bookandnovel Chapter 138 "The Third One!" "I choose, Wuqing Temple!"
Chapter 138 "The Third One!" "I choose, Wuqing Temple!"
The words fell.
The entire venue for the Celestial Venerable Ceremony fell into a deathly silence that seemed to swallow up all sound.
The wind stopped.
The seven-colored banners hanging at the four corners remained perfectly still.
Gao Shang, Shen Jizhou, who had been holding the jade book high, finally slowly lowered his hands.
His movements were so slow that it seemed as if every turn of his joints was crushing the nerves of everyone present.
He turned around, his gaze piercing through the throng of people, spanning hundreds of feet, and pinpointing precisely to that corner.
It was nailed to that young man in a worn-out blue robe, with jade beads piled up at his feet.
His eyes were like a deep, unfathomable pool.
There was shock, scrutiny, anger, and... a trace of almost invisible, deeply buried complex emotion in his eyes.
He didn't speak.
But his mountain-like silence was itself the most terrifying form of suppression for the entire audience.
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable stood still, feeling as if a bolt of lightning had struck him from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
His mouth was slightly open, and his eyes, which were bloodshot from staying up late for days, were now wide open as if they were about to burst.
Thirty-four years ago.
Tianmu Mountain.
That figure who also stood on the outermost edge of the crowd, who also wore a worn-out Taoist robe, and who also stepped forward at the last moment.
That figure was named Li Xiuye.
He was his junior apprentice.
History has repeated itself in such a tragic way.
Crane-Patrolling Celestial Venerable never imagined that thirty-four years later...
I witnessed another scene...
only……
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable suddenly realized that this matter...
It doesn't seem that simple!
Based on Crane-Patrolling Celestial Venerable's understanding of his nephew...
My own nephew, although he's quite stubborn, but...
He's still a bit better than his junior brother.
The "Challenge to Heaven" is, well, it's something that will absolutely never succeed!
This is, in short, a dead end!
Let alone Lu Yuan, who just became a Celestial Master, even Li Xiuye back then couldn't accomplish it!
Ok……
To be precise, his junior fellow student Li Xiuye actually had a chance of succeeding back then.
Because of these so-called Seven Great Celestial Venerables of the Present Era, only the Celestial Venerables of the Upper Three Gates are truly deserving of the title.
And the following four doors...
Take these four for example.
Qingfeng Temple, Nanlin Temple, Beidou Temple, and Shen Shulan.
These four are not very strong.
Hmm... this is relative to other years.
Especially Shen Shulan, needless to say, he's on par with Lu Yuan.
The abbots of the other three Taoist temples were also Celestial Masters.
The highest-ranking one is the abbot of Qingfeng Temple, who is a five-star celestial master.
These four are not even in the same league as the Grand Celestial Masters of the Upper Three Sects.
The same thing happened 34 years ago in Tianmu Mountain.
Given Li Xiuye's level of cultivation back then, he had every opportunity to successfully challenge the current Heavenly Venerable of the Lower Four Gates.
but……
But my junior brother was stupid because...
The four he chose...
It refers to the abbots of Wuqing Temple, Tianlong Temple, and Riyue Temple, plus the strongest one among the four lower sects.
Even today, He Xun still can't understand why his junior brother did that.
If he had been able to successfully complete the challenges of the four lower gates, he would have become the Heavenly Venerable.
But he insisted on challenging the top three gates.
The result was...
In the end, if it weren't for the patriarch's divine intervention...
Of course, that's a digression. Anyway, regarding today's matter, Crane Celestial Venerable felt that his nephew wouldn't be that stupid. His nephew would definitely choose the four weakest ones.
If that's the case...
For a moment, the Crane-Patrolling Celestial Venerable pondered…
Does Lu Yuan really have a chance?!
This year is an extremely special year, and one of them is Shen Shulan!
This Shen Shulan can be said to be the weakest Celestial Venerable in history!
He's just a one-star Celestial Master, exactly the same level as Lu Yuan!
Moreover, besides that, Lu Yuan had another stroke of good luck...
Of the four lower-ranked subjects this year, two are quite weak!
One is He Cheng from Beidou Temple, and the other is He Zhu from Nanlin Temple!
Both of them are three-star Celestial Masters!
Of course, Lu Yuan, a one-star Celestial Master, is still far behind these two three-star Celestial Masters.
Especially Hezhu from Nanlin Temple, he's about to become a four-star Celestial Master.
but……
Lu Yuan possesses the complete set of magical artifacts from the True Dragon Temple!
His junior brother had already passed on all the magical artifacts of the True Dragon Temple lineage to Lu Yuan!
Besides the powerful magical artifacts originally belonging to the True Dragon Temple, there are also...
This kid himself has some skills, and he even possesses a top-tier magical artifact!
With so many top-tier magical artifacts supporting it...
To be honest, even the Celestial Crane is unsure of what to do...
Even the Celestial Crane Patrol didn't know if Lu Yuan, who possessed so many magical artifacts, could defeat these two.
If we're only talking about the difference between a one-star Celestial Master and a three-star Celestial Master, then it's true that top-tier magical artifacts can make up for it.
The problem is, Lu Yuan has a top-tier magic weapon, but the Crane Cheng of Beidou Temple and the Crane Bamboo of Nanlin Temple also have them!
They're not evil spirits with empty hands!
Although these two Taoist temples are not powerful sects, they still have orthodox lineages of doctrine!
These two naturally also possessed top-tier magical artifacts.
Therefore, even the Celestial Venerable Crane Patrol couldn't say for sure whether Lu Yuan could defeat Crane Cheng and Crane Zhu...
But...
There's a sliver of hope for this, though the chances are slim...
And as it stands, there is still one left.
However, there's no need to worry about this one.
There's one person left. Who should we choose?
That's obvious!
Of course I'd choose myself!!!
In that instant, the Celestial Crane had already completely figured out what Lu Yuan was going to do next!
The "Challenge to Heaven" will last for four days!
Challenge one person every day!
First, Lu Yuan will fight against the strongest one, Nan Lin Guan He Zhu.
In this first battle, He Zhu will definitely not take Lu Yuan seriously!
Then Lu Yuan could rely on countless top-tier magical artifacts to bombard and launch a surprise attack to defeat He Zhu!
The Celestial Crane Lord believes this is feasible!
He Zhu must think Lu Yuan is crazy now, and she definitely won't consider Lu Yuan a real opponent!
Especially since this is only the first day.
What does "the first day" mean?
In other words, if Lu Yuan chooses He Zhu as his opponent for the first day, then Lu Yuan and He Zhu will begin their match at the Heavenly Venerable Ceremony venue. He Zhu is indeed the Abbot.
Nanlin Temple definitely has top-tier ritual implements.
But Hezhu definitely doesn't have those top-tier magical artifacts with him right now!
After all, today is the final ceremony of the Celestial Venerable Ceremony, why bring top-tier magical artifacts?!
The top-tier magic artifact of Hezhu must be placed in the small courtyard of Beihua Tower.
Will Hezhu send someone back to get it later?
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable felt...
Absolutely not!!
Isn't that embarrassing?
Fighting a junior, and that junior is only a one-star Celestial Master, and you, He Zhu, say you need to go back and get a top-tier magic weapon? That would be incredibly embarrassing!!
Therefore, He Xun felt...
Hezhu would definitely not let anyone retrieve the magical artifact!
When Lu Yuan challenges He Zhu later, even at the very beginning, He Zhu won't use the most ordinary magic tools!
Therefore, if Lu Yuan is well prepared and goes all out from the start, taking out all the magical artifacts and using them all at once!
Lu Yuan has a real chance of defeating He Zhu quickly without getting injured, before he can even react!
It's important to understand that this "Challenge to Heaven" is not a life-or-death battle.
It doesn't mean that you have to kill the opponent, or make the opponent completely lose their senses, or be unable to move in order to defeat the opponent.
Instead, it's in the form of a wrestling match!
The key is to know when to stop!
Just like in the martial arts competition in Tianjin, if someone falls off the stage, that's considered a loss!
In Crane Patrol's view, Lu Yuan truly had a chance on the first day to use all his top-tier magical artifacts to blast the unsuspecting Crane Bamboo off the stage! If the first day could proceed as Crane Patrol Heavenly Venerable had envisioned…
The next day...
Go challenge He Cheng of Beidou Temple!!
To be honest, even the Heavenly Lord Crane's Journey couldn't think of a solution.
That really depends entirely on Lu Yuan's fate!
He simply couldn't figure out how Lu Yuan managed to defeat He Cheng, given that the surprise attack had failed and there was a two-star difference in their cultivation levels. He Xun could only hope that his nephew wasn't a fool.
Since he chose to do this kind of thing, he must have made his own preparations, instead of coming here to die!
Anyway, if Lu Yuan can really defeat He Cheng the next day,
Then there's really hope for this!
Because on the third day, Lu Yuan can challenge his senior apprentice!
When it was her and Lu Yuan's turn on the third day...
Crane-Patrolling Celestial Venerable had also made up his mind; he would simply jump down himself!
Let Lu Yuan win outright!!
This not only allows Lu Yuan to win, but also gives Lu Yuan a day to rest properly!
After all, if Lu Yuan could successfully challenge He Cheng the next day...
He must have been seriously injured!
This third day is for Lu Yuan to rest!
As for whether it's enough...
It's all up to fate.
Then, in the end, only Shen Shulan remained...
As for whether we can succeed in the final hurdle, that's up to fate.
Anyway, this matter is inherently very difficult, and what I just said is under the most ideal circumstances!
But who knows what will happen then?
It's true that Lu Yuan had only been promoted to Celestial Master for two months.
For a moment, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable was also somewhat exasperated.
damn it!!
Why couldn't these two, master and apprentice, hold back for even a moment?!
Why can't I just hold back for even a moment?!
If Lu Yuan could just wait another five years, given his terrifying rate of advancement...
In the next five years, when Lu Yuan is twenty-five years old, he will be at least a three-star Celestial Master!
By that time...
Thinking of this, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable was so angry at Lu Yuan that he mooed loudly.
If you can't stand it for even a moment, then so be it.
If you, Lu Yuan, are really determined to do something like this...
Damn it, couldn't you at least discuss this with your senior master first?!
Can you please stop making things up on your own?!
Why don't we get together and discuss this first?!
At the very least, as your senior brother, I can tell you, Lu Yuan, about He Zhu and He Cheng's situation!
Let me show you what's so great about these two, and what's not.
You should know what's going on, shouldn't you?
Now that this has suddenly happened, we have to choose a challenge to take on today!
I have to go on stage right away!
What should we do?!
For a moment, even the Heavenly Venerable Crane Patrol was so angry he was at a loss.
This master and apprentice duo are both a real handful!
That's what they said, but then Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable thought about it again...
If this had been discussed with me beforehand...
I would never agree to that...
In the midst of this oppressive silence, Lu Yuan's voice rang out again, calm yet each word sharp as a knife.
"The first one."
He raised his hand and pointed towards the sky.
"I choose Beidou Temple, Hecheng!"
Upon hearing this, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable nodded frantically in his heart!
That's right!! That's right!! That's right!!
That's how you choose!!
This is exactly what Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable had in mind before!!!
At this moment, He Cheng, whose name was called, suddenly twitched his dark old face and his eyelids twitched wildly.
We've been treated like an easy target!
His chest heaved violently, finally culminating in a suppressed, cold snort. His eyes glared menacingly at Lu Yuan, as if he wanted to devour him alive. The crowd below instantly realized what was happening, and a murmur of shock rippled through them!
"He chose the weakest one!"
"This kid came prepared!"
"Prepared my foot! There are still three more to go, how is he supposed to choose?!"
Lu Yuan ignored everyone's comments. His gaze swept over the other six people on Gao Shang without pausing, and he spoke again.
The voice was even louder than before.
"The second one!"
"I choose Tianlong Temple, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable!"
That's right!!! That's right!!!
Yes, yes, yes!
Choose yourself!!
At this moment, Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable nodded wildly in his heart. He was so happy that he almost jumped for joy at Lu Yuan choosing him!
This is exactly what I expected!
He said that although his nephew was also quite stubborn, he wasn't that stubborn!
Sure enough, he wasn't acting recklessly; he had considered it beforehand!
At the same time, the entire crowd completely erupted!
If the first option is to be shrewd and calculating, then the second option is to blatantly exploit the rules!
"The Celestial Master Crane Patrol is his senior master!"
"This...this doesn't even need to be done!"
"The Celestial Crane Patrol will definitely admit defeat outright!"
Thinking of this, everyone suddenly felt a little dazed.
This……
Could Lu Yuan have actually succeeded in the challenge?!
After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances...
That must be Shen Shulan!!
Shen Shulan is the weakest one among them!
Uh……
wrong!
Even with Shen Shulan included, there are only three at the moment.
One more is needed!
You should know that the "Challenge to Heaven" requires you to successfully challenge four people!
And you must succeed in all challenges!
It's not a success if you miss even one thing!
And this last one...
It is the most important!
Looking at it now, the last one must be Hezhu from Nanlin Temple!
Although He Zhu is currently the weakest among the remaining ones, this is in comparison to the other contemporary Celestial Venerables!
This Crane Bamboo is a genuine peak-level Three-Star Celestial Master!
How did Lu Yuan manage to defeat He Zhu after fighting He Cheng and Shen Shulan?!
To put it bluntly...
Lu Yuan might not even be able to beat He Cheng in the first round!
While everyone was pondering...
Lu Yuan's gaze passed over the cranes and bamboos of Nanlin Temple, and also over the cranes of Qingfeng Temple.
Finally, the light fell on the man standing in the center, his expression as indifferent as a god.
Lu Yuan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. His smile was radiant, yet it carried a madness that seemed capable of burning the entire world.
He mustered all his strength and let out a roar that resounded through the sky!
"The third one!"
"I choose Wuqing Temple!"
He paused, then spoke each word with a thunderous voice.
"Shen! Ji! Zhou!"