Chapter 432: He Who Shames Will Be Shamed
Everyone present was a genius of a great sect. They would lack high-ranked Martial Techniques. Regarding combat experience, they did not think they were inferior to Xiao Chen.
Jin Wuji said happily, “This brat finally has his day. The anger in my heart has soothed a little by the Ancient Desolate Pass Elder humiliating him.”
A girl beside Xia Xiyan whispered, “Senior Sister, who is this person? Why is an Inferior Grade Martial King here to join the excitement?”
Xia Yiyan’s expression had not fluctuated much. She said, “Xiao Rou, don't think this way. He is not an ordinary Inferior Grade Martial King.”
A slight trace of killing intent flashed in Xiao Chen’s calm gaze. He looked at Old Li and said, “Might I ask for Senior’s great name?”
Old Li said indifferently, “This old man is Li Xiuzhu. If you are afraid, you should leave. If you stay, that means you agree to my request.”
Li Xiuzhu…Li Xiuzhu…. Xiao Chen memorized this name firmly in his heart. He swore that he would pay back this humiliation a hundredfold in the future.
Xiao Chen’s expression did not change as he said, “As you wish. I hope you will not regret your decision.”
Liu Xiuzhu smiled coldly and said, “I will feel regret? This old man has seen many geniuses. I have seen many ignorant fools like yourself. Even if I give you ten years, you will never be a threat to me.”
“Bang!”
Li Xiuzhu slammed his hand down on the table. He snorted coldly and said, “Anyone who defeats him will immediately pass the first round!”
The moment Li Xiuzhu spoke, the hall erupted into chaos. Many people headed for Xiao Chen, trying to arrive first.
By being able to skip the first round, they could save a lot of their strength. Furthermore, they could glimpse the trump cards of others without revealing their own.
There were many benefits. They would have a massive advantage in the second round. No one would mind this opportunity.
“Xiu!”
However, one person rushed ahead of the others. It was the Heavenly Sword Gate’s Jin Wuji. His gaze had always fixed on Xiao Chen.
The moment Li Xiuzhi spoke, Jin Wuji’s figure flashed forward, immediately appearing across from Xiao Chen.
Ding Fengchou’s hand hovered in the air. He had tried to hold back Jin Wuji. Unexpectedly, Jin Wuji exploded forth in an instant, not even allowing him the chance to react. So, he withdrew his hand.
“I cannot even stop him. How stupid. Never mind; since you want to offer yourself up as a stepping stone, go ahead.”
Ding Fengchou downed his wine in one gulp, shaking his head as he mumbled to himself. However, this was a good opportunity to see how much Xiao Chen had grown.
Jin Wuji emitted killing Qi from his body relentlessly. He laughed maniacally and said, “Xiao Chen, you did not expect that you would end up like this today. Back then, when you sneak-attacked and trampled on me, you had not expected that I would personally crush your hopes one day.”
Jin Wuji laughed happily. Back when Xiao Chen had trampled on him, he could not even retaliate. It had been a nightmare for him.
After that, when he cultivated, the image of Xiao Chen always appeared in his mind, causing him to fail.
Jin Wuji knew this was a heart demon. Xiao Chen had become his heart demon. If he did not resolve this, the heart demon would always exist. His strength would halt and possibly regress.
Today, all Jin Wuji had to do was last ten moves, and he could end Xiao Chen’s hopes of entering the Ancient Desolate Tower. This was undoubtedly a good chance for him to get rid of his heart demon. This was definitely worth rejoicing.
Jin Wuji drew his sword and smiled. He had a sinister expression as he said, “White Robed Bladesman, today, I will make you realize that, without a sneak attack, you would have no chance against me.”
Xiao Chen flipped his hand, and the Lunar Shadow Saber appeared in his right hand. He said indifferently, “What a joke! You really think that you lost only because it was a sneak attack?”
Seeing Xiao Chen take out the Lunar Shadow Saber from the Universe Ring, Mu Xinya’s expressions fluctuated. She muttered, “It’s really him. Song Que was unable to kill him with that palm strike that day.”
Ever since Xiao Chen had stepped into the hall, Mu Xinya’s gaze had never left the cultivator. He had felt similar to that person in her memories.
He was calm, decisive, unhurried, had an expression that would not change in any situation, and unyielding regardless of the situation.
When Xiao Chen took out the Lunar Shadow Saber, the saber that Mu Xinya remembered, she finally verified Xiao Chen’s identity.
“Senior Sister, do you think this Xiao Chen can win?” Xia Xiyan’s Junior Sister asked.
Xia Xiyan felt uncertain as she responded, “It’s hard to say. His overall power is definitely stronger than Jin Wuji’s. However, it is too difficult for him to defeat Jin Wuji in ten moves. Even I have no confidence in doing so.”
Most of the cultivators present had similar views. They thought that Jin Wuji would gain a great benefit, skipping the first round entirely.
Li Xiuzhu had a faint smile as he watched from above. His only expectation of Xiao Chen was failure.
Such an ignorant cultivator would not climb very high in the future.
“Chi!”
Within the hall, a resonant sword hum echoed suddenly. Jin Wuji could no longer resist and made the first move.
Jin Wuji pointed his sword at Xiao Chen as it trembled. The air rippled like water.
The sharp state of metal spread out from the edge of the sword. Before the sword moved, wind had already arrived.
An extremely sharp sword intent headed for Xiao Chen. It tore through the air and struck Xiao Chen’s forehead. It clearly intended to disturb Xiao Chen’s state of mind and break him.
The state of metal only had one attribute: an extremely pure sharpness. Given Jin Wuji’s aura, he had comprehended his state of metal to Great Perfection.
“He has no more chances. Jin Wuji’s state of metal has reached Great Perfection. Although it has not reached Consummation yet, it would be impossible to defeat him in ten moves,” Xia Xiyan sighed.
The others watching also shook their head. From the very start, this fight had not been fair. Now, Xiao Chen had no chance at all.
Li Xiuzhu’s frown faded, and he relaxed completely. He smiled as he muttered, “The result is clear already.”
When Xiao Chen felt that sharp sword intent, with a thought, he used a Qi that he had never used before.
Since the time Xiao Chen had condensed his Martial Spirit, he had experienced failure, torment, confusion, worry, and all sorts of twists and turns. However, he never lost that sharpness within him. That was the Qi that belonged to a bladesman.
“Dang!”
A metallic clanging sound resounded in the air like blades clashing.
The sword intent JIn Wuji had sent out had been blocked instantly. The state of metal in the sword intent vanished.
“Saber intent?”
A few people in the crowd wondered doubtfully when they heard the melodious ring and felt the Qi from Xiao Chen.
Saber had evolved from swords. Hence, saber intent was derived from sword intent. However, it was harder to form than sword intent.
If one were to assign a probability to it, the odds of successfully comprehending sword intent were one in a hundred thousand. However, for saber intent, it was one in a million.
Furthermore, in the past thousand years, there were no stories of anyone comprehending saber intent under the age of thirty.
Even the ten great bladesmen of the Ancient Desolate Land had only comprehended saber intent after they reached forty. Such outstanding bladesmen only existed in the generation of the Thunder Emperor.
If they wanted to search for other examples, they would have to look back to the Tianwu Dynasty or the Ancient Era.
Ding Fengchou’s expression relaxed slightly. He said, “Fortunately, it is not saber intent. It is merely some Qi. However, if some Qi can block Jin Wuji’s sword intent, how powerful would a completely formed saber intent be?”
The other people in the hall heaved a sigh of relief as well. If it were truly saber intent, that would be too shocking.
Jin Wuji is not weak. If I have to fight him under normal circumstances, we will have to exchange at least a hundred moves.
If I want to defeat him in ten moves, I have to catch him off guard and attack with a spurt of energy, allowing him no time to react.
Fortunately, I have a Saber Technique that can attack with a great spurt of energy, the Rushing Thunder Chop.
Although it is not highly ranked, I can make up for the difference with my Essence and states. It is more than sufficient to deal with Jin Wuji!
After smashing Jin Wuji’s sword intent, Xiao Chen took advantage of the moment his opponent was caught off guard. He quickly raised his right foot and stomped.
“Bang!”
Xiao Chen merged his Vital Qi and Essence into this stomp. He held nothing back and sent out 350,000 kilograms of force. The ground cracked.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The entire hall started to shake. All the wine cups on the wooden tables shattered.
The crack in the ground quickly extended towards Jin Wuji. As the ground cracked, a sharp shockwave shot upwards for half a meter.
As the crack in the ground extended, it sped towards Jin Wuji like a sharp knife intending to split him in half.
Jin Wuji’s expression became one of shock. He had not expected Xiao Chen to make such a move.
This was the so-called ‘catching Jin Wuji off guard.’
Jin Wuji’s body swayed as the ground shook. When he saw the shockwaves, he quickly dodged to the side.
The shockwave brushed past Jin Wuji and continued for Li Xiuzhu. Li Xiuzhu merely stomped on the ground expressionlessly, and the sharp shockwave dissipated.
At the same time, the ground also stopped cracking right before the fissure reached Li Xiuzhu’s table.
“Xiu!”
Jin Wuji had just stabilized himself but had no time to catch his breath as when he saw Xiao Chen rushing at him with the Lunar Shadow Saber in his right hand. His gaze looked as sharp as an eagle’s.
“Dong! Dong! Dong!”
Xiao Chen’s footsteps sounded like the roar of thunder. He moved as fast as lightning. A strong wind blew as he dashed forward, forcing Jin Wuji to squint.
Jin Wuji had a bad feeling. He pushed off the ground and retreated.
You think you can run? It’s already too late.
Xiao Chen snorted coldly. He placed his hand on the saber hilt and drew, “Drawing the Saber!”
It seemed like a bolt of lightning had emerged from the scabbard. It was very dazzling, hurting everyone’s eyes.
In the time for a spark to fly, Jin Wuji’s sword spun quickly and guarded his chest, blocking the saber.
“Dang!”
Sparks flew when the weapons clashed.
As Xiao Chen rushed forward, he raised his momentum to the limits. As for Jin Wuji, after retreating, his momentum harshly fell.
Jin Wuji felt his arm go numb, and his sword trembled. He nearly dropped his sword.
“Arclight Chop!”
Xiao Chen activated the Blood Flame Shoes, and his speed increased again. Soon, he reached Jin Wuji’s side. The Lunar Shadow Saber sent an arclight that flickered with relentless electricity.