Playing Too Big

Beneath the statues of Tianyan Academy, Lu Chen endured the pressure of countless wills. The furnace in his sea of qi hummed and trembled as all the incoming energy liquefied.

It was as though rain had begun to fall within the furnace of his sea of qi.

The instant it fell, it flowed into the sphere at the center.

Lu Chen's aura rose steadily, wave after wave.

Xiong Yao and Fang Jiuding were also cultivating within it.

The aura of the Golden Core Realm collided with the statues' wills, constantly stirring up vortices of energy.

Lu Chen suddenly raised his head.

A sound of something tearing through the air suddenly came from outside Tianyan Academy.

A Bronze Chariot drawn by nine Crimson Scale Beasts crushed through the clouds. The "Tianyu" battle flag planted upon its shaft snapped violently in the wind.

The carriage curtain lifted, and a purple-robed young man stepped out at an unhurried pace. Spiritual energy condensed beneath his feet into stairs, and every step he took sent stones tumbling down the mountainside.

"Lu Chen, come out!" The young man stood with his hands behind his back, his voice shaking the clouds.

Lu Chen's gaze turned cold.

Tianyu Academy really did not know the meaning of keeping a low profile.

Last time, they had sent nine Azure Luan birds to their deaths. Now it was nine Crimson Scale Beasts. What, were extra heads supposed to make them impressive?

"If you have something to say, spit it out. Don't delay your grandpa's cultivation!"

Xiao Chen snorted coldly. "Come back to Tianyu Academy with me and receive your punishment!"

"What a big mouth. Look above your head—your bird has been blown into the sky!"

Pfft! Pfft!

Xiong Yao and Fang Jiuding both sprayed blood.

That tongue was truly venomous!

"You're courting death!" Xiao Chen's face darkened, ferocity flashing in his eyes. He raised his sword, and Sword Qi shot into the heavens.

"Set up the arena!"

Rumble...

The ground beyond the mountain shook, and an enormous arena rose with a thunderous crash.

The Tianyu disciples who had followed him brought out the arena they had prepared.

"Come out and fight! Do you dare?" Xiao Chen roared.

Lu Chen sneered. "You say fight, so we fight? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Don't dare? Tianyan's trash indeed only knows how to cower. Hmph!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight..."

The roars of Tianyu disciples rang out beyond the sect gates.

Lu Chen rose and slowly walked out from the cluster of statues. He glanced back, a faint flicker passing through his eyes.

He looked at Xiao Chen and said, "We can fight. See those will statues? I do not ask for much—I'll wager six of them!"

"Get your ass up here!"

Xiao Chen landed on the arena and shouted.

"Where are your statues?" Lu Chen sneered.

"You think you can beat me? What a joke!"

"And if I win? Oh, I get it. You do not have the ability to bring out any statues. Get lost!"

"What a fine move of advancing in order to retreat!" Xiao Chen shouted furiously.

"If you have the skill, bring out the statues. If you cannot, then get lost. A piece of trash no one values, coming here to seek a sense of existence? Not happening!"

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft...

Many people were provoked badly.

If he did not dare to fight, then he did not dare to fight, yet he made it sound so grand and righteous.

"Fine, we'll wager! Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Xiao Chen said coldly.

"Agreed!" A voice came from the depths of the sky.

Old Ancestor Tianyan's figure suddenly appeared above the ruined hall. "Since that is the case, wager!"

He slammed his wine gourd against the ground. "Those above the third level of the Golden Core Realm are forbidden from entering. Anyone who violates this, this old man will crush to death!"

His voice carried divine might as it swept outward, and several divine senses spying from the clouds hurriedly retreated.

Very soon, six statues were brought to the foot of the mountain.

An old man led them.

"Let's begin!" The other party had just been about to salute Old Ancestor Tianyan when Old Ancestor Tianyan ignored him. With a wave of his hand, the turbulent currents of will before the mountain gates vanished, and Lu Chen strolled out with the Soul Severing Saber over his shoulder.

The saber tip dragged across the bluestone, scraping out a trail of sparks.

The war drums sounded, and Lu Chen stepped onto the arena.

Xiao Chen ran two fingers across his sword sheath, and nine sword souls emerged one after another, forming a Big Dipper formation in the air.

Before the Sword Qi had even been released, the ancient trees around them had already been severed at the waist, their cuts smooth as mirrors.

"This is Tianyu's Seven Star Sword Array. Please enlighten me."

He pointed with two fingers like a sword, and it transformed into an Azure Dragon a hundred zhang long that lunged straight at Lu Chen's face.

Lu Chen retreated rapidly, riding wind and thunder beneath his feet, while summoning his clone's furnace.

He did not want to expose his true trump card.

The furnace spun, swallowing all the Sword Qi.

"Trivial tricks!"

Xiao Chen changed his sword seal, sending out both swords at once.

Twin dragons of ice and fire entwined with each other. Wherever they passed, even the air froze and burned.

Boom!

The furnace outside Lu Chen's body met the attack head-on and barely held it back, though cracks had already spread across its surface.

One of Lu Chen's clones suddenly appeared in a blind spot of the battle formation, the saber aura of the Soul Severing Saber surging wildly.

"Explode!"

The saber aura detonated at his command. Xiao Chen's protective Spiritual Light trembled violently, and his expression changed drastically.

A clone. This bastard really did have a clone.

Seizing the instant his movements slowed, the furnace outside Lu Chen's body swelled like a small mountain and sucked the remaining six sword souls into its depths!

"Take them back!" The furnace mouth flipped over, firing back the tainted black sword light.

Xiao Chen hurriedly formed a hand seal, only to find that the sword light's trajectory was strange and impossible to predict. The Seven Star formation instead trapped him within it.

One wrong move, and the whole game was lost.

The instant the saber force broke through his protective Spiritual Light, the jade pendant at Xiao Chen's waist suddenly lit up.

A barrier of magical power barely blocked the fatal strike, but his defeat had already been decided.

Xiao Chen stared at the sword light collapsing into pieces, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of heart's blood.

The Immortal Binding Rope flew from Old Ancestor Tianyan's sleeve and rolled the statues back.

When the damaged Saber Venerable Statue landed within the mountain gates, all eighteen existing statues trembled in unison. Vast Martial Dao Will soared into the sky, lighting Yanjing's night sky as bright as day.

Pfft!

Unable to bear the blow, Xiao Chen directly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Especially when he saw the expression on the supervising elder's face, his heart filled with dread.

This had gotten out of hand.

Six will statues!

The other disciples stood there as if struck by lightning, all wearing utterly bewildered expressions.

They had lost!

Their senior brother at the third level of the Golden Core Realm had lost to someone at the Eighth Level of the Qi Surge Realm.

Many Foundation Establishment Realm disciples could not help but shudder.

There were many people present who had wanted to find a sense of existence through Lu Chen.

Even Senior Brother Xiao had lost. What did they count for?

"Anyone at the third level of the Golden Core Realm may come up and challenge me. This time, I won't ask for much—just wager one statue. Do you dare?"

Lu Chen looked at the old man.

"Return!" the old man shouted coldly, turning away with a grim expression.

Xiao Chen had been careless, but had he not been as well?

Even with the Seven Star battle formation supporting him, he had still fucking lost.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you running? The fourth level is fine too!"

The old man abruptly turned around. "Really?"

"Really!"

"Wager three statues!"

"Three it is." Lu Chen smiled.

"Call Wan Tong here!" the old man roared.

"Don't forget the statues!" Lu Chen added.

"This has gotten out of hand!" Xiong Yao swayed.

"Wan Tong is a freak. Junior Brother is finished!" Fang Jiuding's expression changed slightly as well. He secretly glanced at the Old Ancestor and found his expression calm and unruffled.

Little did he know, the old man was practically dying of excitement.

It was one thing for Lu Chen's combat strength to be monstrous, but more importantly, he had the temperament to drag his opponents step by step into the abyss. The academy desperately needed someone like that.

Of course, Tianyu Academy's own arrogant mindset had also played a part.

A moment later, a figure shot over from the distance. Before he even arrived, a savage aura rushed toward them.

Like that of a ferocious beast.

The instant Wan Tong stepped onto the arena, the mountains seemed to have been trampled by a giant beast, and the bluestone slabs cracked inch by inch.

He was built like an iron tower, veins twisting across his bare arms. With every step, Gale Force surged from his pores, condensing behind him into a three-headed, six-armed Asura phantom.

"A mere Qi Surge Realm cultivator dares to shout so loudly?" Wan Tong grinned viciously. His right fist suddenly tripled in size, smashing down with terrifying Gale Force.

Lu Chen's pupils shrank sharply, and the furnace outside his body swelled in response.

Dim light flickered from the furnace mouth as it tore the Asura Gale Force into fragments and devoured it.

The returned energy poured into his meridians like molten lava, and the saber aura of the Soul Severing Saber shone as brightly as the blazing sun.

"Take it back!"

The saber aura transformed into a blood-colored phoenix that spread its wings and lunged forward.

Blood Qi Mimicry—the ability Lu Chen had gained at the seventh level of the Qi Surge Realm.

Yet Wan Tong neither dodged nor evaded, raising his left arm to block.

The phoenix phantom crashed into his bronze-colored skin, erupting with a thunderous clang of metal striking metal.

This fellow had actually tempered his body until it was comparable to a spiritual artifact!

"Just scratching an itch." Wan Tong slammed his fists together, and all six arms of the Asura phantom swung at once.

Fists filled the sky like a rain of meteors. The arena barrier exploded with a crash, and the watching Tianyu disciples hurriedly retreated.