Chapter 546 - 518: Not in Three Months, Right Now

Chapter 546: Chapter 518: Not in Three Months, Right Now

GULP~

Lin Qi calmly drained the energy drink, setting the empty bottle down before asking,

"Eldest Senior Brother, what’s wrong?"

His Eldest Senior Brother, Liang Tai, quickly said,

"You beat up Guu Ming yesterday, and I didn’t expect Gu Cheng to retaliate so fast!"

"He’s challenged you to a duel!"

"You’ll see it if you log into the ’Duel’ module on the House of War."

Liang Tai then began to explain this so-called "Duel" module.

The "Duel" module had actually existed back at the Martial Arts University.

It was a system similar to the ancient fighting arenas. In real-world fights, people often didn’t know how to hold back, and it was easy for someone to get seriously injured.

But things were different in the Virtual World. There, you could unleash your full strength and fight to your heart’s content.

The House of War had a "Duel" module for the same reason. Since Martial Artists were forbidden from killing one another within the base, and since the Black Dragon Base brought together the strongest group of Martial Artists and a huge number of young geniuses from all over Xia Country, conflicts were bound to arise. Everyone was full of pent-up aggression from constantly fending off Calamity Beast invasions.

Among Martial Artists, there was nothing a good fight couldn’t solve.

Thus, they could use the duel system to settle things one-on-one.

Liang Tai continued,

"That Gu Cheng is a real piece of work! So insidious!"

"Duels are usually arranged privately, but he paid to promote his challenge to you, getting it featured on the homepage."

"It might only be up for an hour or two, but that must have cost at least tens of millions of Xia Country Coins."

"Basically, anyone who logs into the House of War during this time will see his challenge."

"If you refuse now, everyone will just assume you’re scared."

"And knowing Gu Cheng and Guu Ming’s personalities, they’ll probably mock you relentlessly."

After hearing this, Lin Qi picked up his phone, logged into the House of War, and saw the challenge on the homepage.

[Duel Challenge]

[I, Gu Cheng, hereby challenge Lin Qi to a duel in the Red Realm three months from this day.]

[Stake: 100,000 Merit Points]

[If I win, Lin Qi will apologize to my brother, Guu Ming, and forfeit 100,000 Merit Points to me.]

[If I lose, I will publicly admit that I am his inferior and give him 100,000 Merit Points.]

[Time: August 19, 2048, 8:00 PM, Martial Arts Calendar]

...

When Lin Qi saw the number of Merit Points, he couldn’t help but be impressed. ’100,000 Merit Points is no small sum.’

You’d have to hunt at least one Eighth-Level Calamity Beast to earn that many. In terms of Seventh-Level Calamity Beasts, you’d need to kill at least seven or eight.

He had been hunting Calamity Beasts all day, including two Seventh-Level ones, and had only managed to scrape together nearly 40,000 Merit Points.

If he could get his hands on 100,000 Merit Points, he could directly redeem a Blood Spirit Potion.

Or he could buy the flesh and blood of a Ninth-Level Calamity Beast.

Either option would significantly increase his Qi and Blood Value.

And let him undergo his third Blood Exchange!

He kept reading. Below the challenge post, countless people had started leaving comments, and the section was buzzing with activity.

"I knew Gu Cheng would respond to this."

"A fight between Gu Cheng and Lin Qi is going to be spectacular!"

"They’re both SSS-level geniuses, after all."

"And they’re both champions of the Global Martial Arts Tournament. A match between them will be absolutely incredible. It’s just a shame we have to wait three months for it!"

"He probably doesn’t want people to say he’s picking on a junior."

"Lin Qi has only been at the base for three days. Gu Cheng is giving him three months to grow."

"But even with three months, it’ll be incredibly difficult for Lin Qi to defeat Gu Cheng."

"Gu Cheng is currently ranked 100th on the Seventh Realm leaderboard. He’s killed a ton of Seventh-Level Calamity Beasts these past few months."

"An ordinary Seventh-Level Calamity Beast is no match for him anymore."

The crowd chattered away, with more and more people joining the discussion.

After a quick look at the bet’s terms,

Lin Qi checked his Personal Center and saw a system notification.

[Mr. Lin Qi, do you accept the duel challenge from Mr. Gu Cheng?]

[You have three days to consider!]

...

"Junior Brother, three months is too short. Why not try to extend it to five months, or even six?"

Liang Tai asked with concern.

Lin Qi just smiled.

"Eldest Senior Brother, three months is too long!"

"Let’s just do it today."

"I don’t need three months to deal with trash like Gu Cheng."

Liang Tai looked at his Junior Brother, who was radiating intense confidence.

"This..."

Then, he broke into a smile.

"I get it. I believe you’ll win, Junior Brother."

Lin Qi nodded without offering much explanation. After the fight, everyone would understand who was stronger.

So he immediately clicked "Yes,"

accepting the duel and adding a note of his own.

Then he began replying to the messages everyone had sent him.

...

The Duel module updated instantly, and countless people saw Lin Qi’s note!

[Lin Qi: I accept, but with a change. Three months is too long. Let’s do it today!]

[And let’s change the stakes. When I win, not only will you give me 100,000 Merit Points, but you’ll also stay out of my way whenever you see me!]

The moment this note appeared, the Martial Artists watching the post erupted.

"This Lin Qi is so arrogant!"

"He just broke through to the Seventh Realm and he’s already challenging Gu Cheng? Does he really think he can win?"

"It’s normal to be arrogant. If I were the champion of the Global Martial Arts Tournament, I’d be even more arrogant than him!"

"He’s still too young. Gu Cheng needs to teach him a lesson."

"If they fight today, I’m not betting on Lin Qi."

One after another, people voiced their doubts about Lin Qi’s chances.

...

「In the living room of a luxurious apartment.」

A smug smile spread across Guu Ming’s face as he looked at the screen.

"Bro, did you see this?"

"That Lin Qi doesn’t know his own limits. He actually wants to fight today."