Li Wangxian and the others had only just left the city and had yet to set off for the Ninefold Thunder Domain when they saw numerous cultivators calling to their friends, heading excitedly toward the thunder domain in twos and threes.
Before they could approach anyone to ask, the cultivators blurted out the news.
"Saint Sons are going to duel outside the Ninefold Thunder Domain!"
"Really? Which two Saint Sons are fighting?"
The few cultivators who had not heard the news grew excited too and hurriedly pressed for details.
"Ye Liuyun of the Azure Heaven Gate and a Saint Son of the Longevity Temple."
A cultivator in the know spoke up, and the moment his words fell, a clamor erupted outside Thunder City.
"What? We'll get to see Daoist Sanque fight today?"
Someone cried out in astonishment, his voice so loud that it even carried into the city, stirring towering waves of commotion.
Daoist Sanque, the Divine Son of the Longevity Temple in Nether Ridge, was a prodigy renowned throughout Ziwei! His astonishing talent was widely believed to mark him as a potential emperor.
How could people not be astonished when such an unrivaled prodigy, someone with hopes of walking the emperor road, was about to display his matchless combat prowess here?
Some cultivators still remembered how, several years earlier, Daoist Sanque had ventured out to temper himself in the Four Extremes realm. Hostile powers, unwilling to let this terrifying young man with an emperor's potential grow, had secretly dispatched numerous older Dragon Transformation Realm cultivators to eliminate him.
Yet he had slain many Dragon Transformation Realm experts despite the disparity in their realms and successfully escaped. The Longevity Temple's subsequent reckoning had stirred boundless turmoil across the Ziwei Ancient Star.
Now that this young man, who had once whipped up endless storms and dazzled all of Ziwei, was about to fight here, how could people not look forward to it?
The place seethed with excitement. Everyone brimmed with anticipation, wishing they could fly straight to the thunder domain to witness a battle destined to shake the Ziwei Ancient Star.
Even Li Wangxian felt a measure of interest, though throughout the Ziwei Star Domain, he regarded no one as an opponent except Yin Tiande, who had yet to formally emerge into the world.
Still, Daoist Sanque and Lu Ya were rare outstanding talents who had attained the Seven Prohibitions. They certainly could not be called weak. And if Three Souls United turned Sanque into Daoist Wuqian, perhaps he truly could reach the Eight Prohibitions?
Just then, however, the informed cultivator who had announced which two Saint Sons would duel threw a bucket of cold water over everyone. "Well, perhaps this humble Daoist misspoke. It is indeed a Saint Son of the Longevity Temple fighting Ye Liuyun of the Azure Heaven Gate, but it isn't Daoist Sanque."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you actually know anything? Everyone on the Ziwei Ancient Star knows the Longevity Temple's Saint Son is Daoist Sanque." Someone voiced his displeasure, finding the man rather unreliable.
"Naturally, this humble Daoist knows that Daoist Sanque is the Longevity Temple's Saint Son, but that doesn't mean the temple has no other 'Saint Sons.'"
At those words, some of the better-informed cultivators jolted as something occurred to them.
"No, the Longevity Temple does indeed have another Saint Son: Xu Sheng, who once competed with Daoist Sanque for the Saint Son position when they were both Candidate Saint Sons, and lost."
"Heavens, it's Xu Sheng! Of course, if it's him, which Saint Son would he be weaker than? He only lost because his opponent was Daoist Sanque!"
A clamor rose through the crowd. Some now recalled the name Xu Sheng, a "Saint Son" born at the wrong time who had also shone upon the Ziwei Ancient Star and left behind many celebrated tales.
He was certainly no weaker than any other Saint Son, but he had encountered an outstanding talent like Daoist Sanque, someone with hopes of walking the emperor road. Thoroughly suppressed, he could only fade from the stage, and by now, many had long since forgotten him.
People knew only that the Longevity Temple in Nether Ridge had a stunningly gifted Saint Son, Daoist Sanque. They did not remember that someone named Xu Sheng had once competed against him, even though Xu Sheng was not the slightest bit weaker than other Saint Sons.
After listening to the discussion and learning that it was not Daoist Sanque fighting, Li Wangxian actually grew more interested.
The Ninefold Thunder Domain was not far from Thunder City. At a cultivator's flying speed, it took little time to reach. The crowd, flying along while enjoying the gossip, soon arrived outside the thunder domain and saw the two men who were about to duel.
Two young men stood facing each other in midair. Both were young experts at Four Extremes Perfection, and terrifying auras poured from them as they confronted one another.
"Xu Sheng, you reached Four Extremes Perfection several years ago, yet you still haven't entered Dragon Transformation. Did losing to Daoist Sanque shatter your Dao heart, leaving you a cripple with no hope of advancing?"
Clad in the Azure Sky and White Sun Robe, Ye Liuyun challenged his opponent without the slightest courtesy.
Dressed in gray, Xu Sheng stood calmly in the air. Beneath his bald head, his expression did not waver at his opponent's attempt to strike at his heart.
Wait, bald?
Quite a few cultivators rubbed their eyes and looked again. It was still a completely bald head. Wasn't the Longevity Temple a Daoist temple? Why was Xu Sheng bald?
And those gray clothes looked very much like an ascetic monk's robes!
Many sucked in a breath. Every cultivator present was stunned. Could it really be as Ye Liuyun had said? Had defeat at Daoist Sanque's hands shattered Xu Sheng's Dao heart? Had he even taken refuge in Buddhism?
Was that really the case?
Li Wangxian studied the gray-clad young man closely, then smiled. All he saw was resolve, without the slightest trace of dejection or despair.
"Xu Sheng isn't that fragile. He's bald because he spends year after year tempering himself in the thunder domain. His hair couldn't grow back as quickly as the lightning destroyed it, so he simply shaved it all off."
An old man who lived in Thunder City knew the circumstances and offered this explanation.
"That's right. His Dao heart is harder than iron. After losing to Daoist Sanque, he reflected deeply on that painful defeat and concluded that he had cultivated too quickly in his earlier years, leaving his reserves insufficient. He had not undergone the baptism of Heavenly Tribulation in the Four Extremes realm, and that was why he lost to Daoist Sanque.
"So he came to the Ninefold Thunder Domain to cultivate painstakingly. Time and again, he risked death to force his way into deeper layers of the thunder domain, seeking only the fiercest tempering so that he could forge the strongest Dao Foundation and fight Daoist Sanque again."
Another cultivator revealed this great secret, leaving many breathing rapidly with excitement. It meant that before long, another contest for the Saint Son position might erupt within the Longevity Temple in Nether Ridge.
Ye Liuyun had heard these words too. Two chilling gleams flashed in his eyes as he barked, "You stopped me to test your combat strength? What do you take me for?"
Those who had arrived later were shocked by his words. So Xu Sheng had sought out Ye Liuyun, bringing about this impending battle between Saint Sons.
The cultivators who had witnessed the encounter from the beginning also saw the light. No wonder they had never heard of any grudge between the two, yet Xu Sheng had suddenly stopped Ye Liuyun and challenged him. He wanted to use a Saint Son to gauge his combat strength.
At that thought, dread stirred in everyone's hearts. Just how powerful had he become, to be so confident that he dared use a Saint Son to test the fruits of his efforts?
The author is a slow typist, so this is the only chapter today.
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