Young Saber Swordsman

"It seemed your training method was wrong. Forgive me, but I won't keep you company." Hoisting the stone, Ye Chen continued running.

After Ye Chen left, the crowd began speaking more loudly.

"I can't believe it—Ye Chen actually won. That was Vajra Fist he used, right?"

"Vajra Fist and Monument Breaking Palm are both Human-grade Mid-tier martial techniques. By rights, they should be evenly matched. And Wang Gang's cultivation is higher than Ye Chen's. What exactly happened?"

"The reason is simple." After pondering for a moment, the seemingly calm youth said, "Ye Chen's Vajra Fist has already reached an extremely high realm, with softness within hardness."

Someone asked, "How do you know?"

The calm youth smiled faintly. "The teaching elder once said that hardness containing softness is the path fierce martial techniques must take. The punch Ye Chen used to catch Wang Gang's fist looked immensely forceful, but it actually contained the technique of rebound. Of course, I only noticed it after careful analysis."

The mountain road was rugged and uneven, difficult to traverse.

After running more than ten li around the mountain, drenched in sweat, Ye Chen arrived beside a broad river.

Boom!

Throwing the stone onto the ground, Ye Chen took off his outer clothes and jumped into the river.

Practicing punches on the riverbed was ten or a hundred times harder than on land. The immense water pressure squeezed in from every direction, filling one with Fear.

Sinking his qi into his Dantian, Ye Chen stood firmly on the riverbed, which was covered in pebbles and mud. With a casual punch, undercurrents surged. Its force was only thirty percent of normal.

But that was precisely what Ye Chen wanted. Otherwise, there would have been no need to practice boxing on the riverbed.

The river water swiftly turned murky, churning and swirling as though a huge aquatic monster lurked in the depths, stirring up wind and waves and preparing to emerge.

In such a harsh environment, Ye Chen could feel every bone and muscle in his body trembling with all their might, resisting the turbulent currents crashing into him. Gradually, they fused into a unified force, improving their efficiency.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Ye Chen could no longer hold his breath and finally shot out of the water.

Huff, huff, huff, huff...

Ye Chen gulped down breaths and laughed. "Practicing punches on the riverbed really achieves twice the result with half the effort. I wonder how many people know this method."

Qingfeng Town was less than ten li from Clear Wind Mountain.

Second floor of Laifu Restaurant!

Already ravenous, Ye Chen paid no heed to appearances as he devoured the table full of fine wine and delicious food, like Whirlwind and Scattered Clouds.

Ye Chen came to Qingfeng Town for a meal every few days. After all, he was only an Outer Sect Disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect. Their food was cooked in huge pots, and while it provided enough nourishment, it could hardly be called delicious. Though Qingfeng Town was not large, it still had precious delicacies.

Moreover, Ye Chen also enjoyed listening to rumors from those of the martial world, preparing himself for his future travels through it.

Sure enough, besides Ye Chen, there were several martial world wanderers on the second floor. Each carried a saber or wore a sword, their spirits full and vigorous.

"Have you heard? Swift Blade Wu Wanshan was defeated by a young saber swordsman."

"I heard that too. That young saber swordsman seemed to be called Lin Qi. He's the third disciple of North Snow Manor. His swift blade is incredibly fierce, and he defeated Wu Wanshan within ten moves."

"You're joking, right? Wu Wanshan has already reached the early Primal Origin Realm, and his cultivation is profound. How could he lose to him?"

"Third Brother, you're far too ignorant. This matter has already spread like wildfire—how could it be false? Still, for Lin Qi to defeat Wu Wanshan, who is at the early Primal Origin Realm, with Late True Condensation Realm cultivation is indeed terrifying. I wonder how he compares to the Flowing Cloud Sect's chief disciple."

Ye Chen's expression shifted as Wu Wanshan and Lin Qi's deeds surfaced in his mind.

Wu Wanshan had no sect or school. More than thirty years old, his Swift Blade technique was said to have been self-created. In an instant, he could split a single drop of water into five portions. He had once single-handedly wiped out more than forty valiant bandits and severed a single-plank bridge from over a zhang away. He had thus earned the title of Swift Blade.

Lin Qi was the third disciple of North Snow Manor. He began practicing qi at nine, advanced to the True Condensation Realm at thirteen, reached the Mid True Condensation Realm at fifteen, and peaked at the Late True Condensation Realm at seventeen. His actual combat ability nearly rivaled that of North Snow Manor's chief disciple, Young Master North Snow, and he possessed unparalleled, heaven-gifted talent in the saber.

To the current Ye Chen, both of them were lofty existences beyond reach. Yet Ye Chen did not believe Lin Qi possessed the strength to defeat Senior Sister. He had once overheard the teaching elder say that Senior Sister's talent in martial techniques was already no less than that of certain Inner Sect Elders. Whatever Martial Arts came into her hands, she could train it to perfection. She was a genius rarely seen in the Flowing Cloud Sect in a hundred years.

"I wonder how long it will take me to enter that level?" Ye Chen did not doubt his own potential. His only weakness was that he had started too late.

Suddenly, one of the martial world wanderers said, "Tell me, which members of the Flowing Cloud Sect's younger generation have strong potential and will be able to contend against the top disciples of the other four Great Sects in the future?"

"Without question, the Flowing Cloud Sect's chief disciple, the 'Hidden Fragrance Sword,' is a young expert on the same level as Young Master North Snow. As for the others, I think highly of Jing Jue, ranked fourth among the Core Disciples. He's cold and ruthless, with abundant combat experience."

"Jing Jue is not bad, but I think Tao Xiaofeng, ranked third among the Core Disciples, is formidable. He often defeats the strong while weak, and he is clever and adaptable."

The martial world wanderer who had raised the topic gave a sly laugh. "The people you mentioned are all Core Disciples ranked in the top five. In the past, I would have agreed, but this time is different. I favor Xu Jing, ranked twenty-third among the Core Disciples."

"Why do you say that?" The others showed curious expressions, and Ye Chen listened just as intently. He had not expected anyone to mention Senior Sister Xu Jing.

"I saw her three days ago. At the time, she was fighting the notorious martial world bandit, Iron Destroyer..."

Before he could finish, everyone began discussing it. "Iron Destroyer Li Tong? He's no ordinary fellow. He's treacherous and cunning, incomparably vicious. He was pursued for half a year and still remained safe and sound. It is said that his unique Iron Destroyer technique was passed down from Tuoluo Kingdom, truly capable of crushing gold and breaking iron. That Xu Jing you mentioned shouldn't have been able to deal with him, right?"

"Wrong. In a head-on clash, Xu Jing kept suppressing Li Tong, breaking his arms inch by inch until he vomited blood and died."

"What? Li Tong was at the peak of the Late True Condensation Realm, yet he was suppressed?"

"What's so strange about that? If you had seen the scene then, you would have known how fierce Xu Jing's fist technique was. Compared to her, Li Tong seemed utterly powerless, whether in Momentum or fighting style."

Ye Chen smiled faintly. He knew how formidable Xu Jing was. Generally speaking, fierce martial techniques had three extremely high realms. The first was softness within hardness, the second was the balance of hardness and softness, and the highest was the unity of hardness and softness. Xu Jing had trained the Demon Subduing Divine Fist to the second realm, the balance of hardness and softness. As for himself, he had practiced Vajra Fist for too short a time, yet he had also reached the second realm, the balance of hardness and softness. When fighting Wang Gang, he had only used seventy or eighty percent of his strength.

Of course, these three realms were not so easily attained. Those without sufficient talent could spend years, even more than a decade, without reaching the first realm. For instance, Wang Gang earlier had not even fully learned Monument Breaking Palm, much less achieved softness within hardness.