After helping Ning Caichen cultivate Zhenyuan, there was one more person on the road who could exterminate demons.
Xiao Han checked his side quest. It was already nearly ninety percent complete.
So, on the way to Guobei County, Xiao Han took care of the stronger demons and monsters that were difficult to deal with, while the weaker ones became training fodder for Ning Caichen.
He had informed Yan Chixia before teaching Ning Caichen the Myriad Swords Technique that day. After all, Yan Chixia had just taught him the Magic Formula, and for him to turn around and use it to curry favor would have been an unpleasant thing to do.
After spending these days together, Yan Chixia had realized that Ning Caichen really was a rare good person in such a chaotic era, practically a little white flower. He only hoped there could be more good people like him, so he had no objection to Xiao Han teaching Ning Caichen the Myriad Swords Technique.
However, Xiao Han hadn't yet mastered his own swordsmanship, so it was usually Yan Chixia who guided Ning Caichen, watching the two of them practice from behind.
The many days he had spent following Xiao Han and Yan Chixia as they beat up demons hadn't been wasted. He'd been a little afraid when he first drew his sword, but after stabbing a demon to death, Ning Caichen quickly settled into it, adjusted his mindset, and fully embraced the role of a Daoist.
After more than a week on the road, the three of them finally arrived at Guobei County.
On the day Xiao Han and the others reached Guobei County, a heavy rain began to fall from the sky.
They weren't in a hurry, so they followed Yan Chixia to sit beneath a pavilion.
By the way, a few days earlier, Xiao Han had seen how inconvenient it was for Yan Chixia and Ning Caichen to carry their big bundles, so he had given them the two Low-grade Storage Rings he'd previously bought from the Mittel Auction House. The two of them had been having a blast with the rare treasures ever since.
The three of them sat in the pavilion. Ning Caichen and Xiao Han meditated and cultivated, while Yan Chixia watched the torrential rain and drank the liquor Xiao Han had brought from the Douqi Continent.
Suddenly, Yan Chixia furrowed his brow and turned to look at a figure approaching through the rain. Then he swore, "Damn it, what rotten luck! Xiahou, you bastard, why are you like a dog? Wherever I go, you follow!"
"Yan Chixia! Everyone says you're the Number One Swordsman Under Heaven! I refuse to accept it! Aaah! Take my sword!"
The figure in the rain drew closer. When he was about ten meters from Yan Chixia, a powerful sword intent burst from him.
Yan Chixia gave a cold snort. An even stronger sword intent erupted from him, overwhelming Xiahou Swordsman's.
Clang!!!
The crisp ring of swords jolted Xiao Han and Ning Caichen out of their cultivation. Feeling a sword intent every bit as powerful as Yan Chixia's, they quickly turned their attention to the figure standing in the rain outside the pavilion.
"Xiahou, you mangy dog! Take a strike from this old Daoist!"
At Yan Chixia's roar, he drew the Xuanyuan Sword and charged out of the pavilion, clashing with the black-clad swordsman outside.
Their fight involved no divine abilities or Daoist Magic, only pure swordsmanship. Though Yan Chixia detested the man, a swordsman's pride kept him from using divine abilities and Daoist Magic to bully his old rival.
Cling! Cling! Clang! Clang!
The two greatest swordsmen of the age crossed blades, their treasured swords colliding again and again with the sound of clashing metal.
Xiao Han and Ning Caichen held their breath, watching this rare duel between swordsmen with rapt attention.
Sword energy crisscrossed the air, while blinding flashes of blades and swords left Xiao Han and Ning Caichen stunned. Their terrifying contest had even cleaved the curtain of rain, forming a domain of sword energy!
Before meeting Xiao Han, Yan Chixia might not have been able to defeat Xiahou Swordsman quickly in a pure swordsmanship duel. But after spending these past days studying Xiao Han's Cloud Crushing Swordplay, his swordsmanship had improved tenfold!
Yan Chixia could have defeated his opponent with a single strike, but Xiahou Swordsman had pursued him for a full seven years, following him wherever he went. Yan Chixia was thoroughly fed up with it.
So this time, he intended to shatter Xiahou Swordsman's confidence once and for all, and make him give up.
Even a lovesick fool couldn't keep at it for seven whole years, could he?
If this wasn't love, what was there left to be sad about?
If Xiahou Swordsman were a woman, Yan Chixia could already be his father!
Under Yan Chixia's furious barrage of sword strikes, Xiahou Swordsman was driven back step by step and soon couldn't hold out any longer.
Yan Chixia seized his chance and sent a flash of sword light striking the guard of the sword Xiahou Swordsman held.
A tremendous force traveled through the blade. Xiahou Swordsman couldn't keep hold of it, and his sword flew from his hand, clattering onto a rock.
"You can't even hold on to your sword. What kind of swordsman are you?!"
A terrifying sword intent locked onto Xiahou Swordsman, leaving him unable to move.
Why? Why had Yan Chixia become so terrifying in the short time since they'd last met?
Xiahou Swordsman didn't know the reason, but the sharp blade at his throat told him this was all real. For the first time, he'd found himself utterly unable to defend against Yan Chixia's swordsmanship, crushed and defeated in an instant.
Xiahou Swordsman opened his mouth and stared at Yan Chixia with great difficulty. "I... lost. The Number One Swordsman Under Heaven truly lives up to his reputation."
"Hmph! Now that you know how strong I am, don't bother me again. These past seven years, if I hadn't seen that you only wanted to test your swordsmanship and didn't mean me any harm, I would have killed you with a single strike long ago."
Yan Chixia snorted. They'd been fighting for seven years, so he'd developed at least some affection for the man. But Xiahou Swordsman was devoted to fame and fortune, which was why he'd never managed to rise above mediocrity in swordsmanship.
Xiahou Swordsman was stuck in an awkward position: he was second best under heaven.
Above him was Yan Chixia, a man of incredible strength who had honed his swordsmanship by slaying demons. Even thousand-year-old Great Demons had to kneel before him and call him Daddy.
As for the unknown swordsmen weaker than Xiahou Swordsman, they were just casual practitioners. They knew they were rubbish, and with the world in chaos, they practiced swordsmanship merely for self-defense.
But Xiahou Swordsman was stuck in the middle, unable to rise or fall. He thought those lousy swordsmen weren't worthy of his company, yet he couldn't reach the next level either. It was the most awkward position imaginable, and he was trapped there. He couldn't beat Yan Chixia, so he had no choice but to stay where he was.
So his only option was to keep challenging Yan Chixia. He knew Yan Chixia wouldn't kill him, which was why he'd never taken Yan Chixia's warnings to heart.
Xiahou Swordsman looked deeply at Yan Chixia, then stubbornly shook his head. "When my swordsmanship reaches the next level, I'll come back for you, Yan Chixia! Just you wait!"
After delivering his threat, Xiahou Swordsman turned, picked up his sword, and disappeared into the rain.
"Damn it! Why won't you listen to reason?!"
Yan Chixia immediately lost his temper. "Get lost, get lost, get lost! Don't let me see you again!"
Back in the pavilion, Yan Chixia circulated his Zhenyuan to dry the rain from his clothes, grumbling, "That bastard is obsessed with the empty title of Number One Swordsman Under Heaven. I've already told him he can have it, but he insists it only counts if he defeats me.
"He's pursued me for a full seven years. What a nuisance! I let him off this time, but he'll probably come back again before long!"
Xiao Han took a cup of tea from his Storage Ring, heated it with his Fire Attribute Zhenyuan, and handed it to Yan Chixia. "Hero Yan, that Xiahou Swordsman was clearly an obsessive person. Even if you defeat him again next time, he'll keep coming back.
"Since he's already like this, why not just give in to him?"
"That's right, Hero Yan. Look, he's a grown man who doesn't even care about his wife, chasing after you all day. That proves just how badly he wants the title of Number One Swordsman Under Heaven."
Ning Caichen came over too, smiling.
"What wife?"
Yan Chixia glared at Ning Caichen. "That bastard Xiahou Swordsman ignored the Marriage Contract his parents arranged for him just so he could challenge me! He still hasn't gotten married!"
Hearing Yan Chixia's words, Xiao Han silently screamed inside.
He'd even given up his wife to chase after Yan Chixia?!
So you two really were each other's true love?!
Get married right here and now!
Before you continue