CHAPTER 78: WINNER TAKES IT ALL, LOSER GETS NOTHING.

After tidying himself up, Lu Chen left for the main hall with Nantian Wan'er.

The banquet had already been underway for quite some time. At the center of the hall stood a massive arena stage, surrounded by hundreds of tables. Over two hundred cultivators were gathered, drinking wine and eating meat.

Jun Wudi had personally arranged the feast, both to thank Lu Chen and to celebrate formally taking him in as a disciple.

Jun Wudi had told Lu Chen he needed to establish dominance among the crowd of cultivators present. Lu Chen did not understand Jun Wudi's exact intent, but he knew the best way to do it would be through combat.

Earlier, he had been confident he could sweep the arena, but now, his strength had been suppressed to only a fraction of its usual level.

Lu Chen looked at the arena and let out a wry smile. "I was planning to make a name for myself here, but with my current strength... sigh..."

Nantian Wan'er followed Lu Chen from behind. She offered a word of comfort to him, "Lu-gege, it's fine. We'll take it step by step. Even with your current strength, you may still defeat them with ease."

Jun Laoye was seated at an eight-seater square table. As soon as he spotted Lu Chen, he quickly called him over, "Over here, Little Lu."

"Wan'er, let's go."

Lu Chen led Nantian Wan'er through the crowd and approached Jun Wudi. He clasped his fists in a disciple's salute. "Uncle Jun, how's your injury?"

Jun Wudi stood up. "Hahaha, it's gotten much better."

He guided spirit qi to his fingertip, gently lifting Lu Chen to his feet. "Come, sit. This time, I have you to thank for the success in our mission."

Just then, he noticed Nantian Wan'er standing behind Lu Chen.

Jun Wudi sensed her aura and frowned, puzzled. "Hm? This girl's aura... it feels like..."

Nantian Wan'er bent slightly and gave a junior's greeting. "Hello, Uncle Jun. My name is Nantian Wan'er."

Jun Wudi turned to look at Nantian Yijian beside him, "Nantian... Wan'er? Could you be from the Nantian Sect?"

Nantian Yijian was quietly eating his meat at the time. When he sensed Jun Wudi's gaze, he looked up, grinned, and glanced at Lu Chen while stuffing more meat into his mouth. "There's a seat here, come sit beside me."

Lu Chen nodded to him before turning to explain to Jun Wudi, "Uncle Jun, Wan'er is indeed from the Nantian Sect. You should know her grandfather, Nantian Xiu."

Jun Wudi quickly stepped over to Nantian Wan'er, helping her up as he examined her closely. "Little Lu, do you mean the Nantian Xiu of the Nantian Sect?"

"Yes."

Seeing Jun Wudi's reaction, Lu Chen was almost certain now that Nantian Xiu was telling the truth. "Wan'er is his granddaughter. She'll be coming to the Heavenly Mandate Hall with us this time."

Still finding it hard to believe, Jun Wudi turned to Nantian Wan'er. "Are you truly Senior Nantian Xiu's granddaughter?"

Lu Chen then took out Nantian Xiu's identity token. "Uncle Jun, look. Grandpa Xiu had entrusted this to us."

Jun Wudi took the token and gently brushed his fingers over it. "This is Senior Nantian Xiu's identity token, there's no doubt... I haven't seen it in decades. I never expected Senior to have a granddaughter already."

His eyes turned slightly red. "Keep it safe, and never lose it."

With his doubts about Nantian Wan'er's identity gone, Jun Wudi returned the token to Lu Chen. From the way Nantian Yijian had reacted just now, he had also confirmed deep down that Nantian Yijian was indeed from the Nantian Sect.

Lu Chen put the token away and asked, "So, you really do know Grandpa Xiu, Uncle Jun?"

"I do, I do. Little Lu, take a seat. Wan'er, you too."

Jun Wudi gestured for Lu Chen to find a seat, then personally led Nantian Wan'er to sit beside him, his manner unusually gentle as he placed several pieces of meat into her bowl.

He then turned to explain to the others, "When I first went out to train in my younger years, I almost lost my life in the Nantian Region. Luckily, Senior Nantian Xiu saved me. Otherwise, I would have died there."

He smiled warmly at Nantian Wan'er. "A few years ago, I intended to visit the Nantian Sect to pay my respects, but something unexpected happened, and I was forced to delay my plan.

Jun Wudi picked up his chopsticks again and placed more meat into her bowl. "Now that the problem has been solved, the first thing I plan to do once my injury heals is visit him."

Looking at the pile of meat in front of her, Nantian Wan'er said, "Uncle Jun, that's enough, I can't eat anymore."

While serving her, Jun Wudi also noticed the golden longsword behind her. "Hm? The aura of the Dragon-Slaying Sword?"

He picked it up and smiled. "It's a bit small, but there's no mistaking its aura. I didn't expect you to inherit Senior's legacy at such a young age."

As Jun Wudi continued serving and praising her, Jun Laoye, seated at the lower end of the square table, hung a sour look on his face and muttered sarcastically toward Nantian Yijian. "Little Jian, believe it or not, this is the first time I've seen Second Uncle let a junior sit next to him. I've never had that chance in my whole life."

With his mouth full of food, Nantian Yijian didn't catch what he said. "Mmph...

Little Jun, what are you saying? I didn't hear you."

Still chewing, he stuffed another chicken leg into his mouth and pushed one toward Jun Laoye. "Come on, eat. I haven't had chicken legs this good in years."

Jun Laoye glanced at the pile of chicken legs in front of Nantian Wan'er and grumbled, "Second Uncle's playing favorites."

Jun Wudi snorted. "Hmph. How old are you now to still compete with a young girl? Have you no shame?"

At the same time, he formed a quick seal to shut Jun Laoye's mouth.

Jun Laoye waved his chicken leg around in protest, seemingly accusing Jun Wudi of favoritism. "Mmph! Mmph..."

Jun Wudi snorted again, ignored him, and placed the last chicken leg on the table into Nantian Wan'er's bowl.

"Mmm..."

Jun Laoye glanced at Jun Wudi, who ignored him completely. He then turned toward Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er, blinking rapidly, clearly hoping Lu Chen would speak up for him.

Seeing his gestures, Nantian Wan'er couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him. "Uncle Jun, please undo Little Jun's seal."

Jun Wudi's face brightened the moment she spoke on Jun Laoye's behalf. With a wave of his hand, he released the seal. But when he turned back to face Jun Laoye, his expression hardened again. "See how considerate your younger sister is? She even spoke up for you. I'll let you off this time."

The instant Jun Wudi freed his mouth, Jun Laoye muttered under his breath, "You're so obviously biased."

Hearing his grumble, dozens of spears formed from spirit qi instantly materialized behind Jun Wudi and shot toward him. "Are you itching for trouble?"

Jun Laoye instantly activated his movement art, darting far away while still shouting, "Yes, I am! Why can't a man speak his mind?"

Jun Wudi shook his head in exasperation at the sight.

At that moment, Nantian Yijian stood up, holding a chicken leg in one hand and his longsword in the other. "Uncle Jun, should I bring him back?"

"Little Jun has been like this since he was a child. Just leave him be."

Jun Wudi turned to Lu Chen. "Where's Senior Nantian Xiu? Why didn't he come with you?"

Lu Chen took out the prepared medicinal herbs and handed them over. "Grandpa Xiu went back. He asked me to bring these to you."

Jun Wudi slowly opened the storage pouch. The moment he saw the contents, his eyes widened. "These... are they from Senior? These are top-grade herbs! Where did you get them?"

"Top-grade herbs?"

As soon as Jun Laoye heard that, he rushed over to peer into the pouch. His jaw dropped. "Second Uncle, aren't these the exact herbs that you've been missing to refine your pills?"

Lu Chen explained, "Uncle Jun, aren't you injured? We happened to find some herbs, but this is all we managed to gather. I thought they might help with your recovery. I'm not sure if it's enough."

"It's more than enough! With these, I can recover without even returning to the sect."

Jun Wudi patted Lu Chen on the shoulder, his voice brimming with excitement. "I owe you for today. Tell me, what do you want?"

Lu Chen stood up and gave a respectful bow. "Uncle Jun, I'm already grateful to you for giving me the chance to avenge my fellow villagers. I wouldn't dare ask for anything."

Seeing Lu Chen's modest demeanor and courteous manner, Jun Wudi felt deeply satisfied. Lu Chen's manners weren't lacking even when compared to the sons of great aristocratic clans. "Hahaha, that's two separate matters. Just say it, anything you want."

When he glanced back at Jun Laoye, eating messily with his mouth full, Jun Wudi's expression instantly darkened.

He turned back to Lu Chen. "Sigh... Little Lu, just tell me, what do you want?"

"What do I want? Let me think..." Lu Chen turned to look at Nantian Wan'er, then said, "I'd like to request a sect position for Wan'er. She'll be staying here for quite some time."

Jun Wudi laughed heartily. At the same time, his displeasure with Jun Laoye grew. "That's all? Hahaha! Even if you hadn't asked, I'd have arranged it for her. That doesn't count. Ask for something else."

Lu Chen shook his head. "Uncle Jun, I really can't think of anything else. Let's just leave it."

Jun Wudi clapped Lu Chen on the shoulder again and motioned for him to sit down. "In that case, I'll remember I owe you a favor. When you think of something, I'll see it done."

Jun Laoye wiped the grease from his mouth and reminded, "Second Uncle, it's time. Let's get started."

"Already?"

Jun Wudi brushed his hand over his storage ring. A large bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills, a complete set of low-grade Earth Tier armor, and a mid-grade Earth Tier spear appeared before him.

The crowd fell silent for three full seconds at the sight of the three items. After that brief stillness, the venue erupted with shouts.

"That's the Earth-Shattering Spear the commander used! And that's the Radiant Armor! Those are both Earth Tier artifacts."

"I've been on missions countless times, but this is the first time I've seen Earth Tier treasures as rewards. I'm fighting for this!"

"That's not all! There's a whole bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills! Such rare treasures!"

"Hurry up and start! I can't wait any longer!"

Cheers and heated discussions filled the area.

"Hahaha! Since everyone's so eager, let's begin! It's the same as always. The winner takes all, and the loser gets nothing!"

Jun Wudi's voice had barely faded when a target appeared in the center of the arena.