Let Me Finish!!

The meeting place agreed upon in the letter was a shallow beach of white stones, sixteen miles outside Hankou Town in Hanyang Prefecture.

Under the bright sun, the river surges on, its waves crashing against the greyish-white rocks day and night.

Many waterbirds strolled among the rocks, flapped their wings slightly, and then reached the peach grove not far away.

The vast wild peach orchards are in full bloom, their branches bursting with vibrant color, a sight to delight the soul.

The fragrance of wild peach blossoms is far less sweet than that of osmanthus; you can only detect a hint of fragrance if you get very close.

However, this visual enjoyment makes one feel that all five senses, body and mind, have been cleansed by the spirit of the flower. Water birds stroll under the flowers and peck at the petals.

Dream-Eating Marquis took only Taohua Scholar with him when he went out for a walk in the mountains. Before long, he arrived at the place agreed upon in the letter and couldn't help but step into the peach grove.

Anyway, from here, you can see the entire white rocky beach.

If the other party arrives, the Dream-Eating Marquis will definitely be able to see them.

Moreover----

"Since this place offers a clear view of the entire shallows and provides convenient cover, the people who invited us here are probably also hiding in the woods, observing the situation."

The Dream-Eating Marquis reached out and pressed down a Taozhi, smelled the fragrance of the flowers, and muttered something to the Taohua Scholar beside him.

Taohua Scholar nodded repeatedly.

"I'm not hiding; I'm sitting here openly and honestly."

A voice suddenly came from the peach grove, causing the Dream-Eating Marquis straighten his gaze and look intently.

The Dream-Eating Marquis's gaze was powerful, causing the flowers and trees along the way to sway and their branches to flutter.

In the instant the many supple branches and leaves were flung aside, a small table could be clearly seen about fifty paces away.

A small stove sits on the table, and a rock lies behind it.

Chu Tianshu sat on the rock, reached out and picked up the teapot on the stove, and poured himself a cup.

He usually needs hot drinks, which he heats directly with his internal energy. But tea is different. This tea is a treasure from the Divine Machine Battalion, and the brewing time is very particular.

The quality of the teapot, and the permeation of its aroma with fruitwood and silver charcoal, are also matters of great importance.

Chu Tianshu had never drunk it before, so he brought some with him.

"Call."

He took two sips, the aroma of the tea lingering on his lips and teeth, and nodded slightly, "It is somewhat different."

The two Dream-Eating Marquis had already approached.

"You were only fifty paces away, yet before you spoke, you seemed to blend into the peach grove, unnoticed by outsiders. Truly extraordinary."

The Dream-Eating Marquis praised him, his gaze fixed on his forehead.

Chu Tianshu chuckled, "Heh, are you watching to see if I really had a strange dream?"

The Dream-Eating Marquis narrowed his eyes slightly.

The marquis already had a round face and small eyes; when he squinted like that, it was as if he had closed his eyes altogether.

"It seems that Ailao Scholar of the secret mark did not escape your notice—no, he left that mark at your behest!!"

The Dream-Eating Marquis squinted, "Are you afraid that I, the Marquis, won't come in person, so you want to both anger me and pique my curiosity?"

Chu Tianshu nodded slightly and took another sip of tea.

Taohua Scholar slammed his folding fan shut and slammed it into his palm, shouting, "No matter what tricks you're playing, the Marquis has personally arrived. Why don't you release Ailao Scholar immediately?"

Chu Tianshu glanced at him. "You're Taohua Scholar?"

"Good!"

Taohua Scholar stood beside the Marquis, head held high and chest puffed out, exuding confidence.

Chu Tianshu sighed softly, "Ailao Scholar really misses you. He said many of his practical skills were learned from you."

"The Marquis only teaches them the techniques; the real expertise lies in efficiency and reaping benefits—that's what you, the eldest brother, are all about."

This brat is trying to sow discord between me and the Marquis?!

Taohua Scholar's heart tightened, and he quickly said, "It is my greatest honor to serve the Marquis. How can I be worthy of the title of the Dream-Gathering Sect if I don't train them well?"

"It seems you admit it."

Chu Tianshu clicked his tongue. "You're the leader of these beasts. You bunch of bastards, at the very least, should all be sent to hard labor camps."

Taohua Scholar was furious upon hearing this.

The Dream-Eating Marquis slightly raised his left hand, and Taohua Scholar immediately moved aside, standing respectfully.

"Ha!"

Seeing this, Chu Tianshu smiled knowingly, "That's why I sometimes quite like using villains."

"As long as the control is strong enough, unscrupulous people are more adept at seizing opportunities than anyone else. Some positions that good people are unwilling to be given can be filled by unscrupulous people with a long history of crimes, which is especially suitable for the early stages of a startup."

The Dream-Eating Marquis's face darkened.

"I see you do indeed have incredibly strange dreams, unlike anything I've ever seen before. If I were to fight you and disrupt your mental state, I'm afraid those dreams would lose their meaning."

"In that case, if you voluntarily cooperate and sell your dream to me, I can grant you some small requests and let bygones be bygones."

"But if you insist on being my enemy and repeatedly insult me, this Marquis will not hesitate to ruin this precious dream."

Chu Tianshu drank less and less tea in his cup, until only a small sip remained. He gently turned the rim and sipped it all.

Ha!!

After exhaling the lingering aroma of tea, he suddenly brought up another matter.

Do you know why I wrote about meeting at Baishi Shallow Beach in the letter, but actually sat in this peach blossom grove?

The Dream-Eating Marquis said, "If I were to ask you a question, you would give a long explanation, trying to appear as a master."

"Tch! I've studied countless dreams and countless stories from the martial arts world. I've long known that anyone who considers themselves a master loves to put on airs, displaying an air of confidence or eccentricity in their words and actions."

As the fat man spoke, a smug look appeared on his face. He straightened his back, held his head high, and put his left hand behind his back.

"I, this Marquis, will not play along with your words, nor will I ask you why. What can you do about it?"

Chu Tianshu's expression froze slightly.

"You----"

He gritted his teeth, staring at the smug Dream-Eating Marquis, and suddenly threw down the teacup in his right hand.

Boom!!!

It was just a small purple clay teacup, but the moment it was thrown, it violently stirred up a large amount of air.

When the teacup bumped into the Dream-Eating Marquis.

The massive amount of air has been compressed into a huge white film, with the center of the film bulging forward!

At the very center, the teacup was pressing against the face of the Dream-Eating Marquis.

The Dream-Eating Marquis's small eyes widened, revealing a completely different look.

Since they met, he still couldn't sense the depth of Chu Tianshu's skill level, or even its specifics.

This situation does not necessarily mean that Chu Tianshu is better than him, but it at least means that the two are at a similar level and are formidable rivals.

By using words to block Chu Tianshu, they were trying to provoke him into making the first move.

It was somewhat unexpected that such a small and fragile teacup could break through the air with such speed and such terrifying force.

The Dream-Eating Marquis's left hand slashed across in an instant, the edge of his palm brushing against the teacup through the white membrane of air.

His skill was dreamlike and ethereal, like a combination of seven colors, yet its brilliance was extremely faint, appearing only as a thin layer on the edge of his palm.

This extremely thin layer of dreamlike True Qi easily penetrated the now almost tangible white Gang Qi membrane, fiercely rubbing against the surface of the teacup.

Before the Gang Qi membrane was even damaged, the teacup began to spin violently in the direction of his palm.

With this turn, the entire white air film was rolled up with numerous folds, forming a tornado along the teacup.

The change in the teacup was clearly caused by the intervention of the Dream-Eating Marquis's internal energy.

But throughout the entire process, the Dream-Eating Marquis's internal energy seemed to have vanished without a trace.

If his internal strength had shown even the slightest sign of its presence, the white membrane of his Gang Qi should have exploded before it was enveloped in a tornado.

The power cultivated through the "Dream-Savoring Divine Art" is renowned for its unpredictability between reality and illusion, and its extreme flexibility and endurance.

Even dreams can be extracted and preserved for a long time, which shows the extent of the flexibility of this skill.

When the Dream-Eating Marquis had mastered his divine skills, he once washed his brush on the shore of the East Sea.

The colorful ink spread out in the waves, forming a long, narrow ribbon. Small fish swam by, and water birds rested there, all unharmed.

However, at the end of the ribbon, a mile and a half from the shore, the Fusang swordsman suddenly felt a chill on his feet, and the big toes of both his feet were chopped off by the colorful energy.

Prince Xuan Taizu, once went to sea with Venerable Changti to spread his fame. After that, masters from Fusang were also recorded in the Heavenly Ranking, but they were not ranked high.

The Fusang swordsman was dissatisfied with this and wanted to make a name for himself in the Central Plains. He first defeated many island sect leaders in the East Sea, showing his sharpness and skill. He broke through in battle and his ranking rose steadily.

Unfortunately, before he could even reach the shore, he ran into the Dream-Eating Marquis seventh on the Heavenly Ranking. Before they could even exchange blows, he lost a toe.

The man's wooden clogs fell into the sea, and he was ashamed to face the elders of Fusang. It is said that he later ran to the South Sea Island, started a swordsmanship school, but he has been studying the True Illusion Sword Technique and was impressed by the Dream-Eating Marquis's move.

Buzz!!!

As soon as the tornado took shape, the teacup's rotation speed increased instead of decreasing, more than tripling under the watchful eye of the Dream-Eating Marquis.

That was the power of the Dream-Savoring Divine Art, which had already been poured into it from mid-air, wildly increasing the tornado's power.

It may not appear that the volume has increased, but at such an incredible rotational speed, the fact that the volume doesn't expand is actually more alarming.

In an instant, he would reverse the tornado.

The traces left by a tornado on the ground are as fast and powerful as the folds of lightning.

They blocked all of Chu Tianshu's escape routes and crashed into Chu Tianshu.

However, just as the tornado was about to shake and crash back, Chu Tianshu pointed a finger in mid-air.

This finger strike was devoid of sound, light, color, or any fluctuation of Gang Qi; it seemed to transmit only a rapid heat radiation.

The white tornado, thick at the top and bottom and thin in the middle, lit up instantly at its center.

The hidden power within the teacup suddenly ignited, bursting forth with a powerful green light in the split second before anyone could regain their composure.

The entire tornado became an accomplice to this intense green light.

The dazzling emerald flames, propelled by the force of rotation, expanded wildly and shone outwards.

The Dream-Eating Marquis raised an eyebrow and, in a flash, covered his face with his left sleeve and retreated at full speed.

Taohua Scholar a little slower. Although he also retreated, he only managed to avoid the gale, but not the intense light.

As soon as she stepped back, Taohua Scholar felt an itch all over her body, from her face to her chest to her legs.

The itch penetrated to the bone almost instantly, as if it wanted to seep through the bones and spread throughout the entire body.

Green spots appeared scattered across Taohua Scholar's face.

In that instant, the white tornado's Gang Qi burned away, turning into intense light and being completely consumed.

The tornado dissipated, and the flames dimmed.

Chu Tianshu's figure flashed by in that instant, his right hand rising to grasp the teacup.

The moment he grasped the teacup, his speed increased again, and he vanished in a straight line.

The empty cup, as if offering a toast, bumped into the sleeve that the Dream-Eating Marquis to shield his face.

The Dream-Eating Marquis still covered his face with his left hand, never lowering it, but his right hand moved, pulling out a golden needle from below.

The gold needle doesn't move in a straight line; the moment it's drawn, the tip flickers out fine circles, like a continuous stroke.

But each tiny circle, the size of a bird's eye, expands to the size of a copper coin the instant it takes shape, and then separates out.

Within the golden halo, like a water curtain, different scenes unfold.

A swordsman stepped off the cliff, his sword soaring through the air.

A boxer had bound himself for ten years, and in the process of raising his wrist to throw a punch, the bracelet between his wrists snapped.

A young girl danced and sang as she leaped across the great river; her skill in lightness of footwork, though not flying, surpassed even the act of flying.

These scenes were all among the most unforgettable moments from the dreams that the Dream-Eating Marquis had experienced.

It is a martial artist's dream, the moment when one's will reaches its peak.

Although he could not fully recreate those dreams, he could recreate the essence of that moment, presenting these ingenious techniques on a single golden needle.

The process of dozens of golden halos flying towards Chu Tianshu was a display of dozens of ingenious techniques.

Skillful in breaking through enemy's energy, skillful in avoiding attacks, skillful in neutralizing attacks, skillful in damaging the body, skillful in harming the spirit, skillful in counterattacking.

Chu Tianshu held the teacup between two fingers of his right hand, while the other three fingers were held together like a knife.

A divine blade that Sever Mountains and Extinguish Waters, Mountain Collapse Divine Saber!

Although the blade is made up of only three fingers joined together, it weighs more than the entire cliff.

With such power and extreme speed, he could unleash seven strikes with just a flick of his wrist when dozens of light rings came hurtling towards him.

These seven strikes hit the seven light rings precisely, and also shattered, shocked, and destroyed the remaining light rings.

Two figures, one retreating and one advancing, both moved with lightning speed and without any hesitation.

In this lightning-fast exchange, the two had already arrived at the White Stone Beach.

Chu Tianshu successfully probed with his teacup, the rim of which touched the sleeve of the Dream-Eating Marquis, before pulling it back.

Even though there was still a layer of sleeve fabric between them.

However, in the instant the cup was pressed against his sleeve and then pulled away, the Dream-Eating Marquis felt his entire body's strength and will being pulled by a great force.

His soul was forcibly pulled out by half of his head, which looked like a round, golden face seeping out from the fabric.

The divine face, turning into golden dust, stretched and deformed rapidly, being pulled towards the teacup.

"Return!!"

The Dream-Eating Marquis roared and suddenly pierced his heart with a golden needle, trying to stabilize his soul and retract the part that had left his body.

Chu Tianshu's lips curled into a smile. He twisted the teacup, then suddenly released it, as if releasing an arrow from a bow.

"Middle!"

In an instant, the teacup, which had turned a crystal clear emerald green, was snatched away by the gold dust.

The moment the gold dust entered his body, the jade teacup also collided with the Dream-Eating Marquis's face.

The Grand Void Radiation, which he had been desperately resisting, now took advantage of his retraction of his soul and crashed into it.

The Dream-Eating Marquis was instantly terrified, frozen in place, his arms still outstretched at his sides, his mouth still poised to roar.

A jade cup was placed on her forehead.

"Why did I write that we met at Baishitan, but we were actually in the peach blossom forest?!"

Chu Tianshu let out a deep breath and finished saying what had been stuck in his throat.

"Because I calculated that you would also enter the peach blossom forest. As soon as I made my move, you would retreat all the way back until you reached the white stone beach."

"And then, you lost here!!"