ATPnovel #370 - Sell it again
#370 - Sell it again
"You spread the word about wanting to compete with me?" Lu Jing asked with a strange expression.
In truth, he didn't harbor much animosity towards Chen Hanqing. The martial world was like that; heroes always met their end, and new talents always emerged.
Moreover, when new talents emerged, they often climbed to the top by stepping on the older generation, as this was the fastest shortcut to fame.
Although Lu Jing wasn't part of the older generation, his reputation was far greater than many veteran experts. After the Celestial Ranking was released, his name had constantly been on people's lips.
Because he had ascended the list overnight, like a carp transforming into a dragon, the drama of it all even surpassed Yan Jun, naturally making him even more talked about.
Lu Jing's reputation in the academy was no less than in the martial world. Although he couldn't cultivate before, he had been the center of attention since the entrance examination. Later, he turned the Eight Scenic Spots into Seven, and he suppressed a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators to win the first prize in the minor competition.
Naturally, there were many who wanted to defeat him.
However, most people were aware of their limitations, especially recently, when rumors spread that Lu Jing had begun cultivating mystic energy, making many people feel apprehensive.
However, Chen Hanqing, as one of the only two cultivators in the academy with a first-class mystic cauldron, certainly still had a chance, or rather, he thought he still had a chance himself.
Lu Jing could also understand to some extent the other party's desire to defeat him.
He had learned some things about Chen Hanqing from Yan Jun before. The Divine Fist Sect was actually considered a major sect in the martial world. Although it couldn't compare to behemoths like Sword Washing Pavilion, Cloudwater Compassionate Convent, and Hanging Temple, it still had hundreds of disciples.
The sect leader, Jiang Jun, as a first-rate expert, was a well-known figure in the martial world.
As Jiang Jun's disciple, Chen Hanqing had entered the sect quite early. Logically, he should have made a name for himself in the martial world. But the truth was that Chen Hanqing's martial arts talent could only be described as good, far from being amazing.
Not to mention comparing him to leading figures of the younger generation like Yan Jun and Wei Zixian, even within the Divine Fist Sect, there were several younger disciples with better talent than him.
A third-rate expert in his late twenties wasn't too uncommon in the martial world, but neither were they too rare.
In addition, Chen Hanqing's personality was somewhat introverted, and he wasn't good at making friends, so he had always been unknown in the martial world before, making him even more ordinary among this year's academy disciples.
However, no one expected that he was a hidden cultivation genius.
After more than twenty years of silence, he became an overnight sensation after Foundation Establishment. This was simply a textbook example of a web novel protagonist.
According to the plot development, he should pick a villain to establish his prestige.
And looking around, was there a more suitable villain than Lu Jing?
Okay, this was just Lu Jing's own mental fantasy. The actual situation should be that Chen Hanqing became famous overnight, but on the other hand, he probably wasn't sure about his current position.
The three-striped cat of yesteryear needed to complete a challenge to evolve into the king of beasts, confirming its new identity.
But the question was, why did his challenge target have to be Lu Jing? And why was he so eager?
Chen Hanqing's actions, to put it nicely, were courageous, but to put it bluntly, they were simply a desperate gamble, forcing Lu Jing to accept the challenge while completely cutting off his own retreat.
Even if Chen Hanqing really wanted to challenge Lu Jing to prove that he had risen prominently, he could completely wait until he won the next minor competition before boasting. At that time, he could boast however he wanted, and no one could refute him.
And even if he lost, there would be no loss. As long as he didn't say anything afterward, everyone wouldn't know about it.
But now he had released the news of challenging Lu Jing early on, and even actively publicized the challenge to everyone. If he won, he would naturally become famous, but what if he lost? How would he handle himself then?
Chen Hanqing nodded, his expression solemn, "In this way, you can only participate in the next minor competition."
Lu Jing didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Are you the promotional ambassador for the academy's minor competition, putting so much effort into attracting people?"
"What promotional ambassador?" Chen Hanqing was stunned.
"It's nothing." Lu Jing shook his head. Although he was too lazy to argue with the other party, Chen Hanqing had been chasing after him all day, not letting him take a step, forcing him to participate in the minor competition. Even if Lu Jing had a good temper, he was a little annoyed by him at this moment, and said directly, "I received your challenge, but I think something needs to be added."
"Add what? You haven't even read it yet?" Chen Hanqing asked in confusion.
"What else can you write in it? Isn't it just to provoke me with things like fear of war, avoidance of battle, and cherishing fame? At most, it's written more elegantly."
"… … … …"
Not knowing whether it was because Lu Jing had hit the nail on the head, Chen Hanqing was speechless for a moment.
"It's not impossible for you to challenge me, but what will you do after I win?" Lu Jing asked.
"I won't bother you anymore after that."
"Wake up, friend. You're climbing to the top by stepping on me, but I'm just dismounting by stepping on you."
In fact, without Lu Jing speaking, Chen Hanqing himself felt a little unsure in the end. He also knew that the gap between their reputations was too large, and his face turned red when he heard this, "Then… then what do you want? My life?"
Speaking of this, his back straightened again, "You're right, I'm far inferior to you in terms of reputation, but if you add my life, I think it will satisfy Grandmaster Lu."
"What's the use of your life to me? What can I get by killing you, being directly expelled from the academy by Supervisor Huang?" Lu Jing said. Seeing that Chen Hanqing was about to fall into deep thought again, he no longer beat around the bush and said directly, "Why don't I sell your life back to you?"
"Ah?" Chen Hanqing found that he couldn't keep up with Lu Jing's train of thought.
"You are now one of the only two people in the academy with a first-class mystic cauldron, with outstanding cultivation talent. I think 100,000 taels isn't too much, right?" Lu Jing pulled Chen Hanqing and began to settle accounts with him.
Although Chen Hanqing felt that the current situation was a bit strange, and something seemed wrong, he had to admit that Lu Jing's price was very reasonable. 100,000 taels to buy the life of a cultivation genius was really not expensive. Not only was it not expensive, it was simply too cheap.
If you really went to ask for a price, most people would be embarrassed to ask, so he could only nod.
"Very good. In the morning, you told me that you had just become a second-rate expert. The life of a second-rate expert, if you hire an assassin to kill, the other party's asking price would have to be at least 30,000 taels. You just entered the second-rate realm, so let's take the lowest price, 30,000 taels. Adding this up, that's 130,000 taels."
"Oh, right, you're also from the Divine Fist Sect, and your master Jiang Jun is a first-rate expert. In that case, you're superior to ordinary second-rate experts, so you have to increase the price. Not too much, but not too little either. 10,000 taels of silver is still necessary, otherwise your master will lose face. That's 140,000 taels."