Chapter 1437 - 722: Rainmaking Contest (Part 2)
Lin Beichen quickly dodged, shouting loudly while evading, "Think it over carefully, do you really want to be my apprentice?"
The charlatan grew angrier the more he listened, and his actions became even more forceful, but Lin Beichen was agile and dodged every time. After several rounds, the charlatan was panting heavily as age had taken its toll on his body.
"How about this, let’s have a duel?" Lin Beichen suggested upon seeing this.
"What’s the challenge?" the charlatan asked.
"Of course, it’s a contest of Daoist skills. I see you’re pretty well-versed in this area," Lin Beichen said.
The old charlatan prided himself as the sole heir of Daoism, and he didn’t expect this young man to have such a keen interest in Daoism as well, daring even to challenge him. He thought to himself: This kid is asking for trouble, he’ll end up crying.
"Alright, I agree to the duel," the charlatan readily agreed.
"Alright, it’s a deal. If you win, I’ll willingly be your apprentice and follow your orders. But if you lose, you have to agree to my terms and become my apprentice," Lin Beichen set the conditions for the duel.
The charlatan was confident about the duel, so when Lin Beichen proposed these conditions, he didn’t oppose at all; rather, he was quite supportive. He thought to himself: If I win, Lin Beichen will be my man, and together we can make money to sponsor more homeless children’s education and daily expenses.
Subsequently, Lin Beichen left the charlatan’s house and spread the news around the town. After some publicity, the townspeople developed a great interest in this duel.
Up until now, only the charlatan had been offering fortune-telling in town, and he had quite a bit of knowledge in Daoism, which is why he considered himself the sole heir in this field. Now, someone actually dared to challenge him, how could everyone miss this exciting contest?
Some even started placing bets. Almost everyone bet on the charlatan as they all believed he would surely win. Only a few bet on Lin Beichen since they were unfamiliar with this outsider and didn’t know his capabilities.
On the morning of the duel, the street market’s entrance was packed with people. Lin Beichen and the charlatan each stood at opposite ends of the stage, and the crowd began to cheer for them. Most people were shouting the charlatan’s name, boosting his confidence that he would surely win.
There were people cheering for Lin Beichen as well, but their voices were small and drowned in the crowd. Lin Beichen wasn’t affected by this; he remained calm, ready for the duel.
As the countdown ended, the duel officially began. The first round’s challenge was Talisman drawing. The old charlatan scrawled away, and while it looked somewhat like a Talisman, it was not a genuine Talisman. Unfortunately, no one present understood this aspect of Daoism, so outsiders couldn’t discern the difference. Lin Beichen noticed, but it wouldn’t help to point it out as he would be accused of cheating.
So, they barely tied this round. The second round was a contest of Body Technique, where Lin Beichen moved as light as a swallow, easily leaving the charlatan behind.
The charlatan understood that if Lin Beichen won this round, even if he won the next, they would tie without a clear victory. Worse still, if Lin Beichen won the next round, he would lose completely.
Therefore, he couldn’t let Lin Beichen win this duel and began to make excuses...
Lin Beichen, young and agile, while I, being older, get winded after a few steps, making this duel very unfair for me, an old man. Seeing this, the townspeople all stepped in to support the old charlatan.
"That’s right, this duel is too unfair! One is in his prime, while the other is elderly; how can they compete? This contest shouldn’t count!"
"Exactly, when organizing the duel, how could they not consider the age difference? With such a gap, how can it be fair?"
The townspeople were biased towards the old charlatan, so the second-round was also considered a tie.
Lin Beichen began to feel a bit anxious. He had spread the word that if he won, the old charlatan would become his apprentice; if he lost, he’d become the charlatan’s apprentice. Losing this duel would be embarrassing since he was the one who proposed it.
The old charlatan secretly rejoiced. In the first round, he noticed that Lin Beichen’s Talismans were obviously stronger, and his heart sank, fearing he would lose. Fortunately, besides the two of them, no one understood Daoist skills, so it ended in a tie. In the second round, due to the large age gap, it was again considered a tie.
Now it all came down to the third round. Who would win? Or would it be another tie?
Before the third round started, Lin Beichen directly proposed, "The first two rounds tested basic Daoist skills, so in this final round, we need to show our true abilities."
"This round will be the key to determining the winner, so we both have to show our real skills," the old charlatan agreed.
"Since that’s the case, the third round will be a rain-summoning contest!" Lin Beichen’s words left everyone stunned.
Look at the sky, not a cloud in sight, the sun blazing overhead, showing no sign of rain.
Lin Beichen proposing a rain-summoning contest at this time made the onlookers skeptical.
"It’s possible to summon rain in this weather? He must be joking."
"He surely knows he can’t win, so he proposed such a difficult contest."
"Even a river god might not succeed, let alone Lin Beichen."
The skeptical voices reached Lin Beichen’s ears, and even the charlatan thought he must be crazy to propose a rain-summoning challenge.
The referee, upon hearing Lin Beichen’s proposed challenge, wanted to ask if the charlatan agreed. Before the referee could speak, the charlatan proactively expressed his agreement.
For fairness, Lin Beichen let the charlatan go first.
"You are my elder, I respect you, you go first, to avoid people calling the duel unfair."
The charlatan gathered some items and began performing his rain dance. Seeing this, everyone thought rain would finally come to the town and looked on with eager eyes.
But after a stick of incense time passed, the sky remained unchanged, and not a single drop of rain fell.
The townspeople were as disappointed as they were expectant moments ago.
"Your turn." The charlatan thought to himself, if he couldn’t summon rain, then probably Lin Beichen couldn’t either. This round might end in a tie again.
Lin Beichen didn’t use the props they prepared but instead took out a Yellow Talisman and pen from his pocket, quickly drawing a Rain-Seeking Talisman, and started rain summoning by stepping in the Five Elements.
Unlike the charlatan, Lin Beichen didn’t shout loudly but muttered quietly.
The onlookers thought he looked the part but didn’t expect him to actually succeed in summoning rain. The town hadn’t had rain for years. It would be great if rain came, but since the charlatan couldn’t, surely Lin Beichen couldn’t either.
In their minds, they still believed that older people knew more about Daoism.
Time for a stick of incense was nearing its end, and people were starting to disperse.
The sky remained unchanged.
The charlatan was certain this round would also end in a tie. They had competed from morning to noon without a clear winner, which seemed like a waste of time.
Just then, the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, completely covering the sun.
One drop, two drops... under Lin Beichen’s direction, it actually started to rain!
Everyone was amazed; the least favored Lin Beichen had actually succeeded in summoning rain!
"Oh heavens, Lin Beichen is incredible! Now the crops can be saved!"
Everyone praised Lin Beichen, marveling at how amazing he was. Rain summoning was, in fact, Lin Beichen’s forte. He had helped others summon rain before; it was a unique skill of his.
If he wasn’t confident in his rain-summoning abilities, he wouldn’t have challenged to summon rain in the third round. Seeing the scales tipping in favor of Lin Beichen, the old charlatan was not pleased.