Flame Dynasty, at this moment there are quite a few innate martial artists under twenty who have not yet entered Martial Arts Mountain, their expressions complex with a contemplative look in their eyes.
Lin Chen of Canglan Sect, has initiated a challenge of one hundred thousand consecutive victories.
If he loses, both Canglan Sect and Lin Chen will be mocked.
If they can defeat Lin Chen, they can take this opportunity to become famous throughout Martial Arts Mountain.
But this is a double-edged sword. Under the current public attention, if they fail in the challenge, they will also be ridiculed, mocked for overestimating their abilities, and scorned for lacking self-awareness.
If they hadn’t seen Lin Chen’s strength, they wouldn’t hesitate, but Zhao Feng of Guixu Sword Tomb’s defeat made them start weighing their chances, questioning if they could defeat Lin Chen if they were to step on the stage.
After a few moments, most of the people wore expressions of helplessness, having to admit that Lin Chen’s strength surpassed theirs.
Whether they can defeat Zhao Feng is the first thing to measure.
Whether they can quickly defeat Zhao Feng is what to measure after meeting the initial condition.
Whether quickly defeating Zhao Feng means they can be a match for Lin Chen is the third question to assess.
After all, any discerning person could see that Lin Chen did not employ his full strength.
Lin Chen had not used any of the major signature martial arts of Canglan Sect.
This is the informational gap between sects. They did not know that Lin Chen had only joined Canglan Sect recently and had not learned its other cultivation techniques apart from Canglan Finger.
...
In the courtyard of a certain sect.
A young man had a decisive look in his eyes; he had confidence he could defeat Zhao Feng and face Lin Chen.
"Junior Brother Chu, there’s no need for this."
Just as the young man was about to act, another person stopped him.
"Senior Brother Ge, what do you mean?"
"Junior Brother Chu, I ask you this: can you defeat the top few on Martial Arts Mountain and finally reach the summit?"
Facing his senior brother’s question, Chu Lei did not ponder much before shaking his head. He knew himself not to be a match for the current top three on the Martial Arts Mountain, and not reaching the top three rankings held no significance to him, which is why he hadn’t tried to ascend the mountain.
"Even if you defeat Lin Chen, what next? Would you then abandon Martial Arts Mountain or take on Lin Chen’s goal and challenge to reach the summit? If, after defeating Lin Chen, you give up, then what’s the point of defeating him?"
Upon hearing his senior brother’s words, Chu Lei came to a sudden realization, understanding his senior’s meaning.
He wasn’t a match for the top three on Martial Arts Mountain, and if he could defeat Lin Chen, Lin Chen also couldn’t succeed in reaching the summit, and he wouldn’t have to take action at all.
Defeating Lin Chen would place him in an awkward position, neither here nor there in the ranking.
If he wasn’t Lin Chen’s match, it would be self-imposed humiliation.
"Our sect and Canglan Sect have no grievances, there’s no need to do this."
Upon hearing his senior’s words, Chu Lei felt some embarrassment, knowing his senior was offering him a way out and nodded in agreement.
...
...
Eight Desolates Sect.
At this moment, several young men were gathered together, their expressions solemn.
Disciples from other sects could choose not to challenge, but they could not. All the martial artists of Flame Dynasty knew that Eight Desolates Sect and Canglan Sect were sworn enemies.
The two sects, neighboring each other, had a feud spanning tens of thousands of years, with countless battles since shortly after Eight Desolates Sect’s founding, leading to over ten thousand bouts large and small till now.
The disciples of other sects could watch Lin Chen reach the summit with mere admiration, but for Eight Desolates Sect, seeing a disciple from Canglan Sect ascend Martial Arts Mountain would be an insult to all their disciples under twenty.
"It’s really hateful; several seniors from our sect are already over twenty; Canglan Sect must have chosen this time on purpose."
Eight Desolates Sect had disciples on Martial Arts Mountain, one of whom was ranked twenty-first just a month ago, and another was sixteenth half a year ago.
But these two seniors are now both over twenty, and their rankings on Martial Arts Mountain have been nullified. Currently, the highest-ranked disciple from Eight Desolates Sect is fifty-fourth.
"Fellow junior brothers need not worry; even if no one challenges Lin Chen, Lin Chen won’t ascend so easily."
An Eight Desolates Sect young man appeared, speaking with a smile.
"Senior Brother He, what do you mean by this?"
"Right now, everyone is wary of Lin Chen’s strength and probably won’t challenge him. But as Lin Chen challenges those ranked within the top thirty, the more cards he exposes, the more everyone will understand how to deal with him."
He Chuang explained with a smile, until now unable to see any trump cards from Lin Chen. Naturally, other sects’ innate martial artists wouldn’t rashly take action fearing Lin Chen’s hidden cards. But once the top thirty force Lin Chen to expose his cards, those who believe they can suppress him will start challenging him on Martial Arts Mountain.
It’s impossible to have lower-ranked innate martial artists block future challengers simply because one enters the top thirty.
When it comes time to reach the summit, as long as anyone dares challenge Lin Chen, all the innate martial artists defeated by Lin Chen will choose to concede, creating a chance for others to challenge Lin Chen.
After all, if Lin Chen truly ascends, it equates to stepping on the shoulders of all disciples under twenty from the major sects.
"Just wait, the further it goes, the harder it gets."
...
...
On Martial Arts Mountain, Lin Chen continuously fought up to the thirty-first rank, yet still no innate martial artist stepped up to challenge him, puzzling many observing martial artists.
Have those innate martial artists not on Martial Arts Mountain all given up blocking Lin Chen?
Whatever those outside watching might think, Lin Chen didn’t care. At this moment, he directly chose to challenge the martial artist ranked thirtieth.
A disciple from East Sea Divine Palace.
On the battlefield.
Zhang Xu looked at Lin Chen, a smile on his face.
"Junior Brother Lin, I’ve heard of you from Senior Brother Hu."
"Is it Steward Hu?"
A disciple from East Sea Divine Palace mentioning Senior Brother Hu, Lin Chen’s mind first conjured the image of Steward Hu from East Sea Divine Palace.
Back then, Steward Hu had given him a Dragon Transformation Grass.
"Yes, it is indeed Senior Brother Hu Yunhua."
Zhang Xu looked at Lin Chen with amazement: "To be honest, a few days ago, when Senior Brother Hu sought me out to tell of Junior Brother Lin’s feats, I was truly shocked. To this day, many sects probably believe Junior Brother Lin is a super genius secretly cultivated by Canglan Sect, and wouldn’t think that a few months ago, Junior Brother Lin was still on an overseas island."
Honestly, if this hadn’t come from Senior Brother Hu, Zhang Xu wouldn’t have believed it.
A young man from an island in the overseas Martial Arts Desolate Land, yet to spend long in Flame Dynasty, was about to initiate a challenge of one hundred thousand consecutive victories on Martial Arts Mountain.
"Junior Brother Lin, with this battle being observed by many, I, as a disciple of East Sea Divine Palace, cannot concede directly. As long as Junior Brother Lin can handle one of my moves, I will consider this match lost."
Hearing Zhang Xu’s words, as Lin Chen was about to speak, Zhang Xu immediately added: "Junior Brother Lin, since it concerns the reputation of East Sea Divine Palace, I will not hold back, and will give my all in this move."
Lin Chen squinted his eyes, nodding: "Please, Senior Brother Zhang, enlighten me."