1968 The Details of the Battle (1)"Grandpa Feng, how... is that person"s strength?" Bai Ruanqing asked anxiously.
It had been ten minutes since they returned from the Ethereal Hall, but as soon as their consciousness was brought back, Bai Feng had closed his eyes and fallen into deep thought. Seeing this, no one dared to say a word at all.
"Brilliant! It was truly brilliant!" Bai Feng slowly opened his eyes, revealing the excited gleam within.
"Brilliant?"
Everyone"s lips twitched a little.
Had this old man been shocked silly from being beheaded?
Liu Lujie could not help but look at w.a.n.g Jiandong as they touched their necks. Even though they knew that it was in a virtual world, being beheaded four times consecutively still left them feeling a little shaken.
That being said, their heads had already been sliced off four times, but they did not feel any shred of the "brilliance" that Bai Feng was exclaiming about.
"I have cultivated the Heavysnow Swordsmans.h.i.+p for a hundred years now, but I still can"t help but find it an amazing work. Its speed is just one of its many strengths. What is more important is its ability to imbue one"s zhenqi into a sword and control it with impeccable smoothness. This allows for the execution of seemingly inhuman moves, thus making it extremely difficult to deal with!" Bai Feng looked into the air with a hint of admiration and reverence in his voice.
"For many years, I was convinced that the Heavysnow Swordsmans.h.i.+p is flawless. Yet, who could have known that the other party would overcome it in a single blow? That sword of his was truly ingenious! It was a breathtaking work of ingenuity!"
Even though Bai Feng had been killed in a single strike, he was still able to discern a sliver of the other party"s swordsmans.h.i.+p, and that was enough for him to be immersed in it for many hours, as if a child stumbling upon a new
"This..." The crowd blinked their eyes blankly.
Bai Ruanqing looked at Bai Feng uncertainly for a moment before asking, "Grandpa Bai, are you not angry at all?"
To be slain in a single move by a minor figure who had not even reached Pseudo Immortal yet, should an expert of his caliber not feel embarra.s.sed and humiliated?
"I am more than grateful to see such a formidable swordsmans.h.i.+p. Why should I be angry?" Bai Feng was slightly surprised by the question.
He glanced at the three faces around him, and as if seeing through their thoughts, he chuckled softly. "Humility, and not pride, is of the utmost importance to a cultivator. The Way of the Sword is vast and profound. An entire lifetime is not enough for us to fully uncover its wonders, so why should we allow such transient pride to affect our emotions? If I truly desired prestige and honor, I would have been a core elder at the very least by now!"
Yes!"
Bai Feng"s wise teaching made their faces redden in shame.
In terms of strength, Bai Feng was more than qualified to become a core elder. However, in order to serve Elder Bai Ye, he had stayed true to his responsibilities as a servant, not overstepping his bounds in the least. It was hard to find another person like him in the world.
"Grandpa Feng, you seem to have a really high opinion of I Am Low Profile"s swordsmans.h.i.+p. Could it be that... he"s even more formidable than you?" Bai Ruanqing asked curiously.
"More formidable than me?" Bai Feng shook his head. "I"m not even qualified to be compared with him! Alright, I have really widened my perspective with this duel, so I"ll be heading back to take care of the Old Master. Ruanqing, try to find the medicine seller as soon as possible!"
Following which, Bai Feng stood up and left the main hall. It did not take long for him to vanish over the horizon.
On the other hand, Bai Ruanqing did not think that Bai Feng would leave just like that. She had still been thinking of asking him a few more questions. Sighing deeply, she turned to Liu Lujie and the others and said, "Since you aren"t able to defeat I Am Low Profile, just leave him be for the time being. I need you to help me check who this person is!"
Then, she took out the painting once more.
"Right now, all the disciples are fighting with I Am Low Profile, so it won"t be too easy to look into it. Once the duel finishes, I"ll start spreading the word to look for this person!" Liu Lujie said as he stood up.
However, Bai Ruanqing frowned after hearing his words. "There were at least three thousand disciples surrounding I Am Low Profile when we left the Ethereal Hall earlier. Furthermore, there are more inner disciples joining in the battle with each pa.s.sing moment. It"ll take too long for I Am Low Profile to finish all of them!"
It was apparent that Bai Ruanqing did not think that the inner disciples could win against I Am Low Profile.
Displeased by those words, Liu Lujie protested indignantly. "No matter how long it takes, the inner disciples will surely persevere. We won"t allow ourselves to be defeated just like that! This is our pride and dignity!
"I believe that as long as we push on, no matter how powerful I Am Low Profile is, he"ll eventually be worn down and killed. The final victory will be ours to claim!"
But just as Liu Lujie was making this impa.s.sioned speech, w.a.n.g Jiandong suddenly took out a jade token, and upon taking a look, his mouth fell open. His lips twitched a little, as if he had something to say, but he had no idea how to approach it.
"What"s wrong?" Liu Lujie asked.
"Senior Liu, I just received a message saying that the duel has ended. I Am Low Profile killed the remaining three thousand people with a single move. So, the system is currently processing the results," w.a.n.g Jiandong said.
"W-what? He killed three thousand people with a single move?" Liu Lujie nearly fell to the ground from shock. He stared at w.a.n.g Jiandong intently as he asked, "Are you certain?"
Liu Lujie was not the only one taken aback by this piece of news. Bai Ruanqing seemed to be on the verge of losing her mind, too.
It was understandable if a person was able to kill a person with one strike. Two was still a logical number, and ten was still barely acceptable. But to kill three thousand cultivators of equal cultivation realm in a single move...
Are you messing with me?
"The matter has already been confirmed. All of the killed inner disciples have returned to the Ethereal Hall to wait for the final verdict," w.a.n.g Jiandong said.
As the third strongest inner disciple, he had subordinates that were loyal to him, so he did not doubt this intelligence.
"This..." Liu Lujie"s eyebrows shot up. He quickly turned to Bai Ruanqing and clasped his fist. "Senior Bai, the fact that everyone has been killed simultaneously means that the duel has already come to an end. All of us who have partic.i.p.ated in the battle have to enter the Ethereal Hall to accept the verdict. Please pardon me for a moment..."
"Go ahead!" Knowing the rules, Bai Ruanqing gestured for him to go ahead.
To be honest, she could still hardly believe it.
To defeat three thousand inner disciples with a single move and achieve victory in this seemingly impossible challenge... Just who in the world was I Am Low Profile?
More importantly... after causing such a huge uproar in the sect, did he really think that he was still as low profile as he claimed to be?
In the Sword Gazebo, Elder Mu and the others had just recovered from their shock.
The revelation of I Am Low Profile"s cultivation realm showed that he was indeed an inner disciple, but for an inner disciple to kill a thousand cultivators consecutively and even defeat them with the utmost ease... what was with that ridiculous strength of his?
"However, no matter how formidable he is, there"s no way he can win. There are at least ten thousand inner disciples within the sect, and in order to protect their dignity, more and more people will eventually join the fray. Eventually, he will be worn out and fall in defeat!" Elder Mu shook his head.
Thus, no matter how long I Am Low Profile perseveres, the only outcome that awaits him is defeat!"
The other elders nodded in agreement. They shared Elder Mu"s opinion as well.
It was difficult enough for a person to single-handedly defeat all the inner disciples, and they were even in the Ethereal Hall, where everyone"s cultivation was equal. This was simply too difficult!
No matter how powerful I Am Low Profile was, there was simply some things that were fundamentally impossible! Weng!
Just as Elder Mu was thinking about this matter, the Communication Jade Token in his hand suddenly buzzed. After looking at the content of the message, he froze on the spot. "T-this... The duel has ended... I Am Low Profile defeated three thousand inner disciples in a single strike, thus signaling the end of the duel... How is this possible?"
"You said that he killed three thousand inner disciples in a single move?"
Stupefied, the elders fell into silence once more.
Huhuhu!
People were swiftly appearing in the Ethereal Hall one after another.
Most of those who had partic.i.p.ated in the duel only to be killed had rushed back as soon as they heard the news. They looked at the seemingly paralyzed young man sitting at the very center of the dueling ring with a complicated look in their eyes.
Earlier, when that young man challenged all of them at once, they had thought that he was unbelievably arrogant, perhaps delusional even... But after going through a battle with him, they realized that the young man did wield the strength to obliterate all of the inner disciples!
The duel has ended. I am Low Profile has defeated everyone present at the moment of challenge, and thus, he"s awarded all the Sword Pavilion Coins of everyone who partic.i.p.ated in the duel. The exchange will be conducted now!" the person who was managing the dueling ring walked out and declared.
"I hereby announce that I Am Low Profile has achieved victory!"
"Is this for real? He"s really won? Is there no one among the inner disciples who is a match for him?"
"This must be the most humiliating day for all of the inner disciples!"
"Five thousand inner disciples actually fell in defeat just like that... How did things end up like this?"
Hearing the outcome, a lot of people found themselves suffering severe mental breakdowns.
As inner disciples of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, they were extremely prideful individuals. However, that pride of theirs had been shattered so easily by a single man on this very day.
"I don"t agree with the verdict!" someone amid the crowd shouted angrily. "I rushed here as soon as I heard the news, and I haven"t even partic.i.p.ated in the duel yet! I don"t believe that he has the ability to defeat five thousand people single-handedly! Even if he has managed to do so, it"s likely that Senior Liu Lujie and the other experts haven"t made their appearance yet. Otherwise, how could that fellow possibly win so easily?"
Most inner disciples had rushed over upon hearing the challenge in the Ethereal Hall, but for various reasons, an entire half of the inner disciples were unable to make it in time.
A lot of them had just entered the Ethereal Hall when the announcement that the duel had concluded sounded. They had not partic.i.p.ated in the battle, yet they had to bear the shame of defeat. They could not accept such a verdict!
"Senior Liu Lujie has dominated the number one rank of the inner disciples for seven years now. I don"t believe that I Am Low Profile would be able to win if he made a move!" another person shouted in agreement.
Liu Lujie had been killed before he could even reveal his ident.i.ty. As such, while many people recognized him by his swordsmans.h.i.+p, there was no guarantee that the person who had fought back then was really Liu Lujie!
These chants caused a sliver of hope to blossom in the hearts of the crowd. Could it be that I Am Low Profile had won because Senior Liu did not make a move?
"Are you trying to refute the bet?" the person managing the dueling ring asked.
"We dare not refute the results of the duel. There"s no doubt that I Am Low Profile is a formidable sword pract.i.tioner, but he only beat those who were present then. What we disagree with is the judgement that he has defeated all the inner disciples! Many of the experts of the inner disciples didn"t make a move. If they partic.i.p.ated in the battle, there"s no way I Am Low Profile could"ve lasted till the very end!"
No matter how they refuted the matter, they could not deny the fact that I Am Low Profile had defeated five thousand inner disciples. Since that was the case, as long as they insisted that the other party had not managed to defeat all of the inner disciples, they would at least be able to retain some of their dignity.
"There are ten thousand inner disciples in total, and five thousand of you have been defeated by him. Is that not considered as a victory against all the inner disciples? Don"t you think that you are trying too hard to refute the truth?" the person managing the dueling ring replied calmly.
He was an elder of the sect, but he was independent from the external elders, internal elders, or core elders. As such, he would only make an impartial verdict based on facts and reasons.
"What we are saying is that the more formidable experts among the inner disciples haven"t made a move yet. They represent the pinnacle might of the inner disciples. If even they did not make a move, we can"t accept the outcome of this duel to be representative of all of us!" a voice shouted out angrily.
"How can you prove that they didn"t partic.i.p.ate?" the person managing the dueling ring reb.u.t.ted.
"I am unable to prove it, so I beseech the Ethereal Hall to reveal the details of the battle. Only with this will we be able to accept the outcome of this duel!" the same voice cried out.
"Indeed! Please show the details of the battle. We want to know who partic.i.p.ated in the battle. The rest of us just weren"t able to make it in time to partic.i.p.ate in the battle too, so we don"t wish to bear the blame for the loss!"
"I think that it"s only fair that the Ethereal Hall reveals the details of the battle given that our reputation is on the line!"
"What if all who partic.i.p.ated in the battle are actually the weaker inner disciples? We are unwilling to bear the blame for their weakness!"
Such angry exclamations could be heard from the crowd.