A Sword Cultivator who doesn't aspire to be a Sword Emperor is not a good Sword Cultivator. Qin Chu also had a pursuit in his heart, which was to become a Sword Cultivator admired by everyone.
Su Mu's words made Qin Chu realize what he needed to avoid next. Can he not fail? But it's very difficult to achieve invincibility, because you never know what kind of opponents you'll encounter on the path of life.
However, some battles are unnecessary, for example, a fifth-tier Heavenly Origin Realm cultivator fighting a King Realm opponent. Failure in such a situation isn't worth it, but is such a defeat shameful? Not necessarily!
Lost in thought, Qin Lingxi entered Qin Chu's courtyard and approached him, but Qin Chu didn't notice until she spoke.
"Aunt has arrived!" Qin Chu stood up and invited Qin Lingxi to sit down.
"What news did Senior Su bring you?" Qin Lingxi asked after sitting down.
"Aunt also has to call him Senior?" Qin Chu was surprised.
Qin Lingxi smiled and nodded, "He became famous many years ago. When Aunt wasn't even practicing the sword, he was already renowned in the Jianghu. Calling him Senior is not an exaggeration at all."
"But he looks very young. He came to instruct your nephew on a few things, telling your nephew to be more careful. I was just thinking about those things, which is why I was distracted and didn't notice Aunt's arrival," Qin Chu explained.
"My silly child, some people with exceptional Cultivation can maintain their youthful appearance. Cultivators cannot be judged by their outward appearance. Su Mu, the Heavenly Sword, has always been praised for his character. It's a good thing that he can advise you. If he tells you to pay attention to something, then you must pay attention." Qin Lingxi reminded Qin Chu, but she was also puzzled. Given Su Mu's status, it seemed a bit unreasonable for him to specifically come to the Vermilion Bird Holy Land's outpost to advise Qin Chu.
"Don't worry, Aunt, your nephew can still distinguish between good people and bad people," Qin Chu said.
Looking at Qin Chu, Qin Lingxi shook her head, "You were born into a chaotic world, losing the chance for a stable life, but also gaining more opportunities to shine than in times of peace. This is both your misfortune and your good fortune."
After chatting with Qin Chu for a few moments, Qin Lingxi left. There were some things she didn't understand, because people she had no chance to interact with were now connected to Qin Chu.
The Master of Black Prison, Su Mu, Mei Tianling of the Alchemist Guild, and Grand Elder Su of Devil's Castle - these individuals have been famous for many years. They can be said to be arrogant, usually not interacting with others, unwilling to get involved in unnecessary Karma. Just like today, Su Mu came to the Vermilion Bird Holy Land's outpost. He didn't meet Qin Lingxi or the person in charge of the outpost, but went directly to Qin Chu. This indicates that he only wanted to interact with Qin Chu and not have too many entanglements with the Vermilion Bird Holy Land, which made Qin Lingxi ponder.
While Qin Lingxi was pondering, Qin Chu took out a flame crystal, then placed the Vermilion Bird Stone on top of it. He then activated the Vermilion Bird Holy Fire, nourishing the Vermilion Bird Stone with the Vermilion Bird Holy Fire while also increasing its intensity.
After two days of stable Cultivation, Qin Chu, accompanied by Qin Lingxi and a few brothers, arrived at the plaza in front of Heavenly Sword City Lord's Mansion at the agreed time with the challenger.
When Qin Chu arrived at Heavenly Sword City Plaza, many people had gathered. The Azure Cloud Ranking competition was a contest for the younger generation, and all Cultivators took it very seriously, because as long as the young talents on the Azure Cloud Ranking did not fall, they would all become powerful figures in the future.
Lin Hanyue stood in front of the plaza. Seeing Qin Chu arrive, he nodded at him and then spoke, "Since this is a ranking battle, and it's also required to be fought on the life-and-death arena in front of Heavenly Sword City, I will preside over this battle! Since the establishment of the Azure Cloud Ranking and the Dragon Soaring Ranking, ranking battles have always been life-and-death struggles, so challengers must be cautious. Have you made up your mind?"
As he spoke, Lin Hanyue looked at the challenger. He knew Qin Chu was here, so there was no problem with him. He wanted the challenging party to be cautious.
"Thank you, City Lord Lin, for presiding over the battle. I have no problem." The man already standing on the arena drew his battle saber.
"Good! Then you two will fight until a winner is decided, until death." Lin Hanyue stepped back. From now on, regardless of life or death, he would only observe the outcome.
Ranking battles are very cruel. The outcome is dictated by the advantaged party. If the victor doesn't stop, the loser can only die; there's no concept of surrender. This rule is to make challengers cautious. Not just anyone can initiate a challenge at will. If you dare to challenge, you must pay the price. Otherwise, if there are too many challenges, the Cultivators on the ranking wouldn't be able to do anything else, they'd be too busy accepting battles.
As soon as Qin Chu stepped onto the arena, his opponent leaped into the air. With Saber Intent erupting, his battle saber slashed down at Qin Chu's head, showing no mercy.
With a flick of his right hand, the Azure Spirit Sword unsheathed, and Qin Chu thrust it out with one swift motion.
Clang!
Saber and sword met, emitting a crisp sound. Qin Chu's foot let out a dull thud, but his body remained motionless, while his opponent was forced back. Qin Chu's single arm possessed the strength of two elephants; not everyone could shake him. A head-on clash immediately put the opponent at a disadvantage.
Executing the Sparrow Flight movement technique, Qin Chu's body swayed twice, closing in on his opponent. Then, the Azure Spirit Sword slashed out with incredible speed.
At this moment, the challenger's expression changed. He horizontally slashed his saber to block Qin Chu's sword.
Clang! The sound of vibrating weapons rang out. The challenger's battle saber struck Qin Chu's Azure Spirit Sword, but not only did it fail to alter the trajectory of Qin Chu's Azure Spirit Sword, the battle saber was directly shaken backward, pulling his arm back with it, leaving him wide open.
Rip! Qin Chu's Azure Spirit Sword pierced about half an inch into the challenger's chest before stopping.
At this moment, the challenger's face was ashen. This situation made him realize that he and Qin Chu were not on the same level, differing too greatly. Qin Chu hadn't even used any ultimate moves, yet he had rendered him utterly helpless.
Qin Chu lifted his right foot and directly kicked the challenger off the arena.
"Today is the first time I've accepted a challenge for the Azure Cloud Ranking. Because it's the first time, I won't kill anyone, but I also don't have time to waste with challengers, disrupting my normal life. Next time, whoever challenges me, Qin Chu, it will be a fight to the death. Don't blame me, Qin Chu, for being merciless then." After sheathing his sword, Qin Chu clarified his stance. He wasn't a pushover, not someone anyone could challenge at will. Whoever had the guts to challenge would have to follow the rules.
A stunned silence! The onlookers had expected to see a fierce Dragon and Tiger battle, but the outcome was quite different. The challenger had absolutely no chance.
Was the challenger weak? No! The challenger had already successfully challenged two people on the Azure Cloud Ranking, breaking into the top ten. So why was the battle result like this? It was because Qin Chu was too strong, much stronger than he was during the previous Azure Cloud Ranking battle.
The battle ended, and Qin Chu stepped off the arena. It was essentially a formality for him, but it also proved that the top spot on the Azure Cloud Ranking wasn't something anyone could covet. Without showing true strength, it would only lead to self-humiliation.