Chapter 198 Clash of the Top Grandmasters (30,000 Words in Three More Updates, Please Subscribe!)_1
"Gu Chen?!"
Upon hearing the two words "Gu Chen," the great hall instantly burst into a flurry of discussion.
At this moment, Uncle Dingyuan stood up and said, "If I am not mistaken, does the Duke of the Liang State refer to that Gu Chen from the Jing Tian Department?"
"Indeed," the Duke of the Liang State nodded slightly.
Hearing this, Uncle Dingyuan sneered disdainfully, "Gu Chen? How could he possibly be a match for the reincarnated lama Ananda?"
The Marquis of Wuwei also stood up and sarcastically said, "What cultivation level does that kid have? Only at the Vajra Stage! What about Ananda from the Dragon Elephant Buddha Sect of the Great Snow Mountain? At the complete Gang Qi Stage! What can he use to compare with him?"
"Duke of the Liang State, we know you favor Gu Chen and want to marry your granddaughter to him, but even if you wish to make him famous and accumulate merits, it shouldn't be through such means," Uncle Dingyuan added.
The Duke of the Liang State, his face slightly darkened, said, "Haven't you heard about Gu Chen's battle records in the Qiongtian Mansion? With his Vajra Stage cultivation, he was able to suppress those at the Gang Qi Stage and even slew a complete Gang Qi Stage hall master of the Red Flame Demon Sect. His talent, I dare say, is the very best in the whole Da Xia.
As long as he grows, he will surely be a mainstay of Da Xia in the future."
Uncle Dingyuan, wearing a look of contempt, said, "Slaying a complete Gang Qi Stage? Duke of the Liang State, he relied on divine weapons! Not his own strength. Ananda, as the reincarnated lama of the Dragon Elephant Buddha Sect, wouldn't have divine weapons at his disposal?"
The Crown Prince, upon hearing this, felt his spirits fall once more and let out a soft sigh.
Unwilling to yield, the Duke of the Liang State stood his ground against Uncle Dingyuan, retorting coldly, "What about when Gu Chen alone battled against two complete Gang Qi Stage martial artists and two monstrous ghosts? Could he possibly achieve this solely with divine weapons? If it were you, back in the day, and you were given a low-grade divine weapon, could you have done it?"
At these words, Uncle Dingyuan's face stiffened.
Yet at that moment, the Marquis of Wuwei argued, "Even if that Gu Chen truly has significant strength, it's impossible for him to be Ananda's match. He has achieved the Dragon Elephant True Form, which is comparable to the indestructible body of the Vajra Stage, and his realm far surpasses that of Gu Chen. Gu Chen is only at the Vajra Stage. What can he use to fight against him?"
The Duke of the Liang State said firmly, "There are rumors in the world that Gu Chen has already reached the extremity of the Indestructible Golden Body!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Ha!"
Upon hearing this, Uncle Dingyuan scoffed, "You said it yourself, that's just a rumor. Can a rumor be taken as truth? The Indestructible Vajra is the ultimate realm of the physical body. There has not been anyone in Zhongzhou for hundreds of years who has achieved it. Who can confirm that Gu Chen is the first in talent in several hundred years in Zhongzhou?"
The other Da Xia officials and nobles, hearing this, also shook their heads in agreement, including Master Gongsun standing behind King Huai.
As a martial arts grandmaster of the Innate Realm, he was especially aware of how difficult it was to achieve the Indestructible Vajra Body. He too had made attempts in the past but had ended in failure.
Inside the hall, everyone felt that the Duke of the Liang State favored Gu Chen too much, or rather, was too eager to create opportunities for him.
The Marquis of Wuwei also said, "Ananda, who is he? The reason he was able to cultivate the Dragon Elephant True Form, which is comparable to the Indestructible Golden Light, is that he is the reincarnated lama. Otherwise, anyone else would also fail to cultivate it. Is such a heritage something ordinary people can compare to?
Gu Chen, could he possibly be the reincarnation of some notable figure too?"
The Duke of the Liang State, his face showing anger, said, "Why do you always seek to boost others' morale and undermine our own authority? If that's the case, then what do you suggest we do?"
Uncle Dingyuan said coldly, "I think we should directly ask the commander of the Jing Tian Department to take action and drive that monk away."
The Duke of the Liang State replied, "What about the common people? What if those who have been bewitched by him try to stop us?"
The Marquis of Wuwei said, "Of course, lock them all in the prison. I don't believe they are truly so devout as to follow the monk's orders!"
It was a great man, over eight feet tall, with a fine face and bulging muscles, clad in battle armor—he was the Deputy Commander of the Jing Tian Department, Qin Wu!
He too was a top grandmaster!
At this moment, in front of the Qintian Monitor, Zha Jiedunzhu's aura could not penetrate into the Qintian Monitor; it was all blocked right at the gate.
He slightly tilted his head, looking in the direction of the Jing Tian Department, and upon seeing the approaching Qin Wu, a cold smile emerged on his lips.
Boom!
Between the two, invisible and visible Gangqi clashed, the skies above Tiandu instantly changed, and amidst them, thunder seemed to roil and collide!
"This is bad, are they going to start fighting in Tiandu?!"
Sensing the aura of the two, those in the grand hall of the Imperial Palace were all shocked and pale.
If top grandmasters were to clash, destroying a city would be far too easy. Even though Tiandu was extraordinary, vast in size, it would still suffer catastrophic damage, and it was unknown how many innocent civilians would die as a result.
"He wouldn't dare to strike!"
At that moment, as everyone's gaze turned, it was King Huai who spoke. His face was set, clearly extremely displeased with Zha Jiedunzhu's actions. "His actions are merely to provoke Da Xia, provoke the Tower Supervisor. He wouldn't have the courage to strike a blow in Tiandu!"
Indeed, Zha Jiedunzhu was powerful, but if he truly dared to make a move in Tiandu, the Tower Supervisor of the Qintian Monitor would immediately intervene, joining hands with the Deputy Commander of the Jing Tian Department to capture Zha Jiedunzhu on the spot.
Although Zha Jiedunzhu was confident that one-on-one he was no weaker than either of them and could even defeat them, if the two joined forces, plus with the strength of Da Xia, he would have no choice but to flee.
But this was not his purpose. His goal, which he had now achieved, was to shame Da Xia.
If the Emperor of Da Xia had been around, not even Zha Jiedunzhu, with a hundredfold courage, would have dared to act this way.
Not to mention him, even if his teacher, the National Master Shiba Shitu from the Da Yuan Country himself came, he too would not dare to cause the slightest commotion in Tiandu.
However, the situation was different now. With the Emperor missing, Da Xia's strength had suddenly dropped more than a notch, giving Zha Jiedunzhu the audacity to act as he did.
Once the news spread, it would be yet another blow to Da Xia's prestige.
The Crown Prince had also come to this realization, and at this moment, anger was trembling through his whole body.
The officials and nobles all cursed Zha Jiedunzhu loudly.
King Huai's face remained stern, stating, "Given that Da Yuan has behaved in this manner, Da Xia must respond with a powerful counterstrike to reclaim some prestige. Dealing with Zha Jiedunzhu is clearly insufficient. Our best course of action now is to send someone to publicly defeat Ananda, who holds a status in Da Yuan not much different from that of Zha Jiedunzhu.
We must crush him underfoot in return and cut down their face to maintain some of Da Xia's dignity."
The Dragon Elephant Buddha Sect of the Great Snow Mountains is the state religion in Da Yuan, revered and pursued by countless Da Yuan citizens and various powerbrokers. As a Buddha son of the Dragon Elephant Buddha Sect, Ananda, esteemed as a reincarnation of a living Buddha, holds an extremely high status in Da Yuan, with even the Da Yuan ruler having to show him respect.
After all, the living Buddha is the faith of Da Yuan and the founder of the Dragon Elephant Buddha Sect of the Great Snow Mountains, the state religion. His status is so high that he is regarded as a deity by the Da Yuan populace, far more esteemed in their hearts than Zha Jiedunzhu.
If they could defeat Ananda, it would be a tremendous blow for Da Yuan as well.
Suddenly, King Huai's gaze shifted, looking straight at Duke of the Liang State with an unequivocal tone, he declared assertively, "Notify Gu Chen that he shall face Ananda in two days' time. In this battle, he is only allowed to win, not to lose!"