Chapter 75: Half a Sword

Wind flowed. It was elusive and impossible to grasp.

Even a three-year-old child on the Hengze Continent knew that, so there was no way Wen Xu did not. But ever since empiricism had burned him once, he had learned to think… dialectically.

Cultivation was not like studying. One could not rely on established conclusions to infer possible results. It was more like constantly overturning ingrained beliefs to renew one’s present self.

That might sound a little abstract, so here was a simple, straightforward example: back when he was in the Mortal Realm, he had believed humans could not fly. Now, humans could fly. His understanding had been broken, and so he had learned the Wind-Riding Art.

At its simplest, the Wind-Riding Art meant… controlling the wind within the bounds of his understanding. More specifically, he used spiritual power and manifested that spiritual power as wind, thereby attacking his opponent.

In essence, he was attacking with spiritual power, and wind was merely the method through which he did so.

Throughout this process, spiritual power was depleted.

So was the wind.

Wen Xu had been searching for a way to reduce that loss for a long time. But he was not a god. He could not simply slap his forehead and produce an answer.

He had experimented with many methods: precisely subdividing the spiritual power inside his body, attempting to alter the routes of arrays, using array-nesting techniques to stack formations and promote the circulation of spiritual power, and so on.

Some of those methods had proven completely worthless. Others were useful, but far too complicated to implement. There were also simpler ones, but their success rates were painfully low.

In any case… before today, Wen Xu had never found a method that offered the best of both worlds.

Of course, he had also tried channeling spiritual power through his sword. After all, using a physical object to carry spiritual power was an extremely common way of stabilizing its output in the cultivation world.

But a sword was different from a yellow talisman.

A sword was already a weapon meant for attacking. Unlike a yellow talisman, whose sole purpose was to serve as a vessel, a sword… did not need to be imbued with too many things.

Wen Xu had only recently come to understand this.

Before that, he had even tried layering countless arrays onto his spirit sword. Although they had only been simple Wind-Riding Arrays arranged together, their power had indeed increased.

But… the same layered-array technique would have worked even without placing the arrays on a sword.

In other words, there was no need to force layered arrays onto a sword.

It dawned on Wen Xu belatedly that he seemed to have done something profoundly stupid.

It was like using the Book of Changes to calculate a street vendor’s earnings for the day. It could be done, but there was absolutely no need.

Once he understood that, he realized he was still too easily influenced by ingrained ways of thinking.

Even before entering meditation, he would deliberately remind himself of that fact. Yet the knowledge etched into his mind over so many years continued to influence him without his noticing.

Much of the time, he did not even realize he was being affected.

Just like now.

He suddenly realized that wind was everywhere.

Even wind at rest was still wind.

No one had ever decreed that wind had to be moving—

Wind could be still.

It could flow.

Besides controlling it to make it swift and sharp, he could also use it to… bind.

The instant Wen Xu understood, the wind coiling around the tip of his sword came to a stop.

Spiritual power spiraled upward. Although the wind had already stilled, he could still feel it roaring silently.

For the first time, he experienced the vitality of wind so directly.

So that was it.

All Things Are Born did not refer only to the myriad things of the world. It also referred to wind itself.

Even something formless possessed life. He simply could not see it.

And who could say that something invisible did not exist, or that it possessed no life?

Wen Xu held his breath, emptying every last trace of turbid air from his chest.

At that moment, the Ten Thousand Things Arise Art began circulating wildly within him.

The wind around him froze, then attacked his opponent in the same instant. Like an inescapable spiderweb, it wrapped around Chen Zui and trapped him within.

He had done it!

The Wind-Congealing Art.

This was the second technique he had comprehended from the Ten Thousand Things Arise Art.

“Why aren’t they moving?”

“What just happened?! Why does the arena suddenly feel so dangerous?”

“…You’re not the only one who thinks so.”

The abruptly stilled wind was like a predator gathering its strength.

It was naturally the perfect hunter, hiding in the shadows and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Given time, once Junior Granduncle-Master fully matured, he would inevitably become every opponent’s nightmare.

The elder from Sword Peak could barely contain his envy.

Wen Xu was only in the Qi Refining Realm. What an excellent seedling for sword cultivation! He rightfully ought to…

Fine.

The elder only dared entertain such treasonous thoughts inside his own head.

Had he known that a mutated wind spiritual root could develop in this direction, then back then…

Ah.

He truly regretted not realizing it sooner.

“Elder Zeng, are you thinking about…”

It was that accursed fellow from Artifact Refining Peak again.

Elder Zeng snorted, and even the sword on his back gave a resonant hum.

“No. I’m not.”

Who would be so tired of living that they would fight that Dragon Venerable over a disciple?

Zheng Jin gave a bored little “oh.”

“You people from Sword Peak really are inflexible. If it were me, I’d…”

Then he abruptly stopped talking and continued watching the match with a deeply focused expression.

Ah, Junior Brother Wen truly was a fine prospect for sword cultivation.

Zheng Jin had said from the beginning that he would not misjudge him.

After all, Zheng Jin himself possessed a single metal spiritual root. Once upon a time, he too had been a celebrated sword-cultivation prodigy of Yonglu Mountain.

What a pity.

In the past, the elders of Sword Peak had frequently visited Artifact Refining Peak to persuade him to cultivate the sword.

Now, it was already generous of them not to chase him around with one.

Sure enough, cultivators lost all their value once they formed a Nascent Soul.

The sight of him made Elder Zeng’s teeth ache.

In fact, he even felt a little grateful that this metal-spiritual-root genius had not joined Sword Peak.

Thinking of the Artifact Refining Peak Master’s increasingly sparse hair, Elder Zeng’s mood abruptly settled.

“What would you do?”

“Of course I wouldn’t do anything. Junior Granduncle-Master and I are very close, you know. Look at my enchanted robe. Doesn’t this layered array look familiar? Hey, Elder Zeng, don’t leave! Why are you walking so fast—”

Elder Zeng’s steps became faster and faster.

He could watch the match from anywhere. He would have to be insane to stand beside this fellow for even another moment.

Just as Elder Zeng fled, Chen Zui moved.

His earlier stillness seemed to have been nothing more than a brief pause in which he assessed his opponent.

A clever person might have changed tactics or probed cautiously.

But Chen Zui was not a clever person.

And Wen Xu understood perfectly well that Chen Zui would never bother with empty tricks.

Wen Xu needed to seize the high ground as quickly as possible and take control of the battle.

Otherwise, was he supposed to compete with Chen Zui in spiritual power and patience?

He would have to be insane to compete with a madman in that.

The invisible, distorted wind that had been frozen in place began flowing in an instant.

Under Wen Xu’s control, it wound continuously around Chen Zui, forcing his movements to slow.

The two of them had fought many times before. Wen Xu knew perfectly well that Chen Zui’s weakness had never been in his saber.

It lay within Chen Zui himself.

In a certain sense, Chen Zui was the true blade that had been constantly honed.

The weapon in his hand was nothing more than something that could be replaced at any time.

Chen Zui had changed sabers many times since joining Yonglu Mountain.

Was he devoted to the saber?

Yes, unquestionably.

But did he love sabers?

That was not quite so certain.

After all, Chen Zui regarded spirit sabers and enchanted artifacts with disdain. What he habitually used was the most ordinary kind of broad saber, one that contained neither spells nor spiritual power.

Yet with a saber like that, Chen Zui had fought his way this far and had even defeated a senior brother in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Clearly, he did not rely on the superiority of his weapon.

There was nothing wrong with Wen Xu’s approach to attacking him.

But Chen Zui’s battle instincts were equally swift.

His mind might not even have begun to move, yet his body had already responded to the enemy.

Madman. Lunatic. Monster.

Any of those words could describe Chen Zui.

He had no fear of injury.

In a single instant, countless wind blades struck all around him, and a faint pink mist rose over his body as blood escaped into the air.

Yet he seemed incapable of feeling pain.

He remained fixated on swinging his saber.

Saber and sword collided in an instant, producing a shrill, grating cry of repulsion.

Several lower-level Qi Refining Realm disciples watching from the front rows even had blood seep from their ears.

So strong!

Was this truly a duel between Qi Refining Realm disciples?!

Then what did that make the rest of them?

Sub-Qi Refining Realm cultivators?

Bian Chunzhou’s eyes were stretched completely wide.

As a friend to both combatants, he had witnessed the two of them fight far too many times.

But this was the first time—

The first time he had seen them clash without holding anything back.

The surge of adrenaline seemed ready to set his blood aflame.

Even though he was standing below the arena, he felt everything as though he were experiencing it himself.

It was like watching an immersive three-dimensional film. He practically wanted to climb onto the stage and join the fight personally!

It was exhilarating.

Why was he still racking his brain for the right words?

No matter who won this match, the other person would never truly be a loser.

There would be no need for him to comfort either of them.

What he needed to do was work hard and become stronger, rather than deciding he had surpassed the average and could comfortably lie flat.

Bian Chunzhou’s blood boiled as he watched from below.

How much more intense must it have been for Wen Xu and Chen Zui on the arena itself?

The two of them had completely let themselves loose.

Their utterly unreserved attacks left them both badly injured.

Although this was merely a duel between Qi Refining Realm cultivators, Foundation Establishment Realm and Golden Core Realm cultivators in the neighboring arenas—and even passing True Lords of the Nascent Soul Realm—could not help stopping to watch.

It was not because the two of them were overwhelmingly powerful.

Rather, very few people could match their determination in battle.

Who could have imagined that Junior Granduncle-Master, who appeared so refined, graceful, and clear-minded, could fight on equal terms with a battle-crazed lunatic like Chen Zui?

The Foundation Establishment Realm senior brother whom Chen Zui had defeated had gone pale.

Well…

He might as well volunteer to be mocked.

What else could he do?

When a younger generation this ferocious came crashing in like a wave, anyone standing in its path would be smashed against the shore.

Of course, after today, there probably would not be many people left willing to mock him.

Because truly…

His defeat had not been unjust.

He had believed that, as a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, he was stronger than Junior Brother Chen Zui.

Although he had appeared to take the fight seriously, a trace of carelessness had remained in everything from his attacks to his counters.

And because of that single trace of carelessness, he had lost.

Originally, he had been somewhat unwilling to accept the result.

Now, he accepted it completely.

Wen Xu panted like an ox.

Controlling his sword at such intensity caused his physical strength to drain rapidly.

Blood dripped from the tip of his sword.

Some of it was his own.

Some of it belonged to Chen Zui.

The same was true of Chen Zui’s saber.

Chen Zui was panting as well.

In truth, both of them were in a wretched state.

These were their final breaths before complete exhaustion.

Victory or defeat would be decided by the final sword strike—or saber strike.

In the next moment, the two of them raised their weapons in perfect unspoken agreement.

Sword light and saber shadows flashed in a sweeping arc.

The final trace of spiritual power inside Wen Xu was exhausted.

It was as though he could clearly see his sword capturing the mischievous wind in the air.

The wind was tamed by his blade and charged straight toward the edge of Chen Zui’s saber.

Chen Zui answered with his most ferocious, unyielding strike.

The two forces collided violently.

Then they tore apart just as brutally.

Completely drained, Wen Xu dropped to one knee.

He had already given everything he had.

But even so…

He had lost.

By half a sword.

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