Chapter 189 - 182: Trampling the Liuyun Sword Sect

Chapter 189: Chapter 182: Trampling the Liuyun Sword Sect

Within the Panshi Sect, Chen Yue returned to his courtyard.

The flowers and plants in the corner of the courtyard swayed gently in the afternoon breeze as a few bees darted between the petals.

Chen Yue walked to the stone slab in the center of the courtyard and came to a stop. He slowly raised his hands and began practicing the forms of the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell.

Each movement was as steady as a mountain, carrying a majestic rhythm that stirred the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

It was as if the earlier confrontation with the Liuyun Sword Sect was nothing more than a leaf in the wind, unworthy of his concern or distraction.

To him, the Life and Death Decision one month from now was merely a reason to go all-out in the interim. But Chen Yue already gave his all to his training every single day.

Meanwhile, Meng Yu Jin left Cloud-Gazing Hall, traversed several mountain paths, and arrived at a secluded courtyard on True Inheritance Peak.

The clear spring in the courtyard still trickled. Mo Ciqiu was sitting on a stone bench, holding a piece of osmanthus cake. A few crumbs clung to the corner of her mouth, and she looked utterly relaxed and carefree.

Seeing Meng Yu Jin enter the courtyard, she looked up, wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, and asked casually, "Is the matter with your disciple settled?"

Meng Yu Jin walked over to the stone table but didn’t sit down. She simply stood there, nodded, and then shook her head.

Mo Ciqiu’s brow twitched. The cake in her hand paused in mid-air as she looked at Meng Yu Jin in confusion.

"What’s that supposed to mean? It’s either settled or it isn’t. What’s with the nodding and shaking your head?"

Meng Yu Jin sat down on a stone bench, picked up a cup of tea from the table, and downed it in one gulp.

Then she set down the cup and looked at Mo Ciqiu, her voice laced with a complex mix of emotions.

"I’ve driven the people from the Liuyun Sword Sect away for now, but in one month, Chen Yue is set to face that Guan Duhai in a Life and Death Decision."

Mo Ciqiu froze, her eyes flashing with shock and disbelief.

She placed the osmanthus cake back on the table, her brow furrowed. "Guan Duhai? The one who’s in the top ten of the Liuyun Sword Sect’s Sword Heart Ranking?"

As an Innate Realm expert of the Panshi Sect, Mo Ciqiu was more or less familiar with the names and deeds of the top ten Inner Sect disciples from neighboring sects.

She was no stranger to the name Guan Duhai. He was ranked eighth on the Liuyun Sword Sect’s Sword Heart Ranking and at the peak of the Refining Organ Realm. It was said he was only a paper-thin barrier away from the Innate Acupoint Refining Realm.

"How could you let Chen Yue agree to a Life and Death Decision with Guan Duhai? Are you insane, or is your disciple?"

Mo Ciqiu’s voice rose, laced with clear anger and urgency. "And what about Wei Kuang? He was there, wasn’t he? Why didn’t he stop them? It was a blatant case of a senior bullying a junior. He didn’t even dare to say a word?"

Meng Yu Jin shook her head, her voice full of helplessness. "Chen Yue accepted it himself. I didn’t have time to stop him."

Exasperated, Mo Ciqiu shot to her feet and paced back and forth in the courtyard, looking like she wanted to say something but didn’t know where to begin.

She whirled around to face Meng Yu Jin, her voice filled with a desperate frustration.

"Chen Yue accepted, and you all just went along with it? He’s in the Marrow Refining Realm! No matter how strong he is, he’s still just in the Marrow Refining Realm! Guan Duhai is in the top ten of the Sword Heart Ranking, not ranked eighty-ninth on our Cyan Cloud Ranking!"

Meng Yu Jin watched her fuming friend, waiting until she had finished before speaking.

"Have you heard of the Talents, Copper Skin Iron Bones and Immune to Hundred Poisons?"

Mo Ciqiu’s brow furrowed slightly, her expression questioning why Meng Yu Jin was suddenly bringing this up.

"Of course I have. They’re two types of Talents. One greatly enhances the body’s foundation, and the other grants immunity to most poisons. But what does that have to do with Chen Yue..."

Her words trailed off. Her gaze landed on Meng Yu Jin’s face, and a possibility rapidly took shape in her mind.

"Are you saying... Chen Yue has both of those Talents?"

Meng Yu Jin nodded. "Chen Yue currently takes seven Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills and three Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pills a day, without any discomfort and no accumulation of pill toxins in his body.

His foundation is incomparably solid, and he has cultivated All Things Return to the Source to an extremely high level..."

Mo Ciqiu blinked, her usually composed eyes now filled with astonishment.

She considered her own aptitude to be outstanding within the Panshi Sect; back then, she had treated the Innate Barrier as if it were nothing.

But even she couldn’t have taken that many Elixirs in a single day when she was in the Marrow Refining Realm.

Her body simply wouldn’t have been able to handle it. The pill toxins contained within those Elixirs alone would have required her to spend a great deal of time and energy to expel, just to ensure they didn’t accumulate and become a hidden danger.

And yet Chen Yue took ten Elixirs a day without batting an eye, not even needing time to clear out the pill toxins.

Mo Ciqiu picked up the osmanthus cake from the table again, took a bite, and chewed slowly.

She swallowed the bite of cake, took a sip of tea to wash away the cloying sweetness, and then set down both the cup and the pastry.

Mo Ciqiu possessed other Talents as well. She had been able to sense the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi back in the Marrow Refining Realm, and her Heart Spirit had fully transformed into Divine Sense during the Refining Organ Realm. That was why she had broken through to the Innate Realm so easily.

Mo Ciqiu’s gaze fell on Meng Yu Jin’s face, the corner of her mouth twitching. "Your disciple sounds a bit like our dear Senior Brother Liu. The ’Pill-Popping Innate’—you haven’t forgotten that nickname, have you?"

Hearing this, Meng Yu Jin couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Mo Ciqiu.

"Just because Senior Brother Liu beat you once, you had to give him such a weird nickname? Are you still holding a grudge after all these years?"

Mo Ciqiu popped the rest of the osmanthus cake into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed.

"I don’t care. He hit me really hard that time. Besides, his pill-popping is just excessive! From the Skin Refining Realm all the way to Innate, he relied on Elixirs to cultivate, relied on Elixirs to break through, relied on Elixirs to fight... and his Cultivation still progresses faster than mine even now. I’m jealous!"

At this, Meng Yu Jin couldn’t help but let out a helpless laugh.

She picked up the teapot, refilled Mo Ciqiu’s cup, and then poured one for herself.

Mo Ciqiu smiled too, but her smile quickly vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

She looked at Meng Yu Jin. "You haven’t finished your thought. If Chen Yue’s Talent is so exceptional and his foundation is so solid, why the rush to fight in one month? He could have easily waited until he was better prepared."

Meng Yu Jin set down the teapot and looked at Mo Ciqiu. "Because Chen Yue said he can break through to the Refining Organ Realm within a month. At that point, he’ll naturally be ready to face Guan Duhai."

Mo Ciqiu’s eyes widened slightly. "That fast? Didn’t he just break through to the Marrow Refining Realm not long ago? At this rate, wouldn’t that be even faster than our ’Pill-Popping Innate’ Senior Brother Liu used to cultivate?"

Meng Yu Jin nodded, not refuting the point.

Mo Ciqiu leaned back in her chair, her gaze falling on the swaying bamboo in the courtyard. She was silent for a long time.

"By the way, Chen Yue said the Life and Death Decision in one month is to be held at the Liuyun Sword Sect," Meng Yu Jin added.

"Why?" Mo Ciqiu asked, puzzled.

"He wants to stomp all over the Liuyun Sword Sect!"

Early the next morning, long before the sun had fully risen, the main peak’s Martial Arts Arena was already as bustling as a market fair.

A thin morning mist still clung to the mountainside, but the stone steps, pillars, and edges of the high platforms surrounding the Martial Arts Arena were already packed with people.

There were at least twenty percent more disciples watching than there had been for the battle between Chen Yue and Ji Wanting ten days ago.

Chen Yue’s name echoed repeatedly through the crowd. Some excitedly mimicked the Saber Technique he had used to defeat Ji Wanting, while others quietly analyzed the difference in strength between Hua Guanzhi and Ji Wanting.

Others argued over whether the betting odds for the day’s match were reasonable. The fervent atmosphere surging through the air filled everyone present with an indescribable excitement and anticipation.

Meanwhile, a piece of news began to spread quietly through the crowd.

At first, it was just a few disciples in a corner, conversing in hushed tones.

Then, the news spread from ear to ear, from one person to the next.

The news concerned the events in Cloud-Gazing Hall the previous day: in one month, Chen Yue was to face Guan Duhai of the Liuyun Sword Sect in a Life and Death Decision.

Eighth on the Sword Heart Ranking, peak of the Refining Organ Realm, and rumored to be on the verge of stepping into the Innate Realm at any moment.

The news was still spreading within a small circle, but before it could gain traction, the murmurs came to an abrupt halt with the appearance of a figure.

Hua Guanzhi had arrived.

The crowd parted, forming a path down the middle. Hua Guanzhi walked through it, his steps steady and unhurried.

He carried an aura as calm as still water. His eyes were slightly downcast. A sword hung at his waist—a plain, unadorned iron sword, its hilt wrapped in black silk thread that had been worn smooth and shiny from use.

Hua Guanzhi walked to the center of the Martial Arts Arena and stopped, his gaze calmly fixed on the opposite side.

At almost the exact same moment, Chen Yue also arrived at the Martial Arts Arena.

He wore a blue-gray Changshan. As he stepped onto the Martial Arts Arena, the murmurs that had been suppressed by Hua Guanzhi’s appearance started up again in low tones.

Chen Yue and Hua Guanzhi locked eyes from fifty feet away.

Several miles away, Meng Yu Jin and Mo Ciqiu stood side by side on the branch of an old pine tree growing at the edge of a cliff.

The mountain wind blew past, causing the hems of their robes to flutter, but their figures remained as steady as a rock upon the branch.

The eyesight of an Innate Realm expert was far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.

They had no need to get closer. Even from such a distance, they could see the Martial Arts Arena as if it were right before their eyes.

Mo Ciqiu stood on a thick, outstretched branch with her arms crossed, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Her gaze rested on the blue-gray figure miles away. After watching for a moment, she turned to glance at Meng Yu Jin.

"Still so worried about your disciple? You just watched that whole fiasco with the Liuyun Sword Sect yesterday, and now you’re here today to watch him fight a Cyan Cloud Ranking match."

Meng Yu Jin didn’t reply. Her gaze remained fixed on Chen Yue’s figure, her expression calm and focused.

Mo Ciqiu looked back toward the Martial Arts Arena and muttered, "To be honest, he does look pretty sharp."

Meng Yu Jin ignored her, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

On the Martial Arts Arena, Hua Guanzhi’s right hand hung at his side, his fingertips resting lightly on his sword hilt without gripping it.

Song Zhen stood on the high platform, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two of them.

"Begin!"

The moment his voice fell, Hua Guanzhi’s right hand clamped down on his sword hilt. In the next instant, the scabbard shot from his hand like a black shadow, flying straight toward Chen Yue.

The sound of it tearing through the air was sharp and piercing, like the shriek of a zither string pulled taut to its breaking point.

As for Hua Guanzhi himself, his figure moved like a leaf caught in the wind. The very instant the scabbard flew, he was right behind it, rushing toward Chen Yue.

His footwork was light and swift, his feet barely seeming to touch the ground. Each step left only a shallow imprint on the bluestone slabs—a trace left by the Inner Strength infused into the soles of his feet.

His body was pitched slightly forward, his center of gravity kept low. The longsword was held horizontally at his side, its tip angled slightly upward, all his power concentrated for the explosive burst that was to follow.

The gazes of the thousands of spectators outside the Martial Arts Arena were all focused on this single moment.