Chapter 102: Fast Saber? Too Slow!
“Big Brother Chu, your mentality is really good.”
Tie Niu said sincerely.
He had always regarded Chu Liang as his role model, but he could never be as calm as Chu Liang.
Ultimately, it still came down to the issue of strength.
Chu Liang smiled and asked him, “Tie Niu, have you felt any signs of sensing Qi and Blood lately?”
“No.”
Tie Niu looked troubled and shook his head, “Master said I still have a long way to go. Even with the best talent, it will take a few months before there’s any hope of sensing Qi and Blood.”
“Take it slow, there’s no rush. It took me several months too,” Chu Liang encouraged.
“A few months is considered good. It took me several years!” Master Hu exclaimed. He was born in the village, where resources were much scarcer than in the county town.
The martial arts path of human martial artists was this slow, incomparable to demon beasts.
Demon beasts only needed to constantly fight and devour.
After dinner, the night gradually fell.
Everyone said goodbye outside the noodle shop.
Master Hu’s home was in the south of the city, not far from here.
Chu Liang took his Second Uncle’s family to the north of the city to see the large three-courtyard residence.
As soon as they entered the residence, Second Uncle and the others’ eyes widened.
“This… this residence is too big, isn’t it?”
“A-Liang, are we in the right place?”
“How much money would it take to buy such a large residence?”
Second Uncle and Second Aunt were dumbfounded. They walked around the central courtyard, looking around, and the more they looked, the more unreal it felt, as if they were in a dream.
In their impression, only high-ranking officials and nobles could afford to live in such a large residence.
“We’re in the right place, this is it.” Chu Liang smiled, “Second Uncle, you will live here from now on. If there’s anything, just have A-Shan come to the Autumn Blade Martial Arts Hall to find me.”
“A-Liang, how much did this residence cost?” Second Uncle couldn’t help but ask.
“Money is not a problem. Even if it were ten or a hundred times more expensive, I could still afford it,” Chu Liang said with a smile.
“But… our family only has a few people, we can’t possibly live in such a big residence.”
“The number of people will gradually increase.”
Chu Liang looked calm as he showed his Second Uncle’s family around all the rooms.
This kind of residence was indeed for high-ranking officials and nobles.
And now, in the eyes of the world, Chu Liang could be considered “noble.”
“Second Uncle, I still have things to do at the martial arts hall. You should get familiar with the place first!”
After settling his Second Uncle’s family, Chu Liang left with the three dog demons.
He went to the Black Market, bought enough demon beast flesh and blood and medicinal herbs, and returned to the courtyard of the Autumn Blade Martial Arts Hall.
After two months of absence, the three dog demons’ loyalty to Chu Liang had not diminished in the slightest. They were excitedly jumping around Chu Liang, their tails wagging non-stop.
“You’ve worked hard these past two months. Eat, eat as much as you want!”
Chu Liang threw large pieces of demon beast flesh and blood to them, letting them eat their fill.
The more they ate, the faster they would grow.
Then he threw a large bundle of evolved medicinal herbs to the donkey and said, “You eat too!”
“Hee-haw…”
The donkey also happily wagged its tail, opened its big mouth, revealing its big yellow teeth, and took a bite out of a spirit ganoderma, chewing it loudly, with bits of ganoderma constantly falling out of its mouth.
Nearby, the two Treasure Seeking Rats shook their heads.
“Tsk… In ancient times, there were cows chewing peonies, and now there are donkeys chewing spirit ganoderma.”
“What a waste of heavenly treasures!”
The two little rats sighed, expressing their condolences for the spirit ganoderma.
The donkey rolled its eyes at them and ignored them, continuing to chew on its own.
Chu Liang was still in the courtyard, not wasting any time, tempering his Qi and Blood under the moonlight.
He was only one strand of Qi and Blood away from glimpsing the gate of the Skin Tempering Realm.
“The fifth strand of Qi and Blood needs to be fixed to the torso and is thicker than the previous four. At the current rate, I probably need nearly three months to fully condense it.”
Chu Liang was quite satisfied with this timeframe.
He had a good mentality and was not impatient.
Time passed slowly, and it was almost midnight without realizing it.
Chu Liang stopped tempering, returned to his room to wash up briefly, instructed the several demon beasts to guard the house, and went to sleep.
He slept until the sun was high in the sky!
He had been too busy these past few days and hadn’t had a good rest.
If it weren’t for the two little rats waking him up, he would probably have slept until the afternoon.
“Master, it’s time to wake up! Qi Xiuliang is outside the courtyard. He’s looking for you, probably about today’s saber technique competition.”
“Don’t forget, you still have a fight with that Li Feng today.”
The two little rats were jumping on the bed.
Chu Liang got up helplessly.
He got dressed quickly, walked out of the room, and opened the courtyard gate.
Qi Xiuliang was outside the gate. Seeing Chu Liang’s sleepy appearance, he asked in surprise, “Brother Chu, you just woke up?”
“Yes.”
“As expected of Brother Chu, you can sleep so soundly even with the saber technique competition approaching. I’m not as good as you.”
“It’s just a simple competition, not a major life event.”
Chu Liang yawned, his eyes still sleepy, indescribably calm.
He stepped aside and invited Qi Xiuliang into the courtyard, asking, “Brother Qi, did you come here just for the competition?”
“Yes, Brother Chu. I’ve collected information about Li Feng’s fighting style and compiled it into a booklet. Take a look.”
Qi Xiuliang took out a booklet from his arms and placed it on the stone table.
“You…”
Chu Liang didn’t know what to say.
He had only agreed to the competition with Li Feng the day before yesterday, and Qi Xiuliang had already produced such a booklet today.
Qi Xiuliang must have spent all day yesterday working on this.
“Brother Qi, you have your own three-month agreement. Why waste time on this? You know my strength.” Chu Liang had sparred with Qi Xiuliang before, and they both had a general understanding of each other’s abilities.
“It’s always good to know more about your opponent.”
Qi Xiuliang opened the booklet, which was full of explanations about Li Feng.
Chu Liang didn’t want to read it, but since Qi Xiuliang had worked so hard, he patiently looked through it.
Li Feng’s fighting style was very distinct.
Swift and fierce!
He was good at suppressing his opponents with absolutely dominant saber techniques.
Once he gained the upper hand, the outcome of the battle was basically decided.
◈◈◈
“Brother Chu, this Li Feng’s fighting style is quite similar to yours, but his personality is not like yours,” Qi Xiuliang said.
“Yes, that’s true.”
Chu Liang was gentle and introverted.
Li Feng, on the other hand, was like an unsheathed saber, sharp and aggressive.
“Well, the Hall Master has been good to me, even lending me the treasure of the hall. I have nothing to repay him with for now, so I’ll help him hone Li Feng’s saber technique,” Chu Liang thought to himself.
It was already noon, and the gray sun hung overhead.
The competition was about to begin, and the entire Autumn Blade Martial Arts Hall was much livelier than usual.
The three martial arts masters had been invited to sit beside the arena to prevent any accidents.
Hall Master Li Ren sat on the high seat, his expression solemn, his gaze fixed on the arena.
This competition was originally an internal affair of the martial arts hall, but everyone in the hall knew about it at the time, so many outsiders came today, such as Merit Hall Master Luo Hong and Guardian Hall Master Yan Gong.
Even Dragon and Snake Hall Master Ye Long came.
Many disciples were outside the arena, forming layers upon layers, their faces full of anticipation.
Qi Bai, Liu Qing, Huang He, and others were all there. They all practiced 《Autumn Blade》, and they were particularly looking forward to today’s battle, hoping to gain some insights from it.
“Senior Martial Brother Li Feng has arrived.”
Qi Bai’s gaze focused, and a man carrying a long saber appeared in his field of vision.
“He’s still the same as before, his sharpness undiminished.”
“Yes,” Liu Qing sighed. “We are both at Two Strands of Qi and Blood, but I don’t even have the courage to draw my saber in front of him. In terms of saber technique, I can no longer catch up to him.”
“We still need to hone ourselves more.”
Huang He said, “Now that demon beasts are acting up, troubled times are coming. Junior Martial Brother He Yuan has already been killed by demon beasts. With our current strength, if we’re not careful, we might follow in Junior Martial Brother He’s footsteps.”
“Sigh, Junior Martial Brother He…”
Thinking of the deceased He Yuan, the several people felt heavy-hearted.
He Yuan was also at Two Strands of Qi and Blood, his strength only slightly weaker than theirs.
“I hope today’s battle will give me some insights.” Qi Bai was eager to improve his strength. His Autumn Blade Technique had not made any breakthroughs for a long time.
“It depends on how long Chu Liang can last.”
“The longer he lasts, the more we can see.”
“Maybe, in the end, the Hall Master will come down and explain this battle to us…”
They were all praying, hoping that Chu Liang could last longer against Li Feng’s saber.
They were afraid that Chu Liang’s saber technique hadn’t even reached the entry level.
If that were the case, there would be nothing to see in this battle.
“Chu Liang is here too!”
Qi Bai spoke, his gaze turning to the entrance of the courtyard.
Chu Liang and Qi Xiuliang entered the courtyard one after the other.
As soon as the two appeared, they attracted many gazes.
Dragon and Snake Hall Master Ye Long smiled and said, “Look, it’s my disciple Qi Xiuliang. He came with Chu Liang!”
The others remained silent and did not respond to him.
Qi Xiuliang was taken aback for a moment, subconsciously looking at Ye Long.
When did he agree to become Ye Long’s disciple?
Hall Master Li Ren stood up at the right time, his aura steady, his gaze sweeping over Chu Liang and Li Feng. He said, “Chu Liang, Li Feng, do you have any objections to today’s saber technique competition?”
“No objections.”
The two answered in unison, their voices loud and clear.
Li Ren nodded and said to them, “In that case, you two get on the arena. Remember, it’s just a spar!”
“Yes!”
Under everyone’s gaze, the two simultaneously leaped onto the arena.
The scene immediately quieted down.
Everyone stopped talking, their gazes all focused on the arena.
Chu Liang and Li Feng stood facing each other, cupping their fists in salute.
“Senior Martial Brother Li!”
“Junior Martial Brother Chu!”
The two spoke to each other, then retreated to opposite sides of the arena.
The atmosphere became tense.
The others held their breath, their spirits concentrated, not wanting to miss any detail.
The next moment, a “clang” was heard, and a cold light flashed.
Li Feng drew his saber!
The battle officially began.
His aura was astonishing, as fast as a gust of wind, instantly closing in on Chu Liang.
“Swish!”
This was his style.
Swift and fierce!
He wanted to suppress Chu Liang with the first move, gain the advantage, and then continue with one saber strike after another, completely suppressing Chu Liang.
Under the arena, the other disciples widened their eyes, not daring to blink.
“Such a fast saber!”
Qi Bai, Liu Qing, and the others were shocked.
Just one saber strike showed them the gap between themselves and Li Feng.
Without a breakthrough, even if they practiced for another five years, they might not reach this level.
On the side of the arena, the saber master nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction on his face.
On the high platform, Luo Hong, Yan Gong, and the others looked as usual, not too surprised. After all, they were once geniuses like this too.
Qi Xiuliang’s expression was solemn as he made comparisons in his mind. Could his Pine and Bamboo Sword block this Autumn Blade?
“I’m still a bit lacking.”
Qi Xiuliang knew his own strength and shook his head.
“Brother Chu should be fine. His saber is much faster than Li Feng’s.”
The fact was just as Qi Xiuliang thought.
Li Feng’s swift and fierce saber strike had many flaws in Chu Liang’s eyes and was as slow as a snail.