Chapter 183. Friendly spar [1]

Chapter 183: 183. Friendly spar [1]

Soon, they arrived at a secluded area of the training grounds. The place looked somewhat worn down from years of use, but it was spacious enough for a proper duel.

Lin Xuan stepped into the center and took his position, waiting for the two elders to decide who would go first.

Elder Qian and Hai Yun moved to the side and sat down to watch. There were no chairs available in this secluded area, so they simply made do with a few large stones scattered nearby.

Lin Xuan glanced at Wei Rong and Mo Jian.

"Which one of you is going first?"

Before either elder could answer, Qian Deyu glanced between them and suddenly spoke.

"Why don’t the two of you fight him together?"

Everyone immediately turned toward him.

Qian Deyu ignored their expressions and looked toward Lin Xuan with a calm smile.

"Patriarch Lin, what do you think? If you manage to defeat both of them, the royal family will provide you with a Legendary-Rank artifact of your choosing from our treasury."

Lin Xuan’s brows furrowed.

"Elder Qian, you have severely overestimated me. How can you expect me to go against the two of them together and actually win?"

Qian Deyu’s smile stiffened slightly.

*He isn’t confident in defeating the two of them?*

His eyes shifted toward Lin Xuan as his thoughts began to turn.

Or is a Legendary-Rank artifact simply not tempting enough?

For a moment, Qian Deyu seriously considered whether a Legendary-Rank artifact was truly insufficient to tempt Lin Xuan.

However, judging from Lin Xuan’s expression, the more obvious explanation seemed to be that he genuinely lacked confidence.

Qian Deyu sighed inwardly and decided to relent.

"Very well. How about this instead? You only need to last ten minutes against the two of them."

"Ten minutes?"

Lin Xuan repeated the words while staring at Wei Rong and Mo Jian.

The expressions of the two elders had already become rather unpleasant.

Lin Xuan could understand why.

If he had to guess, they were probably indignant because Qian Deyu had casually suggested that they fight him together, as though defeating a newly promoted Rank Eight Patriarch required two royal elders to gang up on him.

These two really seem to care about their pride.

Lin Xuan returned his attention to Qian Deyu.

"I don’t think I can last ten minutes either."

Qian Deyu stared at him silently.

By this point, the old man had already given up trying to figure out what was going through Lin Xuan’s head. He waved his hand helplessly.

"Very well, then. Proceed with the one-versus-one as originally planned."

However, the moment those words left his mouth, a displeased voice came from the side.

"What exactly are you trying to imply by that sentence, Qian Deyu?"

The atmosphere immediately became quiet.

Qian Deyu slowly turned his head.

Hai Yun was still sitting upon the stone, but the gentle smile that had been on her face was gone. Her cloudy eyes carried a faint trace of displeasure as she stared directly at him.

Hai Yun crossed one leg over the other and tilted her head slightly.

"Are you saying that the suggestion I made was boring?"

Qian Deyu’s eyelid twitched.

"That was not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

Hai Yun’s voice remained calm, but the displeasure beneath it was unmistakable.

Qian Deyu fell silent for a moment.

He suddenly realized that his attempt to end the awkward situation had somehow created another problem entirely.

Why is everyone here so difficult?

Qian Deyu looked at Hai Yun for a moment before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

"Very well. If my words gave you the wrong impression, then I apologize, Elder Hai. I had no intention of suggesting that your proposal was boring."

Hai Yun studied him for several seconds before the displeasure on her face gradually faded.

"Since you have apologized, I will let the matter rest. But I hope there won’t be a next tome."

Qian Deyu nodded.

"Thank you. There definitely won’t be an next time."

With the matter settled, Hai Yun turned her attention toward the two royal elders.

"Then let Elder Wei go first."

Wei Rong’s expression immediately became solemn.

"Very well."

He stepped forward and entered the center of the training ground, standing several dozen steps away from Lin Xuan.

However, before either of them could make a move, a commotion came from the edge of the training ground.

The children of the Lin Family had already begun gathering.

They had naturally noticed that their Patriarch had brought several important guests into one of the secluded training areas, and their curiosity had quickly gotten the better of them.

Hai Yun looked over the gathering children before politely calling out to one of them.

"Little one, could you do me a favor?"

The child immediately straightened.

"Yes elder, what can I do for you?"

"Could you go and call Hai Yue for me? Tell her that we are about to watch an interesting fight."

The child nodded enthusiastically and hurried away.

Hai Yun then looked toward the other children with a faint smile.

"You should all come over and sit down as well. There is plenty of room."

The children needed no further encouragement.

They quickly began finding places around the training ground.

Lin Xuan eventually noticed a familiar figure pushing her way toward the front.

Unlike the other children, she made no attempt to hide her excitement.

She quickly found herself a place in the very front row and sat down comfortably, her fan resting against her shoulder as she looked toward the center of the training ground.

Lin Xuan’s mouth twitched.

Apparently, my own daughter is looking forward to this more than anyone.

Wei Rong stood silently across from him.

He had initially entered the training ground with a serious expression, fully prepared to demonstrate the strength of a Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator and show this young Patriarch what a royal elder was capable of.

But as more and more children gathered around them, his expression slowly became strange.

For some reason, he suddenly felt as though he were standing in the center of a performance stage.

The thought made his expression darken slightly.

Still, he suppressed the feeling and focused on Lin Xuan.

"Patriarch Lin, shall we begin?"

Lin Xuan nodded.

"Of course."

Wei Rong’s spiritual energy began to stir.

The surrounding atmosphere immediately became heavier as the pressure of a Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator spread across the training ground.

Several of the younger children instinctively became excited.

However, just as Wei Rong was about to move, Hai Yun suddenly raised a hand.

"Wait."

Wei Rong’s spiritual energy halted and he looked toward her with a confused expression.

Hai Yun glanced around the training ground.

"Everyone isn’t here yet."

Wei Rong’s expression became increasingly complicated.

He suddenly felt even more certain that he had become nothing more than a cog in someone else’s entertainment.