Liu Ren's fingers trembled as he fished out his jade slip. The jade dragon's grip had loosened just enough for him to move, but not enough for him to escape.
"Lets initiate the ranking battle," Wu Ming declared.
Liu Ren swallowed hard, gritting his teeth. His face was a mess of sweat, blood, and barely contained humiliation. But he had no other choice. With shaky hands, he pressed his jade slip against Wu Ming's. A dim glow pulsed between them as the sect's rules activated, officially acknowledging their battle.
The moment the process was complete, Wu Ming's smirk deepened. With a flick of his fingers, the jade dragon constricted once more.
Crunch.
"Aaarggh!! You fucking bastard!" Liu Ren howled like a dying pig, his eyes rolling back as his spine bent at an unnatural angle.
"Do you admit defeat?" Wu Ming asked coolly.
Liu Ren coughed out blood, his vision blurring. "Yes! I admit! I admit!"
The glow between their jade slips intensified for a moment before fading. Their rankings swapped. Wu Ming's number shifted from 1888 to 1863.
Liu Ren gasped for air as the pressure finally eased. His body trembled like a battered dog, but relief flickered in his eyes. It was over.
Or so he thought.
He barely had time to process his defeat when he noticed something strange.
Wu Ming was still standing there, watching him with the same cold amusement. More importantly, the jade dragon's grip hadn't fully disappeared.
A terrible sense of foreboding crawled up Liu Ren's spine.
"What..? what the hell are you still doing here?! I lost! It's over!" Liu Ren snapped, trying to mask his panic with anger.
Wu Ming tilted his head, as if confused by the question. Then, he smiled.
"I'm waiting for you to get ready."
Liu Ren's instincts screamed at him that something was very, very wrong.
"Get ready for what?"
Wu Ming's smile deepened. "To challenge me, of course."
A beat of silence.
Then—
"PUH!"
Liu Ren spat out a mouthful of blood from sheer shock, his body convulsing as if struck by lightning.
He looked miserable, like a man who had just been told his wife ran away with his father and took his dog with her.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
Wu Ming sighed, tapping Liu Ren's forehead with a finger. "Why are you so slow? Didn't I just challenge you? Now it's your turn."
Liu Ren's jaw hung open, his brain struggling to process the sheer shamelessness of the situation.
"You… you son of a whore! Do you think I'm an idiot?! Why would I challenge you!?"
Wu Ming raised a brow. "Why not? It's only fair."
"Fair my fucking ass!" Liu Ren shrieked. "You're just abusing the sect rules!"
Wu Ming shook his head. "Abusing? I'm simply following the system the sect has put in place. Lower-ranked disciples can challenge higher-ranked ones, right? And a bet must be placed by challenging party. When I challenged you, I bet something of my own. Now I want you to do the same. This is fairness, this is justice."
Liu Ren wanted to cry.
Who the hell taught this bastard the meaning of justice?!
Wu Ming's expression suddenly turned cold. "Enough nonsense. Put up a wager."
Liu Ren gritted his teeth. He was already at his lowest. But if he didn't comply, this madman might actually crush him like a melon.
The Black River Sect operated on simple principles. The strong ruled the weak. Yes there were other sect rules, but bending them wasn't a crime. As long as one didn't go overboard, the sect turned a blind eye. Forcing a weaker person to challenge you was despicable, but it wasn't as bad as killing disciples.
Of course, if Wu Ming were to repeatedly overuse this loophole, it would show too much disregard for sect rules, and then the sect would have to take strict action. It was just about balancing things properly.
This was how this world worked. This was how the Black River Sect worked!
Liu Ren's heart sank.
With great reluctance, he pulled out a single spirit stone.
"Here. Take this. That's my wager," Liu Ren said through clenched teeth, looking like a man who had just been forced to sell his own mother.
Wu Ming looked at the spirit stone. Then at Liu Ren. Then back at the spirit stone.
Then he sighed.
"Liu Ren, oh Liu Ren… do I look like a beggar to you?"
Liu Ren's eye twitched.
"FINE! TWO SPIRIT STONES!"
Wu Ming didn't even bother responding, simply tightening his grip ever so slightly
CRACK!
"Gahh! Okay! Okay! Five spirit stones!"
Wu Ming simply shook his head.
Liu Ren was now on the verge of tears. His entire body felt like it was going to break apart.
"Ten… Ten spirit stones…"
The jade dragon squeezed.
Liu Ren sobbed internally. "T-Thirteen! That's all I have!"
Wu Ming nodded approvingly. "Now that's more like it. And your storage pouch, of course."
Liu Ren wanted to vomit blood again. How could a person be this shameless?!
Liu Ren had never felt a stronger desire to beat someone than now, but he barely had the strength to hold his jade slip up. Wu Ming, of course, didn't care for his struggles and simply pressed his own against it, initiating the battle.
The moment the glow confirmed their duel, Wu Ming flicked his fingers again.
The jade dragon tightened.
"ARRGGGHHHHHH! I GIVE UP!!"
Liu Ren shouted in surrender.
The jade slips glowed once more, confirming his surrender.
Wu Ming flicked his wrist, and the jade dragon tossed Liu Ren through the wooden wall, sending him flying into the dirt outside.
Inside, Wu Ming caught the storage pouch mid-air, his expression brightening.
He casually opened it, scanning the contents.
"Thirteen spirit stones… a bottle of Black River Spiritual Water… Hehe, not bad."
Outside, Liu Ren lay sprawled on the ground, his soul half-departed.
With tears running down his eyes, he stared at the sky, his face filled with despair.
"I just wanted to drink my wine…" he muttered weakly, vision darkening.
Wu Ming stepped over the wreckage of the wall and glanced down at him.
"Enjoy the fresh air," he said lightly before walking off, hands behind his back.
There were still plenty of resources to collect.