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Translator: Fate
Proofreader: Silavin
“Young Master Changge wants to fight with the Chosen Monk, Jin Chan?”
The Elders at the entrance exchanged shocked stares, not knowing what to say. Gu Changge was currently one of the Ten Great Ranked Disciples just like Jin Chan, so logically they should be careful when initiating a fight. If they lose any advantage, their standing in the Immortal Academy might take a hit and become less stable.
“Are you sure about that, Young Master Gu?” Jin Chan finally showed an expression other than calmness as he gazed at Gu Changge. He hadn’t expected Gu Changge to be such a show-off, much less at the entrance of the Immortal Academy.
Jin Chan wondered to himself, [Did I offended him? That can’t be, this is the first time we’ve met.
[Gu Changge is far too arrogant. None of the other young prodigies even enter his eyes] Ying Shuang thought to himself with clenched fists.
He believed more and more that Gu Changge was the real Successor of Demonic Arts, and the purpose of fighting against the Chosen Monk was not only to test Jin Chan’s strength, but it was also to display his terrifying power in front of the crowd. Afterwards, the Immortal Academy might suffer the same fate as the Skyward Schloss where Gu Changge would dominate everything.
“It’s just light sparring, so Brother Jin Chan doesn’t need to think too much about it.” Gu Changge was still smiling mildly. “But if you decline, I won’t force you into it. Not many in the young generation have made me interested in sparring with them.”
His words were simple yet made many catch their breath. A heavy pressure suddenly could be felt weighing down their shoulders. His statement was powerful and careless, in the way that signified he did not take his opponent seriously. They knew this wasn’t him being arrogant as he had the power to back it up and silence any doubts. The words, of course, were also a sign of recognition. There was great pride in making Gu Changge interested in a spar.
“If so, I apologise for any future offence towards you.” Jin Chan knew the fight was unavoidable and sighed internally. His purpose here was not to compete against anyone and beat them, but Gu Changge had pressured him too much to refuse.
Soon, beams of light rushed from everywhere in the Academy as people heard the news. Figures flashed into existence on top of the mountains in order to watch the fight. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was a key fight in the young generation, as it involved two Ranked disciples of the Academy!
With a loud hum, Chaos Qi spread out from deep within the clouds. A golden road lengthened towards the location as the Elders rushed to watch the fight as well. They were all expectant and curious about this fight.
Many people had guessed Gu Changge’s motive in making the suggestion. He wanted to strengthen his standing in the Academy. He was new here in the Academy, which did not have an accurate ranking and level system. Him striking first was equivalent to him announcing his abilities to everyone else and making them know who was number one here.
On a mountain peak, a woman with flame-red phoenix wings stood in a dress of the same colour, with flames winding around her arms. From a distance, she looked exceptionally beautiful; she held a natural elegance, looking like a Phoenix Lady carved from red ruby.
This was an ancient monstrosity from Phoenix Mountain, who was also one of the Top Ten Ranked Disciples!
It was said that she had a strong link to the Celestial Phoenix, and it was said she might be its reincarnation.
“Gu Changge…” she muttered quietly, then disappeared as her wings flapped and her figure became a blur.
[Gu Changge initiated a fight with the Chosen Monk of Buddhist Mountain?] A man in purple, currently within the Cave, frowned. [It’s best to see for myself how true all those rumours are.]
At that thought, his figure blurred as he left in a surge of Purple Qi for the entrance of the mountain.
“Even Sky King Zhi Yang is moving?” This got the attention of many and shocked them. He was the first Ranked Disciple to come to the Immortal Academy and was from the Purple Mansion. He was also a preserved ancient monstrosity who had unanimously been number one in the Upper Realm. It had to be noted that the Purple Mansion was a very mysterious faction in the Upper Realm with an extremely long history.
Such a display was seen in the many mountains and islands within the Academy. The atmosphere became noisy at the entrance as figures from different factions flashed into existence, all exuding powerful auras. They were all undefeated young prodigies who dominated one corner of the outside world and mostly consisted of Inner Disciples and Unranked Disciples. Meanwhile, many of the Ranked Disciples were not present. They had not entered the Immortal Academy just yet. They included the two missing Successors of the Mortal Palace, as well as the mysterious King with Six Crowns. The other Ranked Disciples were extremely mysterious as well and could not be tracked down.
“I don’t know who will win this fight. I feel that the Chosen Monk is extremely mysterious as I have never heard of him before. However, since he’s recognised as a Ranked Disciple by the Academy, he must be superior in some regards.”
“It’s hard to see who will win between these two.”
“I disagree. Based on Talent and without the use of other techniques, Young Master Changge has an edge over Jin Chan. After all, he’s the only being who has repelled the Successor of Demonic Arts.”
“There’s been rumours that he might be the Mortal One’s reincarnation.”
“Ah, no wonder…”
The crowd began discussing among themselves, exhaling in fear and shock at the implication.
“Young Master Changge, no offence!” Just as the crowd was conversing among themselves, Jin Chan, sitting atop a nine-headed golden lion, struck first. His tone was calm.
Light reflected from jewels began to shine, accompanied by Buddhist chanting. It made the atmosphere blindingly brilliant and divine. His attack consisted of divine, mysterious Dhamma, and a halo appeared above his head. It made him look like a celestial Buddha.
He did not dare to underestimate Gu Changge, exhibiting power that was of the Sacred Realm. His Ancient Dhamma evolved to form an enormous golden Buddha, which shone brightly and looked extremely powerful. The terrifying energy exuded made many young prodigies turn pale as they felt their skin about to split from the force.
“So strong!”
“Power in the Sacred Realm? Is this how dominant the current Chosen Monk is? He’s far stronger than me!”
They shivered with shock. Such power would have stunned many if it had been shown earlier.
*Boom!* The giant golden Buddha onto Gu Changge, as if ready to crush him.
“Brother Jin Chan, are you underestimating me? It will be disappointing if this is all you can do.” Gu Changge was still smiling, unbothered.
He had only slightly raised a hand without moving the other. In the next moment, it moved forward in a covering motion. A loud rumbling rang from the void as if it was going to explode. Then, the large palm materialised and made the void collapse. It was like the hand of God, surrounded by a heavenly aura and powerful celestial light. It shone in multicoloured light and was surrounded by mist.
The majestic phantom of the gigantic thousand metre tall Buddha immediately cracked under the impact, disappearing into thin air.
“What? Just with a strike of his palm?”
“This is too frustrating! He’s too strong!”
Many in the crowd shivered as they saw this, fear welling up in their hearts.
“We cannot analyse this by normal logic,” Both the Phoenix Lady and the Sky King were frowning, as they compared between both sides. They noticed that both Jin Chan and Gu Changge hadn’t used their full power yet.
Soon, Jin Chan attacked again. A golden alms bowl flew out from under his monk robes. It shone with the light of Dhamma, which illuminated everything and seemed to purify everything with its power of Dao. It was an ancient Buddhist relic which contained the power of the Sacred Realm and emitted a divine light of Principles as terrifying as the galaxy.
Gu Changge’s counterattack was more simple. With a snap of his fingers, sword energy erupted and made a scary humming sound. The crowd saw what seemed to be a celestial sword as it sliced through the universe and slashed downwards in a flash of light. They couldn’t help but close their eyes at this.
In the next moment, they heard a crunching sound. Countless beams of light shone out as the golden alms bowl cracked. The crack began to expand and the bowl looked ready to break. If not for Jin Chan immediately withdrawing it upon realising the situation, he would have lost an ancient Buddhist relic.
“Young Master Changge is truly strong and I, Jin Chan, am not suited to be your rival. I am willing to yield to you.” Jin Chan’s expression shifted slightly, but then he sighed and chose to yield instead of continuing his attack.
“Brother Jin Chan is such a spoilsport. But since you have said so, I will no longer attack as well.” Gu Changge seemed slightly surprised at this, but his smile did not change.
He had expected Jin Chan to do this; who would go all out and fight their opponent to the death when they had no quarrel with the other side? He just wanted to test Jin Chan’s power to estimate whether his plan could be carried out.
Of course, he had the bonus of strengthening his standing and making everyone know that there was still a great difference between their might and his, even if they were all Ranked Disciples. He didn’t like being compared to others; the reason for that in the past was fear of making others notice his true power and thus invoke unnecessary suspicion.
Now that many ancient monstrosities had shown themselves, as well as another Successor of Demonic Arts existing, his power would no longer be as eye-catching as before, no matter how strong it became.
Therefore, even if he was competing against those within the younger generation, he was compelled to make them understand that the difference between them was not small. In simple terms he was telling everyone that he was much stronger than them.
The resources at the Immortal Academy were not what Gu Changge preferred, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care for them. Furthermore, the more powerful he was, the more he would gain. So, everything he did brought him numerous benefits.
Jin Chan shook his head at Gu Changge’s words but did not say anything. His expression was completely calm. There was no trace of anger or dissatisfaction at his loss; he still had plenty of techniques, but he knew that it would be hard to defeat Gu Changge even after using all of them. [He’s just too powerful, all the way down to the bone! I am just unfortunate to run into Gu Changge today. If he were to meet any of the other Ranked Disciple, he would ask for the same thing. He clearly just wanted to exhibit his power and make everyone wary of him, which would allow him to dominate everything in the Immortal Academy.]
“I guess it is reasonable for him to be so confident in himself.” Elder Mo, who had become silent, told Ying Shuang with a grave expression outside the entrance. “You are now the only Successor who’s suppressed by another prodigy in the same generation…”
Elder Mo felt that this was going to be troublesome. He had thought things would become much easier once he found the Successor of Demonic Arts for this generation, but Gu Changge just had to appear, whose power was otherworldly.
Ying Shuang’s expression was stiff as well, the being feeling frustrated at how powerful Gu Changge was. Even the original Prince Ying was not as strong as Gu Changge. Ying Shuang clenched his fist in dissatisfaction; the only thing that relieved him slightly was that Gu Changge was in the spotlight, while he was concealed within the shadows. Thus, Gu Changge didn’t know he was there as well. This would serve as an opportunity for him to take his revenge!
[I need to resolve this carefully. I have to think of a way to tell Gu Xianer about how dangerous Gu Changge is. She might be indifferent to me, but I’m not going to let her die.] Sky King Zhi Yang frowned, a grave look upon his face. He wasn’t sure who would win if he went all out against Gu Changge in a fight. This was the first time he was so uncertain and unsettled; Gu Changge was more terrifying than the rumours had described.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Lady was studying Gu Changge, as if imprinting him into her mind. She then disappeared in a flash.
“Jin Chan is really unlucky,” Yue Mingkong muttered to herself, knowing what Gu Changge’s objective was.
“Not really; he’s still alive after our fight, which makes him lucky already” Gu Changge’s smile was intriguing.
Yue Mingkong glanced at him, sensing that he was plotting something again. [Is it because of the Demon-Burying Abyss?]
Soon, the news of the fight spread, sending shockwaves through not just the Academy but also the rest of the Upper Realm. All the sects had always paid attention towards the younger generation, and the fight between Gu Changge and the Chosen Monk Jin Chan was especially attention-grabbing.
The results of the fight were recorded by the photographic stone and passed among the city and market. This immediately took Gu Changge’s reputation to further heights. Many had thought he was inferior to the ancient monstrosities due to how young he was, which meant he did not have enough time to cultivate. Thus, this fight shocked them to the point that it was hard to remain calm. These monstrosities were far too inferior compared to him. Even many of the older generation felt they could not beat him; he had now developed to the point where many of the older generation were aware yet wary of him.
A few days after the battle.
“Qing Xiaoyi has been accepted into the Immortal Academy. She has the Celestial Demonic Physique, and if I’m not mistaken, her older brother still has that Flask.” Yue Mingkong murmured, a complicated expression in her eyes. She was currently in a grand palace very close to where Gu Changge currently was.
She had a very strong memory from her past life about Qing Xiaoyi, who had been an extremely legendary figure. Her rise had stunned many forces in the Upper Realm and was one of the two disciples whom the Academy was most proud of. The other one being a Wondrous Stone long preserved within the Immortal Academy.
Wait. The grandpa stone was a disciple? Makes no sense.
Grandpa Shi was a regular rock, from what I gathered, until Changge’s previous incarnation sat on it cultivating for who knows how long and maybe bled on it too, although that might’ve happened after the awakening. I also suspect the reason Academy is located exactly here might or might not be related to his inability to leave this place. Him being called disciple of the Academy kinda implies that the Academy might’ve been founded by that very rock teaching Master.
Lol the timeline for the academy makes no sense. It’s existed before but unknown to others. Should it be more. Re-opening rather than the start?
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Damn…. GC already had his hands all over Mingkong’s goals even before she had the chance to make contact with them.
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Why are they called ancient monstrosities if they are less than 50 years old?