novelraw Chapter 260 : Pressured by Rumors
Chapter 260 : Pressured by Rumors
Chapter 260: Pressured by Rumors
Mao Chang nodded, waiting for Gu Fan to continue.
“The reason I must enter the top five, you should already know. The Eastern Region Assembly is my goal.”
“Therefore, before the Eastern Region Assembly begins, I must secure a position in the top five—which means the current top five must publicly accept my challenge.”
Mao Chang nodded in understanding. After a moment of contemplation, he said:
“So now Qingxia Young Master refuses to accept your challenge, or rather, he’s deliberately delaying it?”
Gu Fan gave a slight nod, then tapped his finger lightly on the table and said:
“Exactly. I need him to accept my challenge immediately. Only then can I accompany the sect to the Eastern Region Assembly.”
“I’ve thought it through over and over, and in the end, I decided to ask you.”
Mao Chang gave a bitter smile and said:
“Brother Gu, you overestimate me. I’m just an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple, not even a Core Disciple. How could I possibly help you change Qingxia Young Master’s mind...”
Gu Fan didn’t respond immediately. Instead, a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he gazed at Mao Chang for a long moment.
“Brother Mao, there’s no need to be modest. You’re an Inner Sect Disciple who handles all sorts of intelligence among sect disciples.”
“Your business spans from Outer Sect to True Disciples. Without someone supporting you, how many lives do you think you have to survive that?”
Mao Chang was momentarily speechless. This was something that made perfect sense if one simply thought about it carefully. It was just that he normally kept a low profile and avoided drawing attention.
This caused many to see him as just an ordinary information peddler, not worth mentioning.
But Gu Fan believed this man definitely had an extremely powerful figure backing him. Otherwise, Mao Chang would never have survived until now.
Mao Chang gave another bitter smile, somewhat helpless as he said:
“Please speak, Brother Gu. Tell me what you need my help with.”
Gu Fan smiled and said:
“It’s simple. Brother Mao, just use your information network to help me spread some rumors about how Qingxia Young Master is cowardly, avoiding battle.”
“This...” Mao Chang hesitated, his expression turning troubled.
This would mean offending one of the current top three experts. Even with someone supporting him from behind, he would be taking on an enormous risk.
“Brother Gu, this matter may be a bit too risky for me. Offending one of the top three is really too much to ask...”
Gu Fan smiled and shook his head, correcting him:
“Not top three. He’ll be fourth. As long as this can force him to accept my challenge immediately, I’ll push him down to fourth. And once I become third, I’ll naturally be on your side. What’s to fear from a mere defeated opponent?”
Mao Chang gave it some thought. Gu Fan’s proposition was indeed tempting, but the risks involved were equally significant.
For instance, if Gu Fan failed to defeat Qingxia Young Master, it would be a complete loss—both in opportunity and support.
With that in mind, Mao Chang was still inclined to refuse.
At this moment, Gu Fan spoke softly:
“Of course, Brother Mao would naturally be worried whether I can truly defeat Qingxia Young Master. No matter how confident I sound, it’s meaningless until I defeat him and prove everything I’ve said.”
“But Brother Mao, don’t forget—I’ve only joined the sect a little over two months ago. It’s only been two months since I started challenging True Disciples.”
“I was just a Divine Moon Realm Cultivator before, but now I’ve finally broken through to the Solar Radiance Realm!”
As he spoke, an aura unique to the Solar Radiance Realm spread within the cave residence, causing Mao Chang to tremble all over!
Gu Fan was right—he did indeed fear Qingxia Young Master’s threat and strength.
However, Gu Fan was equally an unignorable Super Prodigy. In just two months since entering the sect, he had climbed into the top ten.
Now, he was confident enough to challenge the top five!
Such talent and speed of progress were truly unheard of.
Gu Fan had now broken through to the Solar Radiance Realm, and everything had become drastically different.
In the future, Gu Fan might very well become another ‘Senior Brother’!
Mao Chang realized that the choice he was about to make was a gamble—a high-stakes bet. On one side stood Qingxia Young Master, and even some interest groups that were on friendly terms with him.
For example, He Qing, who ranked first!
On the other side stood Gu Fan, a Super Prodigy who had just entered the sect and was advancing with unstoppable momentum.
So far, there had been no instance of Gu Fan facing a setback.
Looking forward... with Gu Fan’s strength and talent, it was highly unlikely that such a thing would ever happen.
Such a person must be befriended now while he was still in need. Only then could he become a powerful backer in the future. If this opportunity were missed... it would likely be a lifelong regret!
Conflicting thoughts battled within Mao Chang’s mind. One voice urged him to play it safe, stay out of it, offend neither side, and simply avoid involvement.
The other voice kept persuading him that this was an opportunity—Gu Fan was destined to be a Super Prodigy. Miss this chance, and there might never be another.
With such thoughts, Mao Chang found himself torn, his expression shifting constantly, unable to give a clear answer for quite some time.
Gu Fan, however, remained unhurried, quietly watching him.
Finally, after dozens of minutes had passed, Mao Chang seemed to have made up his mind at last.
“Brother Gu, I’m taking quite a bit of risk this time…”
Gu Fan chuckled and said:
“There’s no business without risk. Brother Mao should trust his own judgment. This investment will definitely not be a loss!”
Gu Fan had this confidence. As long as Qingxia Young Master accepted his challenge, he was certain he could win the fight.
The only problem was getting his opponent to agree.
Mao Chang nodded, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind:
“Then it’s settled! Brother Gu, wait for my message. I’ll do my best to arrange it, though I can’t guarantee that Qingxia Young Master will accept.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Fan knew the matter was as good as done. What came next depended on Mao Chang’s methods.
As long as Qingxia Young Master could be provoked into accepting the challenge, all problems would be resolved!
“Brother Mao, don’t feel too pressured. Just do your best. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll show up at his place myself. I don’t believe he can keep avoiding me then!”
“Ah… Let’s hope everything goes smoothly. I really don’t want to offend the top ten—or rather, an interest group tied to the top ten—without good reason…”
“Rest assured. As long as Qingxia accepts the challenge, Brother Mao will not be disappointed.”
Mao Chang sighed. Since he had made up his mind, there was no point in hesitating.
The two of them continued to finalize the next steps, and after everything was decided, Gu Fan rose to see Mao Chang off.
Time moved on to the next day. By now, it had been a full half-month since Gu Fan issued the challenge.
Qingxia Young Master still had not replied. He neither accepted nor declined, just kept delaying.
As time dragged on, the excitement around the matter gradually cooled down.
At first, everyone had been eager to watch the drama unfold. But when the two didn’t fight, the onlookers’ interest faded.
Just as the buzz around the matter was dying down, a new rumor suddenly began to circulate among the disciples.
It was said that Qingxia Young Master had already been publicly challenged by Gu Fan more than a month ago in front of the Trial Tower. Yin Huishu, who ranked eleventh at the time, had also been present.
Now that Gu Fan had issued a second challenge, this was, in fact, his second attempt.
Under such circumstances, for Qingxia Young Master to still act unaware and refuse to respond likely meant he had long known he wasn’t a match.
And out of fear of losing his current position, he continued stalling for time.