Chapter 103: The Right to Duel

The banquet hall was quiet. Two fainted noble ladies were silently helped out. Everyone present knew these two noble ladies, who were very beautiful. They were the mothers of Angel and Anlin.

On the Western Continent, people did not care much about a young girl’s purity. It was not a big deal to have lovers before or after marriage. But such things were so-called ‘private pleasures’ that should not be made public. Tang Jier said those words in front of everyone. He thought he was doing the right thing and standing up for justice, but in fact, he had greatly offended the families behind the two girls.

Many things could be done but not spoken about. Yet Tang Jier openly announced these things to everyone.

Tang Qiao’s face was pale green. The moment the two noble ladies silently fainted and fell to the ground, he felt the urge to cut his son into pieces with a dinner knife. This damn guy, did he not know these things should not be said carelessly in public? And how did he know about the private dealings between Long Cheng and the two girls?

But Tang Jier still did not understand the mistake he had made. He gritted his teeth and said, “You shameless scum, duel with me! When I saw through the crack in the hotel door how you had beaten those two respectable young ladies so badly that they lay motionless under the windowsill, barely alive, I knew what a shameless bastard you were! I will pierce your chest with my sword!”

Gripping his sword hilt, Tang Jier took a heavy step forward. He raised his left hand and pointed straight at Long Cheng’s nose.

Lin Qi snatched the wine glass from Enzo’s hand and swallowed the ‘fine wine’ in one gulp. The sour and bitter liquid slid into his stomach, exploding like a fireball spell. The spicy and stimulating taste made Lin Qi’s spirits suddenly lift. He looked at Tang Qiao’s pale green face, then at the righteous Tang Jier, and finally at the carefree Long Cheng. Lin Qi nudged Enzo with his elbow.

“Long Cheng beat…”

Before Lin Qi could finish, Enzo covered his mouth. The banquet hall was now quiet with no one speaking. If Lin Qi said something strange now, it would not just offend one or two people. Enzo leaned close to Lin Qi’s ear and carefully, in the most cautious voice, explained to him what was really going on.

Lin Qi, who knew many unbelievable things about the Underworld but only had a partial understanding of matters between men and women, suddenly understood. His eyes lit up as he looked at Long Cheng. “So this guy is that strong? In just one afternoon, he turned Angel and Anlin from girls into women? Good heavens, how much time has passed? But he is also unlucky to be tangled up with Tang Jier.”

Similarly lowering his voice, Lin Qi described Tang Jier’s background to Enzo in detail.

Enzo was stunned. In this day and age, could there still be such a weirdo? A ranger who stood up for justice? Damn, such a rare breed had already gone extinct during the Dark Calendar era. Most of the so-called stories of ranger knights on the Continent now were extremely old legends.

Long Cheng coughed lightly. His face was very thick-skinned. Facing the gazes of hundreds of people in the banquet hall, he still smiled calmly and indifferently. Waving his hand lightly, Long Cheng said faintly, “A duel? May I ask, are you a noble?”

Tang Jier was stunned. His father, Tang Qiao, was the current president of the Dun Er Ke United Chamber of Commerce. His family was very wealthy, definitely among the top three in Dun Er Ke. But his family was a merchant family, generation after generation making a living through business. Although the family had married into many small and medium noble families, because those noble families had many descendants and never lacked heirs, as in-laws of those noble families, Tang Jier’s family had not been able to inherit a noble title.

Shaking his head honestly, Tang Jier said in a deep voice, “Sorry, I am not a noble. I am just an ordinary person walking in the world, upholding justice and fairness. My sword exists only to fight the evil in the world.”

Long Cheng smiled brightly. He shook his head gently, extended two fingers, and slowly pinched Tang Jier’s finger, gradually moving it away from his nose. He said indifferently, “Oh, then I am very sorry too. You are not qualified to duel with me. According to the rules of the Western Continent, if one party is a noble, the non-noble party has no right to challenge a noble to a duel.”

Tang Jier was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at Long Cheng, unable to speak for a long time.

This was indeed the dueling rule of the Western Continent and part of the famous ‘Noble Decree.’ The so-called ‘Noble Decree’ was a code that protected the interests of nobles. One of its clauses stated that commoners had no right to challenge a noble to a duel, while a noble could challenge a commoner at any time, and the commoner had no right to refuse.

Of course, a noble challenging a commoner usually only happened when the noble had an overwhelming advantage.

Tang Jier was rigid and stubborn, but because of that, he could not avoid the constraints of the Noble Decree. He stared at Long Cheng in shock and exclaimed, “How can you be a noble? How could a noble beat two delicate young ladies until they bled down there!”

Long Cheng sighed softly and shook his head. “What a fool. I don’t even want to talk to you anymore.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Long Cheng walked steadily along the path cleared by the crowd to Lin Qi’s side. He smiled and nodded at Blackbeard. “Well, I did not expect to find a pure-blooded Easterner like you in this place full of monkeys and savages. It’s really rare. A phoenix flying out of a pheasant’s nest—it truly surprises me.”

Long Cheng’s words were as sarcastic and sharp as ever. The important figures of Dun Er Ke around them were annoyed upon hearing this.

Lin Qi felt something bad was about to happen. He grabbed Long Cheng’s hand, smiled, and nodded to the dignitaries around them. “This is a shipwreck survivor rescued by the Sea Windmill at sea. His brain was frozen on an iceberg. Please forgive his rudeness!”

Bowing deeply to everyone around, Lin Qi pulled Long Cheng and headed out of the banquet hall.

This guy’s tongue was full of poison. His words would offend everyone present. Lin Qi did not want members of several noble families in Dun Er Ke to challenge Long Cheng to a duel. That guy would definitely kill them without hesitation, and then things would really be out of control.

Hurriedly pulling Long Cheng out of the banquet hall, Tang Jier suddenly shouted, “Damn it, if you say you are a noble, then show some proof!”

After shouting a few times, Tang Jier ignored his father’s loud roars, drew his sword, and chased after them.