The Strongest Dandy in the City

One night quickly passed.

Now, staying temporarily at the Soul Instrument Pavilion isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let’s first adapt to the Upper World here.

So that night was very peaceful for Ye Chenfeng and them.

When the sun rose the next day, Ye Chenfeng and Old Demon Nanshan got up early and left their rooms, waiting for Elder Wang to come here.

But no matter how they looked around, Elder Wang never showed up. It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky and the scorching sunlight was pouring onto the earth that someone finally came to the place where Ye Chenfeng and the others were staying.

The person wasn’t Elder Wang, but an outer sect elder with the surname Li.

Given Elder Wang’s enthusiasm towards Ye Chenfeng yesterday, he definitely had no reason not to come here personally today.

Ye Chenfeng asked, "Where is Elder Wang who led us here yesterday?"

Elder Li replied indifferently, "Elder Wang has something to do today, he can’t come over. I’ll be responsible for you temporarily."

Elder Li hadn’t seen Ye Chenfeng’s talent, which is why he seemed so indifferent. He was puzzled as to why Elder Wang had arranged such a good place for these cultivators from the Middle Realm to stay.

There was no such precedent in the past. Even cultivators at the late stages of the Divine Emperor Realm, when arriving at the Soul Instrument Pavilion, are treated the same.

The most important thing is that the general combat power of late-stage Divine Emperor Realm experts from the Middle Realm is generally lower than that of those from the Upper World. So, in the eyes of the Soul Instrument Pavilion, Middle Realm cultivators are not worth recruiting, they just need to complete certain tasks in the pavilion.

Elder Li suspected that these people from the Middle Realm might have known Elder Wang beforehand?

With doubts in his mind, he led Ye Chenfeng and the others towards the back mountain of the Soul Instrument Pavilion.

This Elder Li was also a Seventh Rank Artifact Refiner.

The entire Soul Instrument Pavilion is vast. To reach the back mountain, they needed to pass through many areas within the pavilion.

As they passed a huge square, they saw many people from the Soul Instrument Pavilion gathered there today.

Ye Chenfeng and the others had passed by here yesterday, but they didn’t see as many people as today.

In this enormous square, there were various high platforms, and at the entrance of the square stood a huge stele, with the words "Refinement Ground" engraved on it.

All the people in the square were gathered before one of the high platforms.

On this high platform, there was a wooden pillar, and a middle-aged man with his arms tied with ropes was suspended in mid-air.

This middle-aged man hanging on the wooden pillar was covered in blood, his knees completely shattered, and his legs crippled. His Spiritual Qi River in his meridians was also sealed.

Although the face of this middle-aged man was also covered in blood, Ye Chenfeng recognized him as Elder Wang.

How could Elder Wang, who was fine yesterday, be in such a miserable state today?

As Ye Chenfeng recognized Elder Wang, Old Demon Nanshan and the others also recognized Elder Wang.

Elder Li said, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and go, you haven’t completed today’s task yet."

Ye Chenfeng stood immobile, having only known Elder Wang for a day, yet Elder Wang didn’t make him dislike him. Moreover, Elder Wang had extended goodwill to him yesterday. With his character, how could he pretend he didn’t see it?

Seeing that Ye Chenfeng and they were not responding, Elder Li frowned tightly, and anger slowly crept onto his face, but he quickly suppressed it. Although he had the Soul Instrument Pavilion as his backing and could disregard the Middle Realm Divine Emperor Realm experts like Old Demon Nanshan, his cultivation level was far lower than theirs.

Adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, Elder Li warned, "The person you see is indeed Elder Wang, but this is not something you can meddle in. Complete the tasks arranged by the Soul Instrument Pavilion, and you can leave safely—there’s no need to meddle in other matters."

"Do you know why Elder Wang ended up like this? The thing is..."

Through Elder Li’s narration, Ye Chenfeng and the others learned the whole story.

It turns out that this Refinement Ground is used by the Soul Instrument Pavilion to resolve internal disputes. At times, conflicts occur between Artifact Refiners.

As Artifact Refiners, they naturally resolve conflicts through artifact refining, hence the establishment of the Refinement Ground within the Soul Instrument Pavilion.

Two Artifact Refiners with a dispute can apply for a duel with the top ranks of the Soul Instrument Pavilion’s permission.

Before the duel, they would agree on the price to be paid by the loser, and the entire duel would be presided over by the top ranks of the pavilion.

Just this morning, an Elder Zhao within the Soul Instrument Pavilion issued a challenge to Elder Wang.

Elder Zhao was also an outer sect elder in the pavilion, with artifact refining skills reaching the Seventh Rank.

Within the pavilion, those reaching the Seventh Rank in artifact refining can be promoted to outer sect elder status, and reaching the Eighth Grade naturally allows for a promotion to inner sect elder status.

Elder Zhao and Elder Wang had had a long-standing conflict. Elder Zhao had previously lost to Elder Wang in a duel, but Elder Wang hadn’t done anything to him, as they were once good friends. Because of a particular person, they had a fallout; the woman chose to be with Elder Wang, and it can be said that Elder Zhao was the instigator from the start.

A year had passed since then.

Upon Elder Zhao’s return, he immediately challenged Elder Wang to a duel, stipulating that the loser would have their legs crippled and be publicly displayed on a pillar for three days.

Elder Zhao’s artifact refining skills had greatly improved, not reaching the Eighth Grade, but firmly surpassing Elder Wang, resulting in Elder Wang’s crushing defeat.

After the crushing defeat.

Elder Zhao showed no mercy, crippling Elder Wang without taking their past relationship into consideration. It was an extremely ruthless act.

This duel started early today, no wonder Elder Wang never showed up before Ye Chenfeng and the others.

After narrating Elder Wang’s situation, Elder Li added, "Seeing that Elder Wang arranged your residence, did you know him before? You are now bound by the Soul Instrument Pavilion. You’re not capable of handling this matter. Elder Wang and Elder Zhao’s duel was fair."

"Of course, Elder Zhao also said that if anyone takes Elder Wang down, it means challenging him to a duel."

"Do you still want to meddle now? Any among you an Artifact Refiner? If you want to meddle, it will only lead to death."

"Let’s go and complete your daily tasks. The Upper World is not as simple as you think."

...