Chapter 124 - 122: Blades Have No Eyes
After Qi Yuanming’s death, Cui Wenzhong had also wanted to secure the position of Kaiping Prefecture’s Inspector for one of his old subordinates.
But with Liu Suifeng in the picture, he lost out to Chen Yuan, and that old subordinate was Dai Bin’s older brother.
Chen Yuan had snatched his older brother’s Inspector position, and he had long been resentful about it.
Although rumors in the outside world spoke of how incredibly strong this Chen Tian was, as a fellow prodigy of Zhenwu Hall’s younger generation, Dai Bin was unconvinced.
’Since the Grand Commandant just said we could go all out as long as no lives were threatened, I’ll test this Chen Tian’s mettle for myself!’
An incredibly solid Sword Aura appeared on the Nine-Ringed Saber in Dai Bin’s hand, and the immense True Qi around his body erupted like a roaring tsunami.
With a thunderous roar, Dai Bin slashed down. In an instant, a Sword Aura shot across the sky. The slash seemed capable of splitting mountains and cracking the earth, its might immeasurably vast.
Cui Wenzhong’s nickname was ’Celestial Blade, Mountain-Crushing Saber’. His signature technique, the Mountain-Crushing Saber, was renowned for its imposing presence. Dai Bin’s cultivation of it had already captured thirty percent of its essence.
Seeing Dai Bin make his move, Wei Yuanlong, the Hall Master of the Black Tortoise Hall, raised an eyebrow. "Dai Bin’s skill in Saber Techniques is quite good. It seems you’ve put a lot of effort into this disciple of yours."
"He’s passable."
A smug smile touched the corners of Cui Wenzhong’s mouth as he said in a low voice, "Dai Bin’s main disadvantage is that he was already a bit old when he started cultivating the Martial Dao, so his foundation isn’t as solid as it could be."
If he had started on the path of the Martial Dao earlier, Chen Tian wouldn’t have been the one to represent our Zhenwu Hall on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
I heard Military Advisor Liu even gave him the courtesy name ’Jiutian,’ and Lady Yun personally sent his combat record to the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower.
Which disciple of our Zhenwu Hall’s younger generation has ever received such an honor? All the good things have fallen into the lap of a newcomer with no seniority. It’s simply not fair."
Wei Yuanlong gently shook his head and transmitted his voice softly, "The people under you and me will never be part of the Direct Lineage. Although Chen Tian is under that old coot Feng Wushang, both Military Advisor Liu and Lady Yun hold him in high regard. *He’s* the real Direct Lineage of Zhenwu Hall."
Wei Yuanlong had secretly pledged allegiance to the Court long ago. For him, discord and disloyalty within Zhenwu Hall were beneficial, so he naturally stoked the flames of conflict whenever he could.
Back in the arena, Dai Bin’s Mountain-Crushing Saber descended with boundless might, reaching Chen Yuan in the blink of an eye.
Chen Yuan, however, showed no reaction at all. Just as Dai Bin’s saber was about to strike, he suddenly formed a Seal Technique, and a radiant Buddha Light flared around him.
A Brahma Sound boomed, and visible golden ripples spread outward like a thunderclap to the ears, directly blasting away Dai Bin’s terrifying slash!
*The Six Paths of Vajra Mantra of Master Padmasambhava!*
As the Brahma Sound reverberated, Dai Bin’s mind went "BUZZ" and instantly turned blank.
The next moment, boundless crimson light condensed on the Celestial Blade in Chen Yuan’s hand.
Blood Qi clung to the blade’s body, its sharp edge piercing through the air. The downward slash was like a surging river of blood, and killing intent erupted from it.
Jolted awake by the utterly astonishing killing intent from the Blood Refining Divine Saber, Dai Bin suddenly came to his senses, a chill shooting through his heart.
’I can’t block it!’
The power and might of this slash had even reached the Level of the Condensing Truth Realm.
Dai Bin didn’t understand. Chen Tian was younger than him; even if he had started cultivating in his mother’s womb, he couldn’t have possibly accumulated such a terrifying foundation of power.
With another thunderous roar, Dai Bin’s Qi Blood burned fiercely. He gathered his strength and abruptly reversed the motion of his Nine-Ringed Saber, shifting from a downward chop to a horizontal block in front of him.
The Blood Refining Divine Saber’s might was unparalleled, and its Heavenly Edge Power could shatter the sharpest of blades.
Under this single slash, Dai Bin’s Profound Soldier-grade Nine-Ringed Saber was instantly cut in two. He himself was sent flying by Chen Yuan’s attack, a ghastly, bloody gash appearing on his chest as he fell to the ground, vomiting mouthfuls of blood.
In an instant, the entire arena fell silent.
Chen Yuan had struck too quickly. He had severely wounded Dai Bin with the power of a single slash, so fast that even an expert of Chao Hongtu’s Level couldn’t have stopped it.
It was normal for there to be winners and losers among the younger generation of Zhenwu Hall.
But Chen Yuan’s strength was just too overwhelming. Dai Bin couldn’t even last a single exchange against him!
Chao Hongtu hadn’t paid much mind to the spars between the younger generation, but seeing this slash from Chen Yuan, he too was somewhat surprised.
The Blood Refining Divine Saber was a Secret Technique from the original Blood Spirit Scripture. It hadn’t appeared in the Jianghu for several hundred years, and even within the Blood God Sect, only a select few knew of it.
Although Chao Hongtu didn’t recognize the Blood Refining Divine Saber, he could tell from that one slash just how profound Chen Yuan’s foundation of power was.
To have such a deep foundation of strength at his age... no wonder Yun Zhaolan and Liu Suifeng had promoted him for the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
At this moment, Cui Wenzhong’s figure flashed, and he immediately appeared before Dai Bin to check on him.
A deep gash had been cut into Dai Bin’s chest, shattering his bones, severely injuring his Inner Viscera, and damaging his Meridians.
A person injured to this extent was basically crippled. Even if he could be saved, his strength would be severely diminished.
"How dare you!"
Cui Wenzhong glared at Chen Yuan and snapped, "We are all colleagues from Zhenwu Hall, yet you struck such a vicious blow! Your nature is truly malicious!"
Chen Yuan put on an innocent expression. "Just now, Dai Bin asked the Grand Commandant. The Grand Commandant said we could go all out and not worry about being punished for accidental injuries."
"Besides, Dai Bin also said that blades have no eyes. Are you saying that only *his* blade is allowed to have no eyes, while mine must grow a pair so as not to injure him?"
Feng Wushang also sneered at this moment. "Cui Wenzhong, everyone is watching. Can it be that you can’t afford to lose?"
Chen Yuan was one of his White Tiger Hall’s men. At this moment, he naturally had to speak up for him.
Besides, before Chen Yuan arrived, his White Tiger Hall had no outstanding young talents to speak of, and they had often been ridiculed by Cui Wenzhong and the others.
Now that Chen Yuan had severely wounded Dai Bin with a single slash, Feng Wushang finally felt vindicated. Naturally, he had to return the taunts in kind.
"You..."
Just as Cui Wenzhong was about to shout a curse, Chao Hongtu coughed and said, "Alright, the rules were agreed upon beforehand. Let’s not get tangled up in this."
"Quickly take Dai Bin for treatment, lest the delay worsens his injuries."
With Chao Hongtu having spoken, Cui Wenzhong could no longer press the issue. He could only seethe with resentment as he took Dai Bin away for treatment.
The next match was Jiang Xibai against Shen Xinmei, a disciple of Ling Baiyan from the Vermilion Bird Hall.
This time, Chao Hongtu focused his Spiritual Power on the Martial Arts Arena, ready to intervene immediately should any accidents occur.
Unexpectedly, however, the result of this battle was the same as the one between Chen Yuan and Dai Bin—a complete rout.
Shen Xinmei had only recently broken through to the Sea of Reincarnation Realm and had very little experience in Battle Array combat.
Jiang Xibai, on the other hand, was at the Sea of Reincarnation Realm Late Stage. He was also Xie Wenyan’s adopted son and had been trained by Yun Zhaolan from a young age in Xie Wenyan’s mold, making him a textbook Fierce Battle General.
Once in the arena, Jiang Xibai shattered the Long Sword in Shen Xinmei’s hand with a single spear thrust. If Shen Xinmei hadn’t promptly shouted her surrender, she would have easily been stabbed through by Jiang Xibai.
Although Jiang Xibai had a handsome and effeminate appearance, his attacks were utterly brutal. He had no concept of showing mercy to a fair lady.
After two matches, the mood among the crowd grew somewhat strange.
Since when had the gap among Zhenwu Hall’s younger generation become so vast?
Of course, it wasn’t that Dai Bin and Shen Xinmei were weak, but that Chen Yuan and Jiang Xibai were strong.
The third match was between Lin Poyan of the Black Tortoise Hall and Captain Qiu Sheng of the Celestial Martial Guard.
Of the Zhenwu Hall’s three guards, the Celestial Martial Guard protects the Main Hall and doesn’t patrol outside like the Po Jun Guard, so this Captain Qiu Sheng was not well-known.
Lin Poyan, on the other hand, was Wei Yuanlong’s adopted son and was famous throughout Zhenwu Hall for his Horizontal Training Techniques, so quite a few people knew him.
The outcome of this battle was also unexpected.
Qiu Sheng wielded two crescent-moon-like Short Blades. The Cultivation Technique he practiced leaned toward the Yin Ghost Evil Dao, and his attacks were ruthless and incredibly fast.
Although Lin Poyan’s Horizontal Training Techniques were astounding, he was forced into a passive, defensive position, unable to even fight back.
In less than half an incense stick’s time, Qiu Sheng broke through Lin Poyan’s Hard Skill, stabbed two holes in his body, and forced him to surrender.
In a life-or-death battle, Qiu Sheng would have aimed for the Dantian and Qi Sea, capable of crippling Lin Poyan with a single strike.
The results of three consecutive matches had all been highly unexpected.
The expressions of Cui Wenzhong and the other two Hall Masters turned ugly.
The fighters from the Four Martial Halls of Zhenwu had lost three times in a row. Although Chen Yuan was still in the running, he wasn’t, strictly speaking, a Martial Artist who had come up through the Four Martial Halls; he was considered an outsider.
Looking at it this way, the Four Martial Halls of Zhenwu seemed utterly inept when it came to nurturing their younger disciples.
The remaining three drew lots again. One would get a bye, and the other two would face each other.
Qiu Sheng got lucky and drew the bye, so the next match was Jiang Xibai versus Chen Yuan.
But Jiang Xibai said directly, "I concede. I have witnessed Brother Chen’s strength. I am not his match."
In truth, Jiang Xibai very much wanted to spar with Chen Yuan.
But at a time like this, fighting him would inevitably drain Chen Yuan’s True Qi and stamina.
It was better to let Chen Yuan remain in peak condition to face Qiu Sheng.
Chao Hongtu nodded and, with a wave of his hand, had Qiu Sheng and Chen Yuan enter the Martial Arts Arena for the final showdown.
Chen Yuan sized up Qiu Sheng. The man had plain features and wore the Armor of the Celestial Martial Guard. He was the type you wouldn’t notice in a crowd, much like Cui Guan.
However, Cui Guan came from the Shadow Guard and possessed a restrained killing intent.
As for this Qiu Sheng, Chen Yuan wasn’t sure if it was because of his Cultivation Technique or some other reason, but he could sense an extremely sinister power from him.
When he fought Lin Poyan earlier, he likely hadn’t used his full strength.
After stepping into the Martial Arts Arena, Qiu Sheng cupped his fists at Chen Yuan and revealed a gentle smile.
"Brother Chen’s strength is astonishing. Let’s keep this a friendly exchange."
Chen Yuan also smiled. "Alright."
The moment the words left his mouth, a layer of black energy abruptly enveloped Qiu Sheng. With the shriek of a yin ghost, his entire body transformed into a streak of black light, shooting straight for Chen Yuan.
A black glint shone from his twin Short Blades, carrying an extremely cold and sharp edge.
Chen Yuan, in turn, directly unleashed the Blood Refining Divine Saber. In an instant, it was as if a river of blood was surging forth. The Sword Aura was a brilliant and magnificent ribbon of light, yet it pulsed with infinite killing intent.
The two of them had spoken of a friendly exchange, but their attacks were ferocious and brutal, holding nothing back.