Unforeseen Disaster

Not long after, Old Zheng's voice rang out, "Begin."

Wang Yun took the initiative and struck first with his saber.

He stepped forward, and his blade swept down in a diagonal arc, fast and heavy, stirring up a faint whistling sound in the air.

Lu Chuan turned sideways, lowering his saber to firmly parry the blow.

A sound of clashing metal rang out. Wang Yun's saber was bounced away, while Lu Chuan's blade remained completely motionless.

Wang Yun's expression shifted slightly.

This opening stance of his was the Mountain Splitting Stance, the technique in the Mountain Splitting Saber Technique that required the most skill. Chen Mo Bai had helped him hone it no less than a thousand times, and he considered himself top-tier among the outer disciples.

Yet with this downforce strike, the opponent's saber hadn't even shaken in the slightest.

He gritted his teeth and immediately changed his move, the blade sweeping horizontally, followed quickly by an upward lift, a diagonal slash, another downward strike...

In the span of a single breath, he unleashed five consecutive strikes.

Lu Chuan received all five strikes.

Every single blow was caught with absolute steadiness, and he still possessed spare energy to spare.

Wang Yun's saber technique truly held the refinement of minor success, and his foundation was solid.

Yet what kind of person was Lu Chuan?

Not only had the Mountain Splitting Saber Thirty-Six Forms already broken through to the realm of major success within his hands, but even the first-form ultimate technique, Mountain Collapse, had been mastered!

Dealing with someone like this Wang Yun was simply child's play.

After figuring out the opponent's true strength, Lu Chuan no longer passively received strikes. With a stomp of his foot, his saber light suddenly surged back in a counter-pressure.

This strike was extremely fast. Before the blade even arrived, the fierce wind was already brushing against the face.

Wang Yun's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly raised his saber to block.

"Clang!"

The two blades struck together. Wang Yun's tiger's mouth went numb, and the saber almost slipped from his grip.

He took a step back, and before he could even steady himself, Lu Chuan's second strike had already arrived.

Another "clang" rang out, and Wang Yun retreated once more.

Third strike, fourth strike, fifth strike...

With every strike Wang Yun received, he retreated a step.

His complexion turned from flushed to pale, and the hand holding the saber gradually grew unstable.

Clearly it was the exact same Mountain Splitting Saber Technique, yet when executed by the opponent, every single strike left him gasping for air.

He couldn't find a single opportunity to counterattack.

How could this be...

When the sixth strike fell, the saber in Wang Yun's hand finally slipped from his grip and flew away.

As for Wang Yun himself, he staggered backward and nearly lost his footing.

The training ground fell silent.

Lu Chuan withdrew his saber and stood with his hands lowered. His breathing was steady, and he said indifferently,

"You flatter me."

Wang Yun clenched his fists with some reluctance, but in the end, he said nothing.

His skills were inferior to another's, so continuing to bounce around was meaningless.

Not far away, Chen Mo Bai's expression instantly turned incomparably solemn.

He looked at the flying long saber on the ground, then at Lu Chuan's posture upon retracting his weapon, his brows furrowed tightly.

This brat...

How could this brat's Mountain Splitting Saber Technique be merely at minor success?

The skill with which those blows had pressed down, that effortless reserve of strength—it was clearly the mark of someone who had been deeply immersed in minor success for a long time!

It wasn't just him who noticed; the few senior martial brothers by the side with seniority, along with Old Zheng, currently had their gazes fixed on Lu Chuan with varying degrees of astonishment.

Those outer disciples in the front courtyard who had been gossiping just moments ago now looked as though someone had grabbed them by the throat.

"How is that possible... How could that fellow Lu Chuan..."

"That's right, he... doesn't he still go up the mountain to hunt every day? Where on earth did he find so much time to practice the saber..."

No one answered him.

That remark from earlier—teaching him is simply a waste of time—still hung on their lips, yet right now it felt like a slap to their own faces.

It wasn't just these outer disciples who were startled; the few formal disciples in the backyard also cast sideways glances.

A broad smile bloomed across Zhou Ming Chuan's face.

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"Good fellow!" There was pleasant surprise in his voice.

"I went into closed-door seclusion for two months, and when did you secretly practice your saber technique to this extent? This rate of progress is much faster than mine back then!"

Lu Chuan did not dare to grow complacent. "Luck, just luck."

The qi and blood he had utilized just now was merely at the minor success of First Qi and Blood; what truly defeated his enemy was his transcendent saber technique.

"Cut the crap." Zhou Ming Chuan didn't believe it at all.

Following this spar, even Su Tang and Jiang Hao cast a couple of extra glances at Lu Chuan.

A trace of satisfaction appeared on Old Zheng's face.

He looked at Lu Chuan, then at Zhou Ming Chuan, and nodded. "Ming Chuan, you've guided Junior Brother Lu well."

Zhou Ming Chuan hurriedly waved his hands. "I wouldn't dare. Junior Brother Lu is simply willing to endure hardships himself."

"Being willing to endure hardships still requires someone to guide the way. Your intent in this matter is good."

Hearing Master Zheng's words felt like being pricked by needles to Chen Mo Bai.

He lowered his head, his face turning alternately pale and flushed.

Old Zheng clearly knew.

He knew he had left Lu Chuan out in the cold before, knew he only taught Wang Yun, and knew he hadn't taken that poor kid seriously at all from the start.

Now, having these words spoken out in front of everyone wasn't praising Zhou Ming Chuan; it was clearly a slap to his own face.

Earlier, he had even been wondering whether to find an opportunity to smooth things over with Lu Chuan—after all, this kid had also broken through his pass, and they would be seeing each other constantly in the future.

Right now, Chen Mo Bai no longer wanted to.

Why should this miserable pauper?

You, a hunter with a middle-lower bone structure, belong in the mountains chasing rabbits and snaring pheasants, barely scraping together a full belly.

You should have spent your entire life stuck outside the Blood Pass, accomplishing nothing...

You should have just accepted your fate!

Why should you make him unable to raise his head in front of his master?

He stared resentfully at Lu Chuan's back as a vicious scheme slowly took shape in his mind.

Lu Chuan withdrew his saber and was about to walk back to his original spot.

"Junior Brother Lu is truly a dragon among men..." Chen Mo Bai suddenly spoke up with a smile.

"To break through the Blood Pass four months after initiation and attain such progress in your saber technique—among this batch of disciples in our Mountain Splitting Saber Hall, I fear only Junior Brother Jiang Hao can compare to you."

Lu Chuan looked at Chen Mo Bai's fat face, a flash of coldness piercing his heart.

Originally he had even found it strange why this fat pig suddenly started speaking nicely on his behalf.

As a result, with the second half of the sentence, this fellow finally revealed his true colors.

What kind of person was Jiang Hao?

Upper grade bone root, Old Zheng's personal disciple, achieving minor success in saber technique three days after initiation, breaking the Blood Pass in a month...

From the very first day he arrived at the martial arts hall, he had been surrounded like the stars around the moon, and for over four months he had never once looked properly at any outer disciple.

In Jiang Hao's eyes, someone like him was probably just a mediocre person not worth wasting time on.

The one thing such a person detested the most was having someone else placed on the exact same footing as them.

Sure enough, the moment Chen Mo Bai said this, Jiang Hao's previously composed expression instantly turned icy.

He turned his face sideways, his gaze landing on Lu Chuan with a condescending scrutiny.

"Senior Brother Chen," Jiang Hao said in an indifferent voice.

"What do you mean by those words?"

A gleam of a conspiracy accomplished flashed in the depths of Chen Mo Bai's eyes, but on the surface he smiled and said,

"Junior Brother Jiang, you jest. Naturally I am elevating the two of you."

"Elevating?" Jiang Hao interrupted him expressionlessly.

"An outer disciple breaking through a blood pass and practicing a few saber forms—and Senior Brother Chen puts him on the same level as me."

"Then what about my Mountain Splitting Saber Technique reaching major success and perfection, being merely a step away from breaking through to Second Qi and Blood... Does Senior Brother Chen feel that these are of the same weight as breaking through a single blood pass?"

Arrogant though he was, he had the capital to be arrogant. Over these past few months alone, he had consumed no less than a hundred Qi and Blood Pills, to say nothing of other great medicines.

Chen Mo Bai gave a dry laugh.

"Junior Brother Jiang, there is no need to be so serious. You are both gifted disciples of our martial arts hall, each with your own strengths..."

"I am a genius! He is not."

Jiang Hao finally looked directly at Lu Chuan.

"Lu Chuan, do you dare to have a match with me?"

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