Chapter 37: Invitation
Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Invitation
Fang Chen followed the group to a relatively empty parking alley behind the school.
The buzz-cut boy fished a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, tapped one out, and offered it to Fang Chen with a seemingly easygoing smile. "I’m Cao Xu. I’m also in Class One. We’ve probably seen each other during class, right?"
"I don’t smoke." Fang Chen waved his hand in refusal.
Cao Xu lit the cigarette for himself, took a drag, and chuckled. "Heh, good habit. Don’t be nervous. We just came to have a chat and discuss some things with you.
"After all, your reputation as the ’Number One Martial Artist of The Three Greats’ is quite loud," he added, blowing a smoke ring, his gaze probing.
Fang Chen’s tone remained flat. "Oh? Just spit it out. I have a lot of things to deal with at home."
He had been in class all day. His desk-mate, Hu Jiasen, was a chatterbox who had enthusiastically rambled ON AND ON about the situation at The Seventh Congress.
In the junior year of The Seventh Congress, there were only twelve True Martial Realm students in total, which was significantly fewer than at The Three Greats. Among them, only two were Superpower Users, both at the second tier.
Fang Chen glanced around. The Cao Xu in front of him had a green Spirit Seal on his wrist. Meanwhile, a red-haired youth sitting on a motorcycle in the back, absentmindedly toying with a steel pipe, also had one on his wrist.
It seemed these were the two.
He found it somewhat amusing and thought, "Who do they think they are in this tiny place? Protagonists from Qidian?"
Taking another drag, Cao Xu said, "Brother, some transfer students over here have talked about your deeds at The Three Greats. They hyped you up to mythical proportions, saying you fought for the weak and stood up against injustice, and that no one at The Three Greats dared to cause trouble. Is that true?"
"Rumors are mostly exaggerated and not necessarily true," Fang Chen replied. "What, did you specifically invite me over today just to talk about ancient history?"
At this moment, a tall girl with dreadlocks and extensive tattoos visible on her arms and neck stood up. Her eyes carried a wild glint. "We have no interest in talking history with you. Our intention today is very simple."
She scanned the surrounding Celestial Kings before locking eyes with Fang Chen. "We are inviting you to join us. How about it? This isn’t an opportunity just anyone can get."
Fang Chen looked at her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "Oh? There’s such a benefit? Then what do I need to pay in return?"
The dreadlocked girl chuckled and clapped her hands. "You know the score, brother.
"Don’t be in a rush. Let me, Wang, tell you about the benefits."
A chorus of knowing laughter erupted from the surroundings.
Fang Chen nodded, his tone still flat. "Oh, understood."
The dreadlocked girl continued, her tone becoming slightly more formal. "Of course, seeing as we’re about to graduate, there’s not much point to the usual stuff anymore."
Her gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Fang Chen’s face with a hint of enticement. "So, we have a much bigger plan. Every Celestial King must join."
Fang Chen didn’t reply, but he had already roughly guessed that whatever this group was gathered here to plot, it definitely wasn’t anything good.
Seeing his silence, Cao Xu chuckled, threw his cigarette butt on the ground, and crushed it under his foot, cutting straight to the core of the matter. "Heh, it’s like this, brother. How’s it going with scraping together the registration fee for the martial arts exam?"
Fang Chen raised his eyes to look at him. "I haven’t. Why? Do you guys have a special fund to support brothers who don’t have enough money?"
"Heh, we do, brother, we do." Cao Xu’s expression turned solemn. "The plan Wang Lu just mentioned is exactly this."
He pointed to the people around them. "It’s not just you. To be honest, out of all of us here, barely any have scraped it together either. Five hundred thousand! Damn it!
"Which of our families can afford that?" he continued, his tone laced with indignation and resentment. "Our families are all farmers and laborers. Saving up fifty thousand would drain their life savings, let alone five hundred thousand!
"But this world is just that unfair!" His voice rose a notch, carrying an inflammatory tone. "Look at those people—take your desk-mate Hu Jiasen, for example. His family just got lucky, moved into the city a few years early, and stumbled upon some opportunities. I heard his family can save up seventy or eighty thousand a year!
"I’ve seen that kid looking pretty ecstatic lately. I bet his family has already prepared the five hundred thousand for him!"
He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Fang Chen. "Heh, even if his family falls short, it doesn’t matter," he sneered, his gaze sweeping over the list. "We have plenty of other targets to choose from."
Fang Chen’s eyes swept over the dense cluster of names and class information on the paper, his tone darkening. "These are all... the targets you’re planning to strike?"
The smile vanished from Cao Xu’s face, his eyes turning sharp. "Heh, not ’you.’ It’s ’we’!
"Fang, don’t joke around with us like that," his tone carried a sinister chill. "If even the slightest breeze of this news leaks out..."
Before he could finish speaking, more than half of the dozen or so people around them stood up straight, and over a dozen streams of killing intent were picked up by his Perception.
The air seemed to freeze.
Fang Chen’s face remained expressionless as he calmly asked, "Tell me, what exactly are we going to do?"
Cao Xu immediately piled a smile back onto his face, as if the previous threat had never happened. "Haha! If I’d known you were so easy to talk to, brother, we wouldn’t have had to specially arrange this meeting!"
His tone was light, but his meaning was entirely unapologetic. "Actually, we could do this without you. But didn’t we hear that you... ah, like to play the hero and stand up against injustice?
"We were just afraid that you might not understand the situation and let your chivalrous heart get the better of you, causing unnecessary friction with us," he added with a hint of sarcasm. "After all, we’re all about to take the martial arts exam. No one wants to go to the testing grounds covered in injuries. Don’t you agree?"
Fang Chen reached out and took the list. Cao Xu leaned in, pointing to a few names circled in red pen. "Don’t worry, the plan is detailed. You’re responsible for these few."
He patted Fang Chen’s shoulder, posing as if they were sharing a great boon. Then he spat on the ground. "Damn it, only those of us in the True Martial Realm deserve to go to the Martial Arts Academy! Those who have money but no talent might as well sponsor us with their cash! Heh, isn’t that the truth?"
Looking at the list, Fang Chen said slowly, "It can’t be that simple."
"Haha! You’re overthinking it, brother," Cao Xu said, a fierce glint in his eyes. "We’ve investigated everyone circled on the list. Their families have one or two Ordinary Martial Artists at most.
"Right?"
However, Fang Chen ignored him.
He put the piece of paper away and met the crowd’s gazes. "And what if I don’t join?"
*(This Chapter went through censorship and had many sensitive words, so some phrasing might seem a bit awkward to read.)*