A Battle of Attrition

"To think it's the core disciple Fan Chong this time. Those five in the Nascent Soul stage are in for bad luck." "Fan Chong's talent for combat is exceedingly rare even among core disciples. He has never met a match in the same cultivation realm." "Isn't that right? I hear that although Fan Chong is only at the middle Nascent Soul stage, he managed to trade a hundred blows with an early Soul Formation cultivator before losing. Fighting across an entire major realm—challenging someone above his cultivation level—that is the calibre of an ancient genius!" *Hiss...* "He's that strong?" "How could he not be? His master is Daoist Xuanling, the only daughter of the Penglai Island Master! Forget Penglai Island—in the entire East Sea, few dare provoke her!" "The Immortal Appraisal Assembly evaluates potential Immortal Seeds. It seems Fan Chong is the most likely candidate to become an Immortal Seed this time around." Lu Yang and his companions had exceptional hearing. Challenging above one's realm? This Fan Chong wouldn't be easy to deal with. As the Eldest Senior Brother among the five, Lu Yang analyzed the tactical situation and sought a path to victory. "In my view, although Fan Chong possesses immense combat strength, his spiritual energy is limited. As long as we fight a battle of attrition and take turns wearing him down, we can run him into the ground!" "Agreed!" Meng Jingzhou was the first to answer Lu Yang's call. Man Gu was quite puzzled. Was Fan Chong really as formidable as Brother Lu claimed? Could there be some hidden trump card he had failed to spot? Or was it a case of even a lion using its full strength to hunt a rabbit? "So it's you five." Fan Chong sneered. He hadn't expected the passersby he had run into at the shop to end up as his opponents. Fate truly worked in mysterious ways. "All five of you, come at once!" Fan Chong raised his chin slightly. Given his status and great renown, what he needed right now was an overwhelming, crushing victory to build his prestige. Only by doing so could he shoot to fame in a single stroke at the Immortal Appraisal Assembly and be remembered by the world. "Look, he wants to end this quickly. That proves he's short on spiritual power," Lu Yang analyzed, calm and composed. "This battle is perilous. How about this: as the Eldest Senior Brother, I'll go first to scout the path for you." Just as Fan Chong was wondering why the five on the opposite side hadn't made a move, Lu Yang turned into a streak of lightning. Streaking forward at breakneck speed, he was right before Fan Chong's eyes in the blink of an eye. "So fast!" Startled, Fan Chong instinctively raised his sword to parry. He was a sword cultivator. "That's for building flying cars without my permission!" Bringing two fingers together, Lu Yang used his fingers as a sword and unleashed a blast of sword qi. The sword qi surged like a dragon, immensely overbearing. It collided with Fan Chong's longsword with a metallic clash, forcing Fan Chong several steps backward from the sheer force of the blow. If he had been dealing with a talisman cultivator, formation cultivator, or body cultivator, Lu Yang might have drawn his Green Blade Sword. Yet since the opponent was a sword cultivator, Lu Yang didn't even need an actual sword against someone of the same realm. "That's for making flying cars without paying me royalties!" Lu Yang was brimming with resentment. Eight million spirit stones! It wasn't that he lacked money, but seeing his own wealth slip into another man's pockets brought him no joy. "Arhat Fist!" Combining fists and swordplay, Lu Yang anticipated Fan Chong's every move, whether parrying or attacking. From the moment the clash began, Fan Chong's sword hand never managed to raise his wrist back up. At the same time, large clumps of his hair began falling to the ground. "My hair!" Fan Chong shrieked. He had always cared deeply about his image; how was he supposed to show his face now? "Phew, he really is tough to handle." Lu Yang feigned panting for breath, then gestured for Meng Jingzhou to take the stage next. Meng Jingzhou struck with equal brutality, beating Fan Chong black and blue. "Even when this young master goes out, I'm never as ostentatious as you! Look how smug you acted!" After that came Tao Yaoye, Man Gu, and Li Haoran. Broadcasting Dream Bubble without permission was no different from daylight robbery. Gentle-tempered though Tao Yaoye was, she still had plenty of fury to vent. Man Gu, inspired by Lu Yang's actions, took to heart the lesson that a lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. Calling upon his Old Ancestor to possess him, he battered Fan Chong mercilessly. Li Haoran already held an utterly dismal opinion of Fan Chong. Unleashing his True Fire, he held back just enough—otherwise, Fan Chong would have died long ago.