When Xiao Chen entered the mountain manor, the bellboy led him to the hall, where he saw a calm Situ Leihong carrying the Lunar Shadow Saber and sipping tea.
“Haha! Little Friend Xiao Chen is here? What’s wrong? You think you cannot defeat Wen Ziran and want to take the saber in advance? I will have to disappoint you, then. Without the ten-thousand-year-old Flame Crystal, I will not hand the saber over to you.”
Situ Leihong smiled, but his tone did not sound relaxed at all.
Before he finished speaking, the Lunar Shadow Saber in his embrace trembled intensely. The force was much stronger than what he expected, and it flew out with a ‘whoosh.’
Xiao Chen reached out and caught the Lunar Shadow Saber that flew over. Then, he closed his eyes and carefully probed it. He saw a familiar figure inside the Lunar Shadow Saber with her eyes shut hovering above a lake.
At first, he rejoiced and called out a few times. However, Ao Jiao did not open her eyes. He could not help but ask anxiously, “Senior, what’s going on?”
Situ Leihong stretched out his hand and made a grabbing motion. There was a strong suction, and the Lunar Shadow Saber returned to his embrace. Now, he revealed a satisfied expression.
“Bang!”
However, before a second passed, the Lunar Shadow Saber struggled free again and flew to Xiao Chen.
“Damn it!” Situ Leihong cursed in a manner unbecoming of a grandmaster. “Is this fellow really that good? This old man spent so much effort to save you, you know!”
After cursing for a while, Situ Leihong noticed Xiao Chen’s worried expression. Then, he smiled and said, “You brat, this is good fortune, but you do not recognize it. This is her fortuitous encounter. When she wakes up, your saber has the possibility of entering the Divine Weapon Ranking.”
When Xiao Chen heard this, he immediately revealed insuppressible joy on his face. He did not care about the Divine Weapon Ranking. He only wanted Ao Jiao. As long as she came back to life, everything would be fine.
“Senior Situ, I will never forget this great favor!”
Xiao Chen got down on one knee, performing a cupped-fist salute to Situ Leihong.
The knees of man were made of gold; they should not kneel so easily.
One could kneel to heaven, kneel to the earth, kneel to one’s parents. Aside from this, even if Xiao Chen were beaten to death, he would kneel to no other.
However, Xiao Chen knelt before this Situ Leihong in respect for everything he had done for Ao Jiao.
Situ Leihong’s smiling face turned embarrassed by Xiao Chen’s genuflection. He raised his hand and helped Xiao Chen up.
Then, he said helplessly, “You brat…you are really…”
Situ Leihong could not finish what he wanted to say. He sighed and continued, “In my entire life, you are the only person who would struggle so much for the sake of one saber. Take the saber. You can use it without any worries. With the saber helping you, you have an additional twenty percent chance of defeating Wen Ziran.”
Suddenly, Xiao Chen remembered something. Then, he handed the wooden box with the ten-thousand-year-old Flame Crystal to Situ Leihong.
When Situ Leihong opened the wooden box, his expression changed slightly. He smiled and said, “This Wu Xiaotian’s disciple is quite wonderful. Now, this duel is more interesting. Go on, go on. There is no need to be so pretentious about it.”
Without any warning, Situ Leihong saw Xiao Chen preparing to draw the saber in the hall. Startled, he quickly put down the ten-thousand-year-old Flame Crystal, shouting, “Don’t move—”
“Boom!”
Before Situ Leihong could finish speaking, he saw a single ray flash. In an instant, a saber light reduced the entire hall to splinters.
The saber light soared into the sky from the mountain manor, scattering the clouds for fifty kilometers around and stabbing into the heavens.
The long line of swordsmen queueing at Sword Forging Peak looked up in shock, not understanding what happened.
The swords of many of these swordsmen shook and clanged. Several even broke loudly, throwing the entire Sword Forging Peak into confusion.
——
Outside the famous Heavenly Saber City of the Profound Domain was a lake called Nine Dragons Lake.
Its water was clear. The lake was vast and boundless. Under its shroud of fog, one could not see the other side.
Nine peaks surrounded the lake. They were very tall, soaring into the clouds, and looked like huge dragons.
While these peaks looked like dragons, they were all different, each with their own special characteristics.
According to legend, these nine peaks were formed by Divine Dragons during the Immortal Epoch. In the distant past, people once heard roaring coming from the peaks, sounding like deep, sorrowful dragon roars.
This tale made the legend of the peaks being Divine Dragons even more mysterious.
These peaks were very resilient, able to withstand a quasi-Emperor’s attack. Each of these peaks suppressed a Peak Spirit Vein under them.
In the past, due to the conflict between saber and sword, the Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian and the Sword Sovereign Liu Xiaoyun had fought nine times above this Nine Dragons Lake before they became quasi-Emperors. This resulted in nine draws and their becoming lifelong enemies.
During the two’s final battle above Nine Dragons Lake, they had already advanced to quasi-Emperor. They both represented the peak of the younger generation of the Profound Domain’s saber and sword factions.
That battle had been startling and moving, tugging at everyone’s heartstrings. Even now, after several thousand years, people still spoke of it with excitement.
The result of that battle was a draw. However, at the end of it, both used the comprehension gained during the battle to break through to Martial Emperor at the same time.
In the sky, the two ran together on the Emperor’s Road that descended, climbed to the peak at the same time, pushed open the Emperor’s Gate, and entered the great Dao.
It was that battle that made this unknown lake a famous holy land for dueling in the Profound Domain.
Its extreme popularity made it extremely crowded; hence, Heavenly Saber City only permitted quasi-Emperor-level battles to take place here.
Perhaps there really was a strange Spiritual Energy at the lake. Many years later, a few people became Martial Emperors after their battles here, making Nine Dragons Lake even more famous.
However, the situation of participants advancing to Martial Emperor together, like the Sword Sovereign Liu Xiaoyun and Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian had, never recurred.
Today, there would be another duel at Nine Dragons Lake. A battle to pave the way for two younger-generation bladesmen.
Although neither side was a quasi-Emperor, they were still permitted to have their duel over Nine Dragons Lake.
The reason was none other than the names of the two: White Robed King Xiao Chen and the Saber Sovereign’s disciple Wen Ziran.
Currently, many large warships and flying Spirit Beasts hovered above the clouds. Many more cultivators stood on them.
They all focused their gazes towards the center of Nine Dragons Lake.
There, a blue-robed youth sat cross-legged, looking spotless and untainted. His facial features were eye-catching, and he gave off an ethereal atmosphere.
A long saber floated gently on the water by this youth’s left side.
The scabbard of the saber had simple floral patterns carved on it. The densely packed patterns gave off an ancient aura. An ancient character was carved on each side of the saber’s handle, forming the words “River Water.”
People made of water the same size as regular humans surrounded the blue-robed youth. The water people fought each other, practicing all sorts of wondrous Saber Techniques.
While it looked like the blue-robed youth was resting, in reality, he was not relaxing at all. He made use of every moment of free time to practice and cultivate.
Occasionally, some of the people above the clouds would turn their heads and look into the distance, their expressions filled with anticipation, excitement, and anxiety.
However, every time these people turned their heads around, they were disappointed. As time passed, they could not help getting antsier.
“Strange. Wen Ziran already arrived long ago. Why have we not seen any signs of Xiao Chen yet?”
“It is almost noon already. This is too worrying.”
The cultivators who came when they heard the news were naturally here to observe Xiao Chen and Wen Ziran’s duel. However, when one party was not here yet after so long, they could not help but feel apprehensive.
“Could it be that the recent rumors are true, that the saber in Xiao Chen’s hand is just a decoration and is completely crippled?”
“The recent rumors are quite wild. They say that Xiao Chen was severely injured in the Nine Layers of Purgatory and had been suppressing it. He has no way to fight for a long time.”
“I even heard that after Xiao Chen defeated Ouyang Long on Sword Forging Peak, he immediately vomited three liters of blood.”
“I wonder who opened up the bets on this duel? The payout on Xiao Chen is one-to-three. In the end, everyone placed their bets on Wen Ziran.”
“Haha! It looks like something is indeed wrong. Fortunately, I resisted the temptation and placed five hundred thousand Black Astral Coins on Wen Ziran.”
“Hahaha! Me too! I place one million Black Astral Coins, half my wealth, on Wen Ziran.”
“No matter what, Wen Ziran’s strength has always been stable. All of us have seen his performance in the last Saber School Ranking competition. His chances of victory are at least fifty percent. It is hard to say for Xiao Chen.”
Before a duel started, especially between those who were famous, it was normal to place bets on the outcome. This was nothing strange in the Kunlun Realm.
At this moment, the sun was high in the sky. Noon was about to pass. However, no one saw Xiao Chen yet. Everyone could not help but feel doubts.
On the warship of the Profound Domain’s Ying Clan above the clouds, Jin Dabao kept counting the bets that he collected.
Lord Jiu, who was at the side, was clearly excited. The bets were much larger than he had expected. If the result was like what the fatty said, then they would earn a lot.
However, if they lost, not only they would lose all the Astral Coins they earned from the black market, but they would also have to work for the Ying Clan for the rest of their lives to repay the debt.
These two people possessed no fame. In order for them to start a betting pool, naturally, they had to have a guarantor. Jin Dabao’s glib tongue had convinced Ying Qiong to be that guarantor.
Lord Jiu said anxiously, “Why does this Lord Jiu feel that there is something wrong? Fatty, aren’t the rumors that you spread too ridiculous? What if Xiao Chen really loses?”
Jin Dabao said loudly, “How can that be possible? Three days ago, a strand of saber Qi destroyed most of the mountain manor on Sword Forging Peak. Others may not know much about it, but this Fat Lord can guarantee that the Lunar Shadow Saber made a full recovery.”
Ying Qiong, who stood at the side, smiled gently and argued, “That might not be so. Even if Xiao Chen draws the Lunar Shadow Saber, boosting his strength, Wen Ziran’s River Water Saber is not a weak item, either.
“The Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian put in a lot of effort into this River Water Saber for the sake of getting it into the Divine Weapon Ranking.”
Jin Dabao said embarrassedly, “Sister, don’t scare this Fat Lord. If this Fat Lord loses, you would be the biggest loser.”
A crafty look flashed in Ying Qiong’s eyes as she sized up Jin Dabao. She nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry. This lady has her means of collecting the debt from you. You better start praying for protection.”
“What are you thinking of doing? This Fat Lord will not sell his body,” Jin Dabao said quickly as he retreated a few steps. The way Ying Qiong looked at him flustered him.
Unable to resist, Ying Qiong burst out in laughter. “In your dreams. How much exactly do you think your fat meat is worth?”
“Ka ka ka!”
The people made of water fighting each other around Wen Ziran suddenly shattered, turning into rain that fell back into the lake.
Such a change instantly drew everyone’s attention.
Wen Ziran opened his eyes and grasped the River Water Saber by his side. As he stood up, he stared at the empty lake surface in front of him.
