Amidst the rubble of the inn, Su Li sat on a chair with his eyes closed. He seemed to be asleep, but he was actually awake.
His hand gripped the Yellow Paper Umbrella, but he had no intention of unsheathing it.
The metal spear descending from the sky was only several zhang away from him, and his black hair was already drifting in the wind.
The peerless expert that had once been undefeatable was now finally forced into desperate straits. Who could save him?
Su Li had no friends. He had also never trusted anyone, except the people of Mount Li.
Yet Mount Li was too far away. In Xunyang City, there was only Chen Changsheng.
The only person that could help him block this spear was Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng had to help him block this spear.
Thus, something that exceeded everyone's expectations occurred. The street outside the inn suddenly became incomparably hot. The paper snow drifting down from the sky danced even faster, and some of the paper pieces that fell onto the carriage were even charred and rolled up.
This heat came from Chen Changsheng's body.
He was using a method that was almost violent to burn his true essence.
This was the second sword that Su Li had taught him: the Blazing Sword.
Sword intent violently rose, filling up the entire space on the carriage.
This violent sword style contained the soaring sword energy of the Burning Heaven Sword, the peerless secret of the Golden Crow Sword, and in the instant that true essence was burned, it also contained the determination and boldness of the final move of the Mount Li Sword Style: Die for a Noble Cause.
This sword had originally been specially created by Su Li for him to surpass cultivation levels and battle experts.
Back in the tea house by the official road, Chen Changsheng's Blazing Sword had directly chopped the Star Condensation tyrant of the north, Lin Pingyuan, into a cripple. Even though Liang Wangsun's strength was unfathomable, he was still somewhat moved by this sword.
Liang Wangsun loosened his fingers and formed a sword seal, causing the Vajra Pestle to howl.
Chen Changsheng's Blazing Sword did not truly stab out.
He turned his wrist and withdrew his sword, then stabbed out once more. This time, he did not stab at the space between Liang Wangsun's eyebrows, but at the space in front of the carriage to the right.
This sword seemed to be played down, but it was actually filled with profound meaning. The place where the tip of the sword pointed contained a great deal of knowledge.
This was the first sword that Su Li had taught him: the Intellectual Sword.
The Intellectual Sword required a vast amount of calculations, a talent for deduction, a brilliant sword heart, and … very good luck.
For a Star Condensation expert like Liang Wangsun, his Star Domain could be said to be perfect. Even if Chen Changsheng's strike came from inside out, it would still be extremely difficult to break through, so he was putting his life on the line.
Perhaps it was because his luck was bad, or perhaps it was because his luck was too good. Whenever he risked his life, his luck was always good. With a soft sound, the dagger pierced a small hole in Liang Wangsun's Star Domain.
Chen Chang Sheng's figure suddenly disappeared. Releasing steam, he rolled up the paper and returned to the inn.
This was the Discerning Step.
The interior of the building was a mess. Su Li sat on a chair with his eyes closed, as if he was waiting for death.
The iron spear pierced through the snowy sky and was about to stab his chest.
Chen Changsheng appeared in front of Su Li.
Everyone who saw him felt their eyes ache. This had nothing to do with the initial sword intent, but because his body was emitting a terrifying heat. No real flames could be seen on his body, but it gave people the feeling that he was burning.
Facing this iron spear descending from the heavens, Chen Chang Sheng held his sword horizontally in front of him. The dagger did not brighten, nor did it reveal the might of a dragon. It seemed very ordinary, like stone, like sand.
When stone and sand were mixed together, they could form an embankment.
This iron spear that came from the snowy sky was incomparably terrifying and powerful, like an overflowing flood.
As Chen Changsheng held his sword horizontally, a great embankment seemed to appear in front of the raging flood.
This was the third sword that Su Li had taught him.
This sword had a very stupid name. It was called the Stupid Sword.
According to Su Li's words, this was a very stupid sword style, so only the stupidest of people could learn it. This was also a sword style of its most basic nature, because this sword could not be used to face an enemy, only to defend.
The reason it was called the Stupid Sword was because there was no other way to learn this sword. It could only be practiced over and over again, practiced until the seas ran dry and the rocks crumbled, practiced until the stars changed and the stars moved, practiced until the heavens and the earth were unchanging, yet there was no way to confirm whether or not one had learned it.
When Chen Changsheng heard these words, he had no intention of learning this sword. Only when Su Li said that this Stupid Sword could be called the strongest defensive sword style in the world did he change his mind. The sword left Mount Li, and Su Li's attainments in the path of the sword were unparalleled. He was experienced and knowledgeable, so his judgment was naturally not wrong.
But when he formally began to learn the Stupid Sword, he regretted it.
Because not even Su Li had succeeded in learning this sword. In all of Mount Li, in all of the continent, no one had succeeded in learning this sword. Even in the long river of history, no one had succeeded in learning this sword. In other words, this sword style only existed in books, existed in the imaginary path of the sword. It had never truly appeared.
Su Li said that the reason he had not been able to learn this sword was because he was too talented. His sword heart was free and unrestrained, unwilling to be bound. However, Chen Changsheng really did have the possibility of learning this sword. Because … in certain aspects, Chen Changsheng really was very stupid.
Chen Changsheng naturally would not believe his words, but he really did stupidly begin to learn this sword. He practiced day and night, and at a certain moment, he even felt that he really had learned this sword.
But there was no way to confirm this, because he had never tried it. Until now.
That arrogant spear pierced through the snowy sky and descended.
The Myriad Swords Unleashing Unison could not be used, because that freak riding the kite was clearly insane. In order to kill Su Li, he simply did not care if his body was pierced with thousands of holes.
Chen Changsheng could only use this sword.
Since he had to block the spear, he could only block it.
He held his sword horizontally in front of him. As he watched the spear and the fluttering red tassel getting closer and closer, his mind was extremely nervous, his body incomparably stiff. But his sword heart was incomparably calm, and his expression even seemed somewhat lifeless.
At this moment, the youth really did seem rather stupid.
… …
… …
The red tassel danced, tearing through the paper snow.
The spear arrived in the room, its bright and arrogant tip clashing with the dim and steady blade.
In just an instant, the tip of the spear clashed with the dagger several thousand times.
The fluttering pieces of paper on the inn shattered into powder, and the snowfall grew even more intense, even more real.
There was a massive boom.
Waves of Qi surged out from the inn. The paper snow spread out, enveloping an area of several hundred zhang in circumference.
In the silence, a harsh and ear-piercing sound arose.
It was the sound of iron scraping against iron.
The spear slowly moved back.
Chen Changsheng still stood in front of Su Li.
His face was pale, his body incessantly trembling, especially his two legs.
It seemed like in the next moment, he would collapse, but he did not.
He did not even retreat a single step.
He himself did not know this, because that spear was truly too powerful, too terrifying. In the final moment, he had even closed his eyes, and even now, he still had not opened them.
The effects of the violent combustion of true essence were still present. The temperature of his body was extremely high, incomparably scalding. Occasionally, a piece of paper would fall on his body and be ignited, emitting wisps of white smoke. It seemed rather strange.
The crowd looked at Chen Changsheng, who was emitting white smoke, and were shocked speechless.
In an impossible situation, he had forcefully broken through Liang Wangsun's Star Domain, returned to the inn, and forcefully blocked that spear that had pierced through the air. Just how had this youth done it? It must be known that no matter how much of a genius he was, he was still only sixteen years old. Today, he was not facing those opponents of the same age in the Grand Examination, but a true expert of the Proclamation of Liberation!
"Amazing, to actually be able to block one of my spears."
An emotionless voice resounded from within the building.
Chen Changsheng opened his eyes, finally clearly seeing the freak that had arrived on a kite.
This freak was rather thin and wore a shabby short garment, revealing half of his arms and calves. His face was covered by a piece of white paper. On the white paper was a drawing of a nose and a mouth, revealing only his two eyes.
— — Chen Chang Sheng was indeed amazing, everyone present thought so.
Because he could block this person's spear, because this person was Painted Armor Xiao Zhang.
Starting from the Boiling Stone Summit forty years ago, the cultivation world officially welcomed the era of blooming wildflowers. Countless geniuses poured out, but Painted Armor Xiao Zhang had always been the most dazzling name. He was equally famous as Wang Po of Tianliang, a true expert of the human world. And in the eyes of many, he was even more terrifying than Wang Po of Tianliang, because he was a madman.
Many years ago, after the Boiling Stone Summit, Wang Po took first place, while Xun Mei, Liang Wangsun, and the others were placed behind him. Xiao Zhang was extremely unwilling, and in order to surpass Wang Po, he forcefully cultivated in some problematic technique. In the end, he suffered a cultivation defect and failed. Just when everyone believed that he would fall, who could have imagined that he would disperse all his cultivation and begin cultivating from the beginning? In just a few short years, he had once again entered the upper level of Star Condensation! Just how crazy and powerful was this will!
Because of his cultivation deviation, Xiao Zhang wasn't able to participate in the second year's Grand Examination. At the same time, his face was heavily injured, almost to the point of disfigurement. It was also from that moment onwards that his face was covered with a piece of white paper, never to be removed. The common people called him Painted Armor Xiao Zhang, not only because the sect he came from was famous for its Painted Armor, but also because of this piece of white paper.
It was said that at the time, the Elder of Heavenly Secrets had once asked him why he did not use a mask. Xiao Zhang replied that he used a piece of white paper to cover his face because he did not want to frighten children, and it was not because he was ashamed to meet people, so why did he need to use a mask? It was just that the Xiao Zhang of that time probably could not have imagined that in the following thirty-odd years, this piece of white paper on his face would bring fear to his opponents.
This was Painted Armor Xiao Zhang. He was very crazy, and also very arrogant. His spear was unstoppable! With Chen Changsheng's current age and level of cultivation, for him to actually be able to block one of his spears was truly an unimaginable matter.
At this moment, Liang Wangsun was also looking at Chen Changsheng. He thought about the sword that Chen Changsheng had used to stab at him, as well as the sword that had split open his Star Domain. He was somewhat confused — why was the first sword so berserk? The second sword even seemed to be able to think, as if it had a life of its own. What sort of sword style was this? Why had he never seen it in the ancient records of the Orthodoxy?
Neither he nor Xiao Zhang had imagined that this youth was even more powerful than the rumors said. When they first found out about the events that had occurred in the capital, such as the Grand Examination, these true experts did not think much of it. It must be known that in the Grand Examination thirty-odd years ago, if they had also gone, Snow-Treading Xun Mei would not have been able to obtain first place upon the first banner. Only when Chen Changsheng had comprehended all the monoliths of the front mausoleum in a single day in the Mausoleum of Books did they realize that Chen Changsheng's talent was astonishing, but how could it be so powerful?
But no matter how powerful he was, there was still a limit.
A light breeze brushed past the white paper, causing it to rustle. Just like that, Chen Changsheng collapsed, sitting on the dust-covered floor. He did not bleed, but his wrist bones were shattered. He sat in front of the chair, powerless to raise the sword in his hand.
Liang Wangsun looked at the chair behind Chen Changsheng. Xiao Zhang also looked at the chair — they would not forget who sat in the chair, so they understood why Chen Changsheng's sword was so powerful.
Su Li sat in the chair. At some point, he had already opened his eyes.
He raised his right hand and patted Chen Changsheng's head. He mocked, "You really are stupid."
Chen Changsheng's voice was very weak, but it was still stubborn. "How am I stupid?"
Su Li said, "Didn't you leave just now? What are you still doing here?"
Chen Changsheng said, "If I leave, what will you do?"
Su Li asked, "It's that simple?"
Chen Changsheng asked in confusion, "Could it not be that simple?"
Su Li was silent for a while, then sighed with emotion. "No wonder Qiushan could not learn this sword. That girl of mine could not learn it. Even I myself could not learn it, but you … did."
… …
… …
(I also very stupidly forced this chapter out slowly. Good night. I wish everyone a happy sixteenth of the first month.)
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