"Thank you for taking charge, Senior Martial Brother Hua," Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists towards Hua Sheng, then did the same towards Gan Luozhi. "Let's have a fair duel in three days, Senior Martial Brother Gan. Till then."
With that, he immediately turned and left.
On the other hand, Huang An stayed rooted to the ground in stunned silence. She anxiously switched her gaze repeatedly between Hua Sheng's group and the leaving Zhao Yunxiao, wondering if she should do anything about this crazy situation.
A duel between Zhao Yunxiao and Gan Luozhi?
There were two small boundaries between the two, so anyone sensible would favour the latter!
Just why would Zhao Yunxiao ever suggest doing something like this?
However, she quickly decided not to butt in, and hurried after Zhao Yunxiao.
"Senior Martial Brother Hua, I-"
"You don't have to explain yourself further," Hua Sheng held up a hand to stop Gan Luozhi from continuing. "The fact that I accepted the duel on your behalf isn't only because I want you to take responsibility for your actions, but also because I believe in your abilities. Being forced to remediate or choosing to remediate out of goodwill – these two actions might seem similar on the surface, but they are two completely different things. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Y-Yes, Senior Martial Brother Hua," Gan Luozhi hung his head low.
"Good. Just to be clear, I will be impartial during the duel, so you would have to do this on your own," Hua Sheng said. "That's it for this matter, then. Let's continue looking around."
"I will not expect anything less from you, Senior Martial Brother Hua," Gan Luozhi nodded.
But as Hua Sheng turned around to continue browsing through the shops, a cold light flashed across Gan Luozhi's eyes.
Remediate?
Sure, if Zhao Yunxiao was so desperate to have the spatial escape talisman back, it was not impossible for him to give it back.
However, don't even expect him to return it without a fight. Even if nothing else, he would have to take this opportunity to let everyone know the true consequences of daring to mess with him!
***
It took quite a bit of time and effort, but Zhao Yunxiao finally managed to assure Huang An after repeatedly telling her to trust him.
Only then did Huang An reluctantly allow Zhao Yunxiao to leave.
After parting ways with Huang An, Zhao Yunxiao returned to his residence instead of proceeding with his initial plans of heading to the Sect Library.
He had wanted to get some ideas on how to suppress Hua Xian. But the sky had turned dark by now, and something like that could always wait till another day.
In fact, he would not have gone even if it was not yet dusk. After all, he now had a more pressing matter at hand – the duel with Gan Luozhi in three days.
Upon returning to his residence, Zhao Yunxiao went straight into the meditation room, put down his bags, and quickly entered a light meditative state.
Zhao Yunxiao was not some combat genius who could easily skip ranks to fight opponents with a higher cultivation level. Or at the very least, he would never be able to do so in a straightforward and direct confrontation.
In order to defeat an opponent like Gan Luozhi, who was two small boundaries above him, he would have to rely on that brain of his.
Thankfully, the opponent this time was the infamous Gan Luozhi.
That saved Zhao Yunxiao the time needed to gather data on his opponent, because he had already been consistently doing so all along.
In fact, this was not exclusive to just Gan Luozhi. Zhao Yunxiao had been doing the same for every member of the Black Tortoise Sect, and that included even Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying.
After all, this information would not only be of use when trying to fight against these people, but also when trying to work with them.
The more he knew about others, the easier it would be for him!
In his mind, the world filled with white light appeared once more, housing two dark silhouettes. One of them possessed Zhao Yunxiao's physical proportions, while the other looked just like Gan Luozhi.
Gan Luozhi's silhouette attacked immediately, using the same attack patterns that he was known for.
Zhao Yunxiao's silhouette moved in response, using every book in his arsenal to counter his opponent's moves.
Just like that, Zhao Yunxiao started to play out the fight between them from start to finish, then repeating it with slight tweaks here and there. By repeatedly simulating the fight with different variations, he was trying to ascertain the most effective tactic available to him for dealing with Gan Luozhi.
The only reason why Zhao Yunxiao dared to throw out a challenge like that was because he had a higher confidence of obtaining victory than otherwise.
That said, nothing was set in stone. It would still be both foolish and arrogant of him if he did not make full use of these three days to increase his chances as much as possible.
And to do so, there were a few paths available to Zhao Yunxiao.
The first was regarding equipment.
A powerful weapon or item could completely change the result of a fight. That was why after losing their main weapon, most people would definitely try to replace it as soon as possible, and Zhao Yunxiao was no exception to that rule.
It definitely seemed like the obvious thing to do right now, especially since Zhao Yunxiao had already come up with the plan to create a halberd and also obtained the necessary materials. On top of that, he even had a blueprint from Lou Yuan that could potentially be much better than his own!
Of course, there was also a slim chance of it being completely trash, in which case he would just have to dump it and confront Lou Yuan if they ever met again in the future.
Yet despite the obvious benefits of replacing his halberd, Zhao Yunxiao also understood that it was not that easy to get used to a new weapon.
Simply using a weapon was different from using a weapon well. And when facing an opponent with a higher cultivation level, the precision of execution was everything.
A single misstep could determine the difference between victory and defeat, and Zhao Yunxiao did not believe that he would be able to fully attune to a new halberd within a short span of three days – or less than that if he included the time required for forging.
It was unfortunate. But considering the limited amount of time he had, Zhao Yunxiao decided that he would just have to fall back on his trusted daggers for the upcoming fight.
Another path was regarding information.
One who knows his enemy and himself would never be in peril even through a hundred battles. While this saying might be a little exaggerated, there was certainly a degree of truth to it. That was why Zhao Yunxiao had chosen to focus on this path, seeing it as the clearest way to increase his odds of victory.
And then there was the last path, which was simply working on his own cultivation.
As if the term 'cultivator' was not telling enough, increasing one's cultivation level was definitely the most direct and effective way to increase one's strength. However, that was only the case when one looked at it long-term. When it came to increasing one's strength within a short period of three days, this would usually be the most ineffective among the three paths.
Still, there was no harm in doing so.
Zhao Yunxiao spent the large part of the night running and rerunning battle simulations in his head. When he was finally satisfied with how much he had done for the day, he popped a Winterwarmth Pill and began to cultivate.
It had already been a while since Zhao Yunxiao entered the Intermediate Essence Gathering realm, and he had established quite a good foundation during this time. Even so, he was not looking to break through to the next boundary within the next three days.
Zhao Yunxiao knew his own limits. For someone like him, a breakthrough was something that could only be wished for, but expecting it to happen would only end in disappointment.
Over the next three days, all he wanted was to consolidate his realm and resolve any lingering internal injuries from the previous fight with Old Niu and Hua Xian.
After all, the last thing he wanted was for an earlier problem to resurface during the upcoming duel.
Time passed in a flash. Before he knew it, the dark sky had returned to a bright blue.
Huu-!
Zhao Yunxiao let out a long breath before slowly opening his eyes.
He was not intending to go to work during these three days. In fact, he was not even intending to take a single step out of his residence.
With a flick of his wrist, another Winterwarmth Pill appeared in his hands.
Three days was not a long time by any measure, so he definitely had to make full use of it by cultivating non-stop!
Of course, cultivation pills quickly lose their effect when used in quick succession, but he would take whatever little boost he could get at this point!
At this moment, Hua Xian's voice suddenly came from within the sealing bag.
"Wait, you are just going to keep doing that? What is this garbage level of efficiency?" Hua Xian remarked. "I thought that my life as a plant demon has been difficult since I can't go around collecting cultivation resources. But here you are, choosing to act like you are immobile even when you have two working legs. How stupid!"
Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch.
He stood up without hesitation, grabbing the sealing bag and bringing it to the front hall.
Hua Xian had remained silent throughout the night, so he had not bothered to keep the sealing bag away.
But if Hua Xian was planning to be irritating like this, then there was no reason for Zhao Yunxiao to put up with it.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Hua Xian hurriedly called out as he realised that Zhao Yunxiao had thrown him into a crate. "I was just saying it for your own good! I won't speak anymore if you don't like hearing it!"
"For my own good?" Zhao Yunxiao scoffed. "Do you think that I am someone who enjoys hearing such sarcastic remarks?"
"Come on, you need to focus on the good side of people instead of the bad side," Hua Xian replied. "Rather than focusing on how I am calling out your stupid cultivation method, perhaps you should think about why I said that instead!"
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
Is this guy serious?
"All right, all right. Let me be more straightforward then. You want to beat that Gan guy in three days, don't you?" Hua Xian quickly followed up. "After watching you all night, I can tell that you have already sufficiently reinforced your cultivation level, and are only lacking an impetus to break through to the next boundary. So, what if I tell you that I have a method that is highly likely to help you accomplish just that within the next two days?"
From within the sealing bag, Hua Xian had heard the entire conversation between Zhao Yunxiao and Huang An, as well as witnessed his interaction with Gan Luozhi.
He had been thinking about how to regain his freedom ever since being trapped in the sealing bag, and he believed that this situation was providing him with just the opportunity that he needed.
If he could provide enough benefits to Zhao Yunxiao, perhaps it would eventually be possible to trade this merit in exchange for freedom!
"And in return, do you want me to promise to free you?" Zhao Yunxiao rolled his eyes. "Do you think I will fall for such a scam?"
"...Yes."
"Dream on," Zhao Yunxiao answered without hesitation. "Firstly, I don't even know if your method would be of any use. Secondly, I won't know if you are actually trying to harm me instead. Lastly, even if I have to lose this duel, I wouldn't allow you to go out and harm more people!"
"Wait!" Hua Xian quickly called out upon seeing that Zhao Yunxiao was about to close the lid of the crate. "How about this? I can tell you the method, and you can decide what to do after everything is done. If you think that I earned it, you can set me free. Alternatively, I will be happy with just being let out of the sealing bag. As you probably already know, I can't actually move on my own. There is no way that I can escape your sect even if you let me out of the bag."
Zhao Yunxiao finally paused for a moment. "Fine, tell me the method that you have in mind."
Since there were no obligations involved, there was no reason not to hear him out.
In addition, Hua Xian was right.
Most plant demons only gain the ability to move after reaching a higher cultivation level. So, even if Hua Xian was released from the sealing bag, he would still have to remain on Purple Plum Mountain. And as long as he was here, the sect administrators would never allow him to cause trouble without any repercussions.
The only problem was that Zhao Yunxiao would get into serious trouble if things got to that stage.
But there was no need to worry about all that for now.
Since the decision was entirely up to Zhao Yunxiao, he could always think about whether to release Hua Xian from the sealing bag later.
"Right, the method..." Hua Xian dragged out his words, seemingly still contemplating if this was the right decision on his part.
"You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to," Zhao Yunxiao said coldly after sensing his hesitation.
"No, no, I am not forcing myself. I will say it!" Hua Xian replied. "If you have access to a sentient spiritual plant, you can try getting it to gather its essence energy into a leaf, then hold the leaf while cultivating. If the essence energy is concentrated enough, and if the spiritual plant knows just what you need, this could be used to create an environment of dense energy, potentially providing the necessary impetus to overcome your cultivation bottleneck!"
"And how would that be different from taking a cultivation pill?" Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. "The Winterwarmth Pill provides energy to aid in cultivation as well."
"How can it be the same?" Hua Xian scoffed. "Cultivation pills are designed for prolonged use without straining your dantian. However, what you need is an explosive force to help you break through the bottleneck!"
"...Fine, but a sentient spiritual plant that knows just what I need?" Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. "Are you referring to yourself?"
"Well, if you don't have any other candidates in mind, then yes!" Hua Xian answered without hesitation. "When you think about it, I am definitely the most suitable candidate for this!"