Chapter 377: Friendship is fragile
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Yan Xiu's hands moved slightly. After dismounting, he stood rooted to the ground.
He looked at Fang Zhengzhi silently. He knew what Fang Zhengzhi wanted. Since he knew that Fang Zhengzhi's mind was set, why bother saying anything else?
All of the candidates froze. Then, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi with mockery and disdain.
All this while, they thought that Fang Zhengzhi only managed to achieve what he did through his thick skin and shamelessness.
But now...
With those out of the picture, what did Fang Zhengzhi have?
Ability?
Pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State ability?!
What a joke!
Nangong Hao was already in the pinnacle Supernatural State. In a fair fight, Fang Zhengzhi would be hard pressed to defeat Wu Feng, much less Nangong Hao.
"Fair fight? He must be courting death!"
"Why don't we bet on how many rounds Fang Zhengzhi will last?"
"How many rounds?! What kind of joke is this? If Fang Zhengzhi is able to last one round, he can brag about it for half a year!"
"Young Master Wang is right. After all, even Chen Feiyu could not last a single round! Hahaha..."
"Come come come, I shall be the banker. Those who think that he will last only one round place your bets on the left. Those who bet between two to five rounds, place your bets on the right!" One of the candidates in white retrieved a huge white cloth with the word 'bets'. This man was clearly a gambler.
"I bet on one round!"
"I also bet on one round!"
"..."
"You all look down on Young Master Fang too much. Didn't he save us before? How about this, I will be the first to bet on two rounds." Just as all the candidates were getting excited, Wu Feng stepped forward and bet 1000 silvers.
"Young Master Wu is generous!"
"This is nothing. This is also my way of thanking him for his 'arrows' just now!" Wu Feng waved them off.
Even though Fang Zhengzhi ignored what was happening, he still heard the chatter. It was as irritating as flies by his ear.
"You bunch of idiots! What a joke! Why would I only last one round?!" Fang Zhengzhi turned around and arrogantly pointed his middle finger at the candidates.
Just at this moment, Yan Xiu dismounted icily. Then, he walked through the crowd, holding his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan as he did so.
This caused all the other candidates to quieten down.
They were not scared of Fang Zhengzhi. However, when it came to Yan Xiu, they felt an icy chill down their spine. This was because of the Yan Family and Yan Xiu's Dao of Asura.
Yan Xiu looked at the cloth on the floor as well as the money placed on both sides. He paused for a moment before speaking.
"Where do I place my bets for five rounds and above?"
"What?" The candidate who was the banker was momentarily stunned.
"I asked where to place my bets for five rounds and above?" Yan Xiu asked irritably.
"What? Five rounds and above? Erm... you can just put it in the middle, on top of the word 'bets'". The banker finally recovered from his shock.
"Okay then, I will bet 50,000 taels on that!" Yan Xiu did not waffle about. He took out a stack of cash and placed it on the cloth.
"50,000 taels?!"
All of the candidates were stunned by Yan Xiu's actions. They thought that Yan Xiu was here to break it up. Little did they expect that Yan Xiu was here to place a bet with virtually no chance of winning.
Money...
Did he have too much?
This was the first thought in the minds of the other candidates. However, they immediately threw the thought out of their minds. The Yan Family was indeed filthy rich.
...
Many people thought that this was Yan Xiu's way of encouraging Fang Zhengzhi. This ensured that the bets would not be too demeaning.
However, there was another problem.
Yan Xiu bet on the fact that Fang Zhengzhi would last five rounds or more, not...
Win!
The candidates did not think about this. In their minds, Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to defeat Nangong Hao. Since that was the case, Yan Xiu's bet was already bold enough.
However, Fang Zhengzhi's expressions changed.
Where was the trust? Where was the friendship?
Five rounds and above...
What was the meaning of that?
Fang Zhengzhi could not describe his feeling in words. If he had to describe it, all he could say was, "Friendship is a fragile thing!"
Fang Zhengzhi placed his hand on his chest amidst the sadness.
There was a Heart Protection Mirror there. Inside it was a sword, a sword that he did not take out unless he was in danger. That sword was named Traceless!
Right now, Fang Zhengzhi would need everything he had if he was going to stand a chance in this battle!
He shouted the name and a crisp hum rang out. Soon after, Fang Zhengzhi held a sword in his hand. It looked like an ordinary sword, but it was anything but.
There were no patterns on the hilt, no intricate carvings or art.
The hilt was pure black, its blade shiny. This blade was pristine, all the way till the tip.
At the tip of the sword was a purple colored mark. That was a strange shade of purple.
"I am the only child of the Fang Family of the Northern Mountain Village. I do not know when I broke through to the Heavenly Reflection State. I do not know how powerful I am now. My blade is named 'Traceless'. It gets its name from its perfection and spotlessness. My understanding of Dao is... ah heck it. Every Dao is my Dao!" Fang Zhengzhi bowed as he waved his sword.
"Shallow!"
"Crazy!"
"Shameless!"
All of the candidates began to chide Fang Zhengzhi. They started calling him names.
However, Nangong Hao did not despise Fang Zhengzhi for what he said. Instead, he repeated Fang Zhengzhi's words.
Of course, he edited them.
"Every Dao is my Dao, mm... it does fit your character. However, it is extremely difficult to accommodate all the Daos into your pocket dimension. As far as I know, there are no more than 10 cultivators who have managed to accommodate more than 100 Daos. They are the best at their level, but none of them managed to become Sages! Young Master Fang, are you sure you want to continue on this dead end road?" Nangong Hao asked sincerely.
Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.
All this while, he had been very proud of the fact that he had hundreds of Dao in his pocket dimension. The number of Daos he knew was also one of the reasons why he managed to ace all the previous exams.
But now, Nangong Hao had just called it a dead end!
Fang Zhengzhi's heart fluttered. He had gone through a lot since his Star Conglomerate and Heavenly Reflection days.
The Imperial examinations, the battle on Cang Ling Mountain, and now the court examinations.
Logically...
He should be very powerful after learning so many Daos. He should also be on the verge of breaking through. However, he still did not feel like he was close.
Nangong Hao was the heir to the Nangong Family. His view of cultivation was unmatched by the average individual. The route he chose was also one that was well paved and researched.
As such...
Hang on!
Just as Fang Zhengzhi thought about this, he remembered the time he spent with Chi Guyan back at the Northern Mountain Village.
Other than Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan was the only one who knew that he had hundreds of Dao in his pocket dimension.
At that time, Chi Guyan had asked...
"Do you want to defeat me?"
Fang Zhengzhi could not say for sure why Chi Guyan would ask that question, but he knew what she was getting at.
Dao could be grown.
He had to develop them.
This was the most pressing issue right now.
Fang Zhengzhi had been doing this over the past few months. He kept trying to understand each Dao over and over again...
Yet, Nangong Hao was criticizing his methods?
Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if Nangong Hao said it on purpose. However, he did know one thing.
If he began to doubt himself because of something his opponent said, he would have lost the battle before it even began!
A bead of sweat rolled across Fang Zhengzhi's forehead. Fang Zhengzhi had competed with Nangong Hao once during the theory examination. That had resulted in a draw.
However, this time, after a single statement by Nangong Hao...
He was already at a disadvantage. Nangong Hao was confident about himself and had an intricate understanding of Dao.
Fang Zhengzhi knew that he had a lethal weakness.
He had never been to an academy and had never been taught properly. As such, his cultivation had mostly been self taught.
This was a weakness that everyone knew.
However, only Nangong Hao knew how to attack this weakness.
Fang Zhengzhi knew that he had to find a way to regain the upper hand.
He could not discuss Dao as this would involve him using his weakness to challenge Nangong Hao's strength.
As such...
Fang Zhengzhi had to abandon that plan. He chose a different route.
"I heard that the Nangong Family was well informed. Why is it that I fail to see that trait on you?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled condescendingly.
The fact that the Nangong Family was well informed and connected was a fact. He had seen this in the World of the Sage.
That was the first time Nangong Mu had seen Ying Shan.
However, he was able to pinpoint Ying Shan's identity based on the method Ying Shan used in his sneak attack.
This proved one that... the Nangong Family was extremely well informed!
"What do you mean?" Nangong Hao smiled as well. This was a calm smile and he revealed no trace of anger.
"You just said that there are no more than 10 cultivators who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos. Do you have proof?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.
"Yes."
Nangong Hao did not even hesitate before speaking, "Year 13 of the Great Xia Dynasty, at Yuan Ye River. A man, aged 43, grasped 103 Daos. He was known as the most powerful Supernatural State cultivator. He died at 87 but did not break through to the Rebirth State. Year 57 of the Great Xia Dynasty..."
Nangong Hao rattled off the names and achievements of all the people in history. The most powerful of whom were in the Rebirth State. The least powerful of which was in the Heavenly Reflection State. However, none of them managed to attain the level of sage.
"Year 25 of the Great Xia Dynasty... this is the tenth person. He died at 93 in the Rebirth State, unable to breakthrough!"
Nangong Hao paused after announcing the tenth person. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, "Does Young Master Fang agree with what I just said?"
He had just rattled off 10 historical figures together with their birth year, death year, and their cultivation level. He did not even hesitate between names.
This was proof of his knowledge.
Even though Nangong Hao seemed to be looking to Fang Zhengzhi for approval, all of the other candidates were awed by his knowledge.
They had all learnt such facts and historical nuggets.
But, who ever remembered them?
The candidates had all studied in academies, but none of them bothered to remember such insignificant nuggets of information. Would someone like Fang Zhengzhi remember?
In fact, did he even read about this before?
As such, even though Nangong Hao was looking to Fang Zhengzhi, none of the candidates thought that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to find fault with what Nangong Hao said.
"You are right, but... you missed out one person!" Fang Zhengzhi did not bother looking at the expressions of the candidates around him. He waited patiently for Nangong Hao to finish before replying.