Chapter 777: Start All Over Again
What will you do? Will you still use force and might to suppress them? If that is how you think, you will be defeated in one exchange.
Ao Jiao’s cold words were like a bucket of ice-cold water splas.h.i.+ng on Xiao Chen; they chilled him. The joy he felt at obtaining a huge harvest vanished instantly, and horror appeared in his heart.
Everyone needed to wake up from their dreams. However, not many people could wake themselves up. Sometimes, when one’s strength and accomplishments increased rapidly, they might have already sunk deeply without noticing it themselves, losing themselves and thinking they were still awake.
Xiao Chen frowned and stretched out his hand. The Lunar Shadow Saber appeared in his grasp. He even seemed to feel some kind of distance from it.
Since you are a bladesman, why use those Deity Race tricks?
Suddenly, the words that Yan s.h.i.+san said to Xiao Chen before resounded in his mind. At that time, he had thought that Yan s.h.i.+san misunderstood his move as belittling him.
Actually, it was Yan s.h.i.+san pitying Xiao Chen. A bystander had the clearest view of the situation. If Xiao Chen walked further along this path, everyone might even forget his nickname of White Robed Bladesman.
Even if Xiao Chen could gain temporary glory, he would fail to progress much further on the martial way after abandoning himself.
After a long time, Xiao Chen let out a protracted sigh. He said with a serious expression, “Many thanks, Ao Jiao. I will definitely not give up the saber. From the very start to the end, I, Xiao Chen, will always be a bladesman.”
She smiled faintly and did not say anything more. Since ancient times, the ones who stood at the peak had been alone. They either went mad from loneliness or climbed to the peak in solitude.
Ao Jiao believed—she had always believed—that Xiao Chen was among the latter.
Rus.h.i.+ng Thunder Saber Technique, Lingyun Saber Technique, Wukui Saber Technique, Four Season Saber Technique, Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique, and Dragon Subduing Slash.
During the four years in the Sky Dome Realm, Xiao Chen had learned so many Saber Techniques. Aside from Dragon Subduing Slash, he had practiced the other five Saber Techniques to Great Perfection.
Listing all these Saber Techniques Xiao Chen had studied these few years, every single one represented events that happened to him. Scenes of the past flashed in his mind.
Rus.h.i.+ng Thunder Saber Technique. In the Promise of Ten Years at Mohe City, Xiao Chen used this Saber Technique to defeat the Zhang and Tang Clans’ Young Masters.
Lingyun Saber Technique. In the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, Xiao Chen relied on this Saber Technique to defeat all the other core disciples in the Ranking War with one move.
This feat brought Xiao Chen fame, allowing him to give pride to Qingyun Peak for Liu Ruyue.
Wukui Saber Technique. When the Phoenix’s Pa.s.sion Palace’s envoys descended to the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, Mu Chengxue exposed Xiao Chen’s ident.i.ty. This Saber Technique allowed him to defeat the disciples of the various n.o.ble Clans. Since then, the nickname White Robed Bladesman spread far and wide.
Four Season Saber Technique. Comprehending the first move of this Saber Technique carried Xiao Chen’s fame even farther. In the Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion, he relied on this Saber Technique to defeat all the outstanding talents of the Sky Dome Realm.
Along the way, Xiao Chen’s path was filled with glory. His Saber Techniques also advanced at a rapid pace.
However, despite being in the Kunlun Realm for more than a year, his practice of Saber Techniques stagnated, even showed signs of regressing.
Actually, the reason for this was easy to pinpoint. Although Xiao Chen entered the Supreme Sky Sect, he never went to listen to the lectures of the Elders. There were no masters with exquisite Saber Techniques worthy of his admiration in the sect.
At Xiao Chen’s current cultivation, he still had to rely on his own comprehension to advance quickly. There would naturally be many difficulties.
Secondly, as of now, of all the Saber Techniques Xiao Chen knew, only the Dragon Subduing Slash caught his attention. However, he could not comprehend a Saber Technique of the Dragon Subduing Slash’s level with one look like he did with many of his previous Saber Techniques.
Every move of the Dragon Subduing Slash was profoundly meaningful. Usually, Xiao Chen had to spend many days to comprehend one move. Even so, without the right opportunities, some of the mysteries in it were incomprehensible no matter how much time he spent.
Furthermore, when the Myriad Heaven Divine Fist appeared and revealed its potential, Xiao Chen unconsciously distanced himself from the Dragon Subduing Slash, drifting increasingly further away.
Hearing Ao Jiao suddenly say this, Xiao Chen was incredulous. How could he forget he was a bladesman?
However, when he thought about it, everything made sense. Even if there had been no Myriad Heaven Divine Fist, if he had not awakened to the danger, he might have gone further and further away from his ident.i.ty as a bladesman.
Now that Xiao Chen was aware of the problem, it would not be difficult to resolve it. He thought for a long time and more or less figured out a solution.
He had to systematically learn a Saber Technique, one that matched up to his current level in Saber Techniques. Furthermore, it had to be usable even after he advanced to Martial Sage.
This Saber Technique could not be like the Dragon Subduing Slash, which was useful only as a killing move. He had to be able to use it as he pleased like the Four Season Saber Technique.
Martial Techniques had always been precious. One that fulfilled all of Xiao Chen’s criteria would require large amounts of Astral Coins to obtain. He might not even be able to buy it with money.
However, now that he had a vague idea, there was no need to fret over how to acquire this Saber Technique.
After rus.h.i.+ng on his way, Hunluo Province’s provincial capital, Hunluo City, appeared before Xiao Chen’s eyes once again ten days later.
The majestic walls, busy roads, cultivators releasing baleful auras, chaos, and fights seen everywhere were the same as in the past. This place had not changed at all.
Killing and fighting were normal for Hunluo City. If these were absent, then it would be abnormal.
Just as Xiao Chen prepared to enter the city, he squinted and sighed softly. Then he stopped and cast his gaze on a fight.
One side wore the uniform of the Eternal Heavenly Sword School. They had many people, about fifty to sixty. Most of them were early-stage Superior Grade Martial Monarchs.
The other side had only two people. Furthermore, with one glance, it was clear they were not Hunluo Province locals.
One of the two brandished a halberd, exuding a strong might as he moved. He blocked every attack that came at him. No one could reach within five steps of him.
The other person used a saber. His Saber Technique was exquisite and ingenious. Every time his saber light flashed, a spurt of scarlet would follow, then miserable shrieks.
The Eternal Heavenly Sword School had the advantage in numbers. However, the two dominated the fight. In less than two hours, they defeated the entire group.
The people of the Eternal Heavenly Sword School understood that they had lost, but they did not disperse, stubbornly blocking the two’s path.
With one glance, Xiao Chen knew that they were thinking. As one of Hunluo Province’s six major factions, the power of their branch in the city would be significant.
The branch might have Martial Sages. Even if there were no Martial Sages, just a few half-Sages would be able to give peak Superior Grade Martial Monarchs a hard time.
Xiao Chen suddenly laughed. He had not expected to meet people from his past here.
These two were none other than the Sky Dome Realm’s Bai Qi and Xuanyuan Zhantian. After the parting at the Martial G.o.d Palace, he had not seen them for more than a year.
Naturally, the surrounded Bai Qi and Xuanyuan Zhantian were not stupid. They knew what these Eternal Heavenly Sword School disciples were thinking. They tried to break out a few times but failed.
The longer this dragged on, the graver their expressions became. If the Eternal Heavenly Sword School’s half-Sages arrived, the two of them would have difficulty leaving.
Just at this moment, thunder suddenly roared. A dazzling bolt of lightning tore through the sky.
The many Eternal Heavenly Sword School disciples felt a cold wind containing killing Qi blow at them. When they turned their heads, a boundless saber Qi entered their vision.
This saber Qi was extremely large. The Eternal Heavenly Sword School disciples could see a blurry white figure holding a saber with one hand, behind the saber Qi. His black hair and long robes fluttered in the wind.
Before the Eternal Heavenly Sword School disciples could react, the purple saber Qi flashed and directly chopped the disciples in the front in half.
Scarlet liquid flew out, and the saber Qi disappeared in one flash. Ten-odd cultivators standing in a line died with one strike.
“Quick, run!”
The remaining Eternal Heavenly Sword School disciples all screamed in horror. They quickly fled to the city center, no longer daring to remain.
The strong wind did not stop blowing. Xiao Chen sheathed his saber and walked over to Bai Qi and Xuanyuan Zhantian. The two of them met him halfway and smiled faintly.
“Xiao Chen!”
When Bai Qi and Xuanyuan Zhantian saw the person attacking was Xiao Chen, the sight stunned them slightly. Clearly, they had not expected to see him here.
---
In Hunluo City, at a table by a window in a restaurant, Xiao Chen, Bai Qi, and Xuanyuan Zhantian drank casually and chatted.
From the conversation, Xiao Chen found out that Bai Qi and Xuanyuan Zhantian had entered the same Rank 9 sect. They had done pretty well in the past year and even successfully promoted to true inheritors.
However, the compet.i.tion in the Kunlun Realm was much more extreme than in the Sky Dome Realm. Their past glory counted as nothing here, and they had had to start all over again.
This time, Bai Qi and Xuanyuan Zhantian had come to Hunluo Province to complete a sect mission to hunt a Desolate Dragon. Who would have imagined that after they killed the Desolate Dragon, they would run into the Eternal Heavenly Sword School disciples?
Without even saying anything else, the Eternal Heavenly Sword School disciples demanded that the two hand over the Desolate Dragon bones. However, the two needed the Desolate Dragon bones to turn in their sect mission, so they naturally did not agree, which erupted into a conflict with the other party—the scene Xiao Chen had seen.
A Desolate Dragon was a sub-dragon that had the blood of True Dragons. When one could not find True Dragon bones, Desolate Dragon bones were a good alternative.
“Haha! Remember our batch of geniuses from the Sky Dome Realm? Remember how much glory we had after the Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion, preparing to do great deeds in the Kunlun Realm? Unfortunately, after more than a year, we are still mostly unknown. Some people are even in miserable situations.
“Only you, Xiao Chen, remain that absolute genius from back then. Although you were still a Martial Monarch, you dared to challenged Bai Wuxue of the seven giants. You even gained his acknowledgment. Few in the Tianwu Domain do not know your name.”
Bai Qi sighed as he picked up his wine cup and took a sip.
Back then, Bai Qi had been weaker than Xiao Chen, but he still had a chance to catch up to him. However, after entering the Kunlun Realm, the two’s cultivation and fame no longer seemed to be on the same track.
When Xuanyuan Zhantian talked about past matters, he seemed rather gloomy as well. He was the Eastern Sea’s Little Dragon King, who comprehended the state of kings.h.i.+p. Now, he was like a True Dragon stuck on a shallow beach.
Before a batch of geniuses much stronger than him, Xuanyuan Zhantian’s state of kings.h.i.+p simply became a joke. He suffered much mockery and setbacks.
Xuanyuan Zhantian could get to where he was now without collapsing only because of the pride in his heart. He did not forget his past glory and his aim. However, it was hard to say how long he could keep going.
Not many people dared to use the state of kings.h.i.+p as the foundation of their cultivation. The more flouris.h.i.+ng the age of geniuses, the harder it was to take this path.
Not knowing what to say, Xiao Chen changed the topic, asking, “Have there been any great changes in the Tianwu Domain recently?”
He had been out of touch with current events in the Tianwu Domain for about ten months, with two more months left till the end of the one year. This time had pa.s.sed very quickly.