Chapter 391 - 386: What Right Do You Have to Call Me "Young Friend

Du Youqian’s Nascent Soul Ceremony was held as scheduled.

From Du Youqian’s perspective, the entire process wasn’t all that different from the Core Formation Ceremony.

The only difference was that during the Core Formation Ceremony, other Core Formation Masters came to observe, smilingly welcoming a new peer to their ranks, while Foundation Establishment Cultivators looked on with gazes full of envy and admiration.

At the Nascent Soul Ceremony, the observers were Nascent Soul Masters, and the ones filled with envy and admiration were the Core Formation Masters. That was all.

That Wen Wuxin hadn’t come to cause trouble during Du Youqian’s Core Formation Ceremony.

Instead, he waited until after the ceremony, after Du Youqian’s seven-day sermon had ended, before he finally made his tardy appearance.

He arrived wearing green robes that screamed ’max-level master,’ riding a seven-colored auspicious cloud. He hadn’t used a Forbidden-Breaking Talisman; with some unknown method, he nonchalantly forced his way through the Four Principles Sect’s Mountain Protection Array and landed in the plaza before the main hall, his entrance dripping with style.

That grand entrance was practically worthy of a protagonist.

If not for the lack of exclusive background music, Du Youqian might have mistaken him for the Son of the World, the darling of the planar universe.

"I am Wen Wuxin, an Elder of the Binyin Sect, here uninvited. I trust you won’t take offense, young friend? I am deeply apologetic for my tardy arrival to your Nascent Soul Ceremony. I have brought a special gift." Wen Wuxin’s tone was casual, but his expression was arrogant as he spoke.

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it could be heard in every corner of the Four Principles Sect.

Every disciple of the Four Principles Sect who heard him was either filled with righteous indignation or remained blissfully ignorant—

Blissfully ignorant because they didn’t know what realm Wen Wuxin was in and might have even mistaken him for a Divinity Transformation Ancestor.

Those filled with righteous indignation knew that a Divinity Transformation Ancestor would never come to a backwater place like this. At best, Wen Wuxin was merely a Nascent Soul Master.

And since they were both Nascent Soul Masters, what right did he have to pull rank by age and call their Sect Leader "young friend"?

Was he here to present a congratulatory gift or to pick a fight?

If their Sect Leader didn’t strike back hard against such a malicious guest, the Four Principles Sect would only be looked down upon in the future.

And the Sect Leader did not disappoint them. Soon, his voice echoed throughout Four Principles Mountain: "Wen Master, you keep calling me ’young friend.’ You must believe you possess mighty powers, that the most accomplished should be honored first. I would like to experience your Divine Abilities for myself and see if you truly have the right to call me ’young friend’!"

Some of the Observation Envoys who hadn’t yet left after Du Youqian’s Nascent Soul Ceremony couldn’t help but whisper among themselves, "This is bad. Wen Master has always been vindictive. Zong Li Master has angered him. I’m afraid blood will be spilled today."

"Haven’t you figured it out? Wen Master came here deliberately to provoke him. No matter how Zong Li Master responds, a battle is inevitable today."

That was right. The purpose of Wen Wuxin’s trip was to enrage Du Youqian and then kill him.

If he couldn’t enrage him, he would have to resort to killing him by force, which would ultimately sound bad when word got out.

Seeing Du Youqian take the bait, he chuckled. "You’re quite the competitive one, young friend. Unfortunately, I am already at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. To engage in Magical Combat with you would be like a grown-up bullying a child. I’d rather not earn such a foul reputation."

Du Youqian responded coldly, "Wen Master, you advanced to the Nascent Soul Late Stage long ago. Why put on such a pretense? If you had admitted it openly, I might have thought more highly of you. But since you’re being so furtive, I can only see you as an old scoundrel."

Wen Wuxin’s expression changed. A three-foot-long Jade Ruler appeared in his hand, and he struck out in the direction of Du Youqian, whom he had locked onto with his Divine Sense. "Your mouth is truly reckless, young friend. It’s a sure way to bring disaster upon yourself. I will teach you a lesson today and make you understand your place!"

The moment Wen Wuxin attacked, the very sky seemed to change.

Layers of clouds churned and rolled, lightning flashing within them, as his Tier Four Treasure, the Jade Ruler, flew toward Du Youqian.

It was one of his Divine Abilities!

Evidently, he was like a lion using its full strength even to catch a rabbit; he showed no mercy just because Du Youqian had only recently reached the Nascent Soul realm.

He might have looked down on him in his heart, but in battle, he held nothing back.

However, this contempt inevitably led him to use a killing move right from the start, which was, in fact, not cautious enough.

’I have two choices now.’

’I can drag out the fight, eventually winning by a hair’s breadth, and then "die of illness" in the near future.’

’If I do that, the surrounding powers will take me seriously and hold me in some respect, but that’s all.’

’Alternatively, I could use my own Defensive Divine Abilities to unexpectedly tank Wen Wuxin’s attack head-on, then use my strongest Sword Intent to cut him down—I’m confident I can do it.’

’But if I really do that, the surrounding powers, including the Qingxu Commerce Association and even some outside forces, won’t just see me with respect and take me seriously.’

’They’ll see me with fear.’

’Even if I "die of illness" soon after, these powers will remain wary of the Four Principles Sect. They’ll think the sect possesses a powerful Inheritance and might even try to seize it, even if it means confronting the Qingxu Commerce Association.’

’And what about the Qingxu Commerce Association? Would they steal from those they’re supposed to guard?’

’Publicly, they’d protect the Four Principles Sect according to our agreement, but privately, they might try to steal the sect’s Inheritance?’

’It’s all unknown.’

In that split second, Du Youqian made his decision.

’Even though I can instantly kill this Nascent Soul Late Stage Wen Wuxin... ’

’I really can’t do it. The future troubles would be endless.’

’This is one flex I have to pass on.’

So, Du Youqian abandoned the idea of tanking the blow with his Defensive Divine Abilities. He flew out from the Sect Leader’s secret chamber, executed "Thousand Miles in One Line" to make a short-range escape, and broke free from Wen Wuxin’s Divine Sense lock before charging back into the fray.

Wen Wuxin laughed heartily. "Sect Leader of the Four Principles Sect, fighting on your own home turf, and all you know is how to flee?"

Du Youqian said coldly, "If you’ve got the guts, then don’t you dare dodge what’s coming next!"

As he spoke, the Jinhuan sword flew out. The incredibly sharp Sword Intent, which seemed capable of cutting through anything, made Wen Wuxin’s face pale slightly. He didn’t even dare to block it head-on with his Jade Ruler, a Treasure meant for both offense and defense. Such a sharp Sword Intent, combined with the material of the Tier Four Treasure Flying Sword, Jinhuan, would likely damage his Jade Ruler.

So, Wen Wuxin immediately retreated a great distance to dodge the sword strike before drifting back.

The way he looked at Du Youqian was now different.

There was no longer any trace of contempt. He now truly regarded Du Youqian as an expert capable of fighting him on equal terms.

The watching Ceremony Envoys also wore grave expressions. "I never expected this Zong Li Master to possess such formidable strength. An ordinary Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator probably wouldn’t last three sword strikes against him."

"Three strikes? They’d be lucky to survive one. But no matter how strong he is, he’s still limited by his realm. He’ll have a hard time gaining any advantage against Wen Master today."

"Wen Master’s killing intent is intense. Zong Li Master is in danger."

Wen Wuxin sneered, "Young friend, you are indeed remarkable, but disrespecting your elders is not a good habit. I’ll teach you a lesson today: learn to be humble before your more powerful seniors!"

As he spoke, he wielded his Jade Ruler and struck at Du Youqian, supplementing the attack with his own magic.

He no longer tried to finish Du Youqian off quickly, but instead began to fight with caution.

This cautious approach was exactly what Du Youqian wanted.

Although Du Youqian had the ability to kill him in an instant, he needed to drag out the Magical Combat for a thousand moves to avoid arousing fear and suspicion.

Winning against a Nascent Soul Late Stage Master after a thousand-move battle would be surprising. People would admire his tenacious spirit and his exceptional combat skills.

But if, as a Nascent Soul Early Stage Master, he one-shotted a Nascent Soul Master... that would just be terrifying.

"Old scoundrel, I gave you an inch and you took a mile. And don’t get it twisted—I always know to be humble before seniors who are stronger than me. But are you stronger than me? Why don’t you go take a piss and look at your reflection!"

Cultivators rarely trash-talked each other during Magical Combat.

But Wen Wuxin needed to create reasons and excuses for himself, otherwise killing Du Youqian would look like a case of a senior bullying a junior. Du Youqian, on the other hand, needed people to think his true strength was slightly inferior, so he had to rely on trash talk to distract his opponent.

And so, the two of them started a verbal spar.

The onlookers watched with great relish.

As a veteran Nascent Soul Master, Wen Wuxin’s moves were sharp and aesthetically pleasing to watch.

That Du Youqian, as a newly advanced Nascent Soul, was only at a slight disadvantage also amazed them.

If they knew that Du Youqian was actually struggling—struggling to restrain himself from instantly killing Wen Wuxin and painstakingly faking being at a disadvantage—many of them would probably lose sleep over it.

After several hundred more exchanges, Du Youqian appeared to be in a perilous situation on the surface, but he also launched numerous sharp counterattacks that sent a cold sweat down Wen Wuxin’s back.

In reality, the situation was under Du Youqian’s control the entire time.

"Old scoundrel, die!" Du Youqian played a trump card—in truth, it was a fake trump card.

He seized control of the Grand Array and suddenly unleashed its power.

Wen Wuxin was both shocked and enraged. "Junior, you dare!"

He had actually used a Forbidden-Breaking Talisman earlier to secretly damage the control hub of the Grand Array. He never imagined that Du Youqian could repair it in such a short time and use its power to suppress him.