Zhao Kuo was twenty-four years old, and his Cultivation Realm had already reached Yellow Extreme Realm Great Perfection.
Anger flared in his heart upon hearing Xiao Chen’s words, but before he could retort, Xiao Chen had already made his move.
Although Zhao Kuo had comprehended Sword Qi, he had yet to truly stabilize it.
It had not even reached the Entry Realm, and his Sword Qi was weak and unstable.
Therefore, in a contest of Sword Qi, he was not Xiao Chen’s opponent.
With sheer force, Xiao Chen shattered Zhao Kuo’s Sword Qi.
Zhao Kuo’s face fell as he watched his own Sword Qi break apart.
The next instant, a blade was pressed against his throat.
He had lost, utterly and without a shadow of a doubt.
Of course, Zhao Kuo had brought this on himself.
If he had heeded Xiao Chen’s warning and not tried to compete with his Sword Qi, defeating him would not have been this easy.
The blade needed only to press in another inch to take Zhao Kuo’s life.
Xiao Chen watched him calmly, waiting for his response.
After a long moment of gritting his teeth, Zhao Kuo finally spoke.
“I’ve lost…”
Upon hearing him admit defeat, Xiao Chen sheathed his sword.
He then cupped his fist to Zhao Kuo and said, “Thank you for going easy on me, Senior Brother.
If you hadn’t competed with my Sword Qi, the outcome would have been far from certain…”
Xiao Chen had won, but he didn’t use the opportunity to humiliate Zhao Kuo.
On the contrary, he gave him a way to save face.
At Xiao Chen’s words, the tension in Zhao Kuo’s expression visibly eased, and he returned the cupped-fist salute.
“Junior Brother, you’re too modest.
When I was your age, I was nowhere near as skilled as you.
But you need to be careful of one person: Wang Hu, the number one disciple of the Outer Sect.
He’s not as easy to deal with as I am.”
Perhaps because he had lost to Xiao Chen, the intense jealousy in Zhao Kuo’s heart had faded.
In fact, he now found Xiao Chen quite likable.
‘He’s so young, yet he handles himself with such maturity.
He didn’t just beat me; he even let me save face.’
No longer targeting Xiao Chen, Zhao Kuo turned and walked back into the crowd.
With his defeat, none of the other Outer Disciples dared to step onto the stage.
The arena fell into an eerie silence.
The regular Outer Disciples didn’t dare step forward, and the Inner Sect Disciples considered it beneath them.
Finally, all eyes turned to Wang Hu and another of the Outer Sect’s prodigies, Cheng Hai.
If there was anyone left who could fight Xiao Chen at the same realm, it would have to be Wang Hu or Cheng Hai.
This, of course, was only among the Outer Sect.
The Inner Sect had plenty of disciples who could, but for one of them to bully an Outer Disciple would be far too graceless.
Standing beside Cheng Hai, Wang Hu spoke coolly.
“Aren’t you going to challenge him?
If you let him succeed in becoming a direct disciple, can you live with that?”
“Heh, don’t bother trying to provoke me.
My strength is comparable to Zhao Kuo’s.
If Xiao Chen can defeat Zhao Kuo at the same realm, then he can certainly defeat me.
You’re the strongest of the three of us.
I think you should go.” Hearing this, Cheng Hai offered a small smile.
Showing no intention of fighting, Cheng Hai’s words earned him a cold glance from Wang Hu.
Cheng Hai, however, paid it no mind.
Ultimately, Wang Hu was left with no choice but to go up himself.
Wang Hu was the strongest of the Outer Sect’s three prodigies and was widely recognized as its number one disciple.
Seeing him take the stage, the crowd of Outer Disciples erupted in cheers.
Clearly, he was very popular.
He came to a stop in front of Xiao Chen, his face placid.
As he drew his sword, he stated coolly, “My Sword Qi isn’t like Zhao Kuo’s.
It won’t be so easy to defeat me with Sword Qi alone.”
As he spoke, wisps of Sword Qi began to radiate from his body.
It was indeed stronger than Zhao Kuo’s, having reached the Entry Realm, just like Xiao Chen’s.
Xiao Chen would have no advantage when it came to Sword Qi, but his expression remained unchanged.
He offered Wang Hu a cupped-fist salute, then took the initiative and attacked first.
With a flick of his longsword, Xiao Chen sent a blast of Sword Qi whistling through the air.
In response, Wang Hu fired one of his own.
The two jets of Sword Qi collided, and unable to overcome one another, they dissipated simultaneously.
They were evenly matched in the first exchange.
Then, Wang Hu let out a low growl.
“Five Peaks Sword Technique…”
The Five Peaks Sword Technique was a high-grade martial art.
When performed, every strike carried the weight of a mountain, making it arguably the most powerful high-grade martial art in terms of raw strength.
It was incredibly powerful, and Wang Hu had already cultivated the Five Peaks Sword Technique to the Mastery Stage.
Giving Xiao Chen no room to breathe, Wang Hu’s attacks came in relentless waves.
Since Wang Hu’s Five Peaks Sword Technique had reached the Mastery Stage while Xiao Chen’s Sword Shadow Kill was only at the Perfect Realm, Xiao Chen was not his match in a head-on clash.
Seeing Wang Hu gradually gain the upper hand, the crowd breathed a collective, unconscious sigh of relief.
If Xiao Chen could defeat even Wang Hu, it would be simply maddening.
Even though Wang Hu had suppressed his Cultivation Realm, it would still be an unacceptable outcome.
Fortunately, based on the current situation, it seemed Wang Hu had a firm grasp on victory.
Since Xiao Chen did not have a high-grade martial art at the Mastery Stage, he couldn’t possibly be Wang Hu’s opponent.
Most of the disciples could see that Xiao Chen was now at a disadvantage.
High on the platform, Cangxuan and the other two elders also commented casually.
“If that kid doesn’t have another trick up his sleeve, he’s probably going to lose.”
“He’s already done very well.
He’s only eighteen, after all, while Wang Hu is twenty-four.
Cultivating a high-grade martial art to the Mastery Stage at eighteen is truly difficult.
At least, we certainly hadn’t achieved it at his age.”
Cangyun and Canglong spoke in turn, both agreeing that Xiao Chen was about to lose.
Hearing them, Cangxuan just smiled dismissively.
“This is why I say your judgment isn’t as good as mine.
Look again, more carefully…”
At Cangxuan’s words, Cangyun and Canglong turned their gazes back to Xiao Chen in confusion.
They didn’t see anything at first, but soon, the expressions on both their faces changed.
“This kid…”
As two of the three great powerhouses of the East Sword Pavilion, Cangyun and Canglong’s insight was naturally sharp.
They quickly saw that Xiao Chen’s Sword Shadow Kill was already faintly showing the might of the Mastery Stage.
‘At the beginning of the fight, it was only at the Perfect Realm, but now it has already half-stepped into the Mastery Stage.
Don’t tell me this kid is using Wang Hu as a whetstone to sharpen his Sword Shadow Kill?’
Having guessed Xiao Chen’s true intention, the expressions on Cangyun and Canglong’s faces became priceless.
They had thought Xiao Chen was doomed to lose, but now it seemed that if his Sword Shadow Kill could break through to the Mastery Stage, he would have what it takes to contend with Wang Hu.
At that point, the winner would be anyone’s guess.
“So?
I told you your judgment isn’t as good as mine.
You couldn’t even see it…” Cangxuan said smugly, noticing the change in their expressions.
Ignoring Cangxuan, Canglong kept his eyes fixed on Xiao Chen.
After a long pause, he said slowly, “I think I’m starting to understand why you want to accept this boy as your disciple…”