Feng Minshun laughs louder and louder, and the uneasy crowd behind him starts to let out nervous chuckles too.
I could tell some were contemplating selling their slot, but did not want to risk offending this man. All nine of them walk over, and create a semi circle around the small grassy clearing with a single small boulder in its center.
The only one that watches with unchanging sharp eyes, and does not approach closer into my range of spiritual senses is the skinny captain of the flying vessel everyone was about to board.
His eyes dart back and forth between me and Feng Minshun, but ultimately land on me. It is not with the pity I see from some cultivators surrounding us, and it is not disgust either like those that yell out in support of my opponent.
Instead, a tinge of caution is visible in his gaze, like he knows I have an advantage.
The stern heavyset grey haired 6th level qi refiner in the crowd calls out with his hands up, diverting everyone's attention. "I'll bear witness to this duel, and make sure that all rules of the bet are enforced. Li Hao, the challenger, offers his position in the sect while Feng Minshun offers his family's largest shop and a slot for today's expedition. Do you officially accept this bare handed duel?"
I grin and nod, "I do."
"Feng Minshun, do you accept?"
"I do." He replies while cracking his knuckles.
"There's no backing out now… Finally, I'll be able to bring my brother into the outer sect. He may only be an 8th grade root, but he's far more deserving than you!"
I stay silent, and focus on the minor fluctuations in his beast mastery physique.
They're not extremely visible or potent weaknesses. It is not a very volatile physique after all, his late stage qi refining soul is not strained much by keeping an initial stage physique active.
However, that does not mean I can't spot a few good points to aim at almost instantly.
"Fighters! This will be a one round knockout match, you may yell out a forfeit early at any time. If one of you is on the ground without moving for more than five full seconds, the fight will be over. Begin in three… two… one…"
This makeshift duel starts less than a minute after it was proposed.
Feng Minshun's smile curves to his ears as though he's already won, running forward at me with rigid footwork and a confident fist headed my way.
I let out a sigh, realizing I've killed tons of blood demons much more deadly than him.
It almost looks like he's lunging at me in slow motion, even the pupils of everyone watching around us are not even fully focused…
The gap in strength is far greater than I even imagined going into this duel, so much so that I can't afford to outwardly show it or too many questions will arise. I'll have to somehow make this look like a lucky win.
I slow my own movements to match his, and jump backward to narrowly dodge the first incoming fist.
My arms flail as I jump back at an awkward angle to show the facade of being flustered, and Feng Minshun only laughs harder. "You are so gullible to think you'd ever stand a chance against me! You're doomed! I'll make this a day no one forgets!
He lunges in at me with a second even sloppier punch filled with confidence, thinking that he can toy with me.
I lean back this time to dodge, letting his knuckles brush against my hair to make this narrow miss even more believable. Then, allow my feet to slip out from under me.
One foot is fully concentrated with the full force of my Martial Master Physique. My vibrations all line up to create a heavy point of strength, and on the way down I make it appear as though the tip of my foot accidentally hits his shin.
This happens to be a perfect kick directly on one of the largest weak point fluctuations in his physique.
All of a sudden, a deep cracking sound tremors through his bones, sending a wave of force up his leg, through his chest, and vibrating against his soul.
I fall to the soft ground but turn my head to watch the brute fall forward with utter bewilderment in his gaze. The bones in his leg shatter and give way. He tumbles forward with the momentum of his full forced lunge.
The man's muscles all spasm, and he loses control of his body. Feng Minshun cannot brace himself upright in time, falling face first to the ground.
A loud thud echoes through the air as his forehead hits against the only flat rock sticking out of this grassy field.
Only silence follows.
From afar, it looks like all I did was lose my balance and stick a foot out on the way down after narrowly dodging two punches.
Feng Minshun's blood stains the rock and green grass around it, while I slowly stand to my feet, scratching my head, feigning total confusion.
His whole body twitches as he tries to stand up, but his limbs give out over and over. The once loud mouth brute remains on the floor.
Even his soul bound wolf lets out a pained howl, and falls to the grassy ground outside our dueling area.
I inwardly shake my head in disappointment, as it appears I overestimated his physique's strength…
I thought all my hidden attack would do is give him some ringing in the ears and blurry vision to extend this fight longer, but it appears this beast mastery physique grants cultivators far less raw strength than even a basic martial warrior physique.
Another point I failed to consider is that blood demons are very used to their bones breaking, souls stretching, and for their physiques to crack and twist in volatile manners.
Feng Minshun on the other hand, is not used to this sensation at all.
Everyone's mouths stay wide open, and the old grey haired duel announcer audibly gulps before he starts counting down from five.
The count hits zero, but no one claps…
Feng Minshun stops trying to stand, and just holds his head in agony instead.
Only loud groans, and occasional curses at me and the Wang Family come out of the man. I continue playing my part and look at the crowd in bewilderment.
"So, I win right? There's no rules against tripping and knocking yourself out."
The announcer looks at me in confusion, then down at Feng Minshun groaning in pain and holding his head. He swallows multiple healing elixirs at once, but they're having no effect.
No one wants to make a final verdict, but a calm and elegant young man's voice breaks through the silence from the direction of the flying vessel.
"Indeed, you won according to the rules set in this duel. I would not normally bring along anyone below the 6th level of qi refining on such a dangerous expedition, but I'll make an exception. Luck is a powerful skill too, it should be respected. Rightfully, you will take the place of Feng Minshun in our expedition today. Though, I do not have any say in how he will hand over his family's shop."
I look up, and the glasses wearing vessel captain in a named outer sect disciple robe of the recruitment peak approaches.
[Automatic Inspect Function Activated…]
[Lin Fang] [Age: 30]
[9th Level Qi Refiner]
[Earth, Metal, and Wood Spiritual Roots][6th Grade]
[Acquired Puppet Master Physique][Late Stage - Mortal Grade]
[No Innate Physique]
[His father is of noble blood, but his mother is a mortal maid later turned concubine. He grew up in the capital Nine Rivers City within the main branch of the Lin family's estate. Was later found to not have high enough grade spiritual roots to stay in the capital, and transferred to one of the Hidden Mist's branch Lin families. At the age of 20, he was shipped off to the Azure Cloud Sect as one of their yearly tax contributions.]
I grow tense, as his line about luck was clearly a facade. This man was the only one present that watched our real duel, but has decided to keep it a secret for some reason.
"Great. A pleasure to meet you captain, all I wish to do is hunt a few mid stage beasts today, I won't get in anyone's way." I smile back, and walk right past the incapacitated man. "I'll figure out the shop transfer details later, it's no rush."
I walk past the crowd of still silent shaken 6th and 7th level cultivators as they're trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. Then turn to my spirit crane that has been waiting patiently from afar, and toss it another inferior grade water stone. "Return to the fields and rest, I'll be busy for a while."
I hop up onto the deck of the flying vessel and wait with a thin smile as the crane catches the stone and glides off into the distance.
One by one, other party members make their way over and board the ship too. I tap my identity token against Lin Fang's jade tablet to transfer the timeslot to be rightfully mine.
Other mid stage disciples stop by when they witness a commotion, and start crowding around Feng Minshun. A few approach and offer healing elixirs to try and curry favor, while others piece together what happened.
The remaining members of this expedition team whisper about the disagreement, spreading gossip before they turn to leave and board the vessel.
I don't look back, and patiently wait for this large boat to finally lift up off of the ground and fly away from the Quest Hall.
"Attention, crew! If what happened before our outing is going to affect your focus, raise your hands and I will turn this ship around to drop you back off where we left. We're headed to the Armored Lizard's Den, and won't return back to the sect for two days. This expedition must be taken seriously. It may only be a mid stage qi refining ranked hunting ground, but this is the Misty Forest… anything has the potential of appearing. Every time you step foot into these hunting grounds, you're signing up to be one of the hunted too."
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Author's Note:
One chapter of Five Element Overlord will be posted every weekday: M,T,W,TH,F.
If you'd like to support me, and read 30+ chapters ahead of the public release schedule, my patreon is linked in my bio:)
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