Yaochi Holy Land, Outer Sect.
“Let us congratulate the champion of this year’s tournament, Zuo Taide!”
As the elder announced the results, the male disciples below the stage erupted into cheers.
In the Yaochi Holy Land, where women were strong and men comparatively weaker, the outer sect tournaments in the past had always been won by female disciples.
Yet this time, the one who fought his way into the finals and claimed ultimate victory was actually a male disciple!
However, no one doubted his strength, for all had witnessed it with their own eyes.
Zuo Taide, at the early stage of Fourth Rank, had defeated many talented outer sect disciples.
Just when he thought he had already secured victory, an elder suddenly informed him that if he defeated one more opponent, he would have a chance to obtain a bottle of Clear Mind Pills!
The moment he heard that, his heart stirred. The original prize for this tournament was the Solid Yuan Pill, already considered a high-grade medicinal pill, and he had it in hand. If he could obtain an even higher-tier Clear Mind Pill on top of that, it would be an absolute windfall!
Amid the crowd’s cheers, Zuo Taide followed the elder toward a section of the back mountain.
Upon arriving, he saw that two figures were already there. A girl in red and a delicate-looking young man.
“Hey! Just what kind of bewitching nonsense did you feed my mother? How could she favor you so much?!”
The moment they stepped out of the spatial rift, Zi Yuejun demanded bluntly, without the slightest courtesy.
“Aunt Zi’s cultivation is far higher than mine. How could I possibly have the ability to feed her any nonsense?”
Chu Feng looked at the red-clad girl before him. Her attitude toward him was downright hostile. If she were any smaller, the nickname “little brat” would suit her perfectly.
“Hmph! Then you must have used sweet words to deceive my mother! I’m telling you, one day I’ll expose your true face as a pervert in front of her! And I’ll tell her all about your shady relationship with Sister Xueyao and Aunt Liu, so she’ll drive you out of Yaochi Holy Land!”
Seeing the Sister Xueyao she had admired for so long being especially close to this little pervert made Zi Yuejun grind her back teeth in fury.
“Tattling to your parent? Are you a child?”
“What did you say?!”
At Chu Feng’s words, Zi Yuejun bristled like an enraged cat. She hated it most when people called her a child.
Chu Feng was startled by her reaction.
“Why are you yelling so loud?”
You almost made me drop the little dried fish in my hand.
Zi Yuejun glared at Chu Feng in blazing anger, yet there was nothing she could do to him. Her mother was clearly siding with him now. Furious, she stomped her feet, venting her frustration on the hard ground as if it were Chu Feng himself.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Chu Feng stared at the deep pit she had crushed into the ground with her foot….it was nearly twenty centimeters deep in the solid surface. This was the special flooring used for tournaments.
Good heavens, her physical strength was terrifying!
If it were him, without using true qi, he wouldn’t be able to leave such a deep mark.
Sure enough, every single woman around him was someone he couldn’t afford to provoke.
At that point, Chu Feng decided not to provoke Zi Yuejun any further. Her rage meter was practically full, and her physical strength was far too terrifying.
If she really started pounding his chest with those “little fists”, he definitely wouldn’t survive it.
Before long, a middle-aged man appeared in Chu Feng’s field of vision, leading a young man with him.
The middle-aged man seemed to say a few words to the young man, after which the young man walked toward him.
Seeing him approach, Chu Feng cupped his hands in greeting. “A pleasure, a pleasure. I am Zhang San. And you are?”
Zuo Taide was momentarily stunned by the boy’s courtesy, then quickly returned the gesture. “Zuo Taide.”
Zuo Taide?
Hearing the name, Chu Feng raised a brow.
“Forgive my bluntness, but does your family happen to have anyone surnamed You?”
Puzzled by the boy’s inexplicable question, Zuo Taide shook his head. “No. Everyone in my family bears the surname Zuo.”
Chu Feng inhaled sharply.
He wanted to say that the name was wrong…no, more precisely, the surname was wrong. It should be You Taide. That would be more historically accurate.
So this must be the sparring partner Aunt Zi arranged for him.
“Then, Senior Brother, please instruct me!”
“Junior Brother, please!”
***
Chu Feng and Zuo Taide both stood with swords in hand.
Chu Feng hadn’t expected that he, too, was a sword cultivator.
Zuo Taide observed the young man before him. Though he was only at the Second Rank, the sword intent emanating from him made Zuo Taide’s heart tremble. Aside from Brother Li, this was the second time he had encountered a Second Rank cultivator with such terrifying sword intent.
Fourth Rank, huh…
Chu Feng tightened his grip on Little Bai. Though he could barely be considered Third Rank now, he had yet to truly break through that final barrier. In this battle, he would likely have to give it his all.
Without any hesitation, Chu Feng slashed out a stream of sword qi.
However, Zuo Taide did not respond with a sword strike of his own. Instead, his sleeve billowed, and a dark shadow shot forth, shattering the incoming sword qi.
Chu Feng’s eyelid twitched. He had assumed the opponent was a sword cultivator. But after this probing exchange, it seemed he was not a pure sword cultivator after all.
The probing was over. It was time to get serious.
A flash of sword light gleamed along Little Bai’s blade, and nine streams of sword qi burst forth, as if tearing through space itself.
Facing the nine incoming sword qi, Zuo Taide immediately retreated, channeling true qi to control his flying sword while his hands rapidly formed seals.
Buzz!
The sword trembled violently as Zuo Taide shouted,
“Go!”
Sword qi clashed against the flying sword.
Boom!
In an instant, sword energy ran rampant, violent currents carving deep gashes across the ground.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, a sword was knocked away and stabbed straight into the ground. It was Zuo Taide’s flying sword.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Of the nine sword qi, four remained, streaking toward Zuo Taide with fierce sword intent.
In the face of Chu Feng’s remaining sword qi, Zuo Taide produced a black banner. As he waved it, four black serpents lunged out to meet the attack.
In the end, Chu Feng’s sword qi and the black serpents annihilated each other.
However, the color of the black banner in Zuo Taide’s hand had faded slightly.
Chu Feng took a step forward, sword intent swirling around him. In an instant, a full hundred strands of sword qi appeared behind him, spreading across the sky and radiating a chilling sharpness. Under the light, the crystal-clear sword qi shimmered brilliantly.
Zuo Taide’s expression changed drastically. A full hundred strands of sword qi, each one carrying the same sword intent as the previous nine. Without a second thought, he immediately retreated.
Chu Feng stepped forward again. The hundred strands of sword qi moved with him. With a single slash, the overwhelming sword qi surged toward Zuo Taide.
The hundred strands of sword qi transformed into a flowing torrent of sword energy, endless and unbroken. One glance at it was enough to leave anyone shaken.
Watching from the side, Zi Yuejun’s small mouth fell open in shock at the sight of Chu Feng’s sword qi torrent. Th-This is still a human?! With only second-rank cultivation, he actually possesses such terrifying sword intent!
The middle-aged man’s pupils trembled in astonishment as well. With such sword intent, not to mention fourth-rank cultivation, even among fifth-rank cultivators, it would be exceedingly rare.
No wonder this person didn’t need to participate in the tournament and could directly challenge the champion. With such strength, going through the tournament process would merely be a waste of time.
Facing such horrifying sword intent, Zuo Taide immediately summoned his life-bound magical treasure. It was a golden great cauldron. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, simultaneously activating the black banner and the golden cauldron.
In an instant, a massive black-gold cauldron enveloped Zuo Taide.
Boom!
The sword qi swallowed the black-gold cauldron whole.
“Did he win?!”
A glimmer flashed in Zi Yuejun’s eyes.
“Hehe, Miss Yuejun, no matter what, Zuo Taide is the tournament champion. He won’t be defeated so easily.”
The middle-aged man said. Though the hundred strands of sword qi were terrifying, one must not underestimate the true worth of a tournament champion.
Chu Feng’s gaze remained fixed on the black-gold cauldron within the torrent of sword qi.
No matter how the sword qi battered it, it stood firm and unmoving.
As the hundred strands of sword qi were gradually exhausted, the black-gold cauldron remained completely intact.
The black-gold cauldron slowly shrank and returned to Zuo Taide’s hand. Looking at Chu Feng, he asked, “Junior Brother Zhang San, your sword intent is so pure and sharp. You shouldn’t be an unknown figure. Why have I never heard of your name in the outer sect?”
Because I’m not from your Yaochi Holy Land at all.
Chu Feng silently complained inwardly. Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud, so he casually made up a reason. “People fear fame as pigs fear fattening. While making a name for oneself is certainly admirable, trouble follows close behind. It’s not conducive to quiet cultivation, so I’ve always kept to myself and focused on training.”
Hearing Chu Feng’s words, Zuo Taide frowned in thought. At that moment, a long-standing confusion in his heart was finally resolved. Why had his cultivation progressed so slowly ever since he stepped into the fourth rank?
So that’s it, so that’s it. Ever since he broke through to the fourth rank and became the highest-cultivated male outer sect disciple of his generation in a hundred years, visitors had streamed endlessly to his cave dwelling.
Unknowingly, his cultivation time had diminished. There were social obligations, not just flattery from fellow disciples, but also summons from elders and frequent requests for him to give speeches and share his cultivation insights.
Zuo Taide suddenly felt a weight lift from his entire body. He cupped his hands toward Chu Feng in gratitude. “I see now! I understand! Many thanks to Junior Brother Zhang San for clearing my confusion. Your words have parted the clouds and revealed the sun. Junior Brother Zhang San, next, I will go all out!”
“???”
Chu Feng stared blankly. Wait….why do you look so enlightened? I just said that casually. What exactly did you understand?!
Even many years later, this incident remained one of the great unsolved mysteries in Chu Feng’s heart.
Pfft!
The black-gold cauldron transformed into a giant serpent. Its body suddenly expanded before turning into a streak of light that shot straight toward Chu Feng at a speed impossible to catch with the naked eye.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Chu Feng became entangled in battle with the black-gold serpent. Sword qi struck its body with clanging sounds, yet it was completely ineffective.
He even picked up Little Bai, but when he slashed at the serpent, it only produced a shower of sparks.
What a tough body!
Chu Feng’s tiger’s mouth went numb, and he immediately pulled back to widen the distance.
Just as he was at a loss, a faint five-colored glow suddenly surged from within his body, eventually gathering at his eyes.
In that instant, he saw it! He saw the flow of true qi circulating through the black-gold serpent’s meridians.
And the origin of all those true qi meridians lay within the serpent’s body.
Chu Feng took a deep breath, focusing all his attention and locking onto that single point.
In a flash, the surrounding scenery vanished. In his eyes, there was only that one point.
Buzz——
The Nine-Pattern Dao Foundation within Chu Feng was instantly activated. Sword qi infused with two merged sword intents surged forth, enveloping Little Bai’s blade.
“Break for me!”
Sword radiance burst forth!
Within the sword qi flickered a trace of five-colored light, unstoppable and indestructible—
“Roar!”
The black-gold serpent lunged toward the incoming sword qi. The serpent that had seemed invincible just moments before was now forcibly cleaved into two by the strike.
Bang!
The origin point of the true qi meridians shattered, and the black-gold serpent’s body dissipated with the wind.
Chu Feng stood with his sword in hand, the resplendent might of his sword qi lingering around him without dispersing. At this moment, he looked like a young Sword Immortal descended to the mortal world.
“Pfft!”
Zuo Taide spat out a mouthful of blood. His life-bound magical treasure had been damaged, and he was injured as well.
“What?!”
The middle-aged man stared in utter disbelief. One had to know….Zuo Taide’s fused strike was formidable enough to stand against even a middle-stage fourth-rank cultivator without falling behind!
After watching the entire battle, Zi Yuejun was shaken to her core. As she gazed at Chu Feng, who resembled a youthful Sword Immortal, a different light flickered in her eyes. She bit her lip lightly. “That little pervert… he’s actually this strong…”
Seeing the other party spit out blood, his face pale as if he had smeared on over a dozen layers of powder, Chu Feng immediately asked, “Senior Brother, are you alright?!”
Zuo Taide wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and swallowed a healing pill. His expression was complicated as he looked at Chu Feng. After a moment, he slowly said, “I’m fine. I just need some time to recover. Junior Brother Zhang San, I concede defeat. The Clear Mind Pill is yours.”
“Today, I must thank you, Senior Brother.”
Chu Feng cupped his fists in respect. If not for this battle, he would never have realized that the five-colored light possessed such heaven-defying ability. He had thought that helping him fuse two sword intents was already incredible enough.
Zuo Taide waved his hand, then seemed to recall something and asked, “Junior Brother Zhang San, may I ask….do you happen to know Li Jiuyue?”
“Li Jiuyue? Who’s that?”
Chu Feng had never heard the name before.
Zuo Taide explained, “I noticed that your sword qi seems to contain two sword intents. And Li Jiuyue…he also wields two sword intents.”
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