Chapter 870: A Saber without the Saber
Back then, Han Qinghe had also been a peak genius of the Supreme Sky Sect. He was also the grandmaster-level Martial Sage with the most hope of advancing to quasi-Emperor in the Supreme Sky Sect.
“Xiao Chen, I’ll suppress my cultivation to peak Medial Grade Martial Sage and exchange a few moves with you. Let’s see if you underwent a rebirth as the Sect Master said.”
The moment Han Qinghe said that, ripples spread throughout the entire drill ground. The many newly advanced half-Sages all cast their gazes towards the sky.
“What?! The mysterious person in the black cloak is actually the Azure Emperor’s descendant Xiao Chen, who was widely rumored to have vanished two years ago?”
Xiao Chen… Two years ago, this name spread throughout the entire Kunlun Realm, shaking it up. Unfortunately, after the shocking events at the Sage Mark Monument, he never appeared again. Rumor said that he got stuck in the Sage Mark Monument.
Over the two years, several new talents rose up. While they became famous, they simply were not as fabulous as Xiao Chen.
How strong was Di Wuque and how glorious was he? He was now completely in the ascendant, surpassing the older-generation Martial Sages before him.
Even the geniuses of the recently resurfaced strong races, which had existed since the Ancient Era, did not dare to underestimate Di Wuque.
Nevertheless, two years ago, Xiao Chen had ruthlessly trampled on this genius, whom all the cultivators of the younger generation acknowledged as the strongest, kicking him down in the air.
Even if people had forgotten Xiao Chen’s name, for now, it was impossible to eradicate his name from the depths of their memories.
Xiao Chen removed the Heavenly Sea Cloak and landed firmly on the ground. He performed a cupped-fist salute and said, “First Elder, I humbly seek your pointers.”
This gesture might be a simple action, but Xiao Chen projected a certain presence. Although others could not make out what exactly this was, Han Qinghe frowned, recognizing it as the air of a grandmaster.
At such a young age, Xiao Chen actually attained the air and atmosphere of the older generation that had lived for hundreds of years. Just what kind of rebirth did this young fellow experience?
Han Qinghe felt happy in his heart. He immediately itched to test out Xiao Chen’s true strength for himself.
If it was just a facade, however, that would be too disappointing.
“Be careful. Here I come.”
The moment Elder Han spoke, he charged at Xiao Chen. A fierce fire blazed on his body. As he moved, he looked like a burning meteor, trailing a long tail of flames and flickering in space.
From the very start, Elder Han already took out one of the Martial Techniques he excelled at—Burning Star Fist!
The moment he executed Burning Star Fist, the entire drill ground seemed to turn into the infinite starry heavens, imposing boundless pressure on everyone.
This move astonished all the spectating disciples and inner sect Elders. This Burning Star Fist was a Superior Grade Heaven Ranked Martial Technique. Furthermore, Elder Han had spent many years mastering it.
Although Elder Han suppressed his cultivation to peak Medial Grade Martial Sage, he started off with such a domineering move. Given Xiao Chen’s current cultivation, facing it might be too difficult.
Xiao Chen did not dodge or avoid this move. Complimenting this move in his heart, he shifted his feet, took a stance, and sent out a punch as well. At this moment, his aura suddenly changed.
His body was like a saber, his intent was like a saber, and unexpectedly, his fist was as sharp as a saber. This punch actually felt like a treasured saber unsheathed.
A cold light flickered with unparalleled sharpness. His move had the explosiveness of a fist light and the cold unparalleled sharpness of a saber.
“Bang!”
The two fists collided, and there was an explosion. The two each retreated ten steps; they were even. Xiao Chen clashed head-on against Elder Han’s thoroughly mastered move.
A saber-like electric light in the fist light inflicted an incredibly piercing pain on Han Qinghe, startling him immensely.
He tried several times to dispel the dense and sharp saber-like electric light, only to discover that he could not do so with just the power of a Medial Grade Martial Sage.
Han Qinghe did not want to go back on his word by using more power to negate this energy. However, he had no choice. Although this electric light could not do him any serious harm, it was agonizing, a numbness that was difficult to bear.
Finally, he could not endure it anymore. Pausing for a moment, he activated the Heavenly Sage Laws that only a Superior Grade Martial Sage could have and discovered he still could not neutralize this energy at once. So he kept raising his strength until it reached peak Superior Grade Martial Sage, and only then did he succeed in dispelling the electric light.
On the surface, this exchange looked like a draw. In reality, Han Qinghe had gone back on his word and used the strength of a peak Superior Grade Martial Sage; he already lost.
Of course, others, including Xiao Chen, did not realize this.
A bitter smile escaped Han Qinghe. Unexpectedly, he lost against a junior by half a move. He would be too embarrassed to speak about it.
However, the more this was so, the more it proved Xiao Chen’s strength. That air and atmosphere were not pretense.
Han Qinghe laughed loudly and exclaimed, “After disappearing for two years, you really brought me unlimited surprises! Again! Take my Golden Crow Spreading Wings!”
He spun around and soared into the air, spreading his arms apart like a divine bird flaring its wings. The force was unusual, an incomparable gale strong enough to shake space.
A surging flaming image manifested behind Han Qinghe. A fiery aura instantly blanketed the entire drill ground.
Xiao Chen squinted. In the instant Elder Han spread his arms and soared up, he became like a real Golden Crow.
Han Qinghe locked the vast aura down on Xiao Chen. The bright light in his eyes was as sharp as lightning. Then, he swooped down quickly like a Golden Crow chasing prey. It seemed like in the next instant, he would seize his prey, Xiao Chen, and tear him in half.
Clearly, the First Elder comprehended the essence of this move, bringing out its spirit, intent, and stance, all to the fullest. Even a Superior Grade Martial Sage would not dare to clash head-on against this move.
A regular Superior Grade Martial Sage would have to defend with all his might or flee in a sorry state.
An expert was clear the moment they moved. When First Elder Han Qinghe executed this Golden Crow Spreading Wings, the eyes of the observing disciples and inner sect Elders all lit up.
The First Elder truly lived up to his name. He managed to bring out a hundred and thirty percent of this Golden Crow Spreading Wings’ combat prowess. When regular people used this move, it was already very good if they could bring out eighty percent of its power.
The spectators all wondered in anticipation whether Xiao Chen would oppose this move directly.
“Excellent!” Xiao Chen shouted and executed the Kun Peng Fist. He likewise spread his arms and soared up. The Heavenly Sage Laws behind him materialized a Kun Peng, giving it impressive form.
The Kun Peng and the Golden Crow were both Holy Beasts of the Immortal Epoch—legendary Holy Beasts. Xiao Chen’s Kun Peng Fist and the First Elder’s Golden Crow Spreading Wings both worked to accomplish the same effect through different means.
They seemed similar on the surface but were completely different on the inside.
Han Qinghe practiced the Golden Crow Spreading Wings very thoroughly. With more than one hundred years of experience and his great comprehension, he could bring out a hundred and thirty percent of the move’s might. He could even increase this to two hundred percent if he used his full power.
Xiao Chen, on the other hand, took a more unconventional direction, displaying his originality. He used his body as a saber, his intent as a saber. When he executed this Kun Peng Fist, it also contained a saber intent with unparalleled sharpness.
In the past year or so, Xiao Chen had not spent his time only on the two Magic Skills. He had also continued to meditate on his skills from the Martial Path.
Since he held no saber, Xiao Chen used his body as a saber, his heart as a saber, his intent as a saber. Every action of his, every punch, every kick, they were all sabers. When his figure flashed, it was like a treasured saber unsheathed. When he glared, saber intent spewed out.
Using the immortal will of thunder containing the vague form of his saber soul together with his Rank 3 Sage Body and many years of experience with Saber Techniques, Xiao Chen took a path that no one before had taken and no one after would take, blazing his own trail.
The Kun Peng hates the sky for being too low. It only requires a blink of an eye to cover the sky!
Xiao Chen spread his arms out and kicked up a strong wind. The atmosphere he created was even more ferocious than First Elder Han Qinghe’s. Despite launching his attack later, Xiao Chen’s punch arrived before Han Qinghe first.
The identity of hunter and prey swapped instantly. In Han Qinghe’s eyes, Xiao Chen, who was soaring over, was clearly the divine bird, the Kun Peng. However, the image in his mind was of a treasured saber overflowing with light.
Not only was there the ninety-percent-comprehended saber intent but also the even more horrifying immortal will of thunder. Xiao Chen took a completely different approach to this Kun Peng Fist. He already surpassed what the Heavenly Roc King could do with this move, transforming it into a whole new move.
Han Qinghe’s thoughts raced in that instant. He knew that if he still kept to the combat prowess of a peak Medial Grade Martial Sage to clash with this move, he would definitely be defeated.
“Boom!” Han Qinghe’s aura soared wildly. When Xiao Chen’s fist light neared him, Han Qinghe raised his strength to Superior Grade Martial Sage, bringing the might of Golden Crow Spreading Wings now to two hundred percent.
The two fists collided again. The two moved back a hundred steps in the air. The energy in Xiao Chen’s body surged. A fiery aura resembling the Solar True Flame penetrated the surface defenses of his body and the protective layer within his body, heading for his internal organs.
The Heavenly Sage Laws in Xiao Chen’s body billowed and blocked this fiery aura, using the power of lightning to purify it.
First Elder Han Qinghe waved his hand and smiled helplessly. “I’m done. Let’s stop fighting. If we continue, I will really end up extremely embarrassed. I already lost with the first move. After not seeing you for two years, Xiao Chen, I can tell that you have indeed undergone a rebirth. You did not let down the Sect Master’s expectations.”
Xiao Chen performed a cupped-fist salute and said, “First Elder is being too humble. If you used your full power, this little one would not be able to block even a single move.”
These words were true as well. As a grandmaster-level Martial Sage, Han Qinghe was only one step shy of advancing to quasi-Emperor. If he used his full power, the instant he launched the Burning Star Fist, Xiao Chen would not be able to capture even a trace of it.
This was the gap created by the difference in cultivation. There was nothing embarrassing about it. Once Xiao Chen caught up in cultivation, he naturally would not fear this.
These words were not meant to flatter Han Qinghe. So, when he heard them, he felt extremely satisfied. Although he admitted defeat, Xiao Chen was very understanding and immediately gave him a way out of this embarrassing situation.
After all, Han Qinghe was still somewhat ashamed at being defeated in two moves before so many inner sect Elders and junior disciples.
The spectating elders and disciples all stared at Xiao Chen, not daring to underestimate him. Although his cultivation had not improved much in two years, his combat prowess was significantly higher.
“He managed to defeat the First Elder in such an overwhelming manner with two moves. The current Senior Brother Xiao Chen is as strong as those peak geniuses who left their names on the Sage Mark Monument.”
“I believe that the geniuses of the ancient races that appeared recently would not be much stronger than Senior Brother Xiao Chen.”
