Chapter 29 - Challenge

"....."

Silence, utter silence. The crowd, sect representatives, powerful families, and the Ju emperor were completely silent. The stadium was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, but the silence wasn't only the problem; everyone was stunned and stiff in their positions.

On the high stands where the families sat, an ominous sensation was spreading in the surroundings; this sensation was coming from none other than the Patriarch of the Dong family, Dong Chi, the father of Dong Pao.

Dong Chi has been the best father he could ever be to his only son, and his son is the only male descendant of the Dong family; he spoiled Dong Pao to the maximum, giving him the best cultivation resources and pills.

Above the families, the Ju emperor stood still in shock as he grabbed the handle of his throne-like chair, causing it to break. His expectations of this stranger were first based on the fact that he cultivated a body strengthening technique, but based on the other tests, this boy was the definition of an ultimate genius; if he could subjugate Patrick, then all of Patrick's powers and knowledge will be his.

Kang Mu and the remaining participants were all completely terrified; Kang Mu was the worst as he had planned on fighting this man and crippling him in an accident but seeing the situation now, his mind was in an absent state.

Everyone saw what happened, from the beginning when Dong Pao jumped on the stage to when he was lying on the ground breathless; it had only been seven seconds, but what was more shocking was Patrick didn't move from his position, and this alone caused the biggest commotion.

"HOW DARE YOU."

A shout was heard as a man in his late thirties flashed from the high seats and appeared above the stage, causing all the participants to tremble in fear and some even fainting.

Dong Chi flew above the stage with angry eyes; he glared at Patrick as he spoke while releasing pressure on Patrick at his full strength. Dong Chi is at the half-step emperor realm, and his qi has been condensed for decades, making him almost as strong as the Ju emperor in terms of cultivation realm.

"For killing my son, you shall pay with your life."

Dong Chi sent a killing blow at Patrick, but before the attack reached Patrick, a shadow appeared before Patrick, canceling the attack.

"Dong Chi, how dare you to take action before consulting me, the emperor?"

Ju Han spoke authoritatively; although he knew Patrick had violated the competition rules and killed Dong Chi's son in front of him, he still chose to defend Patrick.

Hearing Ju Han's words, Dong Chi landed on the ground as he still had his angry expression.

"Your Majesty, this boy has violated the rules and has killed my son; killing him will be the only way to avenge my son."

"Dong Chi, this boy is a genius only seen in a lifetime. Do you think your son would have stood a chance if he met this boy in the real world? I understand your pain, but we must think about the future of the Empire and its people."

The emperor, Ju Han, quickly changed the subject from the death of Dong Pao to the security of the empire and its people. Everyone understood that the emperor had chosen to defend Patrick because of his unorthodox methods. Even the sect representatives knew why the emperor did what he did; if he could recruit Patrick before they did, then the power of the Ju empire would rise more than the sects or even compared to the sacred families. The latter is more powerful than the sects in the future.

[Deactivating qi pressure]

Behind the emperor, Patrick heard the sound of Grace ring out in his head; from when he walked to the stage, he had only thought of using the qi pressure that Kang Mu used before; although he controlled his power, the result was not much of a surprise to him.

"You are Alex king. Good, you have the potential to be an immortal in the future, but you need resources to reach such a stage; why don't you become an imperial disciple of my Ju empire, and all resources will be provided for you by me."

Ju Han turned as he asked Patrick, ignoring Dong Chi and his anger; his main goal is to make Patrick his disciples for now, and he will ask the guardians to find out Patrick's secrets.

"Are my eyes and ears working? The Ju emperor is asking a Qi condensation realm cultivator to be the imperial disciple of the Ju empire?"

"It is rumored that the imperial disciple has the same authority as the emperor, and the guardians of the Ju empire will personally mentor him. But it's also said that that disciple will be the protector of the Ju empire for life."

The crowd burst into commotion as they heard the emperor ask Patrick to be the imperial disciple of the Ju empire, whose authority would be equal to the emperor. Patrick didn't react but replied in a calm unrespectable tone.

"Are you sure your empire has what it takes to make me a disciple? or to be mentored by you?"

The public fell into silence again, but it was more exaggerated this time, some had their mouths open wide, and some even passed out from shock. Even the black-robed man stood when he heard this reply; it's more to say the sects representative all stood, and some even began heading for the platform.

Ju Han, wearing a smiling face, did not expect to reply to his kind and unpressured question. Although he planned to fake his kindness and win this boy over, he still did not expect such a reply from a Qi condensation realm kid. His expression changed from smiling to murderous as he spoke while releasing qi pressure on Patrick, also slowly rising in the air.

"kneel and introduce yourself and your origins, or I shall declare you a demon and eliminate you."

Patrick stood with his hands behind his back and watched as the emperor rose in the air and released the pressure on him.

"Your majesty, I propose we calm down and solve this matter in peace; this is a genius never seen before and to have such behaviors is only natural. If you kill such a genius, how can we find his roots or secrets?"

A message came to the emperor; he turned to look only to see the sect's members flying towards him. He saw the message was from the black-robed man; he held an annoying face as he looked at the man in black.

"Your majesty, we from the Beast Sect are willing to account for this kid and his actions."

"Hahaha, Beast Sect? Do you even have the resources to train such a genius? we from the Puppet sect will make him the most powerful puppet master in history."

"The Heavenly Rain Sect will take responsibility for this boy, and I suggest no one interferes anymore."

A superior voice was heard as the sects fought to make Patrick their disciple by taking responsibility for his actions. This elder was from the Heavenly Rain Sect, and they were the number one in the eastern continent; only the Sacred families could beat them in terms of power.

The Ju emperor heard the sects making excuses to recruit Patrick. But his reputation was more important than these sects, but before he could take action, the elder's voice from the Heavenly Rain Sect came out. He knew even his guardians couldn't scratch such an elder and his sect is the most powerful in the Eastern continent. He remained in his position and didn't say a thing.

The elder slowly passed the emperor and tapped him on his shoulder while looking at Patrick as if probing for his origins.

"Kid, you are indeed in the Qi condensation realm, but how you were able to cause such results in this competition remains a mystery for even me. And you are still standing even when an emperor realm cultivator is pressuring you; you are indeed a genius in a lifetime."

The elder spoke to Patrick calmly while still probing for Patrick's secrets.

[Master, Jiang Shi is using spirit qi to invade your mind. Here is an analysis of him and his secrets.]

[Analysis: Name; Jiang Shi. Sect; Heavenly Rain Sect. Cultivation; Early Sage realm. Secrets; Working with the demons to invade the broken world and....]

Grace's voice rang out as Patrick looked at this elder and his secrets as if looking at a menu. He smirked as his adventure just got more interesting. He thought of various ways to enjoy the drama.

"And you are not so bad yourself, to be able to cultivate to the Sage realm after three thousand years is quite an accomplishment for a mortal pursuing immortality."

When Patrick spoke, the elder changed his expression, and so did all the sects' representatives. Some began taking precautions against this boy. One must know that not even the elders of these sects could decern the realm of this elder and his age, but this boy who happens to be in the Qi condensation realm talked about him as if they were comrades.

The emperor, Dong Chi, and most of the coordinators immediately took a stance for battle; if this boy could tell the realm of the elder, then it means that he must be hiding his strength and must be either in an equal realm or higher than this elder.

"Who are you? and stop hiding your true self."

The elder spoke in a murderous tone as he released all his qi pressure on Patrick, causing the ground and the platform to break into debris.

"Since all of you wants to fight, then I shall challenge everyone here, including the sects' representatives; if you guys can make me take a step from my position, then you win, and I will join whoever makes me move."

Patrick spoke, not affected by the pressures; he remained in his position.

The crowd was already in disorder when all these events were happening continuously. The situation climaxed when everyone viewed the dark horse as the number one genius challenged the entire sect representatives and even the emperor.

"Boy, I don't know who you are, but if you think you can speak to your elders however you wish, then you leave us no choice but to kill you. It's such a waste to kill such a genius."

The elder spoke as he was the first to attack using ten percent of his strength. If he used his full strength, the whole stadium would be wiped out. The other elders also released attacks as the sky was filled with attacks raining down on Patrick.

"Now, this is what I call adventure."

Patrick Spoke as he smirked.