Chapter 460 - 458: Battle Intent

Chapter 460: Chapter 458: Battle Intent

Jian Wuheng held Shen Changchuan in extremely high regard.

Over the course of their half-month journey, their conversations had made it clear to him that the young man’s mastery of Sword Dao techniques was profound.

If not for the fact that Shen Changchuan was only at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer Realm—and he himself couldn’t stomach the thought of using his Soul Emergence Ninth Layer status to "bully" him—Jian Wuheng would have insisted on a duel to test his own Sword Dao.

Now, after hearing the details of what had just happened, Jian Wuheng couldn’t help but grow even more eager.

’I misjudged him! I completely misjudged him!’

’To think this young man has even mastered a Tier Two Top Level Sword Magic!’

There was no doubt about it.

To unleash power comparable to the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer,

that sword strike had to be a Tier Two Top Level Magic!

’And a Perfection Level one at that!’

This revelation undoubtedly made Jian Wuheng’s heart pound with excitement.

After all,

even he, who possessed one or two Tier Two Top Level Magic techniques, had never managed to cultivate any of them to Perfection!

It was only natural that he was practically drooling over the Perfection-level, Tier Two Top Level Skill Shen Changchuan possessed.

He desperately wanted to see it for himself—

to witness the splendor of a Perfection Level, Tier Two Top Level Sword Magic!

This wasn’t just because he was devoted to the Sword Dao and yearned to witness the splendor of an even more powerful Sword Dao Technique.

More importantly,

he hoped he could study Shen Changchuan’s Perfection Level Tier Two Top Level Sword Magic and glimpse the path to achieving Perfection with his own techniques!

For this reason, Jian Wuheng’s gaze grew even more intense.

However,

as a Sword Cultivator,

he still had his pride—

a pride that disdained the idea of the strong bullying the weak!

No matter how formidable Shen Changchuan’s techniques were, he was ultimately just a cultivator at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer.

Meanwhile, he, Jian Wuheng, had been at the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer for over a decade.

With a gap of two whole Realms between them, he simply couldn’t bring himself to challenge Shen Changchuan to a duel.

It was like an adult challenging a child; how could he possibly do so without feeling ashamed?

And that was what led to the conversation that followed.

"Er, Senior Brother Jian, you must be joking."

Jian Wuheng’s words had taken Shen Changchuan by surprise.

Calling him "Senior Brother" wasn’t Shen Changchuan being presumptuous. On the contrary, during their half-month journey, Jian Wuheng himself had insisted on the address.

In his eyes, Shen Changchuan’s understanding of Sword Magic cultivation surpassed his own. Therefore, despite being much older and having a higher Cultivation Realm, he insisted they address each other as peers.

Besides, the Ancient Sword Sect was a vassal of the Yuqing Immortal Sect, founded by former disciples of the main Immortal Sect. In a way, they and the Dragon Cloud Sect were branches from the same tree. Therefore, addressing him as Senior Brother Jian was not inappropriate.

"While I am interested in the Immortal Sect’s grand competition, I’m only at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer. I’m afraid I might not even qualify to participate!"

"Perhaps, if my luck is good, I’ll have to wait for the next one."

Although he already had a plan of his own, Shen Changchuan maintained a humble expression.

"No. I don’t believe you."

Jian Wuheng stared into Shen Changchuan’s eyes, his voice filled with conviction.

"You will definitely participate."

"I’ll be looking forward to your performance at the grand competition!"

As he finished speaking, the surrounding crowd, having overheard the exchange, turned to stare at the two of them in astonishment.

Shen Changchuan, in particular, drew a great deal of curious attention.

A grand event like the Immortal Sect’s centennial competition might be unheard of for low-level Cultivators in the Qi Introduction Realm. However, for people who had already climbed to a certain status—such as those in the Middle to Late Stage of the Soul Emergence Realm—it was a household name.

This was especially true now, with less than a decade to go before the competition began.

It was a contest that would bring together all the greatest prodigies from across the Thirty-Six Small Domains!

Every person who qualified to stand on that stage was a peerless prodigy, the absolute peak of their respective region.

Admittedly, Shen Changchuan’s reputation was already immense. He was an unparalleled prodigy of Tian Nan Domain’s younger generation, a talent so great he dominated his entire era!

Even across all Thirty-Six Small Domains, he would rank near the top, no less impressive than the descendants of those legendary Profound Pill Realm Zhenren.

The problem, however, was that the Immortal Sect’s centennial competition wasn’t just for the newest generation of talent!

Prodigies from the previous generation, and even the generation before that, were all eligible to participate, so long as they were under two hundred years old and had not yet broken through to the Divine Travel Realm.

Some contestants might have even spent decades honing their skills at the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer Peak, all for the sake of victory in the competition!

And Shen Changchuan, who had only been on the Path of Immortal Cultivation for twenty or thirty years, was going to participate in such a monumental event?!

In an instant, the way everyone looked at Shen Changchuan changed completely.

"Incredible. As they say, the new generation surpasses the old. A true hero in his youth!"

"To think I’ve lived in vain for over a century, only for my life’s accomplishments to be merely the starting point for a young man like him!"

The speaker was Gu Xuanqing.

As the Grand Elder of the Ancient Sword Sect, he was all too aware of what the Immortal Sect’s centennial competition entailed.

Even now, at his advanced age, his peak achievements weren’t enough to even qualify him for a spot on that stage.

No wonder he expressed such a heartfelt sentiment.

His words resonated with many others in the crowd, who felt the same way.

"Seniors, you all think too highly of me."

"I am merely at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer. In ten years, it will be a monumental struggle just to reach the Eighth Layer. How could it possibly be so easy to set foot on such a grand stage?"

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t believe it. But for you, Shen Changchuan, I think it might just be possible!"

"That’s right! Today, you were able to unleash power comparable to the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer with a single strike. In the future, you can definitely compete on that stage and bring glory to the Tian Nan Domain’s Immortal Cultivation Realm!"

"Indeed! For years, the Tian Nan Domain has been at the bottom of the Thirty-Six Small Domains. After this, who would dare say that Tian Nan has no talent?!"

A continuous stream of praise and flattery followed.

Shen Changchuan couldn’t tell how many of these people were sincere and how many harbored jealousy and resentment in their hearts.

But at the very least, on the surface, everyone seemed to eagerly anticipate him making a spectacular showing at the Immortal Sect’s centennial competition.

Their gazes were all filled with awe.

However,

Shen Changchuan was not blinded by their praise and adulation.

’The world is vast, and geniuses are innumerable. If I really want to make a splash at the Immortal Sect’s grand competition, I have to master the Void Escape Gu and integrate its Power of Space into my own Magic System.’

’Otherwise, at my current level, no matter how hard I work, ten years from now I’ll be fated to be nothing more than a stepping stone on that stage!’

’Whether or not I can succeed all depends on whether I can refine the Void Escape Gu first.’