The Almighty Martial Arts System - Chapter 340

Admitting defeat to Liu Shengzongju, even without kneeling or any humiliating gestures, was something Jiang Fei simply could not do.

This was the most basic bottom line and principle for a man. Lacking scruples didn’t mean lacking backbone and integrity!

Jiang Fei had never been an arrogant man, nor did he secretly look down on others. But he had never lacked this thing called integrity, both before and after obtaining the system.

Just like back when he was working at the Second People’s Hospital of Jincheng, when he saw Lin Moli being targeted by the scumbag son of the director, Gao Hengyuan, using despicable means, he knew stepping in would definitely cause big trouble. Yet, he didn’t think too much and stepped forward without hesitation.

Now, with the game character system fused with him, his status and strength were countless times higher than before. How could he possibly admit defeat to this island nation’s swordsmanship master, Liu Shengzongju?

Even if he wasn’t a match, it was absolutely impossible!

At worst, he would use his ultimate trump card.

Don’t forget, Jiang Fei still had one final system reward he hadn’t used yet!

Back when he accepted the invitation from his cheap master, Xuanjizi, to become the sect leader of the ‘Tianji Sect’, he received a system reward: increase character level by one, and increase any one martial skill by one level.

No level restriction, no time restriction!

If Jiang Fei wanted, his character level could immediately jump to Level 6 right now. Moreover, he could raise the Dugu Nine Swords to the second layer without spending a single skill point.

At that point, facing this Tianji Sect leader again, Jiang Fei didn’t believe he would still lose.

However, this reward was just too overpowering, so much so that Jiang Fei truly couldn’t bear to use it now. This kind of reward becomes more valuable the later you use it, offering greater advantage. Using it now would be too much of a waste.

But if he was truly forced into a corner with no way out, Jiang Fei wouldn’t care about that anymore.

Seeing Liu Shengzongju adopt the ‘please’ stance, Jiang Fei felt a chill run down his spine.

Please? How could he possibly be in the mood for that!

Suddenly—

At that very moment, a sound echoed in Jiang Fei’s mind: “Ding! Player triggered the side quest stemming from the main quest ‘Protect the Tianji Scroll’: Defeat the island nation’s ‘Sword Master’ Liu Shengzongju! (This is a side quest. The player may choose not to accept. Once accepted, it cannot be revoked and must be completed. Failure will result in punishment.)”

“Does the player accept?”

A side quest stemming from the ‘Protect the Tianji Scroll’ main quest? The ‘Tianji Scroll’ main quest could actually spawn side quests?

Jiang Fei was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected such a sudden development at all. When he had accepted the ‘Protect the Tianji Scroll’ quest before, although it felt like he was being tricked, he hadn’t actually suffered any disadvantage. On the contrary, he gained an ultimate reward for nothing.

He never expected this main quest to finally show its presence now, actually linking to a side quest. It seemed this wasn’t the most important aspect of the quest; there would definitely be others in the future, because this one could be accepted or declined.

However, for Jiang Fei right now, of course he would accept!

Even without this quest, Jiang Fei was already forced by Liu Shengzongju to fight him. Now, having this quest was like receiving aid in a snowstorm. How could he possibly not accept?

If he accepted, there would definitely be a reward. Maybe he’d get lucky, and the reward for this quest would be something unparalleled, allowing his strength to increase significantly in a short time?

He didn’t need it to be without time or level restrictions. Right now, if he could just raise the Dugu Nine Swords martial skill by one level, Jiang Fei would feel much more at ease.

As for the punishment for failure, Jiang Fei didn’t pay it any mind at all because he never even considered the possibility of failing.

Without hesitation, he clicked the ‘Accept’ button.

“Ding! Congratulations, player, for accepting the side quest: Defeat the island nation’s ‘Sword Master’ Liu Shengzongju. Once this quest is accepted, it cannot be revoked and must be completed. If not completed, the player’s character level and all martial skills will be reduced by one level each.”

Although he didn’t care about the punishment when accepting, seeing the details of it made Jiang Fei suck in a sharp breath.

This punishment was a bit too harsh.

Having the character level directly drop by one was harsh enough. For him right now, one character level meant several thousand experience points. Most crucially, all martial skill levels would also drop by one. That was truly brutal.

Right now, he had many martial skills. Apart from the Qimen Dunjia reaching the second layer, all the others were still at the first layer. If all of them dropped by one level, what would that mean?

It would be like going back to square one, everything wiped clean! He wouldn’t possess a single martial skill, becoming just an ordinary person with slightly better basic physical attributes!

His efforts over the past half year would basically be in vain.

Even though Jiang Fei had decided to accept the quest and didn’t think he would lose, seeing this punishment still sent a shiver down his spine.

It seemed this battle truly could only be won, not lost.

The question was, did he need to use the ultimate reward right at the start? To level up his character, distribute two attribute points, and raise Dugu Nine Swords to the second layer?

Or should he try first, in case there was still some room to maneuver? Perhaps victory was possible without using the ultimate reward.

But the hope for that, Jiang Fei himself felt, was very slim.

“The punishment is so severe, so the reward must be correspondingly good too, right?”

Rubbing his hands together, Jiang Fei continued reading.

If the reward for this was substantial, that would be great.

However, ideals are plump, but reality is always so lean. Looking at the reward section, Jiang Fei felt like cursing.

“After completing the quest, the system will randomly grant a reward. The quest is not yet completed, so the reward is not distributed.”

Well, then.

The punishment terms were all laid out in advance, scaring the wits out of you. Now, not only was the reward not given upfront, they didn’t even tell you what it was, playing it mysterious. Jiang Fei almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

“Please!”

Liu Shengzongju spoke again, though he frowned slightly. He didn’t understand why Jiang Fei, who had just agreed to accept the challenge, suddenly seemed to zone out?

Zoning out at such a moment was not a good thing. He didn’t want to face a Jiang Fei who wasn’t at his strongest; he wanted Jiang Fei to give his all! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said that if Jiang Fei admitted defeat, he would turn and leave.

Jiang Fei snapped back from the system quest and also decided not to use the ultimate reward right at the start.

Such a reward opportunity was far too rare; he might never get another one like it. Only by saving it for later could it be used to its greatest advantage.

Today’s situation, even if he wasn’t Liu Shengzongju’s match, wasn’t completely hopeless.

Thinking this, Jiang Fei didn’t draw his longsword from his storage space. Instead, still not adopting an attacking stance, he smiled at Liu Shengzongju and said, “Not so fast.”

“You still plan to admit defeat?” Liu Shengzongju asked.

“I said I could never admit defeat,” Jiang Fei shook his head. “But…”

Liu Shengzongju remained silent, waiting for Jiang Fei to continue.

“… but the date of our duel might have to be postponed for a while,” Jiang Fei said.

Liu Shengzongju asked, “Why?”

Jiang Fei shrugged as if it were obvious. “What else could it be? First, the location isn’t right. Sure, it’s dark and windy tonight, and not a densely populated area, but didn’t you see people still occasionally walk by here? If the two of us have a big fight here, don’t you think it might cause too much of a stir? Those in the martial world have always kept a low profile. Even if we are going to duel, shouldn’t it be like Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue, going to the summit of the Forbidden City or something?”

Liu Shengzongju didn’t know who Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue were, but fighting here indeed wasn’t ideal. He didn’t know Jiang Fei’s exact strength, but he guessed it wouldn’t be so weak that he could be defeated in one move.

And if it wasn’t a one-move victory, the commotion from their fight would be huge…

“Then let’s change to a more secluded place. The ‘Summit of the Forbidden City’ you mentioned, is that the Forbidden City in your capital? Fighting there is even more impossible,” Liu Shengzongju said very matter-of-factly.

What kind of place was the Forbidden City? Could they possibly fight on its rooftops? The police would break your legs!

“The ‘Summit of the Forbidden City’ I mentioned is just a metaphor. It doesn’t mean we have to duel there. We can choose a high place to duel, like on Mount Qingcheng… No, let’s set the duel location at the Golden Summit of Mount Emei!” Jiang Fei said after thinking for a moment.

This wasn’t for show. Mount Emei was quite far from Jincheng. Going there to duel meant it definitely couldn’t happen today. This way, Jiang Fei could buy some time, earn more experience points, and maybe accumulate enough skill points to raise the Dugu Nine Swords to the second layer.

Liu Shengzongju nodded and said, “Good. We’ll go tomorrow.”

He was quite familiar with China’s famous mountains and rivers, and naturally knew of Mount Emei. Fighting there indeed seemed suitable.

“No, no, no,” Jiang Fei quickly shook his head. “You just found me and want me to duel you immediately? What’s the rush? Don’t you know a fighter’s condition is very important in a match between masters? I need some time to adjust my condition so I can perform at my peak during the duel!”

“How much time do you need to adjust?” Liu Shengzongju asked, noncommittally.

“Not long, one month will do!” Jiang Fei replied promptly.

In a month, he was sure to earn enough experience and skill points to upgrade Dugu Nine Swords to the second layer. That would definitely boost his swordsmanship greatly, significantly increasing his chances of defeating Liu Shengzongju.

Of course, one month wasn’t actually the best timeframe. The best would be to wait a year or half a year, letting Jiang Fei level up his character another couple of times and cultivate Dugu Nine Swords to the third layer, the pinnacle of mastery!

By then, no matter how powerful Liu Shengzongju was, Jiang Fei was confident he could make sure he never returned!

But a year or half a year was obviously too long. Liu Shengzongju wouldn’t agree to wait that long. After all, he was quite a big name himself; his schedule couldn’t be arranged so freely.

“One month is too long. I have other matters to attend to,” Liu Shengzongju refused, shaking his head.

“Then come find me for the duel after you’ve finished your matters! Don’t worry, I’m not afraid of waiting. A year or half a year isn’t too short; eight or ten years isn’t too long!” Jiang Fei said magnanimously and understandingly.

The joke was cold, but Liu Shengzongju didn’t smile. He just looked at Jiang Fei very seriously and stated with certainty, “Three days from now. You and I will settle the score at the Golden Summit of Mount Emei!”

“Three days? No way!” Jiang Fei’s eyes widened, immediately rejecting with equal certainty. “One month is the shortest time I can accept! I need at least a month to adjust my condition!”

Seeing Liu Shengzongju still unwilling to budge, Jiang Fei thought of the scene from the duel between Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue at the Summit of the Forbidden City and quickly got an idea. “To be honest with you, I’m currently suffering from a strange internal injury and can’t exert my true fighting strength at all. It will take at least a month to heal this injury. You… don’t want to duel someone who is severely injured and can’t fight at full strength, do you? In this state, dueling you would be no different from seeking death. I’m not that foolish, and I believe you aren’t that shameless either.”

In the duel at the Summit of the Forbidden City between Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng, Ye Gucheng had someone impersonate him for the duel and used a small trick, pretending to be severely injured. Even the cold, almost emotionless Ximen Chuixue was fooled and proactively suggested waiting until Ye Gucheng recovered from his injuries before dueling.

This Liu Shengzongju seemed like a gentleman and a true master. Perhaps he possessed a bit of Ximen Chuixue’s integrity?

“Why do you insist on postponing the duel for a month? Can you tell me the real reason?” Liu Shengzongju asked.

“I need a month to recover from my injuries!”

“You are not injured.”

“Who says I’m not? I am injured!”

“Your breathing is steady, your internal energy flows smoothly, every part of your body is brimming with vitality. Earlier, when you thought about attacking, your sword intent was sharp and clear. Even if you truly had some strange internal injury, it wouldn’t affect your combat ability at all. You can still fight me,” Liu Shengzongju calmly exposed Jiang Fei’s lie, neither angry nor pleased.

Jiang Fei’s cheeks flushed slightly.

Damn it, how could I forget? In the duel at the Summit of the Forbidden City, the person impersonating Ye Gucheng actually sustained real injuries to fool Ximen Chuixue. And right now, I’m not injured at all. My breathing and everything are normal; I was even running like the wind earlier. How could I possibly fool Liu Shengzongju’s sharp eyes?

Since he was exposed, he might as well be direct.

Jiang Fei also said seriously, “Anyway, I cannot truly fight you with all my strength right now. But one month from now, I am one hundred percent confident I can defeat you!”

Liu Shengzongju fell silent, thinking for a while.

“If you insist on one month later, that’s not entirely impossible. However, you must first withstand two moves from me tonight. If you can withstand my two moves, then I will duel you for real at the Golden Summit of Mount Emei one month from now. If you cannot withstand them…”

The consequence of failing to withstand them, Liu Shengzongju didn’t say.

He just acted.

Because his body suddenly vanished from his original spot, appearing like a ghost, his finger pointing like a sharp sword as it shot towards Jiang Fei!