Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Set up the Arena, Fight

Shen Haoran exhaled a breath of stale air, then got off the bed and stretched his numb legs.

’I finally broke through. Tier Nine Spirit Pupil!’ Shen Haoran clenched his fists. He had been a Tier Eight Spirit Pupil for some time now. After several life-and-death battles, the Spiritual Power within him had nearly reached its saturation point. Coupled with the aid of the Fifth Grade Dragon Saliva Pill, this breakthrough was simply a matter of course.

Shen Haoran sensed the changes in his body. The most obvious was the Spirit Sea in his Dantian, which was now more than twice as wide as before, allowing him to store even more Spiritual Power! The other change was his strength. Shen Haoran possessed the Chaos Divine Body, and with every breakthrough, his strength would grow exponentially. He clenched his fist. ’With this punch, I bet even a Low Tier Spirit General couldn’t block it!’

"Haha!" Shen Haoran couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ’If I run into Zuo Chuan now, I might not be able to kill him, but at least I won’t be forced to use a Secret Technique like the Heaven-Dominating Tribulation. I can definitely fight him to a draw!’

"GRUMBLE..." As Shen Haoran was basking in the wonderful feeling of being a Tier Nine Spirit Pupil, his stomach let out a protest. He had no idea how many days had passed during his Cultivation. He hadn’t yet reached the level where he could survive without mortal food. ’Eating is a must!’

Shen Haoran rubbed his stomach and gave a helpless smile. He then opened the stone door of the Cultivation Room, planning to go find something to eat. However, the moment he opened the door, a mountain-like pile of envelopes flooded in from outside, burying him underneath.

"What is all this?!" Shen Haoran dug himself out from under the small mountain of letters, completely clueless as to what was happening.

Shen Haoran glanced around and saw Long Zhen not far away, holding a stack of letters and staring at him with a dazed expression.

"Long Zhen, what are you doing?" Shen Haoran asked with a frown.

However, Long Zhen didn’t answer. Instead, he lunged forward like a madman and tackled Shen Haoran back into the pile of letters.

"Brother Shen, you’re finally out! How are you? Did you break through? Have you eaten? Is there anything I can do for you?" Long Zhen cried, hugging Shen Haoran’s leg and looking up at him with fervent eyes.

"You... Y-You, let go!" Shen Haoran stared at the completely changed Long Zhen, utterly bewildered. ’Has this kid lost his mind? Didn’t he have it out for me because I was getting too close to Ling Xuan? Why is he so enthusiastic now?’

"Brother, Brother, please accept me as your little brother! If you don’t, I’m not getting up!" Long Zhen shamelessly clung to Shen Haoran’s leg. Shen Haoran tried to shake him off, but Long Zhen’s cultivation was higher than his. His hands were like old tree roots, gripping tightly and refusing to let go. There was absolutely nothing Shen Haoran could do.

"Fine, fine, fine! Just let go first and tell me what’s going on," Shen Haoran could only relent helplessly. He then pointed at the pile of letters and asked.

"Brother, stop pretending! These are all challenge letters for you!" Long Zhen scooped up a pile of letters and shoved them into Shen Haoran’s hands.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran opened one of the letters. His face immediately darkened.

"He Qiang, Level Five disciple of Cyan Wood Hall, challenges Shen Haoran of Red Flame Hall!"

"Fu Dong, Level Four disciple of Golden Sun Hall, challenges Shen Haoran of Red Flame Hall!"

"Qian Tuan, Level Three disciple of Thick Earth Hall, challenges Shen Haoran of Red Flame Hall!"

Staring at the endless challenge letters, Shen Haoran felt a massive headache coming on. From what he’d learned about the Five Elements Sect over the past few days, he knew that the disciples in each hall were divided by level. Level Five was the weakest, and Level One was the strongest. Generally, Level One disciples were the Direct Disciples of Hall Masters or Elders. The rest were ranked according to their Talent. Disciples of different levels also received different amounts of cultivation resources—the higher the level, the more resources they got!

Most of the Level Four and Level Five disciples were around the same tier as Shen Haoran, between Tier Seven and Tier Nine Spirit Pupil. However, even the weakest Level Three disciples were at the Spirit General realm! In the stack of challenges Shen Haoran was holding, there were already two from Level Three disciples. Looking at the huge pile on the floor, heaven knew how many more Spirit Generals were waiting for him!

"Are they crazy, challenging a new disciple like me? What could they possibly gain from it?" Shen Haoran couldn’t help but curse.

"Brother, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what you did?" Long Zhen said, looking at Shen Haoran with a speechless expression.

"What did I do? Did I offend them?" Shen Haoran was confused. ’Since arriving at the Five Elements Sect, aside from one trip to the main peak where Sect Master Chen Yu resides and another to Linglong Peak, I’ve spent all my time healing and cultivating in the Red Flame Hall. How could I possibly have offended these disciples?’

"Brother, did you go to Linglong Peak yesterday?" Long Zhen asked.

"I did! Is there a problem with that?" Shen Haoran asked, confused. ’What does that have to do with all these challenges?’

"And did you see Shui Ruolan?" Long Zhen prompted further.

"I did, but what does that..." As Long Zhen spoke, realization dawned on Shen Haoran. ’Say no more. These people must be Shui Ruolan’s suitors!’

"Wait, how do you all know about this?" Shen Haoran was speechless. ’There were only a few people there at the time! How did the entire Sect find out?’

"Brother Shen, you’re too naive! Who do you think Shui Ruolan is? She’s the goddess of the entire Sect, the number one beauty of Linglong Hall! Of course, she’s not as pretty as my beautiful big sister, but she’s still the object of everyone’s pursuit! And now, she was profaned while she was bathing! How could something so huge be kept a secret? It spread through the Sect long ago! In less than a day, posters with your face were plastered in every nook and cranny of the Sect. They’re even drawing your face on toilet paper now! I guarantee that the moment you step out of Red Flame Hall, you’ll be beaten to death with clubs!" Long Zhen was practically spitting as he spoke, but Shen Haoran could only listen in utter exasperation.

’What kind of mess is this? The incident was embarrassing enough already, and now the entire Sect knows about it. On top of that, I’ve needlessly made so many enemies.’ Shen Haoran felt like dying.

"Brother, Brother, quick, teach me! How did you do it? How did you see Shui Ruolan bathing and get away unscathed? Didn’t she give you a hard time? And also, does Shui Ruolan have a good figure? Is she... you know... big? And..." Long Zhen chattered endlessly in Shen Haoran’s ear, leaving him completely speechless. ’What kind of thoughts are going through this kid’s head at such a young age?!’

"Alright, alright, that’s enough! Stop asking me. I don’t know anything, and I didn’t see anything. It was a complete accident!" Shen Haoran explained, then turned and started walking out of the courtyard.

"Wait, Brother Shen, just teach me! I promise I won’t tell anyone! Also, what should I do with all these challenge letters?" Long Zhen shouted after him.

"Throw them out!" Shen Haoran said without turning back. But just as he was about to leave the courtyard, he suddenly had an idea. He turned and strode quickly back.

"What is it, Brother Shen? Did you change your mind?" Long Zhen asked joyfully when he saw Shen Haoran return. However, Shen Haoran ignored him and started picking up the challenge letters from the floor.

"Long Zhen, can you do something for me?" Shen Haoran asked, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the challenge letters.

"Sure! Your business is my business, Brother! I guarantee I’ll get it done!" Long Zhen said, patting his chest.

"Good. Go send a reply to all these people. Tell them I accept their challenges!"

"Huh? Then you’re going to..." Long Zhen was still trying to process it.

Shen Haoran looked at the challenge letters, a monstrous battle intent surging within him. A grin spread across his face as he laughed softly and said, "Naturally, I’m going to set up an arena and fight!"

[PS: I’m not asking for donations, just for recommendations and for you to add this to your collection! Thank you, fellow readers!]