Chapter 23 – “Even without spiritual power, I will win.”

“Shixiong, my spiritual power is draining away…..I can’t control it…..I tried to stop it…..I can’t control it…..” Fang Yang was a little incoherent.

He knew that Feng Ye must have discovered the drastic reduction of his cultivation. There was nothing for him to hide anymore, so he poured out all of the suffering he had experienced in this short period of time.

When Fang Yang first realized he was losing spiritual power, he didn’t realize what it meant, and just thought he was really tired from the competition that morning. He adjusted his internal qi as usual, and reabsorbed the spiritual power that was spread throughout the world.

But…..the speed of loss was much greater than the speed of absorption, and he soon realized that something was wrong. His level dropped step by step, with unstoppable momentum. First, he fell below the seventh level of Qi Refining, then the sixth, the fifth…..and now to the third…..

The loss of spiritual power finally stopped, but this was nothing worth celebrating – because the majority of his cultivation had been destroyed over this short period of time.

Fang Yang had never suffered such a blow. He would be sixteen years old this year, but he was actually about fifteen. The biggest setback he had ever experienced was having the sugar figurine he had worked so hard to obtain snatched from him by the village bully.

But now he was faced with the fact that all of his hard work this past year had been in vain. All of it, gone in an instant. The championship and the earth-level magic weapon, things that were once just a step away from him, were now out of reach.

Fang Yang was suffering a mental breakdown and didn’t know what to do. He could only follow his instincts and hide in a corner to secretly cry. 

But he felt that crying was a very shameful thing, so he only dared to cry quietly, and tried to hide it in front of Useless Shixiong and Huo-dage.

Although his embarrassing appearance had been seen by everyone, he still rubbed his eyes vigorously in an attempt to be less of an eyesore.

Seeing Fang Yang like this, Feng Ye pursed his lips slightly. He didn’t speak any words of comfort, but asked instead: “What did you have for lunch?”

Fang Yang stopped rubbing his eyes. He was a little confused, not understanding why Useless Shixiong would ask this. He also had no idea why his cultivation had regressed. The mere fact that it had regressed was enough to devastate him to such an extent that he had no time to think about anything else.

Hao Chen discovered the key to the issue in Feng Ye’s question. It seemed this naive boy had become too popular and someone had taken action against him.

“I just…..just…..ate…..in the cafeteria…..” Despite not understanding, Fang Yang answered honestly. Even though he tried to speak normally, he still sobbed here and there.

“Did anything happen during the meal?” Feng Ye asked.

Fang Yang recalled: “Nothing, ah. I just found a corner like I usually do…..that’s right!” Fang Yang finally remembered a clue: “A fellow disciple I’m not familiar with came and praised me for being so fierce.”

There was no need to think it over. This was the culprit. Or even if he wasn’t the culprit, he was associated with him.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen came to this realization simultaneously.

Feng Ye asked again: “Do you remember what he looked like?”

Fang Yang nodded, then shook his head and said vaguely: “Just…..very ordinary…..like you, Shixiong…..”

Feng Ye: “……” Was this a disguised way of saying he looked average?

He stood up from the floor, giving up finding out the identity of that person from Fang Yang.

Pfft. Although the current matter was not something to laugh about, Hao Chen couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. The naive boy was truly naive.

He continued to maintain a grave, solemn expression so as not to ruin the sad atmosphere.

Although Fang Yang was the only sad one.

Hao Chen had no feelings about this matter at all, and was just watching the show.

And Feng Ye stood there with his arms folded, frowning in thought. Even though the clues given by Fang Yang wouldn’t lead to the culprit, based on the motive, the suspect pool was fairly small.

Why did they poison him?

Resentment. Benefits.

And there was only one person with both motives.

Lu Chengye held a grudge against Fang Yang and was a strong competitor for the championship. With Fang Yang removed as an obstacle, he would be the biggest beneficiary no matter how one looked at it.

But there was no evidence…..no evidence to prove that Lu Chengye had done it. All suspicions directed at Lu Chengye originated from Feng Ye’s extremely subjective speculation.

Fang Yang wouldn’t be able to get justice for the time being – at least, not by conventional means.

With this thought in mind, Feng Ye set the matter aside for the time being. There were more urgent matters at the moment.

He took an abrupt step forward, picked up the iron sword Fang Yang had placed on the table, and went back to him. Holding it by the middle of the scabbard, he held it out to Fang Yang. His meaning was self-evident.

Fang Yang stared, and so did Hao Chen.

Such was Fang Yang’s bewilderment that he even stopped crying. He looked at the hilt of the sword in front of him, and then up at Feng Ye’s serious face. Without moving, he maintained the posture of hugging his knees.

Feng Ye pushed the hilt of the sword forward a bit and said: “Go to the competition.”

Cold and impersonal, Hao Chen thought. Feng Ye was usually very easy to talk to, and never truly got angry at anyone. But Feng Ye was a completely different person right now, callous and unfeeling.

Fang Yang had fallen to the third level of Qi Refining. Wouldn’t it be humiliating if he went to the competition?

Could he still be expected to defeat the remaining opponents with his third level Qi Refining skills, which put him close to the bottom in the entire sect?

Although Fang Yang had defeated a White-Nosed Demon Bear at Foundation Establishment stage with his seventh level Qi Refining cultivation, Hao Chen was aware that there was a level of falsity to it. The White-Nosed Demon Bear had been forced to advance by Hao Chen himself. It appeared to be at Foundation Establishment stage, but its power was still unstable, making it far inferior to a genuine Foundation Establishment monster.

Moreover, had Fang Yang truly defeated it on his own?

Although he hadn’t caught Feng Ye’s fox tail, Hao Chen didn’t believe that this fellow hadn’t helped at all.

Fang Yang’s triumph over the White-Nosed Demon Bear was an unrepeatable happenstance. Given the absolute gap in strength, it would be impossible for him to win such a battle again.

Fang Yang thought the same way. He naturally knew the time for the competition had come, but also knew it was useless for him to attend now.

He remained unmoving.

After a brief stalemate, Feng Ye handed the hilt of the sword to Fang Yang for the third time. His tone was severe, nearly ice-cold: “Take up your sword. Go to the competition.”

“But even if I go, I can’t win, ah!” Being urged again and again by Feng Ye, Fang Yang was no longer disconsolate, but was stimulated into a sort of self-destructive anger.

He glared at Feng Ye with red, swollen eyes, and shouted: “I’m only at the third level of Qi Refining, and the remaining opponents are at least at the sixth level of Qi Refining. It’s impossible for me to win!”

“It’s impossible for me to win!” After shouting at Feng Ye, Fang Yang repeated this loudly toward the floor, saying it for both himself and the others.

It was impossible. If he went there, all he would accomplish was letting everyone know that his cultivation had drastically declined and he had become a waste.

Feng Ye slowly retracted the hand holding the sword, and Fang Yang thought he had been convinced.

Feng Ye suddenly repeated Fang Yang’s words: “Impossible?”

Fang Yang felt that he was being called into question, so he tilted his head to look directly into Feng Ye’s eyes, and replied: “Simply impossible, ah. If I try to win the championship, I’ll definitely run into an opponent at the seventh level of Qi Refining, which is more than twice the spiritual power level of someone at the third level of Qi Refining. It’s impossible to win! Shixiong, you don’t understand…..”

Fang Yang abruptly cut off. He realized that his words were a bit too much, as if he was belittling the cultivation of his Useless Shixiong. Although this was a statement of fact, Feng Ye was only at the third level of Qi Refining, and couldn’t understand the difference between the third and seventh levels.

Feng Ye stared at Fang Yang, unmoving.

“A person at level three of Qi Refining can’t beat someone at level seven?” Feng Ye suddenly smiled.

A person at level three of Qi Refining couldn’t beat someone at level seven. This should have been an established fact. Fang Yang, who had once been at the seventh level of Qi Refining, was very clear about the difference in spiritual power between the two, and it was precisely because of this clarity that he believed he couldn’t win.

But when the words came from Feng Ye’s mouth, they were spoken in a frivolous tone, as if he was telling a joke.

After smiling, he spoke again.

The smile was now completely absent, leaving behind only the coldness of firm iron. He spoke with emphasis on each word: “Even with no spiritual power, I can win.”

Having said this, he ignored Fang Yang’s eyes that were wide with surprise, took the iron sword, and turned away with large strides.

With a swish, Hao Chen closed his fan and quickly followed Feng Ye’s departing footsteps.

His face was full of pleasant surprise, because he had realized that…..the real show was about to begin.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here.

Chapter 22 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 24