CHAPTER 202: CHAPTER 198: WHAT’S WRONG WITH BEING MAD

Outside the dojo, countless gazes fell upon Li Fan.

Today was the day Shadow Bearing Sword Arena took in disciples. The spotlight was meant for those on the Green Cloud List, but Li Fan, a mere bottom-ranked individual on the list, had stolen the shine from the rest.

He was about to carve characters onto the stone wall.

On the stone wall, Li Fan stepped onto his sword and rose into the air. Entering the Realm of Sword Dao Celestial, he reached a state of complete focus, activating the Nine Heavens Mysterious Sword Scripture. As his sword descended, a stroke appeared on the stone wall.

"The word ’sword’?"

Seeing that stroke, the crowd silently speculated that Li Fan was carving the character for "sword."

But they quickly realized they were wrong. Li Fan wielded his sword like a brush, and in a flash, a large character appeared, etched onto the stone wall.

After carving the character, fragments scattered from the wall. He did not leave the sword behind but turned to gaze toward Cang Yunxuan, saying, "Thank you, sir, I take my leave."

With those words, he controlled the sword and returned, entering the carriage. Huang Xiong sat at the front, steering the carriage away.

Gone.

The carriage slowly started moving, while everyone stared at the stone wall, fixating on that character.

’Defiance.’

Since everyone deemed him reckless and arrogant in his youth, he left the character "defiance" there as a reply. Countless people sighed in awe—this was true defiance.

Fragments scattered as the character began to shine brighter. Threads of Sword Intent emerged from the wall, infused with lightning-like energy.

"Buzz..."

Suddenly, the sword light grew dazzling, like starlight bursting forth, seemingly ready to pierce through the stone wall and spill out, illuminating the crowd’s eyes. Their hearts raced as their gazes swept across the wall, stunned to discover that no other character on the wall could outshine the brilliance of "defiance."

Even the "Cang" character already carved above seemed to lose its luster, dimmed and overshadowed, as if humbled.

This...

The crowd’s heartbeats quickened as they turned toward Cang Yunxuan. They saw him glance at the stone wall, and when his eyes landed on that character, they narrowed for a brief moment, his expression subtly darkened.

The defiance character had eclipsed his Cang character.

This youth—how audacious.

Many turned their gaze to the receding silhouette of the carriage, and from within it, a bold voice rang out, "Applaud and laugh at reckless arrogance, but so what if it’s reckless? So what if it’s arrogant?"

The crowd froze in place, stunned, as the words echoed in their minds. "Reckless? So what? Arrogant? So what?"

*In that instant, they felt as though they had truly come to know Zuo Tu, the young Sword Cultivator.*

Earlier, he had blocked Su Chen’s path and defeated him with one strike, yet the crowd had sneered and ridiculed him, believing he was a pompous braggart trying to show off outside the dojo.

Han Zhong declared that Li Fan only had "one sword" and was too recklessly brash in his youth.

Cang Yunxuan criticized Li Fan for being overly flamboyant, stripping him of the chance to train within the dojo.

Li Fan did not argue. Instead, he used his sword to defeat Han Zhong.

He carved the stone wall and outshone Cang Yunxuan’s brilliance.

*With his sword, he conveyed a simple message to everyone: why fear reckless arrogance in youth?*

*This young man’s Sword Aura was unrivaled, surpassing the seventh spot on the Green Cloud List, taking its place. He even declared that Sword Cultivators had no need for the Green Cloud List—he scorned it.*

*Perhaps he even scorned Cang Yunxuan.*

That defiance character carved on the stone wall seemed to mock everyone present.

*For this moment here, why not be reckless?*

*Who could suppress him?*

The top ten of the Green Cloud List?

Zuo Tu carried the potential of a Green Cloud List champion.

He had already entered the top ten. Even the top three, it seemed, wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Given his age and his talent in Sword Dao, the first spot on the Green Cloud List seemed only a matter of time.

Moreover, his carved character outshone Cang Yunxuan’s. Did this foreshadow that his future achievements might also outstrip Cang Yunxuan’s?

It seemed likely that the direct disciple of the senior at Shadow Bearing Sword Arena—the previous Green Cloud List champion—was currently feeling uneasy. Although Li Fan had politely referred to him as "sir," he had responded with a single defiant character.

It was likely that this character conveyed Li Fan’s true sentiments. Yet, out of respect for Cang Yunxuan’s status, he had not explicitly said it.

*Within the crowd, Su Chen glared at the disappearing carriage with a dark expression, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.*

*Han Zhong, too, stared into the distance, speechless for a moment. His reputation lay in ruins, reduced to a mere stepping stone for Li Fan’s rise to fame.*

"He’s truly unique." Xia Yao watched the scene, a faint smile flickering in her enchanting eyes. "On the Green Cloud List, such a spirited youth still exists."

"Things may get even more interesting moving forward," she mused.

Zuo Tu was aiming for the first spot on the Green Cloud List.

"His swordsmanship surpasses mine," Gu Qiu remarked with a sigh. The group moved closer to the stone wall, looking upon the dazzling defiance character which stood as a peak unreachable for them.

That "defiance" was the first character carved this year, and it had already captivated all the light. From here on, others who carved characters would only serve as contrast.

"Let me try first."

Gu Qiu darted forward, controlling his sword mid-air. He carved the character "Gu" onto the stone wall, then stabbed his sword into the wall. The Gu character shimmered faintly but remained on the wall’s surface, penetrating just two inches. Wisps of Sword Intent drifted out, but compared to the defiance character, it fell far short.

"I’ll give it a shot too," Xia Yao announced. She, too, controlled her sword and etched the "Xia" character onto the stone wall, but its radiance was even dimmer than Gu Qiu’s Gu character. She seemed to realize just how extraordinary Li Fan’s carving was.

*How had he done it?*

The geniuses on the Green Cloud List began etching their marks onto the stone wall one after another. Soon, the wall was illuminated with characters, densely packed together. Yet, all of them appeared dim.

The addition of more characters only magnified the brilliance of the defiance character at the center, further accentuating the elegant boldness of the young man who had created it.

As more characters surfaced, a sense of disinterest began to seep into the onlookers.

*Suddenly, their fascination with the prodigies of the Green Cloud List faded.*

*It felt as though—these so-called geniuses were overshadowed by a single youth.*

Who could have expected this outcome? Who dared dream it before?

*Applaud and laugh at reckless arrogance... laughable, laughable. How laughable it was to realize the truly laughable ones had been themselves.*

Once Li Fan departed, they could finally acknowledge his exceptional nature. Earlier, they had scoffed at the young man’s naïve defiance.

"He’s gone."

Someone murmured softly. With their spirits dampened, they began to leave, no longer feeling the excitement they once had.

One by one, footsteps echoed as people left the scene, their passion toward the day’s events dwindling.

Even though today was Shadow Bearing Sword Arena’s recruitment day, it seemed none of the disciples taken in could overshadow Zuo Tu’s brilliance. If that were the case...

*Who was to blame for this?*

Cang Yunxuan?

Li Fan remained unaware of their thoughts as the carriage traveled further from the street.

Inside the carriage, Li Fan sat quietly, his eyes closed as he rested. Lu Yuan glanced at him and spoke softly, "This time, it seems you’ve made a name for yourself in Chi Xiao City."

Up until now, Zuo Tu’s reputation had been modest, known to only a few.

But today was no ordinary day. It was Shadow Bearing Sword Arena’s recruitment day, an event watched by all of Chi Xiao City. Because of this, Zuo Tu’s name was bound to spread throughout the city overnight.

"That wasn’t my intention," Li Fan replied with a wry smile. "All I wanted was to stop Su Chen. I didn’t expect tongues to be so sharp. Frustration overtook me, and I acted impulsively."

Lu Yuan shook her head, her gaze shifting to the carriage window. A faint smile played in her beautiful eyes. "A Li Mountain Sword Cultivator is meant to be this way. How could a Li Mountain Sword Son fail to surpass Chi Xiao City’s geniuses? Back in the day, our Li Mountain Sword Cultivators surely overshadowed Chi Xiao City as well."

Though she hadn’t lived through that era, she yearned for it deeply.

In that era, how glorious Li Mountain must have been?

Several Great Sword Cultivators stood at the pinnacle, causing all other Sword Cultivators across the land to pale in comparison. Even the finest Sword Saints on the Sword Saint List were suppressed by Li Mountain Sword Cultivators.

*Alas, when would Li Mountain Sword Cultivators find such glory again?*

Her gaze shifted back to Li Fan. Perhaps, just like today, their future depended on him.

"What are you looking at?" Li Fan noticed Lu Yuan’s beautiful eyes fixed on him and felt a little uneasy.

"Li Fan, you must surpass all those on the Sword Saint List. The greatest Sword Cultivator in the world must come from Li Mountain." Her eyes gleamed with hopeful light.

This was her vision for Li Fan.

"You’re a Li Mountain Sword Cultivator too, and among the current generation of disciples, you rank second in talent. No slacking off, Lu Yuan." Li Fan smiled as he met her gaze. "Li Mountain has never been about just one top-tier Sword Cultivator."

"I’ll work hard." Lu Yuan nodded earnestly.

With the sound of wheels turning, the carriage glided through Chi Xiao City, sunlight falling softly upon it.

Soon, news spread throughout Chi Xiao City. The youngest Sword Cultivator on the Green Cloud List, Zuo Tu, had defeated Su Chen and Chen Xiao with a single strike each, crushed Han Zhong in three moves, and carved the stone wall, surpassing Cang Yunxuan.

He had become a sensation in Chi Xiao City.

In addition, Shadow Bearing Sword Arena announced a startling detail.

This year, Shadow Bearing Sword Arena accepted only three disciples—the fewest in its history.

Moreover, all three were among the top five on the Green Cloud List.

No one outside the top five was admitted, leaving many Green Cloud List contenders in despair.

The reason for this was clear to everyone. The catalyst behind it all was Zuo Tu.

Han Zhong’s defeat by three strikes had sealed his fate, barring entry into Shadow Bearing Sword Arena. Given his seventh ranking on the Green Cloud List, how could those ranked below him gain entry?

With this news, Zuo Tu was swept into yet another storm.