It was as though some barrier in his mind had suddenly given way. Lu Fan was beside himself, muttering under his breath, "So that's it! That's how it works!"
But the elation faded just as quickly, his expression dimming. "Golden Core defeating Nascent Soul," he murmured. "I can't do that."
His gaze stilled. He stared at his own outstretched hands. "No. I must meet the Heavenly Venerable. I have to find a way..."
Watching him sink deeper into this odd fixation, Li Fan couldn't help but speak up. "Fellow Daoist Lu..."
Before he could finish, Lu Fan abruptly rose to his feet. Without a glance at Li Fan beside him, he flew straight out of the tavern and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lu Fan of the Myriad Immortals Alliance Congyun Sea branch's Martial Hall is here! Who dares to face me in battle?"
The words left Li Fan utterly stunned.
The previously noisy streets of Weichang City fell silent all at once.
Lu Fan’s figure stood proud and defiant against the sky.
After a brief silence, the crowd erupted.
"A mere Golden Core cultivator dares spout such nonsense!"
"Are all Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators this bold?"
"Since when do dogs of the Myriad Immortals Alliance dare to act so arrogantly in our Five Elders Council territory!" A burly, full-bearded Nascent Soul cultivator roared and flew up to confront Lu Fan, plainly intending to make an example of him.
Fortunately, Lu Fan hadn't completely lost his mind. "I am at Golden Core, you are at Nascent Soul," he shouted back. "Is the Five Elders Council full of people like you, who enjoy bullying the weak with their greater strength?
"If you want to fight, fine! Send a Golden Core cultivator over!"
He made sure his voice carried throughout all of Weichang City.
"You..." The Nascent Soul cultivator's words caught in his throat. His expression shifted through several shades before he finally snorted and chose not to press the matter.
He landed, turned, and bellowed at the crowd. "Where are all the Golden Core cultivators of our Canhong Province? Have they all died?!"
The crowd quickly read the situation.
A young cultivator in cyan robes flew forward. "I am Qiu Juemo of the Luoyan Gang. Fellow Daoist Lu, I ask for your guidance!"
He cupped his hands in salute but didn't wait for Lu Fan's response. A flying sword shot straight for Lu Fan's face.
The streak of cyan sword light arrived silently and at shocking speed.
Lu Fan reacted just in time, his figure flickering aside as the blade narrowly missed.
"You ambushed me!" Anger flashed across his face.
"In a life-and-death struggle, one goes all out. There's no such thing as an ambush! Be careful, Fellow Daoist!" On the heels of Qiu Juemo's shout, thirty-three streaks of sword light split from the flying sword that had already passed. Like living creatures, they arranged themselves into a sword array shaped like a ferocious tiger and bore down on Lu Fan.
Lu Fan snorted. A faint bronze glow erupted from his body, and his frame swelled to several times its original size.
An abacus appeared in his hand. He flicked the beads, sending a sharp series of clacks through the air.
"The world bustles, all for profit!" With each bead he flicked, a copper coin, round on the outside and square at the center, materialized out of thin air.
In the span of a breath, thirty-three copper coins had formed. Tracing arcs of green light, they shot forth one after another to meet the Flying Tiger Sword Array.
Qiu Juemo's expression shifted slightly, unease stirring in his chest. He tried to maneuver the sword array away from those strangely ominous coins.
But the green light was too fast. In an instant, each coin had found its mark, colliding with one of the thirty-three flying swords.
There was no great crash. The coins vanished the moment they struck.
“Not—!” Before Qiu Juemo could even finish saying the word "good," all thirty-three flying swords pivoted in midair as one.
The Flying Tiger Sword Array, which had been under his command, was now hurtling back toward him, faster than before.
Caught completely off guard, thirty-three streaks of sword light pierced through his body.
Blood sprayed. Qiu Juemo swayed, then plummeted to the ground. The sword array, no longer under his control, clattered down in a scattered heap around him.
The onlookers erupted in a collective gasp.
"Good match!" Lu Fan declared, slinging his abacus behind his back with a haughty air.
"Brother Qiu!" A friend rushed forward to check on him. Seeing that Lu Fan had pulled back just enough at the last moment to spare his life, the friend exhaled in relief.
"What a disgrace! Drag him away!"
"Defeated far too quickly!"
Qiu Juemo's grievous injuries drew no sympathy from those watching. They mocked and ridiculed him, their eyes filled with scorn.
His friend's face burned crimson, but he dared not provoke the crowd. He simply slipped away, supporting the wounded Qiu Juemo as they hastily retreated.
"I'll go next!"
A cultivator in gray robes leapt into the arena, his voice tight with anger.
Having learned from what he'd just witnessed, this one did not employ an artifact. Instead, he activated his own Golden Core Law Manifestation, summoning torrents of raging flame.
"Wealth can move the gods!"
Without warning, Lu Fan flicked his abacus, and a shower of copper coins rained down into the fire. The crimson flames shifted, taking on an eerie green tinge. Then the very flames born of the gray-robed cultivator's own divine ability slipped from his control and reversed course against him.
With a piercing shriek, the second challenger met his defeat.
His rapid fall quieted the clamor noticeably.
This Fellow Daoist Lu truly has some skill. Li Fan, watching from the side, felt a flicker of surprise.
After a brief lull, another challenger stepped forward.
"Ou Qianye of Canhong Province. I seek your guidance, Fellow Daoist!"
This time, Lu Fan did not immediately strike. "Is this the Five Elders Council's plan?" he called out. "When you can't win, you resort to a war of attrition?"
Ou Qianye's momentum faltered. He dispersed the power already gathered at his fingertips and said quietly, "Then rest a moment, Fellow Daoist. We shall fight once you have fully recovered."
Lu Fan ignored him, closing his eyes to circulate his qi and recuperate.
When both moved again, they clashed in a whirlwind of combat.
Lu Fan won again. But Ou Qianye was no simple opponent. His techniques and arcane arts seemed endless; each time Lu Fan seized control of one move, Ou Qianye immediately launched another.
It took Lu Fan considerable effort to eke out a narrow victory.
"Superb skill, Fellow Daoist!" Having exhausted his repertoire and knowing he was outmatched, Ou Qianye cupped his hands and conceded of his own accord.
"The feeling is mutual." This time, Lu Fan's tone was considerably warmer.
The Golden Core cultivators of Weichang City came at him one after another after that. Without exception, they all fell.
Even with intermittent rest, the strain of so many consecutive battles drained the color from Lu Fan's face. Yet he seemed to be sensing something, because the excitement in his expression was impossible to contain.
While all of Weichang City's attention was fixed on Lu Fan's battles, Li Fan had quietly lost interest in watching. He drifted to a small street-side stall and picked up a bound illustrated volume.
The Secret History of Ancient Cultivation.
He began to leaf through the pages.