Chapter 1635: Silent Golden Summit

Zhang Zijiang couldn't help but say to Xie Daoyun, who was standing nearby, "Miss Xie, why do you think there are so many fools in this world? Lord Zu was clearly speaking the truth with every word, but these people refuse to appreciate it and are rushing to provoke him."

He felt a pang of regret. He had been a bit cowardly earlier, intimidated by the prestige of the various Daoist sect leaders, and hadn't jumped out in time to flatter Lord Zu, missing out on so many good opportunities.

Seeing him looking so frustrated he was practically slapping his thighs raw, Xie Daoyun's expression was odd. "It's normal for them to misunderstand. After all, Brother Zu's situation is quite unique."

If she hadn't seen Brother Zu in action with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed someone who seemed so defenseless could be so powerful.

The young monk Jieshe from Worry-Free Temple tugged at Master Jianhuang's sleeve. "Master, I don't think Senior Brother deserves his Buddhist name."

Master Jianhuang remained silent for a long time, then finally sighed. "When we return to the temple, I will change his name."

Senior Brother's Buddhist name was "Jiekuang," meaning "Curbing Arrogance," because he was usually too arrogant. But compared to the man before them, what right did he have to be called arrogant?

"Xu Chuan, you're a Grandmaster of the Force Soul realm! How dare you bully a young man? If you want to fight, fight me!" roared Grandmistress Huoling at that moment.

Although she also felt that Zu An's words were overly arrogant, he was, after all, helping Manman, so she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Elder Xu was practically dying from indignation. Was she blind? Who was bullying whom just now?

Knowing he was no match for Grandmistress Huoling, he ignored her challenge and instead looked at Zu An. "Are you going to hide behind a woman again this time, like a cowardly turtle?"

Zu An said calmly, "I've been waiting for you to make a move, but it seems you never had the courage."

"Damn it, nobody stop me!" Elder Xu's eyes glowed red as he rolled up his sleeves and leaped onto the arena stage.

Grandmasters from other sects secretly nodded. This young man was truly infuriating; even they, as bystanders, were finding it hard to tolerate him.

The disciples from various sects were even more excited. They had come to watch a match between disciples, but now they were going to see referees fight each other — it was truly worth the trip. Their only regret was that one of the referees seemed a bit weaker, so the fight would probably end quickly.

Grandmistress Huoling grew anxious at the sight. She tried to step forward but was stopped by people from other sects. "Grandmistress, since Lord Zu said that, he clearly has confidence. Don't worry about him."

Despite their words, their expressions were somewhat gloating; they clearly didn't believe Zu An was truly confident.

Blocked by several people, Grandmistress Huoling couldn't get through.

At that moment, Elder Xu walked up to Zu An and stopped. "You go first."

He maintained his dignity. Although furious, as an esteemed senior, he couldn't attack a junior first. It would be more appropriate for him to counterattack after the other party made the first move.

"If I make a move, you won't have a chance," Zu An said with a calm expression. "Besides, I already told you, you're not even worthy of me using my hands."

Elder Xu, enraged, laughed instead. "Good, then I'll see how you make me lose my chance without even making a move."

Rage points from Xu Chuan: 666,666,666...

The sect leaders present, and even Grandmistress Huoling, who was on Zu An's side, all thought Zu An was far too conceited.

At this point, Elder Xu disregarded all martial arts conventions and directly threw a punch at Zu An. As a Grandmaster of the Force Soul realm, his strike carried the power to uproot mountains.

The surrounding disciples painfully covered their ears, as the punch created a sonic boom — no, more than that, the fist itself generated dazzling light from friction with the air.

The barrier near the stage began to shatter, and even the stage itself started to collapse.

Feeling the terrifying pressure, the younger generation of disciples, even elite ones like Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi, looked horrified, with only a few older sect elders remaining unfazed.

Was this the might of a Force Soul realm Grandmaster's single punch?

If struck head-on by such a punch, perhaps not even a speck of bone would remain?

Even Zhang Zijiang and Xie Daoyun became nervous at this point. They had seen Zu An fight before, but then he was only facing Scarred Yang Shen, a Grandmaster who had just entered the Heroic Soul realm. Now, Elder Xu was a Force Soul realm Grandmaster, three major realms higher.

The power of this strike far surpassed Yang Shen's.

Only Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue remained expressionless, their minds the calmest in the arena.

With a thunderous roar, Elder Xu's stage completely collapsed. Several other surrounding stages were also affected and crumbled. Fortunately, Wang Wuxie and others intervened promptly, re-establishing a barrier to prevent the residual power from harming the numerous disciples outside.

"Is that Zu fellow dead?"

"If he's not dead after that, is he a god?"

"But he's a court official after all. Mount Luofu might have trouble later."

Zhao Xiaodie gasped, nervously staring at the dust-filled stage, her expression a mix of tension and perhaps relief.

Her junior brother, Cai Yu, standing beside her, said, "Senior Sister really cares about Senior Brother. That pretty boy is certainly dead, which means Senior Brother can get some revenge."

Zhao Xiaodie forced a smile, her expression filled with doubt. Logically, she should have been happy that the villain was dead, so why did she feel an emptiness inside?

Soon, however, observant individuals noticed the sect masters staring intently at the stage with grave expressions, as if they had witnessed something horrifying.

"Look, golden light in the sky!"

Someone shouted. Everyone looked up to see ripples of golden light suddenly appearing in the sky, and in front of these golden ripples, a figure floated in mid-air. It was none other than Zu An!

He was holding Pei Mianman in his arms, her face pressed against his chest, whether from unconsciousness or shyness, it was unclear.

"Never missing an opportunity to flirt," Yun Jianyue muttered under her breath, clearly disdainful of his actions.

Across from her, Yan Xuehen slightly lowered her head, her expression appearing even colder than usual.

Xie Daoyun, who had been worried, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Zu An safe. But seeing him holding Pei Mianman like that, she felt a pang of jealousy.

However, she soon remembered that she had been held by him in the same way before, and her mood immediately improved.

He actually dodged that attack and still had time to save Pei Mianman?

Elder Xu was utterly shocked. He had clearly locked onto Zu An just moments ago, but suddenly lost all trace of him.

"This guy is playing dumb to catch a tiger!" The leading disciples like Wan Guiyi, Wu Xiaofan, and Lou Wucheng all lit up, a strong fighting spirit rising within them.

They never imagined there would be a peer with such profound cultivation on Golden Summit.

As for the other disciples, all that remained was envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"If only I could be saved by a handsome young man holding me like that one day, I'd die happy," many female cultivators swooned.

Other male cultivators secretly scoffed, thinking 'you should look in a mirror,' but their own hearts were also pounding. Having been young men themselves, who among them hadn't fantasized about being a peerless hero descending from the sky to rescue the girl of their dreams?

However, as they grew older, they all realized it was just a fantasy.

They never thought they would witness it with their own eyes today.

There truly was light in this world!

At that moment, the golden ripples in the air gradually coalesced into golden weapons, each radiating the intimidating aura of at least a Celestial-grade divine artifact.

"How does he have so many divine weapons?" Even Wang Wuxie was utterly stunned.

Elder Xu, who was at the center of it all, realized something was wrong. He tried to evade, but found his entire body locked by a terrifying aura, leaving him no escape.

Just then, the golden longswords shot out, like streaks of light, instantly enveloping him.

"Luofu Mountain Suppressor!" Elder Xu was greatly alarmed. He quickly activated his strongest defense: a phantom image of Mount Luofu enveloped his body, emanating an incredibly weighty aura.

At the same time, he took out his signature weapon, and all his sect's magical artifacts were deployed as if they were expendable.

Unfortunately, under the overwhelming assault of countless golden light swords, all his magical artifacts and signature weapons shattered piece by piece. Finally, even the phantom image of Mount Luofu completely collapsed...

"Lord Zu, please show mercy!" Wang Wuxie quickly interjected, pleading.

Zu An, holding Pei Mianman, turned his head slightly. "Give me a reason?"

Wang Wuxie had intended to ask Zu An to save face, but realizing his own influence might not be enough, he suddenly had an idea and quickly said, "When he threw his punch just now, he held back and didn't intend to kill you."

Regardless of whether it was due to an unspoken rule among righteous cultivators or a reluctance to kill a court official, Elder Xu's punch earlier was primarily directed at the surrounding stages. Of course, if Zu An couldn't block it, he would certainly be severely injured, but his life wouldn't be in danger.

Hearing this, Zu An nodded. The closest light sword to Elder Xu suddenly stopped, hovering just an inch from his forehead.

Elder Xu swallowed hard. The tension in his heart dissipated, and he immediately fainted.

Only then did everyone see how miserable he looked. There wasn't a single intact piece of clothing on his body, which was covered in bloody sword marks. It was clear that if Zu An hadn't held back, Elder Xu would have been shredded into a pulpy mess.

It was well known that Force Soul realm Grandmasters possessed incredibly exaggerated strength and physical resilience. Furthermore, "Luofu Mountain Suppressor" was Mount Luofu's strongest combat technique, reputed as the top defense among Daoist sects, yet he had still been injured to this extent.

Someone remarked quietly, "It seems he really didn't use his hands from start to finish..."

The entire Golden Summit fell silent, from the young disciples to the elder sect masters.