Chapter 81: Fiend Blade’s Saber
Translator: Ash Editor: Geoffrey
Li Yao flushed to his ears and scratched his head in embarrassment, "I didn't know you were Fiend Blade Peng Hai. If I knew, I wouldn't have dared to spar with you. Wasn't I simply seeking death?"
Peng Hai slightly smiled and continued, "Second, in the Crimson Nimbus Sect, the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School and the Crimson Nimbus Transportation Group under me are two different organizations, not to mention I have only signed a six-year contract with the Crimson Nimbus Transportation Group. Once the contract period is over, I won't have any relation with them. I could leave them without any delay!"
"Even now, although the contract period isn't over, so long as I'm willing to pay high liquidated damages, I can similarly leave the Crimson Nimbus Sect!"
"Strictly speaking, I'm just an employee of the Crimson Nimbus Sect, not a Crimson Nimbus Sect disciple. I too got angry at the Crimson Nimbus Sect when I came to know about the disagreement between you and the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. However, I hope these silly things do not harm our friendship. To tell you the truth, I too don't like those bastards of the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School!"
Li Yao was once again stunned; his heart gave birth to a very strange feeling.
He didn't expect to hear such a vulgar word like "Bastard" from the mouth of his idol, Fiend Blade Peng Hai.
Like he had never thought of cultivators excreting and urinating.
Although thinking about it carefully, they too were human; they would definitely eat, drink, and do all the regular things a normal person would do. However, if you really encountered a cultivator in the public washrooms, the subsequent shock would be extremely startling.
Peng Hai smiled again.
His smile was very bright and very lively, much like a twenty-year-old naughty fellow. He lowered his voice and said, "Thinking of which, when I was in Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School and had still not yet made a name for myself, I also suffered under them. These supercilious bastards had made things difficult for me too. Many times, like you, I too wanted to quit school, but looking at Teacher Sun Biao's face, I had to give in. Fellow student Li Yao, you have accomplished what I wanted but couldn’t do in the past!"
Hearing this statement, Li Yao was excited. He felt the distance between them was a little closer.
When he looked at Peng Hai again, he didn't seem to appear high and mighty again — he was like a trusted, neighborhood elder brother.
Peng Hai patted his shoulder, and with an undisguised appreciative look in his eyes, he said, "How about it? Are you confident in this year’s college entrance exams?"
"But of course!" Li Yao, with all his strength, immediately straightened his chest. He did not want to appear weak in front of Peng Hai.
"Ambitious, huh! That's more like it!"
Peng Hai neither lightly nor heavily punched his chest and said, "The Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School is nothing special. Since you've already quit school, then forget it. For the next month, I will be training in the Demon Beast Wasteland to further consolidate my level. Until then, you can have this cultivation room to yourself. You can use any strengthening agent or high energy nutrient solution anyway you like — it's all on me!"
Ding Lingdang, who stood to the side, stared with wide-opened eyes and shouted, "Senior Brother Peng, you're too much! We've known each other for so long, and yet you've only occasionally brought me to your training room. You've never allowed me to use it for one month, how can you be so generous to this brat?"
Peng Hai faintly smiled, "This is a 'Transaction' between me and him!"
Li Yao looked all around, yet he did not find anything mysterious about this small training room.
However, he knew that since it was Fiend Blade Peng Hai's private training room, it must have some mysterious, remarkable ability that was hidden from plain sight and gave the utmost advantage for training. He could not help but ask, "What deal? What do you want from me?"
Peng Hai stretched out his two fingers, "You've two options."
"First, I'll let you use my training room free of charge while providing you sufficient strengthening agents and various resources at the same time. No matter how much you want to use, you will get it until the college entrance exam. Think of it as my investment on you! Until you've stepped onto the Core Formation Stage [1], you don't need to pay me back! And if you are lucky and became a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, then go to the Demon Beast Wasteland and kill the strongest demon beast you can to repay me!"
"That's quite fair, what’s the second choice?"
Li Yao was deep in thought. In this deal, Peng Hai didn't seem to be at a loss. It was like throwing a long line to catch a big fish. Even if he didn't become a cultivator, the most Peng Hai would lose would be some strengthening agents.
Although it was an astronomical sum for Li Yao, for Peng Hai, it was a drop in the bucket.
Once Li Yao had formed the Jindan (Golden Core), he could kill a demon beast as strong as a Core Formation Stage cultivator, which would be worth a couple of towns together!
"Second, I'll invest in you just like before; however, you don't need to kill a demon beast for me so long as you address me as... Brother Hai!"
Peng Hai spoke with bright and shining eyes.
Li Yao was stunned. He could react only after a long period of time; his heart was brimming with excitement.
Fiend Blade Peng Hai, who was the talk of Floating Spear City and the new rising figure in the world of cultivators, unexpectedly wanted to become friends with a no name like him!
If he chose the first option, then it would simply be just a business deal — just an investment. Peng Hai would pay for a few insignificant resources and would get a hundredfold in return when Li Yao beheads a giant beast in the future. Once this deal was over, there would not be any relation between the two whatsoever!
If he chose the second option, it would no longer be a business deal — Fiend Blade Peng Hai would be his friend and would be paying for a friend!
"Brother Hai!"
Without any hesitation, Li Yao shouted, yet in his mind, he was still left extremely puzzled. He could not help but ask, "Brother Hai, my Pineal Gland is ruptured and my Spiritual Root Development Quotient has fallen to 7%. At a time where everyone is not optimistic about me, why do you still have such confidence in me? Why do you believe that I can still cultivate and even reach the Core Formation Stage one day?"
Peng Hai smiled, "It's very simple. It’s because I've met another person just like you. At the age of thirteen, she was a super cultivation genius who had a Spiritual Root Development Quotient of 85%, but all of a sudden, her Spiritual Root Development Quotient fell to 11%. She could barely even stand up; she was reduced to a cripple. Everyone believed that she could no longer cultivate and would spend the rest of her life in bed!"
"But this person, not only did she stand up again by putting in a hundred times more effort, an amount that no man can imagine, she once again stepped onto the road of cultivation. At the age of twenty-two, she soared to the Pinnacle Refinement Stage!"
"If I'm not wrong, after at most a year and a half, she will successfully build her foundation and become one of the youngest Building Foundation Stage Cultivator in the Federation. And If you give her thirty to fifty years... she would become the youngest Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator in the Federation!"
"There is such a fearsome person!?"
Li Yao was secretly surprised. He could not help but ask, "Who is she? Which university or cultivation sect is she in now?"
A faint smile appeared on Peng Hai's face, "She is standing next to you."
"What!?"
Li Yao was dumbfounded. His gaze turned towards Ding Lingdang.
He didn't think that such a dazzling girl would have such an unexpected past.
No wonder she said “I see myself in you”.
Was this her reason for "not abandoning and giving up on him"?
Ding Lingdang pulled a straight face and firmly nibbled her lips. She seemed to have put on a mask. Evidently, she didn't want to let others see through her.
Peng Hai also knew she was not willing to mention her past. He quickly changed the topic and said to Li Yao, "Do you understand now, fellow student Li Yao? Even if the whole world is not optimistic about you, even when no one believes you can rise once again, Ding Lingdang and I are the two people who will still believe that you can still create miracles!"
Li Yao felt warmth coursing through his body.
"Unexpectedly, there are still people in this world who still have confidence in me!"
When he had just woken up, Deep Sea University Professor Xie Tingxian didn't believe he could participate in the college entrance exams, and then the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School directly asked him to leave the school.
These two things had really made him feel somewhat disappointed.
However, at this moment, all of his disappointment was thrown deep into the sea. Li Yao’s eyes turned moist, his blood was boiling, and his will to fight turned wild like a hurricane!
"Alright!"
Li Yao no longer hesitated and readily accepted Peng Hai's good-will.
"Brother Hai, since we are friends, we don't need to say any words of thanks. However, I just want to say one thing — if someday I become a Grand Refiner, I will definitely forge the perfect saber that could even split the seas and cut the stars for you!"
As long as he assimilated the later parts of the memories of Ou Yezi, Li Yao had absolute confidence that he would be able to forge the strongest magical equipment in the Heaven Origin Sector!
Peng Hai burst into laughter.
"Alright, you're really frank. I'll be waiting for that day to arrive then. However, a saber is not necessary because I'm proficient in swords, halberds, tridents, hooks, forks, and altogether seventeen types of weapons. It doesn’t exactly need to be a saber. If you can refine eight to ten flying swords for me, then I'll take them all!"
"Then, why does everyone call you 'Fiend Blade' when you don't even use a saber?" Li Yao was once again dumbfounded.
He discovered that his brain cells were not used enough when dealing with Peng Hai.
Peng Hai winked at him. The expression on his face now was revealed to be the same as the "Degenerate of the Cultivator World", Sun Biao, and with a smile on his face, he said, "The nickname 'Fiend Blade' was something I intentionally publicized to let others know. Now throughout the entire world of cultivators, everyone knows me as Fiend Blade and naturally believes that I use a saber. How could they know that I'm, in fact, more proficient in swords? In the scenario where I am fighting, if I suddenly brought out 17-18 flying swords or 20 long spears or used illusions to turn myself into a three-headed, six-armed man waving 7-8 meteor hammers instead of a saber, wouldn't the other guy be dumbfounded? At that moment, they would start to think about what I, ‘Fiend Blade’, was actually hiding. Just this moment of surprise would be enough for me to cut him a hundred times. Remember this — all warfare is based on deception!"
Li Yao was covered in cold sweat. He finally knew for sure that this "Brother Hai" of his was the personal disciple of the "Degenerate of the Cultivator World”, Sun Biao — both of them had no sense of shame!
"Isn't it very bad to casually reveal such a big secret?"
"It doesn't matter. Many people in the world of cultivation know me personally, and even my enemies say I'm very frank and upright. Let's say you told everyone that I don't use saber, that I'm cheating everyone, and that my name 'Fiend Blade' is just for fame and nothing more. Do you think they would believe you?"
Li Yao, after thinking about it for a long time, suddenly discovered that Peng Hai's methods were truly too insidious and too cunning!
"Brother Hai, then can you actually use a saber or not?"
"What do you think?"
"I'm not guessing, I have decided to forge a set of blades for you, comprising of flying knives, a dagger, a Miaodiao, a whip blade, a nine-ringed golden saber [2]. You can then hold a 'Blade Exhibition' in the world of cultivators and let everyone know of the name 'Fiend Blade'. This way, the next time you and your enemy cross paths, he would be worried whether you are going to take out a flying knife or a dagger to slit his throat or suddenly pull out the nine-ringed golden saber to cut him into two. At the moment he is pondering over your weapon, you can suddenly take out a ten-feet-long snake spear and stab him to death. Tsk tsk tsk, this scene will be really pleasing!"
An adult and a child; the two people started laughing crookedly at the same time.
Ding Lingdang, who stood beside them, had her eyes turned white. The shamelessness of these two guys was completely beyond her imagination.
"Alright brat, I like you more and more. Come, let me take you to see my 'real' training room!" Peng Hai smiled and said.
[1] In chapter 6, the cultivation level introduced were as follows: Refinement Stage < Foundation stage < Orichalcum Stage < Monad stage. From now on I’ll be using Refinement Stage < Building Foundation Stage < Core Formation Stage < Nascent Soul Stage.]
[2] The Nine-ringed golden saber should look something like this http://daomenga.com/large/G061.jpg. Miaodiao you can check it out here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miaodao