Chapter 293 - 290: Battle of the Prodigies
"Stay your hand, sir!"
A hearty voice rang out, drowning out all the surrounding chatter and echoing across the square.
The white-robed youth’s brow furrowed slightly.
He turned his head,
only to see a young figure in a long, green robe leap up from a short distance away and land in the square.
The surrounding clamor,
for a moment, actually quieted down.
Nearly every eye in the vicinity focused on him.
The newcomer was none other than Shen Changchuan!
At this very moment,
seeing Shen Changchuan appear, the Outer Disciples of the Dragon Cloud Sect—who had once viewed him as a rival—felt a sense of relief wash over them.
Further back,
Li Qing stood amidst the crowd, his expression complex.
Shen Changchuan was only here because of him. Ten days ago, after being encouraged by Elder Hong in this very square, Li Qing had once again resolved to issue a challenge...
A short while ago,
he had worked up the courage to seek out Shen Changchuan.
He wanted to witness the gap between them for himself...
When Shen Changchuan heard from him that someone had come to the sect with a challenge,
he decided to come have a look.
And so, he had left his seclusion and come here.
’Can he win...?’
A sliver of worry couldn’t help but flash through Li Qing’s mind.
This was especially true because it was his own lingering ambition that had prompted Shen Changchuan to leave seclusion, ultimately leading him here to face the youth in white...
Since he hadn’t been present earlier,
he hadn’t witnessed the white-robed youth in action.
But judging from the reactions and chatter of the crowd,
his opponent was clearly no slouch.
At this moment,
Shen Changchuan’s appearance sent another stir through the crowd.
Many people began to whisper amongst themselves, their discussions buzzing.
What no one noticed was that,
up on the high platform,
Master Wandering Dragon’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
’Didn’t I just tell him to go back into seclusion to polish his Cultivation Realm ten days ago?’
’Why is he here?’
According to his original plan,
he hadn’t intended for Shen Changchuan to get involved in this matter.
After all, the disparity was plain to see.
Besides, Shen Changchuan had only just advanced to Soul Emergence. If his mood fluctuated too dramatically, he might be unlucky enough to have his Realm drop.
There was no need for him to appear and fight that kid.
That’s why he had arranged for Shen Changchuan to return to seclusion and polish his Cultivation Realm,
so he could bypass this incident entirely.
He just never expected that,
due to some unforeseen circumstance,
Shen Changchuan would come anyway.
’So be it. I’ll let events unfold as they will.’
Master Wandering Dragon sighed inwardly and shook his head.
But even though he was reluctant to see Shen Changchuan step forward,
he didn’t say anything to stop him.
He had never been the type of overbearing master who forced his disciples to walk the path he laid out for them.
Compared to those masters with extreme control issues, who regulated nearly every move their disciples made,
he was more inclined to let his disciples make their own decisions.
Take, for example, Shen Changchuan’s decision to condense a Divine Seed while advancing to Soul Emergence.
At first, he had been very pessimistic about Shen Changchuan’s chances of condensing a Divine Seed,
believing it would be a complete waste of at least several years of his time.
But his disapproval was one thing;
once Shen Changchuan had made his choice,
Master Wandering Dragon didn’t try to stop him. He even provided as much help as he could.
He allowed Shen Changchuan to continue down that path.
It was the same now.
Since Shen Changchuan had appeared here,
it meant he had already made up his mind.
Master Wandering Dragon had no intention of interfering with his disciple’s decision.
This was a principle Master Wandering Dragon had always upheld.
As a master,
his most important duties were to teach and to guide.
One’s life,
was one’s own responsibility.
’I just hope he won’t be utterly crushed by defeat...’
Master Wandering Dragon sighed to himself.
It wasn’t that he looked down on Shen Changchuan.
On the contrary,
he was very optimistic about Shen Changchuan’s future;
after all, he was someone who had condensed a Divine Seed upon entering Soul Emergence.
But optimism was one thing;
the person standing opposite him now was a peerless prodigy with an Innate Spiritual Body, who had also condensed a Divine Seed, and had even advanced to Soul Emergence two years before him!
Master Wandering Dragon didn’t think Shen Changchuan had any chance of winning.
"So that brat is Shen Changchuan?"
"I’ve heard of him before. Slaying a Soul Emergence Realm cultivator while at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm. I didn’t expect he’d have advanced to Soul Emergence by now."
"But to wait until the last second to enter the stage? It seems he’s just an attention-seeker."
On the high platform,
Wu Zhen glanced at Shen Changchuan and offered a few dismissive comments.
But he didn’t give it much thought.
After all, in his heart,
his young disciple was invincible among his peers.
Given that premise,
no matter why that Shen Changchuan had appeared at the last moment,
he would only end up looking like a clown.
...
"You’re that Shen Changchuan?"
The white-robed youth ignored the surrounding chatter, his gaze fixed on Shen Changchuan.
"That’s right."
Shen Changchuan nodded,
inwardly finding it strange.
’What is he planning?’
"I heard of your reputation before I came."
The white-robed youth paid no mind to Shen Changchuan’s reaction and continued speaking as if to himself.
"Someone who can fight above their station and kill a Soul Emergence Realm cultivator while still in the Qi Introduction Realm... Even if your opponent was heavily injured, you’re still in a different league from all that other small fry."
"Before, I was disappointed you hadn’t advanced to Soul Emergence, thinking you couldn’t give me a satisfying fight."
"Now, it seems I no longer need to feel that regret."
"Make your move. Do your best to entertain me!"
Shen Changchuan’s appearance
had caused a glimmer of light to appear in the white-robed youth’s eyes.
In his eyes,
Shen Changchuan—the one who had once defied his Realm to slay a Soul Emergence Demon Cultivator and had even defeated Mo Lingfeng—
was the only one qualified to earn a second glance from him,
the only one worthy of the title "genius."
"In that case, forgive my offense!"
Shen Changchuan didn’t care about the other’s arrogance.
In fact,
after learning of his opponent’s strength,
a flicker of excitement had ignited within Shen Changchuan.
The power of a peerless prodigy of the same generation, one with an Innate Spiritual Body—
he was very interested.
BOOM!!!
Without any more wasted words,
Shen Changchuan attacked directly!
He formed a sword-hand with his fingers and slashed through the empty air.
In an instant,
the world around them seemed to dim.
It was as if all the Spirit Charm of heaven and earth for dozens of yards around was being absorbed into the blade of Shen Changchuan’s fingers.
In a flash,
the surging momentum transformed into a beam of sword light over a hundred feet long, which suddenly swept down toward the white-robed youth opposite him!
The wind and clouds roiled around them,
as if huge swaths of the very atmosphere were being sliced apart by the terrifying sword gleam.
An incomparable power was unleashed,
and the Outer Disciples all around felt an immense terror rising from the depths of their souls!
"This is...!!!"
Directly facing this world-enveloping sword light,
the white-robed youth’s expression changed for the first time!
His face became incredibly solemn!
Without the slightest hesitation,
the aura of his own Soul Emergence Realm erupted forth. His pristine, jade-like hand shot out, clenched into a fist, and he threw a crystalline punch toward the incoming sword light!
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
In that instant,
the surrounding air began to boil violently like water. Beneath that crystalline fist, power surged like a tsunami, wave after wave eroding space itself!