Chapter 269 - Agreeing to Support in Battle
“Sister Wan’er.” Chu Xuan’er called out upon arriving at the courtyard. She walked up to Nangong Wan’er, pulling Chen Fan along with her, and said, “This is Big Brother Dongfan. He’s really strong. He will be of great help to your Moon Bloodline in the upcoming Nangong Clan’s Bloodlines Martial Meet.”
Nangong Wan'er, with a striking and graceful demeanor resembling a lily, appeared to be around seventeen to eighteen years old. She had bright eyes and a great figure, something that would draw gazes to her wherever she went.
Nangong Wan’er’s gaze fell onto Chen Fan, sizing him up carefully.
Chu Xuan’er had sent a letter to her before dawn, saying that she wanted to introduce someone who could help the Moon Bloodline in the upcoming martial meet.
The Bloodlines Martial Meet was in a few days. The Moon Bloodline had been on a decline, so they received few resources; therefore, they didn’t have the confidence to recruit some experts as their helpers. Even now, they had yet to pull a single expert in as external help.
Nangong Wan'er was intrigued when she learned that Chen Fan was at the fourth level and was a skilled sword practitioner with great offensive power.
“Hello, I am Nangong Wan’er.” Nangong Wan’er nodded at Chen Fan and greeted him with a gentle attitude.
Chen Fan returned a nod and replied, “Wang Dongfan.”
Nangong Wan’er did not beat around the bush and went straight to the heart of the matter. “I’ve heard about you from Sister Xuan’er. I’m sure Xuan’er has also told you some things about our Nangong Clan’s Bloodlines Martial Meet. Now, on behalf of the Nangong Clan’s Moon Bloodline, I would like to ask for you to help us in this fight.
“We don’t have many resources due to the dwindling number of our talents and the suppression from other bloodlines. So, I can’t pay you a fortune for your help.”
Although Nangong Wan’er wanted to pull Chen Fan to their side, she did not try to conceal things and told Chen Fan about their side's difficulties.
While participants in the Nangong Clan’s Bloodlines Martial Meet could enlist external aid, it hinged on the willingness of potential helpers. A crucial factor in this collaboration was the agreed-upon compensation for their assistance.
The Moon Bloodline was currently in a difficult situation, so they couldn't offer substantial rewards to Chen Fan or anyone else, which was also why they had yet to pull an expert to their side.
Would others easily agree to assist them without a great price?
It was a matter of equivalent exchange—a fair transaction.
Those interested in joining the fight were primarily attracted by the promise of generous compensation, given the inherent risks of participating as external helpers.
There would be dire consequences if they ran into a ruthless and powerful opponent.
“Is that so?”
Chen Fan looked at Nangong Wan’er with a calm gaze. He did not agree to it right away.
After all, it would seem abnormal if he was too eager about it.
Chen Fan asked straightforwardly, “What kind of remuneration can your bloodline give me?”
Chen Fan's primary objective was not the compensation itself; rather, he saw this opportunity as a means to infiltrate the Nangong Clan and gather information about his mother.
After all, the Nangong Clan was different from the Zhao Clan.
He could easily sneak into the Zhao Clan without being discovered because it had few experts.
Nangong Clan, one of the four great houses in the imperial city, boasted a rich heritage spanning several thousand years. Experts were as common as the clouds in the clan, and just the number of Core Formation realm powerhouses could not be counted on one hand. Zhao Clan simply could never compare to it.
Chen Fan could hide from the senses of experts at the ninth level or the first level of the Core Formation realm. However, he couldn’t hide from a fourth or fifth-level Core Formation realm powerhouse. They would pick him up with their senses the moment he entered.
The Nangong Clan had such experts!
He only asked Nangong Wan’er about the remuneration to show an attitude and prevent Nangong Wan’er from growing suspicious.
Nangong Wan'er carefully considered her offer and eventually proposed, “The best reward I can offer you is an ordinary Grade-3 sword.”
She was appealing to his interests.
Chen Fan was a sword cultivator. A good sword was very attractive to sword cultivators. Moreover, the price of an ordinary Grade-3 sword was very high, valued at no less than a hundred thousand primeval stones.
Chen Fan did not agree immediately. Instead, he pondered it deeply.
Chu Xuan’er immediately acted coquettishly and said, “Big Brother Dongfan, help Sister Wan’er this once. I know you’re the best.”
Chen Fan showed a helpless look on his face and said, “Alright, then, I’ll agree to it.”
“Yay, I knew it. Big Brother Dongfan is the best. Mwah!” Chu Xuan’er jumped up to her feet happily and planted a kiss on Chen Fan’s face, making him look even more helpless.
Nangong Wan’er sighed in relief, seeing Chen Fan agreeing to her request.
In recent days, Nangong Wan'er has been tirelessly traversing the imperial city, trying to recruit young talents with some renown to help the Moon Bloodline. Alas, many people rejected her due to her embarrassingly shallow pockets.
Successfully recruiting a fourth-level Yuanfu realm sword cultivator like Chen Fan for the cost of an ordinary Grade-3 sword felt like a significant triumph for Nangong Wan'er.
Nangong Wan’er said, “Many thanks to Young Master Wang for your help. Rest assured, the remuneration I promised you will be paid out regardless of our bloodline’s final result.”
Chen Fan said indifferently, “You’re welcome. Since I promised you that I’d help, naturally, I will give my best. However, I need you to brief me on the rules of the Bloodlines Martial Meet and provide information about the other bloodlines."
“Sure.”
Nangong Wan’er explained the rules of the Nangong Clan’s Bloodlines Martial Meet to Chen Fan, giving him a general understanding of the situation.
The Moon Bloodline’s situation was so dire that one could not bear to look at it.
Take the Sun Bloodline and the Star Bloodline, for example. They spent a huge fortune inviting many outstanding figures at the fourth level from the imperial city to assist them. Some were even well-known figures at the peak of the fourth level. The methods they had at their disposal could even contend against experts at the fifth level.
According to Nangong Wan’er, the Sun and the Star bloodlines had spent such a huge fortune to suppress the Moon Bloodline completely, relegating them to a branch bloodline. They wanted the Sun Bloodline and the Star Bloodline to be the only main bloodlines of the Nangong Clan.
Afterward, Nangong Wan’er stood up and excused herself. “Alright, Young Master Wang, Sister Xuan’er, I still have to go to the Martial Market Arena to look around. Although Young Master Wang has agreed to assist us, I still want to see if I can recruit a few more people.”
Although Chen Fan had promised to fight for her, she didn’t want to place all her eggs in one basket.
Chen Fan did not mind it. Instead, he was intrigued by the mention of the Martial Market Arena.
“The Martial Market Arena? What kind of place is that?”
Chu Xuan’er immediately volunteered to explain. “I know! It’s a fighting arena organized and run by the imperial city’s martial market. As long as people are confident about their cultivation, most would go to the Martial Market Arena to prove their strength...”
Chu Xuan’er told Chen Fan a few things about the arena.
The Martial Market Arena was a fighting arena run by the Martial Market. The Martial Market was an external force, similar to the World’s End Pavilion. They operated markets for martial artists and ran fighting arenas; they had a profound background.
A martial clan’s name quickly surfaced in Chen Fan’s mind: the Wu Clan.
Wei Buyu had once explained the Tianwu Continent’s power structure to him. The three clans and six sects were the nine overlord-class forces that reigned over the Tianwu Continent. Those three were ancient martial clans with over ten thousand years of heritage to their name.
The Great Jin Imperial Court was one of those three clans, and the Wu Clan was one of the two remaining ancient clans.
However, Chen Fan had no way of knowing whether the Wu Clan and the Martial Market were related. [1]
After all, the gap between Chen Fan and the Wu Clan was too big.
1. The surname Wu and the word for martial are both 武. If the two are related, then the Martial Market can also be understood as The Wu’s Marketplace. ☜
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