Thunderblade Xiao Fengyun’s retort offended all the cultivators from the holy ground. Nonetheless, the unpleasant content carried a hint of truth and struck where it hurts.

The members of the holy ground did show hesitation when dealing with the scion until Dugu Lan stepped up.

The holy ground would have been humiliated if it wasn’t for her. Others would have mocked it for years.

“My words are nothing but the truth. If you think otherwise, come forward.” Xiao Fengyun said.

“Fengyun, enough.” Xu Cuimei smiled and shook her head to stop the provocation.

“Got it.” Fengyun slightly bowed but still smiled at the experts in front of him, clearly taunting them. His smile could only be construed as disdain and contempt.

“Righteous Sect is strong but so is our holy ground.” Hu Ben uttered coldly: “Though the scion isn’t here, if other members of Righteous wish to test us, we’re more than ready.”

“Why not?” Fengyun said: “If you all want to, we’re ready as well.” He took one step forward while holding his saber, looking relaxed despite facing thousands of people.

The holy ground must do something to answer this provocation.

“Let’s see the great arts of Righteous Sect.” Hu Ben stepped forward, looking fierce.

“Hu Ben, teach him a lesson!” One prodigy loudly supported.

“A spar is fine.” Cuimei didn’t stop them this time.

“What do you think, Fairy?” Hu Ben stared at Dugu Lan.

She was in charge of the competition so they were ready to listen to her.

“Our opponent is Righteous Scion.” Dugu had a calm yet focused expression as she answered: “We need to do everything we can then.”

“I understand.” Hu Ben pondered for a second before nodding. 

The true combatants against the scion were their group. This final battle was extremely important. 

They needed more information on the scion’s true power and resources while hiding their own. Dugu Lan wanted the top geniuses to avoid minor skirmishes - if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

The problem was, very few in the holy ground could actually force the scion to use his real abilities. Outside of the four geniuses, the scion probably didn’t need more than half a move to defeat his foe.

Since their holy ground had this idea, Righteous Sect probably thought the same way. Thunderblade might be using this opportunity to gather information on the top geniuses of the holy ground.

“It would be unwise to fight you right now, Daoist Xiao. Seems like a battle between us won’t happen.” Hu Ben paused for a bit then added: “But there are other geniuses here who might be interested.”

“What? He’s spared just like that?” One youth didn’t grasp the finer details. In his opinion, Hu Ben was dodging a direct confrontation at the expense of the holy ground’s reputation.

“It’s just a strategy.” A smarter youth responded: “The four of them need to think about the scion and conserve strength, hiding their real abilities.”

The others immediately understood why Hu Ben backed off and stopped blaming him.

“Understandable.” Xiao Fengyun didn’t mock Hu Ben for doing so.

He turned towards the crowd and said: “Excuse me for overestimating myself but I wish to spar against any willing challenger.”

The ones present must accept the fight against Thunderblade. The previous hesitation with the scion was shameful enough. This would be utterly unacceptable.

“Should I go?” A junior sought counsel from his senior.

“What is his cultivation realm?” Another quietly analyzed Xiao Fengfun.

“Myriad-form Sanctity, unclear whether it is the intermediate or grand level.” Dugu Lan revealed.

“Fairy Dugu, your vision is impressive.” Xiao Fengyun wasn’t startled after the revelation of his cultivation.

“Hmm, grand-level Myriad-form Sanctity.” The geniuses who wanted to fight earlier hesitated.

There were powerful ones present - young lords of sects and saint childs. Some of them were at the Myriad-form realm, albeit only at the intermediate level. Facing one level higher meant uncertainties.

“Be mindful of our Thunderblade’s saber when fighting him. It’s a good weapon made from the bones of an auspicious lighting beast.” Xu Cuimei smiled and warned the other geniuses.

Unfortunately, her goodwill was taken as naivety or foolishness.

“That saber is powerful indeed but Daoist Xiao’s bloodline is more dangerous.” Dugu Lan concluded after taking a closer look.

The crowd pondered while staring at the hybrid body. His actual bloodline remained unknown.

“You already know the ins and outs before seeing me in battle, it seems like you can kill me in one move.” Fengyun smiled wryly.

“No, that’s unlikely.” Dugu Lan shook her head.

Fengyun was certainly impressive as one of the five prodigies in Righteous. Even if he was weaker than the four great geniuses in Buddha Holy Ground, he was still among the top.

The members of the holy ground exchanged glances. None had absolute confidence in beating him.

Normally, losing wasn’t a big deal. After all, all cultivators must lose eventually. However, this was a competition between Righteous and Buddha - a historical event. To lose now would brand them as a loser forever. It was better to be passive in this case.