Chapter 6: Competition
Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Competition
"Elemental Element..."
Fang Chen looked at the smug Li Shanqiang. "His luck is pretty good, but it makes sense."
He had heard a Spirit Awakener mention at the Talent Evaluation Center that a full sixty percent of Superpower Users awakened abilities related to the five major elements: fire, water, lightning, earth, and wind. Another ten percent were related to Spiritual Power, while the remaining thirty percent were a mixed bag with extreme variations in strength.
However, the most sought-after among them was always the Elemental Element. It was a Superpower with an incredibly high baseline.
The reason was simple. Anyone who awakened an Elemental Element ability—regardless of its specific form or side effects, as long as it wasn’t overly extreme—would naturally possess an Elemental Affinity far surpassing that of ordinary people. This meant that even without relying on the Superpower itself, they had a massive chance of becoming a Mage.
Mages held a transcendent status in the Zhao Kingdom and across the entire Jiuzhou Continent. Even a low-tier Mage was enough to elevate an entire family’s social class.
While Fang Chen was deep in thought, the argument in the courtyard flared up again.
Fourth Aunt Dehui suddenly stood up, kicked the wooden stool behind her away, and pointed her finger right at Second Uncle Dayuan’s nose.
"Let me ask you, Second Brother. Do you really think just throwing around the word ’Mage’ makes you inherently superior?
"I work in the city all the time. Don’t think I lack experience!
"Hah, do you have any idea how much it costs to train a Mage for a single year?
"One or two million, at the very least!
"If you ask me, even if Shanqiang has a bit of Elemental Affinity, he’ll most likely have to fall back on the old path of a Martial Artist in the future!"
Her voice abruptly pitched higher. "Since he’s going to end up practicing martial arts anyway, why not choose the stronger Chen’Er for this!"
"You’re saying Fang Chen is stronger? What gives you the right to say that? Huh?!" Second Uncle Dayuan violently yanked his son, Li Shanqiang, forward and forcefully slapped the boy’s solid chest. "Look at Shanqiang’s physique! Look at these muscles! This is the raw material of a true Martial Artist! He only stepped into the True Martial Realm a bit later because he spent an extra two years building a solid foundation in the early stages!"
"That’s only because your family eats so well!" Fourth Aunt Dehui immediately shot back. "Look at Third Brother’s family. How many times a month do they get to eat meat? How can they even compare to you?"
Seeing the tempers flaring, Fang Chen’s father, Fang Lin, hurriedly forced a smile and stepped forward to smooth things over. "Let’s talk this out calmly. We’re all family here. There’s no need to get so angry..."
"Who’s family with you?!"
The one who spoke was Li Shanqiang. He finally erupted, having suppressed his anger all night. He had disliked Fang Chen since childhood, always finding himself overshadowed no matter what he did.
Especially the other day, when he personally saw Fang Chen riding a bicycle, carrying a girl so beautiful that Shanqiang couldn’t get her out of his head... She was absolutely the most gorgeous girl in school.
"If I could have a girlfriend like that, I would gladly die..."
But the reality was that when he once gathered the courage to hit on the prettiest girl in his class, all he got in return was, "Get away from me, you fat black pig. Just looking at you makes me sick."
Li Shanqiang attended Ninth High School and had long heard of Fang Chen’s title as the "number one Martial Artist of The Three Greats."
"As long as I become stronger, these women will eventually throw themselves into my arms! As for this five hundred thousand registration fee, heh, to be honest, even without the village crowdfunding it, my dad could borrow it through his connections! But!"
Li Shanqiang glared viciously at Fang Chen, unable to suppress his jealous hatred.
"Taking the martial arts exam is certainly important for me, but making sure you, Fang Chen, can’t participate is even more important!"
BAM!
A wooden stool smashed over ruthlessly. Unable to dodge in time, Li Shanqiang was knocked off balance and stood frozen on the spot, clutching his head in a daze.
The one who threw it was none other than Fang Chen.
"Li Shanqiang, what kind of trash do you think you are, daring to speak to my dad like that?"
Fierce hostility radiated from Fang Chen’s eyes, completely undisguised.
He had transmigrated into this body when it was still a swaddling infant. At first, it had indeed been difficult to recognize a man in his twenties as his father. After all, back on Earth, he himself had been a father in his thirties. But over the years, Fang Lin had given everything for this family and for him, casting aside his own health and dignity just so his son could eat a little better and attend a better school.
"How dare a scumbag like you yell at my dad!"
"Fang Chen! What are you doing!" First Uncle Decai and Second Uncle Dayuan slammed the table and stood up simultaneously, shouting harshly.
A flash of panic crossed Fang Lin’s eyes. Almost instinctively, he rushed forward, bowing repeatedly with an ingratiating smile plastered across his face.
"Please calm down, Big Brother, Second Brother. Chen’Er... he just acted on impulse. It’s all my fault. I didn’t teach him well. I apologize on his behalf..."
As he spoke, he frantically poured tea, his posture groveling in the dust. Yet from beginning to end, he never once turned around to tell Fang Chen to come over and apologize.
"What is he doing?" Fourth Aunt Dehui’s icy voice rang out. "I think Chen’Er was right to hit him! Li Shanqiang has zero respect for his elders. While we seniors were talking, a junior like him actually dared to openly insult Third Brother? Second Brother, is this the ’virtue’ you’re always harping on about?"
Clutching his head, Li Shanqiang hurriedly defended himself. "Fourth Aunt Dehui! I... I didn’t mean it like that, I..."
He stammered, unable to form a coherent excuse.
Second Uncle Dayuan’s face turned livid. He yanked his son behind him and stared darkly at the opposite side. "San, Fourth Sister, what do you want to do then?"
Fourth Aunt Dehui crossed her arms, raising her chin slightly.
"What do we want to do? Second Brother, aren’t you always talking about having ’both virtue and talent’? Well, I haven’t seen any ’virtue’ in your Shanqiang. As for ’talent,’ that’s simple enough—"
Her gaze swept across the room before finally landing on the Patriarch’s face. Her voice was clear and forceful.
"Let Li Shanqiang and Fang Chen fight a fair and square match! We’ll immediately see who’s stronger and who’s weaker! The winner gets the quota spot!"
Everyone’s eyes focused on Patriarch Li Hongxuan, waiting for his final decision.
Li Hongxuan pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Very well. Your families all hold different opinions and are at a stalemate. Using a match to determine the quota is a fair method."
His gaze swept over the crowd. "What are the stances of your three families?"
Fang Lin walked over to Fang Chen and asked him in a low voice.
Fang Chen gave him an affirmative look.
Fang Lin immediately turned to the Patriarch and said respectfully, "Patriarch, our family is willing to accept the match."
On the other side, Second Uncle Dayuan pulled Li Shanqiang aside and asked in a hushed voice, "Shanqiang, are you confident? They say Fang Chen stepped into the Mid-Stage True Martial Realm half a year ago. His realm is half a level higher than yours."
Li Shanqiang gritted his teeth and squeezed out a single word. "Fight!"
With a ferocious glint in his eyes, he added, "Don’t worry, Dad. That little gap in our cultivation realms means nothing. When it comes to pure strength and taking hits, I’m confident I can crush that little bastard to death!"
Li Dayuan still had his misgivings. "But the two of you have been fighting since you were kids, and you’ve never really gotten the upper hand..."
These words seemed to strike a nerve. Li Shanqiang’s Aura surged heavily as he spoke viciously, "That was just us messing around as kids! If we’re really going all out, as long as I can grapple him, his little Body Technique will be useless! I’ll trade blow for blow with him, and he’ll definitely be the first one to drop!"
Looking at his son’s physique, which was a full size larger than Fang Chen’s, Li Dayuan felt that this made sense. If it was a true life-or-death struggle, Fang Chen’s techniques might not be of much use.
Thus, he raised his voice. "Good! We agree as well!"
Seeing that they had both stated their positions, First Uncle Decai immediately chimed in. "Alright! Since no one has any objections, then let them fight!"