by Fiery Moon
Looking at the Dragon Subduing Slash Xiao Chen handed over, Xiao Jue stared blankly for a while before saying, “Where did you find this Martial Technique?”
Were there some mysterious principles involved in this? Xiao Chen suppressed the suspicions he had in his heart and told Xiao Jue the truth of where he had found the Dragon Subduing Slash.
Xiao Jue laughed loudly after hearing it, “I have not seen this Martial Technique for quite a long time... So it was actually hidden there. Nephew Xiao Chen, you can’t take this book out.”
“Why?”
Xiao Jue replied with a slight tone of ridicule, “Did you think you were lucky and found a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique that no one else discovered? That your strength would suddenly soar when you learned it, that you will be able to slaughter everyone and become unparalleled?”
Xiao Chen, who had been seen through, said awkwardly, “What is wrong with this book? Since it is a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique, why can’t the Xiao Clan disciples take it out?”
Xiao Jue sighed in disappointment and frustration, “When I was young, I asked the same question as you. Since it is a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique, why can’t the Xiao Clan disciples practice it?”
Xiao Jue paused for a moment before sorrowfully continuing, “This Martial Technique can only be practiced by people who have the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit. Anyone else would end up exploding and dying. However, the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit has not appeared in our Xiao Clan for a thousand years. Thus, this Martial Technique is like trash; taking it out will only cause harm to others.”
Azure Dragon again!
Xiao Chen’s heart beat very hard as he tried to maintain a poker face, “So, it is like this, then can I just take it back to reference it, then return it? I promise not to practice it.”
“This is no problem. This book is just a copy, so you can take it back and don’t bother returning it. Or else, someone else might get tempted by it and get into trouble. However, Xiao Chen, you must remember to never attempt to practice it. There were many in the elder generations of the Xiao Clan who tried and ended up exploding. There were so many precedents of this.”
Xiao Chen nodded his head and smiled, “I assure you I won’t, second uncle. Please do not worry. I shall take my leave first.”
“Second Uncle, why isn’t there even a Profound Ranked Martial Technique on the second floor?”
Xiao Chen was about to leave when he heard a familiar voice. The person who spoke was Xiao Jian, who just came from the second floor. Xiao Chen stopped in his tracks with some astonishment. Xiao Jian came from the second floor, which meant that he had broken through the bottleneck of peak Martial Disciple and was now a Martial Master... How surprising.
Xiao Jian walked over, holding a few Martial Technique books. He had not expected to meet Xiao Chen here. Xiao Jian was surprised for awhile before he smiled and said, “I didn’t expect to meet second brother here. Are you here to look for Martial Techniques too?”
Xiao Jian looked the same as he did before; he was dressed in a blue gi, looking very capable and experienced. The pride that used to show on his face was somewhat decreased, but Xiao Chen could still see a trace of hatred hidden in his eyes.
Looks like the matter with Xiao Jian is not over yet.
As though Xiao Jian could hear his thoughts, Xiao Jian slowly walked over and said in a low voice, “The duel between you and I has just begun. I will repay the shame from that day with interest.” The final few words were slowly enunciated through clenched teeth.
Who humiliated who first? All these years, during the test of abilities, which one have you not humiliated me in? Have you never thought of all the times that I suffered because of that?
Chapter 22: Spirit Weapon Lunar Shadow
Xiao Chen was not a fickle person, or unrighteous. If he was, he would not have held back while using Divine Thunder Break that day. But now, Xiao Jian had come to provoke him again, causing him to feel angry. It’s just the Martial Master realm, did he need to be so smug?
Since they were right in front of Xiao Jue, Xiao Chen was in no position to flare up. Instead, he just gently smiled and said, “Wait until you have the ability before you come and say those big words.” Without waiting for Xiao Jian’s reply, he turned and left.
“You!”
Xiao Jian stared at Xiao Chen’s back as he left, his gaze turning incredibly cold as he tightly clenched his fist. I, Xiao Jian, cannot lose to this trash again, regardless of the method!
“Second Young Master, I have finally found you. The First Elder was looking for you everywhere.”
Xiao Chen was about to go back when he met the maid who previously informed him to attend the abilities test. He felt this was strange. Why was the First Elder looking for him?
He stopped in his tracks and looked at the maid who was sent by the First Elder, “Do you know why the First Elder is looking for me?”
The maid answered honestly, “I am not sure about the details, but the First Elder seemed very anxious. It should be something important.”
In the past, this maid would have just ignored Xiao Chen and left after passing on the message. Today, not only did she answer his question, but her attitude was strangely humble.
“Lead the way then,” Xiao Chen said calmly. He did not bother with her change in attitude.
The maid seemed a little nervous, and on the way there she kept mumbling to herself. She did not dare to say anything to Xiao Chen. After she brought Xiao Chen to the First Elder’s Courtyard, she immediately took her leave.
When he entered the courtyard, Xiao Chen saw the First Elder sitting by the stone table in the middle. The First Elder waved at him, and Xiao Chen hurriedly walked over. Since Xiao Xiong was in closed-door training, the First Elder held the the highest position. Xiao Chen did not dare to show a sloppy attitude.
Seeing Xiao Chen standing in front of the table, the First Elder smiled gently, “Have a seat. We are family; there is no need to be so reserved.”
Xiao Chen thanked him and sat down. Then he asked cautiously, “I wonder why First Elder was looking for me?”
Xiao Qiang just smiled and picked up the teapot on the stone table to pour Xiao Chen a cup of tea, “These tea leaves are the best in the south. It is very difficult to buy this in Qizi County, try it!”
Xiao Chen knew nothing about tea, thus he just took a sip before asking again, “First Elder, why were you looking for me...?”
“No rush, let me thank you for Yulan’s matter first,” Xiao Qiang interrupted Xiao Chen. “That girl has stayed on that mountain for years, and always refused to come down. If it were not for you, she would never have come down.”
“I heard from Yulan that your Martial Spirit is a purple flame. Can I take a look?”
Xiao Chen nodded his head, and a ball of purple flames appeared atop his hands. It continually danced and emitted a strange glow.
Xiao Qiang focused heavily on the Purple Thunder True Fire in Xiao Chen’s hands. He then raised his right hand and gathered some Essence. After a moment, a suction force could be felt. When Xiao Chen felt this suction force, he did not resist it and just let Xiao Qiang pull over some of his purple flames.
“Zizi!”
Looking at the flame that continually consumed his Essence, Xiao Qiang said in satisfaction, “This flame is indeed tyrannical. No wonder Xiao Jian got distracted by this. Even with my Martial Grand Master cultivation, it would take quite a bit of effort to extinguish this flame.”
“First Elder is just being modest. With First Elder’s abilities, this flame would not be able to hurt you at all.”
Seeing Xiao Chen being so humble, Xiao Qiang felt very satisfied. He casually waved his hand and extinguished the flame, “This flame is extremely pure. You can try being an alchemist in the future.”
The alchemists in the Tianwu Continent needed to use fire that came from their Martial Spirit, this was the basic requirement. Their M
artial Spirit needed to be a fire attributed Spirit Beast or Holy Item. If it was as pure as Xiao Chen’s Purple Thunder True Fire, then it was the best. However, the First Elder did not know that Xiao Chen’s Purple Thunder True Fire was not his actual Martial Spirit.
Xiao Chen nodded his head, “I thought of that already. However, the requirements for becoming an alchemist are just too high. Even in the whole Mohe City, there are no second grade alchemists or higher. It would not be easy to get started.”
Xiao Chen’s words were not entirely false. If an alchemist took him in as a disciple, then that would be best. He could learn faster. However, even without a high ranked alchemist guiding him, he was still able to use what he learned from the Compendium of Cultivation. It would not be too difficult for him to refine pills.
Xiao Qiang muttered to himself irresolutely before saying, “I have a set of books on the introduction to alchemy. I will get someone to send them to you later.”
Introductory books on alchemy were not particularly precious, but Xiao Chen was still quite interested in seeing how alchemy worked in this world. Thus, he wanted to take a look. He smiled and said, “In that case, thank you First Elder.”
After speaking for so long, the First Elder still had not told Xiao Chen his true purpose in calling him over.
“Young Master Xiao, in this year’s Promise of Ten Years’ duels, I would like you to compete. What do you think?”
Xiao Chen was still trying to guess the First Elder’s purpose for calling him over when he gave Xiao Chen the answer. It was as if he could read Xiao Chen’s mind.
The Promise of Ten Years’ duels... This involved the Seven Horn Mountain, which the Xiao Clan relied on for survival. If they lost the duels, then the Xiao Clan would become a second rate clan in Mohe City. If that happened, those clans who had bad blood with the Xiao Clan would definitely take action.
Not to mention the problem of whether Xiao Chen could escape on his own or not. Regardless of the previous Xiao Chen, or the current one, they both had feelings for the Xiao Clan. If he left, then what would happen to Xiao Yulan? To Xiao Chen’s father? Now that he had occupied another person’s body, he should shoulder some responsibility. Xiao Chen may have been a shut-in, but he was still a responsible person.
Thus for this Promise of Ten Years, even if the First Elder did not say anything, Xiao Chen would still do his best to help the Xiao Clan to overcome this crisis. After that, then he could be considered even with the Xiao Clan.
When Xiao Qiang saw Xiao Chen become silent, he thought that Xiao Chen was unwilling to agree, “This is actually you father’s idea. He knows you condensed your Martial Spirit, and even defeated Xiao Jian. He is happy for you.”
“My father? Isn’t he in closed-door training?” Xiao Chen asked with some suspicion.
Xiao Qing smiled, “Even if he is in closed-door training, he is still human. He needs to eat and drink. I told the clan head then, and he did not seem surprised. He even suggested that you take part in the duels of the Promise of Ten Years.
He didn’t feel surprised? Could it be that he knew I would condense my Martial Spirit? And that my Martial Spirit is the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit? However, from the words of the First Elder it doesn’t seem likely, or else he would not have thought that my Purple Thunder True Fire was my Martial Spirit.
“That’s right, First Elder. When will my father come out? He has been in closed-door training for three years already, right? Even a regular person would not take this long to break through to Martial Saint.” Seeing an opportunity to obtain news about Xiao Xiong, Xiao Chen immediately asked this question, which he had been suppressing in his heart for so long.
On the road of Martial Cultivation, there were three important hurdles. The first was to condense a Martial Spirit. As long as one could condense a Martial Spirit before the age of ten, then one would definitely reach the Martial Grand Master realm. It was just a matter of time. The second hurdle was when one tried to break through to Martial Saint. If this hurdle was passed then one would definitely reach the Martial King realm, or else they would be stuck in the Martial Grand Master realm forever.
The final hurdle was breaking into Martial Emperor; this hurdle was ethereal and mysterious. Many people said that after this realm, it was the legendary Martial God. However, since there were no records of Martial Gods, no one could confirm if this rumor was true.
Xiao Qiang took a sip of tea and said seriously, “The Cultivation Method your father cultivates is different from others. Good preparation is the key to success. Once he breaks through, he will immediately become a peak Martial Saint. When this happens, not to mention Mohe City, our Xiao Clan will have a place in the whole Qizi County.”
“Of course, all of these things can only happen under one condition, which is if the Seven Horn Mountain remains under our control. The strength of the Zhang Clan has soared rapidly these few years. They are even more unyielding than our Xiao Clan, and cannot be underestimated. If they obtain the rights to Seven Horn Mountain, then the outcome for our Xiao Clan would be very tragic. Thus, Second Young Master, please consider taking part in this Promise of Ten Years very seriously.”
The First Elder truly had a way with words. After speaking for just a bit, he was able to turn the topic back to this. Xiao Chen thought very hard and fast. After he considered this for a little while he felt that he could make use of this opportunity to seek some benefits from the First Elder. After all, Xiao Chen just so happened to be lacking a Spirit Weapon.
He then put on a bitter face, “First Elder, it is not that I do not want to agree, but look at my empty hands. I don’t even have a Spirit Weapon.”
Xiao Qiang smiled, “You have a big appetite. The first thing you ask for is a Spirit Weapon? Do you think Spirit Weapons are so easily obtained? Even Xiao Jian only managed to obtain one after reaching the Martial Master realm.”
He had to reach the Martial Master realm to obtain a Spirit Weapon? There was such a rule?
“Only by reaching the Martial Master realm can one have a Spirit Weapon; this is the rule of our Xiao Clan. However, I do have a few personal Spirit Weapons, so you can pick one,” the First Elder suddenly changed the topic. This gave Xiao Chen a surprise since he had already given up hope.
Xiao Qiang waved his hands casually, and four Spirit Weapons appeared on the table. Another Spatial Ring! Xiao Chen envied the grayish-white ring on the First Elder’s finger. When his Purple Thunder Divine Incantation reached the second layer and he learned to forge equipment, he would definitely make a Spatial treasure for himself.
Xiao Chen turned his gaze to the four Spirit Weapons on the stone table, and carefully examined them. Three of them were swords, and only one of them was a saber-shaped Spirit Weapon. However, these few Spirit Weapons did not have much of a glow to them. After holding them in his hands, he could tell that these were Inferior Grade Yellow Ranked Spirit Weapons.
Inferior Grade Yellow Ranked Spirit Weapon... This was the trashiest quality of Spirit Weapons. Xiao Chen felt it was a pity, but he could not let an unhappy expression show on his face. Usually, when a regular person obtained a Spirit Weapon, they would feel incredibly happy. How could they feel that it was a pity? In order to prevent the First Elder from feeling suspicious, Xiao Chen had to act happy.
“How is it? Have you chosen one?” Seeing Xiao Chen’s happy appearance, Xiao Qiang felt quite satisfied.
Xiao Chen picked up the saber shaped Spirit Weapon. He saw that there were two words on the handle — Lunar Shadow. He said, “I’ll take this Lunar Shadow.”
The Dragon Subduing Slash required a saber to be used, so Xiao Chen had no other choice.
Chapter 23: Meteor Burst
The Xiao Clan, Within Xiao Chen’s Isolated Courtyard:
In the Xiao Residence, no one was allowed to have their own courtyard except for certain individuals. An individual such as an elder in the clan, an important guest, or a disciple of direct descent, l
ike Xiao Chen, could have their own personal courtyard.
Xiao Chen carefully observed the Inferior Grade Yellow Ranked Spirit Weapon — Lunar Shadow. The saber was 1.2 meters long and two fingers wide. Its blade was sleek and streamlined. It seemed somewhat similar to a reaper's scythe, but it was not as long.
Shutting his eyes, he sank his consciousness into his body. Xiao Chen carefully inspected the power contained within the saber. A faint energy came from the saber and entered Xiao Chen’s body, slowly heading toward his Dantian.
Slowly, this thread-like energy flowed into the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit in his Dantian. A stream of Essence followed this thread back and entered the saber.
Xiao Chen was incomparably happy because this Essence that came from the Azure Dragon was even clearer, purer, and more tyrannical than before. Perhaps it was because the Spirit Weapon was of a low quality, but the pure Essence could only travel via that thin thread to connect with the saber. Xiao Chen clearly felt that only ten percent of the energy from his Martial Spirit had entered the saber.
If his Spirit Weapon was of a higher quality, then this thread of energy would definitely be thicker. The Essence that could be sent back would definitely be more than ten percent.
He opened his eyes and carefully observed this strange situation. Xiao Chen held Lunar Shadow and brandished it for a while. An electrical glow surrounded the blade, and the shadow of the Azure Dragon could be seen flashing on the blade’s surface from time to time.
“Ha!”
Xiao Chen lightly shouted and leaped up ferociously, hacking thrice with the Lunar Shadow. At that moment, something strange happened. Just as Xiao Chen’s strength was exhausted, the Martial Spirit in his body suddenly sent out a stream of energy. The Azure Dragon shadow on his blade suddenly discharged a surge of energy. This caused the slowly descending Xiao Chen to rise up abruptly.
