Chapter 31: Young and Reckless, Fight If You Disagree

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Young and Reckless, Fight If You Disagree

Lu Yuan was incredibly frustrated. He wondered why there were so many dogs in the world always trying to bite him. Couldn’t life just go a little smoother?

SWISH.

Instantly, the dozens, if not hundreds of people eating in the dining hall turned to look.

"A new recruit?"

"Recommended by Wu the Cripple?"

"Only at the Ninth Grade..."

The personnel present at the Demon Suppression Bureau varied from day to day. This was especially true for the senior members who were frequently out on missions. For many just returning, this was the first time they were hearing about this matter.

"Does our Demon Suppression Bureau keep dogs? Furthermore, did it just eat shit? Why does its mouth stink so much?" Lu Yuan looked at Liu Zhi, unable to resist waving a hand in front of his face to fan the air.

"Huh? I don’t know." Liu Zhi looked innocent and surprised. "Are dogs allowed in the Demon Suppression Bureau? I haven’t heard about that!"

"Brat, who the hell are you calling a dog?" The thin-lipped, mean-looking young man slammed his hand on the table and swiftly charged up to Lu Yuan and Liu Zhi. "Believe it or not, I’ll beat the both of you to death!"

"Oh my, I’m so scared. So arrogant and so fierce? Just who are you?" Lu Yuan shoved his dining tray to the side and stood up. He stared at the young man, enunciating every word. "I don’t believe you!"

"You... I..." The thin-lipped young man nearly exploded with anger. He raised his hand, ready to teach Lu Yuan a lesson.

"Sun Jin! What are you doing?" another young man stood up and shouted, stopping him in his tracks.

It was Han Li, whom Lu Yuan had met that morning.

"Private fights are forbidden within the Demon Suppression Bureau. Are you trying to knowingly break the rules?" Han Li demanded.

"I..." The thin-lipped Sun Jin choked on his words, his raised hand freezing mid-air. "This new brat doesn’t know his place and lacks respect for his seniors. I’m just teaching him a good lesson on everyone’s behalf. How can that be considered a private fight?"

It was common for seniors to discipline juniors. He was at the Eighth Grade Peak. If he slapped the kid across the face, would the brat really dare to fight back?

"He was recommended by Mr. Wu!" Han Li emphasized.

"Mr. Wu? He’s just a cripple," Sun Jin scoffed disdainfully. The man had been crippled for decades; why should he be afraid?

"A senior? A mere Eighth Grade dares to call himself a senior?" Mu Lingche suddenly stood up and walked over. "I’m also new here. Do you want to teach me a lesson too?"

"You are..." Sun Jin glanced at Mu Lingche, his eyes flickering with hesitation.

There was a stark difference between the descendants of a Noble Family and those from ordinary backgrounds. First was their bloodline, which granted them an innate air of extraordinary grace. Coupled with growing up in an environment of lasting wealth and privilege, their entire demeanor was entirely different. Standing there, Mu Lingche exuded a clear aura of nobility, undoubtedly hailing from a top-tier Noble Family. Sun Jin merely came from a small, ordinary clan; how could he dare to challenge Mu Lingche?

"I’m new here too. Why don’t you teach me as well?" Jiang Hongfei also stood up and approached. If word got out that someone from his own squad was bullied, it would reflect poorly on him. More importantly, Su the Ninth had already stepped forward. Otherwise, he most likely wouldn’t have bothered to intervene.

Sun Jin was suddenly backed into a corner. He knew of Jiang Hongfei.

"Brothers, there is no need to lower yourselves to argue with a dog," Lu Yuan quickly smoothed things over. It wasn’t worth them getting into a conflict for his sake. More importantly, Lu Yuan disliked having others interfere in his own business.

"You... who are you calling a dog?" Sun Jin glared at Lu Yuan, utterly enraged. He itched to beat him up right then and there.

"Brother Lu..." Han Li couldn’t help but shoot Lu Yuan a look. He thought that the boy should know when to stop; why bring trouble upon himself?

"I know you don’t like me, and I don’t like you either," Lu Yuan said, looking straight at Sun Jin. "How about this? I’ll give you a chance. One month from now, we duel on the training grounds. What do you say?"

"What?"

"He wants to challenge Sun Jin to a duel?"

"Is he insane?"

"Isn’t he not even at the Eighth Grade yet? Sun Jin has been at the Eighth Grade Peak and achieved Great Success in Organ Refinement for a long time now."

"The young and arrogant truly don’t know their place!"

"I say he’s biting off more than he can chew!"

The crowd in the dining hall instantly erupted into heated discussion.

It was a rare occurrence for a brand-new recruit to challenge a senior with years of experience. The crux of the matter was that if he were a genius from a Noble Family with Eighth Grade Cultivation, having some sort of trump card would make sense. But he merely came from a small clan and was only at the Ninth Grade Cultivation. What could he possibly use to fight Sun Jin, who was at the Eighth Grade Peak? Was he a glutton for punishment?

The way everyone looked at Lu Yuan rapidly shifted. Initially, they had just seen him as a greenhorn who got in through the back door—an opportunist. Now, they were looking at a complete fool.

Mu Lingche and Jiang Hongfei were both baffled and surprised. What exactly was Lu Yuan trying to do? Was he truly stupid? Or was he just that reckless, willing to fight anyone who displeased him?

Han Li’s expression shifted. When they had met that morning, he felt the kid was quite smart, but now...

"Brother Lu..."

"Fine! I accept!" Sun Jin hastily interrupted, terrified that someone would talk Lu Yuan out of it and the opportunity would slip away. "One month from now, I’ll see you on the training grounds!

"Hahaha, I’ve been in the Demon Suppression Bureau for almost five years, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a confident and bold rookie.

"I really like it. As your senior, I will definitely dedicate myself to thoroughly teaching you the rules of your predecessors!

"Being impulsive inside the Demon Suppression Bureau is fine, but acting impulsively on the outside will get you killed..."

With that said, Sun Jin turned around, intending to go back to his meal.

"Wait!" Lu Yuan hurriedly called out to stop him.

"What? Are you going back on your word?" Sun Jin turned around, frowning. "The agreement has already been made; it cannot be changed!"

For this kind of public challenge, simply agreeing was enough to set it in stone.

"Who’s going back on their word?" Lu Yuan shook his head. "I just wanted to say that a match shouldn’t be so dull. There has to be some kind of wager, don’t you think?"

"A wager?" Sun Jin stared at Lu Yuan. "What kind of wager do you want?"

He planned to beat the kid until his own parents wouldn’t recognize him when the time came. What more could he possibly want? Could he really get more out of this? That would just be too embarrassing for the kid.

"It’s a must!" Lu Yuan bluntly pulled out the remaining five hundred silver notes he had on him. "Five hundred silver notes. I bet on myself to win!

"Do you dare to match it?"

"Hahaha, are you crazy? You dare to play this game with me?" Sun Jin was dumbfounded for a second before he couldn’t help but throw his head back and laugh. "Five hundred silver taels, right? I’ll..."

Sun Jin reached into his robes, but then he suddenly froze. He didn’t have enough money on him. Over the years, although he had earned plenty of silver taels, his Cultivation expenses had also been steep. Combined with his expenditures on food, drink, entertainment, and subsidizing his family...

"Who can lend me some money? One month from now, I will return it with both principal and interest, and I’ll even treat them to a good time at the Drunken Fragrance Building!"

"Money? I have some—fifty silver taels!"

"I’ve got a hundred silver taels here!"

"I have thirty silver taels..."

"Sun Jin, there’s quite a lot of people. You won’t be treating all of us to the Drunken Fragrance Building, will you? Hahahaha..."

Immediately, several people stood up. This was especially true for those in the same Squad as Sun Jin.

"Is five hundred silver taels not enough to treat you all? I’ll treat anyone who chips in fifty silver taels or more!" Sun Jin laughed loudly.

Very quickly, the five hundred silver taels were gathered.

"Alright, that settles it..."

"What are you doing? What’s going on here?" Chen Qiang hurried into the hall at that moment. "What are you all doing? I don’t agree to this! It’s null and void!"

"Hey now, Chen Qiang, that’s not very nice, is it? They’ve already made the agreement." Another Squad Leader stood up. His name was Wang Zhong, a Seventh Grade expert, and he was the one in charge of Sun Jin.

"I am his superior! It’s null and void if I don’t agree!" Chen Qiang gritted his teeth.

"You don’t have enough authority, unless a Squadron Commander steps in," Wang Zhong shook his head.

"You..." Chen Qiang was utterly furious. He had arrived a step too late.

"Squad Leader Chen, I brought this matter up myself. I know what I’m doing," Lu Yuan tugged at Chen Qiang’s clothes and whispered softly.