I Become The Richest Man With A monthly Salary of Twenty Thousand Yuan-Chapter 560 - 451: Bring it on

"What an arrogant man, this Xia Liang. So young, yet so presumptuous," said Yuan Daozi. "Since that’s the case, I won’t hold back. I invited you here today to challenge you to a magical duel! If you lose, I want you to get out of Jinling and never come back! Furthermore, you are forbidden from ever working as a physiognomist again."

The mention of a magical duel instantly excited the other guests. A duel from the legends, something that likely hadn’t been seen in decades.

"The duel Yuan Daozi is talking about... it’s not going to be like something from the movies, is it?"

"Either way, we’ve got a show today!"

Xia Liang responded with a faint smile. "And if you lose?"

"If we lose, the Daoist Association is at your disposal!" Yuan Daozi snorted, clearly not entertaining the possibility of defeat, as they had made thorough preparations.

"However," Yuan Daozi paused, "if you want to duel us, you must first prove you are qualified!"

After giving Wang Daoyuan a meaningful glance, he slowly walked over to the backyard barbecue pit and began to perform a ritual. His hands formed a series of shifting seals as he muttered incantations.

Meanwhile, under the gaze of many, Xia Liang took out a talisman and slowly ignited it.

He had never used the Life-Saving Talisman, which could prevent him from injury or death. Today was a good chance to see just how effective it could be.

A few moments later, Wang Daoyuan finished his ritual with a ferocious roar.

"Allow me to demonstrate!"

BOOM!

Wang Daoyuan reached directly into the red-hot barbecue pit and grabbed a glowing piece of charcoal with his bare hands.

This move stunned the surrounding guests, and some even began to cheer. A glowing piece of charcoal, burning at several hundred degrees, held in his bare hand?

Only Xia Liang scoffed. He, of course, knew their tricks. Wang Daoyuan had merely stuck an extremely thin, heat-insulating film to his palm. He didn’t dare squeeze it with any real force.

The next second, Wang Daoyuan hurled the red-hot charcoal at Xia Liang.

"If you can’t even catch this, then there’s no need for you to duel with us!"

After speaking, Wang Daoyuan and Yuan Daozi exchanged a smug look. This was different from the wine earlier. If Xia Liang chose not to catch the charcoal, it would signify that he was scared and didn’t dare to engage in the duel. His reputation in Jinling and Shenhai would plummet instantly. But if he actually caught it, the red-hot charcoal would scorch his hand. No matter what Xia Liang did, he was bound to lose this first test.

In the next instant, the red-hot charcoal was right in front of Xia Liang. Just as Yuan Daozi and the others were eager to see him make a fool of himself, Xia Liang reached out with his right hand and firmly caught the burning projectile.

CRACK.

The next second, he squeezed his hand. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The red-hot charcoal, burning at several hundred degrees, was crushed in Xia Liang’s grip. Its fragments fell to the ground, still smoking.

His palm, however, didn’t have so much as a scratch.

Xia Liang nodded in satisfaction.

The Life-Saving Talisman is indeed useful. For the next hour, I have nothing to worry about.

"Is that all?" Xia Liang laughed. "Master Yuan, let’s not waste any more time. How do you want to play? What’s the duel?"

Watching Xia Liang crush the red-hot charcoal, Yuan Daozi was momentarily stunned, though his expression quickly returned to normal before anyone noticed. He knew that even with a heat-insulating film, it was impossible to hold red-hot charcoal for long, let alone crush it.

This Xia Liang is indeed strange.

Muttering to himself, Yuan Daozi turned his gaze back to Xia Liang. "We’ve heard that Master Xia can heal and save people with just a few words. How about a competition to heal someone?"

"How do we compete?" Xia Liang asked with a smile.

Yuan Daozi gestured towards the back. A middle-aged man was seen pushing a wheelchair forward, in which a young man was seated.

"This is District Head Zhou of Jinling Third District. His son has been disabled for three years, and no doctor, at home or abroad, has been able to cure him. The competition is to see who can make him stand up again. How does that sound?"

The surrounding guests recognized the two.

"District Head Zhou’s younger son has indeed been disabled for three years, I’m aware of that. I heard Master Xia cured Old Li’s condition, so this should be no problem for him."

"But that’s just a rumor. Although Old Li’s legs really did recover, who knows if Xia Liang was responsible? Did any of you actually see it happen?"

"No."

"I didn’t either."

Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, Yuan Daozi smirked.

Xia Liang had no chance of winning this duel.

District Head Zhou was a man he had helped into power. His son had been pretending to be disabled for three years, all to make the world believe his condition was incurable. This was a contingency plan Yuan Daozi had set in motion years ago, waiting for the right opportunity. The Daoist Association hadn’t publicly demonstrated their abilities for many years. That was why Xia Liang, after his recent string of accomplishments, had seen his reputation rapidly approach, and even threaten to surpass, their own. This time, they would not only show all of Jinling that they too could heal the sick and save lives, but they would also completely crush this newcomer underfoot.

This time, no matter what Xia Liang said or did, the outcome would not be in his favor. If he claimed he couldn’t provide a cure, it would imply that the story of him healing Old Li was just a rumor, and all his other feats would crumble under scrutiny. If he actually tried to provide a cure, District Head Zhou’s son would never give him the chance to succeed; he would absolutely refuse to stand.

At that point...