The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 92, Section 107: Young Friend Lu, Come Be My Cult's Holy Son! [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]

After downing the bowl of "Five Poisons Wine" in one gulp, Huang Rong exhaled softly and said to Dongfang Bubai in a serious tone:
"The Eastern Cult Leader is the best in the world in martial arts, so why would he use poisoned wine on us juniors who have come to seek his teachings? I guess this wine must be a treasure."

"well said."

Dongfang Bubai clapped his hands, his smile deepening:

"Since you two young friends do not doubt Dongfang, Dongfang will not tease you any further. This wine is the Five Treasures Flower Honey Wine offered by the Five Immortals Sect, also known as the Five Immortals Great Tonic Wine, brewed according to the Five Immortals Sect's ancestral secret recipe."

"Those five kinds of small poisonous insects are all extremely rare. Each insect takes more than ten years to cultivate. The wine also contains dozens of rare flowers and herbs, which are quite interconnected and have a principle of mutual generation and restraint. After drinking this medicinal wine, one will be free from all diseases and poisons, and one's strength will be greatly increased. It is the most miraculous tonic wine in the world."

He paused, then said with a smile:

"The Five Immortals Sect claims that drinking a bowl of Five Treasures Flower Honey Wine can increase one's internal energy by more than ten years, but this is an exaggeration. Or rather, the more than ten years of internal energy that the Five Immortals Sect members possess is not commensurate with our abilities. For us, it is already extremely difficult to increase our internal energy by even one or two years."

Upon hearing this, Huang Rong's eyes lit up:
"It can even increase our power? Then, could the Eastern Cult Leader please treat us to another bowl?"

Dongfang Bubai chuckled:
"The young lady is greedy. There is still wine left, and I will not be stingy with it. But unfortunately, this Five Treasures Honey Wine is only effective on the first drink. No matter how much you drink afterward, it will not increase your power."

Huang Rong was immediately very disappointed.

Five Treasures Flower Honey Wine is extremely effective.

The moment it entered his throat, Lu Chen felt a warm current flowing into his meridians, transforming into true energy, which indeed caused his skill to improve rapidly.

Unfortunately, just as Dongfang Bubai said, the Five Poisons Sect's skill level was not the same as that of masters like them.

For members of the Five Poisons Sect, drinking a bowl of Five Treasures Honey Wine can increase their internal energy by more than ten years, while the increase in internal energy that Lu Chen gained from this bowl of wine is roughly equivalent to only a year or so of his own cultivation.

However, taking advantage of this power boost, he also significantly accelerated the "skin refining" process of the sword blade on his right arm—

When he fought Bai Ban Sha Xing and Zuo Leng Chan at Hengshan Tianzhu Peak, he had only tempered his right hand. But now, more than half a month has passed since then, and he has already tempered the skin of his right arm up to his elbow.

Now that he had finished the Five Treasures Honey Wine, taking advantage of the rapid increase in his true energy, he took the opportunity to accelerate his tempering process. The "skin refining" progress of his right arm instantly soared to the upper arm, just a little short of reaching his right shoulder.

Dongfang Bubai observed Lu Chen's expression and said with a smile:

"It seems that young friend Lu has gained quite a bit?"

Lu Chen bowed respectfully and said sincerely:

"I have indeed benefited greatly. Thank you for your generous gift, Master Dongfang!"

Dongfang Bubai chuckled and said:
"Verbal thanks are meaningless. If you really want to thank this leader, how about we make a bet?"

Lu Chendao:
How do we make the bet?

Dongfang Bubai said:
"If you win this competition, you can browse through all the martial arts manuals in the Holy Sect's armory for three days. But if you lose, how about joining my Holy Sect? I, the sect leader, can grant you the position of 'Holy Son,' ranking alongside the 'Holy Maiden.'"

Lu Chen was slightly taken aback. Regardless of whether he won or lost, this bet with Dongfang Bubai would be beneficial to him, Lu Chen!

They actually value me so much...

So, even Dongfang Bubai knows about my battle record?

Are you trying to recruit me, a talented young man?

What was Yang Lianting's opinion?
As soon as we arrived at Blackwood Cliff, Steward Yang tried to curry favor with me. Could it be that he was also trying to recruit me?
Lu Chen knew that Yang Lianting disliked the elders of the Demonic Sect and ostracized and suppressed them, but he did promote some young people.

However, Chief Steward Yang promotes young people not based on their talents, but on who is better at flattering and who is better at offering bribes. As a result, there are now quite a few mediocre good-for-nothings occupying high positions on Blackwood Cliff.

Could it be that Yang Lianting is beginning to realize that he needs at least one or two truly capable people under his command to maintain his authority?
Although he had doubts, he did not hesitate and readily nodded:

"I accept the bet from the Eastern Cult Leader!"

During his trip to Siguo Cliff, he spent three days discussing swordsmanship with Feng Qingyang, acquiring the lost sword techniques of the Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Dugu Nine Swords. His swordsmanship foundation became much more solid, and his swordsmanship cultivation improved even further.

Although his skills didn't improve much in a short time, Dongfang Bubai just happened to give him a bowl of Five Treasures Honey Wine...

With his current cultivation level and his two trump cards, Sword One and Sword Two, even if Dongfang Bubai, the world's number one, were to remain him as the "Holy Son" of the Sun Moon Sect, it would be impossible for him to do so.

Now that the agreement has been made, the competition must begin.

Yang Lianting pushed out a weapon rack from the stone house next to the garden, which was filled with various longswords.

There are ordinary three-foot steel swords, as well as heavy swords with wider and thicker blades, about four feet long, and classical eight- or six-sided Han swords, and various light and soft swords with thin and narrow blades.

Dongfang Bubai had his left hand behind his back, while his right hand made a "please" gesture:

"Young friend Lu, please."

Lu Chen walked to the weapon rack and casually picked out an ordinary, unremarkable three-foot sword.

After he made his selection, Dongfang Bubai also walked to the weapon rack and picked out a slender sword with a blade no more than half an inch wide, extremely narrow and thin, like an extra-large embroidery needle.

Judging from its material, this rapier is not made of any rare or precious iron; it should just be forged from ordinary fine steel.

Such a thin and narrow material easily gives people the illusion that it would break at the slightest touch.

However, Lu Chen knew Dongfang Bubai's skill well—he used an embroidery needle to block Linghu Chong's powerful slash, and as a result, he not only easily blocked the slash, but also made Linghu Chong's arm feel sore and numb.

It should be noted that at that time, Linghu Chong's skill level was already comparable to Yue Buqun's, who had been holding back the Zixia Skill for decades.

A tiny embroidery needle could block the powerful slash of Linghu Chong's steel sword, a skill of that caliber. Now, this seemingly thin and narrow steel sword is something that even a master of Yue Buqun's level cannot break with a heavy sword.

The two chose their weapons and went to an open space in the garden.

Yang Lianting and Huang Rong then consciously retreated to the edge of the garden.

"Chief Steward Yang."

After Lu Chen and Dongfang Bubai had both focused their attention on each other, Huang Rong suddenly moved to Yang Lianting's side and whispered to him:
Where is the "Holy Son" waist tag?

Well, although she didn't want to obey Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting's orders, she would still be happy to show off her "Holy Son" waist token in front of the nominal disciple Qu Feiyan.

That being said, if it weren't for having Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting as her leaders, Huang Rong, with her playful nature, could easily have become a "holy maiden" of the Demonic Sect herself.

Yang Lianting glanced at Huang Rong with surprise, then kept a straight face and whispered:
“The Holy Son's waist token is readily available. If you want it, I'll get it for you in a moment.” He suddenly sensed something was amiss, frowned, and said unhappily:
"From what you're saying, you think Lu Chen can beat the sect leader?"

If Lu Chen were to lose, he would have to act as the "Holy Son" as agreed, and Huang Rong would not need to specifically ask him for the Holy Son's token.

Huang Rong chuckled and said leisurely:
"Besides the title 'Heavenly Divine Sword,' my brother Lu Chen also has a nickname: 'Draw-Even Sword.' His greatest skill is fighting to a draw..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw a blur before her eyes, as if a red shadow had flashed by, and then she realized that Dongfang Bubai, who had been standing opposite Lu Chen, was gone!

Next, a continuous, almost seamless clanging of metal against metal rang out.

Huang Rong looked closely and saw Lu Chen standing in the center of the garden, not moving an inch. The long sword in his hand had already transformed into a dazzling silver light, enveloping him in all directions. He had actually used the "Three-Foot Sword Circle," a technique specifically for defense.

A red afterimage was rapidly moving around Lu Chen, and as it moved, streaks of chilling light shot out like a sudden rain, attacking Lu Chen from all directions.

The scene was as if multiple people had surrounded Lu Chen from all directions, unleashing a suffocating "rain of swords" upon him.

"Is this the strength of the 'Number One Under Heaven' in this world? This movement technique... it's simply unreasonable!"

Huang Rong was amazed.

Despite Dongfang Bubai's rapid attacks, Lu Chen managed to hold his ground steadily!
He held his long sword in a three-foot arc, like a large umbrella shielding him from the wind and rain. No matter how swift Dongfang Bubai's attacks were, he defended him impenetrably.

They waited for a full quarter of an hour.

Lu Chen seemed to have gradually become familiar with Dongfang Bubai's offensive rhythm. The three-foot sword circle suddenly contracted inward and then expanded outward. As the sword circle expanded, Lu Chen switched from defense to offense and thrust thirteen times in all directions.

These thirteen sword strikes seemed to be thrown casually, yet each strike was precisely timed to coincide with the moment Dongfang Bubai was about to pass by, as if the sword had already anticipated his movements and knew that if Dongfang Bubai did not slow down, he would be delivered to the sword.

Dongfang Bubai naturally noticed this and used his slender sword to deflect all thirteen of Lu Chen's sword strikes with a combination of parrying and twisting.

However, this interrupted the rhythm of his originally dense, rain-like, mercury-like offensive, and slowed down his swift and fluid movements.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lu Chen used the "Sword Shadow Step" to move swiftly and close the distance to Dongfang Bubai. He raised his forearm, and his sword transformed into a stream of light, piercing straight at Dongfang Bubai with a whoosh.

Dongfang Bubai dodged swiftly to the side, but Lu Chen's sword shadow steps followed him closely, relentlessly attacking him with his longsword, one strike after another, like a flowing light and phantom, a continuous barrage of thrusts!
The east wind at night releases a thousand trees of flowers, and blows down stars like rain!
The essence of this killing move he created lies not only in the rapid sword strikes of continuous thrusts, but also in the body movement and footwork. One must be able to follow the enemy closely, otherwise the enemy can easily dodge to the left or right to avoid his frontal thrusts.

Dongfang Bubai's movement technique was truly unbelievably fast. Under Lu Chen's rapid and phantom-like continuous thrusts, he actually dodged fifty-seven of his swords in one breath and blocked thirty-two of them.

Lu Chen knew that this one fast sword move alone was no match for Dongfang Bubai, who was known for his speed.

So his sword technique changed again.

The simple and direct series of thrusts transformed into a dense, complex, and unpredictable series of strange sword moves. The ordinary steel sword became like a thin and soft sword, its blade trembling and bending like a serpent, drawing fine, lingering, and graceful sword lights in the air, weaving into a net that enveloped Dongfang Bubai.

This move, which uses swords to form a net, is precisely intended to limit Dongfang Bubai's incredible speed!
However, Dongfang Bubai's slender sword struck repeatedly, creating countless dazzling sword marks. Each sword strike landed on those "sword threads," just like how Lu Chen had interrupted his movement rhythm earlier. This caused Lu Chen's sword net to be cut off halfway through its weaving.

In terms of skill, Dongfang Bubai was actually no stronger than Lu Chen.

What Dongfang Bubai could do, such as deflecting a steel sword with an embroidery needle, Lu Chen could also do.

In terms of swordsmanship and skill, Dongfang Bubai did not surpass Feng Qingyang.

But he's fast and accurate enough.

Such incredible speed and precision, coupled with profound skill enough to rival Lu Chen, resulted in Lu Chen truly fighting Dongfang Bubai to a standstill without holding back.

Of course, Lu Chen did not hold back, but he also did not unleash his ultimate move.

He felt that if he used Sword One or Sword Two, he could still defeat Dongfang Bubai.

However, since it's just a swordsmanship exchange, there's no need to use those overly powerful and otherworldly killing sword techniques.

In fact, after such a long period of fighting and clashes, Lu Chen has managed to figure out some of the secrets of the Sunflower Manual.

This is indeed an unconventional and unique skill, with the essence of its internal energy circulation almost entirely focused on movement speed and attack speed.

Using the Sunflower Manual's unorthodox method to rapidly circulate one's true energy can indeed cause one's true energy to boil and ignite yang fire. Without taking special measures, one can truly be consumed by lust and go astray.

Therefore, Lu Chenzhen could not practice this method.

We can only extract some of the essence and apply it to his theory of "fast and slow".

When fighting others, Lu Chen could always start and stop whenever he wanted.

Even when fighting Feng Qingyang, he could force the ailing old man to stop voluntarily—Feng Qingyang looked depressed and his face was ashen, a typical sign of prolonged depression damaging his liver and causing liver problems.

Given the old man's physical condition, he really can't spend too much time with this strong young man.

Dongfang Bubai, on the other hand, was in his prime, possessed profound skill, and had great stamina, making him capable of holding his own against Lu Chen.

If he doesn't unleash his ultimate sword, Lu Chen won't be able to stop whenever he wants.

Therefore, the two fought for over a thousand moves, and still could not determine a winner.

Yang Lianting had long since become unable to bear the incessant clanging of metal, and even vomited once during the incident. He had already retreated to Chengde Hall to rest.

Huang Rong also turned pale as she watched—with her current skill level, although she could not fathom the movements of the two men, nor could she keep up with their swordplay rhythm, she was not so dizzy as to be completely overwhelmed; she was just a little uncomfortable watching.

But she still insisted on watching.

After exchanging hundreds of blows, the sun began to set in the west. Finally, after a collision, the two flew backwards for about ten feet and stopped fighting in tacit agreement.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Dongfang." Lu Chen was as polite as ever.

Dongfang Bubai was silent for a moment, then sighed:

"At such a young age, with such martial arts skills... a person like you is truly extraordinary... I am very curious, who could have taught a disciple like you?"

Although Master Rong was too embarrassed to raise his hand and say "It is indeed me," he still proudly raised his chin and curled the corners of his mouth.

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(End of this chapter)