Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Hundred Swords Peak was one of the nine peaks.
Through clouds and fogs, the dense spiritual energies of the Dragon Tiger Mountain flew into the mountain. When it achieved a certain amount, it would turn into powerful sword energy.
This sword energy would have a bad influence on average people, but for swordsmen, it would help them reach a calm mood and achieve the best they could.
At the moment, lights reflected off swords could be observed from time to time at the Hundred Swords Peak. The disciples of the celestial palace were practicing sword.
The lights were radiant and dazzling.
The mountainside was where the sword energy was the densest. Most disciples of the Hundred Swords Peak gathered outside a stone house.
The cubic house did not even have a window. When the door was closed, it was also tough to find a crack between the door and the frame.
However, sword radiances were breaking out inside frequently, illuminating the stone house.
At the same time, a number would show on the stone wall outside.
After breaking out of sword radiances, a “Seven” showed.
“Wow! The seventh challenge!”
“Apprentice Elder Brother Meng Kong is certainly the best disciple of the Heavenly Sword Mountain.”
“Heavenly Sword Mountain? Now he is the disciple of Ling Long Celestial Palace.”
“The seventh challenge of the Sword House. Tut. Tut. Tut. Vice Leader Zhang Tian got through the sixteenth challenge last time, didn’t he?”
“Keep it down. He isn’t the vice leader anymore.”
Someone reminded the disciple who had spilled the beans. He panicked, but then he curled up his lip. Reluctant to admit his mistake, he said, “I’ll regard the stronger one as my vice leader.”
Laughing, those around did not take it seriously.
None of them liked the new vice leader, so they would not argue for him.
“You mean I’m not strong enough to be a vice leader?”
To their surprise, two flowing lights whooshed across the sky and landed on the ground. Then one man and one woman appeared. They were exactly Jiang Chen and Zhi Ruo.
What happened the day before was still very vivid in their minds. They certainly knew who he was.
Especially when they had seen the vice leader’s token at Jiang Chen’s waist, they all tensed up.
The disciple who had said stupid things gnashed his teeth. His face looked hideous.
He knew by reason that he should at least pretend he was panicked and frightened, but he was just reluctant to do so.
“What? I’m asking you. As a swordsman, you don’t dare admit what you said?” said Jiang Chen.
It sounded an accusation. And it looked so as well.
At the thought of the relationship between Jiang Chen and Leader the Venerable, the disciple turned pale instantly.
The others around also got nervous. They did not even dare breathe hard.
“Vice leader, please don’t take the indiscreet remark of the Hundred Swords Peak’s disciple to your heart.”
At this moment, a pretty woman in a long skirt of moonlight color walked over gently and slowly.
Or it just looked like she was walking slowly because she came up to Jiang Chen instantly.
“Sword steps.”
Raising his eyebrow, Jiang Chen sized this woman up seriously.
She was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, but she looked very young. Her skin was fair and smooth, even better than teenage girls’.
Below her eyebrows were a pair of almond eyes. Slim and tall, she looked very light when she moved.
Apparently, she could not be a disciple of the Hundred Swords Peak.
Her age and her state said she could not be.
“First Chair of the Hundred Swords Peak, Duanmu Rong.”
Zhi Ruo said in a low voice.
“Liu Neng, apologize to the vice leader.” Duanmu Rong smiled. Her voice sounded like a fresh spring flowing through the mountain.
“Vice leader…”
The disciple, called Liu Neng felt relieved. Thinking there would not be any big trouble, he was about to apologize.
“No. I want him to repeat what he said just now.”
Jiang Chen said in a deep voice without letting him apologize.
“What?”
Liu Neng’s face froze. He knew the vice leader had been pissed off and would not let go of him easily.
“It’s really tiring to deal with young people.”
Arranging her bang, Duanmu Rong felt helpless.
She thought Jiang Chen was going to use Liu Neng to establish his prestige, to tell the disciples of the Hundred Swords Peak, who was the vice leader.
However, didn’t he know he would not get what he wanted? Instead, things would go the opposite way.
But since Liu Neng made an indiscreet remark first, she would not try to protect him.
She was just hoping the vice leader would not come up with some extreme punishment.
In that case, she would have to take the wind out of his sails.
As to the relationship between Jiang Chen and Leader the Venerable, she did not care a fig, just as she did not care a fig about the position of the Hundred Swords Peak’s First Chair.
Zhang Tian was an excellent man. He followed Red Cloud Venerable here to be the vice leader.
He was also the reason that Duanmu Rong came here to the Hundred Swords Peak to be the First Chair.
However, it was not that she was desperately in love with Zhang Tian. Besides, she had had a problem with Xue Ke for a long time, so she did not leave the previous day.
“I said, I’ll regard the stronger one as my vice leader!”
Liu Neng finally plucked up his courage to say it loudly.
He kept his eyes shut while speaking as if he was doing something really great.
Holding their breath, people were expecting Jiang Chen to fly into a rage.
“Great. A swordsman who always flinches and doesn’t dare face his true self doesn’t deserve to use a sword.”
Nevertheless, Jiang Chen was not irritated. He smiled instead.
Everyone was shocked, including Duanmu Rong.
“Is he trying to convince people by virtue?”
Duanmu Rong thought. But that would not be easy.
The premise of convincing people by virtue was being strong enough.
“The thing is, you think I’m not as good as the former vice leader?”
To their surprise again, Jiang Chen brought up another topic. He did not just let it go.
This time Liu Neng had not hesitated too much before he nodded.
“I don’t think so.”
Jiang Chen said.
The others went into an uproar. Zhang Tian was a great Martial Arts Saint. It was obvious who was stronger.
“What he wins over me is time. Although it sounds cheeky, you think I’m weaker because you’re also judging me by time,” added Jiang Chen.
“He is eloquent.”
Duanmu Rong thought. What Jiang Chen said sounded quite right. It was thought-provoking for the disciples of the Hundred Swords Peak.
“So, you think he is stronger than I am now. I admit that. But he won’t always be stronger than I am,” Jiang Chen went on.
The other disciples came to understand it was inappropriate to compare two persons from different ages.
“In addition, to be vice leader, being strong isn’t enough. A vice leader has to be smart, too. As far as I know, the former vice leader did nothing for the celestial palace.”
Jiang Chen was not gossiping about Zhang Tian behind his back.
In fact, Zhang Tian thought he had already sacrificed a lot to be the vice leader here, so he did not even give a thought to what he could do for the celestial palace.
It was the three grand elders who were working.
The First Elder said Jiang Chen could resolve the crisis of the celestial palace, but Zhang Tian had never bothered to know what the crisis was.
“Vice Leader, I know what you mean. It makes sense. But spoken words fly away. Don’t you think it’s not convincing enough?”
As Zhang Tian’s adorer, Duanmu Rong, was kind of pissed.
Although they were from two different ages, it did not mean anyone was better than Zhang Tian when the latter had been young.
On the contrary, she was confident enough to say none of the current Martial Emperors below the first tier was as good as he was.
“Truth.”
Looking towards that stone house, Jiang Chen said, “I heard you say Zhang Tian had gone through the sixteenth challenge when I came, hadn’t he?”
“Yes.” Duanmu Rong showed a surprised face as if she had guessed what Jiang Chen was going to do.
But did he really know what the sixteenth challenge meant?
“I’ll break his record,” said Jiang Chen.
Duanmu Rong smiled. She thought, “So, he doesn’t know.”
The disciples of the Hundred Swords Peak reacted in a very exaggerating way.
The stone house was called Sword House. Leader the Venerable gave it to them for practicing purpose.
Martial Emperors could only handle the first ten challenges.
For Martial Arts Saints, the limit was the first twenty challenges.
Zhang Tian went through sixteen challenges. It was fair to say he was the best of the best.
As a Martial Emperor in the late stage, Jiang Chen claimed he would break this record. That was way too arrogant.
