Martial Cultivator

As a legitimate cultivator from the mountains and a sword cultivator too, Lu Chu had never had the chance to have a life-and-death battle with a pure martial artist. Even when challenged by seniors of the sect normally, it was mostly just a simple spar. A situation like this was something he had never encountered before.

Chen Chao came aggressively, and in the time it took for sparks to fly off a piece of flint, the opportunity to draw his sword was upon him. Just as the chance was about to dissipate, he suddenly released his flying sword from his hand. In an instant, it transformed into several flying swords, all shooting toward Chen Chao simultaneously. The sword qi instantly erupted and an overflowing sword intent emerged at that moment.

Initially, Chen Chao had not expected Lu Chu to find an opportunity to draw his sword at this moment. However, since the opponent had already done so, he could only temporarily slow his attacks. But in the next moment, he smashed his fist onto those illusions of flying swords. With a tremendous surge of qi, countless sword qi were shattered by Chen Chao, dispersing in all directions. At the same time, the real flying sword had already arrived in front of his glabella.

Lu Chu narrowed his eyes slightly and seized this opportunity to retreat several yards without hesitation.

The flying sword was widely acknowledged as the most powerful offensive magic artifact among cultivators; a consensus among the people.

In battles of the same cultivation realm, faced with a formidable flying sword, most cultivators still opted not to confront it head-on.

But at this moment, there was no escape!

The qi within Chen Chao's body instantly erupted as he made a decision that baffled everyone.

He threw a punch, not dodging or avoiding, but actually aiming right for the tip of that flying sword.

This scene left many people dumbfounded.

Using flesh and blood body to resist the flying sword of a sword cultivator? Was there really such a cultivator in this world?

Daoist Redsky sneered coldly, feeling that the young martial artist before him was indeed a bit too conceited.

One had to know, even when placed in the foreign cultivation world, Lu Chu's Sword Dao realm was considered one of the best of his generation. Trying to block this sword with your body was no different from a fool's errand!

As the fist collided with the flying sword, two turbulent energies, each representing their respective cultivation, collided abruptly. A muffled sound suddenly resonated through heaven and earth at that moment. Initially, Lu Chu was full of confidence, believing that his sword would surely make the young martial artist, who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth, suffer greatly. However, the following scene surprised Lu Chu greatly.

At this moment, the sharp flying sword that came from the Sword Qi Mountain, had its tip against Chen Chao's fist. Although it pierced Chen Chao's skin, it did not penetrate his fist like he had anticipated. Instead, it seemed to have encountered something extremely hard. The flying sword could not advance any further.

Lu Chu's expression changed slightly, unwilling to believe such a sight. His mind stirred again and the flying sword continued to press forward. However, after a moment, the flying sword that had always been successful began to bend slightly. Soon, it bent like a large bow!

If this continued, Lu Chu even began to fear that his flying sword, which had accompanied him for many years, would break.

After a moment, Lu Chu who had been lost in his thoughts, was shocked. It was because in the next moment, a majestic surge of qi actually knocked his flying sword away.

The flying sword hummed, and Lu Chu was already somewhat dazed.

In fact, not only him, even Daoist Redsky was also somewhat shocked at this moment.

Could the martial artists of the Great Liang Dynasty really be so different from the legends?

Their cultivation sects on the mountains occasionally had martial artists too, but these martial artists were at the bottom of the mountain regardless of cultivation realm and status. No one would regard them highly. Over time, they even began to believe that the martial artists in the world were no different from the ones they were familiar with. However, recent events had been telling them a different fact, which was that the martial artists within their sects and those of the Great Liang Dynasty were indeed two different matters.

After knocking back the flying sword with a punch, Chen Chao's figure did not stop, continuing to advance. He gradually closed in on Lu Chu who was still in a daze.

"Are you waking up now or waiting for next year?!"

Daoist Redsky suddenly spoke up, a powerful voice echoing across the square.

Lu Chu suddenly snapped out of his daze and rushed forward to confront Chen Chao, hastily recalling his flying sword and launching another attack at Chen Chao.

Song Lian cursed under his breath, "This old guy really has no shame!"

On the other hand, the Lord Warden Commander remained much calmer, looking at Chen Chao with nothing but admiration in his eyes, thinking to himself: Truly deserving of being a youngster of my warden faction!

The Lord Warden Commander also laughed at this moment and said, "It seems the young man you've chosen is much more outstanding than the ones this old man picked."

Looking at Chen Chao, the Lord Warden Commander also smiled, "Great General, please don't say that. If those youngsters from the Northern Frontier hear about it, this official is afraid they might come looking for trouble with this young man."

The Great General saw through the Lord Warden Commander's little trick with one glance, and said with a smile, "You're just hoping they'll come and compete with this kid, to see whether your warden faction has better foresight, or if this old man's eyesight is better?"

The Lord Warden Commander waved his hand, looking serious, "What are you saying, Great General? Is there still any distinction between you all and us now?"

Hearing this, the Great General also sighed. Actually, he also wished he could directly nurture a Great General from the Northern Frontier Army. But there simply was not enough time. The youths he had previously pinned his hopes on had disappointed him in recent years with their growth. While the younger ones showed some promise, with a few potential talents, he himself was too old, and time too short. He ultimately could not live to see them grow up.

The Lord Warden Commander seemed to know what the Great General was thinking and said softly, "Great General, rest assured, when this official goes to the Northern Frontier, I'll also pay close attention to those youths."

Actually, the warden faction and the military of the Great Liang Dynasty had been quietly competing for years. It was just that this competition did not involve too much conflict, which the Great Liang Emperor could accept. Hence, nobody stopped them over the years. This kind of healthy competition had always been beneficial for the Great Liang Dynasty. However, with no successor to the Northern Frontier Great General, in this struggle, the army was practically openly losing to the warden faction. However, with the Lord Warden Commander's words now, the Great General was somewhat relieved. In a few years, when some brat from the Northern Frontier grew up, this competition between the warden faction and the military could continue.

The Great General solemnly said, "In that case, I have to thank you."

Given his age and prestige in the Great Liang Dynasty, there was actually no one who could make him say the word "thank you" anymore.

The Lord Warden Commander also nodded slightly. He could bear this word of thanks.

……

……

As Liu Chu's flying sword soared forth once more, it was evident that he was truly angered. The sword's fierce onslaught was much stronger than before. Chen Chao narrowly avoided the flying sword that grazed past his cheek, plunging into the jadestone of the square behind him due to inertia. Before Chen Chao could react, the flying sword instantly rose from the ground and attacked Chen Chao again.

Having engaged in close combat initially, regardless of whether it would be embarrassing or not, Lu Chu chose to distance himself, refusing to let Chen Chao get close to him.

Thus was undoubtedly the most prudent strategy.

Dodging the flying sword, Chen Chao mocked, "Is this how you call yourself a genius? Some amazing sword cultivator?"

In a life and death struggle, Chen Chao understood one thing: weakening the opponent in every possible way was the foundation of victory.

Liu Chu was incredibly arrogant, something that Chen Chao had long discovered. Now, if he could just cloud his judgment with anger, it would greatly benefit him.

However, before Chen Chao could press further, Daoist Redsky's voice echoed once more, "Pay it no mind, focus on dealing with the enemy!"

Hearing this, Chen Chao cursed inwardly. He then lifted his head to look at Daoist Redsky and said something flatly, "What a daoist master."

Daoist Redsky remained expressionless, but his eyes were filled with killing intent.

With Daoist Redsky's reminder, Liu Chu indeed calmed himself and focused on controlling his flying sword, no longer acting rashly.

Chen Chao found himself tied down by the flying sword. He failed to evade it several times, resulting in superficial wounds inflicted by the sword on his body.

Blood slowly oozed out, but the sensation of pain did not cloud Chen Chao's mind; instead, it made him even more calm.

However, continuing like this was not advantageous for Chen Chao.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and in the next moment, he seized the opportunity, smashing his fish against the flying sword that swooped over. The flying sword trembled slightly, prompting Liu Chu to immediately recall it.

Right at that moment, Chen Chao stomped heavily on the ground beneath his feet.

A tremendous surge of qi erupted, directly shattering the large expanse of the square paved with jade stones.

This imperial city had hardly ever experienced such destruction. Even Li Heng furrowed his brows slightly, puzzled by why Chen Chao was now taking the initiative to do something like this.

However, when he turned his head to look at the Emperor, who had been silent all along, he froze for a moment. That Emperor who had always been inscrutable, actually had a hint of undisguised appreciation in his eyes.

One had to know, even when the Emperor looked at his own children, those few princes, he had never shown such a look.

Even when the princes were born, the Emperor had only glanced from afar and never displayed any emotions of joy.

His emotions, apart from the occasional display of affection when he was by the Empress' side, were never anything special when facing the world.

As the square cracked, the plaza crafted by countless skilled artisans began to shake uncontrollably.

Liu Chu suddenly became alert. Looking at Chen Chao, he subconsciously sent out the flying sword that he had just recalled. However, in that instant, Chen Chao's fist, filled with boundless qi, smashed heavily onto the ground!

There was a loud bang!

The surface of the ground instantly cracked, causing countless half-person-sized jade stones to be launched into the air by the force of this punch.

Without any hesitation, Chen Chao kicked the nearest piece of jade stone heavily!

Under the impact, the jade stone flew directly towards Liu Chu.

Liu Chu was taken aback but did not hesitate either. With a swift sword strike, a sword scar appeared on the jade stone, which instantly split into two halves.

The cut was extremely smooth, and just as he was about to relax, countless more jade stones appeared before his eyes, being kicked over by Chen Chao, one after another!

Right now, the sky was full of flying stones!