"Brother Fu Sheng, what do you mean by this?"
The usual gentle smile on Dan Ya's pure, fair, and white face diminished by three points, his narrow, affectionate, and charming eyes now held turbulent winds and shifting clouds.
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's straight, black hair lifted in the wind, his clear gaze serene and devoid of any extraneous thoughts. A cold and alluring smile bloomed on his perfectly sculpted lips.
His gaze, which he held fixed on Dan Ya, did not waver.
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's hand, encircling Gu Jun Shi's slender and resilient waist, not only did that but his fingertips, tinged with pink, caressed the warmth of her skin through the fabric.
"Brother Dan Ya, Ah Yi is my wife. I hope you will remember your place from now on."
His voice, though soft, carried a needle-sharp chill that pierced to the bone. Though devoid of any excess emotion, it drained all color from Dan Ya's face.
Dan Ya's pupils deepened as he stared at Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's hand, at the same position, performing the same gesture.
He knew this was Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's counterattack and… a declaration of ownership.
Had he stopped playing the docile sheep?
"My place?" Dan Ya mused over the words, then looked at Liu Jiang Fu Sheng, his tone cool and unyielding. "Brother Fu Sheng, how I conduct myself is not for you to teach."
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng sneered, "Dan Ya, where are your manners and your shame?"
Addressing him by name, it was clear he no longer intended to maintain the superficial camaraderie of fellow disciples.
Dan Ya shrugged, his smiling eyes curving like crescent moons, a roguish grin on his face. "Who knows?"
Gu Jun Shi also glanced at him, as if seeing him for the first time.
This man… if not for his refined and elegant face, he would truly resemble a ruffian.
But he had underestimated Liu Jiang Fu Sheng. His verbal sparring was not meant to de-escalate the situation but to provoke the greatest conflict and ignite the flames.
Letting bygones be bygones.
Time heals all wounds.
These were never Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's mottos.
The moment he emerged from seclusion and saw Dan Ya standing with Gu Yi, the moment Dan Ya called Gu Yi "Ah Yi," he had, driven by instinct, planned today's scene.
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng grabbed his sword, which was planted in the training ground, and it transformed into a stream of light, flying towards him. He held the sword behind his back, his demeanor cold and aloof yet imposing, radiating an arrogance that looked down upon the world as he stood alone.
A resonant clang echoed, dispersing the clouds and mist.
"Then, I ask Senior Brother to bestow his guidance under his sword!"
This was… a challenge!
Following the Ghost Infant battle for the name scroll, he had also issued a challenge to the disciple with the peak cultivation among the new generation of the Da Yan Sect.
What if he challenged from below?
His patience had run out.
Zhi Yang Daoist and the others watching from below the training ground, upon hearing this decisive declaration of war, widened their eyes in astonishment.
What… what was he saying?!
Zhi Yang Daoist nearly toppled to the ground.
He was so angry he sputtered and puffed.
He thought… he thought he could compare the Ghost Infant to Dan Ya?
Who was Dan Ya?
A genius disciple whose talent and aptitude were among the most remarkable in the Da Yan Sect's hundreds of years of history.
As a mysterious legend of the Da Yan Sect and even the Eleven Heavens, his cultivation speed was, frankly, no less than that of Liu Jiang Fu Sheng, who possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root. More importantly, not only was his cultivation talent astonishing, but he was also a multifaceted cultivator, dabbling in formations, artifacts, alchemy, and talismans, making him a knowledgeable all-rounder in the cultivation world.
Although his brilliance had been somewhat diminished after Liu Jiang Fu Sheng, the Heavenly Spiritual Root, arrived, in the hearts of many Da Yan Sect disciples, he would never be considered the representative of the new generation compared to Liu Jiang Fu Sheng, who had only been cultivating for three years.
Even on the newcomer rankings, although the sect leader placed great hope in him, he heavily favored Dan Ya to win the top spot.
This… this silly deer, had he gone mad from cultivating in seclusion for these three years?
Did he truly believe that his three years of cultivation could allow him to challenge Dan Ya? In terms of current cultivation realm and accumulated combat experience, the two were not in the same league.
Dan Ya was slightly taken aback by this statement, but after a moment, he suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
"Hahahaha…"
This was the first time anyone had heard Dan Ya, who always maintained elegance and composure in any situation, laugh so unrestrainedly and wildly.
"Junior Brother, you wish to challenge me?"
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng remained unmoved. "Yes."
As soon as he said this, Dan Ya's laughter ceased. He extended his arm, and the surrounding air seemed to respond to the spiritual energy. Instantly, the sky above churned with winds and clouds, rolling torrents of cloud surging over the mountains and cascading into the deep valleys like waterfalls, a majestic and turbulent spectacle.
With an invisible grasp into the descending clouds, he pulled forth a sword from them, a sword woven from clouds and rain, rolling with purple lightning.
Before the bewildered and shocked eyes of those around, only the elder Zhi Yang Daoist, with his discerning eye, took a sharp breath and exclaimed, "The four seas churn with clouds and water, the five continents shake with wind and thunder. It is—the Cloud Thunder Sword!"
Di Yun Yi, the senior disciple of Wu Mei Mountain, exclaimed in surprise, "This… this power…"
It was a celestial-grade sword, no less powerful than the immortal sword.
With a gentle sweep of the sword, the forcefully flowing cloud energy dispersed. Had Liu Jiang Fu Sheng not erected a spiritual energy barrier to block it, he too would have fallen like the surrounding rolling, whistling stones.
Gui Ying felt the unusual surge and concentration of spiritual energy on the peak. He tightened his voice and asked someone nearby, "What is happening?"
Zi Ying, still lost in a daze, heard his hoarse and stern inquiry and described the situation on the viewing platform to him truthfully.
"It's Uncle-Master Dan Ya…"
Even from such a distance, he could feel such a violent surge of spiritual energy, which indicated how magnificent and grand the current scene was.
Indeed, the gap between him and them was more than just a little.
He wanted to watch.
Never before had he hated his own blindness so much. Even if he were to reshape his body in the future, he would still be unable to clearly see his surroundings with his own eyes.
Gu Jun Shi was firmly protected behind Liu Jiang Fu Sheng, her eyes, like a calm lake, focused.
Ordinary cultivators might not be able to distinguish, but she could discern that such dense spiritual energy should not belong to a Golden Core cultivator… unless, he had been deliberately suppressing the growth of his cultivation.
Truly a man of deep schemes, playing the role of a pig to eat the tiger.
At this moment, seeing the situation escalating, Zhi Yang Daoist instantaneously moved between them and shouted sternly, "Stop!"
However, the two men, blinded by anger, only had eyes for each other and refused to yield an inch.
Zhi Yang Daoist's veins bulged on his forehead. His small, beady eyes darted to Gu Jun Shi behind Liu Jiang Fu Sheng. Suddenly inspired, he roared loudly, "Hey, Gu whatever-your-name-is, are you, a mere mortal, standing between them, wanting to be crushed into powder by the pressure of their struggle?"
This shouted remark, however, was far more effective than his previous stern shouts to stop them.
The actions of the two men suddenly froze, and the clashing spiritual energy also somewhat abated.
Seeing this, Zhi Yang Daoist trembled with anger.
Damn it all!