Above the Great Dao -
Chapter 160 - 92 Unrivaled in the World
Chapter 160: Chapter 92 Unrivaled in the World
Ten years ago, Chen Shi of the fifty provinces was unmatched with a record of thirty-six zhang. Today, his record of eighty-four zhang would likely shock the world even more. One could only imagine the tremors this record would cause once reported!
"Right, Chen Shi might have no results!"
Tian Huaiyi suddenly brightened up and rapidly said, "His Sword Qi has blasted all the straw mats along the way to smithereens, flying out of the martial arts testing ground. There are no marks left by Sword Qi on the straw mats, which doesn’t count. Declare his martial examination a failure; then there’s no need to report to the court!"
Fu Leisheng sighed and said, "So many people in Xinxiang County have seen it; it will sooner or later reach the Western Capital."
Tian Huaiyi deflated and murmured, "What should we do then?"
Suddenly, Fu Leisheng smiled and said, "If he has achieved a Golden Core, can’t his results be invalidated?"
Tian Huaiyi was stunned. "Chen Shi has already cultivated to the Golden Core Realm?"
Fu Leisheng said, "I saw him killing the County Magistrate and his wife. His Qi-Blood was condensed, forming a Golden Core, pure and unparalleled!"
"The County Magistrate and his wife were killed by him?"
Tian Huaiyi looked toward Chen Shi, always assuming it was Fu Leisheng’s handiwork. He did not expect that it was Chen Shi who had killed those two Evil Spirits!
"But without a Divine Embryo, how could he achieve a Golden Core? Is he an Evil Spirit?" He voiced his doubt.
Fu Leisheng shook his head, "No."
Tian Huaiyi asked, "How far can a Sword Qi be sent by a Golden Core Stage cultivator using the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword?"
The two men exchanged looks and each propelled a thread of Sword Qi.
Both being in the Golden Core Realm, which is divided into nine rotations for cultivating proficiency, Fu Leisheng’s cultivation was especially profound, having cultivated to the ninth rotation, his Golden Core taking on an ochre hue, only a step away from Nascent Soul.
Tian Huaiyi had been repelling Evil Spirits at the border garrison before he rose to prominence. Although his Golden Core was at the seventh rotation, his cultivation was also mighty.
Each released a Sword Qi, using the same first move of the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword, the Stabbing Sword Style. Their Sword Qi flew over thirty zhang before, inevitably losing its momentum and suddenly dissipating into True Qi, unsupported.
The two exchanged glances again, each troubled.
Their Golden Core Realm status did not explain why Chen Shi’s Sword Qi could fly so far.
Both men were more practiced in cultivation than Chen Shi, but their Sword Qi could also only fly over thirty zhang because that was the limit of the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword.
Chen Shi’s furthest Sword Qi should have been the Stabbing Sword Style; unfortunately, it was blown askew by a strong wind, drifting into the sky, or else it surely would have surpassed eighty-four zhang.
"How did he manage this?"
The two were somewhat confounded. Chen Shi’s initial move, posture, sword technique, and stance were all non-standard, clearly demonstrating a lack of practice. Yet, why was the power so astonishing?
Could it be that what Chen Shi had been practicing was indeed the correct way?
"Why not just submit this result?" Fu Leisheng suddenly suggested.
Tian Huaiyi looked at him, puzzled.
Fu Leisheng looked off into the distance, and Tian Huaiyi followed his gaze, only to see a group of extravagantly dressed individuals also arriving at the outskirts of the martial arts testing ground, pointing and discussing among themselves.
"It seems like they are people from worldly factions!"
Tian Huaiyi’s heart trembled as he grasped the implication.
With people from such influential families having personally witnessed Chen Shi’s Meridian Evil Slayer Sword in Xinxiang County, fraud was no longer feasible.
The secret could not be kept hidden.
Fu Leisheng smiled and said, "At worst, I’ll dissolve Wencai Academy and hide away in Qianyang Mountain. Those who have committed serious crimes have always sought refuge in Qianyang Mountain, and the authorities have hardly captured a few, haven’t they?"
Tian Huaiyi replied with a laugh, "The master’s nobility. If so, I would accompany the master on a trip to Qianyang Mountain."
Both felt much relieved.
Tian Huaiyi said, "Master, visitors from the worldly factions are here; I must go and investigate the situation."
Fu Leisheng nodded, his voice grave, "Huaiyi, remember the prime importance of righteousness and be not tempted by personal gain."
Tian Huaiyi was moved and, turning back, smiled, "Master, after you’ve taught me for so long, couldn’t I understand the nature of your student?"
He turned and walked towards the group.
"I am the chief examiner of Xinxiang County, Tian Huaiyi, and I have the honor to meet the gentlemen," he said, approaching and bowing.
"There is no need for such courtesy, Magistrate Tian," the leading figure said.
He was a slender middle-aged man dressed in a blue-trimmed, green robe, with a wide belt around his waist and wearing an eastern-style scholar’s hat. His eyes were sharp and bright. He said, "I am Li Xiaozheng from Quanzhou. I am on my way to Xin Xiang Province on cabinet orders to take up a new appointment."
Upon hearing this, Tian Huaiyi’s heart pounded violently.
That statement conveyed not one but four pieces of news!
Li Xiaozheng from Quanzhou!
From the Li Family of Quanzhou!
On a mission from the Cabinet to take office in Xin Xiang Province, the new Governor of Xin Xiang Province!
After the fall of the Zhao family, the Li family was finally ready to make a move on Xin Xiang Province, ready to target the True King’s Tomb on Qianyang Mountain!
"I pay my respects to the Governor!" He hastily bowed again.
"Please rise."
Li Xiaozheng spoke indifferently, "I have not yet taken office officially, and cannot be considered the governor. The land of Xinxiang County is indeed blessed with outstanding figures. To think that someone could send a sword flying more than eighty zhang; such a sword technique astonishes the entire world. Had I received this news after assuming office in the provincial capital, I would have deeply suspected fraud. However, having witnessed it myself, I am truly shaken."
He couldn’t help but shake his head, "I must report this matter to the Western Capital. People there, upon seeing it, will probably also be startled. A Meridian Evil Slayer Sword flying over eighty zhang is unheard of throughout the ages."
He said this while being aware of how absurd it sounded, but it had happened right before his eyes.
Even as it happened right before his eyes, he still found it hard to believe!
Behind Li Xiaozheng, a young man with the surname Li stepped forward, also channeling the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword. A Sword Qi flew out, its slicing through the air sounding particularly shrill.
However, he was employing the Golden Core as the source of his power to drive the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword, which made the Sword Qi’s power many times greater than a Cultivator of the Divine Embryo Realm!
Yet, as this sword flew out, it only reached thirty or so zhang before the Sword Qi suddenly dissipated.
Seeing this, the other members of the Li Family also took turns trying, with some even invoking their Nascent Souls to wield the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword, but the farthest anyone could project the Sword Qi was thirty-six zhang before it would disperse into True Qi, unable to break through the thirty-six-zhang barrier.
The crowd was filled with astonishment.
Li Xiaozheng’s gaze fell upon Chen Shi and he said, "There’s no need to try anymore. The Child Scholar who was the best in fifty provinces had already tested the limits of the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword—it’s thirty-six zhang. Although this Sword Technique is the simplest, it’s precisely because of its simplicity that it possesses such immense power. Due to this great power, the True Qi condensed to form the shape of a sword requires much stronger constraint than other Spells."
He spoke calmly, explaining the reason, "The stronger the Sword Qi, the more power is needed to bind its form. This is the ingenious part of the creation of this Spell by the person from Qianyang Mountain. When he created this Spell, he set the limit of the Sword Qi to thirty-six zhang. The Child Scholar from ten years ago was a prodigious talent, and if it were possible to break this limit, he, not anyone else, would have been the first to do it."
The members of the Li Family were all puzzled.
The young Li who had just spoken asked, "Father, then how did this child manage to extend his Sword Qi to eighty zhang?"
"I, too, would like to know."
Li Xiaozheng looked at Chen Shi with great curiosity and said, "His Swordsmanship seems raw; he must have only started practicing not long ago. But the power of his Swordsmanship is too strong. For such strength, the power needed to bind it must also be immense. How did he manage to keep the Sword Qi from dispersing?"
Even as someone from the widely esteemed Li Family, with a long lineage and countless books at his disposal, he couldn’t fathom how Chen Shi had done it.
Li Xiaozheng steadied himself and asked, "Master Tian, what is the name of this child?"
Tian Huaiyi replied, "His name is Chen Shi, from Bridge Bay Town under Xinxiang County."
"Bridge Bay Town of Xinxiang County?"
Li Xiaozheng was stunned, his expression changing slightly as he said, "Chen Shi from Huangpo Village?"
Tian Huaiyi asked in confusion, "Your Excellency knows of Chen Shi?"
Li Xiaozheng’s face immediately became very expressive, turning green, white, yellow, and red, as various colors flashed across it.
"The Child Scholar, haha! The Child Scholar!"
He burst out laughing, his eyes filled with fear, as if he saw the blood-soaked Western Capital, countless bones, shattered flags, and the figure of a tall old man, his back to the many frightened and uneasy nobles of the Western Capital.
"He did it! He really did it in the end!"
Cold sweat dripped rapidly down Li Xiaozheng’s forehead, large beads rolling down as his voice sounded somewhat hoarse.
Reversing life and death, someone had actually achieved it!
The person who had died ten years earlier, leaving behind a record no one could break.
Ten years later, he returned from death, breaking his own record and pushing it to an unprecedented peak!
Was this a demonstration of defiance to the enemy who had destroyed his Divine Embryo?
It must be!
His return this time had to be for the purpose of seeking out his foe, to discover the truth behind the treachery he suffered!
His eighty-zhang Sword Qi was his way of telling the world that even without an Innate Dao Embryo, he was still matchless under the heavens!
After a long while, Li Xiaozheng finally steadied his emotions, his face returning to normal, and with a smile that was neither here nor there, he said, "Someone, get in touch with the Cabinet officials right away. Report the eighty-zhang Meridian Evil Slayer Sword, and tell the officials this good news."
He exhaled a breath of turbid air and thought to himself, "I shouldn’t be the only one feeling anxious and afraid. If those old things get wind of this news, they surely won’t be able to sleep, will they? The Western Capital is bound to heat up soon."
Immediately, an attendant took out a Thousand-Mile Communication Talisman and contacted the Western Capital. After a moment, the Western Capital received the news.
Li Xiaozheng, upon hearing the sounds of chaos like chairs being tripped over coming from the talisman, along with a mix of scrambling and expletives, could not help but smile. In a low voice, he said, "The nobles in the Western Capital should all receive this news before long. They must be beside themselves with worry."
Chen Shi walked out of the martial training ground, planning to call Black Pot and return to Huangpo Village early, when suddenly he heard a familiar voice, "Little Ten, we meet again!"
Chen Shi was both startled and pleased, turning around he indeed saw Li Tianqing, and hurried over, laughing, "Tianqing, after you went back, was your family’s Divine Embryo not severed? And your grandfather, where is he?"
Li Tianqing still looked somewhat thin and gentle, and with a smile, he said, "This time, the Li family ordered me to explore the stone vessel. The governor was also on his way to take up his post in Xin Xiang Province and passed through here and we stopped for a while. My grandfather’s legs aren’t good and he didn’t come along. Though, I suspect he was worried about my safety and secretly followed along. I’m always concerned he’ll get lost."
He sighed, his own grandfather was truly too much of a worry.
"Speaking of which, how is your grandfather?" Li Tianqing asked.
Chen Shi’s face turned somber, "My grandfather went to the underworld."
Li Tianqing was silent for a while, unsure of how to console him.
Chen Shi smiled, "But my grandfather is doing very well in the underworld. I’ve burned quite a bit of spirit money for him, along with a paper wife. Did you see my Meridian Evil Slayer Sword just now?"
Seeing Chen Shi shift the topic, Li Tianqing went along with it, "I did."
Chen Shi was somewhat nervous, probing, "What do you think?"
"Your Sword Qi is certainly powerful, but there are significant issues with the initial movement, posture, sword technique, footwork, and finishing moves, which could result in point deductions."
Li Tianqing was gesturing as he spoke, his movements precise and standard, "Did you learn from the book I gave you? To have progressed to this extent in such short time is already extremely impressive!"
The two young men took their time outside the martial training ground, one instructing, the other learning earnestly.
A short while later, Li Tianqing spoke with admiration, "Little Ten, you learn quickly. By the way, how did your literary examination go?"
"The literary examination was easy, I passed for sure. Just not quite confident about the martial examination."
Chen Shi was a bit frustrated, "If only I had started learning from you earlier. Who did you come with? If you’re not busy, let’s go out and have some fun!"
Li Tianqing also felt some regret, "I’m afraid I won’t be able to go out. The people the Li family has brought this time are no ordinary members—the one leading them is called Li Xiaozheng, my fourth uncle, and the new governor of Xinxiang County. Besides him, there are several influential members of the Li family. This time, I’m afraid I’ll have to join you in taking part in the autumn examinations. By the way, have you thought about what you’ll do if the True God doesn’t bestow a Divine Embryo upon you?"
At these words, Chen Shi was struck dumb.
Yes, he had received an Innate Dao Embryo ten years ago. If the True God remembered this and refused to grant him a Divine Embryo, wouldn’t he be stuck at Scholar level, unable to return to Huangpo Village in glory, dominating the villagers, and oppressing the common folk?
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