Chapter 168: Get Your Ass Down Here
Cao Bai opened his palm, and a Sword Token flew into the air.
A buzzing sound echoed throughout the Sword Sect.
Hundreds of sword lights flew from all over Sword Sect up into the sky, and they all rushed to the Sword Hall. Hundreds of swordsmen appeared in front of Chen Guanzi, and they greeted him at the same time. “Greetings, First Senior Brother!”
Ye Guan was startled.
The crowd had over a hundred Great Sword Immortals and over two hundred Sword Immortals. Everyone was at least a Sword Saint. There were also six Sword Sovereigns in the crowd, which meant the Sword Sect had nine Sword Sovereigns, including Cao Bai, Yuan Gong, and Qin Xue.
First Senior Brother was a Quasi-Great Sword Sovereign. Needless to say, he was stronger than most Sword Sovereigns.
It was a formidable line-up.
“Let’s go!” said Chen Guanzi. He flew to the skies as a ray of sword light.
The others chased after him, and they all headed for the Life or Death Stage.
The Life or Death Stage of the Main Guanxuan Academy was located at the Trial Peak of the Main Guanxuan Academy.
The Trial Peak of the Main Guanxuan Academy was in a whole new league compared to the Trial Peak of the Zhongtu Divine Continent. The mountain was so tall that its summit was beyond the clouds.
A massive Life or Death Stage that stretched over thirty kilometers was on the summit of Trial Peak.
The stage was surrounded by a dome of chains, which isolated the stage from the outside world to prevent outside interference. The Life or Death Stage was also surrounded by hundreds of giant pillars; each pillar had a diameter of over three hundred meters, and people were packed tightly on top of them.
The people from the Martial Department stood on the left, and there were over a thousand of them. Their leader wasn’t Chen Ge, the Representative of the Martial Department, but rather Lu Tian.
Lu Tian became the boss in the minds of the Martial Department students the moment he decided to fight the Sword Sect.
The array of lights on the horizon created a scene similar to a meteor shower as they rushed toward the Life or Death Stage.
Soon, hundreds of sword lights descended on the stone pillars across Lu Tian’s group.
First Senior Brother Chen Guanzi stood at the helm of the group.
Lu Tian smiled upon seeing Chen Guanzi.
Ye Guan stared at Lu Tian and found that the latter’s aura had become unfathomable.
Meanwhile, the meteor shower of light rays was still ongoing.
The light rays descended on the stone pillars behind Lu Tian. They were all from the many different departments of the Main Guanxuan Academy. The students from the aristocratic faction and the great clan factions were here as well.
The light rays hadn’t decreased but increased as time went on, but they all landed on Lu Tian’s side. Soon, over ten thousand people had landed behind Lu Tian, while the Sword Sect only had a few hundred people behind them.
The Sword Sect was definitely the loser when it came to headcount.
A few dozen people appeared behind the Sword Sect. Everyone was slightly surprised to see those people. Ye Guan glanced at them, and the man at the helm cupped his fist and said, “Brother Ye, my name’s Ye Ming, and I’m a disciple of Qingzhou’s Ye Clan.”
Ye Guan was startled, but he quickly composed himself and said, “Brother Ye Ming, thank you for coming here.”
These people had come here to make their stance clear, and Ye Guan appreciated those brave enough to stand on their side. Their presence was a blessing in Ye Guan’s eyes, akin to finding charcoal in the middle of snowy weather.
Ye Ming smiled. “No worries.”
The sky was soon filled with thousands of people who had yet to choose their side.
Everyone fell into a daze while staring at them.
Ye Guan’s curiosity was piqued because of the people’s strange reaction upon seeing them. Cao Bai saw that and explained, “They’re from the Department of Arts. Lady Ye Guanzhi was their leader, but they’ve lost a leader due to Ye Guanzhi’s arrest.”
One of the men in the group found Ye Guan and asked, “Are you Ye Guan?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes.”
The man examined him from top to bottom before nodding. “It is no wonder that our leader admires you. All right, the Department of Arts will support you.”
He led his people to a stone pillar behind Ye Guan. Even with the addition of the Ye Clan and the Department of Arts, there was still a drastic difference between those on Sword Sect’s side and Lu Tian’s side.
As time went on, more and more people joined the Chosen One’s side.
Soon, there were hundreds of thousands of people standing behind Lu Tian. Whereas the number of people on Ye Guan’s side didn’t even reach ten thousand.
There was a clear winner in terms of headcount, but the Sword Sect was anything but weak when it came to fighting prowess!
More and more people rushed over to the Life or Death Stage, and they all stood behind the Chosen One. The Chosen One’s supporters steadily grew in number, but the swordsmen of the Sword Sect were unfazed. Their eyes were shining with eagerness.
They were the Guanxuan Academy’s sword, after all!
A deep roar echoed throughout Trial Peak as hundreds of Ancient Heavenly Dragons emerged from a rift above the Life or Death Stage. The combined dragon might of the dragons swept across the crowd.
The Chosen One’s mouth curled up slightly upon seeing the Ancient Heavenly Dragons.
He was convinced that his tutor had to have convinced them to stand on his side.
However, the dragon at the helm of the group suddenly turned into a ray of light that rushed over to Ye Guan. The dragon transformed and revealed the figure of Ao Qianqian.
Ao Qianqian smiled at Ye Guan and said, “It’s been a while, Young Master Ye.”
Ye Guan smiled and said, “Long time no see, Lady Qianqian.”
Ao Qianqian chuckled and said, “I only managed to bring a few hundred dragons with me. I hope you won’t think that there are too few of them.”
“I appreciate it. Ye Guan smiled softly and said, “Thank you.”
Ao Qianqian waved her hand, and the Ancient Heavenly Dragons transformed into their human forms and landed on a pillar behind Ye Guan.
Lu Tian’s expression turned icy cold.
He stared at Ao Qianqian and said, “Lady Qianqian, is that the decision of the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan?”
Ao Qianqian smiled. “Yes.”
“Good, very good!” Lu Tian smiled faintly. He sounded calm, but everyone could sense his anger.
Ye Guan suddenly turned into a ray of light and flew to the Life or Death Stage. He looked up at Lu Tian and smiled. “I still regret the fact that I couldn’t kill you back then. There’s no point in waiting for two months. Let’s just fight right now. What do you think?”
Lu Tian was about to speak, but a voice from above reverberated throughout the Life or Death Stage.
“So you like to fight?”
The ground cracked as a young man landed on a pillar.
The students of the Martial Department exclaimed.
Wu Ming was ranked 3rd in the Divine Martial List. The Martial Department had a Divine Martial List that ranked students according to their prowess. Wu Ming was ranked 3rd.
He had left the academy several years ago for the Xuzhen World, so no one thought that he would return for the challenge.
The Martial Department students behind Lu Tian were delighted to see Wu Ming.
Wu Ming glared sinisterly at Ye Guan. “You want a fight, right? I’ll go ahead and become the first challenger on the stage!”
The students of the Martial Department roared. The members of the aristocratic faction and the great clan faction also shouted with them. “Fight, fight, fight!”
The combined volume of their voices was like thunder, and they were so loud that the earth quivered ever so slightly as they shouted.
Ye Guan turned to look at Cao Bai and asked, “Brother Cao, are there any procedures or formalities that have to be done before you can step onto the Life or Death Stage?”
“No,” Cao Bai replied, “You’ll become a challenger as long as you step onto the stage.”
Ye Guan nodded. He turned to look at Wu Ming and abruptly vanished.
A dazzling sword light streaked across the skies, and it was so fast that everyone couldn’t track it with their eyes.
Wu Ming’s pupils constricted in astonishment. He didn’t expect to see such a speedy swordsman. He didn’t dare to be careless as he took a step backward and became nothing but an illusion.
Ye Guan’s sword pierced the illusion.
At the same time, a figure appeared behind Ye Guan.
Ye Guan didn’t turn around, but a sword silently appeared behind the figure.
His attack just now had been a feint!
Wu Ming’s eyes narrowed. He was surprised that the young man had predicted his course of action, but he remained steadfast as he pushed both his palms forward.
The space around him contorted into a cage.
Ye Guan’s sword pierced the cage in the air, but it slowed down under the influence of spacetime.
Meanwhile, Wu Ming was already ten meters away.
Unfortunately, Ye Guan wasn’t willing to give him any time to rest as the space a few inches away from his forehead split open, and a sword shot out of it the very next moment.
Wu Ming was stupefied.
He hurriedly pressed his palms together, and a golden light enveloped his head.
Ye Guan’s flying sword was deflected, but the space above him split open, and a sword flew out of the rift.
Wu Ming’s pupils shrank to the size of a needle.
He stomped with his right foot and roared, “Heaven and Earth Astral Projection!”
A golden ray shot into the sky from his body. A giant golden projection appeared above him. The Heaven and Earth Astral Projection stretched out its hand and smacked Ye Guan’s sword away.
Heaven and Earth Astral Projection was a divine spell, and it was definitely Divine rank at the very least.
Ye Guan started walking toward Wu Ming.
A sword would fly toward Wu Ming with every step he took.
The Heaven and Earth Astral Projection shook violently and retreated.
A dazzling light briefly blinded everyone as another sword slashed out.
Everyone watched as Wu Ming was forced to take multiple steps backward.
The golden figure above him started to crack.
Everyone wore solemn looks as they stared at Ye Guan. He was indeed a swordsman.
Meanwhile, Chen Guanzi stared at Ye Guan in surprise and remarked, “The Royal Sword Art… it is impressive how he can use it at that level.”
Cao Bai nodded with a serious look. “He has grown a lot stronger than last time.”
Ao Qianqian looked at Ye Guan as she tried to hide her smile.
Ye Guan had truly gotten even stronger!
Meanwhile, Lu Tian was staring calmly at Ye Guan.
The Heaven and Earth Astral Projection finally shattered.
Wu Ming was horrified. He wanted to run away, but he felt the cold tip of a sword pressing against his forehead.
Wu Ming froze. He had been defeated, and he had been defeated by a swordsman whose cultivation realm was several realms lower than him.
Ye Guan stared calmly at Wu Ming.
He waved his sleeve, and the sword pointing at Wu Ming’s forehead flew back to him.
Ye Guan then turned to look at the Chosen One and roared, “There’s no need for us to wait another two months. I’ll bury you right now, so get your ass down here!”
The onlookers were stupefied by the sudden turn of events.