Chapter 358: Showcasing Reputation on Dragon Tiger Mountain (First update!)"_1
"Presumptuous!"
As soon as Gu Chen's words were spoken, all the disciples of the Celestial Master's Sect on Dragon Tiger Mountain stood up, glaring at Gu Chen with anger in their eyes.
How transcendent was the Old Celestial Master? To the many disciples of the Celestial Master's Sect, he was like a godly figure, not to mention that as a top grandmaster of the Spirit Traversing Realm, he was revered by people all over the world and held immense prestige.
It wasn't just the disciples from Dragon Tiger Mountain, but even warriors from other sects and forces in the martial world of East Province felt that Gu Chen was a bit too arrogant.
Gu Chen stood his ground, his brow slightly furrowed, silent.
The attitude of the Old Celestial Master made him worried — could it be that the Celestial Master's Sect had already sided with the Six Union God Sect?
"Gu Chen, I don't care if you are the Marquis of Wu'an from Da Xia, or some renowned slayer, but you must take back your words and apologize to the Old Celestial Master. Otherwise, even if you are one of the imperial court's own, today I will make sure you suffer.
The Old Celestial Master must not be insulted," said the Grandmaster of the Innate Realm from the Celestial Master's Sect who was presiding over the birthday celebration, his voice cold.
Gu Chen said, "I wouldn't mind taking back those words, provided that I can meet with the Old Celestial Master. I am willing to apologize to him face to face."
"You're dreaming! Who do you think you are? Do you believe the Old Celestial Master is someone you can see just because you wish to?"
A glint of cold light flashed in the eyes of that Grandmaster of the Innate Realm from the Celestial Master's Sect. They had little regard for people from the imperial court, and now Gu Chen even dared to insult the Old Celestial Master, which made the disciples of the Celestial Master's Sect unbearably angry.
"Take him down!" the disciples of the Celestial Master's Sect roared with rage.
The other forces present shook their heads in secret, thinking that Gu Chen was too young. Even if he had reached the Innate Realm, he was not truly invincible in the world.
What kind of person was the Old Celestial Master? He was a top grandmaster of the Spirit Traversing Realm who was over a hundred and fifty years old, with overwhelmingly powerful strength. With his divine intent alone, who under the Spirit Traversing Realm could oppose him?
Gu Chen was strong, but it was all relative. Had Da Xia still been what it had been before, with Emperor Xia in power, then the Celestial Master's Sect on Dragon Tiger Mountain would have been wary and dare not act against him.
But now, with Gu Chen's behavior, slapping their face in front of all the disciples, of course, they could not agree.
"Now, it's too late for you to think about leaving the mountain. I will personally capture you and make you kneel here and kowtow in apology to the Old Celestial Master!"
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Hearing this, Gu Chen's eyes grew cold. Make him kneel and apologize?
Boom!
At that moment, the Grandmaster of the Innate Realm from the Celestial Master's Sect had already made his move. Raising his hand and pointing, a bolt of lightning struck towards Gu Chen at incredible speed. Even a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm might not be able to react in time.
"The Celestial Master's Sect of Dragon Tiger Mountain's Thunder Art!" a warrior exclaimed.
It was well-known in the martial world that the Celestial Master's Sect of Dragon Tiger Mountain possessed a peerless thunder art, powerful to the extent that when mastered, it could even beckon a heavenly thunder to descend upon the world, terribly fearsome.
For many years, the Celestial Master's Sect kept a low profile and rarely used it against others, so it had been a long time since the martial world had seen the thunder art of the Celestial Master's Sect.
"Giving this junior a lesson, to let you know that being an Innate doesn't really make you invincible in the world!"
Alongside this cold shout, the dazzling bolt of lightning struck Gu Chen's tall physique.
However, the scene everyone imagined did not occur. After taking the hit from the Innate Realm's Grandmaster, Gu Chen stood there, apparently unharmed. His strong physique had defended against the attack without a scratch.
"How is this possible?!" the Grandmaster of the Innate Realm from the Celestial Master's Sect saw this and his pupils shrunk dramatically.
"Unscathed? Isn't that a bit exaggerated?" Not only him, everyone present was shaken, looking at Gu Chen in disbelief.
Although Gu Chen's fame had spread all over the world and even Grandmasters of the Innate Realm were looking at him sideways, he had only recently entered the Innate Realm, and his strength should have been limited.
The Grandmaster from the Celestial Master's Sect who made the move had the cultivation of the mid-Innate Realm. Even if he couldn't defeat Gu Chen, the onlookers imagined that a fight would be necessary to determine the outcome.
The scene before them seemed too exaggerated to believe.
Dressed in a black robe, Gu Chen stood tall and declared, "You are no match for me, let me see the Old Celestial Master."
"You... Arrogant!" The Grandmaster from the Celestial Master's Sect who had made a move turned red with anger, feeling humiliated.
Just as he was about to strike again, a voice came from afar, "Third Uncle, let me deal with him."
A tall figure emerged from a distance, wearing a green Taoist robe, his hair held up with a wooden hairpin, with soft features and bright eyes, exuding an indescribable aura.
"It's the Young Celestial Master, Zhang Chengxuan!"
Seeing this young man, everyone's gaze grew sharp.
Zhang Chengxuan was indeed the most outstanding disciple of his generation in the Celestial Master's Sect of Dragon Tiger Mountain, having recently taken the Dragon Tiger Purple Gold Pill and successfully reached the Innate Realm.
Before his breakthrough to the Innate Realm, Zhang Chengxuan had already become unmatched among his peers on Dragon Tiger Mountain.
For years, he had been seeking a way to break through to the Innate Realm until not long ago, when the Old Celestial Master successfully refined a Dragon Tiger Purple Gold Pill for him to consume, allowing him to smoothly unlock all one hundred and eight acupoints in his body and break through to the Innate Realm.
Zhang Chengxuan was the hope of the next generation of the Celestial Master's Sect of Dragon Tiger Mountain and was destined to succeed the Old Celestial Master as the leader of the Sect.
At this moment, step by step, Zhang Chengxuan walked out from the depths of the Celestial Master's Sect. He seemed to merge with heaven and earth, and each step felt as if it landed on everyone's hearts. The heartbeats of all those present seemed to sync with Zhang Chengxuan's footsteps, an extremely uncomfortable sensation.
"Quite skilled," Gu Chen nodded slightly. He had heard Luo Feng mention this Young Celestial Master, and it seemed his strength was indeed not bad; perhaps he even had a chance to test himself against the likes of Yuwen Wind and other holy land heirs.
"Are you Gu Chen?"
Zhang Chengxuan approached Gu Chen, bringing his steps to a halt. Instantly, many martial artists in the area let out a sigh of relief, as cold sweats broke out over their bodies.
"I heard you defeated the Saint of the Dao realms and want to see the Old Divine Teacher. To do that, you'll have to get past me first," Zhang Chengxuan said with a piercing gaze fixed on Gu Chen.
"If I defeat you, will the Old Divine Teacher agree to meet with me?" Gu Chen asked.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengxuan fell silent for a moment before saying, "I cannot guarantee it."
No one could alter the will of the Old Divine Teacher; if he did not wish to see Gu Chen, not even Zhang Chengxuan's words would matter.
"Why does the Old Divine Teacher dare not meet me?" Gu Chen furrowed his brows. He had to know whether the Divine Teacher Sect had sided with the Six Union God Sect or not.
With the strength of the Old Divine Teacher, although he was old, being just over one hundred fifty years was not considered old age for a top grandmaster in the realm of Divine Union.
The Six Union God Sect already had four top grandmasters in the realm of Divine Union. If they added one more, their strength would increase significantly. This was not something Da Xia or Gu Chen wanted to see happen.
Furthermore, if the news spread that the Divine Teacher Sect from Mount Longhu had sided with the Six Union God Sect, with the Old Divine Teacher's prestige, perhaps many other forces in the martial world might follow suit.
In this way, with gains and losses, the strength of the Six Union God Sect would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.
"Watch your wording!" The young Divine Teacher Zhang Chengxuan frowned, appearing displeased.
Gu Chen said, "Without the Old Divine Teacher, none of you from Mount Longhu's Divine Teacher Sect are a match for me."
Whoosh!
The moment Gu Chen's words were uttered, a stir rippled through the crowd.
This statement was too arrogant. The Divine Teacher Sect from Mount Longhu, one of the three great sects in the martial world, had a millennium of heritage. If the Wudao Sect from the six great sacred lands did not intervene, it would be able to control the martial path of the nine provinces.
Aside from the Old Divine Teacher, the sect had five grandmasters in the realm of Innate being, including one at the peak of the Great Perfection, their strength was immense.
But now, Gu Chen was saying that without the Old Divine Teacher, no one in the entire Divine Teacher Sect was his opponent.
While a 22-year-old Innate was certainly impressive, was Gu Chen's character a bit too arrogant?
"Does he really not fear the Old Divine Teacher taking action against him?" the crowd of martial artists whispered among themselves.
Gu Chen said, "I mean no disrespect to the Divine Teacher Sect or the Old Divine Teacher; it's just that this matter is of great importance, and I must meet with the Old Divine Teacher in person."
He believed that if the Old Divine Teacher were aware of the imminent crisis facing the nine provinces, he might not maintain his current attitude.
After all, as the control center of the world's Daoist paths, the Old Divine Teacher's reputation in the martial world meant he could clearly discern what was more or less important, right from wrong.
In the face of a crisis that threatened the lives of countless beings in the nine provinces, Gu Chen believed that the Old Divine Teacher might agree to a meeting.
So this was the reason he insisted on meeting the Old Divine Teacher.
"Only a battle will show if it's true or not!"
The young Divine Teacher Zhang Chengxuan let out a soft shout. With a single hand, he formed a seal, and instantly within fifty paces, countless sparks of electricity emerged in the void, crackling fiercely. Bolts of lightning, like dragons, charged towards Gu Chen.
Gu Chen knitted his brows; this battle was meaningless to him. As the deluge of lightning surged toward him, Gu Chen made no move, yet suddenly, a lofty dragon's roar echoed through the heavens and earth.
"Roar!"
The terrifying sonic boom could shatter the very earth, but under Gu Chen's control, the force of the soundwave exploded in mid-air with a thunderous boom, dissipating the bolts of lightning, which crumbled away into fine sparks disappearing into the void.
"I told you, you are no match for me. Let the Old Divine Teacher come out," Gu Chen stated.
Upon hearing Gu Chen's voice, the young Divine Teacher Zhang Chengxuan and his third uncle, another Innate realm grandmaster from Mount Longhu, had unpleasant expressions, their fists clenched tightly.
"Indeed, even the young Divine Teacher is no match for Gu Chen. Could it truly be that only the Old Divine Teacher can deal with him?"
"To possess such power at just the onset of the Innate realm, he truly deserves the title of the number one martial prodigy in the nine provinces," the crowd commented with visible emotion.
Hearing is one thing; witnessing is another. Only by seeing with their eyes did they understand just how powerful Gu Chen really was.
Having witnessed Gu Chen's strength, no one thought his earlier words were arrogant, but rather entirely justified.
With Gu Chen's capabilities, despite his youth, there was indeed no issue with him requesting an audience with the Old Divine Teacher.
This was no longer a junior's courtesy call, but rather a meeting between the imperial court of Da Xia and the Divine Teacher Sect of Mount Longhu.
Gu Chen certainly had the strength and the right to represent the Da Xia imperial court in meeting with the Old Divine Teacher of the Divine Teacher Sect.
The leaders of the top forces watched Gu Chen with solemn gazes, knowing in the future, Gu Chen would surely become a martial arts giant dominating the world.
Even, possibly, like the Emperor of Summer, he could awe the entire nine provinces, making all forces dare not act rashly.
"Who dares to wreak havoc during the Old Divine Teacher's birthday banquet!"
At that moment, suddenly, a cold shout came from the sky, followed by the sight of a massive bolt of lightning, which suddenly appeared and struck down at Gu Chen, standing on the ground.
"The ultimate grandmaster of the Innate realm of the Divine Teacher Sect has made a move!"