Chapter 180 - 174: He Will Fall Hard

Chapter 180: Chapter 174: He Will Fall Hard

The Jade pulsed with a faint halo of light that vanished a moment later. The On-Duty Disciple removed the Waist Token and handed it back to Chen Yue with both hands.

"One thousand two hundred Contribution Points have been transferred. Please take it, Senior Brother Chen."

Chen Yue took the Waist Token, tied it back onto his waist, cupped his fists in a salute to the On-Duty Disciple, and turned to leave the Affairs Hall.

Outside the Affairs Hall, the sunlight was a little brighter than before. Chen Yue didn’t linger, striding in the direction of Dan Peak.

The Hundred Herbs Pavilion seemed particularly quiet in the sunlight. The ochre-red mountainside gleamed with a gentle luster, as if it had been baked by the fires of Pill Furnaces for a thousand years, leaving behind a burnished sheen.

Chen Yue ascended the steps and walked into the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

When the On-Duty Disciple saw Chen Yue enter, he assumed he was there to exchange medicinal herbs for Alchemy—his daily routine at the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

"Senior Brother Chen, still the herbs for the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill? How many portions today?"

Chen Yue shook his head.

"I’m not getting herbs today. I want to exchange for Elixirs."

The pen in the On-Duty Disciple’s hand paused. He looked up at Chen Yue, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

But surprise was one thing; he still had a job to do.

The On-Duty Disciple set down his pen and took out a Jade from behind the counter to make a record.

"Seventy Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills. And forty Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pills."

The On-Duty Disciple swallowed hard. "Five hundred and forty Contribution Points!"

"Mhm." Chen Yue nodded and handed over his Waist Token.

"Senior Brother Chen, the Elixirs need to be retrieved from the stores. Please wait a moment." The On-Duty Disciple said, turning and walking toward the storeroom in the back.

Chen Yue stood waiting at the counter, his gaze sweeping casually across the main hall of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

A moment later, the On-Duty Disciple came out carrying a tray. He placed it on the counter and, in front of Chen Yue, checked and counted the vials one by one.

After confirming the count was correct, he placed the vials into a wooden box and handed it to Chen Yue.

Chen Yue took the box and left the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

These Elixirs were only enough for ten days of cultivation. The cost had eaten up almost half of the one thousand two hundred Contribution Points he had just earned.

The mere thought was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Time slipped by quietly during his cultivation.

Outside the window, the sun moved from east to west. In the courtyard, shadows stretched from short to long, then from long to short again.

Chen Yue’s cultivation session lasted from morning until night.

As night deepened, the chirping of insects in the courtyard rose and fell.

「Day by day, time passed.」

Discussions about the Sky-Ladder duels grew more and more frequent among the Inner and outer sect disciples of the Panshi Sect.

On the fourth day, a piece of news sent the fervor of these discussions skyrocketing.

Meng Guihong, the disciple Chen Yue had been forced to skip because he was away, had finally returned to the Panshi Sect after a mission that lasted over ten days.

As he walked through the sect gates, he noticed many disciples giving him strange looks.

He pulled aside a familiar disciple to ask what was going on. The disciple told him everything, from Chen Yue’s initial challenge to him, to how he had switched to challenging Ji Wanting due to his absence.

Meng Guihong listened, falling silent for a moment.

He had heard of Chen Yue but hadn’t paid him any mind.

’In his eyes, it was all just petty squabbling between ordinary disciples, nothing that concerned him.’

’He never expected that Chen Yue would become his business so quickly.’

Meng Guihong stood in his courtyard, facing the old locust tree, his arms crossed as he remained silent for a long while.

On the stone table beneath the tree sat a pot of tea and two cups, the fragrant steam curling into the air.

His junior sister sat by the stone table, one hand cupping her chin, the other tracing idle circles on the tabletop as she gazed at Meng Guihong’s back.

She was a few years younger than Meng Guihong, with delicate features and a hint of scholarly grace in her eyes. She wore a pale pink dress, and a few stray strands of her hair fluttered gently in the breeze.

She and Meng Guihong had been dao companions for two years. Their bond was deep, and they were practically inseparable. She was the one who understood his thoughts best.

Meng Guihong turned, walked to the stone table, and sat down. He lifted his cup for a sip, then looked at his junior sister with a smile.

"I was planning on taking a rest, but it seems I’ll have to go watch tomorrow’s duel. While I’m at it, maybe I’ll see if I can move up a few spots myself!"

A smile appeared on the face of Meng Guihong’s junior sister. She reached out, refilled the cup in front of him, then set down the teapot. Folding her hands in her lap, she leaned forward slightly.

"I’ll go with you tomorrow to see for myself. I want to know just how strong this Junior Brother Chen who dared to challenge you really is!"

Meng Guihong shook his head, his smile fading slightly and taking on a hint of arrogance.

"He certainly has some strength. Without it, he couldn’t have defeated Cheng Fengjun or left the Mutual Aid Association helpless against him."

"But with all this recent commotion surrounding him, he clearly doesn’t have the temperament for quiet cultivation. On the path of a Martial Artist, impatience and restlessness are the greatest taboos. A person like him is bound to stumble."

His junior sister just smiled without arguing, her gaze resting on Meng Guihong’s face, her eyes filled with a soft light.

「Early in the morning, just as the eastern sky began to show the first light of dawn, the main peak’s Martial Arts Arena was already bustling with activity.」

As the sky brightened, more and more figures converged from the mountain paths of the Panshi Sect’s various peaks.

Normally, the Sky-Ladder duels would attract a large number of disciples to spectate.

But today, the crowd was significantly larger than usual. There was only one reason for this spectacle: Chen Yue.

A Marrow Refining Realm disciple, who had joined the sect less than two months ago, was challenging Ji Wanting—a Late Stage Refining Organ Realm expert ranked ninety-ninth on the Cyan Cloud Ranking.

Such an event was not unprecedented in the history of the Panshi Sect, but every time it occurred, it caused a massive stir.

The crowd around the Martial Arts Arena grew larger and larger, the intermingling voices creating a low, persistent hum.

Amidst the noise, the name Chen Yue was mentioned again and again.

Some felt that Chen Yue was exceptionally talented and courageous, having dared to confront the Mutual Aid Association while he was still in the Bone Forging Realm.

However, many others thought Chen Yue was too cocky. They disliked how he constantly stirred up trouble, relying on his talent and combat prowess. They were here today hoping to see him make a fool of himself.

But even more people were busy analyzing the possible outcomes of the duel.

Ji Wanting was no ordinary practitioner of the Refining Organ Realm. There were no weaklings among the prodigies who made it onto the Cyan Cloud Ranking.

Every single person on the Cyan Cloud Ranking had fought their way there through countless battles.

Cheng Fengjun was strong, right? But even he had planned to wait until he broke through to the Late Stage of the Refining Organ Realm before he started challenging those on the Cyan Cloud Ranking.

It wasn’t that he lacked confidence. He just knew that the people on the Cyan Cloud Ranking were no ordinary Refining Organ Realm cultivators. Challenging them recklessly without absolute certainty often resulted in severe injury.

After all, while you could concede in a Cyan Cloud Ranking duel and opponents couldn’t intentionally kill you, they would show no mercy when it came to defending their rank.