Junior Brother Lu Was an Expert After All

"Taiyuan, there seems to be something unusual about this disciple of yours..."

Grandmaster Chen, leader of the Martial Dao Alliance, had also expected a one-sided contest with no suspense. But the instant Lu Changsheng drew his sword, his imposing presence began to climb, and Grandmaster Chen gradually became visibly moved.

Lu Changsheng was not as simple as he had imagined!

"Hmm?"

The expressions of the Boundless Temple's abbot, High Person Wuxiang; the Artifact Refinement Sect's Grandmaster Lu; Crouching Dragon Temple's Yu Xuanji; and Ask Immortal Pavilion's Fairy Su all changed subtly.

Lu Changsheng's presence was actually climbing all the while!

"Dao Palace Realm Second Layer!"

"Dao Palace Realm, Third Layer!"

"Fourth Layer of the Dao Palace Realm!"

Grandmaster Chen was utterly astonished. Lu Changsheng's cultivation had continued rising until it reached the Fourth Layer of the Dao Palace Realm, only then coming to an abrupt stop!

"What is going on? Young Friend Lu's presence is rising so quickly?"

Sensing the change in Lu Changsheng's presence, Elder Kumu sprang to his feet in surprise.

Five years ago, when Elder Kumu had led a team on a mission to Desolate Province, Lu Changsheng had only been at the Dao Palace Realm, First Layer.

Only five years had passed, and Lu Changsheng's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds?

"Could he be a monstrous, peerless genius like the Holy Maiden?"

Elder Kumu's heart jolted. Could two peerless geniuses burst onto the scene in the same era?

"Impossible! Five years ago, his cultivation was lower than mine!"

Elder Luo Feng was even more shocked.

In just five years, Lu Changsheng's cultivation had surpassed his, leaving him far behind!

"His cultivation is the same as the Holy Maiden's!"

"This is bad. Mount Shu kept a trump card up its sleeve!"

"Now it's hard to say who will win."

The smiles of Ask Immortal Pavilion's formerly confident elders gradually froze.

With both of them at the Fourth Layer of the Dao Palace Realm, the outcome was hard to predict.

Compared with the people of Ask Immortal Pavilion, who were gradually falling silent, the Mount Shu elders were pleasantly surprised.

"So Junior Brother Lu has been hiding his cultivation all along."

"Junior Brother Lu previously spent a hundred years in seclusion. It turns out he had already reached the Dao Palace Realm."

"Junior Brother Lu is truly low-key. He reached such a realm and never breathed a word. If not for this contest, he might have kept hiding it. If I had that kind of cultivation, I'd want everyone in the streets and alleys to know."

"That's the difference between you and Junior Brother Lu."

"Junior Brother Lu has cultivated for more than two hundred and fifty years, and he's nearly caught up to me, his senior brother, who has cultivated for three hundred and twenty. I'm truly ashamed."

"This time, our Mount Shu might not lose!"

"Hmph, I told you my master wouldn't lose."

"Little fellow, you win this time."

Excitement spread through the Mount Shu people. The cultivation Lu Changsheng had shown at the Fourth Layer of the Dao Palace Realm had given them hope.

"Taiyuan, you schemed against me."

The Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion looked displeased.

She had thought victory was firmly in her grasp and that she could embarrass Taiyuan True Person. But his youngest disciple had concealed his true cultivation, revealing it only at the most critical moment. As a result, even the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion found it difficult to predict what would happen next.

"Even I did not expect this disciple of mine to cultivate so quickly."

Not to mention the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion, even Taiyuan True Person was surprised by the cultivation Lu Changsheng had displayed.

He did not even know when his disciple had reached the Fourth Layer of the Dao Palace Realm.

On the Martial Platform, Xia Ningxue was slightly surprised by the cultivation Lu Changsheng had displayed, but she quickly regained her composure. "I knew you weren't that simple. But I won't lose. Heaven is private in the extreme; its workings are public in the extreme. The governance of fate lies in Qi..."

Xia Ningxue silently recited the mnemonic of the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Art. An icy chill spread rapidly, the temperature plummeted, and the entire Martial Platform quickly froze over.

"Her Supreme Forgetting Emotions Art has actually reached the Fifth Layer. This woman is far too terrifying."

Grandmaster Chen of the Martial Dao Alliance was moved once again.

Among the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion's many personal disciples, only her second disciple, Xiao Menger, had reached the Sixth Layer. Even her eldest disciple, Zeng Yeqiu, was only at the Fifth Layer, yet Xia Ningxue's internal cultivation art had already reached the same realm as her eldest senior sister's!

"She is a peerless genius who walks the path of longevity. Although that boy Lu Changsheng hid his cultivation, it took him more than two hundred years to reach the Fourth Layer of the Dao Palace Realm. The difference between him and my disciple is still as vast as heaven and earth."

The Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion watched the contest, still believing that Xia Ningxue would win.

Lu Changsheng held the Nine Heavens Thunder-Controlling Sword, but he had yet to use his full strength. He was first using the cultivation of the Fourth Layer of the Dao Palace Realm to probe Xia Ningxue's capabilities.

The Taiqing Wuji Art circulated. Lu Changsheng had already fully comprehended its Fifth Layer, enough to contend with the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Art.

Lu Changsheng's Daoist robes flapped. True Qi formed a taiji pattern that slowly revolved around him, blocking the icy chill.

"The Taiqing Wuji Art? Isn't that your Mount Shu's Sect-Defending Cultivation Method?"

"After that incident back then, the previous Mount Shu Sect Master decreed that the Taiqing Wuji Art could only be taught to the Grand Supreme Elders, the sect master, and candidates for sect master. I didn't expect you to break your master's rule and teach it to your youngest disciple."

The sect masters of Ask Immortal Pavilion, the Martial Dao Alliance, and the Boundless Temple, among others, all turned to Taiyuan True Person as if by prior agreement.

Taiyuan True Person smiled bitterly. He had never taught Lu Changsheng the Taiqing Wuji Art, nor did he know how Lu Changsheng had cultivated it to the Fifth Layer.

"The Taiqing Wuji Art against the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Art, and the two of them have similar cultivation. Now there's a good show to watch."

The elders of the Six Great Orthodox Sects watched the final showdown with taut nerves.

One was Mount Shu's Sect-Defending Cultivation Method; the other was Ask Immortal Pavilion's forbidden ultimate art!

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!"

Lu Changsheng swung his sword, using the high-grade Earth-rank cultivation method Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect. Spirit swords condensed from Spiritual Qi appeared in the air, packed densely together, a full ten thousand of them!

Every spirit sword radiated astonishing pressure. Sword Qi carved crisscrossing furrows through the ice on the Martial Platform.

"Go!"

Lu Changsheng pointed his sword, and the ten thousand spirit swords flew toward Xia Ningxue, swift as lightning.

"Frost Sword Domain!"

Xia Ningxue formed a sword gesture with her left hand and swung her sword with her right. Streams of icy Sword Qi crisscrossed, and the air condensed into a thick layer of ice.

The ten thousand spirit swords bombarded the ice, shattering it and sending fragments flying.

"Near at Hand, Far Away!"

Xia Ningxue silently recited the mnemonic and appeared before Lu Changsheng in an instant. Her devastatingly beautiful face flashed into view, but a three-foot cold blade followed.

What a fast sword!

Lu Changsheng immediately changed his sword move, reversing his blade to block Xia Ningxue's sword.

The Taiqing Wuji Art circulated rapidly, keeping the cold at bay.

The two matched sword techniques, Sword Qi soaring into the sky as one black and one white figure clashed rapidly across the Martial Platform.

Xia Ningxue was a formidable opponent. Lu Changsheng activated the Nine Heavens Thunder-Controlling Sword, and lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Dark clouds gathered over Misty Peak, silver serpents dancing wildly among them.

"An Innate Spirit Treasure?!"

"Junior Brother Lu actually has such a Law Treasure!"

"Junior Brother Lu is an expert after all. I might not even be a match for him."

Zhao Wuyan saw the black clouds blotting out the sky. With the Taiqing Wuji Art and an Innate Spirit Treasure at Lu Changsheng's disposal, even Zhao Wuyan had no confidence in defeating this low-key junior brother.