NOVEL WEB Chapter 53: Who Among You is Going to Be My Stepping Stone?
Feng Fan's curiosity was piqued by the elder's proposition. "A wager, you say? Alright, what kind of wager are we talking about?"
The Blue Dragon Sect elder smirked, summoning a striking black-and-red spear from his space ring. "A simple competition. You and my strongest disciple will enter the pocket dimension. Whoever emerges with the most quantity of treasures wins. My wager is this low-tier Spiritual spear."
The spear gleamed under the sunlight, its aura commanding the attention of everyone around.
Feng Fan didn't respond immediately. Instead, he turned to Xue Qiang with a casual tone. "Qinqin, what's the grade of your spear?"
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Xue Qiang blinked but quickly answered, "High common grade."
Feng Fan nodded thoughtfully before facing the elder again. "Alright, we accept your wager. I don't have much on hand, but I did pick up some useless trinkets off the street last night. If we pool them together, they should match the value of your spear, don't you think?"
With that, Feng Fan summoned an impressive array of treasures and low spiritual qi stones from his space ring, laying them out for everyone to see. The onlookers gasped as the collection—clearly the wealth of the Huang and Wen families—sparkled in the light.
The display lasted only a moment before Feng Fan calmly returned the treasures to his ring, his expression indifferent, as if he hadn't just flaunted a fortune.
Wen Xue and Huang Chao were visibly shaken by the sight of the stolen treasures. Wen Xue, aware of her position, bit back her words, suppressing the urge to react.
Huang Chao, however, lacked her restraint. Still seething over the humiliation he suffered the previous night, his fury boiled over.
"You… You're the damn thief! I'll kill you!" he roared, lunging forward with his fist aimed at Feng Fan.
Feng Fan remained unfazed, a sly smirk playing on his lips. 'What an idiot.'
But before Huang Chao could land his strike, a suffocating pressure descended upon him. It was as if an invisible force crushed him to the ground, slamming him down with a resounding thud.
"What do you think you're doing?" Elder Peng's voice was cold and commanding. "Do you think I don't exist? If you want to fight, save it for the pocket dimension."
The weight of Elder Peng's authority left Huang Chao trembling, pinned under the elder's qi like a disobedient dog.
The Blue Dragon Sect elder glanced at Huang Chao with visible displeasure.
'This brat is utterly useless, losing his composure so easily.'
Despite his annoyance, he used his spiritual qi to dispel Elder Peng's pressure from Huang Chao, allowing him to rise.
Tan Lei, sensing the tension, quickly intervened, dragging Huang Chao back. "My apologies, Elder Shi Fan. This won't happen again."
Shi Fan gave a curt nod before redirecting his attention to Feng Fan.
"Very well," Shi Fan said, his tone neutral. "I'll accept what you've shown as the wager."
"And how will we determine who collects the most treasures?"
Shi Fan pulled two bracelets from his space ring and displayed them. "These bracelets will measure the spiritual qi energy in each treasure you collect and show the points in real-time. Of course, if a treasure is stolen, points will be deducted. What do you think?"
Feng Fan raised an eyebrow. "Alright, but let me first check if you've tampered with them. Who knows what underhanded tricks you might use to secure a victory."
Shi Fan's eyes narrowed in anger. "You dare accuse my Blue Dragon Sect of dishonesty?"
'Of course they aren't. Do I even need to tamper with them to win? You brat,' thought Shi Fan.
Feng Fan didn't respond, instead smiling and extending his hand toward Shi Fan, waiting for him to hand over both bracelets for verification.
Of course, Feng Fan was reading his mind and knew they hadn't been tampered with, but he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to humiliate the Blue Dragon Sect.
Since they were already enemies, there was no need to be polite!
Shi Fan snorted but handed the bracelets over to Feng Fan.
Feng Fan passed them to Elder Peng, who verified them before returning them.
"They're fine," said Elder Peng.
"Perfect," Feng Fan said, turning to Xue Qiang.
"Qinqing, wait for me to give you a gift. I'm sure you'll like it!"
Xue Qiang smiled. "Thanks, Feng Fan."
Huang Xue watched this with a hint of jealousy, but then she recalled the gift Feng Fan had given her the day before. She touched the pendant around her neck and felt better.
Shi Fan, enraged by the blatant disrespect, sneered. "Do you really think you can win with your pathetic strength? Let's see if you even make it out of this alive!"
"Listen, everyone," Shi Fan called out. "Whoever brings me this kid's head will be rewarded with the Spiritual spear I just showed."
The crowd gasped. For Qi Gathering cultivators from low and mid-level sects, such a treasure would be considered a family heirloom!
'This Shi Fan is too sinister!' thought Feng Fan.
Elder Peng, Huang Xue, and Xue Qiang looked at him with worried expressions.
Feng Fan noticed their concern and flashed a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I'm not so easy to kill," he said confidently.
He then turned his attention to the disciples behind Shi Fan. "Who among you is going to be my stepping stone?"
The disciples frowned but remained silent in response to his provocation.
"Zheng Huang, come here," said Shi Fan.
A disciple with short hair and a muscular build stepped forward and cupped his hands respectfully. "Elder Shi."
A strong 9th Qi Gathering realm pressure emanated from him.
Shi Fan handed him the bracelet. "You'll teach this brat a lesson he won't forget."
Zheng Huang took the bracelet, slipped it onto his right arm, and flashed an evil smile at Feng Fan. "Don't worry, this brat won't leave the pocket dimension alive."
Shi Fan tossed the other bracelet to Feng Fan.
Feng Fan caught it and strapped it onto his right arm before saying with a fake warm smile.
"Thanks for the hospitality. I'll make sure to take good care of your disciples inside."