by Fiery Moon
The person in white smiled gently, “I waited for a while, but you guys hadn’t arrived yet, so I came to look for you. What timing... I got to see a good show.”
This person in white was Zhang He, the eldest son of the Zhang Clan, and his innate talent was very good. When he was ten years old, he was accepted into the continent capital’s White Cliff School. He rarely came back over the past few years. Based on his earlier palm strike, one could tell that his cultivation had already been at the Martial Master realm for many years. It looked like there was no longer an opportunity to cripple Zhang Zeyang’s cultivation. Since there were no longer any opportunities then there was no need for him to dillydally here, thought Xiao Chen. Thus, he turned away and started to leave.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a sonic boom. Xiao Chen did not even bother to look, he just turned his body and launched a Divine Thunder Break backwards. A bright lightning bolt streaked through the air, heading to the area in between Zhang He’s eyebrows.
Zhang He pulled back and stood still, his entire body like a treasured sword. A majestic sword intent suddenly fired out from his body, leaving countless sword Qi in the air. After a short period of time, that bright lightning bolt dissipated.
“This distinguished friend, you bullied my second brother earlier and even seemed to have enjoyed doing so. How can you just leave like that? Why don’t you stay and give us some pointers?” Zhang He stood straight with his hands behind his back, looking very casual.
Although Xiao Chen did not turn his head back to look, he knew very clearly what had happened behind him. Zhang He had dissipated his Divine Thunder Break. This person was indeed very strong, but he was just so-so, and Xiao Chen was not afraid of him. A mere Martial Master... Even if he could not defeat him, it would be easy for him to escape!
He turned around and smiled in a relaxed manner, “I have heard that the eldest son of the Zhang Clan’s Martial Spirit is the Holy Sword — Clear Sky Sword. It has a heaven and ground shaking might, and its sword intent can communicate with spirits. After seeing it, I must say that it lives up to its reputation. I, as an Inferior Grade Martial Disciple, concede defeat.
Zhang He could tell that Xiao Chen’s words were subtly mocking him for bullying the weak with his strength. He did not mind it at all, and continued to smile, “Brother Xiao is too humble. I heard that the number one person in your Xiao Clan, Xiao Jian, was defeated by you in one move. That Xiao Jian was a proper peak Martial Disciple, and he was even more unyielding than myself.”
Xiao Chen was surprised; this person had been all the way in the continent’s capital, yet he was so familiar with the news of the Xiao Clan? This person could not be underestimated. Without changing his expression, Xiao Chen calmly replied, “It is just a rumor; does Young Master Zhang believe them too?”
The two of them glared at each other, observing each other closely. Zhang He’s gaze was as sharp as a sword, the Clear Sky Sword letting out a drone. Additionally, a terrifying sword intent was emitting from his body. The sword intent became more and more intense, before shooting out from his eyes, his formless sword intent seeming solid as it shot towards Xiao Chen ferociously with a sonic boom.
The aura of a Martial Master, combined with this flood of sword intent, firmly locked Xiao Chen in place. Xiao Chen frowned tightly. The Azure Dragon in his body casually swam around within him. The might of the ancient Holy Beast, combined with Xiao Chen’s aura, began to clash with this formless sword intent.
Under the might of this ancient Holy Beast, the powerful sword intent was stopped in its tracks about two meters away from Xiao Chen. It was unable to progress forward. At this moment, the two of them were in a deadlock. Zhang He’s Medial Martial Master aura was not able to overpower Xiao Chen’s seemingly insignificant cultivation of Inferior Martial Disciple.
“Big Brother, why are you talking so much nonsense with him? He tried to kill me earlier,” Zhang Zeyang stood at the side with a sullen face.
When he heard these words, Zhang He despised his own younger brother in his heart. It may have seemed like he effortlessly dissipated Xiao Chen’s Divine Thunder Break earlier, but he actually spent a lot of effort to do so, and used a lot of Essence. Now, he was delaying Xiao Chen as he slowly recovered his Essence. He was waiting for Xiao Chen to show an opening so that he could make a move. If the person in front of him was so easy to deal with, he would have made a move long ago.
The aura he had been gathering was interrupted by Zhang Zeyang’s words. Zhang He had no choice but to retrieve his sword intent and make the first move.
Xiao Chen had no fear in his heart. Instead, he was full of a vigorous battle intent. He had wanted to test his strength out a long time ago, but he could not find a suitable opponent. Xiao Yulan could have been a good opponent, but the poison of the Poinsettia was too strong. If he battled with her, his life would be in danger if he was careless for even a moment. The strength of the other Xiao Clan disciples was too weak, and it was too problematic to seek the help of the elders.
Zhang He, already standing in front of him, was the best opponent. He was in the Martial Master realm and had a Holy Sword Martial Spirit. Xiao Chen wanted to see what kind of results he could obtain in this battle if he used his full power.
While Xiao Chen was thinking, Zhang He took the advantage and dashed over to attack first. The wind from his palm was like swords as it slashed towards Xiao Chen’s chest. Xiao Chen took a small step back and circulated his Purple Thunder Divine Incantation to its peak. There were arcs of electricity leaping around his body before they finally headed to his right palm. At that moment, their palms clashed together.
“Bang!”
A surging energy poured out, and a stream of Qi rippled all around. Neither of them stopped, as they continued to strike out at each other. There were sounds of loud explosions as the pair scuttled around the street. Dirt flew everywhere, the air was turbulent, and the crowd that was watching earlier now retreated a distance away.
Zhang He’s complexion was unchanged; it was still red and glossy, and he still had that faint smile on his face.
On the other hand, Xiao Chen’s hair was already messy, his face pale, and blood trickled out from the corner of his lips. He looked like he was in an extremely difficult situation, but there were still traces of a faint smile on his face. He wiped the corner of his lips and tidied his hair a little. He looked at Zhang He in a relaxed and slightly provocative manner.
Zhang He looked at Xiao Chen’s aggravating actions, and felt his blood boiling. He almost vomited out a mouthful of fresh blood. However, Zhang He calmed down almost immediately. After all, he was not like Zhang Zeyang... He would not make elementary mistakes. He smiled gently, “You are strong. Looks like I underestimated you earlier. But what a pity you ran into me. I will cripple your cultivation today. Let’s see how cocky are then.”
After he said this, Zhang He waved his hands and took out a longsword; this longsword was actually a Spirit Weapon. It was about 2.33 meters long, and it had a luster similar to limpid autumn water. Zhang He’s aura seemed to change after holding the sword.
His aura turned sharp, radiating all around. A pressuring sword intent emerged; it was as incandescent as the sun. His entire being seemed like an unsheathed treasured sword.
“Pu! Pu! Pu!”
Zhang He took two steps forward ferociously, and three streams of sword Qi shot out and attacked Xiao Chen from different angles. Xiao Chen did not have a weapon in his hands, thus he could not block them easily and was forced to retreat backward.
Who knew that sword Qi would be able to track him? There was no way to avoid it. When Xiao Chen retreated, the sword Qi followed him closely, stabbing towards his throat!
He was unable to avoid it. Seeing the sword Qi about to stab his throat, there was a look of desperation on Xiao Chen’s face...
Chapter 21: Impasse
At this dangerous moment, Xiao Chen's thoughts gained a sudden clari
ty and he finally managed to evade the sword at the most crucial moment. Despite this, there was still a small gash left on his neck with a trickle of blood flowing out. How fortunate, Xiao Chen thought to himself.
Seeing his attack being evaded, Zhang He had an astonished look on his face. He then immediately pursued Xiao Chen relentlessly, each sword strike faster than the one before. Xiao Chen was unable to find the time to even catch his breath.
Xiao Chen’s brain worked very hard, as he knew that it was time for him to escape. Against Zhang He, who had a Spirit Weapon and wielded the powers of his Martial Spirit, he knew he had no chance of winning. However, this battle allowed him to learn his limits. In a battle against a Martial Master, he was at a big disadvantage. Xiao Chen knew he must work harder from now on.
After evading another sword strike, Xiao Chen stomped the ground ferociously with his right foot and streams of Essence flowed to his leg. Using the force created by the impact, Xiao Chen retreated several meters. While he was in the air, he even shot out two clumps of Purple Thunder True Fire.
“Young Master Zhang, I shall take my leave now. We will meet again in future,” Xiao Chen laughed loudly as he turned around and dashed away frantically.
Trying to run? It’s too late, Zhang He laughed coldly in his heart. He was about to give chase when the two clumps of Purple Thunder True Fire reached his body. Zhang He casually slashed the fire with his sword, intending to scatter the purple flames. Who would have guessed that when the purple flames touched the sword, the sword would catch on fire? In an instant, the entire Spirit Weapon was enveloped in purple flames. Zhang He was startled, and hurriedly tossed his sword away.
Those two clumps of purple flames looked ordinary, but they were actually the result of Xiao Chen’s quick thinking. He had compressed almost all the purple flames that his body could condense. This was not something that Zhang He could casually scatter with his sword.
Zhang He looked somewhat fearfully at the burning sword on the ground. If this strange flame had spread to his body, it would have been very scary, when Zhang He thought of this, he shivered.
“Big brother, why did you let him go? Chase after him quickly!” Zhang Zeyang said cluelessly.
When he heard this, Zhang He felt very exasperated. He could no longer suppress the blood in his throat and vomited it out. When Zhang Zeyang saw this, he was so frightened that he went pale.
Xiao Chen returned to the Xiao Clan in a somewhat sorry state. He had originally planned to purchase some herbs, but he had not managed to do so. Xiao Chen laid on his bed and casually tossed the Azure Dragon Medicine Cauldron onto the table. It seemed that he must give up his thoughts of refining medicines for today.
Lying on his bed, Xiao Chen kept thinking about every aspect of the battle with Zhang He today. If it was a battle with their bare hands, then he might not necessarily be at a disadvantage. However, Zhang He had a Spirit Weapon, and had even manifested the powers of his Martial Spirit, leaving him helpless.
Zhang He’s Martial Spirit was a Clear Sky Sword. In this world, the Martial Spirit of many people were holy items that had previously existed. The Clear Sky Sword was an example of this; it was a sacred object that appeared ten thousand years ago and had already disappeared in the passing of time.
His own Azure Dragon Martial Spirit was an ancient holy beast. Martial Spirits that once existed were commonly called Spiritual Martial Spirits in the continent.
Spiritual Martial Spirits could communicate with spirits, and their might was unfathomable. For example, a Medial Grade Martial Master like Zhang He could rely on the might of the Clear Sky Sword to give off a sword Qi that only Martial Saints and above could emit, forcing Xiao Chen into his current sorry state. This was the power of a Spiritual Martial Spirit.
Then what was the special ability of his Azure Dragon Martial Spirit? Xiao Chen was somewhat puzzled as he thought about this. After coming to this world, he had only been in a few battles and he had not actually used the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit yet. More specifically, he had not used the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit on his own accord and had completely relied on his Purple Thunder Divine Incantation to battle.
Logically, his Azure Dragon Martial Spirit should not be inferior to Zhang He’s Clear Sky Sword. How could he utilize the power of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit?
Spirit Weapon!
After pondering for a long time, Xiao Chen finally thought of Spirit Weapons. He wanted to possess a Spirit Weapon. This was the only way to exhibit the power of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit. Otherwise, it would be a waste of this ancient Holy Beast Martial Spirit. Furthermore, there was still a copious amount of Moonstones from the Thunder Emperor’s cave that he had not used. The amount should be more than sufficient to forge a high ranked Spirit Weapon.
When he thought of it, he instantly made up his mind. Xiao Chen got up and changed into a new set of clothes. He also washed away the filth and blood on his face. After leaving his small courtyard, he headed to the Xiao Clan’s library.
Since he was going to forge a Spirit Weapon, he naturally needed to find a Martial Technique for using Spirit Weapons. He looked in the Xiao Clan’s library because it would be impossible for him to find a Martial Technique in the Compendium of Cultivation.
The Xiao Clan’s residence was very large, and the library was located in the southeast area of the Xiao Clan’s residence. It was a distance from the courtyard that Xiao Chen lived in. Xiao Chen lazily walked on the path of the Xiao Clan’s residence, going past a few gardens and courtyards before arriving at the library.
The Xiao Clan’s library had three floors, and there were many Cultivation Methods and Martial Techniques. The first floor contained ordinary Yellow Ranked Martial Techniques and Cultivation Methods. The second floor contained Profound Ranked Martial Techniques and Cultivation Methods. As for the third floor, it was very mysterious. Ordinary Xiao Clan disciples did not know what was in there.
The techniques kept in the Xiao Clan library were the result of the accumulation of many years, and its value was not to be underestimated. There were elite guards patrolling the surroundings. A cultivator in the Spirit Refinement realm did not have the qualifications to enter the library. Only after reaching the Martial Disciple realm, was one allowed to enter the first floor, and only after entering the Martial Master realm could one may enter the second floor. In the past, Xiao Chen was only in the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement, so naturally, he could not enter. Now, after defeating Xiao Jian, no one would stop him if he wanted to enter.
The library was always a bustling place, and at this moment, there were many Xiao Clan disciples focused on looking at various Martial Techniques. When Xiao Chen entered, he attracted the gazes of all these people, causing them to start chatting with each other.
“Look, Xiao Chen is here……”
“What is he here for? Isn’t he only in the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement? How did he get the qualifications to enter?”
“You pighead! If he can defeat Xiao Jian, then he must have already become a Martial Disciple. The guards would have stopped him from entering otherwise. Those guards are Martial Grand Masters.”
“This trash has now risen to prominence; you better keep your voices down. If he hears you, who knows what the consequences will be.”
……
Their voices may have been soft, but Xiao Chen could still hear them. Xiao Chen found it funny, and just ignored them, directly going to the bookshelves to look for Martial Techniques for weapons. This was his first time here, and the library was very big, so it took him quite some time before he managed to find the bookshelf for weapons-related Martial Techniques.
“Thunderbolt Swordplay, Medial Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique; there are 13 moves to this swordplay, each stroke faster than the one before it. Use a speed as fast as a thunderbolt to kill the enemy.”
“Mountain Splitting Hack, Inferior Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique; when trained to
the great perfection realm, it can split mountains and separate the seas with one hack.
“Revolving Spear, Inferior Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique; focuses Essence on the body of the spear, creating a revolving force. Able to achieve unimaginable results in battle.”
…...
Xiao Chen kept reading book after book. The more he read, the less interested he was. The highest grade of Martial Techniques was only Medial Grade Yellow Ranked. There was not even a single Superior Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique. Furthermore, the descriptions were very exaggerated; they were only Yellow Ranked Martial Techniques. No matter how much they were trained in, it would be impossible to split mountains and separate the seas, or be as fast as a thunderbolt.
Putting down a Yellow Ranked Martial Technique book, he noticed another book as he lowered his head. The book was covered in dust, and in the corner on the bottom shelf. There were some blurred words that he noticed, instantly attracting his gaze.
Heaven Ranked!
Xiao Chen carefully looked around; after making sure there was no one around, he quickly and carefully picked up the book. Xiao Chen felt incomparably joyful. Looked like he had days when he was lucky as well. There was actually a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique on the first floor of the library. Furthermore, no one had discovered it.
Heaven Ranked Martial Technique — Dragon Subduing Slash. Xiao Chen slowly flipped the book open and read it. This Dragon Subduing Slash was an introductory saber technique. There were a total of 13 moves, with every move requiring more Essence to exhibit than the one before. With Xiao Chen’s current cultivation, he would not even be able to exhibit the first move — Return of the Azure Dragon.
Xiao Chen carefully kept the Dragon Subduing Slash book, then he casually grabbed a Medial Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique, before looking for the manager of the library — Xiao Jue. Xiao Jue was the second brother of his father, and he had already become a Martial Grand Master many years ago. However, he then suffered an injury that caused his cultivation to drop to Martial Master, thus he was sent by the Xiao Clan to manage the library.