MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1260: Challenge

Arriving at his cottage, Anthony found Jarod already waiting outside for him. The boy could be seen carrying a huge bag over his shoulder. Anthony arched an eyebrow and was about to ask why he had not simply stored it inside his spatial ring. However, he quickly realized that people at Jarod’s level usually possessed spatial rings with very limited storage space, and the boy had most likely used his to store the food and kitchen supplies that Anthony had given him money to purchase.

Anthony did not bother asking any questions. He simply waved a hand, transferring everything Jarod was carrying into his own spatial ring. Seeing this, Jarod thanked him, to which Anthony merely nodded in response.

”Lead the way,” Anthony stated.

At Anthony’s words, Jarod blurred forward, as the Above Disciple area was quite far from the region reserved for the Core Elders. Before long, they arrived and gradually slowed down before continuing the rest of the journey by walking.

As they walked, Anthony could see various Inner and Core Disciples whispering among themselves while pointing and gesturing in his direction. With Anthony’s absurdly sharp senses, every single word they uttered reached his ears.

”So that’s him... the new Ascendant,” one disciple, an Inner Disciple, remarked as he watched Anthony walk past.

”I knew the Sect Master was also an Ascendant, but for one of his own descendants to ascend as well... his bloodline in the Lower Galaxy must be incredibly powerful,” another disciple, this time a Core Disciple, commented.

Another young man snorted before speaking.

”It’s precisely because he’s the Sect Master’s descendant that he became one of the Above Disciples. He only ascended two days ago, so he’s obviously still in the Foundation Starseed Realm. How can an Above Disciple possibly be this weak?” he said, his tone filled with obvious jealousy over the seemingly effortless path Anthony had been given.

”You do realize that cultivation strength isn’t the primary requirement for becoming an Above Disciple, right?” a female Core Disciple replied calmly. ”What truly matters is possessing an extraordinary Physique or Bloodline. If he was accepted, then he obviously has one.”

”Hmph! Whatever,” the jealous young man scoffed. ”With someone like him joining them, the reputation of the Above Disciples is bound to decline.”

Another young woman shook her head before speaking, her eyes lingering on Anthony’s remarkably handsome face.

”You should probably lower your voice. He’s the Sect Master’s descendant and likely has connections with every single Core Elder. I’m sure you don’t want him reporting you and getting you expelled from the sect, do you?” she asked calmly.

Deep down, however, she could not help but wonder how someone could possibly be so handsome.

The jealous young man remained silent for a moment, unable to refute her words. Within the Hellinder Realm, connections were every bit as important as personal strength. He understood that if he truly crossed the line, something unfortunate could very well happen to him without warning.

Another young man, who had remained quietly standing to the side while watching Anthony head toward the Above Disciple area, suddenly spoke with a faint smirk on his face.

”Aren’t all of you forgetting something?” he asked.

Everyone immediately turned to look at him, silently waiting for him to stop dragging things out and reveal whatever point he was trying to make.

The young man smiled even wider before finally speaking. ”Have you all forgotten that every disciple has the right to challenge an Above Disciple at any time, provided that the Above Disciple hasn’t just returned from a mission, isn’t in seclusion, and isn’t injured?” His voice was soft, almost like the whisper of a devil tempting others toward disaster.

The moment those words left his mouth, realization dawned on everyone present. Since the handsome young man standing before them was a newly ascended cultivator, he should be weaker than every Core Disciple gathered here. That meant if any one of them challenged him and emerged victorious, they would immediately inherit his position as an Above Disciple, gaining greater cultivation resources, unmatched prestige, and priority access to nearly everything the sect had to offer.

Their eyes lit up as though an entirely new path had suddenly appeared before them. They exchanged glances before simultaneously turning around and sprinting toward the Challenge Hall without the slightest hesitation.

Although disciples were free to challenge one another whenever they wished, challenging an Above Disciple required the challenge to be officially registered and publicly acknowledged.

The Elder could not reject the challenge for whatever reason on behalf of the Above disciple, the challenger could not arbitrarily withdraw, and the Above Disciple likewise could not decline unless they were seriously injured, had just returned from an exhausting mission, were currently in seclusion, or had another sufficiently important reason.

Anthony satisfied none of those conditions. Which meant the challenge, or perhaps multiple challenges, was almost guaranteed to take place.

However, not everyone rushed toward the Challenge Hall. The young man who had first reminded everyone of the rule remained exactly where he was, still wearing the same amused smile. A handful of other disciples also stayed behind, making no attempt whatsoever to challenge the newly promoted Above Disciple.

The reason was actually quite simple.

If ordinary disciples like themselves could immediately think of challenging the new Above Disciple, then how could the Core Elders and the Sect Master themselves have failed to consider such an obvious possibility? They had undoubtedly thought about it already, yet they had still promoted Anthony to the rank of an Above Disciple.

That could only mean one thing.

There was something they did not know, something important was being deliberately kept from the rest of the disciples.

Rather than rushing in blindly like everyone else, they preferred to wait and observe. After all, every Ascendant throughout the Null Sect history had begun their journey as an Outer Disciple. Anthony was the first to skip every rank entirely and become an Above Disciple immediately after arriving in the Upper Galaxy. If such an unprecedented decision had been approved by the Sect Master himself, there had to be a reason behind it.

They simply smiled as they quietly prepared themselves to witness what was certain to become a spectacular spectacle. Through the upcoming challenge, they would finally discover exactly what made this Ascendant so extraordinary.

Ahead of Anthony, Jarod walked with noticeably slower steps, his head held high as he basked in the attention he was receiving from the surrounding disciples. Becoming the personal servant of an Above Disciple was an enormous honor, one that granted him a status that even Core Disciples could not casually offend. And with Anthony also being the direct descendant of the Sect Master, Jarod’s own standing within the sect was naturally destined to rise alongside his master’s.

Meanwhile, completely unbeknownst to Anthony, an astonishing number of disciples were already making their way toward the Challenge Hall to issue formal challenges against him.

Of course, even if Anthony had known about it beforehand, it would not have changed his reaction in the slightest. If anything, he would have welcomed every single challenger with open arms... and an eager smile.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: This author has been off for a few days because my phone was damaged. Since I only use my phone to type, as I don’t own a laptop, I couldn’t type. I only got it fixed two days ago and collected it yesterday.

But still, the phone was bad, so I wasn’t able to type yesterday’s Chapters for you guys. These ones I just released were typed from a friend’s phone.