Chapter Ten: Come Here If You Dare!

These friends of his had been invited by him to visit the Northern Xiao City. Just moments ago, they were dining in a private room at the Four Seas Restaurant when the clamor of a fight drew them out. By the time they arrived, the skirmish had ended, but they caught a glimpse of Lin Fan’s departing figure. Upon inquiring with the patrons, they learned that it was the very youth who had just left who had intervened, and that his strength was extraordinary.

He and his brothers were all martial arts enthusiasts; hearing of a peer with such prowess, their competitive spirits were roused, and they immediately gave chase, hoping for a friendly exchange. At first, they had no decent pretext to take action, but when he saw his younger sister clutching the youth’s clothes, preventing him from leaving, inspiration struck, which led to the earlier conversation.

Yet before he could finish his words, the youth rebuffed him, and when he turned to see his sister’s darkening expression, his head began to throb.

“Whatever, let’s fight first and talk later!”

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Shuihan lunged at Lin Fan with a ferocious Black Tiger’s Heart-Strike. At that moment, his sister was clearly displeased; he suspected that whatever pocket money he had left would fall victim to her schemes. If he didn’t act now, he would lose both face and fortune—a loss he could hardly accept.

Bang!

Xiao Shuihan’s fist was caught by Lin Fan, who promptly pushed him away with a surge of immense strength.

Step! Step! Step!

Propelled by the force, Xiao Shuihan staggered back several paces before regaining his footing, but his eyes only grew brighter.

“I’ve found another martial arts fanatic, just like my big brother!”

Lin Fan shook his head, seeing through Xiao Shuihan’s intentions—this wasn’t about teaching him a lesson at all. Clearly, he just wanted to spar. Looking at the other youths, whose eyes gleamed like lanterns as soon as he moved, Lin Fan suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Wait a moment. Why not profit from this freely offered surge of negative emotions?

A thought struck him—wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to reap negative emotion points? He nearly missed it and silently chided himself for his foolishness. Still, it depended on how he played his cards...

Without hesitation, Lin Fan stepped forward, his gaze now rebellious and wild, and said to Xiao Shuihan, “You’re no match for me. The rest of you, come at me together.”

The latter part was directed at the five other youths, his tone dripping with contempt as he pointed at them.

“Arrogant!”

“Conceited!”

“Reckless!”

“...”

Upon hearing Lin Fan’s words and seeing his attitude, all the youths instantly bristled with anger—even Xiao Shuihan’s eyes flashed with genuine rage. This was an outright insult to them and their friends.

“Negative emotion value from Xiao Shuihan: +548!”

“Negative emotion value from Li Ji: +458!”

“Negative emotion value from Shangguan Feihong: +398!”

“Negative emotion value from Qian Jin...!”

“...!”

Watching the endless stream of system notifications, Lin Fan’s heart bloomed with delight. Since his realization in the Four Seas Restaurant, he had begun to see negative emotion points in a new light. The possibilities for accumulating them seemed limitless, as if a new world had opened before him.

Noticing the faint smile lurking on Lin Fan’s lips, Xiao Shuihan’s anger burned hotter. While he respected a worthy opponent, he could not tolerate such disdain.

He was not some ordinary cultivator—he was a Perfect Body Temperer!

He had already reached the tenth stage of body tempering, with a total strength of eight thousand jin. If he perfected the tenth stage, even in the body tempering phase, his strength would reach ten thousand jin. His friends were just as formidable.

Traditionally, body tempering only had nine stages. Advancing to the tenth required not just extraordinary talent but also an enormous supply of resources—something beyond the means of common families. Talent alone was rare enough—out of ten thousand, not one might possess the aptitude for a perfect body tempering period. As for the resources consumed, a single perfect body temperer used up enough to nurture five Qi-guiding stage cultivators.

This demonstrated just how extraordinary the perfect body tempering period was.

He had just entered this realm; unlike other stages, the tenth was divided into early, middle, and late phases. At the ninth stage, one’s strength was about two thousand jin. Upon entering the tenth, it leapt to four thousand. Completing the early phase brought it to six thousand, the middle to eight thousand, and the late phase reached the ultimate—ten thousand jin. He had just finished the middle phase and was stepping into the late, so his current strength was eight thousand jin. When he attacked earlier, since his opponent was also a youth, he used only fifteen hundred jin to test him.

He hadn’t expected the boy to have reached the ninth stage, wielding two thousand jin, thus managing to push him back. But he hadn’t used his full strength.

Now, seeing this youth taunt them after forcing him back, claiming he wasn’t a worthy opponent and inviting them all to attack—what staggering arrogance! He was determined to teach this boy a lesson.

“Negative emotion value from Xiao Shuihan: +358, +457, +246, +158...”

Lin Fan’s joy only grew as the system’s notifications kept refreshing. Even though Xiao Shuihan’s face alternated between pale and flushed, as if wrestling with something inside, Lin Fan found him all the more amusing—adorable, even.

Frankly, as long as they fueled his negative emotion points, he’d do just about anything for them—short of calling them father or betraying his principles.

So, he decided to pour oil on the fire.

Planting his feet shoulder-width apart, one hand held before his chest, Lin Fan curled four fingers into a fist, extending only his index finger, and beckoned to Xiao Shuihan.

Then, with a sudden roar, he shouted, “Come on, then!”

This was, unmistakably, the supreme technique he’d learned in cinemas in his previous life—the fusion of the Single Yang Finger and Lion’s Roar.

Effect: provocation, contempt, and maximum infuriation.

A stifled laugh escaped Xiao Meier at his side; she couldn’t help but burst into giggles.

“Argh—!”

So provoked, Xiao Shuihan’s eyes blazed red as he stomped the ground, leaving a bowl-sized crater in the earth. In a flash, his figure shot toward Lin Fan like lightning.

“Get back!”

No matter how fast Xiao Shuihan was, he was no match for Lin Fan. In terms of combat experience, Xiao Shuihan was a mere ant compared to Lin Fan, who had lived a lifetime and achieved true divinity. With a swish, Lin Fan seized Xiao Shuihan’s shoulder with his left hand, gripped his waist with his right, and hurled him back.

Yet Lin Fan held back, not hurting Xiao Shuihan in the slightest. After all, Xiao Shuihan’s first attack had been a test, using only fifteen hundred jin. Though he suffered for it, upon sensing Lin Fan’s two thousand jin, even in his rage, his second strike used only two thousand jin. This showed Xiao Shuihan’s honorable character—he truly wanted to spar rather than overpower him with brute force. Naturally, Lin Fan wouldn’t go overboard in return.

But Xiao Shuihan had no conception of real strength. Ha...

“So you’re a perfect body temperer too! Ha! Now I can fight at full strength!”

After being thrown back, Xiao Shuihan suddenly laughed, having realized Lin Fan was also a perfect body temperer—the strength just displayed had to be three thousand jin.

“Wait!”

Just as Xiao Shuihan readied himself for another attack, Lin Fan raised a hand to halt him, speaking solemnly, “Before we fight, I have something to say to all of you.”

“Make it quick so we can get started—I can hardly wait!” Xiao Shuihan’s eyes were alight with excitement. Aside from his companions, it had been ages since he’d found a worthy opponent among his peers. Of course, older monsters didn’t count.

“Alright, here goes...”

Lin Fan hesitated, as if unsure whether to speak. Seeing this, Xiao Shuihan grew impatient. “Out with it already!”

He was eager to unleash his full strength.

Lin Fan spread his hands, flashing pristine white teeth in a radiant, angelic smile. “I’ve said it.”

Xiao Shuihan: “???”

“Negative emotion value from Xiao Shuihan: +666!”

Xiao Shuihan was on the verge of collapse. Why did he have to meet such an unorthodox opponent today? Through clenched teeth, he managed to squeeze out a few words: “Are you messing with me?”

“Alright, alright, enough with the games. I do have something serious to say to all of you.”

Finally, as if seeing Xiao Shuihan reach his limit, Lin Fan composed himself, turned solemnly to face Xiao Shuihan and the other well-dressed youths, and slowly opened his mouth to speak.

Seeing him at last turn serious, Xiao Shuihan’s expression eased, and the others looked expectantly at Lin Fan, waiting to hear what he had to say.

One minute...

Two minutes...

Five minutes...

Five minutes passed; Lin Fan’s face remained grave, his lips parted, yet not a single word emerged.

After watching for a while, Xiao Shuihan and the other well-dressed youths grew visibly irate, veins bulging on their foreheads. You’ve had your mouth open all this time—are you going to say something or not?

What are you doing?

Aren’t you tired holding your mouth open so long?

Or are you just showing off how white your teeth are?!