Chapter 154: Chapter 143: Sword Box, Open!

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the East Continent Tournament would pause for a day.

This was essentially giving the top thirty-two disciples from each sect a day to rest and recover.

Chu Huaixu went to the Treasure Pavilion and sold the First Level Spirit Pills he’d refined in his Medicine Cauldron.

Competing while making money on the side—probably only he could pull that off.

“Speaking of which, thanks to the East Continent Tournament, the Outer Sect’s demand for Low Level Spirit Pills has soared, and prices have gone up a little.”

He’d been making money hand over fist lately, and his mood was especially good.

The ones feeling the exact opposite, though, were Geng Tianhe and the others.

Those three prodigies from the other major sects all got mysteriously scolded by their elders when they returned.

Chided for being too arrogant, restless, not diligent enough…

They weren’t stupid—they could guess who the true culprit was: Chu Huaixu!

“Did the elders get agitated or what?” the three thought.

Still, after witnessing Chu Huaixu’s performance last round, even they started to feel the pressure and urgency.

“Judging by his displayed strength, if we don’t use our secret techniques, winning will be tough.” That was all three’s conclusion.

But here’s the thing: we have secret techniques… but what about him?

Honestly, Geng Tianhe and the others thought this fox-faced guy was just sneaky as hell!

Judging by his performance so far, he wasn’t just hiding his strength—

Who knows how many cards he still has up his sleeve?

“A guy doing Sword and Body Dual Cultivation, he’s been in the competition for six rounds already, and he still hasn’t taken out his sword for us to see!”

“What kind of treasure is it? Why’s he being so stingy?”

“Not even willing to give us a peek!”

In Geng Tianhe’s eyes, Chu Huaixu didn’t have the air of a Sword Cultivator at all.

Most sword cultivators never let their swords leave their side.

“Though, it makes sense. Most Body Cultivators are shameless, love to do sneak attacks up close—guess he picked up the habit.”

Chu Huaixu’s sword cultivator vibe was completely off!

Honestly, if not for being Swordless, that Dead Fox would definitely wear his sword up there—

For nothing else, just to look cool!

If he knew what Geng Tianhe was thinking, he’d probably be speechless.

The day of drawing lots soon arrived.

Many people silently prayed for the Heavenly Dao’s blessing, hoping to draw a weaker opponent.

The rewards for the East Continent Tournament were incredibly generous, and from here on, the prizes got better each round you won.

The ones with no shot at the championship? This was exactly what they were after now.

When Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang went to draw lots, they ran into an old acquaintance—Niu Yuanshan.

This round’s drawing was presided over by him.

Actually, for the next few rounds, all the groundwork would be handled by him.

After all, he was the most capable among the nine Outer Sect Stewards.

—The more capable you are, the more you work!

Chu Huaixu wasn’t surprised by this at all.

Once people know you can take hardship, you get handed endless hardship to eat.

Events as grand as the East Continent Tournament obviously need a spy from the Western Continent to do the chores!

Old Niu glanced over and gave Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang a warm smile.

Xiaoxu quickly arrived as well, still carrying his massive sword box.

Plenty of bystanders had gathered around, eager to see which prodigies would draw whom.

But as it turned out, the results weren’t too friendly toward the Daoist Sect.

The reason was simple: Han Shuangjiang drew number two, and the other person who drew number two was that senior sister named Chang Le.

Previously, she and Ji Sikong were known as the Twin Stars of the Outer Sect, the hottest contenders for the title.

Now that Ji Sikong had lost to Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang’s performance was so eye-catching, the three of them became favorites to win.

That meant one of these two prodigious girls would be eliminated in this round!

What a pity, honestly.

“Big Ice Cube is truly the queen of infighting.” Chu Huaixu roasted in his heart.

Just look at you—how many of your own brothers and sisters have you knocked out by now?

Wiped out several already!

But after all this time watching, he could clearly feel Han Shuangjiang’s improvement.

“She used to have almost no sparring experience, but now she’s steadily getting the hang of it, even fighting with some order to her moves. Her combat sense is good—she really is the world’s protagonist.” He sighed inwardly.

Soon, it was Chu Huaixu’s turn to draw lots.

“Your luck is no good—watch me.” He said to Han Shuangjiang.

He casually drew a lot and immediately called out, “Number thirteen! Anyone else draw thirteen?”

Soon, a surprised voice sounded from the other end.

Zhao Xinghan raised his lot high and said, “Brother Chu, I got thirteen.”

Well, drew a tough one!

“Your luck’s not great either,” Big Ice Cube said softly from the side.

He’d drawn the strongest prodigy from Luotian Valley!

“Me, doesn’t matter who I fight—he’s the one with bad luck,” Chu Huaixu replied offhandedly and with no concern.

“I just didn’t want to end up fighting a fellow sect member. I couldn’t bear it!” He kept up his fake act.

Han Shuangjiang called him out on the spot: “Weren’t you just dying to fight them in your dreams?”

“But now my name is already plastered up in the betting house! Things are different now!” Chu Huaixu argued endlessly.

Zhao Xinghan stood far away, sneakily watching Chu Huaixu, pressure already mounting, only to see the other side still joking and chatting away.

“He’s either got a strong mentality, or he’s not taking me seriously,” Zhao Xinghan thought.

He hoped it was the former.

After heading back, Zhao Xinghan reported his upcoming match against Chu Huaixu to Great Elder Teng Lingyi.

Teng Lingyi’s face darkened a bit, then he broke into a smile.

“Honestly, among you, Geng Tianhe, and Kuimu Quan, the one with the best shot against Chu Huaixu is you.”

“Our Luotian Valley is famous as the Myriad Laws Sect, all because we’ve got the most cultivation techniques and techniques.”

“You’ve definitely got the most techniques among the lot of them.”

“And besides, you’ve already learned the first volume of the Heaven-Encompassing Dao Skill, plus you have the Super Grade Spiritual Artifact—the Danqing Mountain and River Scroll—which can imitate others’ techniques and even turn their own powers against them.”

“That’s your advantage.”

“Chu Huaixu is a Sword and Body Dual Cultivator, but he’s only at Sixth Heaven of the First Realm. That means the spiritual power in his Spiritual Embryo Secret Collection can’t be as abundant as yours.”

“If he adds in Shell Spirit, though, it’s hard to say.”

“So, just remember—never let him get close!”

“Once he’s in close quarters, his dual cultivation advantage doubles in strength.”

Teng Lingyi finished and looked at Zhao Xinghan, asking:

“Have you ever heard this saying: ’Within a single step, a man can defy a whole nation.’”

“It means: if you are enemies at close range, it can be scarier than fighting an entire distant country!”

“Body Cultivators are the embodiment of this.”

“Within an inch—this is their domain!”

“Does that make sense to you?”

Zhao Xinghan immediately nodded, “Thank you for your teachings, Elder. I understand.”

We at Luotian Valley have all the tricks—tactics are our game!

….

….

The next day, the Martial Arts Arena was especially lively.

On the grandstand above, all the top cultivators from each sect were seated—even Sect Leader Xiang Yan showed up personally.

The Daoist Junior Martial Uncle, Jiang Zhi, did not appear, though.

Starting with this round, they would all watch from the sidelines.

The youths fighting in the ring were all the East Continent’s chosen ones—any one of them might one day influence the region’s entire balance of power.

Right now, they were just promising saplings—but who’s to say they wouldn’t grow into towering trees?

Because Han Shuangjiang drew an early number, her match was also early in the schedule.

That Outer Sect senior sister, Chang Le, had no idea that the Daoist Sect’s high elders on the stand didn’t think much of her chances.

Because they truly understood Han Shuangjiang’s real strength.

They knew she possessed the Profound Yin Body, and that she was the savior prophesied in the Daoist Ancestor’s Proverbs.

The only thing that surprised them was: “Shuangjiang’s already cultivated to First Realm Great Perfection?”

“The Profound Yin Body really does make for lightning cultivation speed.”

And as they expected, events played out accordingly.

Han Shuangjiang didn’t even go all out—her Reincarnation Sword Intent wasn’t fully unleashed—and she handily defeated Chang Le.

On the stand, Teng Lingyi frowned and let out a soft “Eh—?”

He acted with discretion and secretly sent a transmission to Sect Leader Xiang Yan:

“Sect Leader Xiang, I haven’t seen the full extent of her Sword Intent, but if I dare hazard a guess, that’s likely Second Generation Observatory Master Yan Shen’s Reincarnation Sword Intent, right?”

Sect Leader Xiang was just about to reply, when a loud voice chimed in nearby.

Situ Cheng blurted out, “Isn’t that the Reincarnation Sword Intent? Did she inherit the Daoist Sect’s Second Generation Observatory Master’s legacy?”

Sect Leader Xiang and Teng Lingyi: “…”

As soon as the words were out, the grandstand erupted in commotion.

The Daoist Sect’s Second Generation Observatory Master, Yan Shen, was the Daoist Ancestor’s true disciple—the strongest in the Profound Yellow Realm after the ancestor ascended!

Her famed Reincarnation Sword Intent had once again appeared, shocking everyone.

For a while, the great cultivators on the stand couldn’t help but discuss animatedly, and many began congratulating Sect Leader Xiang and his group.

This girl’s future was limitless!

The matches kept progressing rapidly—it was soon Xu Ziqing’s turn to go up.

His opponent came from the Sword Sect and was the second strongest disciple of their group, just behind Geng Tianhe.

This one’s name was Guo Zhennan, a towering young man, even taller than Chu Huaixu.

Next to him, Xu Ziqing looked tiny.

“He’s got to be at least one ninety?” Chu Huaixu mused from below, watching the match.

The whole scene struck him as amusing.

“Hahaha, now Xiaoxu looks even smaller,” he laughed wickedly to himself. “He probably has to look up just to see that guy’s nose hair! Hahahaha!”

Xu Ziqing did indeed have to crane his neck to look at Guo Zhennan.

Behind the Sword Sect disciple was a massive sword.

That sword was even bigger than the sword box on Xiaoxu’s back!

After exchanging bows, the match officially began.

Guo Zhennan hefted the greatsword, and on its blade were inscribed the characters ’Mountain-Opening.’

From the moment they clashed, Xu Ziqing was constantly on the back foot, suppressed by the opponent’s offensive.

Though their strength was about equal, Xu Ziqing kept fighting bare-handed.

Guo Zhennan swung his greatsword relentlessly, closing in step by step.

“So what’s in that wooden box of yours?”

“Must be your trump card, huh?”

“If you don’t use it soon, little brother, you might not get another chance!”

With a roar, Guo Zhennan sent a flash of golden light flickering along the blade of the Mountain-Opening Sword!

The delicate youth retreated using Feixuan, making hand seals with one hand to unlock the sword box’s seal.

Jiang Zhi had told him, starting from this round he could finally open the sword box.

Xu Ziqing looked at his opponent and spoke up:

“All right, just as you wish!”

…

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep