Chapter 126: Chapter 125: I Don’t Accept

While Wu Chen and Zhuang Yan were talking, a figure on a tall horse galloped over from the Casting Area’s entrance.

Whoa!

As the reins were yanked tight, the horse reared up before its iron-shod hooves slammed back down.

CLANG!

The foot-thick bluestone ground trembled faintly under the stomp of its hooves.

The rider came to a firm halt about twenty feet in front of Wu Chen.

Only then did the grip on Zhuang Bo, who had been dangling from the rider’s hand, finally loosen. His feet touched the solid ground, and he was free at last.

"Younger Brother Wu, I’m so sorry..." The moment he landed, Zhuang Bo looked uneasily at the youth standing about ten feet away.

He looked as if he wanted to explain, but the youth simply waved a hand and said softly,

"It’s nothing."

With that, he turned his gaze to the brawny man on the horse, whose arms were wrapped in coils of black iron chains.

The man was already huge, with arms nearly as thick as a small bucket. The layers of chains, each link as thick as two fingers, made him seem even more formidable.

Perched atop the tall horse, he looked like an iron wall, giving off an overwhelming sense of pressure.

’Kind of like an Overlord Body.’

Wu Chen’s expression was as calm as a still lake as he watched the man.

"So you’re that Wu Chen fellow who’s been making waves lately?"

Pang Lei sat on his horse, looking down his nose at Wu Chen with blatant provocation.

It was a look that made anyone want to walk right up and land a few punches.

"I am."

Wu Chen nodded, his expression completely unfazed. "Do you need something from me?"

"Hmph. Good that you have the guts to admit it..."

Before Pang Lei could say another word, the disciples and weaponsmiths who had poked their heads out to see the commotion erupted in excited whispers the moment Wu Chen confirmed his identity.

"So that’s the guy? The Wu Chen who visited our Valley twice and turned in nearly sixty demon heads?"

"Yeah, that’s him. He’s so young, couldn’t be more than seventeen or eighteen, right? He’s pretty handsome, too. How come he looks nothing like the bear they described in the rumors?"

"No wonder ’Big Lei’ came looking for him. He’s probably mad this kid’s fame has overshadowed his own because of all the demon heads..."

"..."

Over the past few days, Wu Chen’s name had naturally spread throughout Refining Valley due to the number of demon heads he’d delivered.

But since he kept to himself, not many knew what he looked like, getting only bits and pieces of information from the disciples who had seen him that day.

Not only was he powerful, but to everyone’s chagrin, he was also quite handsome.

This naturally drew the jealousy of many male disciples.

Whenever anyone asked about him, they’d describe him as having bulging eyes and a jutting jaw, the body of a bear, and a thick patch of chest hair—the very image of a wild Bear.

It wasn’t until today that these disciples and weaponsmiths, who had been in the Casting Area and were unaware of the truth, finally got to see Wu Chen’s face for themselves.

This prompted everyone—men and women, young and old—to stare and size him up.

After all, work in Refining Valley was manual labor, filled with burly figures. There weren’t many who were easy on the eyes.

’Looks like the demon heads are what caused this trouble.’ Listening to the whispers, Wu Chen pieced it together. The number of heads he’d brought in had propelled him into the spotlight, overshadowing the Sect Leader’s son before him.

And that was why he was now being confronted on the road.

"I hear you’re pretty skilled, got some talent. And you’ve got quite a few demon heads, too."

Once the surrounding commotion died down, Pang Lei, with that same smug look on his face, continued at a leisurely pace,

"Do you dare to have a match with me?"

"I won’t accept your challenge." Wu Chen’s gaze dropped, not deigning to spare the man another look.

After his blunt refusal, he moved to walk around the man and horse blocking his path, heading straight for the quaint little courtyard at the Casting Area’s entrance.

He planned to find an Elder, register his Contribution Points, and leave.

To be honest, if there had been some agreed-upon prize for the winner,

Wu Chen would have actually been more than willing to compete.

But seeing as there was nothing to be gained, he naturally couldn’t be bothered to waste the effort.

As for the other man’s high-and-mighty posture, he just pretended not to see it, refusing to fall for such a shallow provocation.

"..."

Watching the slender figure walk past him and continue on, Pang Lei froze for a moment, unable to process what had just happened.

He never imagined that after putting on such a hateful, punchable expression, the other guy would simply ignore him, without even a flicker of disgust.

’It was as if he were nothing more than a dancing clown!’

A quiet refusal, followed by a swift departure. It left all of Pang Lei’s pent-up energy with nowhere to go, like he’d thrown a punch into a wad of cotton.

’Aren’t young men supposed to be proud and arrogant? Aren’t their egos supposed to be sky-high?’

’Someone his age shouldn’t be able to tolerate this kind of provocation!’

"Why won’t you accept!"

Pang Lei wheeled his horse around and bellowed, his expression one of utter confusion.

"Why should I accept a pointless challenge?"

Wu Chen stopped but didn’t turn around. "Besides," he retorted, "what’s your reason for challenging me?"

Pang Lei said, "Because you’ve killed more demons than I have."

"If you haven’t killed enough, then go find more demons to kill. What’s that got to do with me?"

Wu Chen shrugged. "What, you only dare to pick on people, not demons?"

He said this loudly enough to draw a burst of laughter from the crowd.

"I... I... You..."

Pang Lei was struck dumb. The retort made so much sense that for a long moment, he couldn’t form a complete sentence.

His dark-tanned face flushed red.

In truth, he hadn’t thought it through that much. He’d simply heard a powerful expert had shown up and gotten an itch to test his skills.

Besides, as the Sect Leader’s son, there was no way he’d go around bullying people...

’Wait a minute, the Sect Leader’s son?!’

’That’s right! I’m the Sect Leader’s son! Why am I wasting so much time talking to you!’

’I’ll just beat you, then compensate you with something afterward! That settles it!’

Pang Lei’s eyes lit up. He had been away traveling for so long that he’d forgotten his own status in Refining Valley. On his own territory, he didn’t need to bother with rules.

As for the other guy’s background and identity, he could worry about that after the fight!

He refused to believe his old man couldn’t afford to pay for any damages!

"Stay right there!"

Seeing the figure lift his foot to leave again, Pang Lei no longer hesitated. He leaped from his horse, and as he landed with a great roar, his arm shot forward.

SHRAAAA! SHRAAAA!—

The black chains coiled around his arm shot out like two black snakes, following the momentum of his swing.

They flew toward Wu Chen’s back, striking at him from both left and right.

"He has no martial honor!"

"Attacking from behind, too!"

"Hmph, and he calls himself the Sect Leader’s son. What will happen to Refining Valley’s reputation if word of this gets out...?"

The crowd from Refining Valley voiced their disdain, clearly feeling that Pang Lei’s actions were inappropriate and risked damaging the sect’s reputation.

But they also knew Pang Lei wouldn’t resort to a killing blow, so they were all content to just watch the show unfold.

Besides, both of them were ruthless experts when it came to killing demons. Who besides an Elder could possibly step in to intervene?

Pang Lei, however, was in no state to care about any of that. Still, the words of the senior craftsmen and disciples found their way to his ears, making his face flush hotly.

Even so, his movements didn’t slow in the slightest.

"Bind!"

Watching the chains close in on Wu Chen from both sides, Pang Lei let out a sharp cry from his throat.

With a twist of his brawny wrist, the chains seemed to gain a life of their own, nimbly crisscrossing in front of Wu Chen to wrap around his body.

Seeing his chance, Pang Lei yanked hard. The chains instantly snapped taut, ready to constrict.

He was going to tie Wu Chen up.

This wasn’t a killing move; he just wanted to restrain Wu Chen, find an empty training ground, and persuade him to have a good, clean fight.

As for actually bullying someone, Pang Lei truly disdained such an act. Otherwise, why would he have gone through the hardship of traveling from city to city, hunting demon heads?

SCREEECH!

As he poured the immense strength of his arms into the pull, the chains, forged from dark steel, audibly tightened.

But as they constricted, the chains let out the harsh screech of metal grinding on metal. They scraped against each other, striking sparks that were clearly visible even in broad daylight.

That was clearly not the sound of chains binding a person.

"Missed?!"

Pang Lei looked at the empty space within his chains and let out a grunt of surprise, which quickly turned to acceptance.

A guy who could deliver such an astonishing number of demon heads wouldn’t be taken down in one easy move! It was only right that it would take at least a few exchanges.

His eyes blazed with excitement.

He recalled the instant the chains had tightened. The figure had been completely encircled, with only inches to spare—an impossible escape. And yet, in that moment, he had moved with the agility of a swallow.

With a mere tap of his toes on the ground, he had nimbly leaped out of the chains’ grasp and escaped.

"No wonder he could kill so many demons! He’s mastered the ’Momentum’ of a Body Technique! That explains it!"

Looking at the figure in the distance, Pang Lei’s eyes grew even brighter, his fighting spirit now fully kindled.

"Kid, you’re not going anywhere today!"

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