Chapter 40: 50-Meter Greatsword
Chapter 40: Chapter 40: 50-Meter Greatsword
By the time Liu Linshan and the others arrived at the Zhuangzi, Wu Chen had already finished dispersing the refugees.
"The Demon Sect members... are they all... all dead?"
Running over from a distance, Liu Linshan’s forehead was covered in large beads of sweat, his broad chest heaving.
The others were the same, bent over with their hands on their thighs, gasping for breath.
It seemed the journey had worn them out completely.
They all stared in astonishment at Wu Chen, who was waiting casually at the Zhuangzi’s entrance.
In truth, they didn’t need Wu Chen to say a word; they already knew the answer.
After all, Wu Chen had taken off the cloth garments that had been stained dark red with blood during his charge on the mountaintop. He was now wearing a clean set of clothes.
This suggested that the battle against the Demon Sect members was likely even faster and shorter than they had imagined.
"One of them got away."
Wu Chen shook his head at them, not hiding anything and telling them the truth.
Hearing this, the group was even more astounded. Out of four Demon Sect members, he had killed three and one had escaped.
’It must have been another overwhelming victory!’
Looking at Wu Chen’s pristine condition—not a single wound on his body, and it didn’t even look like he’d used much of his Qi Power.
It was hard to say if Wu Chen had intentionally let that Demon Sect member escape.
With the goal of luring out other members.
To kill them as well!
The crucial part was, thinking about it, they felt it was entirely possible Wu Chen would do something like that.
"Young Master Wu."
Liu Linshan leaned in closer to Wu Chen and couldn’t help but ask, "Did you let that Demon Sect member escape on purpose, or was it an accident?"
Wu Chen chuckled, fully understanding the implication behind the question.
He said with a smile:
"Master Liu, even if I wanted to punish the wicked, slay demons, and make a name for myself, I wouldn’t take such a huge risk!"
"These are members of the Demon Sect!"
"Who knows what kind of reinforcements he’ll bring back? I’m scared to death too!"
"When I’m slaying demons, others see me with a stoic expression."
"But who would know that I’m clenching my jaw so hard it’s about to break! I’m terrified my heart will leap out of my throat and I’ll show fear in front of them!"
Hearing this heartfelt confession, the group snickered, finally realizing that this god-of-death-like figure could feel fear too.
But when they saw the young man’s fair cheeks, they suddenly remembered that Wu Chen was, in fact, just a boy of sixteen or seventeen.
Zhou Yuntao and the others also recalled that the young man before them was actually about their age.
Yet he already possessed the strength to fight a hundred men alone.
As they laughed, their laughter died down.
「The brief rest passed quickly.」
The group didn’t stay idle. They stocked up on dry rations and fresh water at the Zhuangzi and didn’t linger.
After all, this was a campsite for the Demon Sect’s lair. No one knew if a large group of them would charge back immediately after getting the news.
Before leaving, Wu Chen tossed a torch into the small building. The mountain wind swept by, and the fire, fanned by the wind, quickly spread. The wooden structures were extremely flammable.
In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire herb-planting estate became a sea of flames, illuminating half the night sky.
Illuminated by the raging fire, the group melted into the night, disappearing into the mountain forest on their way to Cangzhou.
The next few days of travel were monotonous and dull, consisting of nothing but sleeping and walking.
With nothing else to do, Wu Chen took out the two Martial Arts Manuals he had obtained from killing the three Demon Sect members at the herb-planting estate and began to study them.
’Blood Shadow Saber Skill, Fufeng Saber Skill.’
Wu Chen couldn’t be sure if these two manuals had been soaked in poison while in the hands of the Demon Sect members.
He could only wrap his hands in coarse cloth, hold the manuals far away, and flip through them cautiously.
It was like reading a thrilling, bizarre novel—he was both scared and eager to see what was next.
After about an hour, he had finished allocating points to the two saber skills.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at his panel:
[Deep Red Host] Wu Chen
[Martial Arts Realm] Eighth Layer Flesh Refining Realm (Breath Concealment Skill: Sixth Layer Body Tempering Realm)
(Qi Power: Overlord Lifts the Cauldron)
[Martial Arts & Cultivation Techniques] Blood Shadow Saber Skill, Fufeng Saber Skill, Ghost Howl Saber Skill, Red Sand Palm...
[Fusable Martial Arts]
[Blood Shadow Saber Skill, Fufeng Saber Skill, Ghost Howl Saber Skill, Stone-Shattering Saber Skill] can be fused into a new Martial Art: [Bone-Eroding Wind Blade: Stance]
Fuse: Yes/No
"Huh?!"
Wu Chen was just celebrating his great leap in realm when he suddenly saw the prompt pop up on his panel, freezing for a moment.
’Martial Arts and Cultivation Techniques can actually be fused? That’s unexpected.’
He stroked his chin, his attention focused on the fused Martial Art.
Bone-Eroding Wind Blade: Stance
Not only was the name of this saber skill long, but it also had a suffix.
’There must be a reason for that.’
’Yes!’
Wu Chen immediately chose to fuse them. Although he didn’t know how effective it would be, he figured it couldn’t be too bad.
On the panel, the fusion progress began to increase:
[Bone-Eroding Wind Blade: Stance] Fusion Progress +1
[Bone-Eroding Wind Blade: Stance] Fusion Progress +1
[...]
[Progress (21/1000)]
’Only about fifteen minutes. That’s pretty fast.’
While waiting for the Martial Arts to fuse, Wu Chen wrapped the two manuals in the coarse cloth and handed them to Liu Linshan beside him.
"Do you guys want to learn these two Demon Sect saber skills?"
He added a warning, "If you do, be aware that the manuals might be poisoned. As long as you’re careful when handling them, there shouldn’t be any major issues."
’I’ve had them in my pack for two nights and read through them again. If there was really a problem, I’d be dead by now.’
The men all shook their heads. Clearly, they preferred to keep their distance from the Demon Sect’s Martial Arts.
Seeing this, Wu Chen had no choice but to ask Liu Linshan to burn the two manuals with a flint lighter, lest someone else find them and be poisoned, harming an innocent life.
By the time they were done, the Martial Arts fusion on his panel was complete.
SHIIING!
Wu Chen drew his saber, ready to test the effect of his newly fused Martial Art.
However, he was now the backbone of the group. His sudden move to draw his blade startled Liu Linshan and the others.
They also drew their own sabers and looked around, thinking Wu Chen had discovered some danger.
’Did the Demon Sect members catch up to us?’
"It’s nothing, it’s nothing. My hands were just getting itchy, wanted to test my blade."
Wu Chen gestured for everyone to calm down, then walked over to a patch of waist-high green weeds.
The group was rather speechless. It had been less than two days since the incident at the herb-planting estate, and his hands were already so itchy he couldn’t resist drawing his saber?
They were becoming more and more convinced that Wu Chen had intentionally let Qian Fugui go.
’All so he could use Demon Sect members for saber practice! And get more Martial Arts!’
SWOOSH!
Wu Chen stood before the weeds and swung his saber. The weeds fell, severed with a perfectly clean cut.
But any experienced saber user could achieve such an effect. Liu Linshan and the others glanced over, not thinking much of it.
Wu Chen didn’t explain. He simply sheathed his saber and led the group south again.
Only he knew that in the last swing, the blade hadn’t actually touched the weeds. The tip of the saber had been an inch away.
Only someone with exceptional eyesight, or who was watching very closely, would have noticed the white gleam that flashed from the blade’s tip.
’At full power, this ’Stance’ is half an inch long.’
’It’s short, but its advantage is endurance.’
’Unlike the Ghost Howl Saber Skill, where four or five uses is my limit.’
’With time, it could be three inches, five inches... ’
’It might even be possible to drag a fifty-meter-long blade aura around to cut people down!’
Thinking of a future where he could jump into a crowd of Demon Sect members and spin his saber a few times, Wu Chen couldn’t help but let a smile touch his lips.
「Day turned to night, and night to day.」
In the blink of an eye, another three days and nights had passed.
What should have been a ten-day journey to reach the borders of Cangzhou was completed in just half the time, as everyone’s physique was robust enough.
Now, before them lay three roads of varying widths, each leading in a different direction.
Wu Chen searched his memories and found that his predecessor’s knowledge was limited to the village and the nearby county town.
He knew nothing of the places beyond that.
He looked at the men behind him and asked, "Where do these three roads lead?"
"Young Master Wu, allow me."
Although Liu Linshan had never been to Cangzhou, he had heard enough to know the general destinations.
Hearing the question, he coughed twice to clear his throat and stepped forward to explain the destination of each of the three roads to Wu Chen.