Chapter 4700 — The One Who Stuck His Neck Out

"Are you out of your mind? You'd actually believe a word out of Scarface's mouth—a man who eats people without spitting out the bones? Sure, there's good stuff in the Eternal Canyon, but do you really think you can just stroll in and scoop up all those heavenly treasures and earthly rarities? You can't even imagine the horrors in there. Even if you get in alive, whether you get out alive is another question entirely—and you're still dreaming of breaking even?" Someone nearby immediately sneered.

"Exactly. Do you have any idea how big Scarface's appetite is? Even if you get in, even if your luck really does explode and you find something good, do you think he won't search you all over again on the way out? Do you think he'll just let you walk away that easily? Try using a little brain, would you?" someone beside him chimed in.

With these few words, the faces of the trial candidates in the surrounding area turned unspeakably grim. They were all speaking the plain truth. Scarface could not possibly be some honest, upstanding sort. Let you in, and he'd search you—let you out, and of course he'd search you again. Any fool could work that out with their toes. Work your fingers to the bone for him from start to finish, and risk your life on top of it—what the hell was the point?

"Then what's left to say? We can only steer clear of this cursed place. Even if our haul is a little smaller, it's still better than delivering ourselves to Scarface's doorstep to be plucked clean. I'm not stupid!" Someone immediately began to think of backing out.

There were no few who harbored the same thought, yet not everyone was willing to retreat just like that. After all, once you withdrew, you could only go hunting for a needle in the desert haystack. Better, then, to take a gamble—fortune favors the bold!

Sure enough, even as the crowd murmured among themselves, a man in gray suddenly leaped out from their midst, drawing every gaze in an instant.

"I am Duan Wuzong of the Nakajima Thousand Blades Sect. I have no heavenly treasures or earthly rarities worth showing. Precisely for that reason, I must enter the Eternal Canyon. I ask that you do me this convenience, sir. I trust you would not wish this trifling matter to end in a fight to the death—that would look bad for both of us." As the gray-robed man spoke, he revealed a fierce, overbearing aura—he was unmistakably a cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

The moment this Duan Wuzong stepped forward, an uproar swept the scene. Every last person widened their eyes. The reason they had all been gathered here, caught between advancing and retreating, was precisely that they lacked a leader. But now, at last, one had appeared.

"Oh? So what we have here is a tough nut, looking to take on my turf single-handed?" Scarface's face was full of contempt as he cast a casual, careless glance at Duan Wuzong.

"I wouldn't dare. Whether the others live or die is no concern of mine. I merely ask that you open a convenient door, sir. After all, if we truly come to blows, mutual destruction would suit neither of us, and we might even let someone else fish in troubled waters. What do you say?" Duan Wuzong's tone could scarcely conceal his arrogance.

"Heh, this one's out to trip the landmine," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile and a shake of his head, judging from the man's aura. This Duan Wuzong of the Thousand Blades Sect was indeed a rare talent, standing out among the crowd of peak Nascent Soul cultivators. Such pride and such confidence were only natural—but unfortunately, the man opposite him was, after all, a peak expert of the early Xuan Sheng stage, and would not swallow that sort of act.

"You don't think much of his chances?" Huo Yudie asked, curious despite herself. In her view, this man was very strong. Just as he himself had said, if it really came to a fight, even if it did not end in mutual destruction, it would certainly cause Scarface no small trouble—and with Scarface wary, he might actually let him off.

"Of course. Scarface and his people are few in number. They hold down so many people purely through intimidation. If he sets this precedent, just think—would all these people here still be trembling and not daring to move as they are now? Once the situation spirals out of control, even Scarface's strength won't be enough to rein it in, and then his reign as the local mountain king will have failed utterly," Wei Zhao analyzed.

"Then what will he do?" Huo Yudie asked thoughtfully.

"Naturally, he'll crush this Duan Wuzong with the force of a thunderbolt. So long as he can establish his authority in one stroke, no one here will dare resist him again—they'll all obediently submit to being plucked clean." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. As he spoke, though, he set himself aside entirely. A peak expert of the early Xuan Sheng stage was an unmatched deterrent to others, but one had to remember that long before this, he had already killed a Xuan Sheng cultivator—and with a single strike.

Wei Zhao had scarcely finished speaking when Scarface indeed made his decision. He threw back his head and laughed. "Hahahaha, I've held this place for so many years, and there really have been precious few who dared come threaten me to my face. You've got some nerve, Duan. Too bad you've miscalculated. Threaten me? Hmph—do I look like the sort of coward who's afraid of threats?"

With that, Scarface gave a sudden long cry and struck with ruthless force.

Duan Wuzong was greatly alarmed at the sight. He had stepped forward not to fight Scarface head-on, but simply to make the man feel that he was not to be provoked, and so retreat at the sight of difficulty. Who could have imagined that the other would dismiss him with utter contempt? Now he found himself astride a tiger he could not dismount. There was no help for it—he could only grit his teeth and choose to meet the attack.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Accompanied by a burst of shrill metallic clashing, a host of divine weapons suddenly flashed into being around Duan Wuzong—blades, spears, swords, halberds, every kind imaginable, thirteen pieces in all by a careful count. How he carried them all on his person was anyone's guess. Every one of them hovered around him, and the formation was quite astonishing.

A collective gasp swept the scene. Though no true exchange had yet begun, this Duan Wuzong was indeed formidable. From the look of this display, he could control thirteen weapons at once—truly beyond belief. If an ordinary expert faced him, would they not be beaten to death in short order by these weapons swarming them on all sides?

"I've long heard that the martial techniques of the Nakajima Thousand Blades Sect are unique in the world. They say the stronger a Thousand Blades disciple grows, the more blades he can control—and at the limit, he might even bring a thousand blades to bear at once. Seeing it today, the reputation is well deserved," Huo Yudie sighed.

"Heh, it is rather interesting," Wei Zhao said, his interest piqued as well. He had seen no end of experts of every description before this, not a few of them practitioners of strange and unorthodox paths—but this was the first time he had seen anyone control a dozen-odd weapons all at once.

"I'll say this one last time: let me pass, and we'll have no trouble between us. Otherwise, when the situation turns chaotic in a moment, with so many people here, it won't be within your power to control it!" Unless absolutely forced, Duan Wuzong still did not wish to draw his blade.

Though he was fully confident in his own strength, to claim he could truly defeat a peak expert of the early Xuan Sheng stage was plainly the dream of a fool! (To be continued.)

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