Chapter 39: What is Sword Cultivation?

  The top eight have been born, namely "Three Heroes and Two Saints" including "Heart Saint Child" Nangong Xiner, "Little Overlord" Yu Cheng, "Sword Gentleman" Qing Shan, "Crazy Knife" Sun Cheng, "Jade Saint Child" Bi Yun, "Black Horse" Feng Chen, "Talented Scholar" Chen Yong and "Spicy Hand" Cui Feng.

  Among these eight people, three of them, including two immortals, were able to advance, which was within Luyu Feng's expectations. Fengchen was able to advance, and Luyu Feng wasn't surprised. What was unexpected was that Chen Yong was also able to advance to the top eight. This person, who had only been cultivating for over a decade, had suddenly broken through to the late stage of Huayuan just a year ago, and in this competition, he had made a big splash, earning the title of "Juntalented". As for the last one, Cui Feng, Luyu Feng had never heard of him before, presumably also an elite who had been cultivating in secret.

  "It seems like this time it's a battle between dragons and tigers!" Lu Yufeng sighed.

  The final eight will be divided into pairs through a draw, with the winners advancing and the losers competing in a free-for-all match. The winner of this match will join the four winners to participate in the sect's resource war.

  The final draw result is Nangong Heartchild vs Chen Yong, Little Overlord Yucheng vs Bi Xianzi Biyun, Sword Gentleman Qing Shan vs Lao Shou Cui Feng, Crazy Blade Sun Cheng vs Wind and Dust. This matchup means that either Little Overlord Yucheng or Bi Xianzi Biyun will definitely participate in the remaining free-for-all battle.

  The first match was between Jian Junzi Qing Shan and Lao Shou Cui Feng, the two of them flashed onto the stage as soon as the judge finished speaking.

  "What a fast speed!" Lu Yufeng saw the two of them get on stage at such a rapid pace, and he couldn't help but ask himself if his own speed was any slower. However, when compared to these two, there was still a huge gap, after all, their cultivation realm was already at that level, which was undeniable.

  He wore a plain green robe, but standing there, he gave the impression that the person standing there was a sword, with every edge and corner revealing a sharpness that made those who were not skilled enough feel timid.

  "Master Swordsman in Green Robes, you always wear green clothes, I've heard of your name long ago, indeed you have some skills, and you've already grasped the sword intent." Cui Feng said to the man in green robes.

  "You're not bad either, with a true yuan inner refinement. You should be the son of the Third Elder, right?" Qing Shan thought for a moment, there weren't many people in the sect who could cultivate someone as outstanding as Cui Feng. Coincidentally, the Third Elder's surname was also Cui, and he was known for being ruthless, clearly they were from the same roots.

  "No matter whose son you are, I only know that today, you, the Sword Gentleman of the Three Heroes and Two Saints, will fall into my hands." Cui Feng said with a proud face to Qing Shan, in his eyes, Qing Shan was just a lone cultivator before, how could he compare with himself, an elite from a prestigious sect.

  "Then come on." Qing Shan said calmly, not taking Crui Feng's words to heart. From this point alone, it can be seen that in terms of state of mind, Cui Feng is far inferior to Qing Shan.

  "Hmph, then let you see my prowess." Cui Feng took out his own weapon, a very strange-looking thing that was somewhat like a hook but not quite. Lu Yufeng had never seen anything like it before, and the surface gleamed with a cold, dark light. Then, with a swift motion, he hooked at Qing Shan.

  The green shirt did not dodge, still standing there, allowing Cui Feng to cut him down at the waist. But what was seen was that the green shirt was cut off by Cui Feng's sword, however Cui Feng did not reveal a victorious smile, instead he made a backhand slash towards his back. It turned out that what was cut earlier was just a residual shadow left behind by the green shirt, because the green shirt's speed was too fast, when dodging Cui Feng, it left a residual shadow on the spot, and what Cui Feng cut was precisely that residual shadow.

  "Not bad, and you also know I'm behind!" This time, the green shirt didn't dodge again, but instead, his whole body's true yuan surged, then a long sword condensed in his hand, and with one sword, he opened up Cui Feng's hook.

  "Simulated Yuan Transformation!" Ding Feng didn't expect Qing Shan's control over the True Yuan to have reached such a high level. Simulated Yuan Transformation can be achieved in the Hua Yuan realm, but if the control over the True Yuan is not good enough, the simulated weapon will dissipate. The long sword simulated by Qing Shan was extremely solid. "Haha... you actually know how to use Simulated Yuan Transformation to fight against me!" Although Simulated Yuan Transformation is convenient, its power is indeed inferior to that of a real weapon.

  The green shirt did not say much to Cui Feng, but with a long sword in hand, a sword tip shot out from the long sword and cut off Cui Feng's waist. This sword was cut by the green shirt very casually, just to force Cui Feng back.

  "Behold my Submerged Nine Hooks! Life and death are in my hands!" This is Cui Feng's signature move - the Submerged Nine Hooks.

  This martial art is extremely ruthless and toxic, passed down by Cui Feng's father. If one were to be hit by the Nine Hooks of Sinking, they would either die or become disabled. Of course, this only applies to those who are not strong enough. This hook was aimed directly at Qing Shan's neck, seemingly intending to behead him. Although the sect had repeatedly emphasized before the trial that harming human life was not allowed, once one's strength is unleashed, it can sometimes be uncontrollable, and accidental injury could happen, with the worst-case scenario being a temporary confinement.

  But the resource war training is about to begin, and even if Qing Shan is killed, the sect will not make a big deal out of it at this time. At most, they might punish themselves after returning from the competition, but if they can achieve great results in the resource war, then killing Qing Shan will be forgotten.

  But...are the characters in "Three Heroes and Two Sages" easy to understand?

  "Indeed, a ruthless move, leaving no room for mercy!" The green-shirted swordsman thrust his long sword at Ding Cui Feng's hook, but this time he was unable to knock it away. Instead, the hook shifted slightly and struck the green-shirted man's arm, tearing open a large gash. Fresh blood flowed from the wound, dripping down his arm and onto the ground. The disciples below had not expected Cui Feng's hook to injure the green-shirted man so severely. The green-shirted man circulated his true yuan to stop the bleeding, then grasped his long sword and charged at Cui Feng, engaging in a fierce battle. At the same time, he leapt into the air, fighting on.

  "These two are truly rich in spiritual energy!" The disciples below the stage couldn't help but exclaim, to think that using the Thread of Fate was extremely draining on one's spiritual energy, yet these two were still able to use it while fighting, a testament to the density of their spiritual energy.

  The two clashed in mid-air, with sword and hook energies shooting out rapidly. Fortunately, the higher-ups of the sect knew about the strength of these eight powers, so they set up an array around the martial stage to prevent injury to the disciples below, otherwise the rapid shooting of sword and hook energies would not be something that ordinary disciples could withstand.

  "Down in one line!" At this time, Cui Feng took advantage of the empty space to retreat and launched another absolute technique. The hook locked onto Qing Shan's body, covering him entirely. Qing Shan's combat awareness was not weak, and he knew that this empty space would give Cui Feng an opportunity to attack. Therefore, he had been prepared early on and did not appear flustered, circulating his true yuan to block Cui Feng's attack.

  "A sword flashes through the air!" It struck towards Cui Feng, but Cui Feng's hook failed to land a hit. He hastily retreated, but it was too late. The green-robed figure's attack had already arrived, and Cui Feng couldn't dodge in time. He was struck by the green-robed figure's sword.

  "Hum..." Cui Feng was struck by a sword, his clothes shattered all over his body. Lu Yu Feng thought the battle had ended, but suddenly saw a golden light emanating from Cui Feng's body, and a suit of armor appeared on him.

  "Protective Battle Armor!" Qing Shan also saw the golden light emanating from Cui Feng's body.

  "I didn't expect the three elders to give you all of their protective battle armor." Qing Shan said with a sigh.

  Protective artifacts are extremely rare in the current cultivation world, and only strong practitioners have them. Cui Feng's battle armor was made by one of the three elders who had rendered meritorious service to the sect, and as a reward, the sect gave him a protective mirror which he then refined into this protective battle armor.

  "Haha... Qing Shan, I have a protective armor, you can't hurt me, sink to the bottom!" Cui Feng took advantage of Qing Shan's momentary stunned state and launched another attack. Qing Shan was momentarily at a loss, but after a few moves, the two were evenly matched again. Originally, Qing Shan could have settled Cui Feng long ago, but several times when Qing Shan's sword clearly struck Cui Feng, a golden light flashed on Cui Feng's body, neutralizing Qing Shan's attack. This couldn't be considered cheating, as magical artifacts are also part of one's strength.

  "Your attack won't hurt me!" Cui Feng shouted wildly at Qing Shan.

  "Do you know what Jian Xiu is?" Qing Shan suddenly stopped attacking and said to Cui Feng.

  "The attacking power of a sword cultivator is forever unmatched by other cultivators, let me show you what it means to be a sword cultivator."

  Qing Shan's body suddenly surged with true yuan, and a strong aura burst forth from him. This aura was mixed with a dense sword intent. The ground on the martial stage began to crack slowly around Qing Shan, with cracks spreading out in all directions from his feet. Then, Qing Shan slowly rose into the air, truly flying, not using the art of levitation. This was unique to sword cultivators, relying solely on their sword intent to fly through the air at incredible speeds.

  A blue shirt with both palms together, a long sword condensed in front of him, "Go!" Then, the condensed long sword shot towards Cui Feng rapidly. This sword was extremely fast, everything happened in an instant, Cui Feng couldn't dodge and had to raise his hook to block the attack from the blue shirt.

  "...ding" Cui Feng's hasty evasion was completely unable to block Qing Shan's attack, and the hook was directly knocked open. The dark light flashing on the hook also faded away, clearly suffering a great deal of damage in this collision. The sword aura shot out by Qing Shan did not disperse, but instead continued to shoot towards Cui Feng. The sword aura reached his body, and all that could be seen was another burst of golden light flashing on Cui Feng's body. However, this time the sword light from Qing Shan did not immediately disperse, but instead confronted the golden light on Qing Shan's body.

  "If it were your father, or a strong man wearing this armor, I would indeed have no way to win. But unfortunately, the one wearing this armor is you!" The green-robed man said coldly with a chilly expression.

  "...Boom!" After a confrontation, the sword light of the green shirt finally dissipated, but before it dissipated, it blasted Cui Feng flying out. Although it didn't break open Cui Feng's battle armor, the golden edges on Cui Feng's battle armor had already become very dull.

  "Haha... Qing Shan, who killed the deer is still unknown, you go die!" Cui Feng crawled up, spat out a mouthful of blood, and said wildly, then stretched out his hand to beckon, and the hook that had just been shot away flew back into his hand.

  "Life and death are beyond one's control!" With a swift slash of his sword, he struck at the blue-robed figure hovering in mid-air.

  Cui Feng had always been wearing his battle armor, so the true yuan in his body hadn't been depleted much. With a swift and deadly speed, he swung his hook at Qing Shan.

  The man in green seemed not to have seen Cui Feng's hook spear coming over and instead slowly closed his eyes.