MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1270: Better Things To Do

Anthony could hear Jarod’s screams as his body broke down into mush before rebuilding itself in real time. He simply cancelled out sound as a whole, returning the entire cottage to complete silence.

An hour passed as Anthony did his own thing and Jarod did his. The next moment, a portal tore open within the same room where Anthony had been sitting with Tory. The Elder stepped out once again as he spoke.

"Disciple Anthony, everything and everybody is ready and set," he stated as he looked at Anthony with a smile on his face, clearly pleased with the direction everything was taking.

"Thank you, Elder," Anthony replied as he rose to his feet, the book he had been reading vanishing from his hand.

"Jarod," Anthony called out.

At the sound of his name, Jarod stepped into the room. He had bought the best and most expensive robes and shoes that gold coins could buy, just as Anthony had instructed. Resting at his waist was the sword Anthony had just given him. Although his cultivation hadn’t broken through, he had grown noticeably taller, his physique had become more refined, and he was a bit more handsome than before.

"You called, My Lord," he replied.

Anthony’s lips twitched as he immediately understood that Jarod had chosen to address him with such a title after experiencing the unbelievable effects of the crimson potion. However, Anthony didn’t address the matter for the moment. He would deal with it later.

The Elder noticed the changes in Jarod. He had seen Jarod the last time he had visited to present Anthony with the list of challenges he had received. However, the Elder didn’t think much of it, as alchemists capable of brewing potions and refining pills that made people taller and more handsome certainly existed.

However, such things often came with unpleasant side effects, since truly talented alchemists didn’t waste their time refining such frivolous concoctions. After all, cultivators cared far more about increasing their strength and healing their injuries than improving their appearance. As such, the Elder simply ignored Jarod, although he couldn’t help but take note of the expensive robes and the quality sword hanging from his waist.

With that, the Elder turned and stepped back into the portal without another word. Anthony remained silent as well, simply following the Elder through the portal while Jarod hurried after them with excited steps. After all, he had been reading through the cultivation manual before Anthony had called for him.

When Anthony stepped out from the other end of the portal, blazing sunlight poured down from above as countless murmurs immediately reached his ears. The first thing that entered Anthony’s vision was the numerous disciples standing before him. They were the three hundred and five people who had challenged him.

Anthony rested his gaze upon them for a brief moment before tearing his eyes away. He had no intention of dragging out the battle between himself and them for very long. His sky-blue eyes shifted toward the sides as he noticed bleachers rising higher while stretching far into the distance.

A massive crowd had gathered. Outer Disciples, Inner Disciples, Core Disciples, Above Disciples, they had all come. Even servants could be seen hiding at the edges as they secretly watched since they weren’t permitted to sit alongside the disciples. Anthony’s eyes lifted toward the sky for a brief moment as he sensed several unknown Elders concealing themselves among the clouds while silently observing everything below.

And that wasn’t all. The Inner Elders and Core Elders, whose senses extended across kilometres, didn’t even need to be physically present. They merely watched from the comfort of their residences, yet Anthony could practically feel their gazes resting upon him.

Clearly, the entire sect was watching. They all wanted to witness just how powerful the descendant of the Sect Master truly was to deserve joining the ranks of the Above Disciples. Of course, some didn’t expect much due to the reasons that had already spread throughout the sect. Nevertheless, they still came to watch. After all, reality and expectations often moved in completely opposite directions.

The battle arena itself was enormous. Anthony could practically sense the Law of Space and the Law of Expansion that had been used to construct the entire structure, making the arena vastly larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside.

Anthony turned toward Jarod and simply nodded.

Jarod didn’t say a word. He simply bowed before vanishing in a flicker of movement with his newfound speed.

Anthony’s sky-blue eyes shifted toward the Elder, who nodded before beginning to speak, his voice reaching everyone within the coliseum-like structure.

"I don’t need to go into many details, as you all already know how this works," he began. "However, I will go over a few rules. After all, Above Disciple Null Anthony only ascended three days ago and might not yet be familiar with the rules regarding challenges within the Null Sect," he stated calmly.

"The basic rules are as follows: no killing, and no permanently crippling a disciple’s dantian. Aside from those restrictions, everything else is permitted," he continued. "And the final rule is that every disciple who challenges an Above Disciple must forfeit all of their contribution points upon losing," he explained.

Nobody reacted. They all already knew this. Anthony also remained expressionless. Although he hadn’t known about the contribution point rule, he didn’t particularly care, as he had no interest in obtaining anything from the Null Sect’s exchange halls.

"And finally, according to Above Disciple Null Anthony, it is his wish to face all three hundred and five disciples simultaneously, as he has better things to do," the Elder declared. "Therefore, whichever disciple defeats Null Anthony first shall become an Above Disciple," he concluded.

At the Elder’s words, everyone was left speechless. None of them had expected Anthony to actually dare challenge all three hundred and five disciples at once. He had even gone as far as implying that he had better things to do, which only left them even more stunned. Of course, Anthony had never actually said anything of the sort, but it appeared that this Elder from the Challenge Hall possessed a peculiar hobby of adding fuel to the fire.

The three hundred and five disciples, who had been smiling confidently only moments ago, instantly frowned. Nobody liked being looked down upon, not even servants, let alone actual disciples of the Null Sect.

Anthony could clearly sense the anger shimmering within every one of them simply because of the extra detail the Elder had casually added. But did Anthony care?

Not in the slightest.

Core Disciples, Inner Disciples, Outer Disciples, it didn’t matter. They were all going to end up in exactly the same place, the hospital... if the Null Sect even had one.

The Elder slowly floated upward as he prepared to give the signal. Seeing this, the spectators’ eyes sharpened while the challengers immediately drew their weapons, swords, sabres, glaives, halberds, morning stars, whips, hammers, polearms, and spears.

Origin Essence flooded the arena as waves of energy threatened to erupt from their dantians the very moment the signal was given. Various Laws began to hum through the air as the disciples drew upon their comprehension, every single one of them having reached the Law Enhancement Stage.

As the Elder ascended to a considerable height, one that perfectly matched the atmosphere’s mounting tension, his voice suddenly boomed across the entire arena.

"Begin!"