The day after Jiang Wuming posted his declaration on the Divine Net forum to kill Anthony @ Roman and Saint Lun @ Roman, people from major martial arts powers worldwide flocked to Europe, heading towards Anthony @ Roman's castle.
Although the ancient castle was known as a forbidden zone for martial artists, with intruders guaranteed to die, they had no intention of entering. They simply wanted to be near the castle to obtain firsthand information.
The next day, at dawn.
Saint Lun @ Roman arrived openly at the ancient castle.
This confirmed the speculations of various factions: the Battle of Tianwang Mountain would take place at the ancient castle!
After entering the ancient castle, Saint Lun @ Roman proceeded to the main hall as usual to meet Anthony @ Roman.
However—
As he arrived at the small square in front of the main hall, he found Anthony @ Roman sitting in a wheelchair, basking in the morning sun.
“You seem to be in good spirits, which is quite perplexing.”
Saint Lun @ Roman approached Anthony @ Roman, frowning as he spoke.
“The haze under the sun is the true haze,” Anthony @ Roman replied cryptically.
“What do you think about that worm’s declaration?” Saint Lun @ Roman asked.
“Dear Father, since he dares to issue a declaration, he is no longer a worm.”
Anthony @ Roman smiled slightly and then retorted, “You seem worried?”
“As you said, since he issued the declaration, it proves he doesn’t regard you or me as anything. Furthermore, judging by his usual style of doing things, he will undoubtedly act within these three days as stated in his declaration!”
Saint Lun @ Roman paused here, no longer beating around the bush, and directly asked, “Do you think it’s the old Taoist Tianlong who has recovered his strength, or did that fellow Jiang Wuming swallow the Underworld King?”
“The latter.”
Anthony @ Roman gave his affirmative answer with barely any hesitation.
“Why?”
Upon hearing this, Saint Lun @ Roman’s pupils dilated significantly, and the panic in his expression diminished considerably.
Compared to the second scenario, he feared the first one even more!
Because if the old Taoist Tianlong had truly recovered, even with Anthony @ Roman’s preparations, it would be difficult to resist.
After all, in the battle at Mount Everest, the old Taoist Tianlong, along with Zhuge Lingyun, had killed a genuine extraterrestrial Heavenly God Realm expert, and even while injured, he had swept through extraterrestrial Half-step Heavenly God Realm experts!
“Three reasons.”
Anthony @ Roman spoke slowly, “Firstly, the old Taoist Tianlong was genuinely injured in the battle at Mount Everest, and he burned his primordial vital energy. I don’t believe he could recover his peak combat power in just over a year.
Secondly, the old Taoist Tianlong never intended to personally attack us; he left us for Jiang Wuming. Otherwise, with his strength, he would have acted long ago. Moreover, Dawson, who has special ties to the Taoist sect, did not attack you in Los Angeles, North America.
Thirdly, based on my understanding of Jiang Wuming, if he were to rely on external forces, using his master or Dawson to deal with us, he wouldn’t have issued such a declaration. Instead, he would have struck discreetly!”
“According to your assessment, the old Taoist Tianlong deliberately left us for Jiang Wuming, wanting us to be Jiang Wuming’s whetstone. And Jiang Wuming issued a declaration, presented evidence, claimed the moral high ground and justice, and intends to eliminate us himself.”
Saint Lun @ Roman mused, then found Anthony @ Roman’s judgment sound, completely dispelling his worries, and coldly sneered, “Even if that worm has grown into a great serpent, he’s too arrogant to personally seek revenge. It’s simply courting death!”
This time, Anthony @ Roman remained silent.
“By the way, major global powers have sent people here and are lurking around the castle. Do we need to drive them away, or even eliminate them?” Saint Lun @ Roman asked again.
“No need.”
Anthony @ Roman shook his head and said, “On the contrary, we should broadcast this battle live, letting all the martial artists in the world witness it.”
“Why… why?” Saint Lun @ Roman looked bewildered.
“There’s an ancient saying in China: the winner is king, the loser is a bandit. History is written by the victors.”
Anthony @ Roman sneered, “As long as we kill Jiang Wuming and declare that all the so-called evidence is fake and fabricated, who will dare to doubt us? No one! On the contrary, we can use this as an excuse to kill Dawson, eliminate the core members of the Battle Dragon Hall, and then head to Longhu Mountain in China to cripple the old Taoist Tianlong!”
“What a wonderful arrangement!” Saint Lun @ Roman couldn’t help but exclaim.
Even though he had been subjected to Anthony @ Roman’s puppetry and harbored deep-seated hatred for him, he still admired Anthony @ Roman’s intellect.
An hour later.
Saint Lun @ Roman, once again in the name of the War God Hall Master, issued a public announcement on the Divine Net forum:
“The videos and recordings released by the Battle Dragon Hall are fabricated, and the so-called evidence is fake. The Battle Dragon Hall wants to sow discord within the War God Hall through these means and thus replace the War God Hall’s position in the global martial arts community!
Whether it is me personally, the War God Hall, or the Roman family, we absolutely cannot tolerate such libel and provocation!
What’s even more ridiculous is that Jiang Wuming claims to take my head and that of my son, Anthony @ Roman—I await Jiang Wuming’s arrival at Sak Castle and will broadcast the battle between him and the Battle Dragon Hall live!”
This announcement, like a bombshell dropped into the Divine Net forum, instantly caused the Divine Net forum and the global martial arts community to erupt once more!
“My God, who is telling the truth? Are those videos and recordings really fabricated?”
“At this point, truth and falsehood no longer matter. What matters is who will emerge victorious from this battle?”
“Judging by the strength displayed by the old Taoist Tianlong at Mount Everest, Saint Lun @ Roman is no match for him. They are not on the same level. However, Saint Lun @ Roman dares to issue such an announcement, clearly indicating he is prepared. Let us wait and see!”
“I cannot discern who between the two parties is telling the truth, but I am certain that this is the first battle between Half-step Heavenly God Realm experts in modern martial arts. It’s not an exaggeration to call it a divine battle! I am honored to witness this battle through the slow-motion replay technology of the Divine Net live stream!”
…
For a time, discussions about this battle filled the Divine Net forum and the global martial arts community. Some believed that the old Taoist Tianlong would crush Saint Lun @ Roman without a doubt, while others thought that the Roman family had prepared contingencies and might possess unimaginable trump cards. Betting companies even opened odds for this fight.
The only thing that no one believed was that Jiang Wuming would personally intervene!
This was because, apart from a few insiders such as Long Shengzhe, Long Qisheng, Ye Zheng, Li Rui, Qi Wufu, Qin Xiaozhi, and Shen Zui, outsiders were unaware of Jiang Wuming’s current strength, nor did they believe that Jiang Wuming could possess the strength to fight against a Half-step Heavenly God Realm expert within a short year!
After Saint Lun @ Roman re-issued the announcement on the Divine Net forum, the Divine Net arranged for staff to install surveillance equipment in the small square of Sak Castle, while also deploying eight drones for aerial filming, making full preparations for the live broadcast of the battle.
The live broadcast began once the monitoring equipment and drones were in place, and the number of viewers in the live stream room immediately surged.
As time passed, the number of viewers in the live stream room did not decrease but instead increased.
The Battle of Tianwang Mountain also spread to the secular world, and ordinary people, in addition to martial artists, learned of this battle.
To allow ordinary people to watch this battle, the Divine Net specially authorized a major platform to broadcast it.
“When will the old Taoist Tianlong and Jiang Wuming appear?”
After the live broadcast began, the screen was filled with comments, with this question being the most frequent. Everyone expressed their opinions; some said the first day, some the second, and others the third.
However—
Two days passed, and neither the old Taoist Tianlong nor Jiang Wuming appeared at Sak Castle, nor had they even appeared on the European continent!
This led the viewers to doubt whether the battle would proceed as scheduled.
Some even proposed a theory: “Do you think Jiang Wuming might be bluffing, trying to scare the Roman family!”
Impossible!
This was the consensus among global martial artists.
Because, in their memories, that young man always followed through on his word!
For instance, after Li Lianyi was kidnapped, no matter how much the War God Hall, involved national martial arts organizations, and families boasted and resisted, the young man carried out his retaliation!
“Jiang Wuming has appeared! He has arrived near Sak Castle!”
Early on the third day, a member of a martial arts faction posted this news, along with a photo of Jiang Wuming.
The photo was taken by him personally.
In the photo, Jiang Wuming was walking towards Sak Castle alone.
“I said it earlier, the old Taoist Tianlong and Jiang Wuming will definitely appear!”
“Haha, I guessed right! Jiang Wuming indeed appeared on the third day!”
“But why is there only Jiang Wuming in the photo? Where is the old Taoist Tianlong?”
“What’s so confusing about that? The old Taoist Tianlong has always been mysterious. He must be secretly protecting Jiang Wuming!”
At that moment, the live stream rooms on the Divine Net and the secular network platform exploded with an endless stream of comments, as everyone excitedly awaited the real start of the battle.
Nine in the morning.
The young man entered Sak Castle and was captured by a drone, his figure appearing on the live broadcast.
Five minutes past nine.
The young man walked through the ancient castle path and arrived at the small square in front of the main hall.
Concurrently, the commentator on the Divine Net live stream delivered astonishing news: the drone’s detection equipment only detected Jiang Wuming’s aura.
“Is it really just Jiang Wuming?”
“If the old Taoist Tianlong isn’t here, how will Jiang Wuming fight Saint Lun @ Roman?!”
As the Divine Net commentator finished speaking, almost everyone watching the video harbored doubts.
“Anthony, Saint Lun, you two old dogs, get out here and die!!”
As if to answer everyone’s questions, the young man stood with his hands behind his back in the square and shouted, his voice echoing through the entire ancient castle and reaching the ears of every viewer through the live broadcast.
Old grievances and new hatreds, all to be settled.
This day,
He had waited for too long!
…