"Who woke us?"
The deep voice echoed in the desolate, silent plaza, and then movement came from the darkness… a three-meter-tall giant clad in armor, expression indifferent, appeared before Chen Fei and Zhul Xing.
At once, a terrifying aura surged over them, enough to make one almost kneel on the spot! Whether it was Chen Fei or Zhul Xing, both of their gazes toward the other flickered with sudden shock.
"So strong…" Chen Fei muttered, eyes filled with surprise. The giant that appeared now, just his presence was this overwhelming… Could it be he was actually no weaker than those seven guardian stone statues outside!?
After the initial shock, Zhul Xing's eyes also lit up, a trace of excitement flashing across his face. His gaze surged with excitement and greed.
Then he strode quickly to stand before the three-meter-tall armored giant, bowed with a smile, raised his head, cupped his fists and said loudly, "I am Zhul Xing. I have long heard that the Scarlet Sky Army's divine might is like a prison, its power extraordinary… To meet General today, you truly live up to your legendary name!"
One had to admit, Zhul Xing did have some scheming in him. Those few lines were quite nicely put. He obviously had no idea what the Scarlet Sky Army even was, yet claimed he had long admired them… he just wanted to win a bit of goodwill from the other side.
However, while his intentions weren't bad, he still picked the wrong target. The three-meter-tall giant in armor merely gave Zhul Xing a faint glance, and his face turned indifferent as he spoke calmly.
"You've come to undergo the inheritance trial?" the three-meter-tall armored giant asked slowly.
"If I can earn the recognition of all you seniors, then I, Zhul Xing, and the Yan Zhen Sect behind me, will certainly honor all you seniors as esteemed guests of the highest rank, and welcome you with all our hearts! Moreover, I will never allow Senior Scarlet Sky Lord's name from back then to be shamed or sullied… I guarantee it!" Zhul Xing said immediately.
At those words, the three-meter-tall armored giant gave no particular response. His gaze fell on Chen Fei, and he likewise spoke blandly: "He's said so much. What about you? Anything you want to say?"
Chen Fei lifted his eyelids and said, "I'll just do my best. I believe you all have your own standards and judgment in your hearts, right?"
Hearing that, Zhul Xing immediately let out a derisive laugh. As expected of trash—he didn't even have the courage to speak up. How was he supposed to compete with Zhul Xing?
But just then, that three-meter-tall armored giant actually chuckled lightly, and said mildly, "Not bad. Steady, calm, and you understand how to assess the situation. Mm… you're slightly better than him."
"What?" Zhul Xing's originally mocking face instantly flushed and twisted. He hadn't expected the other side to see it that way, to say such a thing!?
Damn it, had these guys really slept too long? Was there something wrong with their heads? Could they not see that he, Zhul Xing, was the truly powerful one here, a genius of Peerless talent and potential!?
That piece of trash—what was he worth?
"Enough. Since fate has brought you here, I'll give you both an equal chance to undergo the inheritance trial."
The three-meter-tall armored giant's gaze slowly swept over Chen Fei and Zhul Xing, and he said blandly, "First, you'll go through three rounds of comparison. After you win, my brothers of the Scarlet Sky Army will tell me whether they're willing to follow you. If they are, then that means you've succeeded. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand." Chen Fei nodded. The other party had put it very straightforwardly; of course he understood.
Zhul Xing's eyes twitched with venomous resentment. He glared fiercely at Chen Fei, then forced a smile back onto his face and said to the three-meter-tall armored giant, "I understand as well. May I ask, Senior, what are the three rounds of comparison?"
"First, wealth!" The three-meter-tall armored giant raised his hand and extended one finger.
Hearing this, Chen Fei was slightly stunned… but at this moment the three-meter-tall armored giant extended a second finger and continued, "Second, potential!"
"And the third?" Zhul Xing asked. Whether it was potential or wealth, he was confident he could utterly crush Chen Fei.
"The last is Divine Sense power, which you can also call spiritual power."
The three-meter-tall armored giant glanced at Zhul Xing again and said in the same flat tone, "If you want to obtain the Scarlet Sky Army's inheritance and control us, you must possess Divine Sense power that surpasses ordinary people by far. Otherwise, if you collapse your Divine Sense just trying to summon us all out at the same time, then there's not much point to it, is there?"
"So!"
The three-meter-tall armored giant's deep voice suddenly rose. "The third item is a hard requirement. You must reach the standard just to be qualified to even speak of what comes next… In addition, you must win both of the first two comparisons, or you don't get to proceed to the following trial. Have I made myself clear?"
"Mm, no problem." Chen Fei nodded again. The Scarlet Sky Army was a massive army—if one person wanted to control it entirely, it was indeed impossible without Divine Sense power that far surpassed others.
"Senior, I understand now."
Zhul Xing was also smiling by this point, as if victory were already in his grasp. In Ghost Wolf City, who didn't know that the Yan Zhen Sect's Sect-Suppressing Law was famous precisely for its powerful Divine Sense! And as it happened, he had taken that Sect-Suppressing Law as his main cultivation technique…
Given that, he truly couldn't think of any reason why that piece of trash could possibly threaten him!
Wealth? Potential? With just him, he thinks he's worthy? Haha, hahahaha…
As soon as he thought of that, Zhul Xing started laughing wildly in his heart and sent a voice transmission toward Chen Fei, sneering, "You dogshit, you piece of trash, once I obtain the Scarlet Sky Army inheritance, the very first thing I'll do is take your life. Did you hear me clearly?"
Hearing this voice transmission, Chen Fei's eyes narrowed slightly, a faint chill flickering in and out of existence. The very first thing is to take my life? Fine, I'll let you jump around and strut for a while longer… in a bit, we'll see who actually dies first. Hmph.
"Alright, let's begin. First, the first thing to compare is wealth. If you feel you have any advantage, you can speak of it, and I'll be the judge." At this moment, the three-meter-tall giant clad in armor spoke.
"Then I'll go first." Zhul Xing stepped forward proudly, first shooting Chen Fei a contemptuous glance from the corner of his eye before looking toward the three-meter-tall armored giant and smiling as he spoke.
"Senior, I come from the Yan Zhen Sect, one of the five great peak forces of Ghost Wolf City. Though our Yan Zhen Sect has no existence at the Primordial Core True Lord Realm, we already have two ancestor-level experts at the Fifth Heavenly Layer of Foundation Establishment True Person Realm, so in terms of scale and influence, we can be considered top-tier within the territory under Ghost Wolf City's jurisdiction! And I…"
With his face full of pride, Zhul Xing placed his hand on his own chest and continued with a faint smile, "As for me, Zhul Xing, I've already been internally designated as the heir to the next-generation sect master of our Yan Zhen Sect. When I eventually sit in that position, in terms of wealth, I won't have the slightest thing to worry about."
Unfortunately, his rhythmic, free-and-easy declaration failed to earn even the slightest flicker of approval on the face of the other party, the three-meter-tall giant clad in armor.
The giant merely gave a lukewarm nod at his words, then let his gaze fall upon Chen Fei and said, "And you?"
"Me?" Chen Fei smiled, a surge of confident pride surfacing on his face.
"I am an Alchemist."
"An Alchemist!?" Zhul Xing and the three-meter-tall armored giant's pupils contracted almost simultaneously. But then Zhul Xing's gaze turned both vicious and seemingly disdainful as he spoke.
"An Alchemist? So what if you're an Alchemist? I admit that profession is indeed extremely noble… but if you're only a low-grade Alchemist, what use is that!?"
Zhul Xing's words were full of contempt. Hearing this, the corners of Chen Fei's lips curled in a half-smile as he said, "Oh? Then in your eyes, what rank of Alchemist would count as high-grade?"
"What rank of Alchemist are you?" This time, before Zhul Xing could speak, the three-meter-tall armored giant directly opened his mouth and asked.
Hearing that, Chen Fei looked over at the three-meter-tall armored giant, fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Senior, as for the exact rank of Alchemist I am, it's not convenient for me to reveal it to you just yet. However, can you give me a standard? What rank of Alchemist do I need to be in order to surpass him in this contest of wealth?"
"Not convenient to reveal? Who do you think you are!?"
At those words, Zhul Xing immediately burst into a derisive laugh, staring at Chen Fei coldly as he said, "Didn't expect you to be so good at putting on airs and playing mysterious, huh? Senior, isn't his attitude a bit too disrespectful toward you?"
As he mocked Chen Fei, he was also sowing discord, trying to make the three-meter-tall armored giant feel displeased with Chen Fei. That way, he'd have more room to exploit.
But upon hearing this, the three-meter-tall armored giant only shook his head lightly and said, "The one we wish to choose is the master of our Scarlet Sky Army, so this is exactly the attitude he should have—neither servile nor overbearing.
Zhul Xing froze at those words, feeling a surge of frustration. This bastard, he shows you face and that's not good enough? Only if he pretends and puts on an act like that piece of trash, showing you no respect, is that considered right? Are you sick in the head or what!?
"You asked what standard you need to meet to surpass him in this comparison of wealth?"
The three-meter-tall armored giant looked at Chen Fei, stayed silent for a long moment, then suddenly asked another question, "Before that, answer me something else. Right now, how old are you?"
"Me?"
Chen Fei paused, recalled for a moment, then spoke, "I should already be thirty, right?"
As he said this, there was a hint of emotion and complexity in his heart.
In the blink of an eye, he was already over thirty!?
"What? Thirty, are you sure!?" The eyes of the three-meter-tall armored giant shrank as he looked at Chen Fei, his tone somewhat grave. "If you're lying to me, I guarantee you won't have a good end."
Zhul Xing snorted coldly. "Thirty? At thirty you still dare call yourself an Alchemist? What a joke. At your age, can you even distinguish between different Alchemy Materials and understand their effects and medicinal properties? Utterly arrogant and ignorant, completely clueless."
Chen Fei chuckled softly and couldn't be bothered to respond to him.
Instead, he looked at the three-meter-tall armored giant and said calmly, "Senior, you should know the method to examine bone-age, right? Whether I'm telling the truth or not, you'll know once you check."
As he spoke, he walked toward the other party. At the same time, the three-meter-tall armored giant directly reached out and placed his hand on Chen Fei's spine.
A moment later, the three-meter-tall armored giant released his hand, his face full of shock and astonishment as he said, "It really is… not yet thirty, only a bit more than twenty-nine."