Chapter 228: Chapter 142: A Knife with Only a Handle, Speculation
Who is the Blade Demon?
Twenty years ago, no one knew, but with a sudden rise to fame, he suppressed the then third-ranked Inaction Guest on the Celestial Being List, making his name known throughout the world. In that battle, he displayed an uncanny, demonic blade technique and cleaved a mountain a thousand feet tall with a single stroke, earning him the title of the Blade Demon.
Though ranked third on the Celestial Being List, many blademen believe that the Blade Demon simply had too few achievements, otherwise he might have a chance to claim the top spot.
Regrettably.
After killing the Inaction Guest that year, the Blade Demon vanished again without a trace.
Until recently, reemerging from seclusion.
And as soon as he emerged, he made a big impact.
Half a month ago.
The Blade Demon appeared in Shi State and battled Ice Soul Swordswoman, ranked thirty-first on the Celestial Being List. It couldn’t even be considered a battle but a one-sided crushing; with just one slash, the Ice Soul Swordswoman was severely injured and had to retreat. She was astonished and unable to face that demonic and careful stroke, leaving a shadow in her heart.
Afterward, the Blade Demon drifted away, seemingly a bit disappointed.
Countless blademen were excited.
Since the feud between sword and blade subsided, blademen had felt suppressed, unable to hold their heads high until recently when Heart Inquiry Sword and True Man Tianjian, two unparalleled swordsmen, fought internally. They felt slightly better, and now they finally have the right to stand tall.
"The Blade Demon senior has emerged for the glory of us blademen!"
"The swordsmen have been too arrogant lately; it seems even the Blade Demon senior couldn’t bear it. Is he trying to challenge all swordsmen under heaven?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, this is truly exciting!"
Countless blademen eagerly awaited.
However, what happened next dumbfounded all the blademen.
The Blade Demon appeared in Yun State.
He confronted Heart Blade Old Man, ranked twenty-sixth on the Celestial Being List.
Again, it was just one slash.
Heart Blade Old Man was severely injured and retreated.
But Heart Blade Old Man was over seven hundred years old, a renowned elder in the Blade Path with students all over the world. Even several unparalleled blademen ranked ahead of him would give him face, yet now he was treated so mercilessly. It was hard to accept, prompting him to mock with a few words.
Unexpectedly, the Blade Demon was not accommodating at all.
With another slash, he killed Heart Blade Old Man, then descended the mountain and left.
From that point on.
The world was in an uproar.
Everyone realized that this Blade Demon indeed had deep demonic tendencies, leaving blademen bewildered. Initially, they thought the Blade Demon emerged to earn blademen’s honor, but now it seemed he made no distinction, treating everyone equally.
The Blade Demon’s challenges continued, almost once every half month, with each challengeee’s ranking moving forward.
Setting aside blademen’s colored glasses.
Countless people began to examine the Blade Demon’s goals.
After all, judging from his current behavior, this matter will definitely not stop.
Why does the Blade Demon challenge the world’s unparalleled strongmen?
Martial artists were all curious, with many scouring ancient texts for answers, while some couldn’t resist searching for the Blade Demon’s origins.
At last.
Some people discovered some clues.
"Have you noticed the Blade Demon’s knife handle! Twenty years ago, it was a broken Demon Blade. I once had the fortune to witness the battle between Inaction Guest and the Blade Demon back then, and at that time, there was still half a Demon Blade! Is it my misconception, or is the knife handle in the Blade Demon’s hand seemingly getting shorter after these challenges?"
"Could it be that the Blade Demon is using the world’s strongmen to test his blade? Then why doesn’t he specifically seek out Blade Path strongmen?"
"There are rumors that the Blade Demon practiced Sword Dao early on and only later switched to Blade Path. Observing the strongmen he challenges now, they are all swordsmen and blademen, so this rumor might be true!"
Countless people discussed it hotly.
This is an enduring major event.
Every half month comes a great battle, even if it’s just the Blade Demon one-sidedly crushing, it’s still a grand event.
Some curious individuals have already deduced the Blade Demon’s next challenge opponents based on his movements and stayed on guard in advance.
The world is bustling, with most attention drawn to this matter.
Even though Ning Qi was at the Seeking Tao Institute, he had already heard of it.
It was Luo Wentian who came specifically to tell him, and this matter had some relation to Ning Qi as well.
"A knife with only a hilt?" Ning Qi showed some amazement in his eyes.
He roughly guessed some of the Blade Demon’s intentions.
"That blade is his Blade Path. When one day even the hilt is gone, it will be the supreme realm where all things can be the blade. Is the Blade Demon using the world’s strongmen as sharpening stones to help his Blade Path achieve the last step?"
"Could it be... he’s using this to break the Martial Saint bottleneck?"
Ning Qi raised his eyebrows.
A strongman like the Blade Demon must have already reached the Celestial Being Perfection Realm and perhaps has been stuck there for a long time. This might be his method to break through, but Ning Qi was a bit pessimistic. His Sword Dao realm had long surpassed the Celestial Human Realm, having reached the realm where all things can be swords, but using that to break the Martial Saint bottleneck seemed unlikely.
However, he wasn’t assertive; perhaps the Blade Demon had other plans.
He was just a bit curious. If possible, it would be best to exchange insights.
Luo Wentian seemed somewhat worried:
"Jiu, considering the Blade Demon’s route, I’m afraid it won’t be long before he challenges you at True Martial Mountain. Do you feel prepared?"
The world’s many eyes were drawn to the Blade Demon’s affairs, but they did not know the undercurrents surging through the Great Yan’s states. The tension between the Imperial Court and the Demon Sect Southern Border erupted everywhere.
True Man Tianjian has not been defeated, which is a great deterrent to the Demon Sect and Southern Border.
If he is defeated by the Blade Demon, the deterrence would greatly diminish, and he feared that the Demon Sect Southern Border might, therefore, undertake other actions. After all, the True Martial Sect had been secretly assisting the Imperial Court, and the tension with the Demon Sect Southern Border was already irreconcilable.