Chapter Eighteen: Named Challenge

  Zhu Jiu saw a familiar face among the crowd on the first floor, it was the short and chubby boy who had been hiding nearby to eavesdrop after being discovered by Zhu Jiu when he killed a young man who wanted to take advantage of him in the You Shi Dead Realm.

  Vaguely remembered that his demon corpse seemed to have a hidden ability to blend in with its surroundings.

  The stout boy stood behind a handsome, self-satisfied-looking boy of about twelve or thirteen years old. Seeing Zhu Jiuyuan coming over, he raised a mysterious smile on his face and whispered to the handsome boy in front of him.

  Jiu lightly frowned, only because the handsome young man had been staring at Su Xingchen all along, and after hearing the short and fat young man's whisper, he turned his gaze to himself, full of disdain and hostility.

  Jiu's gaze fell on the stout youth once again, his mouth curling up at the corners. Thinking of making him feel uneasy? Heh heh!

  At this moment, many young people in the Xiufa Hall were about to take their seats one after another. Su Xingchen, who was in front of Zhu Jiu, turned his head and reminded him:

  "Be careful, the young man who just looked at you is Sun Bufu, a genius in cultivation said by Lian Chuanfa. Hey! I'm only reminding you because we're classmates, don't think too much about it."

  Jiǔ Huān was delighted and burst out laughing, glancing at the handsome young man and a strange, extraordinary corpse with flames burning all over its body, about one zhang tall, squatting beside him. He nodded his head and followed Su Xingchen's soft words.

  Su Xingchen was originally cold and calm, able to converse with Zhu Jiu in a low voice, already showing a few points of special treatment. Sun Bu Fu, a handsome young man standing on one leg, also noticed this point, his pale face slightly red, and asked the short and chubby boy behind him in a soft voice: "What's that kid's name?"

  The stout boy looked at Zhu Jiu and replied in a low voice:

  "Back to Sun Shixiong, that little guy is called Zhu Jiu. His demon corpse is very powerful and has killed two same-level demon corpses with one blow, which is why he was selected as the first in our group to enter the Xiu Fa Temple."

  Sun Bu did not live up to his arrogant and proud humming, turned around and loudly asked a Dharma Master who was leading the team in front:

  "I'll challenge Jukyu of Shoren Temple right now, I wonder if I can cut down my opponent."

  The people who had just sat down on the second floor of the cultivation hall heard the young man intentionally speaking loudly, and they all showed anger. This young man was so arrogant, obviously not putting the people in the cultivation hall in his eyes.

  Su Xingchen is the acknowledged strongest young cultivator in the Cultivation Temple, and at this time his voice was calm and flat as he said:

  "Sun Bu Fu is no match for me, why don't you and I have a try?"

  Sun Bu's face turned red with anger at once, and he said indignantly:

  "Su Xingchen, don't think that just because your cultivation is slightly higher, I'm afraid of you. Sooner or later, I'll let you know my strength."

  Su Xingchen's bright eyes revealed a hint of disdain, and he retorted sharply:

  "Isn't your arrogance also because your cultivation is higher than others?"

  Sun's face turned redder and he remained silent, his anger apparent.

  Jiǔ xīn dǐ àn àn xiǎng dào:

  Translation:

  Jiǔ secretly thought in her heart:

  "Since I've lost, I should leave the Refining Hall. Who knows if there's still a threat to my life? Then I'll have to show some sharpness, so as not to be too reserved and make people underestimate me, affecting resource supply. Let's take Sun Bu Fu's opening move for example, idiot."

  "Since someone is challenging me, I might as well ask Master Lei to permit his disciple to come out and fight. Let's have a good match with this Sun Bu'nu."

  Li Chuan Fa, with a beard all over his face, was good at fighting and saw the young people entering the Dou Fa Hall for the first time. They started arguing, not only were they not angry, but also praised him saying:

  "Fine, saves trouble, let's just start fighting and see who dies."

  Jiǔ Dāng immediately strode out with the sunset, heading straight for the central Bi Fa platform that was a hundred zhang wide. He walked up to the front of the platform and ascended the steps, his face solemn and stern.

  Sun Bu Fu was still standing lazily at the bottom of the stage, seeing Zhu Jiu had already walked onto the stage, he let out a sharp laugh and said:

  "Are you eager to get on stage and die?"

  Just before going on stage, he glanced at Su Xingchen and lightly waved his hand, making a gesture to kill Zhu Jiu on the spot.

  The nine-faced, expressionless figure quietly waited on stage, watching as Sun Bu'er always had a look of disdain on his face. He deliberately walked slowly, bringing with him the only giant bear-like skull exposed, demonic corpse that was shrouded in flames.

  This young man is not disappointing his age, with a natural talent for cultivation that is outstanding and extraordinary. He absolutely won't be as superficial and ignorant as he appears on the surface; otherwise, it would be impossible for him to make such a stunning declaration and snatch the top spot from several hundred outer courtyard disciples, which isn't something that can be achieved just by having good innate quality.

  I wish to congratulate Jiǔ Cāi on his speculation that Sūn Bù Fù's current arrogant appearance is likely intended to numb himself and attract others' attention. It can be expected that once he gets on stage, Sūn Bù Fù will launch a thunderous attack with all his might, creating a strong contrast between before and after, deepening the impression of the high-level members of the three-layer observatory platform. It seems that this person cannot be underestimated, being so sinister at such a young age.

  Wishing you a clear and thorough understanding of all this, but pretending to be unaware on the surface, just standing still and waiting silently, showing the rare patience of someone of your age.

  Sun Bu Fu finally walked onto the stage, with his hands behind his back, and asked:

  "Are you ready?"

  Zhū jiǔ zhī dào zì jǐ huí dá zhī hòu, zhè yī chǎng zhàn dòu bì huì zài xià yī shùn měng liè bào fā, tái tóu qīng qīng dào:

  "Uh-huh, I'm ready."

  Just as the sound of Jiǔwěi's voice had barely faded, Sūn Bùfù on the opposite side let out a loud shout. The fierce flame wraith beside him dropped to all fours and charged towards the setting sun with a mad dash.

  Sun Bu did not disappoint, and with a wave of his hand, he consecutively shot out several fist-sized balls of technique that were colored in cyan and green, which flew straight at Zhu Jiu's face. This technique was called the Azure Cyan Symbol Thunder, a poisonous and sinister art that Zhu Jiu and the others had studied for a year. Those who were hit by this technique would be devoured by the poison, and would die with a mournful howl.

  Among the crowd watching from under the stage, Sun Bu's transmission master was a middle-aged man, dressed in black, with two wisps of whiskers on his lips. At this time, he turned his head and said to Lü Chuanfa, who had also walked to the edge of the stage to watch the battle:

  "Sun is not wrong, this little guy has exceptional talent and is also extremely ruthless, good at hiding and teasing his opponents. I think that one called Zhu Jiu, just this one move of Bi Qing Fu Lei is not easy to dodge, what do you think, Brother Li?"

  Lü Chuánfǎ actually also had a similar view, after all, Sūn Bù Fù's cultivation was one line higher than Zhù Jiǔ's, and he took the initiative to attack, but his mouth didn't dare to yield, letting out a cold hum, without responding.

  Zhu Jiu, who had been prepared for the sneak attack by the Nine Sons, gave a fatal command to the setting sun in the sea of consciousness at the same time. His thoughts turned swiftly, and when the cyan token appeared before him, Zhu Jiu made a move that left everyone speechless. He suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed the cyan token whole.

  The dark face of the Shadow Symbol flashed out, revealing the shadow symbol that had been created a year ago.

  The talisman gently swayed, and the emerald green thunderbolt that had rushed into Zhu Jiu's mouth was instantly dragged into the sea of consciousness, where it was silently absorbed by the dark shadow talisman and disappeared.

  This is another function of the Shadow Symbol discovered after several retreats and arduous research in the ninth year, besides helping the sunset to hide, that is, absorbing the power of magic.

  Of course, the absorbed spiritual power cannot be too much higher than one's own level, otherwise it will exceed the limit of the talisman's endurance and result in the talisman cracking open and the sea of consciousness collapsing. However, with Sun Bu Fu being only slightly higher than Zhu Jiu in terms of cultivation, this is not a problem.