บท 19: Schemes

"Junior Brother Ye, what are you saying? Me, humiliating you?" Xiao Chen asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

"It was you who got caught trying to scam that old man," he continued, his voice filled with disappointment.

"And let's not even bring up this other matter."

"You claim I stole your opportunity, but did this treasure map ever truly belong to you?" He shook his head, as if unable to comprehend Ye Fan's audacity.

After a brief pause, Xiao Chen continued, a hint of frustration edging into his tone.

"Not only did you come to take my chance, but you also keep calling me a hypocrite, showing not an ounce of gratitude for my help at the bazaar!"

"If I am a hypocrite, then what does that make you after everything you've done?" he demanded, his voice laced with disdain as he stared directly at Ye Fan.

Inside the jade pendant, Ji Rongmei silently nodded in agreement with Xiao Chen's words, fully understanding his point.

Even though he was acting, everything he said was true.

Ye Fan, hearing Xiao Chen's words, felt a surge of anger welling up, struggling to suppress it. His expression turned sour, as if he'd swallowed something foul, unable to find any argument to refute Xiao Chen's words.

Despite this, an inner voice kept insisting that Xiao Chen was somehow a bad person, that he had stolen something significant from him.

What puzzled Ye Fan most was that he and Xiao Chen had only met once, yet he already felt such intense resentment toward him.

Ye Fan wanted to ask if the woman involved was Tang Jingxue, but he restrained himself, not wanting to worsen Ji Rongmei's opinion of him.

However, deep within his heart, there was another reason he held back, to protect his Dao heart from further damage.

"Hmph! We'll see who the real hypocrite is once I win this fight," Ye Fan scoffed before activating his secret technique, Astral Fusion Mastery.

This technique temporarily boosted his strength, though at a steep cost—each use consumed ten percent of his spiritual energy and left him weakened for a brief period.

Despite the drawbacks, Ye Fan was ready—no, he had to use this technique if he want to stand any chance against Xiao Chen. With his current power, he was no match for a cultivator at the Mysterious Platform realm.

But Ye Fan wasn't concerned about the side effects, especially since he possessed the Great Yang Divine Body, a divine-level physique.

Seeing his actions, Xiao Chen activated the Peerless Heaven Sword Code, the cultivation technique of the Peerless Heaven Sword Sect, without even drawing a weapon.

"It's not that I look down on you," Xiao Chen remarked, "but with just a casual slap, I could defeat you a hundred times over."

"Shut up!" Ye Fan snapped, his face contorted with anger.

Drawing his sword, he leaped toward Xiao Chen as if he was fully intent on fighting him. But his true goal lay elsewhere—he planned to distract Xiao Chen just long enough to slip through the portal and claim the treasure.

Somehow, he felt certain that treasure would greatly aid his cultivation.

As they clashed, smoke and dust filled the air, making the surrounding stone walls tremble while the air was thick with sword energy.

Moments later, Ye Fan staggered back ten steps after their exchange, while Xiao Chen effortlessly parried his attack with a single palm.

'How is he so strong!?" Ye Fan couldn't help but feel a surge of shock at Xiao Chen's strength.

Despite possessing a divine-level physique and a foundation comparable to the top talents of the Middle Three Thousand Dao Realm, he couldn't even make an scratch on an inner disciple from a force in a lower realm.

This realization led Ye Fan to conclude that Xiao Chen was no ordinary opponent.

His ability to effortlessly deflect his strikes suggested he either possessed a formidable physique or some other significant background.

Ye Fan's belief in his own superiority ran deep. He couldn't fathom the idea that someone like Xiao Chen could be as lucky as him.

After all, finding rare opportunities here was like finding a needle in a haystack.

'So, he must have some sort of background,' Ye Fan's deluded mind settled on this conclusion.

With this assumption, Ye Fan made a decisive move, activating the Astral Fusion Mastery technique once again. The side effects hit him even harder this time.

The Astral Fusion Mastery had a cumulative effect. Using it once drained ten percent of the user's spiritual energy, but using it a second time would consume thirty percent, and it would leave his five senses unstable afterward.

Xiao Chen couldn't help but smile inwardly.

He was fully aware of the risks of coming to the Ancient Cave with Ye Fan rather than alone.

However, there was a reason he had allowed Ye Fan to accompany him despite these risks. According to the plan, two prerequisites were necessary to enter the portal.

The first prerequisite was possessing the treasure map. The second was that two individuals—a male and a female, ideally with positive or at least neutral feelings toward each other, had to enter together.

Xiao Chen could have brought Tang Jingxue with him, but even with thier added strength, they wouldn't have been able to subdue the heavenly and earthly fire.

He needed Rongmei's help to handle the fire, and for that, he had to enter the portal with her.

With these thoughts in mind, Xiao Chen stomped on the ground, raising a cloud of smoke to obscure Ye Fan's vision, and then executed a graceful backflip, positioning himself just outside the range of Ye Fan's divine sense.

In that exact moment, Xiao Chen winked at the jade pendant with a charming smile!