“Pffttt!”
The conversation had changed direction quickly, and Qiao Qianzhi was so startled that he sprayed the tea from his mouth.
Cheng Xingchu was aghast. But before he could speak, Xu Xiaoshou continued.
“If you win, you will gain both Ms. Zhiwen’s and my respect. If you lose, I suppose I could take your sword as a prize?”
He extended his hand toward Yu Zhiwen, who was by his side, and she glared sullenly.
What did the competition have to do with her?
“A contest of the physical body then?”
Despite looking like he was about to turn into a raging monster, Cheng Xingchu still retained his intellectual capacity to reason. After all, had he been an ordinary person, would he have gotten to where he was at present?
The word, “physical body,” reminded Cheng Xingchu of the rumors he had been hearing in the Outer Yard of late.
Xu the Three-headed, Xu the Six-armed, Xu the True Dragon.
He had heard the rumors about the famous Big Brother Xu of the Outer Yard—the one who had the uncommon Innate Level Physique. He wondered if they were referring to Xu Xiaoshou.
Jiang Bianyan and Yu Zhiwen wondered about it as well. Both of them looked at each other with questioning eyes.
In a doubtful tone, Cheng Xingchu then asked, “So, you are the one with Innate Level Physique, then?”
Xu Xiaoshou said nothing, and it was a silent confirmation of his ability. Cheng Xingchu smirked in response.
So, Xu Xiaoshou had Innate Level Physique. So what?
No matter how resilient his body was, he would not survive a thrust of my sword, anyway.
“Alright, the rules sound fine to me, although they lean to your benefit. But the stakes?”
What’s this about winning or losing? Yet, what’s at stake is my sword?
Cheng g Xingchu gave him a sardonic look. He shook his head and retorted, “Are you taking me for a fool?”
Xu Xiaoshou nodded.
The place fell silent for a second.
“Pfftt!”
Qiao Qianzhi blew out the hot tea he had in his mouth again.
He put the cup down right away and did not dare to take any further sips. He figured that drinking tea was ill-suited whenever Xu Xiaoshou was present.
The veins on Cheng g Xingchu’s forehead popped and throbbed.
He glowered at the young man standing across him with a stern look on his face. Cheng g Xingchu was panting heavily and seemed to have lost all capacity for speech.
“How about this then?” Xu Xiaoshou added, seeing that Cheng g Xingchu was not saying a word. “If you dislike it, I will change the rules a bit. Let us have a contest of swordsmanship, but the stakes remain.”
Cheng g Xingchu was still at a loss for words.
He stood there dumbfounded, feeling like he was being toyed around with like a monkey.
“Alright, let us do this then!”
Despite appearing like he was shouting out impulsively, Cheng g Xingchu had already given a lot of thought to it.
He instantly thought that the youth across from him had a death wish. Why would he give up his advantage of having the Innate Level Physique and settled for a contest of swordsmanship instead? Xu Xiaoshou must have thought that he could overwhelm him in all areas. What else could it be?
“Let us take a seat.”
Xu Xiaoshou gestured for Cheng g Xingchu to take it easy. He waited until the other man had seated again before continuing. “The path of the sword comprises two words—sword and path.”
To avoid doing unnecessary damage to both of us, let us not get to dueling. We will do it with words instead. We will allow your sword to decide which side it chooses to follow—it would do this totally at its own will.”
How about it?”
Everyone looked stunned. Probably only the prominent Elders from both parties may have seen such a competition take place before. So, everyone present was quite surprised at the suggestion.
However, Cheng Xingchu looked amused.
He was the master of the Spirit Sword. He had experienced firsthand how Xu Xiaoshou could rile someone up with words alone. But could this lad persuade his sword?
“Haha, haha! Xu Xiaoshou, do you think you could manipulate the laws in your favor with just words alone?”
“Alright! I, Cheng Xingchu, take up the challenge!”
Give it your best shot!”
He held onto his Spirit Sword and turned around dismissively. “I would like to see how you can persuade my…”
SHING…!
The sword in his hand rang and trembled before he finished talking, immediately surprising him.
Slivers of white sword aura emanating from his sword—was it what he thought it was?
“Sword Will?”
His eyes flew wide open. He immediately realized that not only did Xu Xiaoshou possess Innate Level Physique, the man also had Innate Sword Will.
Across the entire continent, it was exceedingly rare to come across practitioners who excelled in swordsmanship and had physical prowess. As it turned out, Xu Xiaoshou, the lad who was standing in front of him, was someone like that.
Cheng Xingchu was all flustered, not expecting that things would turn out that way at all.
It was like when someone who remembered the name of the tallest mountain suddenly finding it difficult to name the second tallest mountain.
But any person should be capable of doing so. However, the said person, despite having little else to do, might have felt bored.
But Cheng Xingchu was not such a bored person. And despite knowing that there was someone in the Spirit Palace who possessed Innate Level Physique, he did not bother to find out who the person was.
Had the thought not occurred to Cheng Xingchu, then he would not have known Xu Xiaoshou was the one everyone talked about—the Big Brother of the Outer Yard.
At that point, Cheng Xingchu could do nothing but hold his sword down as hard as he could.
He never even got to Acquired Sword Will level. Cheng Xingchu was the type who depended on spiritual techniques, not will.
“You duped me?”
Cheng Xingchu’s eyes were bloodshot. Despite being the master of the sword, he had to do his best to hold on to the weapon to prevent it from leaving him. It was a grave insult to him.
“Since when did I dupe you?”
Feigning astonishment, Xu Xiaoshou promptly retorted, “Even if this is a life and death battle, do you expect your opponent to declare all their trump cards? After all, ours is only a competition fought with words alone.”
Cheng Xingchu immediately sensed something was wrong with how Xu Xiaoshou had worded it. But he did not have the luxury of time to wonder what went wrong.
He did his best to use his bursting spiritual source to keep down his fifth-grade sword.
SHING! SHING!
Xu Xiaoshou looked calm and carefree, yet the sword kept shaking vigorously.
This was what made those who relied on Will so powerful. If they were to fight with those who relied on spiritual techniques alone, the latter could do nothing at all if they did not act instantly.
Xu Xiaoshou looked at Cheng Xingchu, who appeared increasingly desperate, and said, “No attacking.”
Cheng Xingchu’s face was all ashen.
If he were to continue with what he was doing, there would be no way for him to keep his sword under control. In that case, it would be better to just cut Xu Xiaoshou’s trick down with a blast of spiritual technique.
His eyes widened as he drew his sword.
A blast of sword aura seemed to be about to shoot at Xu Xiaoshou. But, at that moment, Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head to look at Yu Zhiwen, whose slender finger became stiff just as she was about to point.
With a flap of Xu Xiaoshou’s sleeve, Cheng Xingchu flew into the air.
“Sword!”
CLANG!
With a single word of command, the spiritual technique which was about to burst out was shattered. The blast of sword aura dispersed spiritual mist that rained down in a mist.
The Spirit Sword immediately flew out of Cheng Xingchu’s hand like it heeded a command from the Gods. In glee, the sword swished around, drawing perfect strokes. Then it shot into Xu Xiaoshou’s right hand like a jeweled beam.
THUD!
The stifled sound of the sword landing in his hand was a steady thump.
The wind that blew as the Spirit Sword flew into his hand ruffled some of the hair on Xu Xiaoshou’s forehead. The hair flapped into Yu Zhiwen’s face, who was sitting right beside him.
Xu Xiaoshou grinned and then flirted in a hushed tone.
“No interrupting a fight between men, young lady.”
Yu Zhiwen got bewildered by what she saw.
The grace he showed with the sword command and the way he caught the sword without turning his eyes around was impressive!
All of that, plus the spiritual mist raining down behind him, had automatically blurred everyone around them out.
At that moment, there was only her and Xu Xiaoshou in some paradise.
Thump! Thump!
Her increasingly rapid heart rate caused her to tremble, making her push back the chair she was sitting on. She immediately tried to distance herself from Xu Xiaoshou.
CREAK!
The high-pitched screech reverberated right through the entire hall. But Yu Zhiwen did not care about it.
It was embarrassing enough that her set-up under the table got exposed. The look in Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes when he turned around was another matter.
Too close!
She could almost feel his face up close.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The spirit mist then settled.
The man and woman sitting right across from Cheng Xingchu were looking into each other’s eyes, and he erupted in a jealous rage.
“Die!’
He rose, no longer paying any heed to the rules, wanting only to crack open Xu Xiaoshou’s skull with a punch and retrieve his Spirit Sword.
“Sit!” Xu Xiaoshou shouted without even turning his head around.
BOOM!
A rumble rang out as a blast of sword aura punched Cheng Xingchu’s body as soon as he got up.
Not only did the blast shatter the chair he sat on, but it also forced him into a sitting position in midair, with his legs bent.
Xu Xiaoshou turned his eyes away from the blushing Yu Zhiwen to face the man who resorted to violence.
Xu Xiaoshou held onto the sword as he rested his hand on the table and continued speaking in a casual tone.
“Such contests take place with the participants seated.”
“How are we going to continue if both of us are not in our seats?”