Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 735 - Challenge

Liu Po was like a volcano on the verge of erupting. Ever since he had taken the role of an instructor, he had never faced such blatant defiance before. Liu Wuxie had not only challenged his authority as an instructor, but he had even humiliated him by severing his cane.

Many instructors in the surroundings looked over angrily. After all, humiliating Liu Po was no different than humiliating them.

“Boy, I don’t care who you are or whose son you might be. I’ll make sure you crawl out of here today!” Liu Po threw the broken cane to the ground.

But unexpectedly, Liu Wuxie laughed after hearing what Liu Po said. If his suspicions were correct, Liu Po was likely in Liu Xiaotian’s faction and must’ve known about his arrival in the martial field today. He had probably been waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble for Liu Wuxie today.

“And how does our esteemed instructor here plan to torture me?” Liu Wuxie asked with a devilish smile. He wouldn’t be angry if it were a simple conflict, as he would’ve chosen to put up with him for his father’s sake. But at this moment, he decided not to endure any longer. Since this person was from Liu Xiaotian’s faction, he had no reason to show tolerance.

“You have violated the clan’s rules by disrespecting an instructor. I hereby order you to the punishment chamber for six hours!” Liu Po roared. The punishment chamber was meant for disciples with severe clan rules infractions. That wasn’t a place for humans as ordinary people would leave battered. Many disciples would shudder, and their faces would pale with fear even at the thought of entering the chamber.

“Instructor, even if Wuxie is at fault, it’s too excessive to discipline him with the punishment chamber. This is blatant oppression of other disciples!” Liu Xing spoke out, unable to remain silent any longer. He could tell Liu Po was trying to oppress Liu Wuxie on purpose.

While it wasn’t uncommon for instructors to teach the newcomers a lesson to establish their authority, Liu Xing felt Liu Po was purposely trying to make things difficult for Liu Wuxie. He knew Liu Po wouldn’t let it go, no matter what Liu Wuxie said.

“Since you want to plead on his behalf, you can join him in the punishment chamber. You two have three breaths to get into the punishment chamber!” Liu Po declared, his eyes gleaming with malice.

Liu Yue could only watch helplessly by the side. If Liu Wuxie and Liu Xing entered the punishment chamber, they would be bedridden for at least half a month.

The surrounding disciples began to whisper among themselves, some even covering their mouths to laugh. Nothing amused them more than someone being sent into the punishment chamber.

Liu Xing wanted to speak, but Liu Wuxie stopped him with a pat on his shoulder and a shake of his head.

“If you are targeting me, I suggest you give up. With your strength, you’re still not qualified to critique my cultivation. I can let today’s matter slide, but I’ll remember how you tried to strike my brother. One day, I’ll settle this debt with an arm of yours,” Liu Wuxie said. He had decided to let this matter end here today. If it were the past, he would’ve sent Liu Po flying with a slap by now.

But this was the Liu Clan, and his father was the acting patriarch. He had to consider the broader consequences.

If it were back at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, Liu Wuxie wouldn’t have hesitated to kill anyone who dared provoke him. Liu Po’s strength was insignificant in his eyes, and such a person wasn’t worthy of guiding him in cultivation. Though Liu Wuxie responded with words instead of actions, his remarks were as humiliating as a slap to Liu Po’s face.

After all, it was humiliating for an instructor to be deemed unworthy of guiding someone in their cultivation. This was like a student telling their teacher they weren’t good enough to teach them.

While Liu Wuxie didn’t retaliate physically, it didn’t mean Liu Po would escape unscathed. Liu Wuxie had already decided to humiliate him today and find an opportunity in the future to exact vengeance—perhaps even taking one of Liu Po’s arms to settle the score for what Liu Xing had suffered.

“He’s a madman!” The surrounding disciples murmured. In their eyes, Liu Wuxie was no different from a madman based on his actions.

Even if many people found the instructors’ cultivation mediocre, none dared to speak it out and would only communicate among themselves behind their backs.

Liu Wuxie, however, had done it just like that—brazenly, in front of so many disciples and instructors present. This was no different from offending Liu Po thoroughly.

The faces of the other instructors turned dark. The Liu Clan had plenty of arrogant disciples due to their talent, but no one had been like Liu Wuxie.

“Liu Wuxie, you have succeeded in angering me. I’ll teach you the price of offending an instructor today!” Liu Po cracked his knuckles as he slowly approached Liu Wuxie, wanting to teach him a lesson in front of many people.

Since Liu Wuxie refused to enter the punishment chamber, he could only take action himself. However, he didn’t dare to kill anyone in the martial field. This was also why Liu Wuxie put up with it, as they were in the Liu Clan. Although he could leave after killing Liu Po, it would put his father in a difficult position.

Upon hearing that Liu Po wanted to take action against Liu Wuxie, Liu Xing intervened immediately, putting himself between Liu Wuxie and Liu Po to stop the conflict.

“I won’t fight you because I’m afraid I might kill you by accident,” Liu Wuxie said. He wasn’t boasting as it wouldn’t be surprising for him to kill Liu Po with how the latter had provoked him.

With the recent breakthrough in his cultivation and the nourishment of laws from the Earth Profound Realm, Liu Wuxie’s strength had increased exponentially. He had even comprehended the essence of poison. This meant Liu Po would lose his life the moment he suffered a wound in their fight.

Liu Wuxie had just expressed his contempt for Liu Po earlier, but what he said was like rubbing salt in the wound.

“What bullshit. He says he’s afraid of killing the instructor by accident. Does he think he’s in the True Profound Realm?”

No one would be surprised if it were someone in the True Profound Realm saying those words. But they all found it weird that it was coming from Liu Wuxie. The eighth level of the Astral River Realm was nothing on the martial field. Most disciples had already reached the Nascent Transformation Realm, and those in the Astral River Realm could only be considered ordinary.

“Let’s see how he dies to provoke Instructor Liu Po openly. Reality will teach him a lesson,” said the disciples who supported Liu Po. They all felt Liu Wuxie was too arrogant. It might’ve been different if Liu Wuxie had said those words outside, but everyone here was a disciple of the Liu Clan, and they knew how laughable Liu Wuxie’s cultivation was.

With a cultivation in the eighth level of the Astral River Realm, those in the ninth level could easily kill Liu Wuxie. It looked like these people had no idea what had happened in Prosper City, with Liu Wuxie nearly killing the Wang Clan’s experts by himself.

Although there were no cultivators in the high levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm present in the fight with the Wang Clan, the fact that Liu Wuxie could defeat them so easily proved he had the strength to challenge those in the high levels.

Others might not have been fully aware of the situation, but Liu Xing was. He stepped forward and said, “Instructor, according to the clan’s rules, disciples are allowed to train independently, free from an instructor’s supervision, if they prove themselves to be stronger than the instructor. Isn’t that correct?”

This rule was common knowledge to everyone in the Liu Clan. The Liu Clan had more disciples than the ones present here, and some prodigies were stronger than the instructors. This was why they could train individually, free from the instructor’s supervision. They could come and go in the martial field as they wished.

“That’s right!” Liu Po nodded. This rule was fair as it would only hinder the disciple’s growth if they had to be supervised by an instructor weaker than them.

“Big Brother Wuxie, I know you dislike being restricted. As long as you can defeat the instructor, you’ll gain complete freedom from training in the future,” Liu Xing said as he rushed over to Liu Wuxie’s side. He didn’t have time to tell Liu Wuxie about this rule.

There wouldn’t be so many troubles if Liu Wuxie knew about the rule, as he could end everything with a slap. But just when Liu Wuxie was about to act against Liu Po, he was stopped by Liu Xing.

“You’ve misunderstood me. The challenge isn’t a duel. Instead, you’ll need to outperform the instructor in all the trials,” Liu Xing clarified. He reminded everyone that fighting was strictly prohibited within the clan, a rule enforced by all patriarchs across generations. Violators would face severe punishment, especially in conflicts between instructors and disciples, to prevent the birth of grudges.

“What kind of trials?” Liu Wuxie asked, intrigued.

“See there? The power stones, rolling logs, gravity platforms, and the devil chamber...” Liu Xing pointed to a row of trials by the side. That place was often used by disciples in their training.

“Challenge!”

“Challenge!”

“Challenge!” It was uncommon for a disciple to challenge an instructor, and the thought thrilled everyone.

Some disciples would challenge the instructors monthly, but successful stories were rare, with most challengers failing miserably.

According to past statistics, those who had succeeded were in the high levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm. At least from the records, no one in the Astral River Realm challenged the instructors.

The Liu Clan had a long legacy, and it wouldn’t be surprising for a prodigy to appear. But their history and memories had long been sealed.

“Brat, you better think carefully. If you fail the challenge, I’ll ensure your days are filled with regret!” Liu Po said, cracking his knuckles. If he defeated Liu Wuxie, the latter would have to train obediently under him in the future. Based on his personality, anyone could foresee he would torture Liu Wuxie.

If Liu Wuxie failed the challenge, he would have to wait until next month for another challenge. The instructors wouldn’t have time to teach the disciples if challenges were allowed daily. In one month, Liu Po could torment Liu Wuxie to his liking.

“I hope you’re capable of amusing me,” Liu Wuxie replied, brushing past Liu Po with indifference as he approached the trials.

He first walked over to the strength stones, each weighing tens of thousands of kilograms and forged through unique methods. The heaviest stone weighed fifty thousand kilograms, and even those at the pinnacle of the Nascent Transformation Realm couldn’t lift it.

Each stone had many runes engraved, which were used to increase the stones’ weight.

The surrounding disciples crowded over excitedly, jockeying for the best spots. Whenever a disciple challenged an instructor, the training was halted for a day, which allowed the other disciples to watch and learn.

“Do you want to go first?” Liu Po asked. As an instructor, it was customary for the disciple to go first according to the rules.

“You can go first,” Liu Wuxie said.

No one found it weird, as it was natural for Liu Wuxie to let the instructor go first since he was new to the martial field. But it would be another story for the veteran disciples, who would naturally go first.

Liu Po walked over to the eighty-thousand-kilogram stone and lowered himself into a squat. The next moment, his strength surged outward, and his muscles tensed.