Free Web NovelChapter 327: Chapter 327: Invincible, So Lonely
The seventh opponent, a wiry-bearded man who wielded dual blades, had just been boasting about his "Eighteen River-Breaking Slashes" from below the stage. Now, his face was ashen, and beads of sweat rolled down a scar. "Daoist... Daoist Master Xu, please be merciful... I surrender!"
Boos erupted from the crowd below.
The old veterans of the Seventy-Two Districts whispered among themselves, "Shameless. The sheer pressure of the Great Success of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm, combined with so many Divine Weapons... This isn’t a martial arts competition. It’s a tiger taking a stroll through a sheep pen!"
To be frank, it was just stomping on noobs.
Smurfing in the Newbie Village.
"Sir, do you wish to continue?"
To advance in the Seventy-Two Districts tournament, one had to fight ten matches and win seven. Xu Yunfan had already fought seven, leaving three more to go.
"Continue."
Xu Yunfan replied coolly.
"Next match!"
The Steward’s voice was already laced with numbness.
The eighth opponent, a Swordsman of considerable skill, had just leaped onto the stage when his sword suddenly went ZING! It slid half an inch from its sheath on its own, the blade trembling frantically as it pointed at the Dragon-Swallowing Mace.
His Cyan Blade Sword, which he had carefully nurtured for ten years, was actually showing fear under the oppressive might of a Divine Weapon!
"I..."
The Swordsman’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He clasped his fists in a bitter salute. "I surrender."
Staring at the once-again empty stage, Xu Yunfan suddenly understood why Dugu Jiu had challenged the Thirty-Six Sects all those years ago.
’So this is the loneliness of being invincible.’
"..."
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"Why would that Xu Yunfan show up at the arenas in the Seventy-Two Districts?"
In a side hall of the Imperial Examination Hall, Lo Qingyang, a True Disciple of the Profound Daoist Sect, held a freshly delivered battle report, his sword-like eyebrows knitting together.
The other young prodigies from top sects beside him all wore strange expressions upon hearing this.
"He’s armed with four Divine Weapons, yet he’s slumming it in a place like the Seventy-Two Districts. He comes from a servant background, after all. He’ll never be fit for polite society."
The True Disciple from the Jiuyao Sect sneered, snapping his folding fan shut with a SHWAP. "Is the Taoist Sect trying to humiliate all the Wandering Cultivators, or does this Xu Zhenchuan have some kind of peculiar hobby?"
Although his Jiuyao Sect’s gates had been breached, they were still a major power. They were currently locked in a stalemate with Daqian in Yanbei Dao. Having recently hired a few Ninth Realm experts to aid their cause, they were on the verge of reclaiming their sect’s entrance.
No matter how far they had fallen, with seven Nine Realms Qi Cultivation Supreme Grandmasters watching over them, the Jiuyao Sect would always have a place among the Six Great Sects of Da Zhou.
The crisp clinking of jade pendants sounded from a corner of the hall.
The young lady from Penglai Pavilion, the one wearing the Star Heart Inquiry Bell, gently touched her temple, her gaze as tranquil as water. "I heard that a month ago at Changfeng Tavern, Fellow Daoist Xu crippled the Sword Pavilion’s Third Elder with just three strikes of his mace. A man like that..."
A hint of surprise crossed her face. "Why would he stoop so low as to deal with Mortal Wanderers who haven’t even reached the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm?"
The monk from Mituo Temple, who had been circulating his energy with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. "The Taoist Sect is using the arena to build his momentum."
His rough fingers stroked his sandalwood Prayer Beads. "The Seventy-Two Districts may be crude, but it is a place where the ’dragons and snakes’ of Jade Capital converge. With every match Xu Yunfan wins, his aura grows stronger. After all, even among those of us in the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm, he is considered exceptional..."
As he said this, the monk couldn’t help but crack a smile. "He wants to cultivate an aura of invincibility to overwhelm us."
The color drained from everyone’s faces at his words.
Lo Qingyang shot to his feet. If that was true, by the time Xu Yunfan fought his way to the Imperial Examination Hall, he would have already used the defeats of other Martial Artists as kindling, forging his momentum into something terrifying.
The young lady from Penglai Pavilion chuckled, unconcerned.
"Only the weak build their strength upon the weak."
"..."
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Jian Nan Dao, Yu Huan State, atop the Taoist Sect’s Qingwei Mountain.
Eighteen Gilded Copper Pillars thrust up from the ground, each one wrapped in complex Daoist Runes that shimmered with a dark golden light in the noon sun.
The pillars were arranged according to the positions of the Stars of the Celestial Sphere. The Spirit-Guiding Beads inlaid at their peaks were among the Taoist Sect’s most profound treasures, and at this very moment, they were pulsing, drawing in the Spiritual Qi gathered from the eighteen Earth Veins of Yu Huan State.
At the center of the Magic Altar, a nine-tiered Profound Jade Platform rose like a mountain, every step inscribed with the secret Talismans of the Daoist Sect.
Atop the highest tier, on a Tai Chi Yin Yang Fish pattern, sat three Bronze Cauldrons.
The cerulean smoke from the burning Dragon Saliva Fragrance within the cauldrons rose a thousand feet into the air, remaining solid and undispersed.
"Sect Leader, the Magic Altar has been erected."
Daoist Purple Mirror, the Peak Leader of Liuyun Peak, ascended the steps, the hem of his Daoist robe stirring in a nonexistent wind.
Behind him, twelve Steward Disciples were adjusting the arrangement of the Magic Altar, not daring to show the slightest bit of carelessness.
The establishment of the Daoist Sect’s Magic Altar was a prerequisite for the Luotian Grand Sacrifice, so there was no room for error.
Bi Yuan stood at the edge of the Profound Jade Platform, hands clasped behind his back, fingers stroking the ancient scroll Cui Yu had sent him: the Profound Celestial Treasure Talisman. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"Yunfan has started his matches, hasn’t he?"
Bi Yuan asked without turning his head, his gaze still fixed on the churning sea of clouds before him.
Daoist Purple Mirror nodded. "A message arrived by falcon. An hour ago, he had already fought seven consecutive matches, winning every single one..."
As he said this, the corner of the usually stern Peak Leader’s mouth twitched.
Any Inner Sect Disciple from the Taoist Sect could have swept the arenas of the Seventy-Two Districts, a place for Wandering Cultivators to scrap and claw their way up. So what did that say for Xu Yunfan, a man who could go head-to-head with a Grandmaster of the Organ Cultivation Realm?
Bi Yuan suddenly chuckled and looked up at the sky, which was beginning to turn purple.
"As long as he’s winning, it’s fine."
He paused, his expression turning serious. "There is no time to lose. Open the altar, guide the stars, and rouse the veins!"
The moment Bi Yuan finished speaking, wind and clouds surged violently atop Qingwei Mountain.
Three Supreme Elders in black, star-patterned Daoist robes emerged from the sea of clouds, stepping on the air itself. As their robes fluttered, the Gang Qi around their bodies condensed into a tangible, illusory Cloud Pattern of the Daoist Sect, faintly forming the image of a green lotus.
This was the Stepping in the Air Secret Martial Arts, unique to the Nine Realms Qi Cultivation Grandmasters of the Taoist Sect: Lotuses Blooming with Every Step.
The Gang Wind howled atop the peak, whipping Elder Chang Mei’s snow-white beard and hair about wildly.
His deep, abyssal gaze swept over Bi Yuan, and he let out an ambiguous snort. His withered fingers tightened within his sleeves, and the eighteen Gilded Copper Pillars trembled in response. The Runes on their surfaces flickered erratically as the surrounding Spiritual Qi rushed into them, a clear display of the Supreme Elder’s displeasure.
Bi Yuan gave a wry smile and bowed, clasping his hands. "I must trouble my martial uncles."
"To take advantage of the revival of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to forcibly initiate the Luotian Grand Sacrifice and siphon the life force of the Great Zhou Dragon Vein..."
The elder’s voice was like clanging metal, each word making the Profound Jade Platform hum. "Do you have any idea how many years of the Taoist Sect’s accumulated karmic virtue this will cost?"
Bi Yuan bowed deeply. "This disciple is ashamed."
But as he straightened up, a crimson-gold light flashed in his eyes, his expression resolute. "But the Celestial Demons are about to descend. These are extraordinary times... Xu Yunfan carries great Destiny. He represents a glimmer of hope."
Elder Chang Mei said flatly, "The Sect Leader has Three Edicts. You have already used two. There is one left. After you use it, I’m afraid you will have to abdicate."
"I will naturally abdicate the position of Sect Leader."
Bi Yuan replied without a moment’s hesitation, his voice as steady as the ageless, unmelted snow on the summit.
The three Supreme Elders were all taken aback.
A white-haired old woman beside them lifted her cane slightly and said coolly, "That’s enough. Why pressure him? If it weren’t for little Yuan, would any of us have lived this long? Let’s just see if they can forge a new path..."
Elder Chang Mei gave Bi Yuan a deep look, then suddenly formed a sword-hand and pointed to the east.
"Open the altar!"
This command held not a trace of his earlier displeasure, but instead resonated with a grim finality.
