Hearing Huang Rong say that Lu Chen had practiced swordsmanship for only a month, Huang Yaoshi narrowed his eyes slightly. Deep within his pupils, a deeply hidden chill flashed—
He had personally witnessed Lu Chen's sword dance just now. How could a sword dance with such bearing have been practiced for only one month?
It had to take at least three to five years of grueling effort!
A martial artist with a solid foundation in swordsmanship and considerable skill had pretended not to know martial arts, approached Rong'er, and sought her instruction. What was this boy plotting?
Rong'er was innocent and guileless, newly entered into the martial world, and ignorant of the dangers of the human heart. She had fallen for this brat's wicked tricks. But before Huang, a master of deception, this brat's shallow tricks were far from enough!
Huang Yaoshi sneered inwardly and cast Lu Chen an indifferent glance.
"Is that so? Rong'er, you didn't teach him Falling Blossom Swordplay or Jade Flute Swordplay?"
Clinging to Huang Yaoshi's arm, Huang Rong answered obediently,
"Without Father's permission, Rong'er wouldn't dare pass on our sect's sword techniques without authorization."
Only then did Huang Yaoshi feel somewhat relieved. He nodded.
"At least you still know the rules."
Though Huang Rong was clever, she was still too inexperienced before an old hand of extraordinary intellect like Huang Yaoshi. She failed to notice that Huang Yaoshi had already developed a misunderstanding toward Lu Chen and instead proudly praised him.
"Lu Chen also has an Ultimate Sword. That sword is truly incredible. I guarantee that once Father sees it, even you'll be astonished."
Ultimate Sword?
When Huang Yaoshi had been at the courtyard gate earlier, he had heard Huang Rong mention some "Ultimate Sword of astonishing power." Even the title Heavenly Outer Sword God seemed to have come from it.
So this boy had used that sword to draw Rong'er's attention and make her regard him as "unpolished jade, a prodigy"?
"Since Rong'er praises it so highly, then I truly must see it for myself."
Huang Yaoshi lowered his eyelids, concealing the chill in his eyes, and spoke indifferently to Lu Chen.
"Young Friend Lu, would you let Huang witness the Ultimate Sword that Rong'er never stops praising and has honored with the title Divine Sword?"
Huang Yaoshi's tone sounded somewhat strange, and his attitude was cold and distant. Lu Chen merely took it as the normal reaction of a doting father seeing some punk trying to steal his precious daughter, so he did not find anything amiss.
He looked toward Huang Rong and saw her eyes filled with anticipation. Smiling, she gave him an encouraging gesture. He stepped back three paces and bowed to Huang Yaoshi.
"Since Senior commands it, this junior dares not refuse. Please guide me, Senior."
As he spoke, he gripped the Wooden Sword and assumed the opening stance of Sword One.
Huang Rong then released Huang Yaoshi's arm and stepped aside. She even casually handed her father a Wooden Sword.
With both hands behind his back, Huang Yaoshi said indifferently, "I have no need for it."
In all the world, only Western Venom, Southern Emperor, and Northern Beggar were worthy of making him face them with a weapon. No one else was enough to make him use one.
Yet Huang Rong giggled, her voice soft and sweet as she spoke in a coquettish tone.
"Father, just take it. Treat it as guiding Lu Chen in swordsmanship, all right?"
In truth, she was doing this for Huang Yaoshi's sake.
Though Lu Chen's Sword One had the power of only a single strike, that strike possessed the might of the Five Greats.
Her father was, of course, one of the Five Greats of the World. He could not possibly be defeated in one move by an attack of the same level. But she knew how proud he was. Faced with Lu Chen's sword strike directly before him, he would never use movement techniques to evade. He would surely take it head-on where he stood.
If he neither dodged nor evaded, and took a weapon barehanded—even if it was only a Wooden Sword—then with the power of Lu Chen's strike, her father might suffer a small loss.
And given her father's temperament, if he truly suffered a loss and lost face, the consequences would be difficult to predict.
Huang Yaoshi did not know what Huang Rong was thinking. He simply could not withstand his daughter's coquettish pleading, so he raised a hand and accepted the Wooden Sword. Yet he had no intention of using it.
A mere youth of eighteen or nineteen—even if he was deeply calculating, had a solid foundation in swordsmanship, and possessed one or two special tricks—could at most fool Rong'er, who had only just entered the martial world.
Before him, the Eastern Heretic, who had seen the signature techniques of famous masters throughout the world, that so-called Ultimate Sword would surely be beneath contempt, easily broken with a casual move.
Huang Yaoshi held the sword in one hand and kept the other behind his back. Looking at Lu Chen, who had already taken his stance, he said blandly,
"You may attack."
Lu Chen did not stand on ceremony. He gave a low shout.
"Senior Huang, forgive my offense!"
The moment his voice fell, he suddenly stomped the ground. Explosive force erupted from the soles of his feet, surging upward in reverse like a raging tide before instantly layering and gathering between his fingers and palm.
Whoosh—
Amid a piercing howl of wind, Lu Chen fiercely thrust out his Wooden Sword.
Driven by violent force, the Wooden Sword became a blurred afterimage and stabbed straight toward Huang Yaoshi's chest at an unimaginable speed.
The instant before Lu Chen drew his sword, Huang Yaoshi still wore a mocking smile, his gaze cold and his heart full of disdain. But when the Wooden Sword thrust forth and the wind suddenly rose, the smile at the corner of his lips vanished, the coldness in his eyes froze, and his disdain turned into shock and doubt.
This sword...
In terms of sheer power, even Huang Yaoshi himself could do no better!
Though it was far from refined, and there was a brief moment of gathering strength before the thrust—a considerable flaw to a master at Huang Yaoshi's level, who could easily evade it at any time—even so, this strike truly possessed the might of the Five Greats. No wonder Rong'er had praised it so highly and bestowed upon it the title Divine Sword.
But this youth was only eighteen or nineteen. How could he possibly deliver such a strike?
As his heart shook, the gray sword shadow was already before his eyes.
Before the sword tip had even reached his chest, the fierce gale stirred up by the Wooden Sword had already made Huang Yaoshi's heart faintly turn cold!
The Five Greats of the World were still flesh and blood.
Struck by a move from an opponent of the same level, they could likewise be injured—or even die.
Originally, Huang Yaoshi had planned to use Finger Flicking Skill to directly shatter Lu Chen's Wooden Sword and send him flying. But now, he no longer dared underestimate him.
Whoosh!
Amid the sharp wind, Huang Yaoshi's sword-holding hand became an afterimage. Like a startled spirit snake, the Wooden Sword abruptly sprang up, tracing a gray arc as it intercepted Lu Chen's Wooden Sword in a flash.
This strike contained fully eighty to ninety percent of his power!
Crack!
With a crisp explosive sound, the two Wooden Swords collided and shattered at the same time.
The broken tip of Lu Chen's Wooden Sword whistled as it spun through the air. With a thud, it embedded itself in the main hall's door, piercing straight through it.
The broken tip of Huang Yaoshi's sword, meanwhile, sank deeply into the ground beneath his feet with a soft puff.
Lu Chen's body trembled slightly. He took a step back, swayed, and dense beads of sweat instantly appeared across his forehead as his face turned pale.
But his training these past days had not been for nothing. At least this time, he did not collapse onto the ground. He even had the strength to speak.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior. Senior's swordsmanship is unrivaled. This junior admires you beyond measure."
Huang Rong had originally wanted to rush over and support him. Seeing that he had actually remained standing without falling, joy flashed in her eyes. She stopped, clasped her hands behind her back, and smiled at Huang Yaoshi.
"Father, what do you think of Lu Chen's sword?"
Huang Yaoshi stared blankly at the broken sword in his hand. He had never expected that a strike containing eighty to ninety percent of his power would merely end in a draw with Lu Chen.
At this moment, Huang Yaoshi was deeply grateful to Rong'er.
If she had not pleaded for him to take the sword, and if he had stubbornly insisted on facing it empty-handed, then without being able to evade in a way unbefitting his status, he might truly have suffered a small loss taking Lu Chen's strike barehanded.
Then he looked at Lu Chen, who appeared completely drained yet was still trying hard to stand straight. Huang Yaoshi's gaze became extremely strange.
"Lu Chen... has truly practiced swordsmanship for only one month?"
Originally, he had believed Lu Chen to be a deeply scheming little thief who clearly possessed at least three to five years of foundation in swordsmanship, yet pretended not to know martial arts to deceive Rong'er for some improper purpose. But he no longer thought so.
At Lu Chen's age, that sword strike—which had forced Huang Yaoshi to use eighty to ninety percent of his power merely to fight to a draw—could not possibly be achieved with three to five years of swordsmanship training. Even if he had begun training from the age of five or six, he could not have performed it.
He simply did not possess that level of internal power.
Even if he stabbed with all his strength, by all reason it should never have possessed such power.
Yet now, Lu Chen's Ultimate Sword had already overturned all reason.
Since it defied reason, then Huang Yaoshi's earlier judgment of his swordsmanship foundation might not have been correct. Rong'er's judgment might not have been mistaken either. Perhaps Lu Chen truly was a peerless genius!
"Lu Chen really has practiced swordsmanship for only one month."
Huang Rong spoke brightly and proudly, her crisp voice light with delight.
"When we first met, even the way he held a sword was wrong. He had blindly figured things out on his own and picked up a whole bodyful of bad habits. Rong'er had to correct him hand by hand."
"One month of sword practice..."
Huang Yaoshi murmured. He looked at Lu Chen, who was clearly exhausted but still striving to keep his back straight, and a trace of appreciation appeared in his eyes.
Though he had the power of only one sword, at his age, since that sword had already touched the realm of the Five Greats, it truly deserved to be called an Ultimate Sword, a Divine Sword. For when his internal power grew deeper and his swordsmanship stronger, the might of that sword would surely surpass the Five Greats.
Especially since he was so young, had practiced swordsmanship for only one month, and had learned only the basic sword forms and Maiden of Yue Sword guided by Rong'er...
If he continued growing at this pace, this boy's future might not be something the Five Greats could contain!
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