Emperor Xia thought back carefully. Aside from guessing that Lu Yang would lose each time, he shouldn't have done anything else to provoke him.
Considering further that those inside the treasure box couldn't sense what was happening outside, the answer was obvious—Lu Yang simply wanted to beat him up.
Emperor Xia was determined never to fight Lu Yang one-on-one.
What a joke. Even Master Jiesha had lost, and martial prowess wasn't Emperor Xia's strong suit. If he stepped up, he would definitely end up in a worse state than Luo Hongxia.
Looking at Lu Yang's ruthless methods—Luo Hongxia left chewing leaves, Yang Ding practically tonsured into monkhood, and the Master looking like he had returned to secular life—the boy probably wouldn't respect elders or care for the young, let alone show deference to a poor old man like himself, who was like a candle flickering in the wind.
*Clap, clap, clap.*
He clapped gently, acting as though he hadn't heard the Immortal Fairy's invitation to battle, his face bearing a warm, springtime smile.
"Good, good, good! Truly a youthful prodigy! Possessing such combat prowess at so tender an age—your future is limitless!"
The Immortal Fairy nodded, accepting Emperor Xia's praise as a matter of course. Her invincible momentum had been forged through battles every step of the way, defeating countless opponents before successfully ascending to immortality.
"So do you want to fight me?"
Emperor Xia experienced a sudden bout of deafness and spared no lavish praise on Lu Yang. "Sect Master Lu made a name at a young age, extraordinarily gifted and spirited! In the coming Golden Age, there will certainly be a place for you!"
The Immortal Fairy continued to nod. As the head of the Five Ancient Celestials, she had been invincible under heaven before meeting an unexpected death. Upon returning through rebirth, she found that the world had forgotten her name and legends. With the Golden Age arriving to recreate the splendor of ancient times, she was bound to reclaim everything that belonged to her.
"I like hearing that. So do you want to spar with me?"
Emperor Xia continued, "Although your master is Daoist Buyu and you cannot hold an official post in the imperial court, you are, after all, a subject of Great Xia. Once you step down from the position of sect master, I shall grant you the privileges to enter the court without scurrying, address the throne without stating your name, and wear your sword and shoes into the palace hall."
This was no minor reward. One had to achieve monumental merit to receive such honors, which were grand enough to be recorded in historical annals.
Even setting aside the overwhelming combat prowess Lu Yang had displayed in defeating four immortal sect masters, his vital role in destroying the Immortal Cult and his magnificent feat of establishing the Heavenly Court Cult to keep the Nine Nether Cult in check were more than enough for Emperor Xia to bestow such rewards.
Of course, the real reason was that Emperor Xia wanted to stall for time.
Emperor Xia frantically shot glances at Qiu Jin'an and the others, signaling them to help change the subject.
He had given up on Yun Zhi. When he shot her a look, she merely returned an expressionless stare.
Qiu Jin'an coughed twice, praising Lu Yang as though he hadn't just been beaten up himself. "Sect Master Lu's combat awareness is extraordinary. Although I held back, forcing me to such an extent was truly no small feat. Thinking back to when I was at the Golden Core stage, I roamed the world without an equal, undefeated in every battle."
Yang Ding nodded, rubbing his glossy, shiny bald head as he commented on the recent fight.
"Well said. Sect Master Lu's combat awareness is the strongest I have seen in my life—a natural talent born for battle. At such a young age, he has mastered the essence of the unity of fist and spell. He is truly worthy of being the junior brother cultivated by Fellow Daoist Yun. It is a pity that my fight with him earlier was like the strong bullying the weak; I felt embarrassed to use my full power and carelessly suffered defeat. If I were genuinely at the Golden Core stage, I would definitely have a proper match with Sect Master Lu. In Golden Core stage battles, I have never feared anyone."
Luo Hongxia looked disdainfully at the two shameless men, feeling that sharing the title of immortal sect master with them was a disgrace.
"The spells Sect Master Lu used were not bad either—completely unheard of, almost like a school of his own. With that alone, defeating rogue cultivators who dispersed their cultivation to start anew would be no problem at all. Back when I was at the Golden Core stage, facing cultivators who had dispersed their cultivation to start anew, my odds of winning were merely ninety percent—hardly worth mentioning."
What did it take to be an immortal sect master? Not only was high cultivation required, but one also had to represent the sect's dignity to the outside world, demanding the highest standards. Lu Yang felt that the three of them truly deserved their positions; their skins were thick enough to rival his master's.
The Immortal Fairy's attention was indeed successfully diverted. She stopped mentioning a duel with Emperor Xia and asked curiously, "Since the three of you were so formidable at the Golden Core stage, who among you was actually the strongest?"
"Haha, what a question—I was the strongest when I was at the Golden Core stage," the three sect masters said in unison.
The moment the words left their mouths, the air went dead silent, and the atmosphere abruptly turned tense.
Even Lu Yang, residing in the spiritual space, could sense the sharp, murderous tension.
The three sect masters exchanged looks and shifted their steps apart, subtly on guard.
Qiu Jin'an narrowed his eyes slightly, uttering an "Oh?" before remarking casually, "Could the strongest Golden Core not be me? Back in the Golden Core stage, I fought above my level and wiped out an entire branch hall of the Immortal Cult. Both the branch master and deputy branch master were at the Nascent Soul stage, and I captured them alive."
Yang Ding sneered, "Ridiculous! Back then, I was conned by Old Scoundrel Buyu and placed in confinement, otherwise my name would have spread across the realm long before. As if defeating someone at the Nascent Soul stage were anything special!"
Luo Hongxia was equally brimming with confidence, unwilling to show weakness. "Back in the Golden Core stage, we all united against external foes to deal with the Nine Sons of the Dao Seeking Sect and never had the chance to fight each other. Looking at it now, the timing couldn't be better."
"Then bring it on!"
"Who's afraid of whom!"
"Fight!"
Luo Hongxia activated the treasure box. It shot out three beams of light, sucking the three of them inside and suppressing their cultivation to the Golden Core stage.
Once the three entered the box, the murderous atmosphere dissipated, and the air fell quiet once more.
The Immortal Fairy blinked, unable to understand why the three of them had suddenly started fighting.
"Didn't they say the Five Great Immortal Sects share bitter hatred against a common enemy? They aren't united at all," she muttered. Even the Five Ancient Celestials had been more united than this.
Lu Yang: "..."
*Fairy, care to guess why they started fighting in the first place?*
After waiting for a while, the Immortal Fairy saw no movement from the treasure box; it seemed unlikely a victor would emerge anytime soon.
"Nothing else left, right? If not, should we head back?" With fewer people at the meeting, the Immortal Fairy's interest dwindled. In any case, everything that needed to be said had been said, the people had been beaten, and it was time to return.
As acting sect master, she had to govern the vast Dao Seeking Sect and was occupied with myriad affairs every day.
"Nothing left. Go on back." The look in Emperor Xia's eyes when regarding Lu Yang was noticeably different now; he just wanted to see this great Buddha off as quickly as possible.
Even Daoist Buyu at the Golden Core stage hadn't been able to stir up this much ruckus.
"Let's go." Yun Zhi was quite satisfied with the Immortal Fairy's performance; no major chaos had broken out.
Swinging her arms, the Immortal Fairy swaggered out of the Imperial Palace. Yun Zhi trailed half a step behind her, impeccably observing etiquette.
The two rode away on a cloud, leaving behind only Emperor Xia and Master Jiesha.
"Master, you..."
Master Jiesha said nothing and tore through the void, departing.
In truth, he had also wanted to enter the treasure box to show those juniors what it truly meant to be invincible at the Golden Core stage, but as an elder after all, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Of course, there was another reason: he suspected that if he entered the treasure box, he would face the combined assault of three opponents, which he estimated he wouldn't be able to withstand.
Practicing Silent Chan was truly difficult. During the meeting, he could only nod and shake his head without speaking a single word, feeling suffocatingly miserable.
Chapter 472