Debates and discussions sprung up in all of the holy ground - who would be able to stop Righteous Scion?

The answer focused on the four great geniuses. However, people had different opinions regarding these fours.

Some said that Hu Ben should be able to do it, others thought more highly of the other three.

“The strongest has to be the First Sister of Duality, Dugu Lan.” One cultivator stated.

This won some support, especially from the students of Duality. They thought that their senior sister would be able to handle Righteous Scion.

Another was brought up by someone: “Gentlemen, don’t forget that outside of the four geniuses, we have a miracle creator.”

“Who?” A crowd member couldn’t come up with anyone on the same level as the four geniuses.

“The so-called son of miracles, Li Qiye. He’s also called Fierce by people.” The first speaker elaborated. [1]

“Hmm…” Another shook his head and disagreed: “That’s a high evaluation of him. He shouldn’t be compared to the four great geniuses, let alone Righteous Scion.”

“Did you forget that Li Qiye destroyed two mansions a few days ago?” Li Qiye’s supporter went on: “Who can match this battle record? Certainly not the four geniuses.”

The crowd exchanged glances. Sure, Li Qiye did really trample two factions by himself.

“Let’s not forget about his numerous miracles before that. Maybe another one will happen and he’ll defeat the scion.” The guy had absolute trust in Li Qiye.

“No way.” The majority didn’t feel the same way: “It was the armor from Wish Ward that did the job, not his personal power.”

“Right, Li Qiye is only a conqueror or at best, an Enlightened Being. That’s trivial, the scion can kill him with one finger.” Prejudice remained due to Li Qiye’s cultivation.

This was a case of generational nobles looking down on the nouveau riche. They thought that Li Qiye only relied on external help.

“I heard Wish Ward wants to sell this armor, he’s nothing without it. Any student from Duality can defeat him.” One young expert gloated.

“We shouldn’t place our hope on something so intangible and uncertain. To challenge a supreme genius like the scion required the same level of talent.” One ancestor also disagreed.

This battle pertained to the holy ground’s reputation and prestige. A weak cultivator like Li Qiye couldn’t shoulder this responsibility.

During the debates, another news came from the border - the official written challenge has arrived.

“The challenge letter is here now.” This stirred the members of the holy ground since it made the challenge official.

“Who will accept the letter?” Someone thought about this issue.

Various powers remained silent, the same with the top geniuses.

Everyone knew that only defeat would come from this. Their strongest geniuses weren’t confident against the scion. They would be intimidated before the start of the battle.

“It’s at Buddha Emperor Plateau now.” The letter traveled across the holy ground, uncontested.

“The challenge letter has arrived at Minor Sacred Mountain under the command of the great scion. Do the heroes of the holy ground wish to accept?” The messenger carrying the letter loudly announced.

“It’s at Minor Sacred Mountain now…” The situation was heating up. Some people started becoming restless.

The holiest location was naturally Sacred Mountain. Unfortunately, no one had a clue where it was so it was impossible to send the letter there.

Most chose to go to Minor Sacred Mountain instead for various purposes. This imitation location was only second to the real thing.

It had plenty of prestige since all four dao lords had stayed there and used it as their base. Important ceremonies from Vajra were carried out there as well, including the coronation.

All in all, Minor Sacred Mountain had a special and sacred status in everyone’s mind. Thus, this letter being there was a blatant provocation to all the geniuses in the holy ground.

“We have to fight! We can’t sit idly by and watch this transpire!” One genius declared despite knowing the inevitable defeat.

“How dare he look down on Buddha Holy Ground. Let’s spill our blood instead of being turtles hiding in the shell!” Another stepped up.

“Right, we might lose individually but another hundred, no, another thousand can come. He challenged three thousand geniuses back at Righteous, right? Then let’s gather thirty thousand geniuses to fight him. The more sticks, the stronger the flame. I’m sure we’ll be able to stop him.” Some started planning.

The young ones expressed their indignation. However, no one has accepted the letter just yet. Doing so meant carrying a serious responsibility. Losing meant throwing away the face of the holy ground and becoming a sinner recorded in history.

“The current holy ground still lacks a leader that can handle this level of responsibility.” A few ancestors could see their hesitation. Of course, it was hard to blame them given the stake.

“Excuse us for the lack of reception even though you have traveled so far to get here.” An answer finally came from Duality Academy. The speaker had a pleasant yet sharp voice: “If you wish for a spar, I, Dugu Lan, will entertain you. I accept the challenge letter.”

The voice was unflustered and majestic like the flow of the ocean. The listeners felt their heart boiling.

“First Sister!” The students of Duality roared.

“First Sister is finally out of her isolated training!” Another said.

“She’ll be able to proudly raise the banner of our academy!” Some were nearly moved to tears.

The same emotion could be found across the holy ground. It was truly frustrating and humiliating for its members that no one dared to accept the challenge.

Now, Dugu Lan stepped up and accepted the responsibility, successfully winning the heart of the people.

1. The author used the character for Fierce here. I’m of two minds regarding using it again. When the word was first used a very long time ago, I don’t know if you guys still remember the long footnote regarding it. There’s no good equivalence in English with all the nuances while being one word. I settled for Fierce. Monster was another good choice - 70% of the intended meaning while being a tad too negative, but it would have been bad once the number one adjective got added; number one monster sounds terrible compared to Fiercest. No English speakers would call people Fierce out of nowhere while this word is commonly used in Chinese. But as I’ve thought about it more during the day, since readers are already familiar with this usage, using Fierce again is accurate, so I’ve chosen to use it again. I’m sure some readers will be wondering why the same title is being used in two different places, too much of a coincidence. Just know that this isn’t an issue in the Chinese version.