Chapter 111: Two Geniuses
He had already reached the Great Ascension stage of cultivation! This was terrifying beyond belief!
The entire venue fell silent.
Everyone was stunned by the scene before them, unsure of what to say for a moment.
“This is what a peerless genius looks like! A true prodigy, reaching the Great Ascension stage at such a young age. No wonder the Ten Thousand Sword Sect is so confident!” the abbot of the Charity Retreat sighed in admiration.
“Throughout the history of the Heavenly Martial World, no one this young has ever reached the Great Ascension stage!” added Zhangsun Chengluo.
Amid the crowd’s scrutiny, Zhang Yujian was brazenly arrogant: “Why don’t you step down yourself? I’m giving you the chance. If you don’t grasp it well, don’t make me kick you off!”
Qianchen’s expression instantly darkened.
How dare he speak so rudely?
Summoning all his strength, Qianchen raised his hand, unleashing his full power at Zhang Yujian.
Even if he couldn’t win, so what?
It was necessary in battle!
But Zhang Yujian only let out a cold laugh, looking down on Qianchen with utter disdain.
The sword slashed down from Zhang Yujian’s hand.
With a “thud,”
Qianchen spat blood, the sword’s energy blasting him backwards.
He fell off the stage, his clothes torn to shreds, blood smeared all over him.
“Qianchen!” Master Kongling shouted, rushing to his side.
He lifted Qianchen into his arms, his voice trembling.
“It’s over. He’s finished...”
The words shocked everyone present.
This was the power of a single sword strike—without doing anything else, Qianchen was utterly broken.
Once a brilliant genius, now reduced to a cripple!
The crowd was shaken to their core.
“Is this the difference between the Great Ascension and Void Realm stages?” someone asked.
“I don’t think there’s even a way to compare them,” another replied.
“Then Zhang Yujian must be the champion of this contest!” many voices chimed in.
“Heh, consider yourself lucky. Surviving my hand with your life intact is already a great mercy!” Zhang Yujian boasted. “Who else dares to challenge me?”
The entire venue fell silent.
No one dared utter a word; the atmosphere was deathly still.
Qianchen was already a top talent, yet before Zhang Yujian, he was nothing.
Who would recklessly step forward to meet certain death now?
Beside Zhangsun Chengluo stood a quiet young man, sword in hand.
Without any hesitation, he raised his foot to advance.
Zhangsun Chengluo grabbed him back.
“No,” he said firmly. “There’s still a realm disparity between you two!”
The young man remained silent for a long while, then did not step forward.
It seemed Zhang Yujian was about to dominate the entire arena!
Within the Rufugong Palace, two disciples wanted to step up and challenge Zhang Yujian, but the Sacred Lord of Rufugong remained silent, and they dared not act rashly.
“Heh, such a grand Heavenly Martial World, yet none of the young talents dare make a move? This is rather amusing,” Zhang Yujian’s eyes roamed the arena, finally settling on the territories of the Jixing Sacred Land and Ziyan Sacred Land. “Why are you two so arrogant yet unwilling to send someone out? Are you afraid?”
“If you don’t dare to fight today, then get out! Hand over all the resources of the Southern Yi!” His tone was domineering.
Cao Renjian didn’t scold Zhang Yujian; instead, he stood and shouted, “Ziyang Lingji, isn’t your attitude quite hostile? Let me see—are your two disciples just useless trash? If they can’t handle our sect’s youngsters, then admit defeat quickly!”
His words were full of pride.
The Sacred Lords of Ziyang and Lingji remained silent.
They had not expected the disciples of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect to be so formidable.
“I believe the Ten Thousand Sword Sect has backing. Their opponent must be scheming something, though their purpose is unclear for now...” Ziyang Sacred Lord finally spoke. “Fortunately, we have Senior Zhu; everything is under his calculation.”
“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent his disciples here.”
Lingji nodded, then glanced at Leng Qianxue and the others.
“Goddess, it seems we can only rely on Senior Zhu’s two disciples.”
Leng Qianxue and An Yue’er nodded in agreement.
Lu Ran rose and stepped forward from behind them.
“Zhang Yujian, is it? Let me, Lu Ran, have a go at you.”
His declaration caused an uproar.
Faces showed shock.
Zhang Yujian’s strength was obvious, yet someone was willing to risk death to challenge him?
Lu Ran stood in the center of the arena; the crowd stretched their necks, eager to see his face.
“Lu Ran? Isn’t he a low-ranking disciple of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect? I thought he died long ago during an expedition to the Nanling Mountains!” an elder from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect said in surprise.
He knew Lu Ran well.
After hearing this, Cao Renjian laughed heartily.
“You Jixing Sacred Land really are a joke. Two great Southern Yi Sacred Lands and yet no one dares to step up, so we have to send out our sect’s lowest disciple!”
“He’s nothing but a dog of our sect!”
“I didn’t expect you to shelter him, but having him fight is just laughable!”
Cao Renjian’s words were sharp and mocking, utterly disdainful.
Lingji Sacred Lord’s face darkened.
This was Senior Zhu’s disciple—how could Cao Renjian insult him so?
“Cao Renjian, I advise you to shut your mouth now, or soon you will regret your words!”
“Impossible. That kid? Ha! What a joke!” Cao Renjian scoffed, turning to Lu Ran. “What? A dog of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect? Now you’re in league with the Southern Yi? You’d better surrender and end it yourself while you still can. Otherwise... hehe.”
Lu Ran showed no fear, only a cold sneer.
“You old bastard, you’ll be the one crying later!”
With that, Lu Ran stepped forward, ascending the stage with casual ease.
He released his aura, which was even stronger than Zhang Yujian’s.
“Look! He’s also at the Great Ascension stage!”
“Impossible! Another Great Ascension cultivator?”
“He’s at the eighth layer of the Great Ascension stage! Could these two be evenly matched?”