It was as if a sudden realization hit Lu Fan, and he muttered to himself with extreme excitement, "So that's how it is... that's how it is!"

But moments later, his excitement turned into frustration, "Golden Core stronger than Nascent Soul... I can't do that!"

He stared at his own hands, feeling a bit lost, and mumbled, "No, I must meet the Heavenly Sovereign... I need to figure out a way..."

Seeing Lu Fan’s increasing obsession, Li Fan couldn’t help but remind him, "fellow Daoist Lu..."

Before Li Fan could finish, Lu Fan suddenly stood up and, without sparing Li Fan another glance, flew out of the restaurant, shouting loudly, "I am Lu Fan of the Martial Hall of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance from the Congyun Sea! Who dares challenge me?"

Li Fan was stunned on the spot.

The once-bustling streets of Weichang City instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Only Lu Fan's proud figure stood in the sky.

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted.

"A mere Golden Core cultivator dares to speak such nonsense!"

"Are the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance all this bold?"

"When did the dogs of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance dare to be so arrogant in front of our Five Elders Association?!" A burly Nascent Soul cultivator with a thick beard shouted in anger, flying in front of Lu Fan, ready to teach him a lesson.

But Lu Fan, though reckless, hadn’t completely lost his mind. He shouted, "I am at the Golden Core stage, and you are Nascent Soul. Does the Five Elders Association always bully the weak?"

"If you want to fight, send a Golden Core cultivator to face me!"

Lu Fan's voice, intentionally amplified, quickly spread throughout Weichang City.

"You..." The Nascent Soul cultivator was momentarily stunned, his expression flickering with uncertainty before he coldly snorted and refrained from attacking.

Landing back on the ground, he turned to the crowd and angrily roared, "Where are the Golden Core cultivators of Canghong Prefecture? Have they all died?"

The crowd quickly responded.

A young cultivator in green robes flew forward, "I am Qiu Juemo of the Luoyan Gang. Daoist Lu, please enlighten me!"

He cupped his hands respectfully but wasted no time in attacking, sending a flying sword straight towards Lu Fan's face.

The sword's blue light appeared without a sound, arriving in an instant.

Luckily, Lu Fan reacted swiftly, dodging the flying sword's attack just in time.

"You sneak attacked me!" Lu Fan's face showed a hint of anger.

"In a life-and-death battle, one must go all out. There's no such thing as sneak attacks! Be careful, Daoist friend!" With a loud shout from Qiu Juemo, thirty-three beams of sword light separated from the flying sword that had circled behind Lu Fan, forming a sword formation shaped like a fierce tiger, charging towards him.

Lu Fan snorted coldly. A faint bronze light emanated from his body, which instantly expanded several times.

A wooden abacus suddenly appeared in his hand, and as he lightly flicked the beads, a crisp "clack" sound echoed.

"The world bustles, all for the sake of profit!" Lu Fan chanted, and with each flick of the abacus bead, a round copper coin appeared out of thin air.

In a flash, thirty-three copper coins took shape, slicing through the air with green light, one after another heading towards the flying tiger sword formation.

Qiu Juemo's expression shifted slightly, sensing something was wrong. He tried to control the sword formation to avoid the strange copper coins.

But the green light was unbelievably fast. In an instant, each of the thirty-three copper coins collided with one of the flying swords.

There was no earth-shattering explosion. As soon as the copper coins touched the swords, they disappeared.

The next moment...

"Not good!" Qiu Juemo hadn't even finished saying "good" when the thirty-three flying swords suddenly reversed direction.

The tiger sword formation, once under his control, now turned back and charged towards him at an even greater speed.

Before he could react, thirty-three beams of sword light pierced through his body.

Blood splattered everywhere as Qiu Juemo's body trembled before finally collapsing to the ground.

The tiger sword formation, now uncontrolled, scattered onto the ground.

The crowd watching gasped in shock.

"Thank you for the fight!" Lu Fan, with his abacus now behind his back, said proudly.

"Brother Qiu!" Qiu Juemo’s friends rushed forward to check on him, relieved to find that Lu Fan had spared his life at the last moment.

"Shameful! Get him out of here!"

"Yeah, that was way too quick!"

...

Despite his severe injuries, Qiu Juemo’s defeat earned him no sympathy from the crowd. Instead, they taunted him, their eyes filled with scorn.

Qiu Juemo’s friends, faces flushed with embarrassment, quickly helped him away, not daring to stir up more trouble.

"I'll fight!"

A grey-robed cultivator, his voice filled with anger, soared into the air.

This time, he learned from the previous failure, opting not to use any magical artifacts. Instead, he summoned a blazing fire, constantly attacking with flames.

"Wealth can lead to godliness!"

As Lu Fan flicked his abacus, a copper coin fell into the fire.

The originally red flames suddenly turned an eerie green.

Soon after, the flames, born from the grey-robed cultivator's own abilities, lost control and turned against him.

Amidst a cry of pain, the grey-robed cultivator also suffered a miserable defeat.

The swift defeat of the second challenger quieted the noisy crowd.

"This fellow Daoist Lu... he has some real skill," Li Fan, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but be surprised.

After a brief moment of silence, another challenger stepped forward.

"I am Ou Qianye of Canghong Prefecture. fellow Daoist Lu, please enlighten me!"

This time, Lu Fan didn’t immediately strike. Instead, he raised his voice and asked, "Since the Five Elders Association can’t defeat me, are you planning to fight me one after another in turns?"

Ou Qianye hesitated, holding back the attack he was about to launch. He replied in a deep voice, "Daoist friend, why don't you rest for a while, and then we will fight again when you're fully recovered."

Ignoring him, Lu Fan closed his eyes and began meditating to regain his energy.

Soon after, the two resumed their battle, clashing fiercely.

In the end, Lu Fan once again emerged victorious. However, Ou Qianye was no easy opponent, with his techniques and spells continuously overwhelming Lu Fan.

It took Lu Fan considerable effort to barely secure a victory.

"Excellent techniques, Daoist friend!" Acknowledging his loss, Ou Qianye cupped his hands and conceded defeat.

"Mutual respect..." Lu Fan’s tone had softened significantly this time.

One after another, the Golden Core cultivators of Weichang City challenged Lu Fan.

But without exception, they all failed.

Even with breaks in between, Lu Fan, who had been fighting non-stop, began to look a bit pale.

Yet, despite his exhaustion, a glimmer of excitement remained on his face, which he couldn’t hide.

As all eyes in Weichang City were drawn to Lu Fan’s challenges, Li Fan, having lost interest in the spectacle, wandered over to a small stall by the street.

He picked up a scroll titled "The Secret History of Ancient Cultivation" and began to flip through its pages.