Zhou Wen knew that if The Thearch said that there was trouble, there was a high chance that it was real trouble. However, if he always remained subservient to her, there was no room for negotiation in the future.
Zhou Wen didn’t wish to be a puppet that was at the mercy of others. Furthermore, he also wanted to know if his Zero Taboo could withstand The Thearch’s wish powers.
While Zhou Wen became extra careful, he constantly studied the Flying Immortal stance. The Rank 10 Dragon Gate Flying Immortal Skill and Transcendent Flying Immortal had some improvement, but they had yet to take the final step needed for a breakthrough.
Zhou Wen didn’t know what breaking through an Epic Rank 10 Essence Energy Skill would become. It would be best if he could break through to the Mythical stage, but it clearly wasn’t that easy.
Through his battle with Torch Dragon, Zhou Wen constantly honed himself. It could be said that his posture was very similar to that of a flying immortal, but he was still lacking something. He had yet to reach that realm.
Sometimes, many inventions that shocked the world needed a flash of insight other than continuous experiments. What Zhou Wen lacked now was that glimmer of light in the darkness.
Zhou Wen could now last for more than two hours in the battle with Torch Dragon, but it was useless. Even if he lasted 99% of the time, everything was useless if he didn’t kill Torch Dragon.
Zhou Wen was gaming one day when he suddenly received a call from An Sheng.
"Young Master Wen, there’s something I have to tell you. This matter can only be decided by you." An Sheng’s voice was a little solemn. It was different from the usual An Sheng.
"What’s the matter?" Zhou Wen knew that something that could make An Sheng so serious was definitely not simple. He recalled the trouble The Thearch had mentioned.
"John of the Cape family, do you still remember this person?" An Sheng asked after some thought.
"I remember. He once came to our school," Zhou Wen answered.
"Yes, it’s because he lost to you and had his Essence Energy sea crippled that he made a request to our An family to have a fair battle with you. Furthermore, he took the initiative to propose a duel in Luoyang," An Sheng said.
Zhou Wen’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that the trouble The Thearch mentioned was most likely John. He remembered that The Thearch had previously chatted with John online.
"Because the other party has officially proposed a duel and is willing to come to Luoyang alone to challenge you, it’s not appropriate for us to reject him on your behalf. You have to decide on this matter yourself. If you aren’t willing, Young Master Wen, you can reject it," An Sheng said.
"John’s Essence Energy sea should have been destroyed, right? How did he recover so quickly?" Zhou Wen asked.
"In theory, it shouldn’t have been possible for him to recover so quickly. However, since he dares to challenge you in Luoyang, I’m afraid he has not only recovered, but he should also have improved." An Sheng paused for a moment before saying, "From my point of view, I don’t think you need to take the risk to accept the challenge, Young Master Wen."
"You think I’ll lose?" Zhou Wen was somewhat surprised. An Sheng should know that he had a Six-Winged Guardian Dragon. It was clearly unusual for him to persuade him not to accept the challenge under such circumstances.
"The Cape family has Mythical creatures as well. On the cube’s ranking, there are four Mythical pets from the Cape family. I suspect that John will be bringing a Mythical Companion Beast with him this time." An Sheng shared his thoughts.
Zhou Wen didn’t say a word as An Sheng continued, "Mythical Companion Beasts have their own specialties. It’s very dangerous to rashly accept challenges without knowing what abilities they have. I’ve seen some Mythical creatures before. Their abilities are extremely unreasonable. As long as you get hit, death is certain. There’s nothing you can do about that even if you’re stronger than him. Just like Love Letter, we studied it for years and only attacked it after knowing its various abilities. Otherwise, we would definitely suffer heavy losses."
"I understand what you mean, but I want to accept this challenge," Zhou Wen said after some thought.
From Zhou Wen’s point of view, this wasn’t a battle between him and John, but a secret battle between him and The Thearch.
The Thearch seemed to play both sides, seemingly purposefully but also inadvertently making Zhou Wen rely on her more and more.
Just like the previous few times when she showed her might to him or gave him benefits, she would intentionally or unintentionally show Zhou Wen her strength and invincibility. She would inadvertently create a lofty image, as though Zhou Wen would enjoy endless benefits as long as he remained subservient to her. And if he disobeyed her, he would suffer an irresistible blow.
Although The Thearch hadn’t really harmed Zhou Wen from beginning to end, Zhou Wen could sense that this wasn’t a good thing.
In the past, the former principal had once said to Zhou Wen that one needed to respect everyone, but one couldn’t let respect turn into reliance. Otherwise, one would lose the possibility of reaching the pinnacle because the person you relied on was your end.
Therefore, Zhou Wen wanted to accept this challenge not because he wanted to defeat John, but because he wanted to break the net that The Thearch had weaved over him. He wanted The Thearch to fail once.
"Alright, since you’ve already decided, I know what to do. I’ll help you choose the location and time. In Luoyang, you won’t be at a disadvantage. No one can use external forces to affect you, but you have to be careful. Don’t underestimate John just because he has lost to you before," An Sheng said seriously.
"Thank you." Zhou Wen felt a sense of warmth in his heart. An Sheng was truly concerned about him. It had been a long time since someone cared for him.
An Sheng hung up the phone and turned to say to An Tianzuo, who was sitting behind his desk, "Overseer, Young Master Wen has decided to accept the challenge."
"Indeed, he’s still too young. Since John dares to come to Luoyang alone, he must have made all the necessary preparations. The battle is extremely dangerous, so there’s no need for him to take the risk," said An Tianzuo.
An Sheng smiled and asked, "Overseer, if it’s you, would you accept or refuse?"
"If I accepted it, that’d be because I have the strength to deal with any situation." Although An Tianzuo didn’t give a direct answer, anyone could tell that he would accept it if it were him.
"I believe Young Master Wen can handle it as well," An Sheng said.
"I’m just afraid that he will be arrogant and think that he’s invincible after obtaining a Mythical Companion Beast. When that happens, he won’t even know how he died," sneered An Tianzuo.
It wasn’t An Sheng’s place to say anything else. An Tianzuo paused before saying, "Go and set up the venue. If the empress dowager finds out that he suffered, she’ll probably launch a tirade at me again."
"Yes." An Sheng accepted the order and left.
Few people knew that John was going to Luoyang to challenge Zhou Wen, but it spread among the six families. The other families found it odd.
It hadn’t been long since John’s Essence Energy sea was crippled, but he had recovered so quickly. He even dared to challenge Zhou Wen in Luoyang. Clearly, this was something unusual. Many families were secretly observing the matter.