Now, Jiang Chengzi, who mocked Xiao Chen earlier, paled. His expression became extremely unsightly. He had not expected such a scene to happen before him.
“Flawless, Flawless. I set my sights higher than the heavens, wanting to create this perfect and flawless saber Dao. However, I have doubts as well. Can the world permit something truly flawless to exist? The moon is flawless, but it waxes and wanes. We have flawless four seasons, but in the extreme north and south, it is half day and half night, always lacking in two seasons.
“I have other doubts as well. If I use my body as my saber, my thoughts as my saber, then what should I do with the saber in my hand? Where should I place the saber in my heart…”
Xiao Chen spoke very sincerely. The first half consisted of his comprehensions, and the latter half delved into his insufficiencies and doubts.
His words flowed endlessly, never pausing even once. He said everything in one go. After finishing, he felt strangely happy and carefree. In the past, he could make no headway with his doubts; now, he could see a faint strand of hope.
After Xiao Chen finished speaking of his Dao, the mysterious phenomena manifested all vanished.
However, the ancient Saber Sovereigns sitting atop the stone pillars did not slowly vanish like before. Instead, just as the audience felt intoxicated with Xiao Chen’s speech, carefully digesting the information, they started speaking, to the astonishment of everyone.
“I have a Dao that I wish to discuss. It is called the Massacre saber Dao. The saber is a weapon created to kill. It was born amid killing. It takes the lives of common people, murdering everything…”
“I have a Dao that I wish to discuss. It is called the Heaven Supplementing saber Dao. The Heavenly Dao is hard to seek, the heavenly saber is hard to seek…”
“I have a Dao that I wish to discuss. It is called the Death saber Dao. All things are born to die. As a bladesman, I defy the heavens, seeking life amid death…”
“I have a Dao that I wish to discuss. It is called the Lightning saber Dao. Lightning is the means of the Heavenly Dao, the tribulation of the heavens…”
……
The vast and boundless sagely voices merged, layered over each other, and echoed in the sky. These voices that transcended space and time covered the entire Heavenly Cauldron City.
The ancient Saber Sovereigns revealed themselves, speaking of their Dao. Heavenly flowers of seven colors fell from the sky for fifty kilometers around.
All the bladesmen in Heavenly Cauldron City were stunned. Then the sagely voices enfolded them; spiritual music resounded in their minds. In reaction, they all sat cross-legged and started to comprehend the saber Dao in their hearts carefully.
No one at the platform had expected a scene of the ancient Saber Sovereigns speaking of their Dao. However, in mere moments, these outstanding young talents all immediately changed their expressions and quickly sat cross-legged. They remained silent as they carefully comprehended.
These were images of ancient Saber Sovereigns speaking of their Dao; they were not the ancient Saber Sovereigns coming to life. Due to Xiao Chen and the string of fate, these ancient Saber Sovereigns transcended time and space, appearing before them all.
This was a rare opportunity. If one lost it, it would be impossible to come upon it again.
The experiences of the ancient Saber Sovereigns were very precious. The sight of eighteen ancient Saber Sovereigns speaking of their Dao together was very majestic—and unprecedented.
However, how much one could hear depended on one’s talent and comprehension ability. The eighteen ancient Saber Sovereigns’ voices layered over each other; it was difficult to differentiate one from another.
---
In Heavenly Cauldron City’s City Lord’s Residence, Bai Lang’s father, a quasi-Emperor expert, saw the seven-colored heavenly flowers and heard the endless reverberating sagely voices. He was a powerful person who was only one step away from advancing to Martial Emperor, yet his face evinced excitement despite himself.
The vast voices layering over each other covered the entire Heavenly Cauldron City for a total of four hours. Only then did the miraculous image of the ancient Saber Sovereigns speaking of their Dao slowly fade away. Peace returned to the place once more.
However, the hearts of the cultivators in the Heavenly Cauldron City remained unsettled for a long time.
From this day forth, the position of Heavenly Cauldron City in the hearts of the Profound Domain’s bladesmen would rise drastically. It would become akin to the number one holy land for bladesmen, comparable to Heavenly Saber City, which Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian managed.
---
At the center of the plaza, under the eighteen stone pillars, Bai Lang and his guests slowly opened their eyes.
As the outstanding talents of the younger generation and with their proximity to the ancient Saber Sovereigns speaking of their Dao, they definitely gained much more comprehensions than the others. Their faces were flushed with satisfaction at their attainments.
Xiao Chen was the last to open his eyes. Due to his having absorbed much of the Heavenly Dew Divine Spring’s essence, his comprehension ability now was astonishing.
He succeeded in memorizing the saber Dao of all eighteen ancient Saber Sovereigns, not missing a single word. Afterwards, he could immediately write them down; that would be a valuable resource.
No one else present had such talent and comprehension ability here. Even Bai Lang only managed to memorize five different saber Dao, and that was already extraordinary.
Bai Lang opened his eyes and personally poured a cup of tea, which he sent over to Xiao Chen.
‘Whoosh!”
“I offer this toast of tea to Brother Xiao and formally apologize. This Bai failed to recognize your great talent and exposed you to public ridicule. I hope Brother Xiao will forgive me.”
Bai Lang could be considered to be someone that could take things in stride. After seeing Xiao Chen’s accomplishments in the saber Dao, he immediately served tea and apologized, not putting on airs at all.
When Xiao Chen spoke of his Dao, he provoked eighteen Saber Sovereign images to show themselves and the sagely voices that transcended space and time to descend on the entire Heavenly Cauldron City. If he was not considered a bladesman, then there was no bladesman in the world.
No one displayed any disdain or mockery for Bai Lang’s apology.
Xiao Chen stretched out his hand and caught the teacup. He took a sip before putting it down on the table and replying, “That does not matter. Brother Bai is a true bladesman. I can understand your thoughts.”
Bai Lang nodded slightly, then said, “The Flawless saber Dao is indeed unique, truly an eye-opener. Declaring that there is none before and after is no exaggeration at all. I have some insights about the doubts you voiced in your latter half. I would like to discuss them with Brother Xiao.”
Smiling with excitement, Xiao Chen said, “Please speak your mind. We all seek the same Dao. I hope that you will share all your thoughts with everyone here.”
“The latter half of your discourse focused on several questions. I shall touch briefly on the first one: if I use my body as my saber, my thoughts as my saber, what then should I do with the saber in my hand?”
Bai Lang paused for a moment like he was considering what to say. Then he continued, “I feel that I have a solution to this problem. For us bladesmen, the saber is an extension of our body. There is an ancient saying ‘I exist where my saber exists. When my saber dies, I die.’ This should be the rough principle.”
Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up, and he entered deep thought. By using my body as the saber, my hair can become the saber, my clothes can become the saber. Why then can’t I just treat the saber as a saber? In the first place, the saber is a saber; because of this, I trapped myself.
By seeing the saber in the same light as my hair and clothes, the question of what to do with the saber in my hand resolves itself.
The Inferno Saber Sovereign’s disciple, Lin Yan, smiled and said, “I also have some insights into the Flawless saber Dao. In the so-called flawless and perfect, something might not necessarily be flawless for it to be perfect. There are no flawless things in the world, but there might be perfect things. Perfection does not refer to flawlessness.
“For example, Brother Xiao, that earlier bright moon. I feel that it is a perfect moon. Since it is perfect, it is naturally flawless.”
The Flawless saber Dao. Never before had there been such a saber Dao in the world. Even the saber Dao of the eighteen ancient Saber Sovereigns, which contained thousands of phenomena, did not touch on the Flawless saber Dao at all.
Being able to participate in the discussion of such a saber Dao inspired a sense of creating history—the anticipation that when the Flawless saber Dao reached its peak, it would definitely surpass the old, leaving an indelible mark on the Martial Epoch.
All the bladesmen present were clearly excited, speaking with enthusiasm. It did not matter whether they were right or wrong; they at least opened up new lines of thought and possibilities. When looking from the viewpoint of a bystander, one would always be able to see something that the involved parties could not.
After this topic came to an end, concluding this segment, Bai Lang put down his teacup and gently slap the table. The treasured saber placed beside him stuck itself two centimeters into the tall platform together with its sheath.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
The others all imitated Bai Lang, sticking their treasured sabers into the stone platform. Immediately, saber Qi flew about and buzzed. Strong saber intent hummed and echoed endlessly.
Xiao Chen understood that this was the second part of the tea party: making friends through the saber. It was also the highlight of the tea party.
After all, no matter how well they spoke, they had to fight in order to see the results.
With a slight movement, the Lunar Shadow Saber stuck into the stone platform like the other sabers.
“Feng Xingsheng, I have long heard of your name. Will you be willing to give me some pointers?”
After everyone’s sabers all stuck into the tall platform, a tall and slim male in long robes challenged Feng Xingsheng.
Feng Xingsheng smiled faintly and replied, “I can’t say that I’m able to give you pointers. How about we call it an exchange?”
“Whoosh!”
The two soared into the air at the same time and sent out their moves. Two strands of saber light flashed, and the clangor of sabers resounded. Their sabers emerged from their scabbards, and they quickly exchanged moves in the air.
The people below looked up slightly and saw everything very clearly. Occasionally, they would evaluate the fight with their friends beside them.
The fight between these two was remarkable. However, Feng Xingsheng was obviously better. He was very clear about his talents, the Wind saber Dao. With some small breakthroughs and comprehension, he could move like the wind.
Amid the fleeting gentle wind, the saber intent was everywhere. Amid the gentleness, danger filled the place.
After two hundred moves, Feng Xingsheng’s opponent took the initiative to admit defeat. The two returned their sabers to their scabbards and bowed to each other before landing back at their stools.
After this, the tea party started to enter the high point. The bladesmen of the various places stepped up brilliantly. The ones that left the deepest impression on Xiao Chen were the disciples of the Inferno Saber Sovereign and the Lightning Saber Sovereign—Lin Yan and Dugu Jue.
In the latter part, a few people challenged these two. However, they all lost within a hundred moves.
The Lightning saber Dao and the Inferno saber Dao were displayed to their limits in the two’s sabers. A surging black volcano erupted as a saber chopped down. Flaming red clouds filled the sky for five kilometers around, looking very mighty.
The one Xiao Chen paid more attention to was, of course, the Lightning Saber Sovereign’s disciple, Dugu Jue. His Quintessence was lightning-attributed in the first place. The will that he comprehended was also the will of lightning. Naturally, Xiao Chen would compare himself with this person.
Dugu Jue’s Saber Techniques made Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up. The lightning-attributed Saber Techniques that he comprehended could be described with two words: “fast” and “explosive.”
This was how people normally described lightning as well. Dugu Jue was extremely fast; his saber was also extremely fast. However, if one were to think that all he had was speed, that would be a great mistake. Actually, his explosive power was equally terrifying, causing the entire Heavenly Cauldron Plaza to tremble intensely.
The power of lightning was not limited to speed and explosiveness, as Xiao Chen knew, having been through a Lightning Tribulation and the baptism of a thousand kinds of Divine Lightning.
However, Dugu Jue probably understood this too. After all, he had a Martial Emperor guiding him. He likely subscribed to the principle of not biting off more than he could chew, and decided to develop only these two to the peak.
In Xiao Chen’s heart, he could not help comparing this person to An Junxi. How fantastic it would be if they were to fight with each other.
“Xiao Chen, your speech was very exquisite, I have nothing to say about that. However, I wonder how many real moves and how many trump cards you have. I, Jiang Chengzi, want to seek some advice from you.”