Chapter 22

Gu Fei abruptly stopped, enlightened by Ning Cheng’s words. Ning Cheng was someone he had to kill. Ning Cheng was right; the king had promised many people that he would not unjustly kill Ning Cheng. But what if he, Gu Fei, had a just cause?

Thinking this, Gu Fei sneered and said, "Ning Cheng, you are indeed a smooth talker. I will now challenge you for slapping me without reason. The dueling platform is over there. If you dare not go, crawl under my legs first, then say the word 'ugly woman Ji...'"

"Gu Fei, you are at the third level of Qi Gathering, yet you challenge someone at the first level. Don’t you feel ashamed?" Senior Sister Zhuang said with a hint of anger.

Gu Yiming calmly replied, "Senior Sister Zhuang, I must speak fairly, not because Gu Fei is my brother. A first-level Qi Gathering student daring to slap a third-level Qi Gathering student—regardless of whether Gu Fei follows the academy’s rules and challenges Ning Cheng formally, even if he directly kills Ning Cheng, it would be Ning Cheng’s own fault."

Ning Cheng laughed and interrupted Gu Yiming, "You two trash, stop your nonsense. Isn’t it just a challenge? I accept."

He knew he was facing certain death, but it was better to take down Gu Fei before dying and vent his anger.

"Gu Fei, you are only at the first level of Qi Gathering. Challenging this Gu Fei on the dueling platform is a dead end..." Zhuang Tianya knew Ning Cheng had no choice, but she still couldn’t help but say a word.

Ning Cheng was well aware of his lack of options. He bowed to Zhuang Tianya and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister Zhuang, for helping me several times. If Ning Cheng doesn’t have the chance, it’s fine. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely repay you."

"Hmph, just trash, only able to challenge someone weaker. If you have the guts, face me, Hou Chuan." Another disdainful voice rang out.

Ning Cheng recognized this person; he was the one recommended by Cang Qin Academy to join Yuxing Academy, named Hou Chuan. He was a genius who focused solely on cultivation. He happened to be walking by the academy gate and couldn’t help but mock the situation.

Gu Yiming’s face turned grim. If it were anyone else, he would have taught them a lesson long ago. But he didn’t dare face Hou Chuan. Not only was Hou Chuan’s cultivation not inferior to his, but even with his current status, he didn’t dare touch him. How could he dare to touch a student of Yuxing Academy?

Ning Cheng bowed to Hou Chuan and then said to Gu Fei, "You challenged me, and I accepted. Since I am the challenged, I can choose the rules of the duel."

Gu Fei sneered, "Go ahead, choose. No matter what method you choose, I, Gu Fei, will accept it."

"Good. I am at the first level of Qi Gathering, so a magical duel would be unfair. However, I am confident in my speed. Let’s race. We will start at the city gate of Cang Le City, heading towards Da An Forest. Whoever is caught by the other must submit to be killed." Ning Cheng said nonchalantly.

When Ning Cheng’s words were out, everyone understood his intention—to escape through this method. However, this seemed too far-fetched. If such a method could work, what was the point of cultivation? Some of the onlookers even laughed, finding Ning Cheng’s idea naive.

Hou Chuan shook his head and turned to leave, quickly moving away. If it were him, he would rather die on the dueling platform than try to escape and be humiliated before being killed. He had no interest in Ning Cheng’s duel anymore. He wanted to go to Cang Le City to buy a few items as a keepsake for his future journey to Huazhou.

Zhuang Tianya also shook her head in silence. She hadn’t expected Ning Cheng to come up with such a childish plan. A first-level Qi Gathering student, no matter how fast, could not outrun a third-level Qi Gathering student.

Gu Fei clearly understood Ning Cheng’s intention and sneered. Want to escape from him? Dream on. He didn’t oppose Ning Cheng’s method. Even if Ji Luofei’s aunt’s threat was fake, they had to put on a show. Moreover, the king of Cang Qin had already said not to unjustly trouble Ning Cheng.

Now that Ning Cheng wanted to escape like a rat, he could chase him to a deserted place, kill him, and then claim Ning Cheng had escaped. This suited his plan. He was confident that even if others knew Ning Cheng was killed by him, no one would question his words.

Sure enough, Gu Fei saw his brother Gu Yiming nod, clearly instructing him to kill Ning Cheng in a deserted place.

"Fine, I agree to your method. Let’s go out of the city." A hint of killing intent flashed in Gu Fei’s eyes as he left first.

Ning Cheng sighed in relief. He was confident Gu Fei would agree, but he feared others might see through his true cultivation. If anyone knew he was at the third level of Qi Gathering, not the first, his plan would be in vain, and no one would agree to the running race.

Zhuang Tianya had no interest in watching Ning Cheng’s death. She was about to leave Cang Qin and needed to inform her family. However, the other students of Cang Qin who had nothing to do were curious and wanted to see if Gu Fei would kill Ning Cheng as soon as he started running.

...

The students of Cang Qin Academy held a high status in Cang Le City. The large number of students leaving the city immediately caused a stir. The main road leading out of the city was quickly cleared.

After about half an hour, the group finally left Cang Le City. Looking back at the ancient and rustic Cang Le City, Ning Cheng sighed. It took him over an hour to leave the city without any obstacles. He was certain that even if he and Ji Luofei had escaped the pursuit of the two sixth-level Qi Gathering cultivators, they could not safely leave Cang Le City. His previous thoughts were too naive.

"This is the last time you’ll see Cang Le City. Take one last look and run. Don’t worry, I won’t let you run far." Gu Fei sneered when he saw Ning Cheng looking back at the city.

Ning Cheng ignored him, turned to the onlookers, and bowed, saying, "Let’s start now. I’ll go first. Gu Fei, if you can catch me, do as you please."

With that, Ning Cheng didn’t waste any more words and dashed forward. Having left the city, it would be strange if he didn’t run.

Gu Fei and Gu Yiming, seeing Ning Cheng’s running posture and speed, knew they were right. Ning Cheng only wanted to escape through this method. Unfortunately, Ning Cheng’s cultivation was too low. Even an ordinary first-level Qi Gathering student could easily catch and kill him.

Gu Fei also said to the onlookers, "I’m going to play with a clown."

With that, he moved, closing the distance to Ning Cheng in a few steps. However, Gu Fei didn’t immediately stop Ning Cheng but sent a wind blade, instantly drawing blood on Ning Cheng’s back.

At this point, the onlookers lost interest. Ning Cheng only thought he could escape, which led to this naive plan. Now, Gu Fei was toying with Ning Cheng. What was the point of watching? Some students turned back to the academy. They had come out thinking Ning Cheng had some escape skills, but since he didn’t, who would want to watch?

Gu Yiming smiled and bowed to the crowd, "I’ll go check."

With that, he slowly followed behind, much slower than Ning Cheng, though he claimed to be checking.

There were no friends of Ning Cheng here. The Gu brothers going to kill a first-level Qi Gathering student didn’t attract much attention. If they watched the outcome, it would clearly offend the Gu brothers. Gu Yiming’s slow pace clearly showed he was waiting to see who would follow.

Ning Cheng, enduring the pain from several wind blades, finally sped up when he was far from Cang Le City, but his breathing became more labored.

Seeing Ning Cheng speed up, Gu Fei was puzzled for a moment but then sensed Ning Cheng’s unstable steps. Ning Cheng’s true qi was in chaos, and he was running purely on strength.

"Let’s end it here. Grandpa has no patience to chase you anymore." Gu Fei sped up and sent a blade shadow.

Ning Cheng suddenly turned, retreating instead of advancing, and in an instant, dodged Gu Fei’s blade. His figure then moved to Gu Fei’s right side, and a fire blade instantly split the air.

Gu Fei, who had never taken Ning Cheng seriously, immediately realized he had been deceived. Ning Cheng’s reaction speed and the momentum of the fire blade were not those of a first-level Qi Gathering student but of a third-level one. Even a third-level Qi Gathering student couldn’t produce a fire blade.

Gu Fei didn’t have time to think about how Ning Cheng reached the third level. He quickly turned to dodge the fire blade, but Ning Cheng’s fire blade, as if guided by eyes, directly severed Gu Fei’s arm and half of his chest.

"Gu Fei, today is your lucky day. I don’t have time to torture you slowly. I’ll deal with your brother later. Take another blade..."

Ning Cheng sent another fire blade. As soon as it was released, he sensed an extreme danger.

"Poof." As his fire blade split Gu Fei in two, he felt a tearing pain in his abdomen, which quickly spread throughout his body.

Ning Cheng’s heart sank. He immediately knew he had been ambushed. This was due to his lack of combat experience, thinking Gu Fei was dead and getting too close.

Although Gu Fei ambushed Ning Cheng in his last moments, he couldn’t hold on and was split in two by Ning Cheng.

Ning Cheng, enduring his injuries, tore off his clothes and left them behind. He then grabbed Gu Fei’s corpse and ran forward, leaving a trail of blood. After running about a hundred meters, he suddenly turned back and changed direction, running much faster than when Gu Fei was chasing him.

Ning Cheng knew that if he didn’t speed up, Gu Yiming would arrive, and he would be dead for sure. He hung Gu Fei’s blade on his back, burned one of Gu Fei’s arms with a ball of fire, and then burned the corpse before throwing it into a large lake by the roadside.

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