32 Talk Is Cheap

Chu Fan turned to Vault Keeper Wang. He bowed with his hands clasped together.

"Might I be so bold as to request that Elder Wang be the moderator of this duel?"

Vault Keeper Wang turned his back to Chu Fan.

"And what do I get out of this proposal? Why would an elder like me be interested in a match between two babies?"

Chu Fan smiled in a sinister manner and turned away. And slowly but surely, the fragrant aroma of fruits and alcohol began to waft about, tickling the noses of everyone a meter away. Vault Keeper Wang's eyes lit up when he smelled it.

"What is that? Wine? Who dares bring wine into the Sect Vault? I shall confiscate it immediately."

He began to frantically investigate the origins of the wine aroma like a fish starved of water. He sniffed around, pinpointing his target, Chu Fan. He licked his lips as he walked up to Chu Fan.

"Chu Fan, what purpose do you have bringing this wine out?"

Chu Fan smiled and turned around, changing his face midway. He was now pouting and his eyes red.

"Elder Wang, I meant to gift this wine to you as thanks for moderating our duel. But I see that you are not fated to try this wine of mine. I should have known that such an elder like you would never want a wine like mine. Surely you have the nectar of the deities. I guess, I'll just go and find another elder who is willing to receive my gift of wine."

Hearing Chu Fan's words, Vault Keeper Wang's mouth and eye began to twitch. Chu Fan had angered him, but he hesitated because this wine in Chu Fan's possession was one that he had never sampled before. He patted Chu Fan on the head very slowly and made eye contact with him.

"Okay! I shall moderate this duel then. And I shall accept your humble gift of wine."

He grabbed the jar of wine from Chu Fan's hands and caressed it like a baby. He popped off the lid and smelled it a second time. This time, with his face so close, he could smell the intensity of the wine.

"Chu Fan, what do you call this wine?"

Chu Fan looked at him and gave a thumbs up!

"Spring's Breathe. Other than Hallmaster Chen Si and Hallmaster Bu Fu, you are the only one to have the chance to try this wine."

Vault Keeper Wang smiled at him and placed the jar of wine away.

"Let's head to the Dueling Grounds then."

And all the students exited the building and walked towards the Dueling Grounds. The Dueling Grounds were located next to the Skyward Sword Sect's Grand Hall. It was a wide area with a large number of fighting stages and stands for spectators.

Along the way to the dueling grounds, Duan Mu and Chu Fan's friends tried to dissuade the two sides from this duel.

"Chu Fan, she's an inner-sect disciple. You are no match for her since she is also a first level Foundation Establishment while you are a mere fifth level Qi Condensation practitioner."

"Right Chu Fan, quickly go and call the fight off before you get seriously beat."

Yeah, at most you'll have to apologize, but you'll at least be able to keep your life."

It's not worth it Chu Fan. I'll talk to big sister and have her forgive you. I'll just tell her that you are my friend, she'll understand."

Chu Fan was getting a bit irritated. But he kept his cool as these people cared about him enough to try and talk him out of this match that they saw him losing, no matter what. He turned towards them.

"Shh! I have my ways of course. Do you really doubt my capabilities? Have I not shown you enough incredible feats that you still underestimate me? Don't worry, you can trust in me."

Hearing such words, Yi Mo Chou scoffed.

"Hn! Such bold claims. Talk is cheap, children shouldn't play with adults lest you want to fall asleep."

Vault Keeper Wang, hearing this little exchange, turned around with raised eyebrows.

"Oh? Why don't we make this simple and boring duel a bit more interesting? How about a wager?"

Chu Fan and Yi Mo Chou made eye contact before nodding. They would start to discuss their terms with Vault Keeper Wang privately away from the group.

As soon as the various disciples present heard he word "wager", their eyes lit. Tian Han and Da Bao's eyes also lit. This was an opportunity to earn some sect points,even though they were all gambling. Though they had to sacrifice Chu Fan, he could not blame them as he was the one who arranged for this duel to happen. At most, they would just split part of their take and give it to him as a means of appeasing his potential anger.

The two friends of Chu Fan's took out a pen and paper from thin air, marking down bets wagered on this upcoming duel. The odds were against Chu Fan entirely, had he been their, he would have bet all the sect points in his possession on himself.

"I'll bet 200 sect points on Yi Mo Chou."

"400 on Yi Mo Chou."

"50 on Chu Fan."

"60 on Chu Fan."

The crowd turned around at the two people willing to bet on Chu Fan. It was none other than Hun Lian and Yao Lingyan. The crowd was silent and turned away, not giving much thought as to why. Perhaps these two people pitied Chu Fan and just bet on him whimsically. What these disciples didn't know was that these two girls had at one tome or another challenged Chu Fan to a duel and lost to him in an upset victory for the fatter underdog. Tian Han and Da Bao would also go on to place bets on Chu Fan as well. Though they feared the worst for Chu Fan, he had never been wrong in things he assured he could accomplish.

Vault Keeper Wang, Yi Mo Chou, and Chu Fan returned to the group.

"Alright, the two sides have come to an agreement about the terms of this duel. Please, head onto the stage."

The crowd of disciples quieted down and went to get seated. With looks of concern, Duan Mu and her junior disciples all clenched their fists, hoping that Chu Fan did not get too badly beaten. And Yi Mo Chou's group started cheering.

"Show that little fatty what's up."

"Beat it into him that he'll never be worthy of our young mistress."

"Yeah! When elder sister Yi is through with you, you won't be able to sit for a week straight."

Chu Fan only stood quietly, listening to all the noise to his side. He smiled and stared at his senior before him.

"Yi Mo Chou? Chu Fan? This is your last chance to back out on this duel. Are you sure you want to settle your dispute this way?"

"Yes, Elder Wang. I will go through with this no matter what. I'll make her eat her words."

"Vault Keeper Wang, I, as the senior disciple, cannot shirk my responsibility in teaching my junior here about knowing where he stands in the sect."

Vault Keeper Wang jumped off the stage.

"Fine then! Remember this is not a fight to the death. You will either incapacitate the other or force them to yield."

The two students only nodded in agreement.

"Fight!"

Chu Fan bowed to Yi Mo Chou before taking his stance.

"Please go easy on me senior sister."

Yi Mo Chou only took her stance.

"Let's exchange pointers junior brother."

The two stood unmoving for a time. They only had their eyes locked on each other. A breeze cam and carried a flower petal over, which landed, starting the engagement like a gong would.

*Boom* In an instant, Chu Fan was at Yi Mo Chou's side. She was still looking at his after-image standing before her.

*Pa* He thrust his palm at her side. She jumped to the side to avoid his blow. She was in a bit of panic as she was not expecting him to have learned a lightness skill at such a young age. She initiated her own lightness skill, Crossing a Valley. She made simple movements, looking slow yet moving far. Such a skill would look mystical had a master performed it, but Yi Mo Chou could only be considered a rookie still.

Chu Fan came in and out of vision, making Yi Mo Chou frustrated that she could only dodge his attacks in the last moment that it was about to land.

"Damn, this little fatty. I meant to wear him out at first but he's rather sly in his movements." she thought to herself.

She pranced about dodging Chu Fan's blows here and there. After a while Chu Fan was able to study the pattern of her movements and find an opening. He anticipated which direction she would dodge to next and threw a feint, followed by a slap to her face. The crowd watching were appalled by what just happened. Duan Mu and all her junior disciples were quietly sitting and cheering for Chu Fan within their hearts while the inner-sect disciples could not contain their anger and frustration. They began hurling insults at Chu Fan.

"That fatty just slapped senior sister Yi. What an ass?"

"Boo! He hit a girl!"

"Of course he can. Men have been taking advantage of us since the dawn of time."

"Right! I bet he challenged her on purpose because he thought it would be easy."

Vault Keeper Wang got angry and yelled back at the chastising crowd of inner-sect disciples.

"Shut up! What is a battle if one doesn't get hurt? They both agreed to fight as equals, so it shouldn't matter. If you demand equality and still want your special treats, then you aren't meant for the world of cultivation. The very reason you cultivate is to break free from these expectations of the mortal world that wants you to be 'regular'. What a disgrace you all are."

The crowd went silent as they couldn't argue against Vault Keeper Wang's rant; he was speaking the truth that many dared not speak of.

Though the slap did not hurt her much, it did much more damage to her pride as a senior inner-sect disciple. As a senior disciple with in a higher stage of cultivation, how could she not deal with a measly fifth level Qi Condensation junior disciple. Her anger burst and she jumped back several meters, making a wide gap between herself and Chu Fan.

She was no longer going to hold back against this little junior. She already lost to him in lightness skill, she couldn't lose to him in battle prowess also. She took her stance and got ready to begin her assault on Chu Fan.

"Alright! Let's get serious then!"

Chu Fan waited for her while taunting.

"Come! Show me your moves!"