Chapter 15: You're Trying to Kill Me!

A middle-aged man who appeared to have been in his mid-thirties was watching with his arms crossed as Fang Che departed.

"Interesting kid," he chuckled to himself.

Fang Che made his way to the academy affairs office, where he submitted an external lodging request.

Inside the office was a bald man, and he raised his head to look up at Fang Che in a surprised manner. "You bought a manor outside the academy?"

He then noticed the name of the applicant. "Fang Che of Green Wave City... Ah yes, the living embodiment of righteousness and brotherhood. No wonder you can afford a manor. Approved."

A seal was stamped onto his application, and Fang Che was left feeling rather bemused by the old man's passive-aggressive tone.

However, he wasn't angry.

The man had clearly heard about the Su Clan incident, and he was right to suspect foul play.

Hence, it was no surprise that he would display a little disdain and animosity.

Fang Che planned to return to his manor and cultivate for four hours, then take a nap before giving Ye Meng a scolding, and that should still leave enough time for him to return in the afternoon.

With that, Fang Che departed.

The first round of battles was still unfolding, and the relatively uneventful battle between Fang Che and Lin Ziqing was quickly cast out of everyone's minds.

There was a particularly unfortunate group of students that had placed their bets on the ninth-ranked new student, hoping to win a little extra while still making a relatively safe bet, considering it was only the first round.

However, his luck was terrible, and he drew Ding Jieran as his first-round opponent. He was sent flying off the platform with just a single attack, leaving a bunch of students newly in debt or in more debt than before.

***

Fang Che's performance had become the subject of much debate, and many students who had originally intended to bet on him were changing their mind.

Even though Fang Che had secured a very quick first-round victory, it seemed that he potentially wasn't actually that much stronger than Lin Ziqing, and there was also a slightly unscrupulous element to his victory, just like the method he had employed to claim the top spot in the first place.

Of course, there were still many female students who were diehard fans of his and refused to bet on anyone else.

"He's so handsome, I don't even care if he loses!"

For these female students, their bets were more of a show of support than an investment.

***

Sure enough, by the time Fang Che returned in the afternoon, there were still five more battles left to go in the first round.

Fang Qingyun was waiting for him with his mighty army of friends, which had clearly expanded with the new inclusion of quite a few female students.

"Where did you go? I was looking all over for you! This is such an important tournament for you, how could you not stay to watch the other battles?" Fang Qingyun grumbled.

"Because I have you," Fang Che replied with a smile. "I'm sure you've already made records of all of the important information I need."

Fang Qingyun gave a displeased harrumph as he pulled a piece of paper out of his sleeve. "Here's a list of all of the victors so far and the information that we've managed to gather."

Fang Che accepted the sheet of paper, and he was stunned by how detailed everything was.

Name, age, weapon, estimated cultivation base, battle traits, battle styles, ranking of opponent, time of victory... There were even parentheses that contained additional information like whether it was suspected if someone were hiding their true power.

"This is incredible!"

There were six students thus far that had secured extremely comfortable victories with just a single attack, and these six were also the hot favorites of the tournament.

Huo Churan, Ding Jieran, Qiu Yunshang, Xie Gongping, Mo Ganyun, and Ximen Xuri.

Looks like there haven't really been any surprises so far.

Among the six favorites, Huo Churan and Qiu Yunshang were receiving the most support, with over twenty thousand merit points already wagered on each of them.

"How many people have bet on me?" Fang Che asked.

"I don't know, but you've had 7,300 merit points wagered on you, placing you in seventh," Fang Qingyun replied.

"That's a lot more than I expected!"

"You have a lot of female fans," a female student with a pair of large eyes explained with a smile. "I have eighteen points on you just for your looks!"

"......"

Fang Che didn't know what to say. It seemed that his looks were winning him the majority of his support.

Looks like I have to continue to hide my power and prioritize screwing people over so I can complete Huang Yifan's mission.

The field was whittled down by half after one round, and another drawing of lots took place.

Fang Che was still the top seed, so he was first to draw, and by some stroke of luck, he had drawn Ximen Xuri!

Fang Che immediately recalled the two key terms associated with him, namely hidden weapons and the Crimson Blood Snake.

The files that Sun Yuan had given him indicated that Ximen Xuri was an eighth-rank Warrior, but Fang Che was not convinced.

There was no way that an eighth-rank Warrior would've been able to secure the seventh seed!

This guy's clearly hiding his true power as well!

The two of them were standing across from one another on the platform.

Ximen Xuri was dressed in a white robe, and he was quite a handsome young man. He had a tall and proportionate build and a fine disposition.

His face was a little long, but not enough to mar his overall image.

However, this was something that he was clearly rather self-conscious about, given the slight downward tilt of his head that he constantly maintained.

"I didn't expect to run into you so soon. Unfortunately, your little tricks aren't going to work in a true battle."

Fang Che smiled as he replied, "Indeed, but it's rather interesting that a seventh seed like yourself feels entitled to lecture the first seed."

Ximen Xuri's expression darkened as he scoffed, "Fang Che. Did your parents name you that because they envisioned you'd be a complete and utter failure?"[1]

Fang Che remained unbothered as he clasped his hands behind his back and retorted, "I think you should be much more concerned about your own name than mine, Ximen Xuri."

"Why is that?"

"The sun has always risen in the east, how could there be a rising sun above the western gate? [2] Your name goes against the natural order, so you shall be blighted by the heavens. I suggest you change your name before that happens."

"The sun will rise anywhere I go!" Ximen Xuri countered in a cold voice.

"Take care that this rising sun of yours doesn't get struck down by me," Fang Che chuckled.

With that, there was nothing left to be said.

Both of them could immediately tell that they were not going to get along with each other, and there was already a strong sense of animosity in the air.

Unlike Lin Ziqing, neither of them were the type to get flustered over mere taunts.

With no advantage to be gained in a war of words, there was nothing left to do but fight.

Ximen Xuri rushed forward over the platform as if he were gliding over ice, reaching Fang Che in the blink of an eye before unleashing a palm strike.

Fang Che took half a step backward, then launched himself forward to meet Ximen Xuri with a palm strike of his own.

Their palms clashed with a dull thump, following which both of them were knocked back a few steps.

Neither of them had used their full power, and they were still probing each other out.

Fang Che had used the power of a peak ninth-rank Warrior, while Ximen Xuri had used the power of a first-rank Warrior Master, and the two of them appeared evenly matched.

In the next instant, Ximen Xuri spun around the spot, transforming into a human whirlwind as he revolved around Fang Che while raining attacks down upon him.

Fang Che elevated his cultivation base to match that of a first-rank Warrior Master and adopted a very safe and solid approach, reacting to Ximen Xuri's attacks as they came.

The two of them clashed and intertwined on the platform, one black and one white, almost forming a yin yang diagram when viewed from above.

Ximen Xuri was the one in control, but he was far from confident.

Fang Che's defense was completely watertight, and Ximen Xuri could sense that he was still holding back.

His cultivation base is definitely superior to mine!

On the surface, he was in a dominant position, but he was certain that once Fang Che decided to retaliate, he would be quickly defeated.

To everyone else, it appeared that Ximen Xuri had a firm upper hand, but Ximen Xuri knew that he was only being toyed with.

I have to win!

All of a sudden, he sprang up into the air, then sent three streaks of light hurtling toward Fang Che.

These were his trump card hidden weapons.

"Look out now!"

Only after releasing the hidden weapons did he call out to Fang Che, and the two referees shook their heads in disapproval.

Ximen Xuri had already shown his true colors, and the two referees were prepared to step in to save Fang Che at any moment.

Fang Che feigned a panicked expression as if he had been caught off guard, making a show of only just barely evading the hidden weapons.

However, there were three more hidden weapons behind the first waves, these ones far more difficult to spot, and they were aimed at his glabella, his dantian, and his heart.

The referees were furious to see this.

He was attacking to kill!

Fang Che swayed to the side as he drew his saber while feigning an infuriated expression.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He parried the hidden weapons away with his saber, then stormed at Ximen Xuri as he yelled, "You underhanded bastard!"

With an almighty roar from Fang Che followed by a ghastly howl from Ximen Xuri, the latter's right arm and half of his shoulder were severed from his body.

Fang Che pressed his saber against Ximen Xuri's throat, and he was making a show of trembling with rage as he roared, "This is just a tournament, yet you're trying to kill me!"

He stomped onto the arm on the ground, instantly pulverizing it, and the hand attached to it involuntarily spread open to reveal a handful of steel needles.

Everyone had fallen completely silent.

On the platform, Fang Che was trembling with righteous fury, as if he had been dealt the harshest of hands.

1. The Che (彻) in Fang Che's name translates to complete/utter. ☜

2. Ximen Xuri's name (西门旭日) literally translates to western gate rising sun. ☜