Chapter 407 - 182: Dragon Form

The reason she had called Chai Liang and Li Li over was clearly to help Chen Cheng pave the way and expand his network.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Li."

Chen Cheng cupped his fist in salute to the long-legged young woman. His tone was calm, but his attitude was perfectly proper.

"You’re too polite, Junior Brother."

Li Li waved her hand, a somewhat unnatural smile appearing on her pretty, fair face.

Clearly, this smile was purely for Lü Qinyi’s sake.

But in truth, Li Li didn’t dislike Chen Cheng at all; it was just her habitual distance toward strangers.

When Chen Cheng wasn’t looking at her, she actually snuck a few glances at him.

"Junior Brother Chen, we’ve met before."

Chai Liang laughed heartily and said,

"Senior Sister Lü has spoken, telling me to look after you from now on. I, Chai Liang, can’t make any grand promises, but among the ordinary disciples of the Fishing Pavilion, my word carries some weight. If you run into any trouble, you can come find me."

"Many thanks, Senior Brother."

Chen Cheng cupped his fist, then his gaze shifted to Lü Qinyi.

"...Since you’ve all been introduced, let’s get down to business."

Lü Qinyi said,

"Today, I intend to test Junior Brother Chen’s Underwater Martial Arts. If you two have other matters to attend to, you may leave. If not, you’re welcome to stay and watch Junior Brother Chen’s performance."

"...I’m free." Li Li shook her head gently.

"Not only am I free, but even if I had something else to do, I’d have to stay and watch!"

Chai Liang laughed.

"You two Senior Sisters lead secluded lives, so you might not know this yet, but Junior Brother Chen had just condensed his Ninth Pillar of Blood Qi when he defeated a senior brother at the Peak of Nine Bloods!"

"Really!?"

The two women were both stunned, their eyes filled with astonishment.

"Junior Brother Chen, you... you really reached Nine Pillars of Blood Qi?"

Lü Qinyi’s beautiful eyes widened, and her voice trembled slightly.

"When we met just a few days ago, you were still at Eight Blood... I even discussed it with the Pavilion Master, saying that even at your fastest, it would take you another year to reach Nine Blood, and three more years before you’d have a chance to touch the threshold of the Divine Treasure..."

"It was just a stroke of luck."

Chen Cheng smiled.

"Senior Brother Dong from the Outer Sect gave me three Golden Scale Fruits, and Senior Sister Gu from the Dragon Pavilion gave me two Golden Flesh Carp. Then, I sort of... accidentally broke through."

"Junior Brother, you’re being too modest!"

Lü Qinyi said seriously,

"First of all, you have to have the potential. Only then would they give you such exceedingly rare Tier Two resources."

"Second, I’ve specifically looked into your situation in the Outer Sect. Your ability to successfully condense the Ninth Pillar of Blood Qi is undoubtedly due to your own tenacity and desperate hard work!"

"You flatter me, Senior Sister."

Chen Cheng nodded humbly, his demeanor as calm as ever.

Lü Qinyi smiled, the look she gave Chen Cheng filled with undisguised approval.

Li Li snuck several more glances at Chen Cheng. In her clear, lively eyes, there was surprise and curiosity, but even more so, a very serious reappraisal.

Then, Lü Qinyi gave a call, and the four of them went to the shore together, leaping into the water one after another.

After diving to a certain depth.

Lü Qinyi’s lips moved slightly.

’Normally, the first test would be lip-reading, but Junior Brother Chen is already proficient, so we’ll skip it.’

’The second test is underwater swimming, measured by speed and the interval between breaths. The faster your speed and the longer you can swim after taking a breath, the higher your rating will be.’

’Understood. I can start whenever you’re ready.’

Chen Cheng hovered in the water, his lips moving slightly, his expression calm.

’I’ll supervise Junior Brother Chen!’

Chai Liang said,

’It’s also a perfect opportunity to see what Junior Brother Chen’s abilities are really like.’

’...Does supervising mean you have to follow me the entire way?’ Chen Cheng asked.

’Do you even have to ask?’

Chai Liang laughed.

’If no one supervises you the whole time, who’s to know how long your intervals are between breaths?’

’No, what I mean is...’

Chen Cheng chose his words carefully.

’If someone has to supervise me the whole time... Senior Brother Chai, you might not be able to keep up with me...’

’Huh?’

Chai Liang was stunned for a moment, his brow furrowing as he replied,

’Junior Brother Chen, do you know what you’re saying? Below the rank of Elite Disciple in the Fishing Pavilion, no one can compare to me in underwater swimming! Me, Chai Liang, unable to keep up with you? What kind of joke is that?’

Chen Cheng said no more, simply turning to look at Lü Qinyi.

Lü Qinyi met his gaze for two breaths. From his perfectly calm eyes, she could be absolutely certain that he was not joking.

’Senior Sister Lü, I’ll be the one to supervise.’

Li Li gently tugged Lü Qinyi’s little finger. Her red lips parted and closed slightly as her bright eyes turned to Chen Cheng.

’Senior Sister Li...’

Chen Cheng said,

’I mean no offense, but... it’s better if Senior Sister Lü supervises me personally.’

’You...’

Li Li’s delicate brows furrowed. Her lips parted, then pressed tightly together as she averted her gaze, refusing to look at Chen Cheng again.

’Junior Brother Chen! You’ve gone too far!’

Chai Liang said,

’It’s one thing to think I can’t keep up... but how can you look down on Senior Sister Li? She’s an Elite Disciple of the Dragon Pavilion, at the Divine Storage Realm! There should be a limit to your jokes!’

’Alright, that’s enough.’

Lü Qinyi raised a hand to interrupt.

’We’ll all supervise him together. Anyone who can’t keep up can go back to Qingxi Island and wait. If we can all keep up, we’ll punish Junior Brother Chen... We’ll punish him by making him treat us to a Treasure Fish Banquet!’

’No problem.’

Chen Cheng gave a faint smile.

’Ready...’

Lü Qinyi raised one hand.

The next instant, an unprecedented seriousness appeared on the faces of both Chai Liang and Li Li! An incredibly intense desire to win practically materialized, overflowing from their eyes!

They had both secretly resolved to use their full strength to make Chen Cheng see reality, so he would never again utter such arrogant, foolish words.

’Go!’

The hand Lü Qinyi had raised chopped down sharply.

Li Li and Chai Liang shot forward like two Arrows loosed from a bow.