Chapter Ninety-Four: Gathering Strength

"Are you Shen Yu?"
"It is I."

The atmosphere between them was strangely hushed.

The man who had traveled so far to come here carried himself without much force, his tone neither sharp nor severe.

Shen Yu, for his part, was even more casual—he continued to eat his noodles at an unhurried pace, as though the two were old friends long parted.

That left the people nearby, who had been holding their breath and waiting for battle to erupt at any moment, somewhat at a loss.

Shen Yu asked, "Will you wait until I finish eating?"

The stout man scratched his head, gazing at the steaming noodles in his hands, and said in a muffled voice, "Looks good. Could you give me a bowl too?"

Shen Yu raised his brows slightly. For some reason, he seemed pleased. After a moment's thought, he said, "Sure."

"We want a bowl too."

Before the others could recover from their shock, another male and female voice drifted over from afar.

A sword immortal from Kunlun, and a radiant fairy from the Jade Pool.

Gasps rang out all around, followed by a chorus of astonished exclamations.

In the Top Ten of the Rising Clouds Ranking, three had gathered at once in the Immortal Sect of Returning Clouds.

Shen Yu remained calm. "Come with me."

...

"Less greens."

"I like plain noodles."

"Add more oil."

Inside a small house hastily erected for the occasion, three prodigies of the Mortal Wastes sat around a table.

One was a simple, honest fellow.

One was a young Daoist who seemed like an immortal descended to earth.

One was a fairy from the ninth heaven.

Each carried a different air, each had a different demeanor; the only thing they shared was that all three were eating noodles.

For a moment, silence lingered.

Shen Yu said, "The weather looks nice today."

"The weather on Mount Kunlun is good too."

"In the Jade Pool, it feels like spring all year round, so there isn't much to notice."

Meanwhile, the sound of Li Yi slurping noodles never ceased.

Yun Qing leaned against the door with her arms folded, sneering, "How dreary."

...

Silence fell again.

Long ago, cultivators on the mountain had already reached the point where they could fast without food. Aside from Shen Yu, everyone present had already stepped into the upper three realms, so they naturally had no interest in such thin, brothless noodles. Moreover, the four of them were not the sort given to easy conversation.

Li Yi may truly have been an exception; if he said he wanted noodles, then he truly wanted noodles.

Wan Jianyi said quietly, "I hear you obtained some treasure from that abandoned mansion?"

It was a question that everyone present wanted answered.

Li Yi drank the last of the soup in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said candidly, "A pitch-black staff. I heard it was a pillar the ancient dragon race once used to suppress the sea eye. Very heavy."

Wan Jianyi gave a soft "oh" and said, "Congratulations."

Everyone present remained composed. The depth of their respective sects meant they would not be easily startled or envious of most magical treasures.

Li Yi turned his head, as if only then finished eating, and said, "Li Chan is my younger brother. At South River City, Master Hui Ke specifically came to me, so I know that affair was my brother's own doing."

The atmosphere all around changed in an instant.

Shen Yu's expression was tranquil.

"My master once advised me."

Li Yi set down his bowl and chopsticks, then continued, "But I've known since childhood that this kind of bond cannot be severed. We came from the same womb. Before my parents passed, I promised them I would take good care of Li Chan, so this time, I still came."

Shen Yu said nothing.

He did not care for these reasons.

He Pianpian interjected, "The difference in cultivation is too great. That would be unfair, and meaningless."

Wan Jianyi glanced at her in mild surprise.

Li Yi looked at Shen Yu and grinned. "For the sake of this bowl of noodles, I won't kill you. I'll also suppress my cultivation to your level. How about that?"

Shen Yu looked somewhat surprised, then nodded. "All right."

He was very satisfied with this arrangement, because Li Yi was arguably the strongest of the younger generation. He wanted to challenge the strongest person there was, and this was all the more an opportunity not to be missed.

Li Yi stood up. "Please."

By the lakeside.

The two faced each other across the water.

Countless figures crowded the surroundings.

They had already learned that in this contest, Li Yi would deliberately suppress his cultivation, so there would be none of the world-shaking devastation seen last time.

Yet their anticipation for this battle was in no way diminished.

For this was surely the most supreme clash this realm had ever seen.

...

At first glance, Li Yi seemed utterly ordinary, a burly laborer in plain roughspun clothes.

But Shen Yu's expression was extraordinarily serious, and that alone proved the other was strong—strong beyond the ordinary.

A wooden sword appeared in his hand in an instant.

For the person before him, sword control would be useless; that much Shen Yu could tell at a glance.

Li Yi bent his knees and stepped forward.

A roar thundered out.

On the lake's surface, it was as though a deep pit had suddenly opened, the center caving inward in an instant.

At the same time, Shen Yu surged forward as well, and a blood-red fire dragon burst forth along his right arm.

What he held at that moment was not merely a sword, but more like a true dragon devouring all things.

Bang!

The two collided in the middle of the lake, and the fierce shockwave sent the water below surging outward to both sides.

Shen Yu's form vanished in midair, and in the blink of an eye he appeared behind Li Yi, driving down another punch.

Li Yi raised both hands to block in front of him, actually intending to take the blow head-on.

A violent wave of explosive force erupted within a narrow span of inches, sending Li Yi flying backward. Then he spun once in the air, landed, and charged forward even faster.

This time, Shen Yu was the one struck down to the ground.

Dust rose from the earth and drifted in the air.

"Wind, rise."

The faint whisper came from the ground.

Li Yi's pupils contracted at once.

A tornado dozens of zhang long appeared out of nowhere, roaring toward him.

The man's face was resolute. Stabilizing himself in midair, he let both arms be covered entirely in golden light.

Then he threw a punch.

The fist looked plain and ordinary, stirring only a faint breeze.

The force of the punch collided with the tornado, and the sky burst into countless dazzling flashes.

Li Yi roared, "Break!"

A boom followed.

The tornado vanished in an instant.

Then, in the next moment, Shen Yu came crashing down from the sky with overwhelming sword intent.

Bang!

Li Yi's body shuddered violently, yet in an instant he steadied himself as immovable as a mountain.

Shen Yu smiled faintly and murmured, "Rain, come."

Thunder cracked upon clear ground.

Countless tiny wooden swords fell like a sword rain from the heavens, smashing upon Li Yi's body in an instant. The countless shafts of rain transformed into a curtain of blades, swallowing him in the blink of an eye.

Only after the rain of swords did Li Yi seem to have been struck down by a crushing blow, with no resistance at all as he slammed fiercely into the water.

Splash!

Water sprayed everywhere.

...

More than a dozen disciples of the Dao Sect were stirred to the depths of their hearts by the sight.

Those disciples of the Immortal Sect of Returning Clouds who knew the man's identity were even more shaken.

A broad figure burst out of the water.

Shen Yu held his sword in his right hand, his left hand behind his back.

"At the fifth realm of martial cultivation, the Ten Thousand Phenomena Realm is equivalent to the Divine Wandering Realm of the Dao."

Li Yi showed not the slightest injury and said calmly, "I've heard about you. You should be able to reach the Divine Wandering Realm as well."

"Clear Heart."

Shen Yu murmured the words to himself.

The next instant.

Countless dark crimson rays exploded forth from around him, and his aura broke through the Void Truth Realm at once, finally settling at the mid-stage of the Divine Wandering Realm.