With those words, Chen Zui no longer suppressed his realm.
A Grandmaster’s aura belonging strictly to the mid-stage Wind-Riding Realm emanated forth, displaying itself before everyone.
The reason the Wind-Riding Realm was called the Grandmaster Realm was that a martial artist stepping into this realm could already “unite body with heaven and earth.”
With every gesture and movement, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth obeyed like an extension of their own arms.
The air outside the mountain gate abruptly froze.
At this moment,
Han Shuanghe only felt a mountain suddenly pressing down upon his sword.
In the next second,
he watched in utter disbelief as Frost Pattern in his hand was forced into a bend of three inches right in midair!
“This... impossible!”
Han Shuanghe was greatly horrified.
At the same time, his body felt as though an invisible shackle had bound all his limbs and bones.
He strained with all his might to lift his sword, yet it remained completely futile.
The pressure invaded every opening; it was not merely pressing upon his physical body, but crushing down upon his mind and spirit as well.
And similarly,
Wu Yang’s flying fan ground to a violent halt in midair, unable to advance even an inch further.
He tried to recall the flying fan, but the Flowing Cloud Flying Fan, which usually obeyed his command like an extension of his own arm, was now as heavy as a thousand pounds, refusing to obey his summons at all.
His face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured down his forehead like rain.
At this moment,
two weapons and a pair of young geniuses were all pinned completely motionless by Chen Zui’s Grandmaster pressure.
Chen Zui took a step forward.
Just a single step.
Han Shuanghe let out a muffled groan as his body staggered back seven full steps!
Every step left a deep footprint in the bluestone flagstones.
The Frost Pattern longsword in his hand trembled uncontrollably, its frosty patterns letting out a faint hum under the pressure of true qi.
When Han Shuanghe reached the eighth step, he could no longer hold onto the sword's hilt, and it flew out of his grip!
The Frost Pattern longsword—the pride of his status as the sect leader's sole designated successor—spun several times in the air before lodging obliquely beneath a maple tree several zhang away.
The blade continued to tremble incessantly on its own.
Wu Yang had collapsed even sooner than Han Shuanghe.
The moment Chen Zui took his first step, Wu Yang lost the power to sustain his flying fan. With a clatter, it dropped to the ground, its ribs scattering all over.
He himself stumbled back ten consecutive steps until his back slammed into a maple tree, shaking the tree so hard that red leaves rustled down in showers!
The outcome was decided.
Two proud darlings of heaven, elevated to altars by their sects and countless onlookers, had been defeated so simply!
And the one who defeated them was someone even younger than they were.
No one dared to believe the scene unfolding before their eyes.
Han Shuanghe knelt on one knee and slowly raised his head.
His white robes were drenched in cold sweat, and several strands of hair had fallen loose from his usually immaculate topknot.
The composure and certainty in his eyes from earlier were gone, replaced by an uncontrollable trembling.
The Wind-Riding Realm.
It really was the Wind-Riding Realm!
The rumors were actually true!
This time, his defeat was thorough and absolute!
Had Chen Zui revealed his Wind-Riding Realm strength from the very beginning, Han Shuanghe likely wouldn't have been able to strike with even a single sword move.
Chen Zui sheathed his sword, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present, and asked in a flat tone,
“Who else?”
No one answered.
At this moment,
these young geniuses all hung their heads, lacking even the courage to meet Chen Zui’s eyes.
What a joke.
Even these three had been defeated; wouldn't stepping up themselves be throwing away their lives for nothing?
The setting sun sank in the west, and the maple leaves burned like fire.
Chen Zui stood erect with his hands behind his back, his green robe swaying gently in the mountain wind.
Before him, not one of the twenty-odd young geniuses famous throughout Jiangnan dared to raise their head.
It was not that these proud geniuses possessed unearned reputations, but that Chen Zui was simply far too strong.
Xu Fu’s Eight Rushing Thunder Strikes, Han Shuanghe’s Thirteen Upright Earth Forms, Wu Yang’s Flowing Cloud Flying Fan—
any one of them would be considered a renowned ultimate technique in the martial world.
Unfortunately, the person they had chosen to challenge was Chen Zui.
Above the mountain gate, Qi Tianchen stood with his hands behind his back, watching the slender back below, his expression slightly moved.
He had lived for most of a lifetime and witnessed countless brilliantly talented individuals.
Yet the figure emerging in his mind at this moment was another person entirely.
That was Shen Xingzhi from many years ago.
In those days, Shen Xingzhi had wielded his sword in white robes, accompanied by a taciturn Sword Attendant.
Back then, he had suppressed all his peers just like this, making it impossible for them to raise their heads.
The difference was that Shen Xingzhi had challenged them door-to-door back then, sweeping through the martial world’s peers along his path.
Whereas today, this group of ignorant juniors had come knocking on the door themselves, bringing humiliation upon their own heads.
“Get lost already!”
Qi Tianchen’s voice boomed down from above the mountain gate like a resonant bell.
Han Shuanghe gritted his teeth as he scrambled up from the ground, pulled out the Frost Pattern longsword lodged beneath the maple tree, and mounted his horse without a word.
Xu Fu picked up his twin hammers scattered on the ground and followed behind Han Shuanghe’s horse.
Wu Yang struggled to his feet, cupped his hands toward the mountain gate, and silently retreated as well.
The twenty-plus fast horses had arrived with ferocious momentum, yet they departed in dead silence.
Their hooves trampled over the fallen maple leaves, soon disappearing into the dusk along the mountain path.
Once the back of the last rider dissolved into the depths of the maple forest, A-Tong rushed out from among the mountain-guarding disciples.
He ran up to Chen Zui, his pair of eyes shining as brightly as if two lamps had been lit inside them, so excited that he spoke incoherently.
“Brother Chen! You're incredible!
Three sword styles!
Comprehended right in the middle of battle, no less!
You beat them so badly they scrambled away in disgrace!”
Chen Zui reached out to ruffle his hair, interrupting his torrent of words, and looked past him to Qi Tianchen before the mountain gate.
“Senior, this junior must take his leave.”
Hearing this, Qi Tianchen frowned slightly.
With a single step, he glided silently from atop the mountain gate to stand before Chen Zui.
After a moment of silence, Qi Tianchen took out a small wooden box from his sleeve and handed it to Chen Zui.
“Since you have already decided, I shall not detain you further.
Inside is the offspring Gu of the Thousand-Li Sound Gu.
The mother Gu is at Furnace-Listening Pavilion. On the day your new spear is finished, I will use the mother Gu to notify you.
No matter where you are, Furnace-Listening Pavilion will deliver the spear to your hands.”
Chen Zui took the wooden box, carefully packed it into his bag, and bowed deeply with cupped hands toward Qi Tianchen.
“Thank you, Senior.
I have trespassed on your hospitality over this past month or so.
If I were to remain at Furnace-Listening Pavilion, I would be at risk of repaying kindness with ill.”
Qi Tianchen waved his hand, intending to say no more.
Yet as he watched Chen Zui turn to depart, he could not help but speak up in the end.
“Wait.”
He slowly drew out a thin booklet from his sleeve.
Its pages were yellowed and the corners slightly curled, clearly showing its age.
There were no characters on the cover, only a drawing of a crossed saber and sword, the ink faded into a dull gray.
“These are some insights Qingyi and I recorded when traveling the martial world in our youth.”
Qi Tianchen handed the booklet to Chen Zui.
“Inside are some realizations regarding sword and saber techniques, as well as a few pages on how to nurture one's state of mind through weapons.
Since you kid could comprehend three sword styles right in the middle of battle, these things ought to be of some use to you.”
Hearing this, Chen Zui did not refuse, taking the booklet with both hands.
“Thank you, Senior!”
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