C4 Tier 5

"Yes," Fu Chengyang said with a serious bow, before turning to leave.

As he stepped onto his flying sword, Fu Chengyang immediately noticed the vast difference between the standard-issue steel sword of the Outer Sect and the Heavensfall. What normally took an incense stick's worth of time to reach the Mission Hall was now cut in half.

Sword cultivators were known for their love of battle, and those from Swiftbreaker were among the elite.

The Mission Hall was bustling with activity, people jostling and streaming in and out. Fu Chengyang paused on the periphery, circling a few times before finally managing to push his way through the crowd.

Inside, the missions varied widely, ranging from one to ten stars in difficulty. Those below five stars were typically taken on by cultivators below the Nascent Infant stage. Anything above required a higher level of cultivation.

"Senior Brother," Fu Chengyang began after surveying the options and considering the balance of reward and challenge. He settled on a three-star mission of moderate difficulty. He addressed Senior Brother Zhu at the Mission Hall, "Senior Brother Zhu, I'd like to take on this..."

Before he could finish his request, an overbearing voice cut him off, "I'll take that mission!"

A man swaggered up with a couple of followers in tow, approaching Senior Brother Zhu with an air of superiority. "Hand over the token," he demanded, nose in the air.

Fu Chengyang glanced over and recognized one of the men behind him as Liu Rongwei. So, this must be Yu Yaolu.

He discreetly lowered his gaze to conceal his thoughts. Senior Brother Zhu, though an Inner Sect disciple, paled in comparison to Yu Yaolu, who was under the patronage of Deacon Liu. Their statuses were worlds apart.

Senior Brother Zhu, who typically regarded others with condescension, now plastered a sycophantic smile on his face. Bypassing Fu Chengyang, he reached out to hand the token directly to Yu Yaolu. "Here you go, Younger Brother Yaolu."

Yu Yaolu let out a derisive laugh and reached for the token, but it was intercepted by another hand.

"Hold on," Fu Chengyang interjected, his expression icy. "There's an order to these things. It's not right for you to cut in line, Senior Brother Yu."

"And who are you to interfere with my affairs?" Yu Yaolu retorted contemptuously. "The token doesn't have your name on it, does it?"

"That's right!" Liu Rongwei gloated, chiming in, "I think you've been spending too much time with that useless maid of yours. It must have scrambled your brains!"

At his words, the group erupted into laughter as if they'd heard the funniest joke. "Hahaha, what a perfect match, a pot and its lid! How dare you covet something that's not yours!"

"Heh," Fu Chengyang didn't react with the anger they expected. Instead, he wore a sarcastic smile as he surveyed the buffoons before him.

Yu Yaolu was the first to lose his composure, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Fu Chengyang, let me lay it out for you. Kowtow to us brothers a hundred times, and call us 'grandpa' whenever you see us in the future, and we'll call it even."

"Otherwise," Yu Yaolu sneered, "you can forget about accepting any missions today!"

Such arrogance!

But as Fu Chengyang scanned the room, he saw that those who met his gaze either looked away nonchalantly or pretended not to notice.

No wonder Fu Chengyang felt a chill in his heart. If he weren't in the Outer Sect or lacked status, who would willingly waste their time on menial tasks in the deacon hall?

But as a sword cultivator, he would rather break than bend!

At the late stage of the Golden Core realm and wielding Heavensfall, he had no reason to fear a mere spoiled brat. To back down now would only harm his Sacred Heart, potentially stalling his progress for life.

A plan formed in Fu Chengyang's mind, and his eyes flickered with resolve.

"Impossible!" Fu Chengyang declared with finality.

"If you have any spine left, fight me. Lose, and I'm at your mercy!" Fu Chengyang raised his sword, pointing it directly at Yu Yaolu's nose.

A challenge?

Yu Yaolu sized up Fu Chengyang and retorted, "Do you really think I'm a fool to fall for your taunts?"

"If you want to fight, let's fight. Why all the bluster? Are you scared?" Fu Chengyang responded coolly.

The challenge seemed to ignite a change in his demeanor. "Fine, let's fight!"

His level of cultivation was indiscernible, but just days ago, he was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage. What could an Outer Sect disciple possibly achieve?

Yu Yaolu eyed Fu Chengyang's long sword with a glint of covetousness. He must have stumbled upon some treasure!

"However, if you lose, you must cripple your own cultivation, leave the Swiftbreaker Sect, and surrender all your possessions to me! Should I lose, I will do the same," Yu Yaolu declared, confident of his impending victory.

"Agreed! Let the Law Enforcement Hall bear witness! Let's seal the wager at the martial arts platform!" Fu Chengyang rose, his sleeves billowing, and departed on his sword.

"Let's go!"

...

Shortly after, a crowd had gathered around the Swiftbreaker Sect's martial arts platform.

At the center of the platform, a group of stern-faced Law Enforcement Hall disciples in red robes addressed them, "Are you both certain about this?"

"Yes!" Fu Chengyang and Yu Yaolu, standing face to face, affirmed.

"Then begin," the disciple commanded, leaping down from the platform. In the next instant,

A pair of colossal hammers, brimming with force, thundered towards Fu Chengyang's face.

In the Cultivation World, it is said that reaching the Golden Core Realm is the true mark of a cultivator!

Shattering mountains and cleaving rivers is as simple as slicing through flesh!

Yu Yaolu imagined Fu Chengyang's head bursting open like a watermelon, but just as the gale-force wind neared Fu Chengyang's face—

Slash!

Fu Chengyang drew his sword, and in a flash of white light, Yu Yaolu was left staring in shock at the stump where his right hand once was.

Fu Chengyang, still not fully adept with his sword, contemplated the weapon in his hand. Had he been more practiced, it wouldn't have been just a hand that was severed.

But after all, it was merely a Golden Core, bolstered by medicinal strength. The moment he struck, he sensed the underlying frailty of his opponent.

"Ah!" Yu Yaolu howled in agony, clutching the gushing wound, his rage erupting. "Fu Chengyang, you dare to injure me!"

A Golden Core cultivator, wounded by him!

Yu Yaolu's eyes blazed with blood-red fury: "You're seeking death!"

No longer underestimating his opponent, Yaolu's Qi roared to life, his muscles swelling wildly as if animated. Within his flesh, one could glimpse the electric arcs of lightning spirit energy coursing through.

His strike carried the devastating force of an earthquake. The colossal hammer left a ghostly trail, the air around it humming from the immense power.

The crowd below was dumbfounded, yet Fu Chengyang remained calm. He leisurely lifted his sword, adopting a stance from the Beginner's Sword Technique.

What was he thinking?

A wave of shock rippled through the onlookers. Brother Yaolu's technique was the lethal skill from the superior Thunderbolt Technique, known for its overwhelming might!

Having slain countless Golden Core cultivators, and now this, a Beginner's Sword Technique? Had he lost his mind?

Unaware of their thoughts, Fu Chengyang channeled all his spirit energy into his sword.

The moment had come!

With a thrust, his sword Qi roared like a dragon, its terrifying momentum barreling towards the massive hammer!

It was as if a soft blow shattered stone!

Impossible! Yu Yaolu's hammer was cleaved in two!

Jaws dropped wide enough to swallow duck eggs, but the next moment brought even greater astonishment. Fu Chengyang's relentless sword thrust pierced Yu Yaolu's dantian with the unstoppable force of a thunderbolt!

Sword Qi fused with the blade! "Crack!" The sound of a Golden Core shattering! "Crack!" The sound of a consciousness obliterated!