Chapter 359: Chapter 359, Qin Guan
For three days, Chu Ming stayed in the courtyard, carefully contemplating his swordsmanship insights over the past three months. It was not until the fourth day that he finally paused.
Afterward, Chu Ming started to deduce the Ninth Layer of the "Pure Essence Sword Qi Technique." Originally, the "Pure Essence Sword Qi Technique" was a top-tier Profound level cultivation technique, but through Chu Ming’s deductions, the Eighth Layer had already entered the realm of an Earth level technique. Yet, this was still far from enough.
To match his current battle prowess, he needed to at least deduce the Ninth Layer of the "Pure Essence Sword Qi Technique."
With the experience of deducing the Eighth Layer, Chu Ming found it easier to deduce the Ninth Layer, although the process was still not simple.
Deducing the Ninth Layer was equivalent to creating an Earth level cultivation technique, the difficulty was evident.
While Chu Ming was immersed in deducing his technique, two uninvited guests arrived at the Celestial Travel Sect.
...
A gust of wind swept through the air, a blue-robed youth followed behind a middle-aged man, walking slowly towards the Celestial Valley.
The middle-aged man seemed to tread upon air; every step made the space around him ripple like flowing water, retreating in all directions. He could easily pass through it.
The middle-aged man’s gaze was bright and piercing, the most striking aspect being the wooden sword on his back. The wooden sword was entirely red and made of ordinary peach wood, yet it inexplicably gave a sense of gravity as profound as Mount Tai.
The blue-robed youth’s expression was cold, with chiseled features akin to a sculpture. Every step they took covered ten thousand meters. In no time, they were in front of the Celestial Travel Sect.
"Guan’er, ahead is the premier sect of the Celestial Realm, the Celestial Travel Sect."
The green-robed middle-aged man’s gaze shot towards the Celestial Valley, speaking indifferently.
"The Celestial Realm is just a remote small domain, its so-called prodigies are nothing but worthless trash!"
A cold smile appeared at the corner of the blue-robed youth’s mouth, his face full of disdain.
With his talent, although he only belonged to the second tier within the Eastern Hundred Domains, the Celestial Realm hadn’t produced a single third-tier prodigy in two years. He indeed had the qualification to look down upon the younger generation of the Celestial Realm.
Hearing this, the green-robed middle-aged man’s mouth curved into a bitter smile but didn’t refute it. This trip with Qin Guan was meant for him to see the outside world, to understand that there is always someone better and mountains beyond mountains.
"Sigh, with your character, you’ll suffer sooner or later."
The green-robed middle-aged man sighed softly.
Qin Guan curled his lip but didn’t say anything further.
Buzz! Buzz!
At this moment, the void in front of them trembled, rippling like waves, and a figure emerged from the space. Clad in blue, with a silver longsword on his back, his face was serene.
"Visiting unannounced, hope you won’t mind, Brother Gu!"
The visitor was Ancient Sword Peak. Facing the green-robed middle-aged man, he smiled slightly.
In his youth, he had roamed the Eastern Hundred Domains, naturally making many friends among them was Wang Huan.
"Since Brother Wang is here, please come in."
Slash!
The sect protection array of Celestial Travel Sect instantly tore open a gap, and the three of them entered one after another.
...
In the courtyard, three days passed, Chu Ming frowned deeply. The deduction of the Ninth Layer of the "Pure Essence Sword Qi Technique" completely exceeded his expectations. The deduction of the Eighth Layer took him only two days, but for the Ninth Layer, three consecutive days barely yielded any results.
Whew!
"It seems the deduction of the Ninth Layer of the ’Pure Essence Sword Qi Technique’ can only be achieved slowly!"
Chu Ming exhaled deeply. He guessed that deducing the Eighth Layer within two days was inseparable from his previous accumulation.
Before deducing the Eighth Layer, he had already cultivated the "Pure Essence Sword Qi Technique" to its peak. Clearly, his current foundation was insufficient to deduce the Ninth Layer.
Knock, knock, knock!
While Chu Ming was deep in thought, a series of knocks on the door startled him awake.
"Coming!"
Chu Ming straightened his attire. Given his current prestige within the Celestial Travel Sect, ordinary matters would not reach him. However, if they did, it was never a trivial issue.
Creaaaak...
He opened the door. A middle-aged man dressed in the inner sect steward attire stood outside the wooden door.
"Brother Chu, the sect leader requests your presence at the Celestial Hall."
Seeing Chu Ming, the inner sect steward dared not delay and immediately bowed respectfully.
"Lead the way!"
Chu Ming said calmly.
"Yes."
Generally, the inner sect stewards of the Celestial Travel Sect were old disciples of the Guiyuan Realm’s First or Second Layer. These old disciples had average talent and found it extremely difficult to advance in martial arts. They should have left the Celestial Travel Sect but chose to stay to enjoy its resources by becoming inner sect stewards.
In fact, being an inner sect steward of the Celestial Travel Sect was a good position. Their usual tasks were mere administrative duties in exchange for considerable contribution points. Moreover, cultivating within the Celestial Travel Sect was very peaceful, with no threats to their lives.
"I wonder what matters the sect leader wants to discuss this time?"
On the way, Chu Ming watched as disciples moved towards the Celestial Hall, asking curiously.
"Brother Chu, you have been in seclusion and may not know. A few days ago, two people from the Sword Domain arrived, one of whom is a young man who claimed he would challenge all the prodigies of the Celestial Travel Sect. At this moment, all the senior and junior disciples are gathering to show their support."
The inner sect steward did not conceal the information as it was no secret.
"Oh, how is the challenge going?"
Chu Ming’s eyes flashed with interest. The Sword Domain was renowned within the Eastern Hundred Domains for its powerful martial prowess and countless prodigies. During each Profound List competition, the Sword Domain occupied at least five spots.
It’s said that ninety percent of martial artists in the Sword Domain are swordsmen, making it the true battlefield for swordsmanship.
Chu Ming had always hoped to visit the Sword Domain during his training, but he didn’t expect a prodigy from the Sword Domain to come to the Celestial Travel Sect. This piqued his interest.
The inner sect steward’s face was slightly embarrassed but honest, "That prodigy from the Sword Domain is incredibly strong. With just one move, he severely injured Brother Mo Ling and has continuously defeated over a dozen true disciples. He is likely challenging Brother Zuo Fenglei now."
He understood that although both he and Mo Ling were strong Guiyuan Realm martial artists, Mo Ling’s fighting prowess was significantly superior. If Qin Guan could defeat Mo Ling with one strike, killing him would be effortless.
"One move defeated Mo Ling?"
Excitement filled Chu Ming’s eyes. The prodigies of the Celestial Travel Sect were still too weak to interest him. At this moment, he wanted to test his achievements over the last three months, and the prodigies from the Sword Domain were excellent opponents.
...
In front of the Celestial Hall, the inner sect disciples had gathered in a crowd, their exclamations frequently rising. Through the throngs of people loomed a spacious stone arena.
The arena was a hundred meters wide on each side, and currently, two figures were rapidly clashing and moving, the sounds of their collisions resounded continuously.