A carefree soldier king in the city

Chapter 304 You're Not Worthy of Comparing to Me

A short, stout man stepped out from the crowd, grinned sinisterly, and said, "Alright! Junior brother, please come in!"

Seeing that there was a good show to watch, everyone stepped back, making room for a relatively large space. The disciples who were cultivating also stopped and rushed over. In just a short while, more than a hundred people had gathered.

He Jianfei, looking arrogant, saw that Chao Bufan was empty-handed and laughed, "Junior brother, most of us cultivators rely on weapons to unleash our full power. If you don't have a suitable weapon, you can borrow one from other senior brothers. Don't say I'm bullying you then."

Upon hearing this, Chao Bufan picked his nose and said casually, "No need, I can do it empty-handed."

Upon hearing this, He Jianfei thought that Chao Bufan was looking down on him, so he frowned and then nodded and smiled, "Alright, since you're going in empty-handed, I won't bully you."

With that, he sheathed his longsword in his hand and said, "Let's have a bare-handed duel. Don't worry, I'll stop short of defeat."

Chao Bufan nodded and said, "Senior brother, before the competition, I'd like to ask you a question."

He Jianfei said with a disdainful look, "What question? Ask away!"

Chao Bufan asked, "Who among you has the highest cultivation level?"

He Jianfei replied with a smug look, "If it were here, then naturally Senior Brother Hengshan would have the highest cultivation level. He is the second most powerful cultivator in our He family."

Chao Bufan nodded and said, "Then let him compete with me! None of you are qualified."

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned, thinking that the junior brother in front of them was talking big. He Jianfei smiled coldly and said, "If you want to compete with Senior Brother Hengshan, you'd better get past me first!"

Chao Bufan shook his head and said, "I'm not going to compare myself to you. You're really not qualified."

He Jianfei was the one with the lowest cultivation level among them. He was used to being humble and submissive, so he was secretly delighted to finally encounter someone with a lower cultivation level than himself. Therefore, he put in all his effort, wanting to publicly humiliate this new junior brother from another clan, and also to show off his abilities in front of his fellow disciples. However, he never expected that the other party would not want to compete with him, and immediately angrily said, "Junior brother, what do you mean? Are you looking down on me?"

Chao Bufan gave no room for negotiation, nodding and smiling, "Yes, even if I look down on you."

"you……"

He Jianfei was about to strike when He Hengshan stepped forward, grabbed He Jianfei's hand, looked Chao Bufan up and down, and said meaningfully, "Junior brother, do you really want to compete with me?"

Chao Bufan laughed and said, "What's wrong with a competition? Even if I lose to you, at least I'll save face, right?"

Upon hearing this, He Yifei, who was standing nearby, said anxiously, "Junior brother, you..."

He Hengshan laughed heartily and said, "Alright, junior brother, you're quite straightforward! However, I'm not one to hold back when I strike, so if I hurt you..."

"Don't worry, if you can hurt me, it's because I'm incompetent, and you can't blame me."

"That's satisfying! Just for those words, I, He Hengshan, will definitely show mercy. Junior brother, please!"

As he spoke, He Hengshan bowed, and everyone took another step back, trying to expand the competition area as much as possible.

Chao Bufan nodded, glanced outside the arena, and saw a few Artemisia annua plants not far away. He then said, "Senior Sister Yifei, could you please go and pick a Artemisia annua for me? Thank you!"

He Yifei asked in confusion, "Junior brother, what do you need Artemisia annua for?"

The others were equally confused. Why would they need Artemisia annua for a competition? Was this crazy?

Chao Bufan smiled slightly and said, "I will be of use to you, Senior Sister Yifei. Thank you for your help."

With a puzzled look, He Yifei broke off a meter-long, little finger-thick stalk of Artemisia annua and gave it to Chao Bufan. Chao Bufan grasped both ends of the stalk, bent it slightly, and found it to be very elastic. He nodded and said, "Senior Brother Hengshan, I'll use this Artemisia annua as my weapon!"

"What? Using Artemisia annua as a weapon? Hahahaha..."

After their initial surprise, the disciples burst into laughter.

Someone mocked, "I've seen idiots, but I've never seen an idiot like this! Using Artemisia annua as a weapon, he's the epitome of idiocy."

"That's right, it turns out this junior brother is actually a lunatic."

"Haha, interesting. Even we don't dare to be so arrogant in front of Senior Brother Hengshan, but this idiot actually... interesting."

At first, He Hengshan thought Chao Bufan was joking, but when he saw Chao Bufan's serious expression, he immediately understood, shook his head and smiled, and said, "Junior brother, why don't you choose a weapon from among these senior brothers!"

He Yifei stepped forward, took out the curved sword that Chao Bufan had given him, and said, "Junior brother, you can use this!"

Chao Bufan smiled slightly at He Yifei and said, "No need, I'll just use this Artemisia annua."

He Hengshan couldn't stand the way He Yifei and Chao Bufan were so close. What was going on today? His usually taciturn junior sister Yifei, whom he couldn't even get a word in edgewise with, was now talking so much with this junior brother and even showing concern for him. This was something He Hengshan couldn't tolerate, so he quickly said, "Junior brother, are you really going to use this wormwood in your hand to compete with me?"

"That's right, what? Do you think I'm joking?"

"Fine, since you insist on being so arrogant, then I'll grant your wish. I won't bully you; I'll fight you empty-handed."

As he spoke, He Hengshan also inserted the longsword in his hand into the scabbard on his back.

Chao Bufan shrugged, looking indifferent, and said, "Whatever."

He Hengshan frowned, a sly glint flashing in his eyes. He sneered and said, "Then let's begin! Junior brother, please!"

He took a step back, a smirk playing on his lips, and then charged towards Chao Bufan with a swift movement. In his view, dealing with a new disciple like Chao Bufan would only require a fraction of his power. However, Chao Bufan's arrogance and complete disregard for him were unacceptable to someone as self-important as him. Therefore, he decided to teach this arrogant and disdainful junior brother a lesson in public, to humiliate him and make him lose all face, leaving him with no place in the He family.

Chao Bufan was holding the two ends of the Artemisia annua and bending it into an arc. When He Hengshan approached, he released the hand holding the top of the Artemisia annua, and the Artemisia annua immediately sprang forward. With a crisp "pia" sound, the Artemisia annua hit He Hengshan's right cheek.