Su Mo smirked when he saw who had issued the challenge. Was he trying to avenge the death of his fellow disciple?
Regardless, since the gauntlet had been thrown, he was not about to step down from a challenge.
Swoosh!
Su Mo flew out like lightning and landed in the square.
Lei Peng’s eyes sharpened like knives when he saw Su Mo had accepted his challenge.
He thought for a moment, then said, “Su Mo, how about a fight to the death?”
Lei Peng was after Su Mo’s storage ring and had already formulated the perfect plan to do so.
It just wasn’t feasible for him to force Su Mo to hand over his storage ring with all the elders present, so he was prepared for a fight to the death.
Once Su Mo accepted his challenge, none of the higher-ups could kick up a fuss even if Su Mo died!
Even if he took Su Mo’s storage ring then, it would count as the spoils of his victory. No one would raise an eyebrow.
If Su Mo had the demonic sword, it would definitely be stored within his storage ring.
This was the plan he had come up with in order to obtain the sword!
“What? A fight to the death?”
“Why would Lei Peng want to fight to the death with Su Mo? Do they have bad blood?”
“Lei Peng is ranked 203rd on the List. Su Mo would definitely not agree to this!”
The crowd was in an uproar as everyone reacted with surprise and shock.
A fight to the death was no small matter. Once Su Mo accepted it, not even the higher-ups of the Celestialspirit Sect would be able to save him if he was in grave danger later.
Everyone looked expectantly at Su Mo as they waited for him to make a decision.
Many people from the Celestialspirit Sect frowned. If Su Mo didn’t accept Lei Peng’s challenge, it would be very embarrassing for the Celestialspirit Sect.
However, if he accepted the challenge and was killed by Lei Peng, this would be an even greater embarrassment for the Celestialspirit Sect to bear.
The other peak masters looked toward Huangfu Jing, trying to gauge his reaction. After all, Su Mo was his disciple.
Huangfu Jing remained calm and expressionless, as if he had nothing to do with Su Mo.
Hong Qingxuan was the calmest amongst those present. Su Mo had managed to defeat Hua Yuanhan, who was ranked 400th on the List, when he was just at Lv 1 True Darkness Realm. Now that he was at Lv 4 True Darkness Realm, defeating Lei Peng would be a piece of cake for him.
Su Mo scoffed at Lei Peng’s words, “Are you out for revenge?”
“Yes, do you dare accept this challenge?” Lei Peng said, nodding. He obviously was not about to reveal his true motive to Su Mo.
Lei Peng was absolutely sure that he would have no problem defeating Su Mo. If his cultivation hadn’t been suppressed at the place where the Demonic Sword was born, Su Mo could never have defeated him.
He admitted that Su Mo’s martial soul was rather terrifying, but now he was a Lv 7 True Darkness Realm martial artist, three levels higher than Su Mo. He had nothing to fear.
It might have been beneath him to issue a fight to the death challenge, but he was willing to go all out for the Demonic Sword.
Now, Lei Peng couldn’t wait for Su Mo to accept his challenge. As long as the Demonic Sword was with Su Mo, the weapon was just within his reach.
He also knew that Su Mo would definitely not draw the sword with so many people present, so he was not afraid.
“Since you’re courting death, I’ll grant your wish!” Su Mo said lightly. He didn’t have a choice either now that Lei Peng was so insistent on fighting.
Everyone was surprised that Su Mo agreed so readily.
Did Su Mo not know Lei Peng’s strength? Lei Peng’s ranking on the List of Top 1,000 Talents was much higher than Liu Chuanqian’s. This also meant that he was already much stronger than Liu Chuanqian.
By agreeing to this battle, wasn’t Su Mo expected to die?
“Ha ha!” Lei Peng was elated that Su Mo had accepted his challenge. He laughed loudly and his eyes glittered brightly.
Lei Peng immediately turned to look at the Celestialspirit Sect’s pavilion and said loudly, “Su Mo has agreed to a fight to the death with me. I trust that the elders of the Celestialspirit Sect will not intervene, right?”
Lei Peng had addressed all the higher-ups of Celestialspirit Sect with this question, but his gaze was fixed on Huangfu Jing. He knew that Su Mo was Huangfu Jing’s disciple, so killing Su Mo without Huangfu Jing’s intervention wouldn’t be a problem.
“He has agreed to this himself. I will not intervene!” Huangfu Jing said calmly.
“Alright!” Lei Peng was thrilled. As a Martial Royal Realm Expert, Huangfu Jing would not go back on his word.
He then turned to Su Mo and said menacingly, “Su Mo, it is too late for you to turn back now!”
Su Mo stood a few hundred meters ahead of Lei Peng and stared quietly at Lei Peng with a teasing glint in his eye.
Lei Peng continued, his eyes full of contempt “I’ll admit that you’re a talent, an exceptional genius at that, but this day next year will be your death anniversary!” Everything was playing out according to his plan.
“Please continue!” Su Mo calmly waved his hand and gestured for Lei Peng to continue.
Lei Peng frowned. Su Mo’s nonchalant attitude frightened him.
“Stop putting on a front, you’ll definitely die today!” Lei Peng said coldly as he thought of his powerful strength and tamped down his fear.
“Alright. I’ve already given you enough time to say your last words. You may die now!” Su Mo’s voice turned cold.
He did not wish to hear any more nonsense from Lei Peng. He flipped his palms and the Sky-crushing Sword appeared in his hand.
Clang!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
He drew the Sky-crushing Sword out of its sheath and slashed out three times. Three rays of powerful four-colored sword Qi appeared, forming a pyramid shape and sealing off Lei Peng’s escape routes.
With nowhere to hide, Lei Peng could only try to block the blow.
Swoosh!
Su Mo immediately flew back to the Celestialspirit Sect pavilion after he had sent out his attack. He was as carefree as could be. He didn’t even bother to wait for a result.
“What?”
Su Mo’s attack had shocked everyone. Many young talents on the List rose to their feet in shock.
Su Mo’s attack was just too powerful. Those three rays of four-colored sword Qi contained a power that was absolutely hair-raising.
Even Xue Tianqiong, Tian Chen, Gong Lin, Long Zhantian, and other talents ranked among the top 10 on the List were surprised.
The power from this attack might have been far weaker than their own, but it already showed that Su Mo had the strength of the top 50 or 60 on the List.
They were astounded that Su Mo was so powerful at just Lv 4 True Darkness Realm!
Sikong Yan was first stunned, then his eyes glittered. Su Mo’s strength was far beyond his wildest imagination!
“How could this be?” Lei Peng roared.
The confidence had been wiped from his face and was replaced by abject fear. His face turned as white as a sheet of paper.
Trapped within the three rays of sword Qi, he keenly felt the terrifying power arising from them. Their mighty sword power and strength left him paralyzed in fear. He couldn’t even bring himself to block the blow.
