All geniuses have their pride. In Lance Xuanyuan’s eyes, a genius like Leon Huang ought to be arrogant and self-assured. If he deliberately belittled Leon Huang a few times, Leon would surely snap back, and then Lance Xuanyuan would have a perfect excuse to teach him a lesson.
But Leon Huang just wouldn’t take the bait, leaving Lance Xuanyuan feeling like he’d swung and missed—frustrated and unsatisfied.
Don Lawson, standing to the side, let out a sigh of relief. As long as Leon Huang didn’t butt heads with the young master, things would stay peaceful.
If it doesn’t work once, try again.
Lance Xuanyuan made up his mind to provoke Leon Huang again, so he snorted coldly, "You don’t even have the guts to talk back? You really are pathetic!"
Leon Huang smiled. "Pathetic, indeed."
"...You...!"
Leon Huang’s words left Lance Xuanyuan completely at a loss for words.
After a long moment, Lance Xuanyuan finally continued, his voice dripping with contempt: "With someone as pathetic as you, you’ll never achieve anything great in your life! Everyone calls you a genius, but to me, you’re just trash!"
Leon Huang smiled again, looking completely unfazed.
Lance Xuanyuan had wanted to keep belittling Leon Huang, but suddenly lost interest. If the guy wouldn’t respond, what was the point? If he kept going, he’d just make himself look petty, like some loudmouth on the street.
Waving his hand, Lance Xuanyuan said with little enthusiasm, "Alright, you can go. But let me warn you: don’t try to get close to Lynette Ji. Otherwise, I won’t let you off."
"Sure!"
Leon Huang nodded and turned to leave.
Watching Leon Huang’s back as he left, Lance Xuanyuan felt an indescribable sense of frustration.
"Don, what kind of person do you think Leon Huang is?" Lance Xuanyuan asked.
"He’s not someone who’ll stay in the shallow end," Don Lawson replied.
"You’re giving him way too much credit. Someone this cowardly doesn’t even have the guts to stand up to me, and you think he’s destined for greatness?" Lance Xuanyuan scoffed.
"Not at all."
Don Lawson shook his head. "He’s only at early Grandmaster, while you’re late Great Grandmaster—there’s a six-realm gap between you. If you were in his shoes, would you dare provoke a peak Martial Saint?"
Lance Xuanyuan was momentarily stunned, then muttered awkwardly, "I’m not stupid—why would I go provoke a peak Martial Saint?"
Don Lawson felt it necessary to remind his young master, so he said seriously, "Leon Huang isn’t stupid either. Of course he won’t provoke you! Putting up with things for now doesn’t mean he’s a coward. Rushing forward blindly is just brute courage, but knowing when to advance or retreat—that’s real wisdom!"
Hearing Don’s words, Lance couldn’t help but feel his own behavior just now had been childish. If Leon saw through it, he was probably laughing at him inside.
"Besides, if you actually fought Leon Huang, you might not win!" Don’s voice rang out again.
Hearing Don praise Leon Huang again and again, Lance felt a bit uncomfortable. He sneered, "Impossible! Even if he’s talented, he’s only early Grandmaster—I could crush him with one slap!"
"Not necessarily!"
Don Lawson shook his head. "Leon Huang has a Sword Puppet. That Sword Puppet fights at late Great Grandmaster level. Are you confident you could beat it?"
"Isn’t the Sword Puppet in Vice Dean Melody’s hands? How did he get it?" Lance asked, puzzled and a bit wary. The Sword Puppet’s body was so tough even a Martial Saint might not break it, and its attack power matched late Great Grandmaster. In a real fight, who knew who’d win?
Thinking about it, Leon Huang really did have the strength to stand up to him.
Don continued, "Of course. The vice dean gave it to him. And he also has a ninth-grade spirit sword, the Purple Thunder. If he lets the Sword Puppet use Purple Thunder, how many moves do you think you could block?"
"That..." Lance hesitated.
Don added, "The dean and all five vice deans value Leon Huang far more than you could imagine. I guarantee, if you try anything against him, even the dean won’t be on your side!"
"Why’s that?"
"Because Leon Huang healed the dean and all five vice deans of their hidden injuries!"
"What? That’s impossible! How could he possibly heal their injuries?" Lance Xuanyuan cried out in shock.
"It’s true. The dean told me himself."
"Why would Grandpa tell you all this?" Lance pressed.
"Because the dean knew you’d go looking for trouble with Leon Huang, so he asked me to pass this on. He just hopes you won’t act rashly!"
"So Grandpa’s siding with Leon Huang? Even if he steals the woman I want, I’m not allowed to do anything about it?"
Lance Xuanyuan was furious, even feeling a little resentful toward his own grandfather.
"The dean said, if you want to compete with Leon Huang, you have to do it openly and fairly—not by relying on your status to pressure him!"
Hearing this, Lance Xuanyuan looked thoughtful. Finally, he took a deep breath, calmed himself, and asked, "What exactly counts as fair?"
Don Lawson shook his head. "That’s for you to figure out yourself!"
…………
Back in his own room, Leon Huang continued studying the sword-dao notes given to him by the Venerable Dragon Sword. As for the whole Lance Xuanyuan thing, he really didn’t care.
After all, Dean Xander Xuanyuan had treated him decently, so Leon figured he’d let this slide as a favor.
Of course, if Lance Xuanyuan kept trying to provoke him, Leon wouldn’t hold back—he’d make sure Lance learned his lesson.
Even though he was only at early Grandmaster right now.
His Immortal-Dao realm hadn’t improved much either—still late Foundation Establishment.
But the sword-dao he’d learned in this world could be stacked onto the Azure Lotus Sword Codex. He’d already run through it all in his mind, and his Azure Lotus attacks were now at least ten times stronger than before.
His cultivation was still late Foundation Establishment, but using Immortal-Dao techniques, even Lance Xuanyuan might not be his match.
Just one advantage: he could ride his sword and fly, which put him in an unbeatable position.
Apparently, in this world, not even Martial Saints could fly on their own—unless they used a spirit beast.
Time always flies by.
Before he knew it, more than half a month had passed. In that time, Leon Huang had not only consolidated his early Grandmaster cultivation, but also fully absorbed the Venerable Dragon Sword’s training notes. Now, all he lacked was realm and experience.
So, he knew it was time to test his skills in real combat.
Sanctum students have two options for live combat: one, go out and hunt sea beasts.
Two, head to the border and fight the Devil Race.
Just as Leon was weighing whether to head to the border, Don Lawson showed up again.
Half an hour later.
Leon Huang met Lance Xuanyuan again in a private box at Tianwu House.
Coincidentally, it was the same box where Lynette Ji had invited him last time.
"Please, have a seat."
Compared to last time, Lance Xuanyuan didn’t put on a cold face. Instead, he wore a slight smile.
"Senior Lance, what can I do for you?"
Leon asked after bowing politely.
"Let’s eat first, then talk business," Lance said with a wave.
"Alright."
The food was plentiful, and the drinks were the best Tianwu House had to offer. Leon ate heartily, showing no sign of holding back.
After the meal, Lance had the leftovers cleared away and tea and snacks brought in. He fixed his gaze on Leon and said, "I want to challenge you to a fair duel!"
"Oh?" Leon’s interest was piqued. "How do you want to compete?"