Chapter 489: You Just Have to Stay Alive
I can’t use Wukui Blossoms, either. By the time the flower bud forms, the saber will have already reached my neck.
As for Lightning Evasion, that will take too long. So it will not work.
Many thoughts flashed in Xiao Chen’s mind during a period that was shorter than the blink of an eye. Xiao Chen thought of many ways to deal with this attack. Then, he eliminated all of them as they would not work.
Dummy! You just need to stay alive. Why do you not dare to take it on?
When the saber light was just a meter away from Xiao Chen, he recalled Ao Jiao’s words from before. Suddenly, he felt enlightened and heaved a sigh of relief.
I really am a dummy. There is no way I can dodge this attack or break it. Bai Shuihe already gave me the answer at the start. I just have to survive this.
In the end, before the attack landed, Xiao Chen had fallen into his habit of a.n.a.lyzing the attack, thinking about how to break or dodge it.
Xiao Chen knew very clearly that there was no way to dodge or break this move; all he could do was hope to survive.
However, surviving was not an easy task, either. Xiao Chen had considered simply trying his luck, but that might just send him to his death even sooner. Even so, that thought gave him an idea on how to deal with this.
“Xiu!”
At the crucial moment, Xiao Chen did not retreat. He swung his saber up and attacked towards his opponent’s opening.
Bai Shuihe smiled faintly. He thought to himself, I already told you to just survive. Yet, you overestimate yourself and try to injure me. In that case, I can only send you on your way.
Bai Shuihe unhurriedly twisted his hand. The blade of his saber rotated downwards naturally and headed for Xiao Chen’s neck. He disregarded Xiao Chen’s attack entirely.
Indeed, it is as I expected. There are no weak points at all and my opponent has no worries whatsoever. Nonetheless, this is good for me as well.
The throat was a very vital spot. When ordinary cultivators got hit there, they would definitely die.
Naturally, Xiao Chen was no exception. Since he wanted to survive this test, he had to know which vital spot his opponent was targeting. Once he determined that, the attack would be easier to handle.
“Huang dang!”
Xiao Chen relaxed his hand and dropped the Lunar Shadow Saber. He opened his right fist and used his palm to strike the flat of his opponent’s blade.
“Pu ci!”
The saber’s blade had already come to within one millimeter of Xiao Chen’s throat. When he struck it, the blade moved downwards and slashed a horrific deep wound on his chest; blood immediately spurted out.
The saber light stabbed into his body, making Xiao Chen’s organs churn. He tasted something sweet in his mouth; he could not help but vomit a mouthful of blood.
Xiao Chen’s face was very pale but he still smiled. He said, “The might of this attack has reached its peak. It is worthy of being an attack from a Martial Emperor. However, I am still alive.”
Bai Shuihe’s expression suggested that he was at a loss. The tip of his saber had clearly been a millimeter away. Yet, his opponent managed to knock it off target at the crucial moment.
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“Look! That spot of light is going up again. Xiao Chen is entering the eighth floor.”
The elders who were paying attention to Xiao Chen all exclaimed excitedly. The higher he climbed, the more Luck the Heavenly Extermination Union would obtain.
Naturally, these people would end up receiving more benefits as well.
s.h.i.+ Hailong rubbed his eyes gently, not daring to believe what he just saw. Even though he was filled with confidence in Xiao Chen, he had not expected him to pa.s.s the test of the seventh floor and proceed to the eighth. That was the farthest the Thunder Emperor had managed to get in his time!
“He really reached the eighth floor. What a good fellow. Back then, when the Thunder Emperor reached the eighth floor, he was already twenty-one years old. From what I heard, this Xiao Chen is not even twenty yet.”
“Looking from this angle, doesn’t this mean that Xiao Chen already surpa.s.sed the Thunder Emperor from that time?”
“Ha ha! What did I say earlier? I hit it right on the nail, didn’t I? When he first cleared the first floor, I already said that Xiao Chen would definitely surpa.s.s the Thunder Emperor. You guys did not believe it then; you must be feeling very foolish now.”
The old man on the platform who made a prediction about Xiao Chen seemed to be the most excited.
A few people at the side said, “Ma Houpao, you weren’t so sure at that time. Now, you’re so c.o.c.ky about it.”
[TL note: The name Ma Houpao in Chinese also literally means firing after the horse. This has the meaning of giving advice in hindsight or belated action. This is kind of a pun on his name and what he did.]
s.h.i.+ Hailong stopped smiling. He nodded as he said softly, “Old Ma, make preparations and pa.s.s on my orders. We can deal with Li Xiuzhu now.”
When the old man with the family name Ma heard this, he quickly said in a respectful manner, “Old s.h.i.+, rest a.s.sured. You can leave everything to me. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d with the family name Li will not be able to escape.”
Everyone here all knew that after this trial, s.h.i.+ Hailong’s position in the Heavenly Extermination Union would definitely soar. Now was definitely a good time to hug his thighs tightly.
[TL note: Hug his thighs: This means to cling to someone influential.]
When a few of the elders at the side saw Elder Ma rus.h.i.+ng off to fulfill s.h.i.+ Hailong’s orders, they all revealed envy in their eyes; this was a worthwhile errand.
“Old s.h.i.+, do you have any more orders? The few of us can carry them out,” they said, smiling.
s.h.i.+ Hailong was somewhat stunned. He smiled and said, “There is nothing else; just continue watching. It was through everyone’s efforts that we managed to find Xiao Chen this time. I will definitely let the five seniors know about this.”
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The eighth floor of the Ancient Desolate Tower was completely empty. Only an ancient bronze door stood in the center, leading to an unknown place.
The bronze door was shut tightly. The many mysterious engraved talisman scripts on it gave off a faint spiritual light.
When Xiao Chen went through the previous light barrier, the purple Essence liquid continued dripping for ten minutes before it stopped.
When Xiao Chen landed, his cultivation had firmly stabilized at peak Medial Grade Martial King. He could not help but reveal a wide grin.
Xiao Chen managed to shorten the gap in cultivation in this trip to the Ancient Desolate Tower.
When Xiao Chen saw the bronze door, he paused and thought for a while.
When Xiao Chen was about to go over and investigate it further, Ao Jiao, who had followed him up, said, “Hold on. Heal your injuries first and then properly comprehend Bai Shuihe’s earlier attack. As long as you can even comprehend a tiny bit of that attack, which contained all sorts of Saber Techniques, you will become undefeatable in your generation.”
Agreeing with Ao Jiao, Xiao Chen stopped walking. In terms of style, Bai Shuihe’s move was definitely at the peak for sabers. Since it had not been long after that, he would take advantage of this time to try and comprehend something from it.
Xiao Chen sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, entering deep contemplation. At the same time, his purple Qi whirlpool spun quickly and strands of vigorous Essence healed the wound on his chest.
When Ao Jiao looked at the ancient bronze door in the eighth floor, a complicated expression appeared on her face. Eventually, she sighed softly, appearing very melancholic.
After a while, Xiao Chen opened his eyes and looked at Ao Jiao. He asked, “Ao Jiao, do you know what is behind that door?”
Ao Jiao thought for a long time before suggesting, “Xiao Chen, let’s stop here. Stop climbing the tower.”
Xiao Chen nodded and said, “Alright, we will stop, then.”
When Ao Jiao saw Xiao Chen reply straightforwardly, she asked, “You are not even going to ask why?”
Xiao Chen smiled and said, “What is the point of asking? If it is something that you should say, naturally, you would tell me. If you do not tell me, then it would be pointless to ask. I just need to know that you will not harm me; that will do. If you tell me not to go up, then I will listen to your advice.”
A feeling of warmth stirred in Ao Jiao’s heart. She did not expect that Xiao Chen would be able to so resolutely resist the temptation of the ninth floor and choose to trust her.
“As you have said, I will not harm you. The benefits that you obtained by climbing to the eighth floor should be sufficient for you already.”
Xiao Chen did not continue to linger on this topic. Instead, he moved on to the matter that he was more concerned about: “Tell me about this first, what do you mean by needing to swallow that Saber Spirit again?”
When Ao Jiao heard this, she appeared somewhat frustrated. “I still somewhat underestimated the techniques of the Clear Sky Sect. The Saber Spirit in the Lunar Shadow Saber is much stronger than I expected. Even though I had swallowed it, it was not willing to merge with me. It even considerably slowed my progress in nouris.h.i.+ng the Lunar Shadow Saber into a Divine Weapon.
“Now that that fellow dragged me out, that Saber Spirit managed to escape my grasp again. I will have to start from scratch once more. However, you don’t have to worry; I still have the upper hand after all.”
When Xiao Chen heard this, he relaxed. The two had not met for a long time, so they started chatting about the eighth floor on the eighth floor.
Ao Jiao seemed to be pretty happy about being in the Ancient Desolate Tower. She spoke of how the Thunder Emperor cleared the floors and some of his experience.
“However, in a short period, you managed to climb from a Martial Disciple to where you are today. This is very difficult to imagine.”
When Ao Jiao looked at the current Xiao Chen and compared him to the Xiao Chen she first met, she sighed softly.
Before Xiao Chen could feel proud, Ao Jiao changed the topic and ridiculed him. “However, you are still too weak. Like before, you are still unable to defeat your own Weapon Spirit. Continue to do your best, Trashy Master.”
Ao Jiao smiled gently and transformed into a beam of white light to return to the Lunar Shadow Saber.
Xiao Chen shook his head and smiled bitterly. He glanced at the ancient bronze door and not longer hesitated.
Xiao Chen took out that jade pendant and crushed it in his hand. The instant the jade pendant broke, the Ancient Desolate Tower ejected him.
“Xiu!”
A white-robed figure with a blue strip of cloth around his forehead appeared in midair. Then, he slowly floated down.
s.h.i.+ Hailong had a big smile as he jumped off the platform. He led a group of elders as he parted the crowd and headed for Xiao Chen. “Xiao Chen, you have indeed not disappointed me. Since the Heavenly Extermination Union started the Trial of the Ancient Desolate Tower, you are the second person to reach the eighth floor.”
Xiao Chen said courteously, “Many thanks to Elder s.h.i.+ and the Heavenly Extermination Union for giving me this opportunity.”
After that, Xia Xiyan, Zuo Mo, Jiang Zimo, and the others all came over to congratulate Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen thanked all of them by cupping his fist respectfully to them.
At this moment, s.h.i.+ Hailong appeared to be in even higher spirits than Xiao Chen. He gathered the crowd together and said, “I will now announce that this Trial of the Ancient Desolate Tower is completed. I look forward to seeing all your progress two years from now. I hope you will all obtain even better results in the Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion!”
“A bunch of tras.h.!.+ You think that you are no longer trash after clearing the Ancient Desolate Tower? Xiao Chen, get out here! I have been waiting a long time for you.”
At this moment, a disharmonious voice rang out. When everyone looked up, they saw Xie Ziwen and his Martial Uncle. They had broken through the blockade of the Heavenly Extermination Union and appeared before everyone.
s.h.i.+ Hailong’s expression sank. He looked at the old man behind Xie Ziwen and said, “Gong Haoyu, your Evil Moon Pavilion may be very powerful in the Great Jin Nation. However, don’t forget that this is the Ancient Desolate Land, the place where the Heavenly Extermination Union rules!”
s.h.i.+ Hailong felt extremely frustrated. Xiao Chen had just managed to climb to the eighth floor—a once-in-a-thousand-years kind of joyous occasion. s.h.i.+ Hailong had not expected the two people he did not wish to see the most to appear in front of him right before the event came to a perfect close.
Gong Haoyu said coldly, “I am not here to cause trouble today. This is just the squabbles between the younger generation. Don’t use the Heavenly Extermination Union to pressure me. Even if your Union Chief were here, reason would still be on my side.”
s.h.i.+ Hailong frowned and said, “What do you want?”
Gong Haoyu glanced coldly at Xiao Chen and said, “This brat prevented my Evil Moon Pavilion from partic.i.p.ating in the selection for the Ancient Desolate Tower. Regardless of the situation, he has to give us an account for this.”
When Xie Ziwen looked at Xiao Chen, who stood out of the crowd, his glare filled with hatred. If he had not been careless and gotten defeated by Xiao Chen, he would have been the one enjoying all this attention.
“Xiao Chen, do you dare to fight with me again?!” Xie Ziwen shouted expressionlessly.