Chapter 834

Old Man Qi Shan cries out to his disciple in anxiety. Zheng Shan Chuan says refusing to duel now would scar his heart and rob his courage to advance. Old Man Qi Shan falls silent. Privately, he is certain Fang Yuan has set a trap, but feels too old to stop it. ^{ch. 834}

Openly, he grips his disciple’s shoulder in support. He changes the wager’s terms: whoever finishes careful Gu first wins, not merely whoever succeeds. He reveals careful Gu’s recipe, his own sole secret inheritance, never before circulated. ^{ch. 834}

Betting on time pressures Fang Yuan more, since this is his first attempt at careful Gu, and merely succeeding would have been easier. Zheng Shan Chuan hesitates, feeling the terms unfair to Fang Yuan even in victory. But he thinks of his master’s safety and decides winning green shine Gu matters more, even unfairly. He turns and gives his decision to the Flying Frost Sect elder. ^{ch. 834}

The venue is quickly arranged. First elder An Han, overjoyed, leaves the space to them. Fang Yuan and Zheng Shan Chuan take their places, and Zheng Shan Chuan hands over the recipe before the duel is announced. ^{ch. 834}

As the duel proceeds, Zheng Shan Chuan uses nearly ten techniques skillfully, convincing onlookers of master level attainment. Fang Yuan, by contrast, is still studying the recipe. He has not begun refining, and the crowd thinks little of him. Old Man Qi Shan notes Fang Yuan’s calm study, but reassures himself the time wager favors his disciple, since finishing first demands practice Fang Yuan lacks. ^{ch. 834}

In truth, this is Fang Yuan’s first time seeing the careful Gu recipe. Careful Gu is technically wisdom path, though of huge use in refinement path, and Fang Yuan guesses it is the core Gu in Zheng Shan Chuan’s inheritance. Fang Yuan, a refinement path quasi-grandmaster, finds the rank three recipe not hard to understand. He had also watched Zheng Shan Chuan’s technique, rare at that age yet still flawed with the materials. ^{ch. 834}

Fang Yuan finally begins refining, mimicking Zheng Shan Chuan’s techniques at first. He soon shifts to a different one, speeding up sharply until the mockery stops and onlookers, counting more than ten techniques, call his foundation unfathomable. ^{ch. 834}

Old Man Qi Shan, shocked a man this fast shows no anxiety at all, judges Fang Yuan’s attainment probably beyond master level. He worries Zheng Shan Chuan will lose composure, and careful Gu keeps growing harder. Zheng Shan Chuan feels the mounting pressure, mouth dry, heart pounding, as Fang Yuan closes the gap. He makes up his mind to use his trump card rather than be overtaken. ^{ch. 834}

He slows his refining and activates a killer move: golden light forms a spinning bell that covers the fire and draws in the scattered materials. The golden bell lasts six breaths before it fades. In that instant, an incomplete careful Gu forms before everyone’s eyes. The crowd erupts: a refinement path killer move is rarer than other paths’, and remarkable for one so young to have mastered and used it. ^{ch. 834}

Zheng Shan Chuan declares he is certain to win. His killer move ground through six materials instantly, completing the longest step and putting him far ahead. Old Man Qi Shan’s heart settles: Fang Yuan has no experience of careful Gu, and rushing the six materials with a killer move would doom him. ^{ch. 834}

Having solidified his lead, Zheng Shan Chuan steadies himself and resumes refining, fast and stable, giving Fang Yuan no opening. Fang Yuan, unmoved, slowly refines the six materials one by one, a step not hard but time consuming. He is not anxious in the least. ^{ch. 834}