Martial Cultivator

After going upstairs, Chen Chao realized he had been mistaken. Several rooms on the second floor facing the street were already occupied by many sword cultivators, which made Chen Chao feel a bit embarrassed.

The madam followed behind Chen Chao, muttering under her breath, "You all, these bunch of immortals, don't know what you're thinking. Instead of admiring beautiful girls, you insist on watching some sword forging."

Fortunately, there was still one room facing the street available. After Chen Chao threw a few skygold coins to the madam, he sent her away and entered the room. However, to his surprise, there was an elegantly dressed woman currently sitting on the bed.

Chen Chao was taken aback and immediately wanted to leave the room. But the woman just smiled at him and said, "Sir, there's no need to worry. I'm just an entertainer."

Actually, apart from the lower-tier brothels, most larger brothels had two types of women. One type engaged in physical transactions, while the other type, like this woman, provided entertainment such as playing music or singing, selling art and not their bodies. They would not take off their clothes to serve men, and were usually forced into this profession due to family circumstances. Growing up in wealthy environments, they were often skilled in various arts such as chess, music, calligraphy, and painting.

But even so, without a strong backer, it would likely be difficult to maintain their purity if they encountered a wealthy and influential client. That was just the reality of their situation.

"I apologize for disturbing you, miss."

Chen Chao bit the bullet, approaching the window and pushing it open. He could see a tall platform not far away, where a massive furnace stood. Someone was continuously adding something to it, but Chen Chao could not tell what it was. But it was likely to maintain the temperature inside the furnace.

Not far from the furnace, an old man with white hair sat on a chair, his gaze fixed on the furnace.

There were various techniques used by swordsmiths, and Chen Chao could not tell how good they were. His gaze wandered through the crowd, hoping to find the Xu Bai couple.

"Since Sir uses a saber, why would you think of coming to watch the sword forging?"

As Chen Chao was engrossed in searching for someone, the woman appeared beside Chen Chao at some point in time, her breath fragrant like orchids. Chen Chao caught a whiff of her delicate scent as he turned his head to meet her gaze. However, he quickly averted his eyes before saying softly, "Among cultivators, only swordsmen are considered distinguished and admirable. Since I can't train in the sword, watching is the next best thing."

The woman smiled softly and said in a soft voice, "Even though there are many sword cultivators, there are only a few truly admirable ones."

Chen Chao was taken aback and asked curiously, "Miss, you know about these matters too?"

The woman responded calmly, "There were elders in my family who were taken to the mountains to cultivate the sword when they were young. However, it has been decades since then. I only learned about it from the idle chatter of the elders in my family."

Chen Chao kept staring outside the window and asked casually, "In that case, how did Miss end up in this situation?"

Perhaps the woman had long already resigned herself to her fate, she showed no emotional fluctuations at this moment, and just said calmly, "The elders who were taken to the mountains to cultivate the sword ceased to be elders. Even if they achieved something, they wouldn't remember us, their relatives. So, with the decline of the family, what can we hope for?"

Chen Chao nodded in agreement. After being taken to the mountains for cultivation, most cultivators would sever their ties with the secular world and rarely think about their family below the mountain.

The woman asked softly, "Sir should be a martial artist, and from a respectable background, right?"

Chen Chao shook his head and replied, "I have no distinguished background, I'm just fortunate enough to have stumbled into cultivation through a lucky chance."

The woman chuckled, "In our Great Liang Dynasty, if a martial artist doesn't have the support of the imperial court or their family, they won't be able to advance far." Chen Chao said helplessly, "Miss, you seem to know too much."

The woman knew the taboo of sharing deep thoughts with someone she had just met, so she quickly changed the subject and asked, "Do you know how this Master Zuo selects the owner of his flying swords?"

Chen Chao shook his head. It was a sudden idea to come here and see if he could find any trace of Xu Bai, so he was not familiar with how the selection process worked.

"Master Zuo's method for choosing the owner of his flying sword isn't about the sword choosing its master but about the highest bidder winning. In the past, a single flying sword could fetch an astronomical price. Now, this flying sword will be even harder to obtain. Some sword cultivators from humble backgrounds spend their entire lives saving up skygold coins just to buy such a flying sword. Whether it's worth it or not is hard to say."

The woman sighed, but her tone was more of an objective observation.

Chen Chao smiled and said, "There's really no difference on the mountain and below the mountain. It's just that what people seek is different."

The woman nodded in admiration. "Sir is wise."

Chen Chao did not say anymore. At that moment, sword qi was already emanating from the furnace outside the window. Master Zuo stood up from his chair, knowing that the moment had arrived. He looked at the furnace and said in a deep voice, "Open the furnace."

As he spoke, two bare-chested men standing by each side of the furnace grabbed the handles and pulled forcefully.

The furnace split open immediately, and a blazing hot flying sword shot out from within, trailing flames as it soared into the sky!

It brought forth a chorus of sword cries that filled the air!

Master Zuo gave an angry yell and leaped into the sky. Reaching a high point, he kicked the flying sword, which plummeted straight down and landed in a large vat of water on the high platform.

From the window, one could see that the water in the vat was not the usual clear water but entirely yellowish, like muddy water.

As the flying sword fell into the water vat, the muddy water instantly began to boil.

Not a single drop of muddy water splashed out.

After about half an hour, the muddy water calmed down.

The sword cultivators below were already incredibly tense.

The place fell into complete silence.

Master Zuo approached the vat, reached in, and fished out that flying sword.

At this moment, the flying sword's full appearance was revealed. The blade was a deep red, and the hilt was jet black. Master Zuo held the sword with one hand and flicked the blade with his finger. The blade vibrated slightly, producing a sword cry that lingered incessantly.

With this, even Chen Chao could tell that this flying sword was no ordinary object.

This Master Zuo likely had some real skill.

Holding the flying sword, Master Zuo smiled and asked the crowd below, "This old man will name this flying sword Red Candle, how about it? Does anyone fancy it?"

A chorus of admiration immediately erupted from the audience, with many praising this Master Zuo.

Master Zuo said with a smile, "In the past, when this old man forged swords, whenever a new sword if forged, it would go to the highest bidder. This was not because this old man coveted worldly wealth but due to the enormous costs associated with sword forging. It's beyond what this old man can bear alone. However, this Red Candle took this old man ten years to forge, and I do not wish for this flying sword to be covered in dust. Therefore, if Red Candle chooses its fated one among you, this old man will give this sword as a gift!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd of sword cultivators below the stage fell silent, especially those who had prepared vast amounts of skygold currency. They had originally felt quite confident about acquiring this flying sword. But now, this old fellow's uncharacteristic move caught them off-guard.

The woman also spoke at this moment, smiling, "I didn't expect Master Zuo to be someone who's true to their emotions after all."

Chen Chao said, "In the eyes of a swordsmith, a flying sword is probably like their own child, so naturally, they would want to find a good home for it. But in this way, it's really hard to say who can take away this flying sword today."

The woman asked with a smile, "Would Sir also be vying for it?"

Chen Chao smiled bitterly, "I'm just a martial artist, what am I meddling for?"

If Xie Nandu were here, maybe there would still be a chance. He was a martial artist, even if he wanted to, the flying sword might not necessarily pay attention to him.

The woman shook her head, "What's the harm in trying? Sir, don't underestimate yourself."

Chen Chao was truly curious about the woman now. He asked with some puzzlement, "Which prominent family did Miss come from?"

If the demeanor that this woman previously displayed hinted at her extraordinary background, these few words now seemed to suggest otherwise.

But the woman's next sentence left Chen Chao completely without any power to respond.

"Could it be that Sir has taken a fancy to this humble sef and wants to take this humble self away? But let me make it clear beforehand, although this humble self is an entertainer in a brothel, I'm still unwilling to be a concubine." The woman's eyes shimmered with flirtatiousness, easily drawing people in.

This made Chen Chao involuntarily think of his cousin. This was an example of being full of charm.

Chen Chao was speechless, furrowing his brows, then chuckled, "Given Miss' status, I'll be expelled from my family if I marry you."

The woman pretended to be aggrieved, "It seems that Sir still thinks this humble self isn't pretty enough. Otherwise, why wouldn't you make an impulse decision for a beauty?"

With this, Chen Chao was completely defeated, unsure how to reply.

Though he considered himself somewhat cunning, he truly lacked experience dealing with women. How could he spar with a woman like this?

Fortunately, after the woman made a jest, she ceasing flirting.

Meanwhile, outside the building, Master Zuo had finished with the pleasantries and now spoke, "Everyone, you can now release your sword qi to perceive the flying sword. The flying sword has its own spirituality and will choose its master."

With these words, the eager sword cultivators in the audience could not wait any longer and immediately released their sword qi to sense the flying sword named Red Candle.

The sword qi of the sword cultivators was varied, but was each unique. After releasing their sword qi, if the flying sword was interested, it would naturally choose its own master.

However, after several minutes passed, no matter how those sword cultivators below the stage released their sword qi, the flying sword Red Candle, now suspended on the platform after being released by Master Zuo, remained unmoved.

It seemed that none of the countless sword cultivators in the audience caught the flying sword's attention.

Chen Chao sighed, "If my friend were here, I reckon she'd gain another flying sword."

The woman chuckled, "It seems that Sir's friend is quite the remarkable sword cultivator."

Chen Chao also sighed, "Miss is remarkable too, why confine yourself to such a house of ill repute?"

The woman sighed, "In this world, things rarely go as desired."

Chen Chao could not help but release a trace of qi to probe this woman.

But just at that moment, the flying sword Red Candle on the high platform suddenly sensed something and suddenly rose up, shooting towards them.

The woman exclaimed with joy, "Sir, that flying sword has chosen you as its master!"

Chen Chao fell into a daze, turned his head, and happened to see the flying sword swooping towards the window, stopping in front of him.

At the same time, all the sword cultivators looked up, gazing in their direction.