Chapter 12: Challenging Su Ning!

"Hmph… Let's set aside our old grudges for now — but that doesn't mean I'm weak. When the time is right, I will settle accounts with every one of those who ambushed me!" Kunlun Immortal Maiden declared.

"I may be a woman, but I am not someone anyone can simply bully."

The others remained expressionless.

Still as an undisturbed well.

You, a weak woman? Then there are no strong women in this world at all…

"I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Immortal Senior." Kunlun Immortal Maiden cupped her hands toward Su Ning.

"Personal matters don't normally need to be aired in public, but a conflict is a conflict — leave it unresolved and it will always be a hidden danger."

Su Ning waved his hand. "It's fine. I have no interest in your grudges, and I certainly won't meddle in your disputes."

"The Immortal Senior is wise and worldly — of course you wouldn't bother with our private affairs," said Li Qingxuan. "Rest assured, Senior. Whatever we have between us will be settled privately. We won't disturb your cultivation."

He was an ancient supreme being who had clung to life, lying dormant until the path to immortality finally opened.

It had not been easy.

Su Ning could sense that this man was extraordinarily composed.

When the path to immortality opened, he hadn't rushed to ascend — he had waited.

His timing had been fortunate: he ascended just as Su Ning was returning to the village.

Had it been otherwise, these little people would likely have ended up no different from the tiny skeletons scattered around.

Was it pure luck, or did he possess some ability to sense fortune and avoid calamity?

No one could say.

These little people certainly had conflicts among themselves. The path of cultivation — a struggle against Heaven, against Earth, against man.

Seizing the blessings of Heaven and Earth, wresting away the very essence of those Favored by Fate.

Such was the cruelty of the road to sainthood.

Every one of them had waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, slaying countless geniuses and trampling over untold monsters before finally proving their Dao and becoming a Saint.

The resources of Heaven and Earth were finite — one fewer competitor meant one more share for yourself.

And so, along the way, enemies had always far outnumbered friends.

Some supreme Saints had not a single friend to their name.

They had killed their way forward, utterly alone.

Only after proving their Dao did they cease to be solitary figures.

Su Ning had no interest in any of that.

Scheming and infighting were exhausting. He didn't like it.

He already found the petty struggles of the workplace tiresome and repellent — let alone the complex rivalries of an entire era?

Decades, even centuries of scheming and backstabbing!

The very thought gave Su Ning a headache.

His goal right now was cultivation — solving his cancer problem. That was the top priority. He had no desire to get involved in the little people's disputes.

Su Ning was, at heart, a very laid-back person.

He always had been.

If it hadn't been for these years with Su Yi — wanting to give her a good life — his personality never would have driven him to grind away in a big city.

Looking back now… he really had lost his head back then, completely losing himself for a woman.

And yet… he had no regrets.

Because that relationship had truly been beautiful — no calculating of gains and losses, no games or schemes, only genuine sincerity.

You weren't after anything from me, and I wasn't after anything from you. We simply wanted to be together… sharing meals, talking, enjoying the scenery.

Working hard for the things you love — there's nothing wrong with that.

It was just that the Su Ning of today felt far more at ease.

"Senior, I have an impertinent request — I'm not sure whether I should raise it," Li Qingxuan hesitated for a long moment before cupping his hands and asking.

"Oh? What is it?" Su Ning asked.

"My cultivation has progressed greatly of late, and I feel my strength has advanced by leaps and bounds. I'd like to challenge Senior to a bout — to gauge what level of existence I've reached in this world. Would Senior be willing to offer some guidance?" Li Qingxuan asked.

Su Ning was taken aback.

Li Qingxuan… wants to challenge me?

Did I hear that right?!

"You want to challenge me?" Su Ning repeated.

"Well… it's not exactly a challenge. I simply wish to test my own strength and have Senior point out the flaws in my cultivation," Li Qingxuan said.

He immediately realized his earlier phrasing had been inappropriate.

The word "challenge"… was not something to throw around carelessly.

If the Exalted Immortal truly accepted a challenge and slapped him to death, no one would say a word.

A challenge — life and death regardless.

Li Qingxuan's cultivation had indeed advanced, but the gap between him and Su Ning was still as vast as the difference between clouds and mud.

A cold sweat broke out across his body.

He shouldn't have said "challenge."

"I have nothing else to do at the moment — very well, I accept your challenge." Su Ning spread his hands.

Li Qingxuan: ……

It's not a challenge… I misspoke. I don't want to die.

"Senior… please show mercy," Li Qingxuan said.

"Don't worry — give it everything you've got." Su Ning was also curious to see what level of power the little people had reached after their Breakthrough.

"Yes!" Li Qingxuan steeled himself and replied.

Don't say the word "challenge" again. My heart is pounding.

"Please, Senior — after you!"

Li Qingxuan unleashed the full power of his lifelong cultivation.

"Qingxuan Sword Dao…"

"Ten Thousand Swords…"

A dense swarm of flying swords materialized out of thin air, each one larger than a basketball.

Countless flying swords surged toward Su Ning.

This display left the Saints present utterly stunned.

It was clear that during his earlier exchange with Kunlun Immortal Maiden, Li Qingxuan had been holding back — he had not used his full strength.

"He's actually this powerful?"

"The Ancient First Sword Saint — the name is well-deserved!"

Someone exclaimed in admiration.

Pop—

But when the ten-thousand-sword sphere surged to Su Ning's fingertip, Su Ning flicked his finger — and the entire mass of swords shattered apart in an instant.

"Ten Thousand Swords as One!"

Li Qingxuan condensed his Sword Dao.

A radiant sword covered in ancient runes appeared.

"Qingxuan Origin… Empowerment!"

Li Qingxuan even invoked his own origin Dao inscription — the very rune of his Dao-proving.

He channeled it into the "great sword."

Though it was called a great sword, in truth it was only slightly larger than two fingers put together.

"Senior, be careful!" Li Qingxuan merged himself with the sword entirely.

Dense sword runes surfaced all over his body.

"That is… an Ancient Sword Script… Legend has it that when Heaven and Earth were first born, the most primordial sword runes were inscribed into the body, allowing one to transform into an origin sword qi… A single strike surpassing the power of a Saint…"

"And Li Qingxuan actually obtained it!"

"What extraordinary fortune!"

The watching Saints were shaken.

Li Qingxuan's trump card was truly formidable.

Worthy of being the Ancient First Sword Saint.

Snap—

Yet even as Li Qingxuan merged with his sword — that rune-light blade he had become — Su Ning flicked it away with his middle finger.

Crack crack crack—

It shattered.

Collapsed in an instant.

Li Qingxuan tumbled out of his Dao state and crashed to the ground.

The little people stared wide-eyed: "The Immortal Senior is just too…"

Too terrifying.

Li Qingxuan had used so many techniques, and still couldn't withstand a single flick of the finger?

A monster among monsters…

"Hmm, have you gotten stronger? I didn't really feel anything… The attack power seems the same as before. Could it be that the increase in strength was too small, so… I couldn't tell?" Su Ning scratched his head and asked, genuinely puzzled.

Pfft— pfft—

Li Qingxuan, crumpled on the ground, heard this assessment. His blood and qi surged violently.

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

I've undergone a complete transformation, and you're saying you couldn't tell?!

What an utter failure!

In truth, Su Ning genuinely couldn't feel any difference between the Li Qingxuan of before and the Li Qingxuan of now.

Seeing that Su Ning's expression held no mockery — that he was simply stating a fact — the little people felt their scalps go even more numb.

Just what kind of existence was this Immortal Senior?

Absurdly, impossibly powerful!