Chapter 147: The Perverts of Spring and Autumn Mountain

When Chu Huaixu comprehended the Fearless Sword Intent, he had seen the description provided by the system.

There were a total of three sentences.

"【Fearless, and Without Distance】"—that was the first of the three.

In truth, after reading it, he immediately understood that while the name Fearless Sword Intent sounded ordinary, its rank was certainly anything but—it clearly belonged among the upper-tier Sword Intents.

However, those three sentences, despite sounding lofty, could actually be summarized by Chu Huaixu in just three words:

—Fast, Precise, Ruthless!

Extremely fast, extremely precise, extremely ruthless.

Today, it was the speed of the Fearless Sword Intent.

How fast was it?

Fast enough that if the opponent was significantly stronger, it would still rush forward with reckless abandon and deliver a deadly strike—like an express food delivery service at lightning speed, practically on par with flash delivery.

One could say—it was truly fearless.

But regrettably, to Chu Huaixu at his current stage, Zhao Xinghan wasn't strong enough to warrant such a sacrifice.

Chu Huaixu’s fingertip stopped right in front of his brow, the Sword Qi only an inch away.

If he had so wished a moment earlier, he could have pierced through Zhao Xinghan’s skull.

It was similar to the match with Xu Ziqing.

What was being decided wasn’t victory or defeat, but life and death!

Only, Little Xu’s control over the Bronze Sword had been far too poor, causing excessive strain on his body.

Chu Huaixu, by contrast, was at ease.

Zhao Xinghan’s expression kept shifting—alternating between gloom and light.

But ultimately, all disbelief melted into despair.

“It is I who lost,” he said softly.

“It is Brother Chu who has won. Zhao Xinghan admits defeat and thanks Brother Chu for the guidance.” His tone was respectful and sincere.

Always prideful, this was the first time he had directly faced the disparity between himself and someone of his own generation.

Chu Huaixu looked at him, nodded slightly, and lowered his right hand. With a light flick in midair, the Sword Qi at his fingertip dissipated.

“Thanks for yielding,” he said as well.

After so many duels, his biggest realization was that these true Heavenly Prodigies were all surprisingly good at accepting defeat.

At first, they’d be shocked—disbelieving even—but in the end, they all maintained a fair degree of grace.

To be a cultivation genius required not only talent but temperament.

If one’s Dao Heart couldn’t even withstand a loss like this, what path was there to cultivate?

Below the platform, the crowd was stunned.

No one had expected that this dual cultivator of sword and body actually possessed Sword Intent too!

Even the Sword Sect disciples, so devoted to the way of the sword, hadn’t reached that level.

And yet, this fellow who divided his focus to train the body—had?

All the Sword Sect cultivators wore unsightly expressions.

Even Situ Cheng on the high platform.

He could feel that Chu Huaixu’s Sword Intent was special—the kind that, to put nicely, was “extreme,” and to put harshly, was “radical.”

“A little guy practicing both sword and body—how could he comprehend such an extreme intent?”

This was something completely beyond his understanding.

Even he, in his youth, couldn’t achieve such a state.

As for his Sword Sovereign Senior Brother, who had matured late—there was even less to say.

“He was worse than me in his youth.”

Because Chu Huaixu’s Sword Intent leaned too far into extremity, Situ Cheng couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Someone like this should’ve been a pure sword cultivator.

“This is more like the kind of Intent that would arise from one who is utterly devoted to the sword, who trusts in his sword completely—believing his sword to be invincible!”

“Why would such Sword Intent manifest on him?” Situ Cheng furrowed his brows tightly.

He very much wanted to ask the upper echelon of the Dao Gate, but due to the long-standing rivalry between the Sword Sect and the Dao Gate—especially in swordsmanship—he felt too embarrassed to open his mouth.

He glanced down and saw that even Geng Tianhe and the others looked dispirited.

Which only deepened his displeasure.

His generation, including the Sword Sovereign, had clearly once dominated the Dao Gate in swordsmanship.

“A bunch of useless kids. The road is still long—getting disheartened already?” He sneered inwardly.

On the platform, Zhao Xinghan looked at Chu Huaixu. After a moment’s hesitation, he couldn’t resist asking:

“Brother Chu, I can tell—you weren’t going all out, were you?”

Chu Huaixu looked at him and gave a slight nod.

Zhao Xinghan sighed lightly, then raised his head and asked sincerely, “Was it nine-tenths of your strength?”

Chu Huaixu just looked at him, saying nothing.

“Eight-tenths?”

Still no answer.

“Sev... seven-tenths?” Zhao Xinghan’s throat was getting dry.

But Chu Huaixu remained silent.

By now, Zhao Xinghan truly seemed on the verge of a shattered Dao Heart.

“I understand.” Zhao Xinghan cupped his hands faintly. He was already somewhat dazed as he stepped down from the platform.

But soon, he gave a helpless smile and muttered a line that stunned even the disciples of Luo Heaven Valley standing beside him.

“True enough—I couldn’t even force out his sword.”

…

…

The match ended—with some rejoicing and some grieving.

Niu Yuanshan was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected Chu Huaixu to defeat Zhao Xinghan so easily.

If not for Xu Ziqing’s utterly terrifying performance, he’d already be dreaming of victory.

“The final battle of the Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition might just be between two of our Moon Country folks! No matter who wins, Moon Country takes the crown!”

In Old Niu’s eyes, this wasn’t out of reach.

After all, Xu Ziqing seemed to suffer serious backlash in the last battle.

If he’d damaged his foundation and couldn’t recover in time?

Even the miscellaneous laborers in the courtyard were left scratching their heads. Why had the Steward been wearing such a spring-filled smile lately?

But for the competitors of the Eastern Continent Grand Competition, after witnessing both Xu Ziqing and Chu Huaixu’s duels, their skies had grown shrouded by two heavy, dark clouds.

These two clouds were so thick they blocked out the sun—leaving little hope in sight.

By noon, the matches paused.

Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang returned to the bamboo hut and had a simple lunch.

After sitting down on the Meditation Cushion back in the house, he began tallying up the rewards from this round’s mission.

Fifty thousand Experience Points had already been credited, and in the 【Backpack】, there was now another Mystic-rank Technique Upgrade Voucher.

“Defeating Zhao Xinghan gave nearly twenty thousand Experience Points.”

“I now have a total of 170,000 EXP!”

Besides that, the main task 【Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition】 was offering incredible rewards for the next phase.

Next was the round of sixteen to the final eight—just one more win to make the quarterfinals.

“There’ll be 70,000 Experience Points, plus one point of random special attribute.”

Given how powerful Chu Huaixu was now, those special attribute points had become even more vital.

“No helping it—these are what determine the ceiling.”

“Take 【Comprehension】 for example. Mine is still at 4—I can’t even max out a Mystic-rank Technique yet because my comprehension is too low.”

“I’ll need one more point in Comprehension just to meet the requirement.”

“The funniest part? My 【Spirit Gathering】 is still at 1.” That made him shake his head, half laughing.

But regardless, his Character Panel was still looking damn good.

“The total value of all special attributes is almost as high as it was back when I was in the 30s. This is insane.”

No doubt about it—being a cheat character felt amazing.

Now that he had 170,000 EXP in hand, he wasn’t about to let it sit idle.

He immediately spent some to level up, making sure to widen the gap with Little Xu.

Intense pain spread throughout his body, but Chu Huaixu didn’t even furrow his brows.

After transmigrating, he’d experienced a string of fortuitous encounters, enough to make him feel that even his personality had subtly changed.

Whether it was the Sword Refining Art that raised his pain threshold, the later comprehension of the Fearless Sword Intent, or even that black small sword within his Sea of Consciousness—all had indirectly influenced him.

“But people change, don’t they?” Chu Huaixu didn’t take it too seriously.

At present, he was very aware that he had far surpassed the norm for the First Realm, including even Han Shuangjiang.

But if he had to face Xu Ziqing wielding a sword in his right hand…

—There was no chance of victory!

“I still need to use this time to complete more missions and further improve my overall strength,” he thought.

Whether there would still be a gap at that point, he didn’t know.

But at the very least, he wanted to do everything he could.

Just thinking about that Bronze Sword possibly showing a smug, superior smirk made Chu Huaixu feel nauseated.

Logically speaking, a person shouldn’t loathe a sword this much.

But then again, from a certain perspective—he was his own sword.

That afternoon, Chu Huaixu accompanied Han Shuangjiang to the Martial Arena to watch some of the others’ matches.

At least, that’s how he phrased it—emphasizing that he was purely just accompanying her to spectate.

“You need to know yourself and your enemy. I don’t.”

“I’m too strong,” he said matter-of-factly.

This made the Big Ice Block want to retort, but she couldn’t find the words, only managing a massive internal eye-roll.

That afternoon, they were mainly there to watch the match of Kui Muquan.

This First Realm Number One of Spring and Autumn Mountain had drawn excellent lots so far. His previous opponents were all comically weak in their own ways, so he hadn’t needed to reveal much of his strength.

But today, he was matched against a senior from the Dao Gate named Feng Xiliang.

Previously, among the outer disciples, Feng Xiliang had been ranked just behind Chang Le and Ji Sikong.

Only now, there were quite a few names to add after “just behind”…

In this match, Kui Muquan finally revealed a portion of his true strength.

He was similar to Jiang Zhi—walking the path of Attaining Dao Through Killing.

He possessed a Geng Metal Spirit Vein, giving him an innate aura of ruthlessness and killing intent.

When Chu Huaixu had played Borrowed Sword, he’d at least been a disciple of Spring and Autumn Mountain, so he had some knowledge of Kui Muquan.

Frankly, he didn’t like the guy.

Because he was someone who entered the Dao through madness.

At his current, weaker level, the signs weren’t so obvious, and he still restrained himself somewhat.

But as his strength grew, he only grew more arrogant—insufferably so.

Sometimes, even towards fellow sectmates, he didn’t show a friendly face. He’d even strike them to “teach a lesson,” acting outrageously.

Especially when he activated secret arts alongside the Geng Metal Spirit Vein, he would enter a sort of berserk state during combat—

—And go completely wild.

At that moment, Kui Muquan was facing off against Feng Xiliang. The latter’s technique seemed to restrain him slightly, making him visibly agitated.

He raised a hand and wiped it across his eyes. Instantly, his pupils turned dark red, and a golden mark appeared at the center of his brows.

Sitting on the high platform, Mei Chuxue knew exactly what was about to happen.

She gave a dry laugh, then turned to the Dao Gate high-ups and said, “Sect Master Xiang, everyone—this boy Kui Muquan walks the path of madness.”

“If he starts mouthing off later, I hope you won’t take offense. I promise I’ll give him a severe reprimand once we’re back.”

She was giving them a heads-up in advance.

By stating the case now, it wouldn’t be too awkward later.

Xiang Yan and the others were well aware of Spring and Autumn Mountain’s ways. They just chuckled and said, “We understand, we understand.”

On the platform, Kui Muquan indeed appeared somewhat deranged.

Golden currents had begun swirling around him.

His entire presence was several notches stronger than before. His destructive power had easily doubled.

Feng Xiliang soon struggled to keep up.

One slash from Kui Muquan sent him staggering back several steps.

The other laughed wildly while swinging his blade again and again, seemingly intent on forcing Feng Xiliang to retreat until he fell off the platform.

Feng Xiliang tried to use a movement technique, but Kui Muquan found an opening and delivered a fierce kick to his abdomen.

The Dao Gate disciple coughed up blood, rolled across the stage, and fell hard from the high platform.

Yet the arrogant aura radiating from Kui Muquan had not dissipated.

Blade in hand, he began to roar.

Seeing this, Mei Chuxue could already guess what was coming. She could only sit there and laugh dryly again.

Sure enough, the youth—whose eyes had turned crimson—began shouting provocatively:

“Anyone from the Dao Gate dare to fight me?”

“Angh—!”

Up on the high platform, Chu Yinyin immediately frowned in displeasure.

Had it not been too blatant a case of bullying the weak, she’d have considered teaching him a lesson herself.

“You really don’t know whose turf you’re on!” The old young lady was fuming.

“No one?” Kui Muquan was still barking madly.

This went against the rules, so naturally, no one answered. Who would really go up?

Especially after that display of strength—any regular participant would just be humiliating themselves.

But after shouting a few times and still unsatisfied, he actually began pointing his blade at people—one after another.

“You! Dare?”

“You!”

“And you!”

Then, his blade pointed at the cold young woman in the crowd who was frowning—Han Shuangjiang.

“How about you! Angh—!”

Kui Muquan’s Aura surged around him, and every time it flared, it sent waves of pressure outward.

The Big Ice Block’s brow furrowed even deeper, clearly displeased.

Just then, a large hand gently tugged at her arm, pulling her slightly back.

Chu Huaixu stepped forward, shielding her behind him—blocking half her body.

He raised his eyes and glanced coolly at Kui Muquan. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was perfectly clear:

“What are you barking for, dog?”

Chu Huaixu locked eyes with Kui Muquan’s crimson pupils. His Sword Intent began to radiate outward, a sharp aura circulating around him.

That overwhelming strike from earlier in the morning—his fingertip sword—suddenly resurfaced in Kui Muquan’s mind.

This young man, whose arrogance had reached a breaking point, froze for a few seconds.

In that moment—he had no words to respond with!

...

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