“What are you planning?” Chong Xuansheng inquired.

Fourteen, who had just entered from outside, also cast her gaze over, evidently curious as well.

Fourteen was once again clad in her full-body armor, concealing her delicate and lovely form within steel.

The battered and tormented Fu Yue could no longer be repaired. This new suit of armor was certainly not as reliable as Fu Yue, but Chong Xuansheng had commissioned a master craftsman to forge it at great expense.

Compared to the Fu Yue armor, it was slightly smaller.

Perhaps out of consideration for intimidation, Fourteen always made the Fu Yue armor appear very large.

Jiang Wang glanced at Chong Xuansheng, his eyes conveying a question.

Fourteen was actually a charming girl. In any case, almost everyone in Linzi knew her true appearance now. It seemed unnecessary for her to still cover herself up so completely.

Chong Xuansheng made a helpless expression.

It seemed that Fourteen herself was unwilling.

Over a long period, steel armor had provided her and Chong Xuansheng with a great sense of security. Completely removing the armor was not such an easy thing…

“Help me arrange a duel with Lei Zhangan,” Jiang Wang said casually.

The feud between him and Lei Zhangan had long been established, and judging from subsequent events, Lei Zhangan had no intention of forgiving and forgetting.

Especially recently, with Jiang Wang’s decisive victory over Wang Yiwu, his reputation had soared among the nobility of Qi. The fact that he had won the Seven Stars Tower secret realm amongst many powerful cultivators was naturally a hot topic. The Lei family had intentionally or unintentionally made their stance known, rehashing old arguments and claiming that Jiang Wang’s methods were unclean, clearly trying to elevate themselves by belittling Jiang Wang. However, ultimately considering the Lei family’s reputation, they were too embarrassed to directly challenge Jiang Wang, who had just entered the Inner Mansion realm.

Lei Zhangan was too embarrassed, but Jiang Wang, being a minor realm lower, had no such scruples.

It was better to resolve feuds than to let them fester, but since one had formed, it should be dealt with, and dealt with well!

Lei Zhangan was a figure with sufficient talent, backed by the Lei family, and connected to Jiang Wuqi. He was destined for a meteoric rise sooner or later.

And what Jiang Wang wanted to do was to prevent him from ever rising too high, from soaring into the heavens, to shatter his confidence of monopolizing the world!

Wasn’t he constantly proclaiming that Jiang Wang had merely taken advantage and used underhanded tactics during the Seven Stars Tower secret realm?

Then he would publicly challenge him, and make him swallow his words in front of everyone.

With Chong Xuansheng’s wisdom, he naturally understood Jiang Wang’s intentions, and he also approved of this approach.

But he still offered a word of caution, “You weren’t this flamboyant before.”

The level of attention generated by such a public challenge was far beyond the silent assassination attempt on Wang Yiwu, which only Chong Xuansheng witnessed.

And afterwards, the Grim Butcher’s intervention, which defied the pressure from the Great Qi’s God of War, only drew the attention of Linzi’s elite. Most of the attention was blocked by the Northern Garrison.

Even if there was a fierce public outcry, it only surged in the shadows.

This duel was different.

A public challenge meant that the battle would be exposed to everyone’s view, and anyone could come and watch. Neither party would agree to such a thing without strong confidence.

One was Lei Zhangan, who had long since reached the Inner Mansion realm, extracted the Lei Seal supernatural power, and was hailed as a prodigy unseen in the Lei family for a thousand years.

The other was Jiang Wang, who supposedly defeated Wang Yiwu, leaping from the top of the Soaring Dragon list to the Inner Mansion realm, and extracted a supernatural power upon reaching the first palace.

Chong Xuansheng could fully imagine how much buzz this battle would create.

Jiang Wang only smiled, “When you make bold statements with insufficient strength, you should realize them when you have the strength.”

Back in Seven Stars Valley, Lei Zhangan had said that he, a mere Soaring Dragon cultivator, had only gained a little advantage by relying on the Chongxuan family’s unpresentable methods.

And he had responded then that if he were in the Inner Mansion realm, Lei Zhangan wouldn’t even be able to run away.

How could Jiang Wang not keep his word?

Of course, it was also to further build up momentum for Chong Xuansheng before he left, but there was no need to say that out loud.

“Alright!” Chong Xuansheng didn’t ask Jiang Wang where his confidence came from, and agreed readily. “But the duel has to be postponed for a couple of days.”

“Why?” Jiang Wang asked.

Chong Xuansheng grinned triumphantly as he began to scheme, “I’ll buy a martial arts arena in the next couple of days, decorate it a little, and build a wall around it. We’ll set the duel location there, and then charge for admission tickets! I’ll charge ten Dao Origin Stones per person! This is the first public battle after the world’s number one Soaring Dragon advanced to the Inner Mansion realm! I’ll also advertise how badly Wang Yiwu was beaten by you… The people of Linzi will definitely want to see it!”

Jiang Wang: “…”

He really was obsessed with money!

Jiang Wang looked disdainful.

But his right hand honestly extended, holding up five fingers.

A fifty-fifty split was necessary, right?

Chong Xuansheng chuckled, “No problem!”

The location of the duel was eventually set at the Invincible Martial Arts Hall.

Look at that name.

According to Chong Xuansheng, the name was taken from their pseudonyms in the Mirage Sea, representing the joint business of these two close friends, and also representing their grand dreams.

Though it was called a “Hall,” it was actually just an open-air martial arts arena. There were many cultivators in Linzi, but they couldn’t just start fighting whenever they had a disagreement. The Northern Garrison wasn’t just for show.

So martial arts arenas were everywhere and not very valuable.

Chong Xuansheng greased some palms to buy it, worked overnight to add a wall around the perimeter, and then brazenly dared to call it a “Hall.”

“Such a large martial arts arena, such a spacious location. Bathing in the warm sunlight, enjoying the exciting transcendent battles, and the wind blowing freely through the alleys… Charging ten Dao Origin Stones for a seat, isn’t that reasonable?”

Chong Xuansheng stood in the martial arts arena, waving his hand grandly, full of momentum, as if a monarch inspecting his kingdom.

The specifications of the martial arts arena itself were very ordinary, and the spectator seats were all within the area that Chong Xuansheng had fenced off with a wall.

The so-called “seats” were just wooden benches, not to mention cushions, there wasn’t even a place to put tea.

And this martial arts arena was very close to Yulifang, less than five miles away… The original price was conceivable.

Just this kind of broken place, charging ten Dao Origin Stones per person, and it was still reasonable?

Jiang Wang was about to denounce this shameless person, but then he thought that he seemed to be able to get half of it… Everything suddenly became clear.

The upright Jiang surname youth, then pondered and nodded, “Well, not too much.”

Unfortunately, Jiang Wang’s skin was still a bit lacking. After a while, he changed his tune, “But… if you make it look so ugly, people will probably gossip.”

Chong Xuansheng smiled meaningfully, “People always have to have flaws.”

The more he savored these words, the more interesting they became.

But for Jiang Wang, it was enough to know that Chong Xuansheng had his own considerations. This fatty would never suffer a loss.

He curled his lip, “So you only invested this much, just these few broken bricks, a few wooden benches, and you still want to split it fifty-fifty with me. I’m the one going on stage to fight to the death! The more I think about it, the more I feel like I’m losing money.”

“Jiang Wang, my good brother, it’s meaningless to think like that,” Chong Xuansheng criticized with a straight face. “It seems very vulgar!”

Finding someone to prepare the challenge letter and send it to the Lei family was naturally all handled by Chong Xuansheng.

Jiang Wang only made one request, that the wording be imposing.

His intention was to be impassioned, eloquent, and create an atmosphere similar to two heroes cherishing each other, a decisive battle at the peak of Linzi. It would be a good story to tell.

But what he didn’t know was that the challenge letter that was sent out became—

“Hey Lei! Heard you were unconvinced about the last time at the Seven Stars Tower secret realm? Running around everywhere, trying to cover up your shame. Come, come, come, October 24th, Linzi’s Invincible Martial Arts Hall, whoever doesn’t come is a grandson of a turtle! This time, I’ll beat you until you admit it, until you submit!”

Good heavens. It was said that Lei Zhangan was so angry after seeing the challenge letter that black smoke was coming out of his head, and he rushed to Linzi from the Lei clan’s territory overnight.

And October 24th arrived as scheduled.