With a single slash, Wang Cheng's sword light was shattered instantly. He took a heavy hit, his arm severed by the saber. Just like that, Wang Cheng lost in one move.
Battles between Divine Strength Realm martial artists were never flashy; all that mattered was the outco.
"You lost," Zhang He said coldly.
Wang Cheng looked utterly dazed, his face drained of color. He had only held his status for a single day, and he had already been stripped of it before he even had the chance to celebrate.
In the Northern Region Heavenly Sect, clever shortcuts ant nothing; only true strength endured. Even though he had been proactive and challenged Lu Changsheng first to secure the scion disciple status without a fight, his lack of strength had reduced this whole thing to a one-day free trial.
Wang Cheng turned and stepped down from the arena. He knew very well that if the duel had taken place outside the sect, Zhang He's saber would have severed his head, not his arm. Regardless, he had lost, and there was no room for excuses.
In truth, this outco was not surprising. Many outer disciples knew Zhang He. He had challenged many scion disciples before, always falling short only by a small margin.
"Wang Cheng has been in the outer sect for four or five years. Does he really not understand that without real strength, scion disciple status is nothing more than an illusion?"
"Hah, maybe he just wanted to try his luck. What if the first challenger had turned out weaker than him?"
"He rely took advantage of the situation. Lu Changsheng also entered the sect by luck through the Heavenly Stairway, not with the actual strength a scion would have. I an, why would he dodge challenges?"
"In the end, Wang Cheng rely got a taste of being a scion disciple. I wonder who will challenge Zhang He tomorrow."
"Huh? Hey, look. Isn't that Lu Changsheng, the one who entered through the Heavenly Stairway three months ago? He's actually back, and it looks like he was watching the whole fight."
Quite a few people took notice of Lu Changsheng. Even Zhang He glanced in his direction. Naturally, many wanted to see what he would do now that he was back, having failed to respond to the challenges issues against him.
Lu Changsheng himself showed only indifference. Having witnessed the duel between Wang Cheng and Zhang He, he simply turned away without saying anything.
"Heh, at least he knows his own limits."
"You think he'll challenge Zhang He tomorrow?"
"No chance. Maybe in a few years. If he was strong enough, he wouldn't have deliberately stayed away."
"So much glory entering through the Heavenly Stairway... and he still couldn't hold onto the scion disciple status."
The crowd shook their heads. Seeing no response from Lu Changsheng, Zhang He lost interest as well. He still had to prepare for tomorrow. If he won again, he would secure scion disciple status for a full month, sothing just as critical to him.
Lu Changsheng went back to the Celestial Foothills Mountain Range and arrived before the Celestial Foothills Waterfall. It was indeed a massive waterfall. Although it wasn't exactly a torrent plunging three thousand chi, it was magnificent all the sa.
Rumble, rumble...
The water crashed downward with a thunderous roar.
Not bad. The Celestial Foothills Waterfall truly lives up to its na.
For Lu Changsheng to comprehend the Waterfall Intent, he had to learn from nature itself, and getting to witness such a magnificent waterfall in person was ideal.
He sat down cross-legged and activated the Sense Domain. With the Domain unfolding, he no longer needed to physically stand beneath the waterfall to experience it. Every detail was laid bare, clear down to the finest nuances and perfect conditions for grasping Intent.
Ti passed bit by bit. Lu Changsheng was not comprehending the Waterfall Intent entirely from scratch. Instead, he was dismantling an existing Intent. He had previously comprehended the Starry Sky Waterfall Intent. Therefore, upon experiencing the Celestial Foothills Waterfall again, it took him only four hours to comprehend the Waterfall Intent all over again.
Buzz!
When Lu Changsheng unleashed the Waterfall Intent, a deafening roar filled the air, as though a colossal waterfall plunged down endlessly.
I got it!
He opened his eyes. With the Celestial Foothills Waterfall as reference, comprehending this Intent had been almost effortless. He even felt that he could advance his Waterfall Intent at a remarkable speed. If he ever evolved it into a domain, he would likely do so faster than with the Starry Sky Intent.
The following day, soone challenged Zhang He again, and Lu Changsheng made sure to watch.
Zhang He narrowly claid victory. That left him overjoyed, for he had managed to secure his scion disciple status for at least one month. If he could defeat the next challenger as well, he would be able to retain it for another month.
Lu Changsheng also observed the other scion disciples. They also had challengers, but not many. After all, everyone was well aware of the strength of those scion disciples. Without so degree of confidence, no one would dare to step forward.
Regardless, almost all of them failed. Aside from Zhang He and Wang Cheng, who could be considered successful, all the other challengers had failed. This ant that among the outer disciples this month, only Lu Changsheng's forr scion position had truly changed hands.
Nevertheless, he was in no hurry. At present, reclaiming scion disciple status held little value for him, so he decided to focus fully on comprehending the Waterfall Intent and the Starry Sky Intent.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed. On this day, Lu Changsheng sat cross-legged before the Celestial Foothills Waterfall. The rumbling of the waterfall echoed in his ears. Over the course of this month, he had progressed at astonishing speed, already reaching ninety-nine percent in the Waterfall Intent.
All that remained was a final trigger, yet that opportunity was yet to arrive. Lu Changsheng found himself stalled at the threshold, unable to grasp the decisive opportunity needed to cross it.
By nightfall, Lu Changsheng turned his focus to the Starry Sky Intent. He had fallen behind the Waterfall Intent by about ten days, yet he too finally progressed it to ninety-nine percent. And still, the sa obstacle remained. The final trigger had not appeared. Even so, Lu Changsheng was confident he would find it. At most, it would take three to five months, at least three to five days. Perhaps he would find it tomorrow and evolve a Domain. In the end, it was a matter of timing and luck.
Both the Waterfall Intent and the Starry Sky Intent have reached ninety-nine percent, he reflected with a frown. I'm just missing that final trigger. Once they're complete, a Domain will naturally take shape. My perception should be sufficient, but I've yet to reach the level where I can force it. So either I wait... or I find a way to raise my Perception.
He realized he had no reliable thod to permanently increase his Perception other than practicing martial techniques. However, while he could not enhance his Perception permanently, he could boost it temporarily, and the Dao Comprehension Pill was perfect for that!
Lu Changsheng considered that option. The pull's effects were supposedly miraculous, capable of plunging a person into sudden enlightennt. As for how effective that enlightennt would be, it varied from person to person. In any case, this pill was a treasure everyone coveted.
However, there was one issue: the price. A single Dao Comprehension Pill cost 10,000 contribution points. For an outer disciple, a single task might yield only one or two hundred points. Tasks worth over a thousand points were either highly dangerous, extrely demanding, or so ti-consuming that they could take years to complete. Accumulating 10,000 contribution points through ordinary ans was almost impossible.
But Lu Changsheng was different. He had the Abyss Mystic Iron ore, and once he submitted it, he could get a large amount of contribution points in return. However, he was not currently a scion disciple. Submitting the ore without double rewards would be a huge waste.
Seems I still need to reclaim that position.
Lu Changsheng made up his mind to issue a challenge. The next day, he went to the outer sect administration. Any challenge had to be registered with a steward, who would then arrange it based on timing and circumstances. There were quite a few disciples there, and with a brief sweep of his Perception, Lu Changsheng realized that competition was extrely fierce this month.
Zhang He was the cause of that. The previous month, he had obtained scion disciple status but then narrowly lost to Lu Fent. Lu Feng then fell to Xia Yang, who in turn was defeated by Ji Wuchang. Now these disciples were lining up, preparing to challenge Ji Wuchang.
Of course, Ji Wuchang would only face one challenger. Lu Changsheng glanced over the registrations and knew imdiately that he had missed that window; soone had already applied. He had no intention of waiting for Ji Wuchang to be defeated and then gambling on a new application. That would be far too botherso. Even if he applied, there was no guarantee it would be approved, as it depended on luck and the steward's arrangents—far too much hassle just to beco a scion disciple.
"I'd like to see which scion disciples are still available to be challenged this month," Lu Changsheng asked the outer sect steward directly.
"Aren't you going to challenge Ji Wuchang, or at least wait to see the outco of the fight?" the steward asked with a curious glance.
"No need. I'll look at the other scion disciples."
The steward clearly recognized Lu Changsheng. After all, he had once been a scion disciple and had entered the sect through the Heavenly Stairway, and was hardly an unknown figure. The steward took out a list and flipped the pages one by one.
"Most of the scion disciples have already been challenged, which ans they're clear for the rest of the month. You'd have to wait until next month."
He paused, then added, "Seems like there are three who haven't been challenged. Are you sure you want to try?"
He handed the list to Lu Changsheng. Upon seeing those three nas, Lu Changsheng understood why no one had co forward to challenge them. Although he hadn't been in the outer sect for long, he had kept it under constant observation with his Sense Domain. When it ca to outer sect affairs, he knew them inside out.
Most people in the outer sect avoided those three individuals, and for that reason they were known as the Three Untouchables. Since becoming scion disciples, none of them had ever lost. In fact, they could condense divine fortification and advance to the inner sect at any ti, but for certain reasons, they had never done so.
Lu Changsheng knew that those three shared his goal. They were ambitious disciples, staying in the outer sect to continuously accumulate strength. Once they advanced to the inner sect, they would secure their status as inner disciples. Anyone who challenged them would only be humiliating themselves.
However, Lu Changsheng was not fazed by their reputation. If anything, the fact that they lacked any challengers just made it easier for him to reclaim the scion disciple position.
"I wish to challenge ng Fang."
Lu Changsheng was not particularly loud, but as soon as his words fell, dozens of gazes instantly turned toward him.
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