Chapter 193 – Bai Ze Appears with Seven Star Sword, Long Robes Dance as Flowers Fall

Luocheng High School, Martial Arts Arena.

“Sister Jiang, who do you think will win between Little Lu and Senior Dongliu?”

Although Jiang Qing had repeatedly stated that Jiang Dongliu was no match for Lu Chen, reputation carries weight like a tree casts its shadow.

Though Mu Xiaoye had never been to Clear River Dao Academy, she had heard many stories about Jiang Dongliu as the former top Agent of Qingzhou Shanhai Division.

Innate Sword Physique, born at the Qi Condensation Stage.

Foundation Establishment at fourteen, Sword Intent comprehension at sixteen, Golden Core achievement at twenty-two.

Jiang Dongliu’s confidence had never been mere fantasy, but rather the result of comparisons with countless peers.

While others were still contemplating how to cultivate and what path to take, Jiang Dongliu had already advanced far, far ahead.

Moreover, Jiang Dongliu not only possessed terrifying innate talent but also came from a long-established cultivation family.

With the Jiang Family’s resources, he had received the best training since childhood.

Otherwise, no matter how exceptional his talent, achieving Golden Core cultivation in his early twenties would have been extremely difficult.

Talent, family background, Dao heritage…

From the very beginning, Jiang Dongliu and others weren’t even starting from the same point.

And these were only part of Jiang Dongliu’s advantages.

His current additional advantage was the ability of “Shanhai Palm Scripture.”

The Shanhai Mythical Beast he had contracted with was none other than Bai Ze, a renowned Auspicious Beast recorded in the Mythical Beast Compendium.

Coupled with the ‘Shanhai Palm Scripture’ ability,

even if Lu Chen possessed a Dao Integration Realm Sword Domain, defeating Jiang Dongliu would be extremely difficult.

Therefore, Mu Xiaoye couldn’t understand why Jiang Qing was so confident in Lu Chen –

so confident that she had repeatedly tried to stop the sparring match between Lu Chen and Jiang Dongliu.

After pondering Mu Xiaoye’s question for a moment, Jiang Qing said: “Actually, the odds between Little Dong and Classmate Lu are about fifty-fifty. But in my view, this sparring session brings only harm and no benefit to Little Dong.”

“If he wins, at most his Dao Heart becomes slightly more firm, with no substantial gains.”

“But if he loses, especially to someone younger and less cultivated, the impact on his Dao Heart would be significant.”

“Winning brings little gain, losing means devastating loss.”

“That’s why I never considered this an equal match and tried my best to stop it.”

“Unfortunately, Little Dong… is still too proud, too proud to allow himself even a hint of retreat.”

“Just watch – the intensity of this match will far exceed what you imagine.”

“Classmate Lu’s current strength is definitely much more terrifying than you think.”

Hearing this, Mu Xiaoye immediately looked toward the arena with curiosity.

Meanwhile, Jiang Dongliu, who had already arrived in the arena, looked at Lu Chen across from him and said calmly: “Junior Lu, though this is just a sparring match, I hope you’ll take it seriously.”

“After all… I won’t be going easy on you.”

As he finished speaking, a silver-white long sword suddenly appeared before Jiang Dongliu.

The sword glowed with flowing light, its blade covered with patterns resembling constellations.

Most notably, this sword… had no hilt!

With just one glance, Lu Chen determined this was a third-grade Spirit Sword.And this wasn’t even the most crucial part. The most critical aspect was that this sword seemed to have matching subsidiary swords.

Six similar silver-white spirit swords hovered around Jiang Dongliu’s back, encircling him.

“The Seven-Star Spirit Sword—this is one of the Shanhai Bureau’s twelve Dragon-Slaying Swords, similar to the Ink Dragon Sword in your hand, Junior Lu.”

“The greatest feature of my sword lies in its nature as seven swords in one, mutually connected as mother and subsidiary blades.”

“To master this sword properly, one must possess extremely high attainment in the Sword Control Technique.”

“Junior Lu… be careful.”

As his words fell, the Seven-Star Swords surrounding Jiang Dongliu shot toward Lu Chen.

Since this was merely a sparring match, Lu Chen didn’t intend to end the battle quickly.

Instead, he wanted to test Jiang Dongliu’s swordsmanship.

After all, up to this point, he hadn’t really crossed blades with other sword cultivators.

Now that he had finally encountered a worthy opponent, Lu Chen naturally wanted to properly experience the techniques of other sword cultivators.

Under Jiang Dongliu’s control, the seven Seven-Star Swords flew toward Lu Chen in a special formation.

With a wave of his hand, Lu Chen summoned the Ink Dragon Sword to appear around him, which then flew toward the Seven-Star Swords.

At this moment, Lu Chen chose to confront Jiang Dongliu head-on in a contest of sword control techniques.

Trying to block Jiang Dongliu’s seven swords with just one sword was undoubtedly quite challenging.

Therefore, Lu Chen didn’t let the Ink Dragon Sword fly too far, keeping it within three steps of himself.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of explosive clashes rang out.

The Ink Dragon Sword under Lu Chen’s control transformed into streams of black light, continuously crossing paths with Jiang Dongliu’s Seven-Star Swords.

Despite being outnumbered seven to one, the Ink Dragon Sword actually didn’t fall behind.

This was because during the collisions, the Ink Dragon Sword demonstrated greater power than the Seven-Star Swords.

Each impact sent the Seven-Star Swords flying far away.

This meant the Seven-Star Swords needed some time to return to the fray.

But trying to block all seven swords simultaneously was undoubtedly extremely difficult.

Thus, Lu Chen had to start shifting his position.

The Seven-Star Swords moved at incredible speed, their attacks resembling streams of silver-white light constantly crisscrossing around Lu Chen.

For an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, merely dodging these Seven-Star Swords would be challenging enough—whether they could even see the trajectories of the attacks was questionable.

But Lu Chen was different.

Through his Azure Lotus Eyes, the speed of these Seven-Star Swords appeared slowed down countless times.

Moreover, his Azure Lotus Eyes could do more than just perceive the attack speed of the Seven-Star Swords.

Lu Chen could also see the divine soul threads covering the Seven-Star Swords.

These threads extended all the way back, ultimately converging on Jiang Dongliu’s body.

Without a doubt, this was how Jiang Dongliu precisely controlled the Seven-Star Swords.

Dividing one’s mind seven ways—this wasn’t an ability ordinary people could master.

This required not only that the cultivator’s divine soul cultivation reach a certain level, but also that their control over the divine soul reach astonishing heights.

With just one exchange, Lu Chen could feel how troublesome Jiang Dongliu was.

In terms of Sword Control Technique cultivation, he was indeed considerably inferior to Jiang Dongliu.

At the very least, Lu Chen couldn’t achieve such precise control over so many flying swords.

However, sword control technique was just a minor category—nothing of great consequence.

After initially experiencing Jiang Dongliu’s methods, Lu Chen prepared to get slightly more serious.

“Roar!”With a resounding dragon’s roar, an immense pressure instantly emanated from Lu Chen’s surroundings.

This aura felt tangible, immediately sweeping away the Seven-Star Swords around him.

Soon, a black true dragon dozens of meters long hovered above Lu Chen’s head.

Fortunately, the group had anticipated that the commotion from their spar would be substantial, so they had chosen a special arena—the training ground within Luocheng High School’s unique Mystic Realm: Five Springs Mountain.

Though called an arena, it was essentially a vast valley.

Here, Lu Chen and Jiang Dongliu could fight at full strength without worrying about affecting the surroundings.

Watching the black dragon above Lu Chen, Jiang Dongliu recalled his Seven-Star Sword, his face alight with excitement.

He sensed pure Sword Intent emanating from the dragon.

Jiang Dongliu had witnessed Sword Intent transforming into a dragon before, but others’ creations lacked a soul despite their form.

Lu Chen’s Dragon Transformation Sword Intent was different.

His “dragon” was flesh and blood, its eyes strikingly vivid.

If not for witnessing it himself, Jiang Dongliu would have sworn it was a real dragon.

Lu Chen vanished, reappearing atop the dragon’s head.

As he stood there, dark clouds gathered around the black dragon.

The bright valley quickly dimmed.

Drip, drip… whoosh!

Rain poured from the clouds, shrouding the valley in a watery veil, turning everything hazy.

Amid the downpour, thunder rumbled powerfully within the clouds.

Standing on the dragon’s head, Lu Chen smiled at Jiang Dongliu below and said, “Senior Dongliu, we’ve tested enough. It’s time you showed your true skills.”

Hearing this, Jiang Dongliu chuckled and recalled his Seven-Star Sword.

His casual clothes shifted, transforming into a silver-white Daoist robe that fluttered without wind.

Serious now, Jiang Dongliu truly embodied the image of a peerless sword immortal—handsome, with flowing black hair, clad in Daoist robes, backed by seven Flying Swords.

He seemed like an immortal descended from a scroll, ethereal and otherworldly.

It was hard to believe this elegant figure usually acted frivolously, like a rogue.

But Jiang Dongliu wasn’t donning the robe for show.

His Starry Robe and Seven-Star Sword were a matched set of Magic Treasures.

“Junior Lu Chen, I’ve long heard of your ‘Dragon Transformation Sword Intent.’ Seeing it today, it lives up to its reputation.”

“Since you’ve said so, I can’t hold back either.”

With that, Jiang Dongliu released his Sword Intent.

A brilliant Milky Way materialized above him.

Bathed in starlight, his form grew illusory.

The seven Flying Swords returned to his Starry Robe, arranging into seven orderly stars.

Witnessing this, Lu Chen was deeply astonished.Through his Azure Lotus Eyes, Jiang Dongliu no longer appeared as an ordinary being of flesh and blood, but rather as an existence straddling the boundary between reality and illusion.

This was the first time he had witnessed such a phenomenon.

For a moment, Lu Chen’s dark clouds and Jiang Dongliu’s silver river each occupied one side of the valley, locked in a standoff.

Witnessing this scene, Shen Feiyang beside Yu Tianqi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Uncle Tian, are these two really eighteen and twenty-two years old? Compared to them, have I been wasting my years?”

Yu Tianqi didn’t respond directly but calmly nodded and said, “As genuine as they come.”

Hearing this, Shen Feiyang clutched his chest as if struck by a heavy blow.

What he didn’t know was that this still wasn’t the full extent of Lu Chen and Jiang Dongliu’s true capabilities.

So far, Lu Chen had only employed techniques at the entry-level of the Dao, without even unleashing his Sword Domain.

Jiang Dongliu was in a similar position. Although he hadn’t stepped into the Harmony Realm, he possessed numerous techniques of his own.

Neither the blessings bestowed upon him by the Heavenly Dao nor his Classic of Mountains and Seas Mythical Beast, Bai Ze, had been brought into play yet.

Their current sparring remained confined to the realm of Sword Cultivators.

They were merely testing each other’s Dao, not truly engaging in combat.

Even so, the power they displayed was already beyond what their peers could fathom.

Under the starry sky, Jiang Dongliu gazed at Lu Chen in the distance and said with a smile, “Junior Lu, be careful.”

As his words fell, Lu Chen noticed the stars in the distant sky growing increasingly bright.

No, it wasn’t the stars brightening—it was the countless sword qi, resembling stars, drawing nearer to him.

In response, the black dragon beneath Lu Chen let out a furious roar.

In the next moment, an invisible barrier materialized before Lu Chen.

Bang, bang, bang…

A torrent of starry sword qi struck the invisible spiritual power barrier, producing clear metallic clinks.

The stars shattered one after another, scattering into glimmers of starlight that fell to the ground.

Yet even these scattered fragments of light, upon landing, inflicted significant damage on the valley below.

To evade the dispersed sword qi, Yu Tianqi had no choice but to deploy his protective Qi.

His primary concern was shielding Shen Feiyang and Bian Shouyi beside him.

Though both were geniuses in their own right, their cultivation was still too shallow.

They had only reached the Perfection stage of Qi Condensation.

Even these scattered rays of sword qi were merely unintended remnants of Jiang Dongliu’s combat prowess.

Yet such remnants were more than enough to cause considerable harm to Shen Feiyang and Bian Shouyi.

Though somewhat humiliating, without Yu Tianqi’s protection, the two truly lacked even the qualification to spectate.

Meanwhile, under the onslaught of Jiang Dongliu’s sword qi, which fell like a meteor shower, the spiritual power barrier surrounding Lu Chen finally gave way.

Bang!

As the barrier shattered, a flood of starry sword qi surged toward Lu Chen and the black dragon beneath him.

Yet when the sword qi closed within ten meters of Lu Chen, it strangely dissipated.

Not shattered, but vanished.

Observing his suddenly extinguished sword qi, Jiang Dongliu stared solemnly at the space before Lu Chen.

There, a faint, ethereal Spirit Sword hovered not far from Lu Chen.After its appearance, a desolate aura enveloped Lu Chen.

The reason Jiang Dongliu’s Starry Sword Qi dissipated was due to this suddenly emerging Ephemeral White Spirit Sword.

Not only that, but the environment around Lu Chen also transformed after the sword’s appearance.

The moist soil beneath him gradually cracked and dried.

Countless trees seemed to lose their vitality, withering into barren trunks within moments.

The affected area spanned five hundred meters around Lu Chen.

Witnessing this scene of universal stillness and his Starry Sword Qi utterly failing to reach Lu Chen, Jiang Dongliu had no choice but to retreat beyond the Sword Domain.

“Is this the Sword Domain of the Harmony Realm? Truly a power beyond conventional limits.”

Sensing the energy within that nirvanic land, Jiang Dongliu couldn’t help but marvel.

Indeed, what Lu Chen was manifesting was the unique Domain of the Law-Extinguishing Sword Intent… the Forbidden Land of Annihilation.

Within this Sword Domain, all external Divine Abilities below the Harmony Realm would be affected, losing their original functions.

Though Jiang Dongliu’s Starry Sword Qi contained Sword Intent and was enhanced by the Seven-Star Sword, it remained merely a Dao-Grade Sword Intent—precisely what the Forbidden Land of Annihilation countered.

The best way to break this Sword Domain was undoubtedly to abandon Divine Abilities and attack with pure physical means.

But for Cultivators, this was undoubtedly troublesome, as Divine Abilities formed the foundation of most practitioners’ strength. Without these methods, they’d be no different from toothless tigers.

Despite encountering the Nirvana Sword Domain for the first time, Jiang Dongliu quickly deduced its function based on available clues and contemplated possible countermeasures.

“Bai Ze…”

At Jiang Dongliu’s call, a mythical beast with a tiger’s head and dragon’s body emerged from the Mountains and Seas Scroll, arriving at his side.

Though no words were exchanged, Bai Ze immediately understood Jiang Dongliu’s intention.

White mist began swirling around Bai Ze, rapidly spreading toward Lu Chen’s Sword Domain.

While the Nirvana Sword Domain blocked most of the mist, traces of moisture still permeated the forbidden land.

Observing this, Jiang Dongliu seemed to discover something and declared: “Junior Lu, if I’m not mistaken, your Sword Domain isolates Cultivators’ Divine Souls from perceiving heaven and earth’s Spiritual Power, thereby achieving this state of universal stillness.”

“To break through this, one would either need a Divine Soul powerful enough to resist your Sword Domain’s influence, or be a pure Body Cultivator.”

“I must admit, your Sword Domain is quite troublesome—even I find it somewhat headache-inducing.”

Lu Chen offered no response to Jiang Dongliu’s words, for they were correct.

His Nirvana Sword Domain fundamentally relied on the power of the Divine Soul. Its annihilating effect merely blocked Cultivators’ channels for perceiving Spiritual Power within the Domain.

This explained why the Nirvana Sword Domain could only restrict external Divine Abilities while remaining ineffective against internal ones.

Having realized this, Jiang Dongliu added: “If my speculation holds, your Sword Domain might even suppress the Protective Qi of Golden Core Stage Cultivators, temporarily nullifying it or compressing it to mere surface-level maintenance.””If any other Golden Core Stage cultivator encountered this situation, they might truly find it difficult to handle.”

“But unfortunately, you’ve met me…”

As the words fell, Jiang Dongliu raised his hand.

His Starry Robe not only began dancing again, but the symbols representing stellar power on the robe emitted brilliant starlight.

As petals drifted down around Jiang Dongliu, a massive peach tree appeared unnoticed within the Milky Way above.

Then, the scattered petals continuously gathered, eventually forming a White Divine Sword.

Standing beneath this giant sword, Jiang Dongliu smiled and said, “Even if your Sword Domain can isolate a cultivator’s Divine Soul power, I imagine the speed of this nirvana must be related to the grade and quantity of the Divine Soul.”

“I wonder if you can completely annihilate this divine sword formed by the power of my Heavenly Path Golden Core?”

With these words, Jiang Dongliu sent the divine sword flying toward Lu Chen.

As soon as the divine sword entered Lu Chen’s Nirvana Sword Domain, it began to continuously disintegrate.

However, this disintegration didn’t happen instantly, but occurred bit by bit.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the divine sword was actually composed of layer upon layer of Peach Blossom Sword Qi.

Although the Nirvana Sword Domain could sever the Divine Soul power Jiang Dongliu left on the divine sword, this still required a process.

To use an analogy, the way the Nirvana Sword Domain destroyed the divine sword was similar to peeling an onion layer by layer.

But this meant the Nirvana Sword Domain needed time to break down the divine sword.

After crossing the five-hundred-meter area, the originally hundred-meter silver-white divine sword was reduced to about ten meters in size.

The remaining parts transformed into numerous petals, scattering across the ground.

Facing the approaching divine sword, the black dragon beneath Lu Chen immediately swatted at it with its claw.

Boom!

As the dragon claw struck the sword body, the already weakened divine sword shattered, transforming into countless petals that dissipated between heaven and earth.

Although he easily blocked this attack, Lu Chen’s expression became extremely serious.

Because he knew this was merely Jiang Dongliu’s probing attack.

And through this attack, Jiang Dongliu had already found a way to break through the Nirvana Sword Domain.

Thinking of this, the blood within Lu Chen’s body surged with rare excitement.

This feeling of meeting one’s match was something he hadn’t experienced for quite some time.

A man’s reputation is well deserved—Jiang Dongliu, the former top Agent of Qingzhou, truly lived up to his fame.

Under Lu Chen’s serious gaze, Jiang Dongliu was already gathering a new attack.

But this time, he wasn’t relying solely on his own Sword Intent.

Instead… he was borrowing Bai Ze’s power.

The power of the Heavenly Path Golden Core alone couldn’t neutralize Lu Chen’s Nirvana Sword Domain.

But what if combined with Bai Ze’s destiny power?

Both Lu Chen and Jiang Dongliu clearly knew the answer to this question.

(End of Chapter)