Scum Of The Demonic Sect

Chapter Twelve: A Battle to the Death (Part 1)

Shortly after Lin Haoming left the market, Xie Ruolan came to Wang Chen's side again.

Looking at the more than 1,200 spirit stones Wang Chen took out, Xie Ruolan was somewhat surprised and said, "So many this month?"

Wang Chen smiled and said truthfully, "Senior Sister, this is quite a coincidence. Last time you and Senior Brother Ling came, the kid you met bought a lot of things in one go, including the Mother-Child Sword and the Tortoise Shell Shield that you left behind."

"Oh! An outer disciple actually has so many spirit stones? Do you know his name?" Xie Ruolan was also very surprised to hear this.

Wang Chen shook his head with a wry smile, saying, "I don't know either. After all, doing business here means it's best not to inquire about everything. Besides, someone who can produce so many spirit stones must be extraordinary. There are many hidden talents within the sect; asking around could easily cause trouble."

Although Xie Ruolan was curious, Wang Chen was right, especially for a female cultivator like her without a powerful background. She had to be extremely cautious. She nodded and said, "You did well."

Hearing Xie Ruolan's praise, Wang Chen smiled and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Senior Sister Xie, there's something I'd like to tell you!"

"What is it?" Xie Ruolan frowned slightly at his hesitant expression.

"It's like this, my cultivation has reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, so I want to break through to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!" Wang Chen explained his thoughts.

Xie Ruolan scanned Wang Chen with her divine sense and found that what he said was indeed correct. After a moment's thought, she nodded and said, "Alright, here's a bottle of mid-grade Qi-Harmony Pills. They'll be very helpful for your breakthrough to the Great Perfection realm. You're not even thirty yet, are you? Before thirty, you don't need an examination to enter the Great Perfection realm; you can directly enter the inner sect. I hope you can help me in the inner sect too!"

Hearing this, Wang Chen was overjoyed, but looking at the mid-grade Qi-Harmony Pills, he still didn't reach for them. He smiled and said, "Mid-grade Qi-Harmony Pills are also extremely important to you. I've already prepared for my breakthrough to the Great Perfection realm, so it's better if Senior Sister keeps these pills for herself."

"Mid-grade Qi-Harmony Pills can be bought in the market on the second floor, so don't be polite with me. Just remember, work hard for me in the future, and you'll benefit from it, especially after entering the second floor. As an outer sect disciple, you need someone to rely on to gain a foothold!" Xie Ruolan offered benefits while also applying a little pressure.

"Of course, then Junior Brother won't be polite!" Wang Chen had some understanding of the inner sect's situation, and hearing these words, he accepted the pills with peace of mind.

"If you go to the inner sect, it won't be good to have no one to manage things here. How about this, before you go into seclusion to reach the Great Perfection, find someone to take over your work!" Xie Ruolan instructed.

"Thank you, Senior Sister. Give me a few days, I'll find someone for you right away!" Wang Chen agreed with a smile.

Lin Haoming returned to his residence and immediately began cultivating.

A few days later, it was time for the Great Monthly Competition again.

After receiving spirit stones and pills from Ma Gaofeng, the two sides faced off again at the entrance.

Situ Ping and Zhou Zhiye were naturally present as well, since they would each receive a cut if they won.

As Lin Haoming expected, Zhou Zhiye's eyes were filled with resentment; clearly, he wouldn't be satisfied unless he killed Lin Haoming.

However, with Situ Ping present, Lin Haoming didn't think the other side would dare to do anything serious. Besides, according to the rules, he didn't need to participate this time, and he had already decided that no matter how the other side provoked him, he wouldn't step forward.

Just as Lin Haoming was waiting for everyone to compete, Li Cang, who had mocked him the most fiercely, suddenly stepped forward and threw a bag of spirit stones in front of Ma Gaofeng, saying, "Manager Ma, according to the rules, I can wager one hundred spirit stones to choose someone as my opponent. I want to challenge Lin Haoming!"

"What? There's such a rule?" Lin Haoming was immediately shocked; no one had told him about this rule.

Niu Wu smiled wryly, "There is such a rule, but I haven't seen anyone actually wager one hundred spirit stones since I arrived here."

Lin Haoming knew that this definitely wasn't Li Cang's idea, but Zhou Zhiye's. Perhaps he was the one who provided the spirit stones; he really wouldn't stop until he was completely destroyed!

"Alright, Li Cang will fight Lin Haoming in the first round!" Ma Gaofeng glanced at the spirit stones and immediately agreed.

Seeing Manager Ma agree, Lin Haoming cursed inwardly, "No wonder things have been so calm these past three months; everyone's been waiting for this day! Li Cang is at the ninth level of Qi Refining; it seems they've got me cornered!"

Lin Haoming looked at Situ Ping and realized the guy had no intention of speaking. Sure enough, this so-called Senior Brother Situ was completely unreliable.

"Before the competition, I want to add a rule: no low-grade or higher talismans can be used. Otherwise, who has even a few of those talismans? What's the point of the competition?" Zhou Zhiye spoke sarcastically before Situ Ping could reply.

After he spoke, everyone looked at Situ Ping, seemingly waiting for him to object, but Situ Ping still remained silent.

Seeing that he was refusing to help even at this crucial moment, Lin Haoming became even more annoyed. Wasn't he clearly abandoning him?

Lin Haoming's expression turned grim. He grabbed Niu Wu beside him and whispered, "What's going on?"

Niu Wu was also puzzled. He was Situ Ping's subordinate, so why didn't Situ Ping care? Tang Gaojun, standing nearby, whispered, "Did you visit Senior Brother Situ after the last competition?"

Hearing Tang Gaojun's words, Lin Haoming finally understood. It turned out that Situ Ping had given him pills and such last time just as a formality, waiting for him to repay him later. He had been so focused on his cultivation that he hadn't paid any attention to him, so Situ Ping had abandoned him.

Thinking this, Lin Haoming cursed Situ Ping inwardly for being greedy and despicable, but cursing aside, the current situation was probably difficult to handle.

Li Cang had already stepped forward, looking at Lin Haoming with a cold smile. "Lin Haoming, stop hiding! If you don't dare come out, hand over a hundred spirit stones to redeem yourself! Last time you casually tossed out high-grade talismans; just produce two, and I'll let you go today!"

If it were the old Lin Haoming, he would have immediately pulled them out if he had them. But for the current Lin Haoming, even if he had them, he would absolutely not take them out. Some things you can bow your head to, but some things you cannot.

At this moment, he disregarded everything else, directly taking out the storage bag hidden in his robes and hanging it on his waist, then arrogantly declared, "I wouldn't give you spirit stones even if I had them. If you want to die, I'll send you to the Yellow Springs right now. Do you dare to challenge me to a life-or-death duel?"

A life-or-death duel is a method used within sects to resolve internal conflicts. As disciples of the Demonic Sect, most are highly murderous, easily prone to violence over conflicts. To resolve these conflicts, sect rules stipulate that if both parties agree and a notary is present, a life-or-death duel can be held. Once a winner is determined, the conflict ends, and others cannot use the same conflict to cause trouble for the other side. Furthermore, life-or-death duels are also stipulated to be limited to outer sect disciples fighting outer sect disciples, and inner sect disciples fighting inner sect disciples. Moreover, the cultivation levels of the two combatants can only differ by a minor cultivation realm at most, to prevent a large power gap from allowing someone to deliberately use this method to kill fellow disciples.

Despite his higher cultivation level than Lin Haoming, Li Cang was now being forced into a life-or-death duel, which infuriated him. He didn't believe he would lose to such a young man, and without much thought, immediately agreed, "A life-or-death duel it is then! Are you afraid of me? What a joke!"

PS: The second chapter today is a bit late, everyone please support me! Throw your votes at me!