Martial Cultivator

Wang Kuan chuckled, "They shouldn't fight. There's too much of a gap between their realms. If they did, Junior Sister Xie wouldn't have any chance of winning."

Ye Zhihua had long been famous in the foreign lands. The title of the Daoism's Twin Pillars wasn't given lightly. Before Yun Jian Yue surpassed her, she was already widely recognized as the top talent in Daoism. It was just that Yun Jian Yue's eruption later on made her lose this title. Even so, was there any young person in the world who dared to underestimate this daoist prodigy?

Even though Xie Nandu's reputation in Great Liang was significant, and even though she was in the academy right now, no disciple truly believed that Xie Nandu could compete with Ye Zhihua in terms of cultivation. It was not a lack of confidence in Xie Nandu, but rather that she had started her cultivation too late. Despite her extraordinary talent, the time she had spent cultivating was still too short, and there remained a heavenly chasm. Of course, the path of cultivation was long, and no one knew the future.

After all, Xie Nandu who possessed nine lifeblood flying swords, undoubtedly had the potential to compete with Ye Zhihua in the future.

Chen Chao smiled, "If she shamelessly relies on her higher realm to bully Xie Nandu, we'll see if she can leave the academy unscathed."

Wang Kuan sighed with a wry smile, "Why do I feel my heart spasm all of a sudden?"

Chen Chao merely smiled in response.

Later, he tapped the shoulder of a nearby academy student and proposed, "Mind making way?"

The student who was short and could not see what was ahead was already in a bad mood. Feeling someone tap him, he abruptly turned with an unfriendly expression. However, upon seeing Chen Chao's face, the unnamed anger in his heart dissipated instantly.

Normally, academy students might not win in a physical confrontation, but they could at least win verbal fights. But, not only he could not physically overpower this person in front of him, he also could not out-talk him, what else could he do?

Reluctantly, he stepped aside. Chen Chao did not say much and just thanked him, "Thank you."

Afterwards, Chen Chao patted several more people on the shoulder. Many had similar thoughts as the previous student but, upon seeing it was Chen Chao, also reluctantly made way. After all, no one wanted to provoke Chen Chao at this moment.

However, some academy students did not harbor much animosity towards Chen Chao. When they saw him approaching, some were even rather happy. If a fight were to break out, that Junior Sister Xie of the academy would definitely not be able to beat one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism. Even the highest-ranked young students in the academy might not necessarily be a match for her. If it came to that, the academy would indeed find itself in an awkward position. But now that Chen Chao was here, things might not turn out so badly. Even though Chen Chao did not seem like a member of the academy?

Who said Chen Chao was not a part of the academy?!

He was nearly abducting away that most remarkable girl in the academy, was he still not a part of the academy?

He was at least considered half a member!

But even now that Chen Chao appeared, the eyes of many students present were still on those two women over there.

Perhaps they were the two most dazzling women among the younger generation.

Ye Zhihua stood by the South Lake, one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism, the most prominent young woman in the foreign lands. She was dressed in a blue daoist robe, her hair pinned up with a simple wooden hairpin. Her face was very beautiful, with willow-leaf eyebrows and a cherry-like mouth. If not for the slightly cold expression on her face, she might have seemed more approachable.

Few would dare to say that Xie Nandu was more beautiful than her; each had their own charm.

Standing at the gate of the small courtyard, Xie Nandu also appeared very calm. Although her face showed no emotion, it was not that sort of distant coldness that kept people away. Instead, she looked like a serene pear blossom; pure and flawless, giving a comforting feeling at first sight.

The two had met just fifteen minutes ago. During these fifteen minutes, more and more people gathered by the lake, yet neither of the two women spoke.

Both the genius of Daoism and the genius of the academy remained calm.

After a while, Ye Zhihua finally spoke, "I heard you have nine flying swords. How is your cultivation realm now?"

Her voice was ethereal.

Xie Nandu said calmly, "I haven't stepped into the Bitter Sea yet; just one step away."

As soon as these words were spoken, although Ye Zhihua did not have any reaction, the lakeside erupted with chatter. Everyone knew that Xie Nandu had entered the academy that year and was recognized by the Dean at the pavilion in the center of the lake, becoming his final disciple and starting her cultivation journey. Later, she developed an interest in swordsmanship, thus becoming a sword cultivator. This also meant that she had only recently begun practicing swordsmanship. Most people even thought she was still at the Spirit Platform Realm. Today, with Xie Nandu admitting it herself, they realized that this woman had quietly reached the peak of Divine Trove Realm long ago, and was actually just one step away from the Bitter Sea Realm.

The terrifying speed of her cultivation progress probably placed her among the top in the history of the academy, especially considering she was still just a woman.

Although there was no evidence suggesting that women's cultivation was inferior to men's, historical records showed that most great cultivators of the world were men. This implied that in certain aspects, men had an advantage in cultivation.

Yet, it seemed that none of these things posed any hindrance to her.

How could this not be astonishing?

"I'll suppress my realm at Divine Trove, so it's not bullying you."

Ye Zhihua's words clearly carried a challenge.

Xie Nandu was not in a hurry to reply, just quietly watching the woman before her. After a moment's thought, she said, "I also really to see the prowess of one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism."

This was her way of agreeing.

Neither woman was one to dilly-dally; since they agreed to fight, they would soon be ready to engage.

Suddenly, ripples spread across the lake, like a fish darting through, stirring the entire surface of the lake.

The students of the academy stepped back but none left. This girl of the Twin Pillars of Daoism suppressed her cultivation realm to battle Xie Nandu. At least on the surface, this was fair, ensuring that what followed would indeed be an epic battle.

Who would bear to leave?

This was a rare spectacle.

At some point, Wang Kuan had joined Chen Chao's side, smiling as he asked, "How do you see this unfolding?"

Chen Chao countered, "Do you want the truth or what sounds nice?"

Wang Kuan shrugged helplessly. "Well, Junior Sister Xie can't hear us right now, so what's the harm in the truth?"

Chen Chao then smiled and said, "In a battle at the same realm, if it's just a spar without life and death involved, even I would find it quite a headache facing her nine lifeblood flying swords. Of course, that daoist genius has many skills, so I believe they both have their chances."

Wang Kuan chuckled and immediately asked, "But what if it's a real fight to the death?"

Chen Chao replied matter-of-factly, "Then I'll hack that whatever Ye Zhihua dead right here."

Wang Kuan frowned, "You know that's not what I meant."

Chen Chao pretended to be clueless and just smiled.

In battles at the same realm, especially fights to the death, Chen Chao believed that only a few could survive his saber if they ignored the cultivators who had long made a name for themselves and just focused on youngsters.

If he had not encountered that mysterious female demon, Chen Chao might have been more confident.

But now, he truly understood the saying: there was always someone better out there.

Remembering that female demon again, Chen Chao furrowed his brows inexplicably. He increasingly felt that this journey to the Northern Frontier might indeed bring him face to face with her again.

When that time comes...

Chen Chao gripped his saber hilt. Although he wanted to declare confidently that he would cut off her head, after a moment's thought, he shook his head.

That female demon was not easy to deal with. The image of her pinning his wrist and preventing him from drawing his saber was still vivid in his mind.

Despite having his saber reforged now and having gained some lucky chances from this trip to Sword Qi Mountain, Chen Chao still did not feel assured of victory.

However, Chen Chao was not overly concerned about this journey to the Northern Frontier. One such female demon was already quite rare; they could not be everywhere.

While Chen Chao was deep in thought, the two women by the lake had already started fighting.

Though Xie Nandu had not been cultivating for long and usually kept a composed demeanor, she was the first to make a move this time. A flying sword suddenly streaked out, leaving a sword mark in the sky.

This was the first time the academy students saw Xie Nandu's flying sword. They naturally kept their eyes glued, fearing they might miss something.

The flying sword swept up sword qi as it headed straight towards Ye Zhihua.

Ye Zhihua remained motionless in her blue daoist robes, not even her whole body moved. She simply watched as the flying sword from Sword Qi Mountain approached her. Then, Ye Zhihua extended her hand and flicked her finger.

The flying sword's tip was struck directly.

A buzzing sound echoed as the sword trembled, and sword qi instantly surged out in an overwhelming torrent, flooding towards Ye Zhihua.

Ye Zhihua remained expressionless, her aura continuously surging as she faced the incoming sword qi.

The willow trees by the lake stirred without wind, swaying incessantly.

These willows by the South Lake was not an ordinary breed. Even in late autumn, they remained lush, like a spring day. But under the disturbance of the sword qi, the leaves were also falling at this moment.

However, the willow leaves did not fall to the ground. After Ye Zhihua gestured, countless willow leaves instantly surged towards Xie Nandu's flying sword, entrapping it completely, rendering it unable to break free.

Xie Nandu furrowed her brows slightly. Since she started practicing swordsmanship, she had very few instances of actual combat, aside from the battle outside the city with the old daoist nun. But she was not afraid. Upon realizing her flying sword was ensnared, a second flying sword appeared.

If Xie Nandu had only one flying sword at this moment, she might have already fallen into a passive situation. However, she possessed a total of nine flying swords. Even if Ye Zhihua could trap one, how could she possibly entrap all nine?

With the appearance of the second flying sword, it confirmed that Xie Nandu was indeed different from most sword cultivators in the world, capable of controlling more than one flying sword simultaneously.

This made the academy students erupt in cries of exclamations.

Whether she truly had nine lifeblood flying swords or not, just having these two swords was enough to demonstrate that she surpassed most sword cultivators.

Ye Zhihua remained expressionless, repeating the same flicking gesture. But this time, she already performed the action before the flying sword arrived in front of her.

As she flicked her finger, the surface of the South Lake behind her exploded with a thunderous boom!

Countless splashes of water were stirred up!