Sheng Xingyu declined to explain her comment any further. This was Wu Yu"s personal experience after all. His return would not be met with many questions anyway.
Wu Yu could not be bothered to stay here any longer. He wanted to head back to the Warring Immortals Hall. Firstly, this would allow Nangong Wei to find him easily after receiving news about his return. Secondly, he wanted to cultivate a Great Dao Mystique. Great Dao Mystiques were extremely crucial. They were basically a martial cultivators" trump card against the demons. Furthermore, it was only through mastering a Great Dao Mystique that one could truly ascend to the Clear Sky of Shushan. That was one of Wu Yu"s aspirations, and was once one of Feng Xueya"s dreams as well.
However, once Shen Xingyu finished speaking, a young sword cultivator unexpectedly flew down from the champion"s position of the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals and landed right before Wu Yu. This youth had a pretty face with delicate features. He wore an arrogant expression on his face and gazed at Wu Yu provocatively. The moment he landed, he furrowed his brow immediately. "Wu Yu, you were ranked one on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals before, but the same can"t be said now. I have just obtained first place, so how could you simply returning allow you to claim the position back from me? I"m not satisfied, let me challenge you!"
Wu Yu remembered this youth. Back when he challenged Zhao Xuanxian and He Taiyao, this youth should have been at around rank five. Now that many others had already become disciples of the Huang sword rank, he had vaulted past the ranks to become first place.
However, due to Wu Yu"s return, first place no longer belonged to him. He was obviously dissatisfied.
This youth was not that old. For him to have achieved so much already, he definitely had to be a genius that was comparable to Zhao Xuanxian.
Right after the youth finished speaking, the numerous ordinary dan Shushan disciples started jeering rowdily, supporting the youth"s challenge. The truth was that everyone just wanted to know how much Wu Yu had improved over this period of two or three years. Had he still improved at the scary pace as he did back then?
"Wu Yu, get ready to battle!"
"This makes sense. Such a long time has pa.s.sed, who knows if you still deserve to be number one on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals?"
"The first ranked of the leaderboard is obliged to accept the challenges of potential successors. Didn"t you defeat Zhao Xuanxian this way?"
With so many people jeering at him, Wu Yu would surely be subject to ridicule should he choose not to act.
However, it was Shen Xingyu who smiled slightly. In fact, she intentionally emphasized that Wu Yu was number one on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals in order to rile up the youth to challenge Wu Yu. Sure enough, the youth fell for her trap. She had actually given this a lot of thought. After all, in the realm of cultivators, ability was the basis of everything. Only once Wu Yu demonstrated that he was worthy of his t.i.tle would the large crowd of youths behind him be convinced.
If one surveyed the countless youths across the entire Shushan, they would find young men with pa.s.sionate resolve and young women with malleable hearts. The lives of the youth tended to be pure.
When it came to Wu Yu, there were people that revered him, suspected him, wors.h.i.+ped him, were jealous of him, were infatuated with him, and also some who held him with absolute disdain.
Wu Yu did not hesitate for even one moment, he gave a curt nod. "Sure, you may begin whenever you like."
Such a casual reply was truly arrogant. Wu Yu even held both his hands behind his back. Facing this youth who was currently number one on the Leaderboard of Sword and Immortals... to be honest, Wu Yu still did not know his name.
"Underestimating me is a grave mistake. You shall pay the price for such mockery!" The youth gave an angry grunt as he charged forward with his sword.
The sword in his hands suddenly morphed into a thousand sword shadows. These shadows combined into a giant bird with the wingspan of a thousand feet. A deafening screech contorted the surrounding s.p.a.ce and shattered the clouds.
As Wu Yu looked straight ahead, his entire field of vision seemed to be full of flesh-piercing sword points.
These blades arrived in a flash and stabbed towards Wu Yu from all directions. From afar, this looked like a giant bird that was going to consume Wu Yu whole.
"He"s actually not even bothering to dodge, how bold of him!" Many ordinary dan disciples were dumbfounded at this sight and could only look at Wu Yu with gazes of disbelief.
This was a match among sword cultivators. It was obvious that Wu Yu seemed to pay no heed to such an attack.
This was to be expected. Wu Yu was able to defeat even the Metallic Stone Immortal Monkey, who was at the ninth tier of Yaodan. With his strength that rivaled even that of Baili Feihong, Wu Yu regarded the youth"s power as roughly equal to that of a three-year-old, so there was no need for any dodging.
The next moment would leave the thousands of Shushan disciples in the audience with hardened expressions on their faces, and thoroughly convince them of Wu Yu"s might.
This was because with no movement on Wu Yu"s end whatsoever, the thousand blades scattered across his body like heavy rain. The shocking thing was that despite how sharp these sword points were, they fell upon Wu Yu like raindrops falling on a rock. They shattered immediately upon contact. The strength of a thousand blades failed to harm even a single hair on Wu Yu"s head.
Based on his understanding of the true power of the Invincible Vajra Body, the scene played out exactly how Wu Yu imagined it would.
"No matter how formidable your sword dao, it will not be able to hurt me even in the slightest."
Ding, ding, ding!
As the concentrated sound of attacks rang out, Wu Yu disappeared in a flash.
"Impossible!" The youth"s face turned white with fear. Just as he came to understand the vast difference in skill between Wu Yu and himself, Wu Yu suddenly appeared right before him. Wu Yu"s fist connected directly with the youth"s face, causing him to be slammed backwards. His teeth were immediately shattered and his mouth was full of fresh blood.
"Waaah!" The youth suffered such a great shock that he started to weep on the spot. While this child was undeniably capable, he was still young after all. His level of maturity was nowhere near that of Wu Yu, who had spent his formative years growing up in the midst of constant strife within the royal palace.
As the youth crawled away hurriedly in shame, Wu Yu surveyed his surroundings. The surroundings of the Mountain of Swords and Immortals was filled with deafening silence. Everyone"s gaze was fixated on Wu Yu, and most of the doubt cast on him earlier was finally gone. To them, Wu Yu was a monster. How else would he have been able to leave the Endless Demon Seas alive?
This battle was further proof of Wu Yu"s monster-like existence.
In particular, it was known far and wide that his corporeal strength exceeded that of demons.
"Apparently, Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain killed four Huang sword rank disciples, including the seventh tier Jindan Dao cultivator He Taozi, yet he fell at the hands of Wu Yu in the end."
"The disdainful terror of this young man is surely one of a kind."
It was only later that words of admiration would be exchanged instead.
"I wonder, if such a one-of-a-kind talent caused the Galaxy Sword Sage to be so interested in him, why did he not take him in as a disciple?"
Unfortunately, this was the question that raised many doubts and suspicions among everyone.
"Actually this Wu Yu is already a fifth tier Jindan Dao cultivator. He was already able to obtain the number one spot when he was only a third tier Jindan Dao cultivator, so of course he would be able to do it easily now."
Only after the elders discussed Wu Yu"s current state did many people feel relieved.
"Given Wu Yu"s rate of transformation, I"m sure that even a seventh tier Jindan Dao cultivator would be no match for him. This, of course, includes the vast majority of the Huang sword rank disciples as well. One can only wonder if he has mastered a Great Dao Mystique. If he has done so, he could already be considered a Huang sword rank disciple. Being number one on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals is not much use to him."
Upon hearing such fervent discussions about him, Wu Yu cupped his hands respectfully toward the crowd. he had already announced and demonstrated what he had to. He remarked, "If that"s the case, I do not want to interrupt the Battle of Swords and Immortals any further. I"ll take my leave for now."
Shen Xingyu first got him to receive his two thousand merits. She had already arranged for it with the staff at the Achievement Hall.
As Wu Yu was preparing to leave, a slightly familiar voice suddenly rang out. "Wait, don"t leave in such a hurry."
Wu Yu glanced over. From the crowd to the east, two figures walked out before riding on flying swords to confront Wu Yu. They were a handsome man and beautiful woman. They held each other"s hands, giving the impression of a close couple that bystanders would be jealous of. It was none other than the now Huang sword rank disciples that were also accepted as disciples by a Shushan Sword Sage, Zhao Xuanxian and He Taiyao.
Wu Yu had long forgotten about these people. Why did they suddenly reappear at this moment?
"What do you two want?" Wu Yu did not have a good impression about these two, so he did not even attempt to be polite.
Zhao Xuanxian rubbed He Taiyao"s tender lily-white hands as he glared at Wu Yu menacingly. As he sized Wu Yu up, Zhao Xuanxian chimed, "Nothing much, I just want to represent my fellow Shushan disciples and ask for you to dispel some of our doubts."
Wu Yu roughly understood where they were coming from. After all, a rival that was thought to be missing or dead had suddenly reappeared to steal their limelight.
"Out with it, stop wasting other people"s time," Wu Yu replied.
"How rude." He Taiyao stared coldly at Wu Yu.
Zhao Xuanxian glared at Wu Yu and asked, "We"re just curious - what exactly happened during the two years that you spent in the Endless Demon Seas? What demon brought you there in the first place? Why did it bring you there? How did you manage to escape? Wu Yu, don"t try to deceive use. Give all my Shushan comrades a proper explanation."
He Taiyao added, "That"s right. If you don"t give us a clear answer, it is only natural for us to suspect that you"ve joined forces with the demons over these two years! You could have returned to Shushan under a demon"s control, full of secrets that you can"t reveal!"
Upon hearing He Taiyao"s words, murmurs rippled throughout the crowd. No one else had even considered such a possibility, but upon further thought, He Taiyao and Zhao Xuanxian did have a point after all. Wu Yu had not explained anything clearly at all, so it was not outside the realm of possibility that this happened.
These words seemed to have a negative effect and were disadvantageous for Wu Yu. Shen Xingyu interrupted in a slightly annoyed tone, "This is Wu Yu"s personal matter. He only has to discuss it with me. The general public has no need to know. Your so-called suspicions are utter nonsense, and only serve to smear the names of others. The two of you were defeated by Wu Yu after all. I"m sure you"re still unhappy about this. If I were you, I would not beat around the bush. If I were still ashamed about what happened long ago, a challenge would be more appropriate. What"s the point of spreading such rumors?"
The older, the wiser after all. Shen Xingyu"s words revealed Zhao Xuanxian and He Taiyao"s true intentions immediately. This matter was certainly them trying to go over the head of Shen Xingyu.
Shen Xingyu continued, "The both of you are Huang sword rank disciples, whereas I, Shen Xingyu, am an Earth sword rank disciple. Wu Yu"s return is a matter that is for me to handle and investigate. According to the rules of Shushan, there is no need at all for the details of this investigation to be made public to such a huge audience. Wu Yu managed to beat the odds and successfully escaped from the Endless Demon Seas, yet the two of you are just green with envy. How disgraceful! Zhao Xuanxian, it is no wonder my elder brother did not respect you at all. Your narrow-mindedness is utterly disappointing."
Shen Xingyu was in this state only because her authority had been challenged. If one did not question her authority, she would not care much at all. In this case, however, Zhao Xuanxian had stepped far across the line, so this angered her deeply.
Despite Zhao Xuanxian"s attempt to stir the pot, Shen Xingyu"s words and reputation in Shushan put most people"s minds at ease.