Martial Cultivator

Listening to the bold words of the young martial artist before him, Daoist Sage Tianyi did not take him seriously or pay much attention. He simply smiled and said, "Young man, arrogance comes with a price."

Chen Chao and Daoist Sage Tianyi were separated by one cultivation realm. Fighting without his saber now was naturally not a rational decision, but Chen Chao did not care. He just walked towards Daoist Sage Tianyi and said calmly, "I don't quite like the idea of cutting you down with just one slash."

Daoist Sage Tianyi paid no mind, standing under the eaves, feeling the surging blood vitality of the young martial artist in front of him. He stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he said, "Then let me see if you really have the ability. Besides, I also want to see how you all, these so-called martial artists, have the most unrivaled physiques in this world."

After saying this, Daoist Sage Tianyi walked out from under the eaves into the pouring rain. Unlike Chen Chao who let the rain beat down on him, this Clearwater Mountain Lord kept all the raindrops at bay about ten feet in front of him, not letting a single drop land on his body.

His purple robe fluttered as he looked indifferently at the young martial artist before him, saying, "When I was your age, I was just as arrogant as you. But soon enough, I realized that in this world, there's always someone stronger, always someone better. Arrogance will ultimately come at a price."

Chen Chao lifted his head and said one last sentence, "Then go teach that lesson to your disciples in hell."

Daoist Sage Tianyi sneered coldly, wanting to retort, when the young martial artist before him lunged at him and recklessly charged straight at Daoist Sage Tianyi.

Having abandoned his broken saber, Chen Chao was now destined to be like most martial artists in the world, resorting to fighting punch by punch in this life-and-death battle.

Daoist Sage Tianyi laughed disdainfully, "Childish."

In his view, whether was it this young martial artist choosing to come to Clearwater Mountain because of a girl he met by chance, or his deliberate abandonment of his saber before the battle, both were incredibly childish.

But before he could say these words, Chen Chao's figure had already arrived before him. The young martial artist did not hesitate for a moment and slammed towards him fiercely. Daoist Sage Tianyi did not dodge, but instead pushed the qi in front of him forward once again. The manic qi clashed with the young martial artist's already battered body.

Between heaven and earth, a dull sound erupted, as if a thunderclap in the distant storm clouds was gathering momentum at that moment.

For a brief moment, the torrential rain seemed to pause, and then countless raindrops began to splatter in all directions. As the raindrops struck the qi in front of Daoist Sage Tianyi, they emitted a hissing sound.

"No wonder you're so arrogant. Turns out you have a good foundation to back it up."

Daoist Sage Tianyi watched as countless raindrops, sharp as swords, collided with his qi. With a wave of his sleeve, he instantly gathered his aura qi, causing the raindrops to disperse. At the same time, Chen Chao's body had already crashed into his qi barrier, breaking it. Though the barrier was broken, Daoist Sage Tianyi did not retreat. Instead, he took a step forward, confronting the young martial artist who came in a menacing manner.

And then the two truly clashed.

Chen Chao lowered his shoulder and charged at Daoist Sage Tianyi, but the Daoist Sage countered with a palm strike aimed at Chen Chao's forehead.

Chen Chao noticed the incoming palm strike but chose not to dodge. While Daoist Sage Tianyi was indeed a Great Beyond Realm cultivator, to Chen Chao, a Great Beyond cultivator like him was far inferior to those who had achieved Great Beyond Realm through bitter cultivation.

However, Chen Chao made a miscalculation this time.

His opponent's palm strike forcefully halted his momentum and even pushed him back several dozen feet away.

Feeling the slight pain coming from his palm, Daoist Sage Tianyi expressed some surprise, "Really a martial artist who put in a lot of painstaking effort, aren't you?"

Chen Chao was also surprised. Sensing the power behind Daoist Sage Tianyi's earlier palm strike, he faintly felt that this Clearwater Mountain Lord in front of him might not be as simple as he had initially thought.

"If you're regretting it now and choose to take up your saber to battle, I can wait for you. What do you say?"

Daoist Sage Tianyi pursued without hesitation after the palm strike, showing no fear of Chen Chao's martial artist status.

Chen Chao was expressionless. But after stabilizing his body, he then swung a punch towards Daoist Sage Tianyi's head.

A surging qi was concealed within this punch, pushing aside the surrounding rainwater. Given the toughness of Daoist Sage Tianyi's body, if hit by this punch, he would likely be severely injured if not killed. However, Daoist Sage Tianyi just laughed coldly, raising his hand to block Chen Chao's punch aimed at his forehead, and then delivered another punch towards Chen Chao's shoulder.

With a loud bang, Chen Chao was once again pushed back several dozen feet.

Seizing the opportunity, Daoist Sage Tianyu advanced and then slammed his palm down, targeting the top of Chen Chao's head.

Chen Chao tilted his head back, dodging the powerful palm strike, but as Daoist Sage Tianyi's palm descended, another palm landed on Chen Chao's chest.

Chen Chao took this palm strike head-on, his body once again forced back. But before that, his fist finally struck Daoist Sage Tianyi's abdomen.

However, this punch only prevented Daoist Sage Tianyi from continuing to pursue Chen Chao, it did not even force this Clearwater Mountain Lord back a step.

At this point, Chen Chao finally understood something: this Daoist Sage Tianyi in front of him was probably a martial artist too...

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why his body was so resilient.

Daoist Sage Tianyi seemed to understand what Chen Chao was thinking, and without any concealment, he said calmly, "Indeed, I'm just like you, a martial artist."

This was Daoist Sage Tianyi's biggest secret, as well as the biggest secret of the entire Clearwater Mountain.

"Unfortunately, being a martial artist isn't a good identity after all."

He established the Clearwater Mountain, using the cultivation of medicinal fruits to sustain cultivation. In the eyes of others, it might seem like taking an unorthodox path, but for Daoist Sage Tianyi, it was different. His original intention was to shatter the idea that pure martial artists could not cultivate magic spells. The bodies of martial artists were unparalleled in the world. If they could also cultivate magic spells, then the entire world's landscape would change.

"Those so-called cultivators look down on us martial artists. I want to show them what the world would be like if we could also cultivate magic spells."

Daoist Sage Tianyi expressed some longing and said softly, "At that time, there would be no cultivators in the world who dare to look down on martial artists anymore."

Chen Chao stood still, looking at him indifferently.

Daoist Sage Tianyi lamented, "If your name weren't Chen Chao, I can even take you as my disciple, and impart this method to you. As for you killing all the cultivators on Clearwater Mountain, so what?"

"I'm limited by talent; it's probably hard for me to achieve anything significant in this lifetime. You should have a better chance than me. How about it? Do you want to consider joining my sect? Let's find a way out for the martial artists of the world together?"

At this moment, Daoist Sage Tianyi looked at Chen Chao, even with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

Chen Chao asked, "So I'm going to have to eat humans?"

Daoist Sage Tianyi said indifferently, "What does eating people matter for the sake of Great Dao?"

Chen Chao did not speak.

Daoist Sage Tianyi had already seen through Chen Chao's thoughts and said with a cold smile, "Being too soft-hearted and conservative is precisely why martial artists are looked down upon by those worthless cultivators, with no possibility of turning things around!"

Chen Chao did not speak and just responded with a punch.

Daoist Sage Tianyi did not dodge or evade, taking the punch directly on his body. Then, he swung his elbow at Chen Chao's chin, saying indifferently, "Since you're unwilling, I'll refine you into medicinal fruit later and swallow you, so you can see for yourself how I'll open up a great path to Heaven for martial artists throughout the world!"

Chen Chao spat out a mouthful of blood as he looked up, but at the same time, he grabbed Daoist Sage Tianyi's sleeve and swung his fist fiercely. The blow landed on the Clearwater Mountain Lord, who now seemed unclear whether he was a martial artist or cultivator.

Daoist Sage Tianyi staggered back a few steps.

Before he could steady himself, Chen Chao was already in front of him again.

With a cold sneer, Daoist Sage Tianyi did not speak further, abandoning other methods and confronting the young martial artist before him with his physique.

Initially, when he learned that Chen Chao had ascended the mountain, he refrained from immediately intercepting him with the other cultivators. He genuinely wanted to see if this young martial artist had the qualifications to reach the mountaintop, if he had the qualifications to be entrusted with his long-held secret.

At that point in time, he even had about 70% to 80% confidence that he could persuade Chen Chao to continue walking this path with him.

But at this moment, he was immensely disappointed.

The young martial artist before him was too stubborn and unyielding.

Since that was the case, he no longer had any intention of holding back.

Thereafter, Daoist Sage Tianyi launched a fierce attack, his torrential punches raining down on the young martial artist.

Climbing up the mountain was not easy in the first place. While Chen Chao who was injured was continuously crushing the barrage of punches, he was also throwing his fists at Daoist Sage Tianyi.

In an instant, it became a contest between two pure martial artists.