The First Drop of Blood

Huang Yaoshi's face was expressionless, his gaze cold and clear. He glanced at Lu Chen, then turned his eyes toward the cave, asking flatly:

"Why did you come out?"

The question seemed abrupt and without context, but Lu Chen understood his meaning. He replied calmly:

"The cave was too small. Rong'er is still just a young girl who knows nothing, yet I could not take advantage of her in that way."

Huang Rong knew a little of everything—chess, calligraphy, painting, music, numerology, the five elements, strange gates, hidden traps, and formations—and was a legendary cook, quite versatile. But she was utterly ignorant of matters between men and women.

She still thought babies came out from under the armpit.

Hearing his answer, Huang Yaoshi gave a cold snort:

"So you're a gentleman of integrity."

His tone was odd—whether praise or mockery was unclear.

And this kind of remark was clearly not something Lu Chen could easily respond to, so he could only keep silent.

Huang Yaoshi said nothing more, merely watching him with cold eyes. The forest fell quiet for a time, with only the rustle of evening wind stirring the leaves and the occasional chirping of night insects.

The atmosphere grew tense.

The pressure of Huang Yaoshi's cold stare was immense, but Lu Chen showed no fear. His face was calm, neither humble nor arrogant, and his spine stood straight as a rod.

After a long silence, Huang Yaoshi spoke again:

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Lu Chen shook his head:

"No."

Huang Yaoshi sneered:

"You've never even drawn blood in killing, yet you dare to take Rong'er roaming the martial world? On the strength of that one sword of yours?"

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then replied slowly, his voice low but his tone exceptionally earnest:

"On the strength of that one sword! In all the world, aside from the Five Greats, no one can face my sword without paying a price. As long as I'm still standing, no one can harm Rong'er. And not only that..."

He met Huang Yaoshi's eyes, his own filled with calm confidence:

"Within half a year at most, even the Five Greats will have to avoid the edge of my sword!"

At present, if the Five Greats held weapons, they could easily block his "Sword One," and even bare-handed, they would only suffer a minor loss. But Lu Chen believed that in just half a year, before his "Sword One," even the Five Greats of the world would find no other option but to dodge and evade.

Huang Yaoshi gave a derisive laugh:

"Within half a year, the Five Greats must avoid your sword's edge? Quite the bold claim!"

As he spoke, he flicked his finger, sending a soybean into the woods beside him.

A muffled grunt came from the forest. Only then did Lu Chen notice there was someone else in the trees.

Someone Huang Yaoshi had brought?

As he was guessing, he heard Huang Yaoshi say coldly:

"Roll over here!"

From the tone, Lu Chen could now be sure the person in the forest was indeed brought by Huang Yaoshi. He must have had his acupoints sealed earlier, and now Huang Yaoshi had used his "Finger Flicking Skill" to release them.

Footsteps sounded.

A middle-aged man emerged from the forest, a single-bladed saber in hand, his skin dark, his face fierce, with a centipede-like scar on his left cheek.

Lu Chen noticed that when the man looked at Huang Yaoshi, his eyes were full of terror—clearly, he had suffered no small hardship at Huang Yaoshi's hands.

Huang Yaoshi clasped his hands behind his back and said flatly:

"This man is named Xue Wu, a river bandit leader on the Cao'e River, with dozens of lives on his hands. His skill far surpasses yours, and his 'Wind Splitting Saber Technique' has some merit. Kill this man. Let me see if your sword is sharp enough."

He paused, then looked at Xue Wu:

"Defeat him, and I'll let you live."

The river bandit leader Xue Wu's eyes lit up. He instinctively licked his lips with his tongue, and his gaze toward Lu Chen turned vicious and bloodthirsty, as if looking at a fat lamb ready for slaughter.

Lu Chen disliked that look. The moment he frowned slightly, Xue Wu had already lunged forward in a single stride, his steel saber sweeping a bright arc of light, slashing diagonally at Lu Chen's neck.

The saber's wind howled fiercely, heavy and powerful, revealing solid foundation in blade technique.

Lu Chen's long sword clattered from its sheath, crossing to block. Blade and sword clashed, producing a crisp, clear ring of metal, with a few dazzling sparks flying.

Though he blocked the strike, Xue Wu's inner force on the blade was far stronger than Lu Chen's, knocking his sword aside. A tremor of force even traveled along the blade to the hilt, numbing Lu Chen's fingers and palm.

From that single clash, Lu Chen knew Huang Yaoshi spoke true—this river bandit's skill was indeed far above his own. He used the rebound force to drift backward, letting Xue Wu's follow-up swing, after knocking his sword aside, land on empty air.

Xue Wu hadn't expected to cut down Lu Chen in one or two strikes either. After testing that the young man's skill was inferior to his, his spirits soared, seeing hope for survival. He launched his "Wind Splitting Saber Technique" in full offensive, his steel saber whipping up a fierce wind, slashing at Lu Chen in a relentless barrage.

Facing this ferocious, swift blade, Lu Chen's expression didn't change. He used his movement technique combined with his swordplay to spar and evade.

Though he had only learned Peach Blossom Island's Movement Technique for a few days, his footwork already captured much of its essence. In his shifts and turns, he was not only swift as the wind but also quite graceful and free.

Using his Movement Technique to temporarily evade the edge of Xue Wu's saber, the longsword in his hand occasionally counterattacked with Maiden of Yue Swordplay and Falling Blossom Swordplay, its momentum shifting from the brutal slaughter of a battlefield to the dazzling brilliance of falling petals, each time forcing Xue Wu's assault to stall.

Xue Wu had wanted to force a blade-on-blade clash, relying on his superior inner power to overpower Lu Chen, knock his sword flying, and claim an easy victory.

But Lu Chen's footwork was elusive, and his swordplay was a web of feints and truths, impossible to pin down. He never let his blade meet Xue Wu's steel saber. In the span of a dozen furious attacks, aside from that first collision, the two weapons never clashed again. The forest was filled only with the ceaseless sound of blades cutting through air.

Raise morale with the first burst, it wanes by the second, and is exhausted by the third.

After over a dozen aggressive strikes failed to land, Xue Wu's momentum gradually lost its earlier sharpness.

Lu Chen, however, remained patient, unhurriedly sparring with him. His swordplay was like spring rain nourishing the earth, or a spider spinning its web, laying down deadly traps bit by bit.

After another few dozen exchanges, Xue Wu suddenly realized with alarm that he was like an insect caught in a spider's web. At some point, sword lights—some real, some false, flickering and uncertain—had surrounded him from all directions.

The more he struggled, the tighter the "web" woven from sword light bound him. Though his inner power far surpassed his opponent's, he could never find a place to use it. Not only could he not overwhelm with force, but even his desperate counterattacks were often cut short halfway by a stroke of Lu Chen's sword that seemed inspired by the gods.

The more Xue Wu fought, the more he ground his teeth. Gradually, his heart grew restless, then fearful.

He couldn't understand how, with his vastly superior inner power and his decent saber technique, he had ended up in this situation. In his panic, his saber form began to fall into disarray.

Seeing Xue Wu's saber momentum in chaos, Lu Chen, who had been patiently "spinning his web," wasted no time in reeling it in. A few feints lured Xue Wu's long saber off course, exposing a fatal opening. Seizing the moment, he thrust forward.

Pfft!

A flash of sword light, the sound of a blade piercing flesh, and the sword tip sank deep into Xue Wu's throat.

Having landed the strike, Lu Chen did not hesitate. He instantly pulled the sword back and retreated, dodging Xue Wu's final, dying counter-swing.

Xue Wu's saber struck empty air. He propped himself up with his steel saber, one hand clutching his throat, but he could not stop the gushing blood.

His eyes wide, he stared at Lu Chen in unwillingness. A few gurgling sounds escaped his throat before he pitched forward, struggled a few times, and went still.

Lu Chen flicked his wrist, sending a spray of blood droplets from the sword tip, then bowed to Huang Yaoshi and said in a steady voice:

"Senior, this man's martial arts were too poor. He was not worthy of my Ultimate Sword."

Xue Wu's inner power was indeed higher than his.

But the level of inner power does not absolutely determine who is stronger or weaker.

Especially in close-quarters combat with blades. In this low-martial world, before steel sabers and iron swords, even the Five Greats were merely flesh and blood.

As for technique, Xue Wu's "Wind Splitting Saber" was indeed fierce.

But Lu Chen had thoroughly mastered Maiden of Yue Swordplay and Falling Blossom Swordplay. He had even cultivated these two sword techniques to the point of possessing spirit and charm, able to wield them freely and effortlessly.

And then there was practical combat experience.

Though Lu Chen did not have dozens of lives on his hands like Xue Wu, he had sparred with Huang Yaoshi several times and received much guidance from him. He could now hold his own for forty or fifty exchanges against Huang Yaoshi when the latter suppressed his inner power to match Lu Chen's.

That sparring experience was also real combat experience—and even more valuable than fighting for one's life in the martial world.

With such sword techniques and such experience, a mere water bandit chieftain, even if his inner power surpassed Lu Chen's, could not overwhelm him with martial arts alone. Lu Chen had a chance to win, and he didn't even need to use "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun."

Huang Yaoshi did not even glance at the water bandit chieftain lying dead on the ground. He only observed Lu Chen with cold eyes.

He saw that after killing a man, Lu Chen showed no nervous tension or bloodthirsty excitement typical of a first-time killer. Instead, his breathing was steady, his eyes clear, and his emotions calm and unruffled.

After observing for a while and confirming that Lu Chen was not merely putting on a brave face, Huang Yaoshi said coldly:

"Take good care of Rong'er. If she suffers even a scratch, I will take your life."

With that, he glanced toward the cave, picked up Xue Wu's corpse, and with a flick of his robe, drifted away. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the forest, leaving no trace.

Lu Chen watched Huang Yaoshi leave, inwardly somewhat surprised at his own calm after killing.

But then he thought: he was a man who had been reduced to ashes by the "Sword Intent of Extermination of Immortals"... no, chosen by it. He had already experienced the great terror of life and death.

Though he had not personally faced life-and-death situations in this life in the "Main World," he had seen many horrifying news reports. His will had long been tempered. Remaining calm after his first kill was only natural.

He withdrew his gaze from the corpse and looked toward the cave. Huang Rong walked out from the entrance, a dagger in her hand. She had clearly been awakened by the commotion of Lu Chen's fight with Xue Wu. After assessing the situation, she had hidden at the cave mouth, ready to throw a flying dagger to help him at any moment.

"Rong'er, I won." Lu Chen smiled slightly. "Your father won't take you back."

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