Chapter Thirty-Three: The Young Prodigy

Of course, as the Seventh Young Master of the Four Seas Merchant Association, Qian Jin could ignore these rules and directly reserve a private room on the seventh floor.

“They haven’t arrived yet. They’re all at Young Master Xiao’s place!”

Hearing Lin Fan’s inquiry, the waiter quickly replied, then asked, “May I ask who you are?”

“My name is Lin Fan,” Lin Fan replied with a smile, confident that Qian Jin had already arranged things.

“As it turns out, you’re Young Master Lin. Our young master has instructed us to welcome you and take you to Room 702. He and the others will arrive shortly.”

Just as expected, upon hearing Lin Fan’s name, the waiter respectfully bowed and led him upstairs.

“I’ll wait until they arrive before going up. Find me a seat by the window on the third floor, and bring me a pot of wine and two plates of appetizers,” Lin Fan stopped the waiter and instructed him.

“This…” The waiter hesitated, troubled. After all, the Seventh Young Master had specifically ordered that Young Master Lin be received properly and that someone be sent to notify the Xiao family immediately upon his arrival. If the young master found out he had left Lin Fan on a scattered table on the third floor, he’d surely lose his job.

Seeing the waiter’s expression, Lin Fan guessed his thoughts and laughed, “Don’t worry. With me here, your young master won’t do anything to you.”

The waiter gritted his teeth, nodded, and said, “Alright, please follow me.”

He found Lin Fan a good seat by the window on the third floor and guided him to sit down.

Before long, several exquisite dishes and a pot of fine wine were brought up. Lin Fan drank and enjoyed himself.

“Have you heard? There’s less than two months left until the enrollment at the Book of Heaven Academy and the Four Great Sects. Many young masters have appeared in Qingxue County, all coming to the county city to use the teleportation array to travel to the capital!”

“How could I not hear? Just within our Qingxue County’s cities, there are already hundreds of young experts in the Qi Guidance Realm, all aged sixteen to eighteen. Rumor has it there are even Qi Vein experts—truly frightening!”

“To have such cultivation at such a young age, we old men might as well have lived as dogs…”

At the neighboring table, several middle-aged men were discussing the upcoming enrollment at the Book of Heaven Academy and the Four Great Sects, and the conversation turned to these young prodigies.

“So what if they’re in the Qi Guidance Realm? They’re just a bunch of fledglings who’ve never seen blood. Most are sons of noble families, their cultivation built on resources. When it comes to real combat, who knows what will happen?”

“Shh—keep your voice down!”

One burly man seemed dismissive of these young masters, but his companion hurriedly stopped him. Glancing around, he confirmed that the young prodigies hadn’t heard, then exhaled in relief, still looking nervous.

“Why stop me? Am I wrong?” The burly man protested, but his companion immediately covered his mouth.

“That young man in black over there is the twenty-seventh ranked Frost Sword, Yin Bing, among the hundreds of young experts in Qingxue County. His friend beside him is Sky-Splitting Palm, Xing Feng.”

“They’re both mid-stage Qi Guidance Realm masters. Whether their cultivation is built up by resources or not, they could easily wipe the floor with us nine-stage Body Tempering Realm fellows!”

Casting a glare at the burly man, his companion lowered his head and spoke quietly, his eyes flicking about, wary of the tiger-like youths around him.

“And that young lady over there is Mo Qing of the Mo family, ranked twenty-second. Her brother is Wind-Chasing Leg, Mo Shaoyan, ranked thirteenth!”

“Two tables away from her sits the nineteenth-ranked Heavenly Blade, Zhang Yuan, and the twenty-third-ranked Absolute Blade, Zhang Zhen!”

Hearing this, the burly man was startled, and no longer dared to speak, keeping his head down and motionless. Only now did he understand why his companion had stopped him.

Lin Fan, meanwhile, followed the introductions, observing each in turn. When he heard the titles Heavenly Blade and Absolute Blade, he couldn’t help but smile.

Such grand titles!

Frankly, given their age and cultivation, and their understanding of the blade, they were only just beginning—like children entering kindergarten.

The titles were so lofty only because they were young and weak; the elders didn’t bother with them. Otherwise, those two titles alone would be enough for them to lose their lives many times over.

As if sensing Lin Fan’s gaze, Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen turned their heads toward him, surprised to see someone their own age. Just as they were about to look away, their eyes suddenly caught sight of the Thousand Snow Blades on Lin Fan’s table!

At this point, the blade had a sheath—not a particularly fine one, just sandalwood, but Lin Fan loved the fragrance and used it for the scabbard. Outside, he wound white silk tightly around it.

Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen exchanged glances, stood up, and walked toward Lin Fan. The other diners, seeing this, turned their attention as well. Even Yin Bing, Xing Feng, Mo Qing, and the other young experts were no exception.

The two approached and asked, “Does this brother also use a blade?”

Their question was courteous and polite, but their eyes betrayed a sense of superiority. They neither cupped their hands nor bowed, just stood straight before Lin Fan, lowering their heads only slightly—a rather arrogant manner.

“Are you blind? Such a big blade and you can’t see it?!”

Lin Fan never indulged people like this. Even if they were stronger, he’d retort without hesitation. Let alone Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen—he could defeat them ten times over with one hand. Why be polite? He immediately shot back.

Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen were momentarily dumbfounded. As the nineteenth and twenty-third ranked experts, they expected the youth to be honored by their attention. They never imagined such a blunt response, with no consideration for their dignity.

“Negative emotion value from Zhang Yuan, +333!”

“Negative emotion value from Zhang Zhen, +333!”

Many onlookers twitched their lips at Lin Fan’s response. This youth seemed prickly as a hedgehog. Though the brothers were arrogant, they were still young masters. Was such a cold rebuttal necessary?

They asked, “Does this brother use a blade?”

At the very least, he could have answered yes or no with similar courtesy! Young masters should show some bearing—especially since Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen were so powerful. Even the top ten would give them some face.

Instead, he asked if they were blind…

It was as aggravating as a card game where the landlord plays two threes and asks if you want them, only for you to answer, “What business is it of yours?” How infuriating!

The diners felt Lin Fan’s answer lacked grace, but somehow, they wanted to laugh. Even their faces revealed smiles they struggled to suppress, wary that Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen might take revenge.

But it was clear—they were having a hard time holding back!

Pfft!

“Hahaha—!”

Mo Qing burst out laughing, and Yin Bing and Xing Feng joined in. As young masters themselves, they didn’t care about Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen.

Their rankings weren’t based on battles, but on cultivation level. So they weren’t intimidated, and in real combat, who knew what would happen?

Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen’s faces turned red with anger, their arrogance replaced by fury at Lin Fan’s indifference and the laughter of Mo Qing and the others.

At this moment, they felt a burning rage rising within.

Even the other diners found Lin Fan’s retorts abrasive—how much more so for the protagonists themselves!

“You’re courting death, do you know that?” Zhang Yuan’s eyes narrowed, cold light flashing as he addressed Lin Fan in a low voice.

“People come to a restaurant for food, not to court death. Besides, my friend, could you please remove the shoe insole from under your tongue and straighten it out? What, is it rented and you can’t bear to part with it?”

As soon as Zhang Yuan finished, Lin Fan replied, as if afraid his words might fall to the floor, rushing to catch them.

“Such a forceful phrase as ‘courting death,’ but you somehow made it sound like ‘courting filth.’ How disgusting—how’s anyone supposed to eat now? Did you two come straight from a pile of filth? You stink!”

Lin Fan waved his hand, feigning disgust as if he smelled something foul.

“Negative emotion value from Zhang Yuan, +999!”

“Negative emotion value from Zhang Zhen…”

The backend system threw up subtitles for the second time. Though Lin Fan was insulting them, he was inwardly delighted. After all, this was a windfall of negative emotion value—how could he not profit from their guest appearance in his emotional value dungeon!

In Lin Fan’s eyes, Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen were simply dungeons for farming negative emotion value. Even if they couldn’t drop an AWM, a 98k was possible.

“Die—!”

Enraged by Lin Fan’s increasing insults, Zhang Yuan’s eyes nearly blazed. He knew his verbal skills were lacking—he did have a bit of a lisp—so he shouted, drew the long blade at his waist, and slashed down at Lin Fan.

The blade’s momentum was like a tidal wave, powerful and overwhelming, with the air of a single strike able to defeat ten thousand foes.

Zhang Yuan attacked in anger, holding nothing back. This strike was full force—young masters of equal rank would need to respond carefully, or risk death by a single misstep!

All the diners watching couldn’t help but feel anxious for Lin Fan.

Lin Fan had won the verbal spar, leaving Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen speechless, but in true combat, things were different.

Zhang Yuan was the nineteenth ranked young master. Even if the rankings were based on cultivation and had some flaws, they still applied to those of similar cultivation. In real battle, it depended on experience, technique, and hidden cards.

But among these young masters, Lin Fan was not included. At least, no one had ever heard of him, which meant he wasn’t ranked. Either he was new to Qingxue County, or simply weak and unknown.

But with so many new young masters entering Qingxue County every day, how many could break into the rankings and enter the top hundred?

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