"Senior brother, he has taken away your reputation as a genius in the gang. Will this affect your future plans?"

Every five years, the Qingfeng Gang branch holds a competition for young inner disciples. The disciple who ranks first will have the opportunity to develop at the headquarters, while the second and third place disciples will only be rewarded with some cultivation resources.

Lin Xiaofei has already broken through to the mid-stage level of an ordinary martial artist. He is the most likely person to enter the top three in the competition, and also the most likely person to hinder you from winning first place.

Now everyone in the gang knows that he and you have the same level of martial arts skill. Amidst the discussions within the gang, many people believe that Lin Xiaofei has a chance to win first place in the competition and thus go to the main gang to develop.

Their comments are clearly meant to belittle you, senior brother.

If that's the case, it will inevitably have some impact on you, senior brother.

Zhu San put on a worried expression and said in a low voice.

"First place? A chance to go to the Qingfeng Gang headquarters?"

Guo Zishan was startled, his face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth.

Every five years, the inner branch of the sect holds a competition that only young disciples of the inner sect can participate in. His efforts have always been aimed at increasing his strength and winning first place in the competition so that he can go to the headquarters for development. If he loses, he will have to wait another five years, and he does not want to wait another five years.

"Senior brother, as far as I know, all the young disciples who go from the branch to the headquarters will receive training from the main branch. Moreover, the main branch has seven or eight times more resources than our Qingshan Town, making it easier to obtain cultivation resources. Reaching the Inner Qi realm in martial arts is a certainty, and it is even possible to cultivate to a higher realm."

Zhu San rolled his eyes and said with a look of longing.

In fact, for any inner disciple of a branch, being able to help the inner headquarters is a great thing.

Qingshan Town is located in a remote mountain area, so the disciples have fewer opportunities to obtain cultivation resources, and their martial arts cultivation speed is relatively slow.

Therefore, Guo Zishan really wanted to go to Xiegu County, the hometown of the general.

Only once every five years, there is a competition among the inner disciples to determine who will be the first to be selected and join the main sect, thus gaining a promising future.

Of course, he could also abandon his status as an inner disciple of the Qingfeng Gang and go to Xiegu County, but losing his status as a Qingfeng Gang disciple would be a very troublesome thing for him.

"It seems that I will have to compete with him sooner or later. Rather than waiting, I should take advantage of the fact that his mid-stage ordinary martial artist realm is not so stable and disrupt his blood energy. That way, I can eliminate a potential danger in the competition for first place."

Guo Zishan listened to Zhu San's words, which seemed to have struck a chord with him, making him even angrier.

He had worked hard for many years to cultivate, all for the sake of winning first place and joining the main gang. Moreover, his master, the Left Protector Qian Ming, also had high expectations for him and hoped that he would join the main gang.

However, many people in the gang were talking about Lin Xiaofei, saying that he had been outshone, which made him look bad.

Therefore, he needs to make some changes.

"We've made a good harvest this time. After the handover of the mission, each of us will receive the equivalent of two hundred taels of silver."

However, that traitor was key to this mission, and it was Junior Brother Lin who killed him and retrieved the sword technique manual that was supposed to be handed over. I think he should get a larger share of the silver. Therefore, I think Qin Hong and I should each take ten taels less. What do you think, Junior Brother Qin?”

As Liu Hengchang walked, he smiled and spoke to Lin Xiaofei and Qin Hong.

"I contributed the least to this mission. If it weren't for the care of Senior Brother Liu and Brother Lin, I would likely have been injured, let alone received so much silver."

Therefore, I think I should take the minimum amount of silver. I will take out an extra twenty taels of silver to distribute among you, so that each of you will receive an extra ten taels of silver.

Qin Hong said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Let's split it evenly, so you don't feel bad about it."

Lin Xiaofei said with a smile.

"That's not a good idea," Qin Hong said.

Lin Xiaofei waved his hand and said, "We are both fellow disciples and friends, so let's not worry about these things."

Just as Lin Xiaofei and his group were walking toward the bustling city gate, three familiar-looking people approached them, and they stopped in their tracks.

"Junior Brother Lin, what a coincidence! It looks like you and I have just returned from our missions."

Zhu San looked at Lin Xiaofei with a smile, while Zhao Neng remained silent, and Guo Zishan looked at Lin Xiaofei and the others with a cold expression.

"It's quite a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into my three senior brothers near the city gate."

I have never interacted with these three senior brothers before, so why have they stopped me today? I wonder what they want with me?

Lin Xiaofei said calmly.

Zhu San was slightly taken aback, not expecting Lin Xiaofei to speak so directly, and said somewhat awkwardly:

I recently heard that your martial arts have improved greatly, and you've just broken through to the mid-stage of an ordinary martial artist. Senior Brother Zishan, fearing you might become too arrogant, wants to spar with you a few times to solidify your strength. It's a thoughtful gesture from him, wanting to take care of his fellow disciple.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother Zishan, but whether I become arrogant is my own business and you don't need to worry about it."

Lin Xiaofei smiled faintly and said.

"That's right. I know how strong Brother Lin is. Some people just want to exchange a few blows with Brother Lin. How did it become taking care of their fellow disciple and saying they have good intentions? It makes me want to vomit."

Qin Hong sensed something amiss in Zhu San's words and quickly retorted with a disdainful tone.

Liu Hengchang, standing to the side, simply watched indifferently without saying a word. He only had one task: to accompany Qin Hong on missions and protect Qin Hong's safety. Everything else was none of his concern.

"Junior Brother Qin is right. I did want to exchange a few moves with Junior Brother Lin. My junior brother misunderstood me, which is why he said the wrong thing."

The reason I stopped Junior Brother Lin was that I wanted to spar with him and see what his strength was like. I wonder if Junior Brother Lin would be willing to give his senior brother a chance?

Guo Zishan's expression changed slightly when he saw that Qin Hong's words were full of sarcasm. He quickly replied, directly and tactfully explaining his purpose.

If Lin Xiaofei refused him, he was prepared to take direct action to avoid a verbal argument.

"Senior Brother Zishan flatters me."

Lin Xiaofei smiled and continued:

If we spar here and I accidentally defeat my senior brother, that wouldn't be good, since there are quite a few people watching near the city gate. I'm afraid it would tarnish Senior Brother Zishan's reputation.

"Junior Brother Lin is overthinking things. How do you know you can definitely beat me? Besides, we're just having a little sparring match, it's not a big deal."

As Guo Zishan spoke, he thought to himself:

Want to beat me? Dream on. Only by defeating you here at the city gates, where there are so many people, can I restore my reputation as a genius in everyone's eyes.