Martial Cultivator

The young sword cultivator named Lu Chu failed to land a successful strike. The flying sword named Everlasting Light returned to his side, hovering beside him, with sword qi emanating continuously from the sword tip, dispersing the surrounding clouds.

Fairy Red returned to the sky, the look in her eyes complicated as she looked at Chen Chao. She had not expected this seemingly unremarkable martial artist to be so formidable, nearly killing her in such a short time. If it were not for Lu Chu's flying sword appearing in time, she might have died at this moment.

Looking at Lu Chu, Fairy Red gave a bow "Thank you for your assistance, Fellow Daoist."

Lu Chu acknowledged with a grunt, saying no more. He just turned his gaze towards Chen Chao. Instead of being in a rush to attack, he asked, "I heard you use a saber. Where is it?"

Chen Chao glanced at the young sword cultivator who had previously attacked him, feeling somewhat irritated. But he quickly suppressed his anger. "I don't need it to deal with you."

The moment this was said, Lu Chu's expression turned somewhat ugly. Despite not having the same resounding reputation in the foreign lands as figures like Yun Jianyue who was part of the Twin Pillars of Daoism, due to his identity as a sword cultivator and his status as a young genius on the Latent Dragon List, hardly anyone had ever shown such disdain towards him. Yet, the young martial artist before him who was what young cultivators like him looked down upon the most, who would have thought he would dare to belittle him in such a manner?

Suppressing his anger, Lu Chu was about to speak when Chen Chao spoke again, "I've heard that among you sword cultivators, there are different levels of proficiency. The lousiest sword cultivator only has one flying sword, and those with higher talent will nurture more flying swords. How many flying swords do you have?"

Lu Chu was taken aback, his expression even uglier. This was originally a misunderstanding by laymen. The talent of a sword cultivator had no direct correlation with the number of flying swords they nurtured. Yet, the young martial artist before him was asking him with an extremely serious look, making him extremely uncomfortable, as if he had eaten a dead rat.

Lu Chu stared at Chen Chao, his expression dark.

Only then, did Chen Chao seem to belatedly give an "oh" and say with some regret, "Turns out that you only have one flying sword."

……

……

Most of the court officials present did not quite understand Chen Chao's words, but only Song Lian was the first to catch on, smiling as he said, "This lad's full of mischief."

The Lord Warden Commander turned to look at Song Lian, raising an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

Seeing that it was the Lord Warden Commander asking, Song Lian explained, "This subordinate has dealt with this lad quite a bit. If he could defeat the other party, he wouldn't say any nonsense and would just attack. But with him being so talkative now, I reckon he somewhat dislikes that young sword cultivator."

The Lord Warden Commander pondered for a moment before asking, "What about his saber?"

Song Lian furrowed his brow, muttering, "No one's allowed to bring a saber to the grand court session without exception. This lad's saber should be with that girl."

The Lord Warden Commander raised an eyebrow slightly.

Song Lian added, "This kid probably trusts that girl the most. Don't look at how he's all smiles with others, but when it comes to truly important things, he won't hand them over to just anyone."

The Lord Warden Commander sighed. "It's the grand court session now, even if it's this official, I can't randomly leave either."

Both of them knew there was a difference between Chen Chao with a saber and Chen Chao without one.

Song Lian worried, "Do you think this kid might get killed?"

The Lord Warden Commander asked in return, "Do you think this kid looks like a short-lived fellow?"

Song Lian replied earnestly, "Not really..."

……

Lu Chu glanced at Chen Chao, his anger already raging inside him. But he suppressed it at this moment and said calmly, "Stop talking so much nonsense, come and fight."

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Chen Chao did not talk rubbish either and raised an eyebrow as he said, "Bring it on."

Lu Chu sneered coldly, no longer talking nonsense. With a thought, the flying sword by his side instantly shot towards Chen Chao.

Sword cultivators of the world, when facing enemies, most of them only controlled their flying swords. This was the simplest flying sword technique, and also the most commonly used method among sword cultivators. Furthermore, this method was not difficult at all. As long as the flying sword was powerful enough, controlling it to break through the opponent's defenses and take their head was not a problem.

It was no longer Chen Chao's first time facing a sword cultivator, but at this moment, he still found it troublesome. Whether was it the opponent's exceptionally sharp flying sword or the constantly scattered sword qi, it was a challenge for him. Especially now that he had no saber at his waist, he could only rely on his tough physique.

Facing that flying sword Everlasting Light that he had experienced a taste of, Chen Chao had a grim expression.

As expected, this flying sword originated from Sword Qi Mountain. Although it did not reach the level of the so-called Hundred Year Sword nor its companion sword. It could not be ranked among the sharpest swords in the world either. However, what made it remarkable was the mysterious connection between this flying sword and Lu Chu. When the cultivators from the Purple Cloud Grotto led Lu Chu up Sword Qi Mountain to select a sword from the Sword Pool, there was almost no obstruction. This flying sword soared from among countless swords and hovered by Lu Chu's side. At that time, the young Lu Chu was delighted to see this flying sword. Borrowing this natural connection, Lu Chu did not actually spend much time nurturing the flying sword. This allowed him more time to delve into other matters, such as studying powerful sword techniques and sword controlling methods.

After years of bitter cultivation, facing Chen Chao, who was considered a renowned martial artist in the world, Lu Chu remained extremely cautious, primarily focusing on probing.

The flying sword shot over, aiming straight for Chen Chao's head.

At this moment, Chen Chao seemed to be petrified. When the flying sword approached, there was not even a hint of intention to dodge.

Just this scene alone startled many court officials in the square, causing them to break out in a cold sweat.

But fortunately, at the next moment, just as the flying sword was about to pierce through Chen Chao's head, this young martial artist turned his head in that instant to avoid the flying sword, which did not possess Lu Chu's full strength.

The flying sword continued forward due to its inertia. Lu Chu's mind stirred slightly, and within a few feet, he forcibly redirected the flying sword, sending it back towards Chen Chao.

In fact, just this distance alone was enough to illustrate many things. For an ordinary sword cultivator at Lu Chu's cultivation realm, it would be almost impossible to make their flying sword change direction within such a short distance. From this, it can be seen how close the connection between Lu Chu and his flying sword truly was.

After dodging the first round of the flying sword's attack, Chen Chao did not immediately move towards Lu Chu. Instead, he stood in place, simply turning around to deal with the second round of attacks.

His choice also left most people puzzled. After all, it was widely known that martial artists had the toughest bodies, and when facing off against cultivators, it was best to get up close. However, he did not intend to close the distance with Lu Chu. This was something illogical to begin with.

Lu Chu was equally puzzled, but he did not think too much. He simply commanded the flying sword to continue its onslaught against Chen Chao.

However, after just a few strikes, the flying sword failed to pierce Chen Chao's heart with a single blow. Nevertheless, it shredded his official robe, leaving Chen Chao looking quite disheveled underneath. It was unclear whether his body underneath the robe was wounded, but no matter how you look at it, Chen Chao was currently in a very sorry state.

Lu Chu was rather smug as he looked at this scene. After frowning slightly, he recalled the flying sword Everlasting Light. Gripping the sword hilt, he swooped down, choosing to take the initiative to get close.

Chen Chao watched this scene unfold without feeling surprised. Lu Chu was extremely arrogant to begin with; a common trait among this kind of young cultivators. Moreover, as a sword cultivator, this arrogance was even more pronounced. The flying sword was simply a means for Lu Chu to probe Chen Chao. Seeing that he could not evade it, naturally, Lu Chu would want to engage in close combat, demonstrating that he was not solely reliant on his flying sword but rather on his true ability to defeat Chen Chao. Other than what Chen Chao was thinking, Lu Chu's decision to engage in close combat was also due to his own considerations. In the foreign cultivation world, it was rumored that martial artists have the toughest bodies in the world. He did not quite believe it. Now, he had the chance to test it, whether Chen Chao's body was tougher or was his flying sword sharper.

Seeing Lu Chu descending from above towards Chen Chao, Daoist Redsky furrowed his brows slightly. Engaging with a flying sword and maintaining distance was naturally the safest choice. However, his and Lu Chu's thoughts were quite similar - they did not believe that Chen Chao could win.

Lu Chu had already stepped into the Bitter Sea Realm before his seclusion, and exiting seclusion, he further elevated his realm to the peak of Bitter Sea. Such disciples were rare in the Purple Cloud Grotto, let alone the fact that Lu Chu before them was a genuine sword cultivator.

A sword cultivator at the peak of the Bitter Sea Realm was capable of battling those in the Great Beyond Realm!

While Daoist Redsky's thoughts were wandering, Lu Chu had already approached Chen Chao's side with his sword raised. Without wasting any words, Lu Chu thrust his sword forward, and a sword light surged out instantly, heading straight for Chen Chao's head.

This sword aimed to chop off Chen Chao's head.

However, as the sword light that was visible to the naked eye flashed like a white light being drawn out, Chen Chao's entire body fell backward almost parallel to the ground of the square. At the same time, he kicked out, causing Lu Chu's expression to change slightly as he stopped his sword to block Chen Chao's powerful kick.

As the sword light passed, Chen Chao borrowed the residual force from his kick to suddenly stand upright again. Before Lu Chu could strike again, Chen Chao had already swung a punch at him fiercely.

The surging qi accompanying the fist caused the robes of both individuals to flutter in the air.

Just as Lu Chu was about to evade, Chen Chao's fist had already arrived in front of him. Forced into a corner, Lu Chu had no choice but to swiftly thrust out his sword at that moment. However, this sword move that lacked sufficient preparation, ultimately fell short. Was it due to insufficient sword qi, the collision of the surging qi and sword qi, or did the qi prevail, causing the sword qi to collapse upon contact like a burst dam.

Following that, Chen Chao's fist still landed on Lu Chu's forehead, causing him to stagger and almost collapse.

At this moment, Lu Chu was even more shocked in his heart, not only regretting why he chose to close the distance voluntarily but also stunned by the power of Chen Chao's punch. Although he had not been truly injured, he felt somewhat dizzy now.

But before he could react, Chen Chao's second fist quickly arrived.

In those the years of hunting demons in Tianqing County, there were times when Chen Chao did not have a saber in hand. Moreover, hand-to-hand combat was actually the survival skill of most martial artists.

Remembering the words of the predecessors, martial artists did not refine magic artifacts or cultivate magic spells, relying solely on one's own body was enough to gain a foothold in this world!

Chen Chao did not think about whether this statement made sense or not. At this moment, he only lacked a saber. If he had one in his hand, he would probably be thinking about how to chop off the opponent's head.