Chapter Thirty-Eight: An Overwhelming Surge of Negative Emotions

After all, no matter how strong Sun Chao was, he had only managed to exchange a few hundred moves with the youth ranked one hundredth, while these people before him were all ranked between seventy and eighty among the young elites. Seeing the group of youths appear, Lin Fan’s expression grew solemn. He asked, “You want to be my opponents?”

“That’s right!”

“So what if we do?”

“You’re far too arrogant!”

Wei Kong, Guo Hao, Liu Kuo, and the others answered in turn, each with a cold glint in their eyes. This youth had actually called them all trash—he had truly gone too far.

If they didn’t teach him a lesson, wouldn’t they become the laughingstock of everyone?

Ji Chunfeng and Yue Chong didn’t speak, but the mocking curl of their lips and the chill in their eyes made their feelings plain.

“Oh my, I’m so scared!” Lin Fan suddenly shrieked, dashing behind Xiao Shuihan and the others, putting on an act of terror.

Ji Chunfeng: “???”

Yue Chong: “???”

Liu Kuo: “???”

What is wrong with you?! You’re scared? Then why did you provoke the youths on both banks just now? You look like a young elite yourself—can’t you act with a little more dignity? Why are you hiding behind others now...

“Negative emotions from Ji Chunfeng: +681!”

“Negative emotions from Yue Chong: +619!”

“Negative emotions from ...”

Besides, if you’re so afraid, why did you just strike that “master” pose and ask us if we wanted to be your opponents? So you’re just putting on a show! Should I give you an Oscar?

Ji Chunfeng and the others were seething with resentment, furiously grumbling to themselves.

Just then, the five youths standing in front of the delicate-looking boy shook their heads with helpless smiles and rose to meet the challengers, their faces becoming serious.

“Ouhu, hurry over and have some wine. These guys will be dealt with soon enough—when it’s done, you can step in and swap places with Xiao Shuihan and the others for a drink!” While Ji Chunfeng’s group was bracing themselves for battle, they suddenly saw the delicate youth—who had just run away—beckoning the burly youth who had defeated Sun Chao earlier.

Ji Chunfeng and the others felt a wave of frustration. Why did they feel so stifled?

“Negative emotions from Ji Chunfeng: +999!”

“Negative emotions from Yue Chong ...”

“...”

Crack! Crack!

Ji Chunfeng and his companions clenched their fists until their knuckles popped, itching to skin that delicate-looking youth alive. How could anyone be so infuriating?

What did he mean by “soon to be dealt with”? Could he be any more disrespectful? And then telling someone to swap places and drink after beating them—were they nothing but appetizers to these people?

“Ouhu settles every opponent in a single move. If we don’t do the same, Boss Fan will look down on us. You guys pick your opponents first!” Xiao Shuihan and the others stepped to the bow, facing Ji Chunfeng’s group. Xiao Shuihan grinned as he addressed Li Ji and the rest.

Pfft!

I might as well choke on a mouthful of salty soda—do you think we’re just decorations? We’re not the same as Sun Chao! Just because you finished him in one move, you expect to do the same to us? Have you lost your minds? This is not a fair comparison. Is your real plan to have us come up here just to be ridiculed?

Are you not going to fight, but rather kill us with words?

“Die!”

Unable to hold back their blazing fury any longer, Ji Chunfeng and the others unleashed their energy, their battle aura surging to the heavens as they charged toward the youths before them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As swiftly as they lunged at Xiao Fei and his companions, they were sent flying back just as quickly, blood seeping from the corners of their mouths, faces filled with shock and disbelief.

They hadn’t even blocked a single move!

Five streams of blood sprayed from their mouths, staining the ground crimson. One after another, they plunged into the water and did not resurface.

“How spineless—did they run off underwater again?” From the river, they could still hear the delicate youth’s puzzled voice. The image of his disdainful face flashed through their minds, and they swore to themselves that one day, they would have their revenge.

“Negative emotions from Ji Chunfeng: +999!”

“Negative emotions from Yue Chong: +999!”

“Negative emotions from Wei ...”

And so it went: first Sun Chao, then the five with Ji Chunfeng, then another four ranked around sixtieth, seven more from the fortieth to fiftieth ranks, and two more from the twentieth to thirtieth—all were defeated by Xiao Shuihan and his friends.

It was almost always one punch, one palm—none could last a single exchange.

With their bodies having undergone perfect tempering, the mere force of their vital energy could match a mid-stage Qi-Gathering cultivator. Combined with their physical strength and their family’s martial techniques, they could overpower even peak mid-stage Qi-Gathering experts with ease—it was effortless for them.

Perhaps it was the display of their power, but for a while, no other young elite dared to board the boat.

Just these defeats had earned Lin Fan more than sixty thousand negative emotion points, and as he continued to provoke the young elites on both sides of the river, the total rose to nearly three hundred thousand, making for a grand total of three hundred sixty thousand.

At this moment, the young elites gathered along both banks—whether drawn by the lantern festival or by news of Lin Fan’s provocations—numbered more than three hundred.

“Isn’t anyone else coming up? If not, I’m going to leave!” Lin Fan’s eyes were crescent moons with delight. These three hundred sixty thousand negative emotion points had come far too easily.

With just these points, he could add seventy more threads of vital energy. Even if he used them in a lottery draw, he could pull some great prizes. He could barely contain his joy.

“How infuriating! How dare that brat shout like that! Even if those are all scions of the Xiao and Li families, even if he instantly defeated Zhang Yuan, who’s ranked nineteenth, he shouldn’t be so arrogant. Besides, he hasn’t even fought himself yet!” The young elites on both banks boiled with suppressed anger, but were helpless. After so many battles, some had already recognized Xiao Shuihan and the others.

Even Lin Fan had been recognized by some, for not only young elites frequented the Lantern Street.

But that didn’t stop many from seething—Lin Fan was simply too provoking. Every time a ranked young elite was defeated, he would stand at the bow and taunt them, infuriating them all over again.

Now, they could only hope someone ranked in the top fifteen would appear, to humble Lin Fan and Xiao Shuihan, and restore their dignity.

But if Lin Fan knew what they were thinking, he would simply shake his head and laugh. Even if a top-fifteen youth showed up, there was no guarantee they could defeat Xiao Shuihan and the others.

Xiao Shuihan’s group had achieved perfect tempering and stepped into the Qi-Gathering realm. Their vital energy alone could match an ordinary mid-stage cultivator. With the addition of their family’s powerful martial skills, they could even contend with late-stage Qi-Gathering fighters—such a duel’s outcome was hard to predict.

But with Lin Fan’s instruction, Xiao Fei and the others had mastered the Wind and Thunder Force. Once cultivated to completion, it could quintuple their combat strength! Under Lin Fan’s guidance, they had reached the third level, tripling their strength. Even so, they could easily crush late-stage Qi-Gathering opponents.

And if they added their martial skills, already at minor achievement, even someone at the peak of the Qi-Gathering realm, with ten thousand threads of vital energy and the strength of a hundred thousand catties, might not win against Xiao Shuihan’s group.

If they got careless, they might even suffer a loss.

Unless, of course, the late-stage or peak Qi-Gathering cultivator who appeared was also a perfect-tempering practitioner.

In that case, even with the Wind and Thunder Force and their martial skills, Xiao Fei and the others would have less than a twenty percent chance of victory.

Just as Lin Fan was musing, a calm voice sounded from the distance: “Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. I hear someone here has been calling all the young elites trash. How about I come and test your skills?”

Hearing this, Lin Fan looked up. A youth in black robes, long hair draped over his shoulders, walked across the water, approaching from afar.

He stepped lightly, the water beneath his feet undisturbed, save for the faintest ripples—like a leaf settling on the water’s surface.

This alone set him far apart from those so-called young elites who had come before.

“That’s Qin Longyue, ranked ninth, already in the Qi Vessel Realm!”

“No way—it really is him!”

“Wonderful! Finally, a true expert has arrived to teach that infuriating youth a lesson!”

“Yes, finally...”

The crowd on the banks erupted in awe, for this was no mere youth ranked in the teens or twenties, but a member of the top ten.

The top ten marked a massive divide from the ranks below: they had stepped into the Qi Vessel Realm.

Consider it—among the hundreds of cities in Snowy Jade Commandery, a youth who reached the Qi-Gathering realm at sixteen or seventeen could be hailed as a prodigy, but Qin Longyue was already in the Qi Vessel Realm at only eighteen—and he, too, was a perfect-tempering practitioner. Such talent and cultivation speed left Xiao Shuihan and the others far behind.

Recognizing Qin Longyue, Xiao Shuihan and his friends clenched their fists, lips pressed tight. Qin Longyue also belonged to one of the top ten families.

His Qin family outranked the Shangguan, Xiao, and Li families.

In Snowy Jade Commandery, the Shangguan family was fifth, the Xiao family sixth, the Li family ninth, while Qin Longyue’s Qin family was third!

However, the Shangguan and Li families were the only two among the top ten not based in the commandery capital. One resided in Thousand City, the other in Snowy City.

Therefore, Shangguan Feihong and Li Ji felt less pressure, but Xiao Shuihan felt it most intensely—having grown up in the commandery capital, he had always been compared to his peer Qin Longyue.

Moreover, Xiao Shuihan was not the eldest son of his family; he had an elder brother. Though Qin Longyue was also not the eldest, his maternal family was the eighth-ranked Long clan!

Thus, Qin Longyue enjoyed the resources of both families, far more than Xiao Shuihan ever received.

If Xiao Shuihan’s resource advantage was a one, then Qin Longyue, with the support of both the Qin and Long families, enjoyed a two—or more, since both families’ strength far surpassed the Xiao family.

In truth, the cultivation resources Qin Longyue received were much greater than Xiao Fei’s.

[End of Chapter 38: Negative Emotions Overflow]

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