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Chapter 257: Making a Bet
🕑 Added 2023-08-11 17:36:00 +0000 UTCEveryone else must have understood the same thing, but Sophina simply frowned and replied, “Your disciple is a hundred levels over Jack. It would be like a human slapping a mosquito.”
“It’s not about victory. It’s about seeing how far Jack can push my disciple before losing. Plus…considering what happened to my other disciple, Dan Bolon, this Jack of yours seems to enjoy battling.”
Sophina frowned. Obviously, she wasn’t considering whether to accept or decline this duel, as accepting it would just humiliate her. But she couldn’t just decline, either.
“How about you bring someone closer to Jack’s level?” she suggested. “I will not submit my disciple to a beating just because you ask.”
“I have no other disciples available, and such important matters need to be settled quickly. We should strike when the iron is hot. If you have nothing to hide, what’s the problem with letting Jack spar against Qian? Cultivators spar against stronger opponents all the time. It is not a big deal.”
Sophina hesitated again. No matter how anyone saw it, she had the weaker position here, if only because Monsoon had revealed some information she’d tried to keep secret. The problem was, she was currently trapped between a river and a cliff.
Monsoon knew this, of course, and he stepped on the gas. “How about this: If you are concerned about Jack getting injured by my disciple, there is another way. At its core, this issue is about whether your judgment in prospective disciples is insightful enough. I believe this recruitment was not worth the price, while you believe the opposite. We could solve this by having Qian spar against your head disciple, Shol. The master of the winner will obviously have the better judgment when it comes to disciples, and there is no mismatch between them, be it in level or status. What do you think, Sophina?”
This was even more undesirable. If Shol and Qian dueled publicly, Shol would most probably be defeated, and Sophina would lose a lot of face. Given Monsoon’s fox-like maneuvers, he could probably exaggerate this issue to win him the Grand Elder position. Plus, if Shol lost now, Monsoon’s accusations would increase in credibility.
It looked like the only option was to have Jack spar against Qian, choosing to endure the lesser humiliation instead of the greater one. However, now that the other suggestion had been made, having Jack duel instead of Shol would mean recognizing that Shol was weaker than Qian. Elder Mahadaji was present—this implication wouldn’t be lost on him.
In fact, his eyes were trained on Sophina, waiting to hear her answer.
Jack, meanwhile, was feeling terrible. Not because he was challenged, or even because he might receive a beating.
This was happening partly because of him. Master Sophina had offered to help him, and because the matter had been leaked, she was now placed in such a tight spot. And, okay, that was not really his fault. However, since the plan had been leaked, was it even feasible anymore? What would happen to Sophina’s promise of saving Earth?
If anything, Jack’s current position was even worse than Sophina’s. She was just going to lose some face, but he was in danger of losing his entire planet!
His mind spun with calculations, and he quickly concluded that, no matter what happened, things would turn out terrible for him. If he wanted the best chances of still receiving Sophina’s assistance, he had to bail her out of this, which was impossible.
But, perhaps, there was another way.
A plan slowly formed inside Jack’s mind. A plan that could help Master Sophina, but which would also corner her and make her unable to go back on her word, like she’d done last time during the Integration Tournament.
Jack had had enough of asking people to help him. This time, he would demand it—and try to get all birds with the same stone.
“Could I speak, master?” he asked, bowing in Sophina’s direction. His eyes were earnest, and his chest puffed. He clearly had a plan.
Qian’s face warped as he almost berated Jack again, but since he had asked the question directly to elder Sophina, Qian had no authority to speak. Shol did, but after glaring fiercely at Jack, he chose not to—since he also couldn’t find a way out of this, all he could do was hope for the impossible.
Maybe Elder Sophina thought the same thing. Or maybe she expected Jack to somehow humiliate himself to get her out of this situation.
“You may,” she replied.
“I am young and eager to prove myself,” Jack began. “There is nothing I would love more than to showcase my talent before the elders. However, I believe that this is not the best opportunity. I am still too weak to meaningfully compare myself to someone like fellow disciple Qian. Therefore, I propose this: how about we agree on a public spar, so I can showcase my talent, in six months’ time? I don’t hope to win, but that would give me enough time to at least be able to fight Qian.”
Silence fell as everyone tried to digest his words. Sophina gazed at him deeply, pondering the ramifications of his suggestion, but it was actually Qian who beat her to the punch.
“Such arrogance!” he exclaimed. “Do you really think you can reach my level in only six months? That’s absurd. It took even me a century to reach the peak of the D-Grade.”
“I don’t just think so; I am confident it can be done,” Jack replied quickly, so no one could stop him. “In fact, how about we make a bet, Qian? When we fight in six months, I will be able to exchange three strikes with you without losing. If I can’t, I will publicly acknowledge that my talent is insufficient and leave the Exploding Sun faction, not demanding that Master Sophina help me with my planet’s situation anymore. However, if I do manage to exchange three strikes with you, you will have to publicly admit that my talent is greater than yours, that my master was correct in her judgment, and that yours was not.”
Another bout of silence. It felt like even the air had stopped blowing to better hear Jack’s brazen words.
Jack himself was feeling the pressure. He believed in winning the bet he proposed, but there were more layers under it, too; he was escalating the situation. If his proposal was accepted, that bet would become a huge deal. It would probably be the deciding factor for the position of Grand Elder. In other words, Sophina would have to pour all her resources into him until then, accepting him as her champion. If he won, he would secure enough status to guarantee the Exploding Sun’s assistance in the war for Earth—hopefully.
If he was defeated, on the other hand, he would lose his honor and momentum. He would be forced to publicly humiliate himself by apologizing, the Dao of the Fist would drown in doubts, and he would have proven himself an arrogant dog which barked but could not bite. However, Sophina herself would also pay for his defeat; she would lose the position of Grand Elder. The two of them were bound together now.
Most importantly, the date he’d set was six months away, which was only a month before the end of Earth’s grace period. His plan was to have the power to fight a middle C-Grade by then—if he couldn’t even take three strikes of a peak D-Grade, he would have already failed.
It was a daunting goal, but one he believed he could reach, if things went his way. With Sophina’s full assistance and some hellish training, he was confident.
He didn’t dare look back at his master. His gaze was glued on Qian, who was frowning slightly as he considered Jack’s words. Monsoon, however, laughed out loud.
“He has a quick mind, at least!” he exclaimed. “Very well. Unless you disagree with your disciple’s suggestion, Sophina, we accept the challenge.”
There was silence from behind Jack. Only now did he dare glance backward, where Sophina’s wisdom-filled eyes were inspecting him carefully. Shol was looking at Sophina with his eyes half-closed, no doubt conversing mentally.
Whatever they said, it somehow went to Jack’s favor.
“Very well,” she replied. “Let it be so. In six months, one day before the Elder Assembly, Jack will duel against Qian. If he can last more than three strikes, it will be his victory, and this matter will go to me, with you publicly apologizing for your false accusations. If he fails, I will accept that my faith was misplaced, and Jack will have to leave the faction and my tutelage.”
Monsoon only laughed again. He didn’t seem to mind the stakes—he was convinced that, no matter what happened, Jack couldn’t even come close to Qian’s level within three months.
“Alright, Sophina. We have a bet! Let me just add that, if Jack somehow perishes before the duel, victory goes to me.”
“Naturally,” she agreed.
“And I shall be the witness,” Elder Mahadaji said, speaking for only the second time in this entire exchange. His voice carried great power but felt somehow restrained, as if he was the introverted type.
“Elder Mahadaji’s words honor us,” Monsoon replied, bowing slightly. He seemed in a great mood. “In that case, there is nothing more to say. The truth behind this matter will be revealed in six months’ time. I wish you a pleasant wait, Sophina.”
She did not reply. Monsoon and Qian flew away, with the latter not forgetting to shoot Jack one last, mocking glare. The two of them soon disappeared into the clouds.
“I will be leaving too,” Elder Mahadaji said. “Given what happened, my visit here lost its meaning.”
“Indeed. Thank you for visiting, Mahadaji, and I wish you a pleasant return trip,” Sophina replied politely, smiling at him with confidence.
“Mm.” Mahadaji nodded, he, too, shooting Jack another inquisitive glance before disappearing into the clouds.
“Shol,” Sophina said, turning towards her mansion, “you can handle this matter for now. I have a task that takes no delay.”
“Yes, Master.”
Even Sophina flew away, back into her mansion. All C-Grades had left, leaving only a flock of confused immortals hovering in the sky. The moment they were left alone, Shol glared at Jack so hard that his eyelids almost froze open.
Jack scratched his head, then gave Shol his best smile. “You know, all things considered, I’d say this went pretty well.”
Shol’s glare did not abate in the slightest. “My hut. Now,” he said. “Everyone else, disperse.”
In the end, even the immortals flew away, leaving that patch of sky completely empty. However, the effects of this argument were not so easy to disperse; they would echo throughout the entire faction and beyond for a long time, until everyone knew that Jack, a low D-Grade, had challenged Qian, the faction’s strongest disciple, and that the next Grand Elder would be decided by the outcome of their duel.
