72 Time to Train

"Good, good..." Ji Xun nodded before turning back to Lu Fengyi. Although he had been forced to use one of his vices over Song Mei in order to make this happen, it was more than worth it if he could win the duel against this boy and force him to join the cult.

"Uh... Lu Fengyi, was it?' Ji Xun picked up the half filled in sheet that he had handed to Lu Fengyi earlier before continuing, "Since I'm sure you don't want to spent time worrying about this matter, how about we hold the duel in a day or so?"

Although Ji Xun sounded friendly enough, Lu Fengyi stayed on his guard, "That's fine with me..."

"Good! Then I shall hand in the application for a duel at midday, tomorrow. Since Song Mei has already expressed her concerns, I'll give you an appropriate perk in order to balance the fight a little bit, however it will not be very major." Ji Xun held his chin in his hands as he looked into Lu Fengyi's eyes.

Sighing internally, Lu Fengyi could only resign himself to the situation. Although Song Mei had arrived, it seemed that even she could not save him from the duel now. The best thing now was not to complain, but to prepare himself as much as possible for the duel in order to increase his chances of winning.

"Now that I think about it, I really like that look in your eyes. It doesn't give off any feelings of pride or arrogance, however there is an underlying trust in your own abilities underneath them. Interesting, interesting..." Ji Xun leaned slightly closer to Lu Fengyi.

Lu Fengyi felt his goosebumps raise. While Ji Xun had not said anything that could be considered sexual harassment, it still felt extremely weird to have an older man stare into his eyes and compliment his personality at the same time. Even if he were to be a little more thick-skinned, it was likely that he would still be freaked out.

"A-anyways! Is it fine if I leave for now? As long as I come to the duel tomorrow, everything should be fine, right?" Lu Fengyi backed away, making sure to break eye contact with Ji Xun.

Ji Xun nodded with a wide smile, "Of course! Not only do I trust your character enough to expect you to show up to the duel, but even if you don't, your reputation of refusing a duel will spread since your name is not well known, possible ruining your future aspirations due to this single event. Hence, I have nothing to worry about!"

Of course, Lu Fengyi had not intended on missing the duel. After all, he had agreed and a man's word must be carried out. "Then, I shall be taking my leave. Song Mei, let's go." Lu Fengyi walked through the destroyed doorway before exiting the building as quickly as possible. An enveloping feeling of relief surged through his tense body as the radiant sun shone upon him once more.

'Now that I think about it, why is there a sun? Aren't we in the Fictional Transcension Hall?' Lu Fengyi thought to the system.

[ Heh, looks like you haven't forgotten me yet... ]

Lu Fengyi creased his brows, 'Of course I wouldn't forget you. I literally talked to you several hours ago...'

[ But it's been a good deal of chapters since I last spoke... Anyways, yes there is a sun in the Fictional Transcension Hall. The reasoning? Most likely because the creator wanted to imitate the real world as much as possible to provide a feeling of belonging to new and experienced transcenders alike ]

'Who is the creator of the Fictional Transcension System?' Lu Fengyi had always wondered about this ever since he entered the world of fiction. Who in the world would have the power to create all this?

[ Why the hell are you asking me? I'm just a sub-system of the main system. Even if you asked the main system, you still probably won't be able to get an answer. In fact, although I've never reported my speculations to the main system, but I presume that even the main system does not know who the creator is ]

Realising that the answer was still completely out of reach, Lu Fengyi sighed before moving on, 'So how do I prepare for a duel?'

[ Again, why are you asking me? Just ask that person that hopped out from the building next to you... Transcenders these days, overworking their system at will... ]

Lu Fengyi grinned awkwardly at the mutterings of the system before turning around, sighting Song Mei leaving the building with large strides. Lifting his arm, Lu Fengyi called out for her, "Song Mei!"

Before he knew it, Song Mei was already in front of him and less than a second later, a blunt pain appeared from the top of his head. Grasping his head in pain, Lu Fengyi turned his eyes towards the floor, only to have his ears ring with Song Mei's shouting, "Are you serious? I leave for a duel for less than half an hour and you already got yourself involved with a cult? How retarded can you be? You're either completely brain-dead, or you have the worst luck in the history of transcenders!"

Lu Fengyi hurriedly held up his hands in defence, "Sorry! I'm so sorry I caused you trouble! They said they just wanted me for a survey, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to learn more about the Fictional Transcension System. I was scammed alright? I was scammed!"

Expecting to be whacked on the head once more, Lu Fengyi braced himself, however the blow did not come, instead replaced by the soft sounds of suppressed sobs. Looking up in surprise, Lu Fengyi saw the teary face Song Mei, stripes of wetness flowing from her eyes. Completely speechless at the change of attitude, Lu Fengyi reached out towards Song Mei tentatively, "Are you okay?"

Trying her best to wipe away the endless tears, Song Mei responded in a broken voice, "It's not like that... It's just that... I lost Li Ke and many other friends to that despicable man already... I just don't want to lose anyone else..."

Lu Fengyi smiled warmly. It seemed that even the most cool and tough people had their soft sides as well. Under that veil of bravado, there was the soft emotions within that kept those people still relatable with the others they interacted with. Knowing that he was definitely incapable of comforting others, Lu Fengyi sucked in a deep breath before bowing his head, "Song Mei! Can I ask you to tutor me about how to win a duel? For you, and for myself, I want to stay free of this damned Exis Cult!"

Shocked by the sudden shout, Song Mei looked up with reddened eyes, "You..."

"Please, Song Mei!"

Facing Lu Fengyi's determination, Song Mei could only clear up her tears before standing up strong like her usual self. "Fine! Then prepare yourself for an intense day of training! We have 24 hours till the duel and I expect you to work your ass off!"

"Yes!"