Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Su Mo was training along in his hidden chamber in Jin Wu Manor. Ling Chang had gone back to her own palace about half a month ago.
On that day.
A burly and strong young man with short spiky hair, standing at eight feet tall, arrived at Palmy Star.
He landed in the air thousands of feet above Palmy City.
“Lam Gong Tianjun from the Wande Branch, here to speak to Wu Shan from the Palmy Branch.”
Standing proudly in the sky, the burly young man suddenly shouted. His booming voice shook the heavens, resounding throughout Taisheng City.
The countless disciples of Palmy Branch were stunned as they looked up.
Gong Tianjun?
Many were familiar with this name. He was an outstanding character of the Wande Branch, who could slay Supreme Beings at a whim, and now he was here to challenge Su Mo.
Soon, countless disciples of the Palmy Branch flooded out of their residences to marvel at the burly youth in the air.
‘The Wande Branch was far away from the Palmy Branch, so not many had seen Gong Tianjun before, but those who had immediately recognized him.
“It’s Gong Tianjun!”
“[heard he has incredible combat power. At Ninth Grade, Low Rank, he could contend martial artists who were at Ninth Grade, High Rank. At Ninth Grade, Middle Rank, he could contend those of the Supreme Being Realm. Now, at Ninth Grade, High Rank, slaying a Supreme Being is a piece of cake.”
“That’s about right. Someone had even predicted that if the branches of the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance were to hold a martial arts contest, Gong Tianjun could definitely stand among the top twenty, maybe even the top ten.”
“He’s much stronger than Ge Li!”
Many people whispered amongst themselves. Gong Tianjun had risen to fame at a young age and was considered one of the most incredible fighters amongst all the branches of the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance.
“Is Wu Shan here? Does he dare to compete with me!” Gong Tianjun spoke again. His voice boomed across the universe, resounding throughout Palmy City.
He believed that Wu Shan could detect the aura contained in his voice even if the man was shut inside his chamber.
But Gong Tianjun was disappointed. He waited for a quarter of an hour and still Wu Shan did not come out.
In this regard, the elders of the Taisheng Branch did not intervene. Gong Tianjun came looking for Wushan to request for a contest among the juniors. Whether Wu Shan chose to participate or not did not matter to them.
“Why doesn’t Wu Shan fight?” Quan Ruhai wondered as he stood by his palace gate at Tian Hua Mansion, looking up at Gong Tianjun in the air.
‘With Wu Shan’s personality, he would definitely welcome a fight. Yet he had not come out, which puzzled Quan Ruhai.
Amoment later, Quan Ruhai sighed. All this while he had been in seclusion, having consumed the Dosu Fruit. It would not be long before he advanced to the Supreme Being Realm.
He had been on Ninth Grade, High Rank for a long while now, not far away from a breakthrough. Coupled with the Dosu Fruit’s aid, he could hopefully become a Supreme Being in about month’s time or half a year at most.
Gong Tianjun looked gloomy as he floated on the vault of heavens. Perhaps Wu Shan had left Palmy City, otherwise why wouldn’t he come out?
But he recalled that Wu Shan had just received all the Dosu Fruits. He could not have gone out.
“Wushan, the outside world spreads rumors that you’re invincible below the realm of Supreme Beings. The best of the best. Is it all a farce?” Gong Tianjun spoke again, his voice booming in all directions.
He would not leave so easily. Even if he had to wait, he would wait for Wu Shan to appear.
He had come today to challenge Wu Shan, not out of ambition, but to lay a good foundation to get into the headquarters.
If he could build a prestige of invincibility below the Supreme Being Realm, and let his name be known in the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance, it would benefit him greatly.
A selection process was required prior to entering the headquarters. Only the top thirty would have the opportunity to become disciples in there, but if he had an unbeatable reputation, it would help him greatly in the selection phase.
Moreover, there had been several instances in the past where some super incredible beings had been unlucky and had failed in the selection process. Yet, they had managed to be recruited into the headquarters by exception.
‘That was because they had had great prestige before participating in the selection, and had long been spotted by the headquarters.
Of course, those cases were few and far between. Usually, there would be one in a number of trials.
In order to secure a spot, Gong Tianjun decided to beat Su Mo to build his reputation and to solidify his chances of getting into the headquarters.
Gong Tianjun hung on, but he still had not gotten any response from Su Mo.
“Maybe Wu Shan’s afraid?”
“I doubt it. He was certainly valiant at Dosu Star. He even defeated Ge Li. He couldn’t possibly be afraid of this!”
“Maybe he’s not in the city.”
“Theard he’s been in seclusion!”
Many disciples of the Palmy Branch discussed it amongst themselves, their eyes locked in the direction of Jin Wu Manor, where Wu Shan resided.
“Wu Shan, are you afraid to fight?” Gong Tianjun’s gaze also followed the masses and fell on Jin Wu Manor.
“You’re so noisy!” An impatient voice sounded from a palace in Jin Wu Manor, followed by a sword slash against the firmament.
“Take this!” A faint voice rang. A huge Chaotic Sword Shadow surrounded by unparalleled might rushed out of Jin Wu Manor at great speed, targeting Gong Tianjun above the vault of heavens..
‘The attack was extremely powerful. The huge sword shadow was about a thousand feet in length and contained earth-shattering forces wrapped up with strong devouring power.
“What?”
Gong Tianjun glared at the incoming sword because he felt a major crisis falling upon him, one that signaled the risk of death if he could not block it.
He wanted to avoid the sword shadow coming his way, but suddenly he felt a huge force restraining him, pulling him towards the sword shadow instead.
The pulling force was not very powerful, but it managed to seriously impede his speed. He could not evade the attack.
“Not good!”
Gong Tianjun was frightened and, in a flash of black light, he conjured a large shield.
The shield was oval and engraved with natural lines, like a giant tortoise shell.
Golden light radiated from the shield in his hand, bursting in all directions,
Next, the huge sword shadow hit the shield ferociously.
Boom!
The explosion shook the heavens. The countless disciples of the Palmy Branch were shocked to see Gong Tianjun’s body flying across the firmament like a meteor.
In the blink of an eye, Gong Tianjun flew to the starry sky and disappeared like a passing meteor.
At that moment, all was silent in Palmy City.
‘The ever powerful Gong Tianjun, one of the top twenty geniuses below the Supreme Being Realm in all of the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance, was sent out to the depths of space by a single blow.
No one believed Gong Tianjun could emerged from that safe and sound.
Such a powerful attack was known as the anti-shock force, which could cause serious injuries to Gong Tianjun.
A little while after that, the entire Palmy City burst into cheers.
“Splendid! Simply splendid!”
“Tused to doubt Wu Shan could have defeated Ge Li back on Dosu Star, shocking several thousands of disciples. But, after this, I don’t anymore!”
“Such power! Gong Tianjun’s capabilities are undeniable, but Wu Shan managed to beat him with one move!”
“Some extraordinary combat strength!”
Countless discussions in Palmy City erupted one after another like volcanoes.
The Palmy Branch was considered to be a relatively mediocre branch among the thousands of branches in the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance. It had never produced any particularly incredible individuals.
Until today, there was finally one who could reign over the disciples of the same rank across all branches.
“He’s made a breakthrough!”
Quan Ruhai stared all the way from Tian Hua Mansion. He could see that the Chaotic Source Power contained in Su Mo’s attack far exceeded the one he had used during their time at Dosu Star.
This was the strength as solidified by the foundation of his training. Not the power conferred by Rules or some other magical gift, but the true foundation of his training that had increased his combat strength.
“Damn it!” Quan Ruhai raged from within. Wu Shan’s talent made him feel pressured, for the former had managed to catch up with him in such a short time.
If this went on, it was clear who Junior Xuan Qing would choose as her partner.
“There lies a huge hurdle during the promotion from Ninth Grade, High Rank to the Supreme Being Realm. I’ve been stuck for decades and just when I’m near a breakthrough, Wu Shan comes along. No matter how brilliant he may be, it should have taken him three or four years at least!” Quan Ruhai
thought. That was the only way he could console himself.
“And where is that rascal, Xiao Yushu?” Quan Ruhai sighed. Some time ago, he had planned to discuss with Xiao Yushu how to deal with Su Mo, but found out that Xiao Yushu had disappeared.
He had gone to the Palmy Examinations Center to check, only to find that Xiao Yushu had left the Palmy Branch and was no longer a disciple here.
This rendered Quan Ruhai speechless. It seemed Xiao Yushu was truly afraid of Su Mo, or being killed by him.
Leaving the Palmy Branch was probably the best option for Xiao Yushu. With his talents, he could easily join another branch. It was not safe for him to remain in the Palmy Branch.
But Xiao Yushu’s departure meant the Quan Ruhai did not have anyone to consult with.
“Whatever. The day of the headquarters selection is approaching. I should focus on improving my training and skills!” Quan Ruhai sighed and went back inside his palace.
In front of Jin Wu Manor, Su Mo stood tall.
He saw that his attack had sent Gong Tianjun flying into the starry sky, then he had returned to his chamber.
He had made a breakthrough in his training and could easily defeat Gong Tianjun with one move. To him, ‘easy’ no longer held any suspense.
Back in the hidden chamber, he continued his training, He had just broken through and now needed to consolidate it a little more.
“Not bad!”
Reverend Jin Wu sat in one of the side halls of Jin Wu Manor and grinned. Naturally, he could perceive what was going on out there. Wu Shan’s strength was certainly astonishing.
This incredible apprentice of his was indeed unpredictable.
At the same time, in Palmy City, a large number of elders had clearly witnessed Su Mo’s sword attack and were equally impressed.
“Chang Yi, do you think you can block that?”
In Tian Hua Mansion, Priest Tian Hua confronted his eldest disciple, Chang Yi, who sat with him in the courtyard behind the residence.
“Teacher, I could have easily done so!” said Chang Yi respectfully. He was highly talented and, being a Low-rank Supreme Being, doing so was not an issue.
“Good that you have confidence!” Priest Tian Hua nodded and said, “Ruhai’s not his rival. Su Mo’s talent is too incredible, even I’m surprised. It’s such a pity that I can’t have him as a student, for he picked Jin Wu!”
“Teacher, this man has a lot of vigor. Even if you had taken him in, it might not have been a good thing!” said Chang Yi.
“Perhaps!” Priest Tian Hua sighed, not denying the fact. Nevertheless, he regretted it..