Chapter 113: A Single Chopstick

“You!” Cao Renjian was infuriated by Xia Meimei’s words. To show such fear before even stepping forward—what a worthless coward!

At this moment, Lu Ran stood atop the arena, his eyes sweeping over the entire crowd.

“How many disciples does the Ten Thousand Sword Sect have left? Hurry up and send them all out. I’m in a hurry!” he declared, brimming with confidence and arrogance.

All of them? Lu Ran’s casual remark sounded utterly shameless to everyone else. It was as if he were trampling the honor of the entire Ten Thousand Sword Sect beneath his feet.

The crowd was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

Below the stage, Cao Renjian’s anger reached a boiling point.

“Cao Zhen, you go. I refuse to believe he can be this arrogant,” he growled.

Cao Zhen, now at the level of a Sovereign, was initially not intended to be sent out so soon by Cao Renjian. But under the circumstances, he had no choice.

Just as Cao Zhen was about to nod his agreement, he was stopped.

“You two go together,” a middle-aged man behind them ordered.

He handed two treasured swords to Cao Zhen and Xia Meimei, signaling that they should fight as a pair.

Cao Renjian’s face broke into a broad grin. “These are quasi-immortal-grade weapons! If those two wield them, Lu Ran will surely die today!”

Overjoyed, Cao Zhen and Xia Meimei accepted the swords, their faces flushed with excitement.

Their master was entrusting them with quasi-immortal weapons.

In the Tianwu Realm, there were precious few quasi-immortal weapons, and even within the sacred grounds, they were kept as treasured heirlooms. Yet, now they could effortlessly wield such weapons in battle.

“Thank you, Master. We will not fail in our mission!” they said in unison, then transformed into beams of light, appearing on the arena.

“Trash, I see you want to die cleanly!” Xia Meimei snapped as she stepped forward.

Though only just entering, her aura exploded into the eighth layer of the Great Ascension stage.

The crowd gasped again.

Another one! Were all the young disciples of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect at the eighth layer of the Great Ascension stage just playing around? How could there be so many? It was terrifying.

Still reeling from the overwhelming presence, Cao Zhen also unleashed his cultivation power.

A terrifying aura surged like a tidal wave, enveloping the iron and stone arena.

He was a Sovereign!

“So young a Sovereign? How was this achieved?”

“Cao Zhen can’t be more than twenty-something, probably not even thirty. How could he be at the Sovereign level? He must be the first in history—there’s no way anyone else has reached this!”

“Is the Ten Thousand Sword Sect about to dominate? How can the younger generation have so many powerful ones?”

Envy filled the voices of the crowd.

Many young onlookers were overwhelmed with emotions.

It was like looking at ‘someone else’s child.’

They understood that someone like Cao Zhen was forever beyond their reach.

Even many elders were stunned. Some had lived for centuries yet had not broken through to the Sovereign realm.

Cao Zhen now stood as the center of attention.

He remained silent, but his presence radiated the aura of a ruler over all.

Everyone awaited his verdict.

“Lu Ran, right? I am but a humble, low-ranking disciple of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, a mere waste. I’ll give you a chance now: if you kneel, admit defeat, and apologize, I might spare you. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless,” Cao Zhen said arrogantly, as if a god looking down on Lu Ran.

Lu Ran had been stunned momentarily by Cao Zhen’s cultivation power but only briefly.

A Sovereign level? So what!

He sneered disdainfully.

His senior sisters were all supreme quasi-immortals.

His master was an existence even more divine than a god. A mere Sovereign was nothing but a trivial matter.

“Fool, you’re so arrogant. You must be courting a clean death. Shall I grant you that?” Lu Ran retorted contemptuously.

Cao Zhen had expected that, upon seeing his power, Lu Ran would tremble in fear and kneel to apologize.

But the other’s disdain only fueled Cao Zhen’s anger.

Killing intent instantly surged.

“If you refuse to obey, I’ll take your life today to teach you a lesson!”

“Sister, let’s begin,” Cao Zhen said.

When their master had handed them the two quasi-immortal swords, he had instructed them to kill Lu Ran using both.

“All right, brother,” Xia Meimei nodded, drawing her long sword in the next instant.

The moment the blade left its sheath, a celestial aura spread, overwhelming the arena.

“Quasi-immortal sword! That woman is wielding a quasi-immortal sword!” the crowd gasped.

“Such a young contest, and they’re already using quasi-immortal swords!”

“That’s a bit excessive.”

“With quasi-immortal swords, they could challenge opponents beyond their level—even supreme ones—with no issue!”

Amid the murmurs, Cao Zhen also drew his sword—another quasi-immortal blade.

The Ten Thousand Sword Sect had produced two quasi-immortal swords!

The crowd was stunned anew. This young contest was not for the faint-hearted.

“Two against one, with such a vast gap in cultivation levels, plus two quasi-immortal weapons. The Ten Thousand Sword Sect has truly unleashed all their strength.”

“They just want to kill Lu Ran.”

“Are they afraid Lu Ran will rise too strong?”

“Who would have thought a genius would fall like this?”

The crowd sighed in unison.

Ling Ji and Zi Yang, the two Holy Lords, stood up in fury.

“Bring the sect’s quasi-immortal weapons to me at once. Let Young Master Lu Ran wield them,” Ling Ji commanded.

Seeing their anger, Long Ruxuan remained calm.

“Gentlemen, there’s no need to worry or be angry,” he said.

At Long Ruxuan’s words, their fury and furrowed brows relaxed.

Who was Lu Ran?

He was the junior disciple of Senior Zhu!

Would he lack quasi-immortal weapons?

Their concerns were unfounded. They were only angering themselves for no reason.

With that thought, the two Holy Lords calmed and sat back down.

Everyone kept their eyes fixed on the arena.

“Heh, you’re bound to die today. No one can save you!” Cao Zhen’s face twisted into a savage grin.

He and Xia Meimei simultaneously raised their quasi-immortal swords high.

The weapons’ power condensed instantly.

Combined with their cultivation, it was as if a cataclysmic force capable of annihilating all creation was descending upon Lu Ran.