King of Ten Thousand Years

’Too bad, this time I’m actually going to cheat...’

The corners of Luo Tian’s mouth curled up.

He had relied on his own strength for the first three Grotto Heavens, yet he was constantly accused of cheating.

He wasn’t going to take on that bad reputation for nothing.

This time, he would cheat for real.

Soon, another difficult problem was solved with ease.

’Oh, right. The Elders can watch everything here through the Celestial Level Array. Even though they can’t detect the Celestial Book, if I solve the problems too quickly, it might make them suspicious.’

The thought suddenly struck Luo Tian.

So, he decided to slow down a bit.

He put on a show of frowning in deep thought before using the perfect answer calculated by the Celestial Book.

As time passed, Luo Tian gradually started to feel bored.

’What’s outside the Martial Arts Arena?’

Luo Tian scanned his surroundings. There were only walls over ten meters high and a single large gate.

He walked out the gate and discovered that on either side of his arena were similarly tall buildings. From one of them, he could hear fluctuations of True Qi and the sound of explosions.

Luo Tian walked in to take a look. Inside was another huge Martial Arts Arena, where Ying Feihang was performing a Fist Technique.

”Passed!”

A cold, mechanical voice sounded after Ying Feihang finished his demonstration.

”Hm?”

Ying Feihang suddenly sensed something. He turned to look, and his expression changed to one of shock.

”Luo Tian! What are you doing here?”

Ying Feihang shouted.

Logically, everyone facing the challenges in the Creation Grotto Heaven should be completely focused on solving the problems, with no spare attention for anything else.

Furthermore, barging into someone else’s Martial Arts Arena could be seen as a deliberate attempt to interfere.

”Could it be that you know you’re no match for me, so you came to interfere on purpose?”

Ying Feihang sneered.

Outside, he had at least put on an act, lavishing praise on Luo Tian.

But his goal had been achieved, so there was no need to keep up the pretense.

In Ying Feihang’s eyes, Luo Tian must have been unable to solve the trials and was just wandering around aimlessly with nothing better to do, perhaps even trying to interfere with him.

”Heh, Ying Feihang, you’re hilarious. Who am I, Luo Tian? The most outstanding genius of the Yunxiao Sect. How could I possibly not be your match?”

Luo Tian mocked him, looking as though he’d heard the most ridiculous thing.

”You...”

Ying Feihang’s face darkened, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He couldn’t be bothered to stoop to Luo Tian’s level.

Once they left the Creation Grotto Heaven, the results would speak for themselves. He’d see if Luo Tian could still talk so big then.

”How many problems have you passed?”

Luo Tian asked.

”Six!”

Ying Feihang said proudly.

He estimated that he should be close to twenty thousand points by now.

This score was top-tier even among the elite disciples of the Upper Sect.

”I wonder how many problems the biggest dark horse of the Four Grotto Heavens has passed?”

A mocking smile touched Ying Feihang’s lips.

He was certain Luo Tian had completed fewer than him.

”Uh... thirteen.”

Luo Tian hesitated for a moment before telling the truth.

Ying Feihang was stunned.

Then, a faint smile spread across his face as he said, ”As expected of the Yunxiao Sect’s strongest genius of this generation. Impressive, truly impressive, to have passed thirteen problems in such a short time.”

Ying Feihang said this on the surface, but he was dying of laughter inside.

In his view, Luo Tian’s earlier hesitation was because he didn’t dare state his real score, finding it too embarrassing, so he had lied about solving thirteen problems.

’But do you think I, Ying Feihang, am an idiot? You think I’d believe such nonsense?’

”Fine, don’t believe me.”

Luo Tian couldn’t be bothered to explain further and left Ying Feihang’s Martial Arts Arena.

He wandered around for a bit more and found that the space here was quite small, with not much to explore.

So, he returned to his own Martial Arts Arena and continued the trial.

After that, the difficulty of each problem gradually increased. The number of Spiritual Essence Coins consumed to calculate the answers with the Celestial Book also rose.

’This one cost five hundred Spiritual Essence Coins!’

Luo Tian felt a pang of regret. After all, this was just for a trial and wouldn’t help him much personally.

So far, he had spent one thousand four hundred Spiritual Essence Coins.

But when he remembered that he would get five thousand Spiritual Essence Coins for surpassing Han Yuan’s score, it didn’t seem like a big deal anymore.

Luo Tian paused after solving the twentieth problem.

’I wonder how many points I can get now.’

Luo Tian used his Calculation Technique.

Soon, he got a vague number.

’Good, these points are enough!’

A satisfied smile appeared on Luo Tian’s face.

Meanwhile, in another Martial Arts Arena, Ying Feihang was stuck on the eighth problem, unable to find a solution even after a long time.

’My abilities can only get me this far!’

So, he also chose to leave the trial.

’I’d better get out of here, or I’ll miss the good show...’

...

Outside the Four Grotto Heavens, the crowd of people who had ”come to see the celebrity” grew larger and larger.

At least eighty percent of the Upper Sect Disciples had shown up.

Even some masters from the Artifact Refining Peak and Alchemy Peak had come to join the spectacle.

”I heard Luo Tian even boasted he would surpass Brother Han’s score?”

”He really doesn’t know his own limits. Brother Han is one of the ten Core Disciples. To dream of surpassing him is just wishful thinking!”

The crowd was in a heated discussion.

By their estimates, Luo Tian was probably about to be teleported out at any moment.

They were eager to see just how pathetic the score of such an arrogant person would be.

”Luo Tian, how could you say something like that?”

Cheng Wanli had rushed over the moment he heard the news, a hundred questions swirling in his mind.

He believed in Luo Tian’s strength and talent, but the Creation Grotto Heaven required knowledge, experience, and an accumulation of progress on the path of Martial Arts.

Making such a bold claim was simply ruining his own reputation and future prospects.

”Yi Jingwen is here!”

Someone suddenly shouted.

Many disciples immediately turned their heads to see an elegant woman flying toward them.

Her hair flowed like a waterfall, dancing in the wind. Her eyes were as black as ink, cold and serene. She was like a beauty from a watercolor painting—to be admired from a distance, never to be profaned up close.

”It’s Yi Jingwen, one of the ten Core Disciples! She’s also the number one beauty of the Upper Sect!”

An uproar spread through the surroundings.

The title of a Core Disciple, combined with her unparalleled beauty, instantly made some of the female disciples in the crowd pale in comparison.

A trace of jealousy flashed in the eyes of the blue-haired woman standing with Han Yuan and Qi Hai.

”So it’s Junior Sister Yi. You’ve arrived just in time. A good show is about to start!”

Han Yuan walked over with a gentle smile.

”I’m here to take the trial,”

Yi Jingwen said calmly.

Han Yuan’s smile didn’t waver. ”There’s no rush, Junior Sister Yi. You can go in after the current participants come out!”

Yi Jingwen nodded slightly.

She had long heard the rumors about Luo Tian but had never met him.

But today’s rumors had given her a very poor impression of him.

”Six of the ten Core Disciples are here!”

”Luo Tian really knows how to draw a crowd, hahaha!”

...

Several hundred meters above the Four Grotto Heavens.

A number of high-ranking members of the Yunxiao Sect stood on a cliff.

It turned out that after word of this matter reached their ears, even they had come to watch the show.

In addition to several Stewards, even a few Elders had arrived!

’This Luo Tian... he just took a short break, and now he’s causing such a huge stir again...’

Elder Fang Qi was rather speechless.

He was interested in taking Luo Tian as his disciple, but Luo Tian’s knack for causing trouble made him a little worried.

Next to Elder Fang Qi was the Law Enforcement Elder.

He was currently wondering if the Sect Leader would make him clean up this even bigger mess Luo Tian had caused.

SWOOSH!

Suddenly, a gentle breeze swept by, and a figure landed before the Elders and Stewards.

”Greetings, Third Elder!”

Everyone bowed in unison, feeling a sense of dread toward the Third Elder’s power.

Many of them hadn’t even noticed someone approaching; the Third Elder had simply appeared before them.

”This Luo Tian certainly knows how to cause trouble. He has no self-awareness whatsoever. After making such a boast, he will only become a laughingstock!”

”Such a flamboyant disciple is destined not to go far, nor is he suitable for the Yunxiao Sect!”

The Third Elder commented lightly, his meaning obvious.

”The Third Elder is right!”

Some of the surrounding Stewards immediately chimed in with flattery.

Elder Fang Qi’s brow furrowed slightly.

As far as he knew, the news had been deliberately spread by Ying Feihang and Han Yuan, with a strong suspicion of intentional exaggeration.

That, combined with the Third Elder’s current words...

It was obvious that the Third Elder and his disciple were deliberately targeting Luo Tian.

”Hm? There’s movement at the Creation Grotto Heaven.”

A Steward said.

The higher-ups immediately fixed their gazes on it.

Outside the Four Grotto Heavens.

All the Upper Sect Disciples, Artifact Refiners, and Alchemists gathered there also suddenly stared at the exit of the Creation Grotto Heaven.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Two balls of white light appeared simultaneously, revealing the figures of Luo Tian and Ying Feihang.

”They actually came out at the same time!”

The scene felt very coincidental.

Ying Feihang glanced at Luo Tian beside him, slightly surprised, then sneered dismissively. ”The points in the Creation Grotto Heaven aren’t calculated based on time. For the same amount of time, the scores can be worlds apart.”

”Senior Brother Ying is right!”

Wang Fu chimed in.

But many people immediately looked toward the Creation Points List.

In an instant, their expressions all stiffened, their eyes widened, and they stared at it again.

At that moment, the surroundings fell quiet. Many people even wondered if they were hallucinating!

”Also, let me tell everyone something else!”

Ying Feihang stood with his back to the Creation Grotto Heaven List, a faint smile on his face.

”During the trial inside the Creation Grotto Heaven, Luo Tian came to my trial grounds and told me he had solved thirteen problems!”

”As expected of our strongest genius, the biggest dark horse of the Four Grotto Heavens. Impressive, truly impressive. Thirteen problems should be worth at least thirty thousand points, right? Hahaha!”

Ying Feihang said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

’He himself had only solved seven problems; Luo Tian must have solved even fewer!’

’I can’t wait to see how Luo Tian gets himself out of this mess!’

”Feihang, shut up!”

The voice of his fifth senior brother, Qi Hai, suddenly rang in Ying Feihang’s mind.

’What’s wrong?’

Ying Feihang was confused.

’My approach is perfect. This will undoubtedly make Luo Tian even more embarrassed, so ashamed he won’t know where to hide, and his reputation will be ruined!’

Ying Feihang noticed that the onlookers before him were all staring blankly behind him.

”Oh? I forgot to look at the scores on the Creation Points List.”

”Luo Tian, you made a big boast, saying the Creation Grotto Heaven was nothing difficult and that even surpassing Brother Han would be no problem. In that case, let’s all take a look at your... points!”

Ying Feihang bit out the last word heavily.

In his mind, the only reason the crowd looked so shocked was that Luo Tian’s score must be pathetically low, probably only a few thousand points.

However, the moment Ying Feihang turned and saw the score on the Creation Points List, he forgot to breathe, frozen like a wooden chicken!