As everyone stared at the Force Weapon, their eyes practically burning with desire, Bai Yuan made a decision no one had expected.
"Thank you for your generous offer, Lord Falling Rock. However... I must ask you to take this blade back."
The moment he spoke, the entire crowd fell silent.
Then a wave of astonished murmurs erupted.
"He refused! How could he refuse? That's a Fifth-Order Force Weapon!"
"Has Bai Yuan gone stupid from fighting? He's actually giving up such a great opportunity!"
"A fortune fell from the sky, and he didn't even reach out to catch it. I can't understand what he's thinking."
Bai Luoyan was also a little surprised. He asked, "What? You don't like this weapon?"
Bai Yuan hurried to explain, "Of course I do. It's just that this junior is unlearned and unworthy of such a generous gift."
"Haha, there's no need to be so reserved. You have excellent talent. Think of this blade as an investment in you," Bai Luoyan said with a laugh.
Bai Yuan's mind raced. Then he straightened his back and said with confidence, "Then I'll trouble you to keep it for me, senior. Once I break through to World Lord Level, I'll come to your door in person and claim this blade!"
At that, Bai Luoyan could no longer insist. He merely gave Bai Yuan a long look.
"Very well. I'll be waiting for you to come claim it."
With that, he left with Bai Luoyan and Bai Xingyun, their figures vanishing into the distance.
Bai Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. The others couldn't understand his thinking. Some thought he was overconfident in his talent, while others thought he simply had a screw loose.
Even Bai Guanren couldn't figure out what Bai Yuan was thinking.
Whoosh!
After Bai Luoyan left, the Universe Realm expert who had been overseeing the clan's competition appeared. He announced the end of the competition and displayed the final rankings on the sky-wide screen.
As expected, Bai Yuan's name stood at the very top.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission. Mission reward: 5 Epiphany Points]
Hearing the system's voice, Bai Yuan's expression brightened. What was a Fifth-Order Force Weapon compared with real, tangible Epiphany Points?
Afterward, several more Universe Realm experts appeared in turn. Some accepted disciples, while others recruited promising talents...
The square grew lively once more.
A stern-faced Universe Realm expert approached Bai Guanren. "Your talent is ordinary, but you're steadfast. You do have some redeeming qualities. I can accept you as an outer disciple. If you pass the trials I set, you may advance to an inner disciple, or even become my personal disciple."
"This disciple pays his respects to Master!" Bai Guanren said excitedly, bowing.
Even becoming an outer disciple exceeded his expectations. Plenty of people with greater talent than his had yet to earn the favor of a Universe Realm expert.
As for Bai Yuan, his second uncle, Bai Tianning, took him straight from the square.
Back in the palace, Bai Tianning looked solemn as he asked in a low voice:
"Why did you refuse Lord Falling Rock's kind offer?"
Bai Yuan smiled wryly and shook his head. "Of course I wanted that Fifth-Order Force Weapon he offered me. But why did he have to give it to me in front of everyone?"
"I'll break through to Planet Realm before long, then head out into the universe for 'adventure and training.' If I carry a Fifth-Order Force Weapon around, won't I be walking through the universe with a sign that says, 'Come rob me'?"
"If it were just a top-grade Third-Order Force Weapon or Force Armor, that would be one thing. But this is Fifth-Order! Even Universe Realm experts would covet it. Who can guarantee that no one would take the risk and ambush me along the way?"
He paused, then let out a long sigh and continued:
"If I die, will the Blade Clan launch a massive operation and spend time and effort hunting down the killer? And even if they wanted to investigate, where would they start in the boundless universe?"
"Could a World Lord Level expert, an old monster who's lived for who knows how many epochs, really be unaware of that?"
After hearing Bai Yuan's explanation, Bai Tianning wasn't surprised. Instead, he smiled with relief.
"I'm glad you thought it through. You handled yourself very cleverly today, and it's a real relief to me."
"If you'd accepted immediately, you might really have faced the danger you described. Even I couldn't guarantee I'd be able to protect you every moment."
"But if you'd refused outright, you would have insulted Lord Falling Rock. He would have had just as much reason to act against you, and the clan certainly wouldn't punish him for your sake."
Clearly, Bai Tianning had also seen the problem, and had even understood it more thoroughly than Bai Yuan.
Bai Yuan stared at him in surprise and hurriedly asked, "Second Uncle, are you saying... Lord Falling Rock might personally try to kill me? What have I ever done to him?"
Bai Tianning's expression was grave.
"Of course it's because of your talent. Your performance today was too dazzling, and you've become a threat to Bai Luoyan. My guess is that he originally planned to take you as his disciple. That way, he'd have complete control over what to do with you later."
"But he also knew your astonishing performance would surely attract Lord Madman's attention. Once Lord Madman stepped in, he wouldn't care even if you'd already become Lord Falling Rock's disciple."
"And as long as Lord Madman noticed you, Lord Falling Rock wouldn't dare act against you so easily."
The two very different ways he had referred to the men immediately piqued Bai Yuan's curiosity.
"Second Uncle, from the way you speak, you seem to have a grudge against Lord Falling Rock. I know about Lord Madman—he's the Blade Clan's second-strongest expert," Bai Yuan said slowly.
Bai Tianning smiled and corrected him. "He's not the second-strongest. He's the fifth-strongest. Be very careful not to get it wrong. Lord Madman cares a great deal about that."
"Ah... right. He is the fifth-strongest."
Lord Madman was the Blade Clan's fifth-strongest expert, but most people called him the second-strongest.
The reason was simple: the second-, third-, and fourth-strongest experts weren't members of the Blade Clan at all.
All three were followers of the Blade Clan's Immortal God from long ago.
Countless experts had followed the god into battle across the stars. Though the years had swept by and many of those followers had long since perished, thirteen still remained. All of them were now World Lord Level experts.
For Bai Kuangren to rise above one veteran World Lord after another and become the fifth-strongest was already an extraordinary feat. The Immortal God valued him highly as well.
For that reason, among the Blade Clan, who revered the strong, Bai Kuangren's standing was even higher than the clan leader's.
Returning to the point, Bai Tianning looked grave and lowered his voice:
"Just listen to what I'm about to tell you, and make sure you remember it."
"Back then, Lord Madman refused to become clan leader, so the ancestor had to choose between Lord Falling Rock and the current clan leader."
"During that period, it was said that the two of them competed over everything, both openly and behind the scenes."
"In the end, the current clan leader had a slight edge and took the position."
"But that's not why I dislike Lord Falling Rock. The real reason is that he couldn't accept defeat! Back then, he caused chaos on Blade Planet over it and even demanded a life-or-death duel with the clan leader. In the end, only the ancestor's personal intervention managed to settle the matter."
"That happened forty epochs ago, before I was born. I only learned about these secrets by chance, from a general."
Bai Yuan suddenly understood. Clearly, Lord Falling Rock still held a grudge over losing the clan leader's position all those years ago.
And now, his attempt to eliminate Bai Yuan was most likely to clear the path for Bai Luoyan.
Before you continue