Chapter 137: “The Third One!” “I Choose—Wuqing Temple!”

As the words fell.

The entire venue of the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony plunged into a silence so profound it seemed to swallow all sound.

The wind stopped.

The seven-colored banners hanging from the four corners of the high platform did not stir in the slightest.

On the high platform, Shen Jizhou's hands, which had been holding the jade scroll aloft, finally began to lower slowly.

His movements were so slow, so agonizingly slow, that it felt as if the turning of every single joint was grinding against the nerves of everyone present.

He turned around. His gaze cut through the sea of bobbing heads, traversed hundreds of zhang of distance, and nailed itself with pinpoint accuracy onto that corner.

Nailed onto that young man in a half-worn blue robe, standing atop a mountain of jade beans.

His eyes were like a thousand-year-old cold pool, unfathomably deep.

He did not speak.

Yet his mountain-like, silent posture was in itself the most terrifying suppression of the entire assembly.

Celestial Master He Xun stood rooted to the spot, his entire being feeling as if struck by a massive thunderbolt from head to toe.

His mouth hung slightly open. Those eyes, bloodshot from consecutive days of staying up late, were now widened almost to the point of splitting.

Thirty-four years ago.

Tianmu Mountain.

That figure who had also stood on the outermost edge of the crowd, also wearing a half-worn Taoist robe, also stepping forward at the final moment.

That figure was called Li Xiuye.

He was his junior brother.

History had actually repeated itself in such a tragic manner.

Celestial Master He Xun never expected that thirty-four years later...

he would witness such a scene again...

Only...

Celestial Master He Xun suddenly felt that this matter...

didn't seem that simple!

Based on his understanding of his junior nephew...

this junior nephew of his, while also quite stubborn, was still...

a bit better than his own junior brother.

The "Questioning Heaven Challenge"... how to put it... is an absolutely impossible thing to succeed at!

You could say it is a dead end!!

Forget Lu Yuan, who just got promoted to Celestial Master; even Li Xiuye back in the day didn't manage it!

Hmm...

To be precise, his junior brother Li Xiuye back then actually had a chance of success.

Because among the so-called seven contemporary Celestial Masters, only those from the Upper Three Gates truly lived up to the name.

As for the four below...

Take the current four for example.

Qingfeng Temple, Nanlin Temple, Beidou Temple, plus Shen Shulan.

The strength of these four is not that high.

Hmm... this is relative to other terms.

Especially this Shen Shulan, needless to say, she is on the same level as Lu Yuan.

And the heads of the other three temples are also Celestial Masters.

The highest is the head of Qingfeng Temple, a Five-Star Celestial Master.

These four are completely not on the same level as the Grand Celestial Masters of the Upper Three Gates.

Thirty-four years ago, at Tianmu Mountain, it was the same situation.

Given Li Xiuye's level back then, he had a real chance of successfully challenging the contemporary Celestial Masters of the lower four gates.

But...

But the foolishness of his junior brother back then lay in...

the four he chose...

were the heads of Wuqing Temple, Tianlong Temple, Riyue Temple — these three temples — plus the strongest one among the lower four gates.

To this day, He Xun still can't understand why his junior brother did that back then.

If he had just successfully challenged the lower four gates back then, he could have become a Celestial Master.

But he had to go and challenge the Upper Three Gates.

The result was...

In the end, if it weren't for the Patriarch forcibly manifesting...

Well, that's getting off track. Anyway, regarding today's matter, Celestial Master He Xun felt that his junior nephew definitely wouldn't be that stupid.

His junior nephew would definitely choose the weakest four.

If that's the case...

For a moment, Celestial Master He Xun pondered...

Did Lu Yuan actually have a real chance?!

This year is an extremely special one, with a Shen Shulan among them!

This Shen Shulan could be said to be the weakest, most feeble Celestial Master in generations!

Just a One-Star Celestial Master, completely on the same level as Lu Yuan!

Moreover, besides that, Lu Yuan also had a stroke of good luck which was...

Among this year's lower four gates, there are also two very weak ones!!

One is He Cheng of Beidou Temple, and the other is He Zhu of Nanlin Temple!

Both are Three-Star Celestial Masters!

Of course, there's still a huge gap between Lu Yuan, a One-Star Celestial Master, and these two Three-Star Celestial Masters.

Especially He Zhu of Nanlin Temple; he's almost at the Four-Star Celestial Master level.

But...

Lu Yuan has the complete set of ritual tools from Zhenlong Temple!!

His junior brother had already passed on all the ritual tools of the Zhenlong Temple lineage to Lu Yuan!

And besides the originally powerful ritual tools of Zhenlong Temple, there's also...

This kid himself has some tricks up his sleeve, and also possesses top-tier ritual tools!!

With so many top-tier ritual tools bolstering him...

To be honest, Celestial Master He Xun now had no idea either...

Celestial Master He Xun also didn't know if Lu Yuan, armed with so many ritual tools, could defeat these two.

If we're just talking about the gap between a One-Star and a Three-Star Celestial Master, then indeed, relying on top-tier ritual tools could bridge it.

But the problem is, Lu Yuan has top-tier ritual tools, but He Cheng of Beidou Temple and He Zhu of Nanlin Temple, they have them too!

It's not like they're some penniless evil cultists with empty hands!

Although these two temples aren't major, powerful Daoist sects, they still have orthodox ritual tool lineages!

Naturally, these two also possess top-tier ritual tools.

So, Celestial Master He Xun truly couldn't say for sure whether Lu Yuan could actually defeat He Cheng and He Zhu...

However...

There was a faint, minuscule glimmer of opportunity in this matter, even though the chance was truly slim...

And looking at the situation now, there was still one more person left.

But, this last one didn't need worrying about.

So, who would the remaining person be?

What a stupid question!

Of course, he would choose himself!!!

In that instant, Celestial Master He Xun had already completely figured out what Lu Yuan was going to do next!!!

The "Questioning Heaven Challenge" lasts four days!

One challenge per day!

So first, Lu Yuan would face the strongest, He Zhu of Nanlin Temple.

For this first battle, He Zhu definitely wouldn't take Lu Yuan seriously!

Then Lu Yuan could rely on his countless top-tier ritual tools, bombard wildly, launch a surprise attack, and win against He Zhu!!

Celestial Master He Xun felt this was feasible!!

Right now, He Zhu surely thought Lu Yuan had lost his mind and definitely wouldn't consider Lu Yuan a real opponent!

Especially since this was the first day.

What did the first day mean?

It meant that if Lu Yuan chose He Zhu as his first opponent, then later, Lu Yuan and He Zhu would start right here in the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony venue.

He Zhu was the temple head, that was true.

Nanlin Temple definitely had top-tier ritual tools, that was also true.

But right now, He Zhu definitely hadn't brought those top-tier ritual tools with him!

After all, today was the final ceremony of the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony; what would he bring top-tier ritual tools for?!

He Zhu's top-tier ritual tools were surely left in the courtyard at Beihua Tower.

Would He Zhu send someone back to fetch them later?

Celestial Master He Xun felt...

Absolutely not!!

How utterly embarrassing would that be?

Fighting a junior, and this junior is only a One-Star Celestial Master; at a time like this, you, He Zhu, say you need to go back and fetch a top-tier ritual tool?

That would be so shameful it would kill you!!

So, He Xun believed...

He Zhu definitely wouldn't send anyone to fetch ritual tools!

Later, when Lu Yuan challenged He Zhu, He Zhu might not even use the most ordinary ritual tools at the very beginning!

Therefore, if Lu Yuan was well-prepared and went all out from the start, bringing out all his ritual tools and using them in one overwhelming assault!

Lu Yuan really had a good chance of quickly defeating the unprepared He Zhu without getting injured himself!

Remember, the "Questioning Heaven Challenge" is not a life-or-death battle.

It's not about having to kill the opponent, or completely drain their true essence, or render them immobile to count as a defeat.

It's more of an arena format!

It also emphasizes stopping at the appropriate point!

Just like the martial arts competitions in places like Tianjin inside the pass; being thrown off the platform counts as a loss!

In He Xun's view, on the first day, Lu Yuan really had a chance to use his full arsenal of top-tier ritual tools to blast the unprepared He Zhu right off the platform!

If the first day proceeded as Celestial Master He Xun envisioned...

Then on the second day...

he would go challenge He Cheng of Beidou Temple!!

This... to be honest, Celestial Master He Xun couldn't think of any method for this one.

This one truly depended entirely on Lu Yuan's fate!

He really couldn't figure out how Lu Yuan, with the element of surprise gone and a two-star level gap, could possibly defeat He Cheng.

He Xun could only hope his junior nephew wasn't a reckless fool.

Since he chose to do this kind of thing, he must have his own preparations, and wasn't just here to throw his life away!

Anyway, if Lu Yuan could truly defeat He Cheng on the second day,

then this matter really had hope!

Because on the third day, Lu Yuan could come challenge him, his Master Uncle!!

When it was his turn to face Lu Yuan on the third day...

Celestial Master He Xun had already decided; he would just jump straight off the platform!!

Let Lu Yuan win directly!!

This wasn't just about letting Lu Yuan win; it would also free up a day for Lu Yuan to rest properly!

After all, if Lu Yuan could really successfully challenge He Cheng on the second day...

he would definitely be seriously injured!

This third day would be for Lu Yuan to rest!

As for whether it would be enough...

One could only say it depended on heaven's will.

Then finally, only Shen Shulan would be left...

As for whether the final hurdle could be cleared, that too depended on heaven's will.

Anyway, this matter itself was extremely, extremely difficult. Everything just said was completely under the most ideal circumstances!!

But who knew what the actual situation would be then?

The reality was that Lu Yuan had only been promoted to Celestial Master for barely two months.

For a moment, Celestial Master He Xun was also getting frantic.

Damn it!!

Why can't this master and disciple pair endure for even a moment?!

Why the hell can't they endure for even a single moment?!

If Lu Yuan could just wait another five years, given his terrifying promotion speed,

by the next five years, when Lu Yuan was twenty-five, he would at the very least be a Three-Star Celestial Master!

By that time...

Thinking this, Celestial Master He Xun was truly so angry at Lu Yuan he could bellow.

If he couldn't endure this moment, fine.

But damn it, Lu Yuan, if you were really determined to do this kind of thing...

then damn it, couldn't you have discussed it with your Master Uncle beforehand?!

Couldn't you stop acting recklessly on your own?!

Couldn't we have gotten together and discussed it first?!

At the very least, as your Master Uncle, I could have told you about He Zhu and He Cheng's situations!

Let you know what they're good at and what they're not.

Wouldn't that give you a better idea?!

Now, suddenly pulling this stunt, you have to choose someone to challenge today!

You'll have to take the field immediately later!

What are we supposed to do?!

For a moment, Celestial Master He Xun was so angry he had no solutions.

This master and disciple pair, truly one is more worrisome than the other!!!

But saying that, Celestial Master He Xun reconsidered...

If Lu Yuan had come to discuss this with him beforehand...

he would have absolutely, vehemently disagreed...

Amidst this dead, oppressive silence, Lu Yuan's voice rang out again, calm, yet each word sharp as a blade.

"The first."

He raised his hand, pointing distantly towards the high platform.

"I choose, Beidou Temple, He Cheng!"

Hearing this, Celestial Master He Xun nodded frantically in his heart!

That's right!! That's right!! That's right!!

That's how you choose!!

This matched exactly what Celestial Master He Xun had been thinking earlier!!!

Meanwhile, He Cheng, whose name was called, his dark, aged face twitched violently, his eyelids spasming.

He was being treated as a soft persimmon!

His chest heaved violently, finally turning into a suppressed snort. His eyes, gloomy and fierce, fixed on Lu Yuan as if he wanted to devour him whole.

The crowd below instantly understood, erupting into an uproar!

"He chose the weakest one!"

"This kid came prepared!"

"Prepared my ass! There are still three more to go, how is he going to choose them?!"

Lu Yuan paid no heed to anyone's discussions. His gaze swept over the remaining six people on the high platform without the slightest pause, and he spoke again.

His voice was even louder than before.

"The second!"

"I choose, Tianlong Temple, Celestial Master He Xun!"

That's right!!! That's right!!!

Right right right right right!!!

Choose me!!

At this moment, Celestial Master He Xun nodded frantically in his heart, absolutely delighted, almost jumping for joy at Lu Yuan choosing him!

This matched his thinking completely!

Just as he thought, although his junior nephew was also stubborn, he wasn't that stubborn!

Indeed, he wasn't acting recklessly; he had considered this beforehand!!

Simultaneously, the entire crowd completely exploded!

If the first choice was shrewd calculation, this second choice was blatantly exploiting the rules!

"Celestial Master He Xun is his Master Uncle!"

"This... this doesn't even need a fight!"

"Celestial Master He Xun will definitely concede directly!"

Thinking this, the crowd suddenly felt dazed.

This...

Could Lu Yuan actually succeed in the challenge?!

After all, if nothing unexpected happened next...

then it would definitely be Shen Shulan!!

Shen Shulan is the weakest among them!

Uh...

Wait!

Even including Shen Shulan, that's only three so far.

One more is still missing!

Remember, the "Questioning Heaven Challenge" requires successfully challenging four people!

And you must succeed in all four challenges!

Missing even one doesn't count as success!

So this last one...

is the most crucial!

Looking at it now, this last one must be He Zhu of Nanlin Temple!

But although He Zhu is the weakest among the remaining, that's only compared to the other contemporary Celestial Masters!!

This He Zhu is a genuine peak Three-Star Celestial Master!

How could Lu Yuan, after battling He Cheng and Shen Shulan, still have what it takes to defeat He Zhu?!

To put it bluntly...

This Lu Yuan might not even be able to get past the first hurdle, He Cheng!!

As the crowd pondered...

Lu Yuan's gaze passed over He Zhu of Nanlin Temple, and also over He Yi of Qingfeng Temple.

Finally, it settled on the man standing in the center, his expression detached and god-like.

Lu Yuan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, his smile brilliant yet carrying a madness that seemed ready to incinerate the world.

Mustering all his strength, he let out a roar that shook the heavens!

"The third!"

"I choose, Wuqing Temple!"

He paused, then spoke word by word, his voice like thunder.

"Shen! Ji! Zhou!"