Five-Year Agreement

With a single sword strike, frost spread for a thousand miles; all things withered, and the world sank into ruin.

This sword transcended the mundane, like a natural disaster that destroyed everything.

Xiong Ba was stunned by the force of that sword. By the time he thought to dodge, it was already too late.

Yet Xiong Ba was worthy of being Xiong Ba. At the final moment, he ignored Li Chenfeng's sword entirely, his eyes flying wide as he thrust out a finger.

"Jade-Breaking Gold-Splitting!"

Swish...!

As the finger shot forth, the surrounding air grew viscous. Its force was like an arrow, incomparably sharp.

Hiss...!

At the final moment, Li Chenfeng had no choice but to withdraw his sword and evade. Sword Qi swept past Xiong Ba's ear, severing strands of black hair.

As for Xiong Ba's finger strike, capable of slicing gold and shattering jade, it naturally came to nothing as well.

Whew...

As everyone let out a long breath, the tension in their hearts finally eased.

That dangerous scene had nearly made them think the two were about to perish together.

After their figures crossed and separated, neither Xiong Ba nor Li Chenfeng attacked again. They both knew that if they continued, it would become a fight to the death.

Neither side wanted that outcome, so they tacitly stopped.

Xiong Ba looked at Li Chenfeng, who stood before him with a sword in hand. A complicated expression flashed through his eyes. "I never expected Villa Master Ao to possess such strength at such a young age. Given time, you will surely become a giant of your generation!"

Li Chenfeng stared at Xiong Ba. He had to admit that Xiong Ba truly possessed the bearing of a great schemer.

Before he had absolute confidence in suppressing the entire martial world, no matter how impatient he was or how vast his ambitions, he could still restrain himself and develop his power step by step.

It was clear from the television series that once Wind and Cloud had fully matured, and the disciples cultivated by the World Society were all capable of taking on great responsibility, that would be the time for Xiong Ba to swallow the entire martial world whole!

At that thought, Li Chenfeng suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

Right now, Clay Bodhisattva's prophecy for Xiong Ba only covered the first half of his life. Once he had painstakingly gathered Wind and Cloud and was preparing to soar like a dragon into the heavens, he would suddenly hear the words, "Success comes from Wind and Cloud; defeat also comes from Wind and Cloud." Even Xiong Ba, who had believed in fate his entire life, would cry, "My fate is mine, not Heaven's!"

It truly was an enormous irony.

In the end, Xiong Ba believed only in himself!

"After this battle, the conflict between Sword Worship Villa and the World Society shall be temporarily written off. All forces of Sword Worship Villa will withdraw south of the Yangtze River and will not set foot in the north for five years. During that time, no member of the World Society may take a single step south. Otherwise, Sword Worship Villa and the World Society will fight until one side is dead!"

Li Chenfeng's forceful words echoed across the peak of Mount Tianshan, allowing everyone present to hear them clearly.

If Li Chenfeng had said such words before this, the martial artists of the World Society would surely have thought he had gone mad and was indulging in wild fantasies.

But after witnessing Li Chenfeng's strength, everyone present had other thoughts.

After all, they were not Xiong Ba. No one dared claim they could withstand that fierce Sword Qi. If the World Society and Sword Worship Villa truly continued fighting, any one of them might have to face this young killing star.

When that time came, they might become another ghost beneath his sword!

Xiong Ba also pondered Li Chenfeng's Five-Year Agreement for a moment.

The World Society was still expanding rapidly. In the northern martial world, the World Society occupied the northwest while Unparalleled City controlled the northeast. Both powers were pressing toward the prosperous lands of the Central Plains.

Although the Central Plains belonged to the Supreme Ruler, aside from the hundred-li area surrounding Supreme City, the Supreme Ruler had already lost control over everywhere else. Those territories had all fallen into the hands of various martial forces. As long as those martial sects and factions were subdued, everything would belong to the World Society.

To the World Society, the northern martial world was ten thousand times more important than the lands south of the Yangtze. Thus, Xiong Ba did not hesitate for long before nodding in agreement.

In five years, Wind and Cloud in his hands would have matured. Xiong Ba was also confident that his Three-Part Return-to-Origin Qi would reach great completion by then. Combined with his Three-Part Divine Finger, he would surely surpass the Peak Realm and enter the ranks of Peerless Experts. That would be the time for the World Society to sweep across the land!

As for Li Chenfeng, even Xiong Ba had to acknowledge his monstrous talent. But he did not believe that Li Chenfeng could break through the Xiantian Realm and enter the ranks of Peerless Experts within five years.

Peerless Experts were worlds apart from ordinary martial artists. This was not something that could be bridged through powerful Cultivation Methods and abundant true qi alone. Every martial artist who entered the ranks of Peerless Experts had to comprehend their own Martial Dao True Intent, just like Wuming's Heavenly Sword Intent, which earned him the title of Martial Arts Myth.

Among the martial artists known to the martial world today, apart from Wuming, who could be considered a true Peerless Expert, even the Sword Saint could only be regarded as Half-Step Peerless before comprehending Sword Twenty-Three!

Speaking of which, it was necessary to mention the classification of martial arts realms in The Storm Riders World.

The Storm Riders World counted as a high-martial world. Though it could not compare with a universe like the Battle Through the Heavens World, which possessed three thousand great worlds, it still had ancient monsters like Di Shitian and Xiao Sanxiao, who had lived for thousands of years.

There were also the mysterious, unknown God and Demon...

But compared with the complete cultivation hierarchy of the Battle Through the Heavens World, martial artists in The Storm Riders World had only the distinction between Houtian Realm and Xiantian Realm, followed by Peerless Experts.

Houtian martial artists cultivated inner force, while Xiantian martial artists cultivated true qi. Once a martial artist reached the Xiantian Limit, they needed to comprehend themselves and realize their own Martial Dao True Intent.

Those who comprehended Martial Dao True Intent were called Peerless Experts. Since different martial artists comprehended different Martial Dao True Intents, even Peerless Experts could possess vastly different levels of strength.

For example, Wuming's Heavenly Sword Intent; the Sword Saint's Sword Twenty-Three, which allowed his Primordial Spirit to leave the body; and the Origin-Level Maha, Heaven-Level Maha, and Earth-Level Maha created by Damo, God, and Demon.

As for Di Shitian, the earliest ancient monster to appear in The Storm Riders World—or rather, Xu Fu...

In Li Chenfeng's view, although Xu Fu's Sacred Heart Art was not weak, Xu Fu's talent was honestly quite ordinary. If he had not lived for two thousand years and learned the ultimate arts of every notable martial sect in the martial world, he would never have reached his current height.

Although he could be called a Peerless Expert, his strength relied entirely on the immense true qi accumulated over two thousand years. Otherwise, if the Sword Saint or Wuming could also live for a thousand years, they would surely reach unimaginable heights. Slaying a dragon with one hand would not be impossible. Who would be like Di Shitian, painstakingly searching for martial experts and gathering the Seven Great Divine Weapons before daring to slay a dragon?

Hmm, he had gotten a little carried away.

Although Li Chenfeng appeared to possess several divine arts, the only one that might truly allow him to comprehend Martial Dao True Intent was likely the Meridian-Severing Sword Qi inherited from the Sword Demon...