CHAPTER 186: SWIFT SABER ART

A martial arts fanatic?!

Li Yanchu’s brows furrowed slightly. From the way the young man spoke, it seemed he was more interested in sparring than hostility.

"Apologies, then!"

As soon as Xiao Ce finished speaking, his figure appeared right in front of Li Yanchu.

Clang!

One of the sabers at his waist was drawn, slicing through the air in a crescent-shaped arc before slashing straight down.

He attacked without warning, but Li Yanchu remained calm and composed. He responded with a single palm strike. Divine Astral Hands!

A surge of force, thick and solid like a mountain, burst forth from his hand. But Xiao Ce’s saber was like lightning in fury, cleaving through the Divine Astral Hands’s power in one brutal motion!

Boom!

One of the pillars inside the Daoist temple hall was directly cleaved in two by Xiao Ce’s slash.

Li Yanchu’s eyes narrowed slightly in surprise. This was the first time someone had ever broken through his Divine Astral Hands with brute force.

Just as he sidestepped the attack, Xiao Ce’s second strike came sweeping horizontally. There were no dazzling saber qi, only sheer speed.

Clang!

Li Yanchu didn’t use his talismanic armor. Instead, he relied solely on his Qi Shield to withstand the blow. It echoed through the space like the toll of an ancient bronze bell.

Then Xiao Ce drew his second saber. Unlike most dual-blade users, who carried one long and one short saber, Xiao Ce’s sabers were identical in shape, weight, and length. His twin sabers were as fast as lightning and as heavy as thunder.

By the fourth strike, he had already cracked Li Yanchu’s Qi Shield!

“What the hell is with this guy!?” Li Yanchu was genuinely shaken.

With his current martial cultivation, he was already considered a peerless master; both the Primordial Chaos Technique and Divine Astral Hands were top-tier martial arts. He hadn’t expected to have his protective aura broken by a young man in just a few moves.

Xiao Ce's expression remained serious, his eyes burning with battle intent. "Still not drawing your saber?!"

His twin sabers advanced one after the other in an esoteric and mysterious rhythm, and in the next moment, they struck Li Yanchu’s body simultaneously, completely shattering his Qi Shield. Then, a chilling gleam rushed forward!

Clang!

Li Yanchu suddenly drew the Jiaoslayer, unleashing a sweeping slash of crimson saber qi. In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of blows!

Sparks flew everywhere, and neither side could gain the upper hand.

Xiao Ce was inwardly stunned. Meanwhile, Li Yanchu was just as astonished. This guy’s saber techniques can even cut through my Qi Shield...!

Little did he know, Xiao Ce was even more shocked!

“Who is this young Daoist, exactly? How is he managing to withstand my Swift Saber Art?!”

The Swift Saber Art wasn’t just martial arts; it was a top-tier Daoist technique, not some run-of-the-mill combat style.

Xiao Ce was a cultivator himself, and the twin sabers at his waist were both powerful enchanted weapons. When paired with the Swift Saber Art, they were nearly unbeatable.

Since coming down the mountain, Xiao Ce had already slain several notorious demonic cultivators, riding high on momentum and confidence.

So when he heard that someone had stolen a treasure from right under the noses of both the Gongshu family and Mount Mao Sect, his hands had started to itch.

Yet he hadn’t expected this young Daoist to be so evenly matched with him in combat. The man relied solely on pure martial qi, and had managed to stand firm against his Swift Saber Art!

What kind of level has this guy’s martial cultivation reached? Xiao Ce couldn’t help but wonder.

One corner of the Daoist temple hall had already been reduced to rubble by their battle.

Xiao Ce’s twin sabers moved with blinding speed, which was too fast for the naked eye. He launched attack after attack toward Li Yanchu.

Li Yanchu’s saber technique was bold and commanding, full of grandeur and mastery and radiating the aura of a true grandmaster.

The two had exchanged over a hundred blows, yet neither had gained the upper hand.

“Alright! Enough! Let’s stop here!” Xiao Ce suddenly called out.

He leapt backward, floating lightly like a willow leaf on the wind, as if unaffected by gravity.

Li Yanchu didn’t pursue. Instead, he held his saber before him, calmly. He hadn’t pressed the advantage or tried to strike while Xiao Ce retreated.

He could tell that the youth’s strikes had been fierce, yes, but lacked killing intent. It was clear he truly only wanted to spar and was a pure martial arts fanatic.

“You think you can just say ‘stop’ and that’s it?” Li Yanchu said flatly.

Xiao Ce chuckled, sheathing his twin sabers and speaking frankly, “That exchange settled it. Neither of us was going to win without going all out; and if we did that, neither of us would be able to hold back anymore.”

He had held something back, and he could tell that Li Yanchu had done the same.

Li Yanchu let out a helpless laugh.

Where did this strange guy come from, starting a fight at the drop of a hat?

Xiao Ce cupped his hands in respect toward him and asked, “Daoist Master, may I ask your name?”

“Li Yanchu,” he replied calmly.

“Daoist Master Li Yanchu, don’t take offense. I have a proud temperament. Since coming down the mountain, I haven’t met anyone who could match me, so when I saw you, I couldn’t resist sparring.”

Xiao Ce reached into his robes and pulled out a small cloth pouch, tossing it to Li Yanchu.

“I stumbled upon this artifact by chance. When intact, this pouch was probably a treasure like a ‘Universe Pouch’ from legend, capable of holding mountains in a mustard seed. It’s damaged now, but it still contains strong divine energy. It should be enough to serve as a protective talisman in this Daoist temple hall. Consider it an apology for my earlier rashness.”

Xiao Ce’s gaze was clear, and his admiration for Li Yanchu was undisguised. He had casually offered a Daoist temple hall artifact as compensation.

Seeing this, Li Yanchu was slightly taken aback.

A Universe Pouch?

Li Yanchu carefully extended his divine sense into the cloth pouch and immediately sensed its subtle and profound energy.

"Then I’ll gladly accept it," Li Yanchu said without hesitation.

A damaged artifact wasn’t a problem, what mattered was that it was a rare imitation of a legendary “Universe Pouch.”

Xiao Ce didn’t leave right away either. Having finally found a young man who could match him in strength, he couldn’t help but continue the conversation.

“Daoist Master Li Yanchu, you’re officially on the Mount Mao Sect’s radar now. That guy Hong Baiwei’s got his eyes on you.” Xiao Ce said with a grin.

“Hong Baiwei?” Li Yanchu asked.

“Yep.” Xiao Ce sneered. “That young Mount Mao Daoist. Heard he’s got quite the overbearing temper.”

Li Yanchu gave a slight nod. “Mr. Xiao, do you know what happened after last night’s fight between the Gongshu family and the Mount Mao disciples?” Li Yanchu asked.

Xiao Ce looked like a solo wanderer, but he seemed remarkably well-informed.

“After you left, that Master Wu Hu was killed by the Mount Mao people. Got his head chopped off. Then they led a group straight to the Gongshu camp. Turns out, one of the Gongshu family’s old retainers was actually a hidden grandmaster. Killed three people on his own. But then Hong Baiwei arrived with reinforcements.

“Still, Gongshu Peiyu had a repeating divine crossbow and those mechanical beasts, like wooden oxen. She used them to escape. Hong Baiwei gave chase, and now... no one knows where they are.”

Xiao Ce recounted it all as if he had seen it with his own eyes. Li Yanchu raised an eyebrow and asked, somewhat curious, “Mr. Xiao, this Blissful Land is massive. How do you know all this in such detail?”

Xiao Ce just gave a mysterious smile and said nothing.

Seeing this, Li Yanchu didn’t press the matter. Everyone has their secrets. If you pry too deeply, you’ll end up turning friends into enemies.

Xiao Ce then said slowly, “Daoist Master Li, did you happen to see the purple-robed Daoist last night floating through the sky?”

Li Yanchu was startled, then shook his head. “I did not.”

Xiao Ce smiled faintly. “That was the lingering will of an immortal who once resided in this Blissful Land. Even after a thousand years, it still hasn’t dispersed, and its sole purpose is to suppress the demons of Mount Jinting. That remnant spirit disappeared in the direction of the eastern side of the mountain. I’d wager either there’s a great immortal fate there... or some incredible treasure. If you came here for the immortal fate, I suggest you head that way while it’s still early.”

“The green mountains will remain, and the rivers will flow, until we meet again.”

With that, Xiao Ce cupped his hands in farewell and turned to leave, exuding a sense of free-spirited heroism and grace.