Chapter 488: Fighting Bai Shuihe Again
The Bai Shuihe before Xiao Chen seemed to come alive. He laughed loudly and quickly pointed at Xiao Chen’s forehead.
“Boom! Boom!”
Xiao Chen’s surroundings trembled and became hazy. After a short moment, he appeared in a chaotic s.p.a.ce.
Xiao Chen was no longer surprised after his previous experience. He cupped his hand and said, “This junior is Xiao Chen. Greetings to Senior again!”
Bai Shuihe raised his eyebrows as a brilliant light shone in his eyes. It was like Bai Shuihe had seen through him completely, like Xiao Chen could not hide any secrets.
“No wonder you chose me. It turns out that you have broken my will statue on the second floor. Are you thinking of shattering my will statue here as well?” Bai Shuihe asked calmly as he looked at Xiao Chen with a smile that did not seem like a smile.
Xiao Chen replied somewhat awkwardly, “How could it be? I only hoped that Senior would guide me some more, and that I would pa.s.s the test of this floor.”
Bai Shuihe said somewhat angrily, “Young man, you should not be so humble. You can be more confident. You were able to break my Martial Sage will statue. You might be able to break my Martial Emperor will statue as well.
“If you don’t even have this confidence, then you can forget about climbing to the eighth floor. The eighth floor is filled with the Sovereign Martial Emperors’ will statues. Let me ask you again, are you confident?!”
[TL note: This popped out of nowhere but I did some research. Martial Emperors are split into three levels: Minor Heavenly, Greater Heavenly, and Sovereign. These levels are also split into the three grades like other cultivation realms. Bringing a total of nine grades in the Martial Emperor realm.]
Bai Shuihe’s final sentence was said sternly, his tone heavy. Xiao Chen could not help but feel a pressure in his heart.
Xiao Chen nearly replied yes. However, he realized what he was about to do and caught himself, startled.
The other party was a Martial Emperor of the saber. Xiao Chen was a mere Martial King. How could he say that he was confident? That would be overestimating himself.
Xiao Chen swallowed his words and said softly, “Senior, stop joking. It would already be great if I can exchange a few moves with you. How could this junior hope to shatter your will statue?”
Seeing that Xiao Chen had not fallen for his tricks, Bai Shuihe showed deeper interest in his eyes. He smiled and said, “Not bad, if you had said yes, I would have increased the number of moves from ten to twenty.”
Xiao Chen heaved a sigh of relief; fortunately, he had not said yes. Twenty moves were double of ten moves.
“However, seeing that you managed to break my will statue, I think I will still provide you with pointers for twenty moves!” Bai Shuihe said somewhat craftily, suddenly changing his stance.
Xiao Chen’s spirits fell. Bai Shuihe was clearly toying with his feelings, shattering Xiao Chen’s image of him as a Martial Emperor.
Xiao Chen had not expected this Martial Emperor to be so mischievous, playing pranks on a junior.
Frowning, Bai Shuihe asked, “What’s wrong? You seem very happy. In that case, let’s add another ten moves!”
Xiao Chen immediately revealed a conflicted expression. He quickly countered, “How am I happy? There is nothing of the sort.”
Bai Shuihe nodded and said, “You have a mighty Martial Emperor like me to give you pointers and yet you still become angry. Brat, you don’t know what’s good for you. Let’s add another ten moves!”
Xiao Chen was now completely speechless; he stopped trying to talk back. The character of this Bai Shuihe as an Martial Emperor is so different from when he met him as a Martial Sage.
When Bai Shuihe saw Xiao Chen’s astounded expression, he laughed heartily again and smiled quite happily. “Brat, I was just messing with you. The test for this floor is not to exchange moves with me.”
“In that case, what is the test for this floor?” Xiao Chen asked doubtfully.
“There is a huge gap between Martial Sage and Martial Emperor. You chose me because of your status as a bladesman. There is no difference between ten moves and twenty moves, or even one move.”
Bai Shuihe stopped smiling and said seriously, “You only need to receive one attack from me. If you don’t die, you pa.s.s. Do you dare to attempt this?”
Receive the attack of a Martial Emperor? Me? Do I dare to accept?
The attack of a Martial Emperor…Xiao Chen paused and starting thinking very hard.
Even though it was an attack from a Martial Emperor, his opponent would not use a strength exceeding that of Xiao Chen’s cultivation. Otherwise, he would not even need an attack to kill him.
All Bai Shuihe had to do was glare at him and use the natural laws to kill Xiao Chen. Of course, he would definitely fail the test.
However, this attack was definitely not going to be easy to receive, especially when Bai Shuihe said that Xiao Chen would pa.s.s as long as he did not die.
What did this mean? This meant that Xiao Chen would definitely not be able to break this attack. It was just a question of how badly he would be injured.
This was a peak Martial Emperor. Naturally, Xiao Chen did not doubt the veracity of his words.
However, Xiao Chen still felt uncertain. So he asked, “What if I die?”
When Bai Shuihe heard this, he could not help but laugh. “What else is there after death? From dust you came, to dust you shall return. Naturally, everything comes to an end when you die.
“So, think carefully before you make a decision. Don’t ever think that giving up is a shameful thing. The strength that I will put into this attack will definitely not exceed your cultivation. However, the difference between us is not as simple as cultivation.”
One attack…just one attack. Once I survive this attack, I can reach the eighth floor.
However, this attack is potentially fatal. Once I agree, I will no longer have a chance to give up. All I can do is face death.
Xiao Chen could not help but hesitate. No matter who it was, when faced with life or death, they would feel some hesitation. This was especially so if the other party was a genuine Martial Emperor.
If someone agreed without a thought, then that person might really die.
Back when the Thunder Emperor was in the Ancient Desolate Tower, he was only twenty-one years old. His cultivation was higher than mine. What went through his mind when he faced this?
Xiao Chen could not help but look at the Lunar Shadow Saber in his hand. If Ao Jiao was here, given her experience, she would be able to come out with an answer for him immediately.
At this moment, Xiao Chen could not help but miss Ao Jiao. Back then, she had accompanied the Thunder Emperor and climbed to the eighth floor with him—a height that no one had reached for ten thousand years.
Ao Jiao definitely understood this Ancient Desolate Tower much better than Xiao Chen.
Should I take on this attack or not? Xiao Chen experienced a hesitation that he had never felt before.
Dummy, why do you not dare to take it on? You just need to stay alive. Why are you so afraid?
Suddenly, a melodious voice rang in his head. Xiao Chen immediately rejoiced and asked, Ao Jiao, when did you wake up?
From within the Lunar Shadow Saber, as per Ao Jiao’s custom, she ridiculed Xiao Chen. Stop your nonsense. He made all that effort to give you some pointers, so stop saying meaningless things. Just agree to it. He is just a Minor Heavenly Martial Emperor and he dares to put on such airs.
Xiao Chen felt put on the spot. Regardless of what kind of Martial Emperor he is, he is still a Martial Emperor. You may look down on him, but he is still able to crush me with a finger.
When Bai Shuihe saw the odd expression on Xiao Chen’s face, doubt flashed in his eyes. After a while, he said, “Who is hiding there? Come out!”
Xiao Chen’s right hand moved forward. The Lunar Shadow Saber in his hand started to tremble uncontrollably, like it would be unsheathed at any moment.
“Boom!”
Xiao Chen did his best to hold Ao Jiao back but still failed in the end. Then, she appeared with a melodious hum.
When Bai Shuihe saw Ao Jiao, he relaxed. He smiled and said, “No wonder I was thinking that you seemed familiar. So, you are Sang Mu’s inheritor. Little Ao Jiao, it has been a few thousand years and you dare to slight this Minor Heavenly Martial Emperor senior. You are ambitious, really ambitious!”
However, Ao Jiao did not have a happy expression at all. She seemed depressed as she looked at Bai Shuihe. “This chap…I wasted a year’s effort because of you. Later, I’ll have to go and swallow up that Saber Spirit again.”
Bai Shuihe had a lukewarm smile as he said, “There is always a price for speaking behind another person’s back.”
Xiao Chen suddenly understood. The statue the Thunder Emperor challenged three thousand years ago was Bai Shuihe as well. Although it happened in a different way, three thousand years later, he ended up challenging the same person. In the end, he would be stopped by Bai Shuihe.
Bai Shuihe turned back to Xiao Chen and said, “There is no one disturbing you now. Make your own decision. Do you dare to receive an attack from me or not?!”
Xiao Chen had made his decision the instant Ao Jiao came out. Now that Bai Shuihe asked again, he did not hesitate to say “I dare to!”
Bai Shuihe smiled gently and did not say anything more. He grabbed the saber on his back, quickly drew it, and thrust it at Xiao Chen. The attack was extremely sharp.
“Ka ca!”
Xiao Chen did not even think. He immediately drew the Lunar Shadow Saber and held it across his chest. He stared very tightly at Bai Shuihe’s right hand, which was holding his saber.
The nervousness that Xiao Chen expected did not appear. In the instant before the battle, all his hesitations and misgivings disappeared; he became very calm.
When Ao Jiao saw this, her eyes lit up. She revealed a faint smile like a crescent moon.
The person who could pull out the Thunder Wood Sword is definitely not trash, Ao Jiao thought to herself.
“Xiu!”
Xiao Chen did not have to wait long for Bai Shuihe’s attack. The attack was purely an attack.
Bai Shuihe did not use his aura to pressure Xiao Chen, nor his Mental Energy to confuse Xiao Chen’s heart. This attack was just a plain hack without any intricacy.
Bai Shuihe simply leaped into the air and hacked down with a saber light.
Xiao Chen found the attack incredulously simple. There are hundreds of weak points revealed in this attack. I would be able to break it by casually choosing one. This Martial Emperor’s attack is too much of a joke.
Wait, that’s not right. If it was so simple, then how would it kill people? There must be something I do not know about, something profound. I should keep watching.
Xiao Chen’s mind raced as fast as lightning. After he a.n.a.lyzed all the information, he discovered the trick to it.
The opponent left his center open. All I have to do is to stab towards his heart and he will be forced to pull his saber back to defend.
However, he is wielding his saber with one hand. The way he holds the saber places it at a ninety-degree angle from his chest. If I attack his chest, he can twist his saber quickly. Given the length of his serrated saber, he would be able to injure me first.
The height at which he jumped is exactly half a body’s length higher than me. His feet are spread apart and can change direction at any time. No matter where I flee to, I will not be able to run.
The direction of the attack seems like it is moving from up to down. However, his body is tilted forward by thirty degrees, so this attack can also be seen as down to up.
The more Xiao Chen a.n.a.lyzed, the more tricks he saw in this plain attack. His opponent seemed to have considered everything already.
It was very plain without any intricacy. This was probably what was meant by the adage “The great Dao is revealed in extreme simplicity.”
When Bai Shuihe was a Martial Sage, his Four Season Saber Technique had unlimited forms. The amount of states and mysterious phenomena it displayed was dizzying.
However, Xiao Chen still managed to find a way to deal with them at the crucial moment; he even managed to counterattack.
However, now that Xiao Chen’s opponent reached Martial Emperor, his simple attack seemed unbreakable and unblockable.
No wonder Bai Shuihe said that there was no difference between one move and ten moves now that he reached this cultivation realm.
This move contained at least ten saber moves, it would not seem exaggerated if it were thousands of saber moves.
I should use the Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations. No, he will be able to figure out my true body with one glance. Then, he would be able to hack me in half in an instant.