Sword Control Art?

Under the cover of night.

Torches flickered in the small courtyard, where crowds had gathered.

A gust of night wind swept through, and many suddenly felt a chill.

Celestial Firmament!

That was a mighty expert of the third realm of martial arts.

Across the entire Great Cang Kingdom, he would be among those standing at the very top.

And now, a young man had actually reached such a realm. How could anyone not be shaken to their core?

Once Commander Chen realized this, he promptly gave in. Struggling to speak, he said, "S-spare me. I... I was only acting on the City Lord's orders. Please, young hero, let me off this once."

Shen Zhou curled his lip in disdain. "The City Lord? A man who fears anyone stronger than himself so much that he resorts to underhanded tricks—does he deserve to be City Lord? Fine. Since he wants to cripple me, I'll destroy him first!"

Shen Zhou said it casually, but to the Hall Masters nearby, his words were no less than a thunderclap on a clear day.

He was going to kill the City Lord?

As everyone stared in shock, Shen Zhou sent his inner force surging and shattered Commander Chen's qi sea and dantian. The man immediately spat blood, his spirits flagging.

Shen Zhou then flung him aside like a piece of trash. Turning to look skyward, he pointed the wooden sword in his hand toward the City Lord's Mansion and shouted, "Sword Control Art!"

The wooden sword soared into the air.

The people nearby widened their eyes again.

Controlling a sword with inner force?

Wasn't that the signature ability of a Celestial Firmament expert?

Now everyone was even more convinced that Shen Zhou was a Celestial Firmament Realm expert.

But before they could stay shocked for long, the wooden sword that had just taken flight suddenly dropped from the sky with a clatter.

Everyone was stunned. "???"

Shen Zhou froze. "!!!"

For a moment, the scene came to a standstill.

The corner of Shen Zhou's mouth twitched involuntarily.

Damn, he'd gotten so carried away showing off that he'd forgotten he couldn't be without a sword in his hand.

He pretended to cough, then calmly picked up the sword Commander Chen had dropped and held it in his hand. He waved it toward the wooden sword from afar. "Go!"

The fallen wooden sword sprang back up, then transformed into a streak of light and shot away in an instant.

The people nearby looked at each other, finding the whole scene rather bizarre.

But no one dared ask!

Late at night, the City Lord's Mansion was ablaze with light.

In a pavilion, Lord Wu played chess against himself while waiting for news from the City Guard.

He was a member of the Wu Clan, a prominent family in Flying Bird City. Years ago, he had been sent here as punishment for some mistakes he'd made. At first, he'd been unwilling and had tried every possible way to get transferred back. But once he realized that being City Lord was much like being an emperor in his own domain, he'd changed his mind.

Especially in recent years, his strength had improved further by plundering resources in White Sheep County. Now that he was on the verge of reaching the threshold of the Celestial Firmament Realm, he regarded the position of City Lord as his own private treasure.

"No one can take my position as City Lord. Whoever dares, I'll cripple them!"

Lord Wu's gaze was cold. The chess piece in his hand shattered into powder with a snap under the surge of his inner force.

Whoosh~~~

Just then, a piercing whistle suddenly rang out in the night.

Like an arrow piercing the air, it cut through the wind with unstoppable force.

"Who goes there? How dare you attack this City Lord!"

Lord Wu sprang to his feet, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. In the next instant, his inner force surged around his arm. He held it out like a shield and braced himself.

A flash of light slammed into Lord Wu's wall of inner force.

The tremendous impact wrecked everything in the pavilion, sending gusts of air surging backward and splinters flying everywhere.

Thud, thud, thud...

Under the force of the blow, Lord Wu's feet slid backward as if he were walking on oil. The wooden floor beneath him burst apart inch by inch, each step leaving a crater.

Lord Wu couldn't hold back a mouthful of blood. His internal organs had already suffered severe damage. But when he saw that the thing attacking him was merely a wooden sword wrapped in inner force, disbelief filled his face. "A wooden sword?!"

Who was it?

When had he provoked such a powerful expert?

He hadn't even seen the man, yet a mere wooden sword had left him unable to fight back.

This was terrifying!

Feeling the aura of death radiating from the wooden sword before him, Lord Wu suppressed his fear and struggled to hold his ground. "Who are you, sir? We've never met, yet you attack me so ruthlessly. Surely that's unreasonable?"

Three miles away, inside the Desolate House.

Thanks to the power of the Entry, Shen Zhou's divine sense covered the entire city. He sent his voice across the distance and scoffed, "Hmph. Weren't you planning to cripple my cultivation and drive me out of the city? Now you don't recognize me?"

A voice that sounded remarkably young suddenly rang in Lord Wu's ears.

The moment he heard it, it was like summer thunder exploding beside him, jolting him awake.

"What? It's him!"

Lord Wu stared in disbelief.

Wooden Sword Guest!

The young man he had wanted to eliminate that very night was actually a suspected Celestial Firmament Realm expert?

If he'd known how powerful the other man was, why would he have provoked him?

Lord Wu gritted his teeth in regret, but he also felt indignant. You're a mighty Celestial Firmament expert with this kind of strength, yet you went around kicking the signs off third-rate martial arts schools. Isn't that just picking on people?

"Senior, I'm a member of Flying Bird City's Wu Clan. There was a misunderstanding earlier. If I offended you, please give me a chance to make amends!"

In Lord Wu's eyes, Shen Zhou was clearly an expert who liked to roam the mortal world for amusement. His "youth" was only a disguise. In truth, he had to be a grown man, perhaps even an old sage.

He'd mentioned the Wu Clan of Flying Bird City in the hope that Shen Zhou would have some reservations and stop trying to kill him.

Shen Zhou saw through his ploy at a glance and sneered. "So what if you're from the Wu Clan? You offended me. Even if the King of Heaven himself came, it wouldn't matter!"

The sword light suddenly sharpened.

The wooden sword instantly pierced through the shield of inner force, then flashed.

Lord Wu's body stiffened. He felt a chill spread slowly through his chest.

His eyes widened as he looked down. A bloody hole had appeared over his heart, piercing straight through his body. Blood poured out in a torrent, impossible to stop no matter how he tried to cover it.

"You... you..."

Lord Wu finally fell to the ground. He struggled for only a moment before going still.

The wooden sword returned.

Its blade was bloodred, drops of blood falling from it.

The people inside the Desolate House stared at the hovering wooden sword in astonishment, then their pupils shrank.

They all realized what had happened.

The wooden sword had set out with murderous intent. Now it had returned stained with blood. The City Lord must already be...

The people's gazes grew even more horrified and reverent as they looked at Shen Zhou.

At the same time, Shen Zhou looked at the intact wooden sword and nodded with satisfaction. Ever since he'd realized that holding a sword in his left hand made him "invincible," he'd unlocked another use for the wooden sword. When activating the Entry, he could wrap the sword in his power, preventing it from being crushed by the force.

That was also one of the reasons he'd stopped rushing to buy a sword.

"All right, now it's your turn..."

Shen Zhou turned around, intending to punish the Hall Masters. But to his surprise, the group led by Wu Chang'an had already dropped to their knees in unison. They said respectfully, "Please spare us, young master. We only came after you because the City Lord threatened us. We beg you to be magnanimous and let us off this once..."

"Please show mercy, young master!"

"Please forgive us!"

"..."

Seeing how well these people knew their place, Shen Zhou suddenly felt a little awkward about taking action.

Especially considering his earlier impression of them while he was challenging their schools: most of the Hall Masters were rough men. They weren't exactly good people, but they weren't all that bad, either.

As for who owed whom, Shen Zhou was the one who'd wronged them a little.

After all, he'd gone to challenge their schools to make money.

And earlier, when Shen Zhou had claimed to be Sinking Boat, some of them might well have suspected the truth. Yet none of them had said a word, which showed they'd indeed meant him no harm.

Shen Zhou had always been someone who kept score fairly. After thinking it over, he made his decision. "You weren't the ones behind this, but you still helped the culprit. I was going to teach you a lesson, but considering we've got a bit of history together, I'll let it go this time. But if you provoke me again, don't blame me for settling old scores along with new ones!"

"We wouldn't dare..."

"Take these people and get out!"

Hearing Shen Zhou's order, Wu Chang'an and the others escaped disaster. They helped the fallen City Guard soldiers to their feet and hurriedly left the ruined house in a panic, as if they feared Shen Zhou would change his mind if they moved too slowly.

After everyone had left, the Desolate House fell quiet again.

Shen Zhou let out a breath of relief, but immediately grew anxious. "Come on, let's hurry. I have to learn martial arts. Not knowing martial arts is terrifying. I nearly got taken out by a sneak attack!"

Just thinking about it gave him a lingering chill!

If he didn't have his cheat-like power, that would be one thing. But now he did—and it was an absurd ability like "Sword Invincible." If he got killed in his sleep, wouldn't that be like holding two kings and four twos, only to lose before playing his last card and get skunked?

How frustrating would that be!

So Shen Zhou was now desperate to learn martial arts. He couldn't wait to reach Flying Bird City right away.

The Three Little Ones were badly shaken, too. The group packed their things in the middle of the night, then left the city as soon as dawn broke.

On the road, Shen Zhou never let go of his sword. He held the wooden sword while eating, sleeping... even when going to the latrine. He even wondered, I wonder if drawing a sword on my palm with ink would count?

A wooden sword was a sword. So why wouldn't an "Ink Sword" count?