Chapter 1003: Another Clash
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Guo Chaoyang stared at Yang Zhao with an expressionless face and lowered his voice. "If you think receiving help from the disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders is a form of humiliation, then you can simply reject t heir help."
"You said that you had no idea beforehand and only knew they were from the Celestial Sect of Wonders after entering their magic formation, that’s fine, so all you had to do was turn around and leave. Why did you have to follow them around?"
"If you think that receiving favors from them was too much and unacceptable, all you had to do was make it clear on the spot and openly challenge them to a battle. Even though that’s still going against the favors they had just given you, it would still retain some of the Great Void Sect’s strength of character."
"What’s up with the backstab afterwards? Did you guys believe from the bottom of your hearts that you guys were no match for them in a head-on battle?"
"Yang Zhao, what happened to all the things you have learned with Wan Zhenglun on Mount Baiyun?"
Guo Chaoyang’s expression was cold and fierce. However, before Chen Xingyu and the others, he ended up giving Yang Zhao a chance and save him some face as the latter was also from the Radical Faction.
However, his tone was a lot more indignant and merciless during his conversation with Yang Zhao using voice-projection.
Yang Zhao contemplated for a moment before he answered quietly, "Senior Guo, even though I am unwilling to admit it, Junior Wan I are undoubtedly no match for them. Even Senior Shan, who’s in the nascent soul intermediate stage, was also unable to defeat that Tang Jun from the Celestial Sect of Wonders."
Guo Chaoyang’s face relaxed a little and answered slowly, "Are you trying to say that you agree with Tang Jun’s statement, that the disciples from the Celestial Sect of Wonders cannot be defeated by others of the same level of mastery, even if they’re faced with cultivators from the Great Void Sect?"
He was no longer fierce, but this made Yang Zhao’s face even paler. In the end, Yang Zhao nodded his head faintly and said, "Senior Guo, both you and Senor Chen are unprecedented talents of the younger generation and are already in the nascent soul beginner stage. Your mantras and whatnot are also stronger than that of Senior Shan, and you have the ability to hold your own against Senior Mu, who is already in the nascent soul advanced stage."
"The Great Void Sect doesn’t produce talents like you guys all that often."
"However, it is a fact that I can’t beat Tang Jun of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, who is in the aurous core advanced stage."
Guo Chaoyang’s expression became even warmer. The tense lines on his face began to reveal tinges of happiness and a smile could be faintly seen. "Cannot be measured by the typical standards of the Divine Lands – this is familiar."
"This statement used to be what others say to refer to us, no?"
The smile on his face gradually disappeared, and his expression returned to normal. "It’s a pity that Dao Yuting and Lin Tong are not inside the Ancient Desolate Galaxy."
Of the second generation of disciples from the Celestial Sect of Wonders, two individuals were in the nascent soul stage – Dao Yuting, who was under Wang Lin’s guidance, and Lin Tong, who was under Xiao Yan’s mentorship. This news was already spread throughout the entire world.
Yang Zhao glimpsed at Guo Chaoyang and said slowly, "Tang Jun, Zhou Yuncong and Han Yang share the same reputation, and are collectively known as the three strongest cultivators in the second generation of disciples from the Celestial Sect of Wonders. I’m afraid that even Lin Tong and Dao Yuting are no match for them."
While he spoke, he glanced at Chen Xingyu out of the corner of his eye.
Yang Zhao revered Guo Chaoyang for his talent and his powers. However, in the various internal competitions of the Great Void Sect over the years, Guo Chaoyang had battled Chen Xingyu on multiple occasions and they were practically of the same standards.
Due to the fact that Chen Xingyu had the Yin Terminating Entity, he faced a great many challenges in his path to cultivation. This was the reason why Guo Chaoyang, who entered the sect after him, attracted more attention for his speedy rise through the levels of mastery. He closed the gap in standards between the two of them, and if nothing unexpected happens, he would probably ascend to the nascent soul intermediate stage before Chen Xingyu.
However, in a competition between cultivators with the same level of mastery, they were about the same.
During the Spiritual Conference of Kunlun, Chen Xingyu battled with Zhou Yuncong. Chen Xingyu, who was already in the aurous core stage, but had his level of mastery suppressed by the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ Dharma Hall into the foundation establishment advanced stage to match that of Zhou Yuncong. However, due to the fact that he had already seen the world and gathered more experience than his opponent, Chen Xingyu was definitely more powerful than he was when he had just reached the foundation establishment advanced stage.
The final result – Chen Xingyu still lost the battle.
Inside the Small Divine Lands World, Zhou Yuncong had yet to have direct contact with anyone, but Tang Jun’s display of skills sent chills down his spine.
Having a host of magic treasures and whatnot was one thing, but even if it was a showdown based on pure mantra and mana, Yang Zhao had no faith that Shan Xiang, who was in the nascent soul intermediate stage, would emerge victorious.
Tang Jun was as such, then Han Yang and Zhou Yuncong would have similar capabilities as they shared the same reputation.
Guo Chaoyang said quietly, "I understand what you’re trying to say. However, this isn’t enough to sway my beliefs. In my heart, the Great Void Sect possesses the most supreme existence within the Divine Lands, and even the entire Grand Celestial World. You, as a disciple from the Great Void Sect, should defend the honor of our sect as much as you have received our glory."
"If someone attempts to challenge our dignity, then the disciples of the Great Void Sect will have to step forward. This is our responsibility, and an honor."
"Even if we fail or if we are defeated, the Great Void Sect will not and cannot be defeated."
Guo Chaoyang extended his hands and opened his palms before him as he observed the lines and patterns on his palms. "I have never been idle or pedantic, and the domination of the Great Void Sect was not something obtained through simple preaching and spreading the gospel. Some things that need to be done, have to be done."
"However, there is a preamble to all this. The royalty will always be right, and everybody else is just in the way. For the Great Void Sect to reign supreme over the world, we have to be strong enough to do so!"
"Without this as our foundations, then all the successful tactical maneuvers that we have done shall be destined to be ephemeral," Guo Chaoyang continued to stare at Yang Zhao. "The seniors in our sect have to take care of the bigger picture, and there are so many other things that they have to concern themselves with. We will never know how they plan things and how they think things through, but the younger generation of disciples from the Great Void Sect should prioritize being able to defeat the younger generation of disciples from the Celestial Sect of Wonders, before thinking about playing tactical tricks on them."
"Over the eternal passage of time, the Great Void Sect has endured through endless waves of harrowing experiences. We have never fallen before, and we will not fall now. We have to ensure that the sect will continue to endure when we succeed our seniors. When you doubt this belief, how can you have the motivation to keep going?"
Yang Zhao chewed on his words for a while before he said slowly, "Senior Guo, I implore you too think again. If I may say something disrespectful towards Senior Mu, even though she is already in the nascent soul advanced stage, everybody knows that both you and Senior Chen’s natural talent and potential are far greater than hers."
"If you and Senior Chen are defeated, then we will have lost our last string of hope."
Guo Chaoyang was calm as he casually disregarded Yang Zhao’s words and said plainly, "Yang Zhao, you still don’t understand. However, I am not forcing you to follow me in my beliefs."
"There is one thing that you have to pay attention to. Once you’ve lost the confidence and the resilience, even if you can gain the upper hand by playing some deceitful trick, we will be going down a slippery slope. We will end up losing the present, and eventually the future as well."
"In the end, if I lose and if Chen Xingyu loses as well, our generation will have lost. However, the generation after us and our disciples, our grand disciples, will have another chance to catch up."
Even though he had always been respectful towards Guo Chaoyang, Yang Zhao was not a blind follower. He lowered his voice and said, "If we can eliminate them out right now, not only will we win over the present, we will not lose the future!"
"If we lose, we will only fuel their rise and end up benefiting them. Even if everything turns out like you have described, we may not win the future!"
Guo Chaoyang glanced at him and a look of disappointment came over his eyes. "Yang Zhao, you still don’t understand."
"We are not the same as Chen Xingyu and the others. In the hope that the Great Void Sect can dominate the world, we are not afraid to eliminate anything and everything that obstructs us on this path, but that’s just a means to an end."
"What’s important is your heart. If your beliefs have been swayed and your mind has been weakened, if you don’t let go of this wary attitude and spend your days and nights in anxiety, you will come to realize that one after another disciple from the Celestial Sect of Wonders, one after another Tang Jun, Zhou Yuncong and Han Yangs will emerge before you and you will never be able to eliminate them all."
"And you will only become weaker and weaker, till the point where someone steps all over you and you will never see the light of day again," Guo Chaoyang said coldly, "In recent months, your level of mastery has stagnated. The reason is because your mind is not calm and stable, and even your mantras and mana seem like they are regressing. Don’t tell me you’re not aware of that."
Yang Zhao fell into silence as his face grew pale. Guo Chaoyang tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Our seniors are taking care of the big picture and how to go about doing things, and all we have to do is follow orders. As for ourselves, we have to take it upon ourselves to protect the glory of the Great Void Sect."
"Let’s travel together to find Senior Shan and Junior Zhao. If we meet the people from the Celestial Sect of Wonders along the way, we will challenge them openly."
Guo Chaoyang’s voice grew cold and hard. "Even if Junior Wan was wrong, if he is still a disciple of the Great Void Sect and hasn’t been expelled from our walls, he should be dealt with by the laws of our own sect. The Celestial Sect of Wonders will pay for murdering him."
"It’s okay if Lin Tong and Dao Yuting are not inside the Starry Sea. There’s still Yue Hongyan, Li Yuanfang and Luo Qingwu, eh?"
Yang Zhao was slightly taken aback. "Senior Guo…"
Guo Chaoyang turned around with a calm look on his face. "Tang Jun of the Celestial Sect of Wonders dares to challenge Senior Shan, when he is only in the aurous core advanced stage and Senior Shan is already in the nascent soul intermediate stage. I’m in the nascent soul beginner stage – and do I not dare to do something similar as well?"
"Objectively, I don’t have enough confidence to win but the outcome of the battle is another thing altogether. At the very least, we will have to engage in open battle with them."
Yang Zhao lowered his eyes and said nothing as he knew that Guo Chaoyang wanted to take back what Yang Zhao and the others had thrown away.
Victory was another thing altogether, but the cultivators of the Great Void Sect are courageous and unafraid.
Stronger individuals did not need to prove anything to weaker ones, but in a clash between two powerful individuals, anything could be done but there was no room for the mind to be weak.
Mu Xuan and Chen Xingyu watched Guo Chaoyang and Yang Zhao as they faced each other in silence. They could feel that there were messages being voice-projected between them, but they made no attempt to probe and neither did they interrupt and simply waited there patiently.
Ding Runfeng, together with Bai Xiqian, had clashed with Yue Hongyan and the others at Xiling City before. Fan Xuefeng, who had displayed her own excellences during the Spiritual Conference of Mount Kunlun, stood side by side in silence but they gazed at Yang Zhao with complicated looks on their faces.
After a long while, Guo Chaoyang turned towards Mu Xuan and said, "Senior Mu, let’s go."
Mu Xuan had a plain look and nodded subtly as the group of cultivators of the Great Void Sect returned to their journey towards the inner regions of the Small Divine Lands World.
Chen Xingyu, Guo Chaoyang and Mu Xuan felt their hearts skip a beat at the same time as they casted their gazes across the horizon. They could see the flickering of human shadows, and every single one of them were dressed in purple – they were from the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
It was Yang Tie, Liu Xiafeng, Li Xingfei and Zhou Yuncong.
Yang Tie and the others saw Chen Xingyu and company and were slightly taken aback as well. Subsequently, they frowned in unison when their eyes landed upon Yang Zhao’s body.