Xuan fell silent for a few moments, processing all that Huizhen had just said.

So he wants me to be a punching bag, but he’s also setting the reward quite high, Xuan thought as his brows began to twitch.

Reward...

"From your tone, I take it you don’t believe I can do this. Is that right?" Xuan asked, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"That’s right. You come across like one of those snot-nosed young masters from the Lower Heavens. They talk a big game, but when it comes down to it, they are always the weakest link," Huizhen replied without holding anything back. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"And I believe you’re the weakest link. Sure, you can do some fancy techniques, but being flashy and being efficient are two different categories. If you want to be flashy, I can take you up to the Lower Heavens and sign you up for a brothel gig, so what do you say?"

"What are you even talking about?" Xuan said with a roll of his eyes. "I get it, you don’t believe in me. But what do you say we make a bet?"

"You are asking a monk to bet?" Huizhen chuckled. "You are either bold or stupid. However, I am willing to hear you out."

Xuan clicked his tongue. "If I can last one month without taking the Qi sealing cuffs off, then you owe me some treasure."

"Hmm... Very well, how does a box of Spirit-ranked pills sound? They would increase your Qi circulation and make your body more durable."

"Pass. I said treasure. Spirit-ranked pills aren’t treasure," Xuan said flatly. "What’s the rank after Spirit...? Earth. After Earth, it’s Heaven, so give me something Heaven-ranked. You can do that much, can’t you?"

Hearing that, a deadly amount of Qi escaped Huizhen, making it hard for Xuan to breathe.

However, after just a few moments, he managed to get over it by covering his body in Void Qi.

"If you had the cuffs on, you would’ve been powerless to do anything," Huizhen said coldly. "And do you truly believe you’re worth a Heaven-ranked treasure? Do you even fathom what a Heaven-ranked treasure is?"

Huizhen began to ramble about the importance, and Xuan’s clear incompetence, however, Xuan ignored everything and waited until he finished speaking.

And that was when, Xuan set some new terms. Terms that, while reckless, would give him the necessary amount of time to train his body, while also being protected by a bunch of powerhouses..

Even if I can’t go through with my bet, the experience I would gain would be worthwhile. And if actually make it... Haha...

Clearing his throat, Xuan spoke his terms:

"I will not take the Qi sealing cuffs off for three months, and to add to that, if I don’t defeat a Spirit Master by the end of those three months, then you can throw me out of here," Xuan said, startling Huizhen momentarily.

"But if I manage to hold out for three months, and also defeat a Spirit Master without using any Qi, then you owe me more than a Heaven-ranked treasure. So, what do you say, monk? Do you care to gamble?"

Xuan knew full well what kind of terms he was setting, but he also knew that without taking risks, he wasn’t going to reap the ultimate rewards.

And I’m sure that if these monks are pushing body tempering that much, there’s a reason. Plus, I can probably one-shot a First Level Spirit Master with my current strength, so if I train hard enough, it’s definitely possible.

A few seconds passed before Huizhen finally walked up to him and pointed at the cuffs.

"The moment you put those on, our bet will begin. I will make sure you won’t have a single fun day at the Grand Jade Temple... and if you do what you set out to do, then I will give you a treasure my master gifted me when I first became a Spirit Grandmaster all those years ago."

This guy is a Spirit Grandmaster...? Xuan thought, his brow raised. "It better not be some memento."

"Believe me, it’s arguably better than an Earth or Heaven-ranked pill. It’s an actual treasure," Huizhen replied.

He took a few steps backward and gave Xuan a slight bow.

"I, Head Monk Huizhen, accept this deal. You must hold out for three months with your Qi sealed, and you must defeat a Spirit Master before the three months are up. If you somehow manage to do all of that, I will grant you a special treasure. Does that sound fair to you?"

Xuan nodded with a smirk.

"My name is Xuan, and I accept your terms."

The moment he said those words, he put on the cuffs. Immediately, he felt the majority of his strength zap away as all the Qi that had been gathering around his body suddenly retracted deep into his Dantian.

I can’t move the Qi either, and I don’t feel a connection to my skills. At least I know these cuffs work.

"Very well, Xuan." Huizhen nodded. "Since I do believe you’re at a big disadvantage, you may spend the night in the training grounds doing whatever you wish. Training will start at sunrise. You don’t have to worry about the location. I will come and find you."

"Got it." Xuan rolled up his sleeves. "Anything else?"

Huizhen scoffed and then vanished from sight, allowing Xuan to finally begin punching the straw puppet.

It seemed like without his Qi circulation, his regeneration was much slower, so he actually sustained bruises and cuts.

But Xuan sucked it up like a champ and continued attacking the straw puppet, trying to adjust his body for what was to come in the morning.

On the other hand, Huizhen watched from a nearby mountain peak, his thoughts unreadable.

Yet he held faint expectations that maybe, just maybe, Xuan would somehow manage to do what he had promised. But in the end, Huizhen knew that it was just an arrogant child speaking nonsense.

Xuan was a Spirit Warrior, and beating a Spirit Master would already be difficult as it was. Yet he had the balls to claim he could beat one without using any Qi.

So in the end, Huizhen could only mumble a single word before vanishing from sight once more.

"Foolish..."