked coldly and said,
“It’s over. Forcing me to use Sumeru Peak’s ultimate technique, you’ve shown some skill!”
But just then, he saw that Gu Fan didn’t dodge. Instead, facing the oncoming Desolate Wasteland Finger, he actually smiled.
Gu Fan laughed in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“That’s enough. Playing along with you this long is exhausting. I was really worried I might accidentally cripple you earlier.”
Chen You’s expression changed drastically.
This bastard had been acting all along!
He had been pretending the entire time!
By now, it was too late for Chen You to react.
Gu Fan gathered spiritual power at his fingertip—this looked like a finger-type technique too.
“Heavenly Finger!”
Buzz!
It wasn’t as flashy as Chen You’s Desolate Wasteland Finger.
Only a nearly invisible blast of finger force shot forth.
Pop—
With a crisp sound, the Desolate Wasteland Finger was directly pierced through, followed by the Heavenly Finger force striking Chen You’s abdomen without pause.
A bloom of crimson blood burst forth!