Suddenly, someone’s expression changed drastically, and he shouted, “That’s not right. That’s not River Water. That is the Lunar Shadow Saber!” His face was replete with shock like he was seeing the most incredible thing in the world.
This commotion spread through all the spectating cultivators.
“What’s going on? Where is Wen Ziran’s saber?”
“That is impossible, absolutely impossible. This must be an illusion.”
However, after Wen Ziran stretched his hand towards the bottom of the lake, the two pieces of the River Water Saber came flying out into his grasp. This was something that no one could accept, yet it truly happened.
Broken…the famed River Water that carried the Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian’s greatest hope broke…
No one expected the result to be like that. The one that broke was actually the famed River Water Saber.
As for the saber belonging to Xiao Chen, it still hovered proudly in the air, flickering with a dazzling light.
The entire place turned silent for a long time.
On the Ying Clan’s warship, Jin Dabao gaped at this sight. Then, he wiped his sweat off and smiled. “This Fat Lord was nearly frightened to death. I really can’t simply start a betting pool in the future.”
Ying Qiong’s grave expression slowly eased, revealing a knowing smile.
Above Nine Dragons Lake, Wen Ziran held his broken saber. He evinced some shock, but he was not overly surprised.
He smiled and put away the broken saber. Then, he wiped the blood off his lips as he looked at Xiao Chen and said, “Three days ago, I heard Master say that you obtained a good saber at Sword Forging Peak. However, I did not expect it to be this strong. What is the name of your saber?”
“Lunar Shadow,” Xiao Chen answered honestly as he stretched out his hand to sheathe the saber.
Wen Ziran muttered to himself for a while before raising his head with a smile. “Lunar Shadow…that is a good name. I will remember it. Let’s continue with our duel!”
Upon hearing what Wen Ziran said, the cultivators in the surroundings frowned slightly. His saber is broken already. Why does he want to continue the duel?
With a flip of his hand, Xiao Chen put away the Lunar Shadow Saber. Then, he nodded and said, “I will not use my saber in this fight. You can choose another saber.”
Xiao Chen cultivated the Flawless saber Dao. Having a saber in his hand was like gilding the lily. Not having a saber in his hand would not make a qualitative difference in his combat prowess. However, his opponent was different.
Wen Ziran smiled and said, “There is no need for me to choose a saber. How about this? I cultivate the River Water Arts. In the first place, I have a great advantage at this Nine Dragons Lake. I have long heard about your Flawless saber Dao. Show me how extraordinary the saber Dao that can cause all the ancient Saber Sovereigns to appear and lecture about their Dao.”
Xiao Chen was not an inflexible and stubborn person. He could tell that Wen Ziran had already taken the outcome of this duel in his stride.
All Wen Ziran sought was an opponent that equaled him so he could make breakthroughs in the battle.
Since that was so, there was no need to care about anything else. The two could fight this duel to their hearts’ content.
The two exchanged glances, seeing an eagerness to fight in each other’s eyes.
The calm lake water started moving underneath as if a huge dragon hidden in its depths opened its eyes and caused its aura to soar into the sky.
When everyone felt this aura, the many cultivators on the warships and flying Spirit Beasts all kept quiet, silently anticipating a wonderful battle.
Unexpectedly, the one to make the first move was Wen Ziran, whose saber was broken.
Wen Ziran smashed the surface of the water with his palm. A loud slap resounded everywhere, kicking up nine gargantuan waves three kilometers tall.
The waves moved like a huge dragon. Nine dragons roared, and a strong, overwhelming aura instantly swallowed up Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen’s gaze sank. The huge draconic waves that came pressing over contained at least one ton of force each. When combined, they could even crush a mountain into powder.
The most important thing was that each of the three-kilometer-tall waves contained a strong sharpness—Wen Ziran’s Great Perfection saber soul that perfectly merged with the will of water.
With one casual palm strike, Wen Ziran brought out his peak strength. Even without a saber, he could not be underestimated.
Many of the spectating cultivators were bladesmen. When they saw Wen Ziran’s palm strike, they all sucked in a cold breath of air. If they were the one facing this palm strike, there was a good chance that they would be crushed into a meat paste, dying without a complete corpse.
After Wen Ziran sent out that palm strike, he muttered to himself, “Xiao Chen, this is only the start. Don’t disappoint me.”
The waves formed the combined might of nine dragons. When they merged, Xiao Chen made his move.
A saber light came from Xiao Chen’s body. He used his body as a saber, his shoulder as a saber. When he moved his body, it was like nine sabers striking out.
Xiao Chen’s shoulders, hair, palms, a total of nine parts, clashed with the nine waves; nine explosions resounded.
Outside Nine Dragons Lake, the nine peaks trembled and let out draconic sounds that echoed for fifty kilometers around. As the sound waves spread out, it seemed like colossal hands pushed the surrounding warships and Spirit Beasts in the air, flipping many of them over.
Such a strange change inspired fear in all the remaining cultivators. So they had their warships and Spirit Beasts withdraw farther.
Right after these nine waves broke, Wen Ziran’s figure leaped over the tall walls of water and charged towards Xiao Chen.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Endless waves soared up on Nine Dragons Lake as the two quickly exchanged moves, flying rapidly around the immense lake.
Wen Ziran used the water as his saber. With a casual gesture, the falling lake water became boundless saber lights. With a thought, a wave containing strong force became the most ferocious saber strike.
The sound of water surged endlessly. With the aid of the environment, Wen Ziran’s aura actually surpassed Xiao Chen’s. Although there was clearly no saber in his hand, his aura flourished in combat, each wave stronger than the last.
“The River Water Arts…I heard that the Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian found this Cultivation Technique in an ancient Remnant. Wen Ziran is truly a genius. He managed to cultivate this ancient Cultivation Technique to Great Perfection so fast, only a step away from Consummation.”
“I really did not expect that after losing the River Water Saber, Wen Ziran could still gain the upper hand.”
Wen Ziran’s strength was a great eye-opener, eliciting praise from everyone.
Xiao Chen remained calm in his heart. His opponent was of a higher cultivation realm, whose comprehension of the Water saber Dao had also reached a very profound level.
With a single thought, the other bladesman could turn water into sabers, gaining a huge advantage in this Nine Dragons Lake.
Without using the Lunar Shadow Saber, Xiao Chen would have some trouble dealing with such a person.
Actually, the main reason was that Xiao Chen was limiting himself to Saber Techniques in this fight out of respect.
If he used the Myriad Heaven Divine Fist, his Immortal Arts, Magic Skills, and his strong physical body, he would be able to deal with the saberless Wen Ziran within a hundred moves.
However, since his opponent’s saber already broke, Xiao Chen no longer pursued victory for this duel.
As dragon roars resounded endlessly, the two fought intensely above the lake. Xiao Chen brought out the Flawless saber Dao to its peak.
Xiao Chen’s line of thought broadened considerably as he observed his opponent’s wondrous Water saber Dao. For example, his opponent’s killing move, Moon in Water, enlightened him greatly.
After he saw this Moon in Water, Flawless Bright Moon gained a qualitative improvement.
Flawless Bright Moon, Flawless Four Seasons, and Subduing Dragon Profound Slash. Xiao Chen continuously used these three moves, the strongest Saber Techniques he knew.
By relying on the immense Nine Dragons Lake, Wen Ziran received them all, although with difficulty, and did not get defeated immediately.
After a thousand moves, both sides gained a lot. Before victory or defeat was decided, they both tacitly sat cross-legged on the surface of the lake, sinking into deep thought with their eyes closed.
A drizzle fell continuously on one side while lightning occasionally flashed on the other side.
The spectating cultivators could not understand such a scene. This was clearly a duel, and they were anxious to see who would win.
After a long time, Xiao Chen opened his eyes. The light in his eyes became withdrawn. In this duel, he had not held back at all with his Saber Techniques. It could be said that in this exchange, he fought carefreely to his heart’s content.
This was like a big test, something that gave him a well-rounded understanding of his own Saber Techniques.
At this moment, all it would take was a thought, and Xiao Chen could easily cross the line between Superior Grade Martial Sage and grandmaster-level Martial Sage and directly become a grandmaster-level Martial Sage.
Soon after, Wen Ziran opened his eyes as well. He said calmly, “I lost this duel. Let’s have another duel here at Nine Dragons Lake three years later.”
“The victor has yet to be decided. Let’s consider this a draw.”
Wen Ziran smiled faintly and said, “Victory means nothing to me. You still have moves that you have not used. How can I not figure that out? In the King conferral ceremony two months hence, I believe you will give everyone a surprise.”
Xiao Chen was relatively relaxed as he spoke with Wen Ziran. The two chatted as they sat on the lake, sharing their opinions about the other party’s Saber Techniques.
Amid happy laughter, the two performed cupped-fist salutes and said their goodbyes.
“How about you come to Heavenly Saber City to rest for a while? There are many people with ulterior motives among the spectators,” Wen Ziran suggested as he shot a casual glance into the distance.
If the Three Holy Lands had really come to an agreement with the three human Sovereign Noble Clans, then this duel with Wen Ziran would be an excellent opportunity for them to strike.
How could Xiao Chen not guess that? He had long since anticipated that these people would attempt something and did not fear them.
After entering Heavenly Saber City, Xiao Chen would have to come out sooner or later, so he rejected Wen Ziran’s invitation.
After Wen Ziran took the initiative to admit defeat, ending the duel, the spectators slowly left. This duel could not be considered world-shaking.
Aside from the astonishing competing with sabers at the start, the two’s battle that came after might be vast with shocking auras, but neither side had intended to struggle for the upper hand.
Although this was a duel, it was more like an exchange between bladesmen. As they fought, they tested their moves out against each other. Neither of them sought victory or hoped for this to end.
The bladesmen present were all extremely excited. When Xiao Chen and Wen Ziran fought, they had infused their saber Dao into all the Saber Techniques they learned. The bladesmen in the audience more or less gained something from watching the duel.
Xiao Chen gently flew over to the Ying Clan’s warship.
Jin Dabao and Lord Jiu, who were on the warship, could not stop laughing. When they saw Xiao Chen board, they promptly greeted him.
“Can you lend this Fat Lord your Dragon’s Gate’s warship for some time?” Jin Dabao asked in anticipation, rubbing his hands together.
Lord Jiu, who was at the side, said, “The fatty opened a betting pool and won a lot. He is now planning to start a merchant association. Without a warship, there is no status.”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly. “Take it, then. I will take some time out and write Shui Lingling a letter, to get the Supreme Sky Sect to support your business. If you encounter any difficulty in the future, you can come and look for me directly.”
Ying Qiong walked over slowly and said softly, “Hehe! This Elder Sister will invest the money that you came to borrow from me. I’ll be a major shareholder; will that be fine?”
When Jin Dabao heard this, his face lit up in joy as he nodded continuously.
With the Supreme Sky Sect and the Ying Clan supporting him from behind, given his means, it would be hard for this merchant association to fail.
“Thank you all for thinking highly of me. This Fat Lord will definitely show results in less than three years.”
After chatting for a while, the fatty stood up and took his leave. Xiao Chen later found out that the fatty hired Lord Jiu to be his bodyguard.
When Xiao Chen heard this, he could not help but find it strange, laughing in his heart despite himself.
In seeking Lord Jiu as a bodyguard, Jin Dabao showed that he really knew how to pick people. Lord Jiu might not be good at much, but he excelled at escaping. Even Xiao Chen accepted that he could not keep up with Lord Jiu’s ability to escape.