Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

One must endure even when it's unbearable; there's no other choice.

Over this period, Ananda took his seat at the outer city's fighting arena, and he has defeated countless warriors from Da Xia, with no one even managing to engage him in a close fight. Seated there, this monk from the Grand Yuan had vanquished every challenger.

Now, he had even uttered words about sweeping through Tiandu single-handedly. Once the words spread, not to mention them, even the citizens of Tiandu watching from a distance felt extreme indignation. If such a situation were to continue, Da Xia would surely lose the hearts of the people.

Although they were all extremely displeased with Ananda, at the same time, a deep sense of helplessness emerged from the bottom of their hearts due to Ananda's strength.

At that moment, suddenly a dozen Royal Sword Guards appeared near the arena. The Commander of the Royal Sword Guard spoke coldly to Ananda, "The Crown Prince has ordered that tomorrow at noon, the court will dispatch a young expert to establish a venue in the inner city and decide the victor with you!"

Hearing this, Ananda's eyes lifted slightly as he looked towards the commander of the Royal Sword Guards and asked, "Why not now?"

The Commander of the Royal Sword Guards sneered and retorted, "What, is this monk scared?"

What fear have I?" Ananda pressed his palms together and slowly said, "If that's the case, then it shall be tomorrow. At that time, this lowly monk can also weigh up, this so-called 'young expert' from Da Xia, to see how capable they truly are."

"Hmph!"

The Commander of the Royal Sword Guards scoffed coldly, and promptly led his men away. He dared not stay here too long, for who knew if the monk would use some evil magic to convert him and his brothers.

The crowd was sizable, and soon enough news from this place spread out. Before long, the whole of Tiandu, whether the inner city or the outer city, from royals and nobles to common folk and merchants, had heard the news.

A young master from the Da Xia court was going to fight a decisive death battle with Ananda, a Buddhist son from the Grand Yuan!

In a restaurant private room, Lu Xinlan and a group of noble children were also quite puzzled, exchanging glances, unsure of whom the Crown Prince would send tomorrow.

"Does the court possess a young expert who can rival that monk?"

"Does the person dispatched by the Crown Prince have the absolute confidence to defeat that smelly monk? If he loses, Da Xia will probably lose even more face."

"I think, it might be better to just dispatch the commander of the Jing Tian Department to capture him for good. Among the younger generation, who could be a match for this monk?"

The noble youths were abuzz with discussion. A young woman seated beside Lu Xinlan asked softly, "Xin Lan, have you received any news about whom the Crown Prince will send tomorrow?"

Hearing this, Lu Xinlan shook her head, her face also full of doubt, unaware of who the Crown Prince might send tomorrow.

With their status, they were well-acquainted with the renowned experts of Da Xia, and there were only a few individuals in their generation able to match Ananda in combat. But even these people had admitted they were no match for him.

"There's no use guessing now; we will find out who will come tomorrow," said Lu Xinlan.

"Let's just hope the so-called young expert won't embarrass Da Xia tomorrow," the young woman sighed softly.

...

Gu Mansion.

After Duke of the Liang State and Chen Yu had left, Gu Chengfeng and his family also gathered together.

They naturally had heard the conversation that had just taken place. Gu Chengfeng could not imagine that in the end, it would be his nephew who would go forth to face the young monk from the Grand Yuan.

Gu Chengfeng had personally witnessed Ananda's terror; at this moment, he looked at Gu Chen with a face full of worry and hesitated several times before speaking.

Gu Chen looked at his uncle and smiling, asked, "Uncle, if you have something to say, just say it. What's there for our family to beat around the bush?"

Gu Chengfeng frowned deeply and said, "My boy, that young monk from the Grand Yuan is very tricky. You must be extremely careful in tomorrow's battle."

He originally wanted to tell Gu Chen not to get involved, but considering that Gu Chen had already accepted the challenge and it was King Huai who had personally named him, with the Crown Prince also agreeing, Gu Chen would have to go even if he didn't want to.

"Is there danger?" Xu Qinge also looked at her husband with furrowed brows.

Gu Chengfeng did not speak, his thick eyebrows tightly knit.

Gu Qingyan's pretty face showed concern as she looked toward Gu Chen and said, "Big brother, can you not go?"

Before Gu Chen could respond, Gu Chengfeng said sternly, "Nonsense! In this battle, Big Brother is the one named by King Huai, and the Crown Prince has agreed. Moreover, Big Brother has already accepted the challenge. By now, the news must have already spread. If he does not show up tomorrow, our whole Gu Mansion will be beheaded!"

"Is it that serious?!" Xu Qinge covered her mouth and gasped softly.

Gu Chengfeng did not respond, clearly also very worried about the battle the next day. Even though he was just a seventh-grade Royal Sword Guard, he had heard of the reputation of the Dragon Elephant Buddhist Sect of the Great Snow Mountain.

That was the state religion of Grand Yuan, with the Sumeru Buddhist Sect being hailed as the foremost among the six great holy lands and having an ancient heritage listed among them!

"Big brother," Gu Qingyan looked nervously at Gu Chen and asked, "Do you have confidence in tomorrow's battle?"

Although the mother and daughter didn't know about the reputation of the Great Snow Mountain Dragon Elephant Buddhist Sect, seeing Gu Chengfeng's reaction and knowing that both the Crown Prince and King Huai had issued orders, they realized this matter was not simple.

Gu Chen appeared very relaxed. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. If others don't have confidence in me, Uncle, you and the rest should still have some, shouldn't you? Besides, if I wasn't confident, I wouldn't have accepted the challenge."

Gu Chengfeng gave his nephew a look but still remained silent with a deep frown.

Soon, the time arrived at the following day. In the early morning, a large open area was reserved inside Tiandu's inner city, with the necessary venue prepared, and not far away, a temporary platform was erected for spectators.

Around the field, the palace guards were deployed, keeping the commoners out and allowing them only a distant view.

Even so, the place was surrounded by layers of onlookers inside and out, creating a sea of people with noisy and overlapping waves of sound.

Fortunately, Tiandu was spacious enough, and the inner city covered a vast area, which still managed to accommodate everyone.

At this moment, the Crown Prince, King Huai, and a host of princes and ministers, including the eldest prince, the Duke of the Liang State, Uncle Dingyuan, and the Marquis of Wuwei, as well as their families and descendants, were all seated there.

Even the commanders of the Jing Tian Department who were not out on missions, such as Chen Yu, and the holders of the Mingjing Department, including Zhou Qing, were among them.

Other officials of the Jing Tian Department and Mingjing Department, as well as lower-ranking officials from Da Xia, such as Song Yu and Wang Yan, stood watching from further away.

Today's battle was crucial for the reputation of Da Xia, and victory was extremely important. Although the appointed time had not arrived, the Crown Prince was already feeling anxious.

"Uncle, do you think Gu Chen can match Ananda?" asked the Crown Prince.

King Huai sat beside him, his face calm and indifferent. Hearing this, he said, "Your Highness, there's no need to panic. The matter has come to this point; let's just watch and see."

The Crown Prince nodded at those words, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the nervousness in his heart.

Now, everyone from Da Xia had arrived, all that was left was for Gu Chen and Ananda to enter the arena.

Soon, the figures of the Grand Yuan's entourage slowly emerged in the distance, led by the burly Zha Jiedunzhu, and the very conspicuous Ananda clad in a red kasaya.

The people of Grand Yuan had arrived first!