Ding Bolin was a graceful and handsome man.
He could not quite figure it out. Why did this junior brother Chu before him, who in terms of appearance was even superior, seem to harbor such hostility toward him?
What surprised him even more was that during their registration, several very unusual spectators appeared beneath the stage.
Geng Tianhe, Kui Muquan, Zhao Xinghan—three of them arrived together!
This book was first published in full at 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞
These three were the top prodigies of the other three great sects, all contenders for the foremost position.
To put it simply, if the Dao Gate wished to secure the foremost title of the Eastern Continent this time, these three would be the greatest rivals!
Their joint appearance here naturally stirred up no small commotion, causing those nearby to turn their heads, whispering in discussion.
After Ding Bolin noticed this, he felt both honored and pressured!
"They actually value me so much, all coming to watch my match.""Is it that they wish to know their enemy as well as themselves?"
"So, not only do I view them as my final opponents, but they also think the same of me!"
Ding Bolin stood upon the stage with elegance, striving to present himself with dignity and grace, while within his heart there arose a sense of mutual admiration among heroes.
Yet at this very moment, he also felt somewhat troubled.
For he was already pondering how he ought to win.
"First, I must certainly win beautifully. I cannot lose face before these three!"
"Second, while winning beautifully, I must still conceal my true strength. I cannot expose too many of my trump cards."
"Their insight is far beyond that of ordinary men. From the slightest details, they can deduce much!"
"They came specifically for me, to understand me. It will be difficult for me to hide much in actual combat."
This brought Ding Bolin a measure of burden and pressure.
But when he glanced at Chu Huaixu, who stood opposite him, he secretly felt fortunate.
"Thankfully, this junior brother Chu is a Body Cultivator."
"And his cultivation is only at the Fourth Heaven of the First Realm."
"That makes things simpler."
He had indeed heard of the reputation the other had made in recent days, but he only regarded it as chatter for leisure.
A Body Cultivator not even at the Great Completion of the First Realm.
His dazzling performance was because his opponents… were not him!
Names like Lang Yue, Shen Miaoyun… he had never even heard of them.
He had not even heard of the Falling Sunset Sect and the Phantom Spirit Sect.
Once they finished registering their respective information, Chu Huaixu and Ding Bolin cupped their hands toward each other in salute.
Ding Bolin even stole a glance at Geng Tianhe and the others below with the corner of his eye.
Little did he know that they too were observing in secret—yet their target was that young man in black robes.
Geng Tianhe, upon seeing Kui Muquan and Zhao Xinghan, was also somewhat dumbfounded.
"Why are those two here as well?"
But then he thought, perhaps they too had received instructions from their elders?
This only made him more certain that this sword cultivator named Chu Huaixu was by no means ordinary!
Yet the problem arose!
In each of their hearts appeared the same question mark: "Where is his sword?"
"Where is Chu Huaixu’s sword?"
The two on stage had already saluted each other, and under the guidance of two inner sect disciples, were completing the final preparations.
Yet he still did not draw out his sword?
"Could it be that he dares to be this arrogant?"
"Or is it that he truly has such confidence?" The three were puzzled.
The problem was that the vast majority of sword cultivators devoted their entire lives passionately to the sword.
If a sword cultivator did not use a sword, how could he fight?
Soon, the answer was revealed on stage.
After suffering humiliation in the casino, Chu Huaixu now had only one thought—to strike Ding Bolin from the 《Kill List》.
Thus, he was focused and paid no heed to anything below the stage.
Of course, he was also well aware that Ding Bolin was no nameless figure.
A Dao Gate prodigy recognized among the ranks, his strength was no small matter.
Therefore…
"Are you not all curious about when I will use a technique?" Chu Huaixu thought.
"Then, as you wish!"
Body Cultivator, full release—activate!
He still did not draw upon the spiritual energy within his Spirit Embryo Secret Store, but continued to present himself as a mere Body Cultivator.
Yet at this moment, his speed was incomparably astonishing.
Profound-rank Technique—【Flying Profound】!
The explosive power of Chu Huaixu’s body was fully manifested in this instant.
For low-level cultivators, their spiritual energy was limited.
Even when relying on it to increase their speed, they might not run faster than him, powered by pure flesh alone…
There was no helping it—whether Chu Huaixu or Xu Ziqing, neither could be judged by the standards of ordinary Body Cultivators.
Ding Bolin’s life-bound weapon was a black spear—he was actually a Spear Cultivator.
At this moment, he was utterly shocked by the speed of this junior brother Chu.
In his eyes, the man seemed to vanish all of a sudden!
"Bang——!" It was still that familiar martial strike.
Ding Bolin blocked with the shaft of his spear, and nearly failed to withstand it!
Caught too unprepared, he could not fully dissipate the terrifying force, and was forced back two steps.
Below the stage, Geng Tianhe and the others exchanged glances, their hearts shaken.
With their keen eyes, they naturally discerned something.
"This movement technique… should be of Profound-rank?"
"And it seems he has already mastered it, incomparably skillful!"
For an ordinary cultivator of the First Realm, a Profound-grade technique was far too difficult—being able to merely grasp its basics was already considered impressive.
They were well aware that this Profound-grade movement technique alone was enough for Chu Huaixu to break through obstacles and crush his opponents all the way through.
What surprised Geng Tianhe and the others even more was:
‘Wasn’t he supposed to be a sword cultivator?’
Why the hell did he turn out to be a body cultivator!
Damn it—there was actually an error in their intelligence!
On the arena, Ding Bolin, who wielded a spear, looked extremely grim.
After all, he was still a young man who cared about saving face.
The strongest prodigies from the other three great sects had all come to watch his match—and yet, he had been forced back two steps right at the start?
Ding Bolin even criticized himself harshly in his mind: ‘I deserve to die. I’ve practically lost all face for the Dao Gate!’
Of course, he wasn’t a fool—he could tell that Chu Huaixu’s movement technique was exceptionally formidable.
‘Profound-grade?’ he thought to himself.
‘Is this the trump card Junior Brother Chu had been hiding all along?’ Ding Bolin grew more cautious in his heart.
It was obvious—the opponent was far stronger than he had anticipated. He immediately put away his underestimation.
If he ended up being beaten into a miserable state, he’d truly want to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
Young people often had strange thoughts.
At this point, it felt like he was fighting on behalf of Geng Tianhe and the others!
Yet his opponent… was a fellow disciple of the Dao Gate.
Ding Bolin held his spear and watched the lingering afterimages before him, his eyes closely following them.
‘Junior Brother Chu, I was careless just now!’ he called out loudly.
On the surface, these words were directed at Chu Huaixu, but in truth, they were spoken to explain things to Geng Tianhe and the others.
‘But now, if you want to get close to me again, it won’t be so easy.’
Flames began to burn along his spear, and not just any flames—they were blue.
‘Junior Brother Chu, from here on out, you better be careful!’
At his feet, blue flames also began to ignite, converging into a ring that surrounded him.
‘With the blue flames here, no matter how fast his movement technique is, charging through this barrier will make him feel pain!’
‘Even if he’s a body cultivator, even if his life-bound spiritual artifact is that defensive robe, there’s no way he won’t feel anything!’
‘As long as he feels pain, a flaw will appear!’
Chu Huaixu looked at Ding Bolin and directly ignored the ring of fire on the ground.
His warm-up was over. He was ready to cross this name off the Kill List.
‘Because your name, from this moment on, will no longer appear on the Dao Gate’s gambling list!’
His speed suddenly accelerated.
Not just Ding Bolin, even Geng Tianhe and the others below the stage were all shocked.
‘No—this speed isn’t right! This isn’t just the entry-level; he’s at least achieved minor mastery of this Profound-grade movement technique!’
A cultivator of the First Realm, able to reach minor mastery in a Profound-grade technique?
This alone would put him among the top ranks within the Dao Gate!
As for Lang Yue of the Falling Sunset Sect, he could no longer even track Chu Huaixu’s position.
He understood clearly that he wasn’t even qualified to make the other party use a movement technique of this caliber!
Lang Yue’s mindset had completely calmed down.
‘Who could still say I lost shamefully or disgracefully?’
‘If you’ve got what it takes, you go up there and fight him!’
On the arena, Chu Huaixu had already dashed into the ring of fire.
He had no idea what this blue flame was exactly.
‘It’s actually kind of something, huh!’
His physique had astonishing defense, and coupled with his Black-Gold Robe, even with both pushed to the limit, he wasn’t entirely without sensation.
—Whoa now, that’s actually pretty toasty!
Ding Bolin’s eyes widened in disbelief—he hadn’t expected his opponent to charge in completely unscathed.
Chu Huaixu paused briefly, then once again turned into an afterimage.
The sensation… it felt like… he had merely faked a move?
Ding Bolin began to look left and right, wildly swinging his spear. He had no idea from which direction the attack would come next.
The flames underfoot began to spread inward toward the center.
Ding Bolin intended to engulf the entire area in fire!
Unfortunately, someone was faster than the flames.
“Bang—!” A palm struck directly against his back.
Immediately after, it was his left shoulder.
Then next, his right arm.
Chu Huaixu was targeting every flaw in his defense.
‘I don’t know why… but I feel like he shouldn’t be like this. He seems… mentally chaotic?’ Even Dead Fox was surprised in his heart.
In just a few breaths’ time, Chu Huaixu landed three palm strikes.
The sound of bones cracking echoed out.
As Ding Bolin’s expression grew increasingly contorted, he was struck by yet another palm and sent flying.
Victory was decided.
Cries of astonishment erupted from the audience below.
Ding Bolin, a name with significant reputation, was defeated just like that?
Defeated decisively—utterly overwhelmed.
Geng Tianhe and the others exchanged glances, finding that all their expressions were similar—they were all frowning slightly.
Their figures gradually disappeared into the crowd, making their way outward.
Soon, the three who had already completed their matches for the day each headed toward the elegant courtyards where their elders resided.
At that moment, Situ Cheng was holding a wine gourd, drinking once more.
The Dao Gate’s Little Martial Uncle Jiang Zhi looked down on him and refused to engage in a sword duel, leaving him feeling extremely bored.
‘Truly dull,’ thought Situ Cheng.
After Geng Tianhe returned, he set the jade gourd aside and asked, ‘Did you win?’
‘Yes.’ Geng Tianhe nodded, then stepped forward and saluted. ‘Elder Situ, it seems our intel was wrong.’
‘Hmm? What intel?’ He paused in confusion.
‘This disciple went to observe Chu Huaixu’s match today.’
‘Is that so? Go on, tell me about it.’ Situ Cheng was somewhat curious about what kind of sword intent the young man had comprehended.
There were many types of sword intent in the world, each differing in rank and strength. Some were powerful, others slightly weaker.
For instance, the Great River Sword Intent was considered quite outstanding.
But regardless of type, comprehending any true sword intent was far superior to so-called half-step sword intent.
‘Look at this kid, all anxious and flustered. He must be feeling the pressure now, huh?’
‘He really was too arrogant.’
He felt his goal had already been achieved—this was the effect he had wanted.
‘See? He’s all anxious again!’ Situ Cheng wore an expression like a prophet who had foreseen everything.
‘Take your time—no need to overreact.’ He was also worried that the kid might lose his Dao heart from panic, so he reminded him to stay calm.
Geng Tianhe looked at the smiling Situ Cheng and spoke:
‘Elder, this Chu Huaixu is not a sword cultivator at all—he’s a body cultivator!’