The news that Sword God Valley had dug up the ancestral graves of the Azure Dragon Sect, taken the remains of the Azure Dragon Sect's ancestors as well as the remains of Chu Feng's family, and used them as leverage to force Chu Feng and Zhang Tianyi into a battle at Sword God Valley — this had long since spread across the entire Nine Provinces Continent.
Once the news broke, the experts of every major power across the land were eager to learn whether the two most talked-about young prodigies of the Nine Provinces Continent, Chu Feng and Zhang Tianyi, would actually show up at Sword God Valley. If they did, it was sure to be an earth-shattering battle.
And so, forces from every direction began converging on Sword God Valley, hoping to witness this legendary clash.
Sword God Valley, for its part, threw its gates wide open, welcoming guests from all corners — as if they wanted everyone to bear witness to how Chu Feng and Zhang Tianyi would be killed by Sword God Valley's hand.
However, as the deadline set by Sword God Valley drew ever closer, Chu Feng and Zhang Tianyi still had not appeared, and speculation ran rampant.
Many people believed that Zhang Tianyi and Chu Feng had been frightened off by Sword God Valley and would never come just for the sake of some remains — that they were nothing but cowards.
Others felt this was only to be expected. After all, no matter how talented Chu Feng and Zhang Tianyi might be, they were still only juniors. How could they possibly be a match for Sword God Valley? Coming here would be walking straight into death, and dying over the remains of people already gone was simply not worth it.
Yet regardless of what people speculated, not a single person was willing to leave Sword God Valley. In fact, more and more continued to arrive, until eventually even Sword God Valley itself could no longer hold them all.
These experts began setting up camp outside Sword God Valley, clinging to one last shred of hope — hoping that Chu Feng and Zhang Tianyi would answer the challenge before the final deadline, so that they, who had traveled so far, could feast their eyes on a truly spectacular battle.
At last, the final deadline arrived. This was the last day of the one-month period Sword God Valley had set.
The elders and disciples of Sword God Valley had entered a state of full readiness, and experts from every faction had gathered both inside and outside the valley.
"I can't believe Sword God Valley actually brought back the remains of Chu Feng's family and the Azure Dragon Sect's ancestors."
"I wonder which of those remains belongs to the Dragon Daoist. He was the foremost figure to roam the continent a thousand years ago, the most renowned ancestor of the Nine Provinces Continent. Who would have thought that even after death, he would be subjected to such humiliation." The crowd murmured among themselves as they looked toward the center of Sword God Valley, where skeletal remains hung suspended from towering frames, covered in curse-inscribed runes.
Beneath these remains sat an enormous pool that reeked to high heaven, swarming with flies and mosquitoes — a cesspit of human waste.
Sword God Valley had truly gone mad. Their threats had not been empty words. If Chu Feng and Zhang Tianyi did not come today, then in front of all these witnesses, they would undoubtedly dump the remains into that cesspit, ensuring that the owners of those remains would stink for ten thousand years after death.
Time ticked by, moment by moment. At first, people managed to keep their patience, but once the sun reached its zenith and the hour struck noon, even the Valley Master of Sword God Valley could no longer contain himself.
He shot into the air, hovering high above the ground, and bellowed in a thunderous voice: "Zhang Tianyi! Chu Feng! You two turtle grandsons — you had the guts to kill my son, you had the guts to slaughter my disciples, but you don't have the guts to come to my Sword God Valley for an honest battle?!"
"You two worthless bastards — is this all you're good for? Skulking in the shadows and plotting against people? May I curse your ancestors eight generations deep!!"
The Sword God Valley Master's voice shook the heavens, louder than a clap of thunder, audible to people hundreds of miles away.
And while the Sword God Valley Master was screaming his abuse, a portly old man with a head of white hair and a greasy, ruddy face sat on a raised platform not far from the cesspit, legs crossed, sipping fine tea with an air of complete composure.
This was the grand ancestor of Sword God Valley — a peak Heaven Martial Sixth Level expert, the Valley Master's own father, Murong Yu's grandfather, and the man who had obtained the Divine Wood Sword.
Not long after he had returned with the Divine Wood Sword, Sword God Valley had spread word that he was dead. In truth, he had been using the gains from his time within the cliff to seclude himself in bitter cultivation.
When Sword God Valley announced several months ago that he was still alive, it had indeed caused quite a stir.
But now, it seemed this grand ancestor of Sword God Valley couldn't care less about the whole affair of faking his death — otherwise, he would not be sitting here looking so perfectly at ease.