One step behind, always a step behind.
She disliked this feeling of chasing after others.
However, it was said that the one from the Northern Territory followed the "Dual Moon" path.
Logically, the Dual Moon should be much more difficult to cultivate than the Lonely Moon, but her latest calculations suddenly revealed that several high-difficulty Spiritual Particle structures would actually be easier through the Dual Moon path, though it required a high degree of tacit understanding between both parties.
Perhaps this was also the key to that person from the Northern Territory's rapid breakthrough of 1%.
At this thought, Cha Naixue couldn't help but visualize Xia Feng's figure.
Xia Feng's promotion to First Rank was an extremely unlikely event, and it was for this reason she had made a choice for her own benefit.
But fortune always seems to find some people—that's what they call destiny. Although she was somewhat surprised, she wasn't shocked.
Since Xia Feng was now a First Rank Spirit Master, he qualified for the Dual Moon cultivation.
"Perhaps... I really should try the Dual Moon with him." Her expression changed, uncertain.
But what made her hesitate was that, compared to cooperating with others, she still preferred to trust in her own abilities.
She pondered deeply with her head bowed.
"Forget it, no need to fret."
She took a deep breath, looked up with determination, and decided, "Five more days. I'll try for another five days. If it still doesn't work, I'll leave seclusion and switch to cultivating the Dual Moon!"
After all, her current progress in Lonely Moon was less than 1%, so switching to Dual Moon wouldn't cause much loss.
The only difficulty was that she had distanced herself from Xia Feng for several months and had even introduced a fiancée to him; Xia Feng probably harbored quite a bit of resentment towards her.
But luckily, according to her calculations, the likelihood that Xia Feng still liked her was over 90%, so they were not exactly adversaries.
If she could just explain things properly and draw on their childhood friendship, the probability of winning back her childhood sweetheart was as high as 99.99%.
"Yan Xujia! What have you done?!"
In a certain manor, in front of a quiet fireplace, a bespectacled chubby man was irate.
Dressed in a deep red suit with an open collar, Yan Xujia lounged on the sofa with his legs crossed, nonchalantly savoring the red wine as he remained indifferent to Panda's angry shouts.
Seeing this, Panda's gaze gradually turned cold, "I don't care about you retrieving our Lord's token of engagement, but what you did last night—"
"Enough! Fatty Pan, I just had a fair duel with the kid. I wasn't going to kill him," Yan Xujia glanced sideways at Panda. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
"Heh~" Panda sneered, "Just a fair duel? How is that any different from killing him? With your skills, you could cripple him in less than three rounds. You think I don't know your crappy intentions?"
Hearing this, Yan Xujia laughed sarcastically, "Tsk tsk, you figured that out? Well done, no wonder our Lord values your intelligence."
The light reflected off Panda's glossy glasses as his eyes narrowed, a flash of murderous intent briefly visible.
"But don't worry, Fatty Pan," Yan Xujia said coldly, smirking, "Crippling that kid was just to teach him a lesson. I'll naturally pay for his recovery afterward. I won't actually ruin him."
Saying so, Yan Xujia narrowed his eyes slightly. He indeed wouldn't cripple anyone named Xia at the academy—after all, there was no rush as he could always cripple Xia Feng later when he went to the Southern Border.
Seeing that Yan Xujia still planned to target Xia Feng in the duel, Panda frowned deeply but couldn't muster the energy to dissuade him any further.
Although Yan Xujia's actions would turn their Lord and Xia Feng into clear enemies, it wasn't considered a big issue.
Just a pity, given the talent Xia Feng demonstrated, his future achievements were bound to be noteworthy. But Yan Xujia's antics likely meant he could never serve their Lord.
But perhaps it was for the better. Xia Feng's existence did impact their Lord's cultivation. Maybe becoming enemies would actually be better.
After all, hatred was also a way to dilute the 'positive emotional ties' that existed before turning eighteen.
Panda stood in front of the fireplace, the raging flames reflecting in his bright glasses as he crossed his arms and pondered.
Their Lord had said she no longer felt anything for Xia Feng, and logically, the bond should have blurred. But after the 'Bond Test,' the bond was found to still be clearly intact, leaving only one possibility—
Xia Feng still had feelings for their Lord.
Initially, if Yan Xujia had managed to kill Xia Feng, that bond could have been perfectly severed.
Too bad that fool, Yan Xujia, had failed.
If the lord could be like the Quasi Saintess from District Three, with slightly lower moral standards, willing to destroy family and friends, kill her husband to prove her faith, things wouldn't be so complicated.
But looking at it now, making Xia Feng hate the lord might actually be a good choice. Panda pondered as he glanced at Yan Xujia,
"Fine, Yan Xujia, I won't stop you now."
Yan Xujia was startled that the fat man, whose expressions had been fluctuating, had reached such a conclusion, he asked in surprise, "Really?"
"Of course, go ahead and do it," Panda said with a sly smile, "Just make sure Xia Feng doesn't literally lose limbs. Teaching him a lesson wouldn't hurt."
Thinking this, he turned his head to look at the knight who was still nestled in the corner of the sofa sipping milk tea.
There were already a dozen empty milk tea cups on the table.
"Yin, what do you think of this?" Panda asked.
The knight, clad in spirited silver armor but with a vacant expression, looked puzzled and looked up, "Are you asking me?"
"Yes," blinked Panda.
"Oh..." The knight glanced at the sofa, then said blankly, "I'm just sitting here watching."
"..." Panda turned his head emotionlessly back toward the fireplace. Indeed, he shouldn't have asked this silly woman for her opinion.
Well, if hatred could indeed dilute the ties binding them, Panda smiled slightly as he looked out of the window at the moon, "Perhaps it could surprise the lord once she emerges from seclusion in the Moon Dew Flower Pond."
"I need an explanation."
Inside the car, Wei Shutong glared at Xia Feng with a severe expression, "What exactly is this 'fair duel' all about?"
"It's a long story," Xia Feng glanced at the liquor cabinet, "Is there any soy milk, old Wei? I'm thirsty."
Wei Shutong knocked on the dragon-shaped cane, expressionless.
"Alright, alright." Xia Feng reluctantly gave a brief explanation of last night's events.
In fact, he didn't know who had spurred the rumors, but within just one day, the entire academy knew he was scheduled for a fair duel with Yan Xujia.
Even the tickets for the battlefield that Friday were sold out instantly, scalpers showcasing their tricks by reselling them.
A VIP front row ticket sold for as much as 30,000 Empire Coins.
However, after thinking about it, Xia Feng felt it was normal.
After all, Yan Xujia's unbeaten legend was quite famous both at the academy and the Church Court. He had numerous female fans, and quite a few male fans as well.
As for Xia Feng, well, he was nothing but handsome and had no real reputation.
But in the last few days, he had gained two nicknames, 'the pretender' and 'the blasphemer.' He had also accumulated a considerable number of haters.
When these haters formed a unified slogan online, he believed he wasn't far from fame, not bad at all~
"Xia Feng, do you know who you are facing? Yan Xujia is not someone like Qi Xiao." Wei Shutong rubbed his temples with a headache.
"The Yan family from the Northern Territory, a Marquis family that has inherited its title for nearly a thousand years, standing unyielded in such a war-torn place. The terrifying support they possess behind them is beyond your, or even my, imagination."
"You too possess extraordinary talent, but a true genius needs talent, resources, and time to truly succeed," Wei Shutong said gravely, "And you only have talent. You've just emerged recently, how can you contend with a Marquis's son?"
Seeing Wei Shutong so serious, Xia Feng fell into silence.
Indeed, Wei was right; Weiyang Academy was never short on geniuses. Every year, a few outstanding talents appeared, but in the end, each was defeated by a true genius.
Essentially, he wasn't challenging Yan Xujia, but the deep-rooted strength of a Marquis family that had been accumulating for a millennium.
It was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
"But sorry, you have a Marquis dad, I have a Mu Shen mom, you are a genius, I'm an ace!" Xia Feng thought about it; an ordinary genius indeed couldn't beat a real genius, but an ace was different.
With Mu Shen by his side, he owned the world.
Plus, with the 'Reflect' ability of the Spiritual Artifact, he had nothing to fear.
"So, kid, you might want to think it over."
Wei Shutong spoke gravely, "If you figure it out, I can speak to the Prince and call off this fair duel. You can apologize to Yan Xujia, try to make a big deal into a small one, and let this not become too embarrassing."