“Huff!”
“Huff!”
Inside the Heavenly Might Secret Realm, Ye Xingchen half-crouched on the ground, sweat dripping down from his chin.
“Little… brat…”
In the distance, the Demonized Lü Bu sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes nearly bursting as he said: “Return… my… equipment!”
From the pitted and scarred condition of the Tiger Cage Pass battlefield, the two had apparently fought for a long time and seemed to have both exhausted themselves.
“Tch.”
Ye Xingchen stood up, then collected the Sky Scorcher Halberd and equipment set, turning to disappear from the spot.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to say: “Next time, you’ll definitely lose.”
Five years.
He had challenged the Demonized Lü Bu for a full five years.
From being beaten up at first, to barely holding on, to narrowly losing, and now supporting himself until the very end, Ye Xingchen was improving almost every moment.
However.
Like Xiao Zuiji’s situation.
He remained stuck at the Peak Truth-Seeking Realm level without breaking through.
Couldn’t be helped. Breaking through to Half-Step Heavenly Mystery required tremendous opportunity—it wasn’t something you could advance to just by working hard.
“This guy…”
Watching Ye Xingchen leave, the Demonized Lü Bu finally collapsed onto the ground like a deflated balloon, saying unwillingly: “Getting stronger each time. Can’t do anything to him anymore.”
The main problem was not having equipment, plus having his equipment worn by his opponent. Otherwise, fighting for another five years, he could still completely dominate him.
“Whoosh—”
Outside the secret realm, Ye Xingchen was teleported out. He had originally planned to take a cold shower, but hearing the Sect Master’s call, he immediately dismissed the thought and headed to the great hall.
Martial Arts Arena.
Li Qingyang, Xiao Zuiji, and others had already arrived, standing tall and proud one by one.
Over the five years, many disciples hadn’t obtained any great opportunities and remained stuck at the Peak Truth-Seeking Realm, but whether in terms of aura or temperament, they all had undergone tremendous changes.
Calculating their ages, most of them were approaching fifty, but because in the high martial arts world, lifespans easily reached thousands or tens of thousands of years, they were still very young and still appeared vibrant and full of vitality.
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
After a moment, Su Xiaomo flew over holding Xia Shuiyun’s hand, then returned to a specially reserved position and exchanged smiles with their fellow disciples.
Everyone had been together for a long time. They wouldn’t say polite words—everything was in the mutually trusting gazes.
“Whoosh!”
A cold wind blew. Lu Qianqian, dressed in white as pure as snow, landed at the very front of her fellow disciples.
Just as Xiao Duo complained in the previous chapter, time hadn’t left any traces on Jun Changxiao’s face because his face was too thick, but this ice-cold, snow-like eldest disciple truly hadn’t changed one bit. Perhaps… because her face was too cold.
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
After a moment, Long Ziyang, Li Shangtian, and other disciples all arrived.
There were forty to fifty people in total. Names won’t be listed one by one to avoid being accused of padding again.
In any case, all those participating in the Universal Holy War definitely had names and identities. Whether they could get screen time also depended on circumstances. For instance, Jing Zhixiao and Mao Xiaodao might just be pulled in to fill out the roster.
“Is everyone here?” Jun Changxiao asked.
“Everyone’s here!”
“Depart!”
With a flourish of his sleeve, Jun Changxiao donned his sunglasses and strode toward the mountain gate.
Lu Qianqian, Li Qingyang, and other disciples followed closely behind. Because there were so many people and their aura was so strong, the scene was quite spectacular.
“Strange.”
Elder Wei said with a puzzled expression: “Couldn’t they just teleport out directly? Why must they lead the disciples out through the mountain gate?”
……
Crossing Heaven City.
Because it was the day the preliminaries began, the streets were packed with people.
In the city’s central district, the former registration point had temporarily erected competition platforms and spectator stands, with competitors successively going through entrance procedures.
“Alliance Leader Gu.”
Li Renfu, the Crossing Heaven Realm district supervisor, asked in confusion: “Where are the Eternal Sect people?”
“Don’t worry.”
Gu Tianxing, sitting in the highest-grade spectator section, said: “On the road.”
“Oh.”
Li Renfu paused briefly, then said: “Alliance Leader Gu, Li has something to say—I don’t know if I should mention it or not.”
“Speak.” Gu Tianxing said.
Li Renfu said: “The Universal Holy War is the highest-level genius competition in the entire upper universe. That Sect Master Jun you brought previously had so many disciples register—it’s really a bit frivolous.”
“Whether it’s frivolous or not, we’ll only know after they fight.”
Gu Tianxing also thought Jun Changxiao was being too careless, but since everyone had already registered and it was about to start, he could only choose to believe.
Moreover.
His son had left for these five years. Although he hadn’t broken through to Half-Step Heavenly Mystery, he had already stepped into Peak Truth-Seeking Realm, which made him firmly believe that the disciples Jun Changxiao cultivated, even if not all excellent, should at least produce a few outstanding geniuses, right?
Speaking of Gu Chaoxi, one had to mention that this guy’s realm and height had both skyrocketed.
Not long after birth, he was tempered by Gu Tianxing with various heavenly treasures, then focused on cultivation at the Eternal Sect for five years. Breaking through to this level was quite normal.
Regrettably.
He didn’t fulfill the promise he made when leaving the Crossing Heaven Realm.
This couldn’t be blamed on him. After all, even the core disciples had been stuck for five years.
If blame must be assigned, then blame Gou Sheng and the system—one for not using cheats, the other for not producing good items.
……
“Young Master Chu has arrived!”
Just then, a shout rang out from outside the venue, causing all kinds of martial artists to turn and look back.
“Whoosh!”
In their field of vision, six burly martial artists carried a luxurious palanquin flying through the air, then steadily stopped at the entrance.
“Alliance Leader Gu.”
Li Renfu hurriedly said: “Our Crossing Heaven Realm’s number one genius has arrived. I must go greet him.”
“Go ahead.”
Gu Tianxing nodded, looking at the brocade-robed man stepping out from the palanquin, thinking: “This youngster is stronger than he was a hundred years ago. I wonder if that Eternal Sect disciple named Ye Xingchen can defeat him?”
Chu Wange.
The Crossing Heaven Realm’s undisputed number one genius.
No matter what sword or blade came before, they were all little brothers compared to him.
Especially a hundred years ago at the Crossing Heaven Realm’s genius competition, he fought his way to the finals, defeating opponents of any level with one move, so he was also called Chu One-Move.
Unlike flow traffic geniuses like Gui Yuhuan, Chu Wange had both looks and strength—a genuine talented performer. Especially since he usually lived in deep seclusion, the martial world only had his legends but rarely saw him in person.
“No suspense.”
“Young Master Chu will definitely be first!”
“Other competitors can only compete for second place.”
“Not necessarily. Five years ago, that cold-faced young man could instantly defeat Gui Yuhuan. He’ll probably give Young Master Chu some trouble.”
“Tch. When Young Master Chu participated in the genius competition back then, he defeated everyone all the way to the finals and won the championship. How can that guy compare?”
After Chu Wange entered the competition venue, martial artists discussed him enthusiastically, their words filled with envy and admiration.
If a person is excellent, they might draw others’ jealousy. If a person is excellent to the extreme, they’ll only make others feel awe, even feel ashamed of their own inferiority.
“Thud thud thud!”
“Thud thud thud!”
Suddenly, thumping sounds came from the main street, startling passersby into dodging aside and turning back with astonished expressions.
Because the camera was placed on the ground, the lens faced the other end of the street. Accompanied by the Chaotic Era Giant Star BGM, heads first appeared, then iron-boned, clanging figures emerged, ultimately striding past the camera.
“Step!”
“Step!”
Lu Qianqian, Li Qingyang, Su Xiaomo, Xiao Zuiji, Ye Xingchen, He Wudi, and other disciples lined up in double rows at the entrance.
(Animators take note—you must use slow motion here. From when the Eternal Sect disciples appear until they stop, you must give close-ups of passersby and martial artists, keeping them frozen in shocked expressions throughout, otherwise the effect won’t work.)
“Whoosh!”
A cloak swept past the camera. Jun Changxiao, walking with Doflamingo’s gait to the rhythm, stopped in front of all the disciples. First, he removed his sunglasses and exhaled a smoke ring, then spread his legs wide and opened both arms with a strange laugh: “Today’s preliminaries—the Eternal Sect has booked the entire venue!”