Chapter 1677 (Raw 1689): Greeting of Swords' Edges
"Martial Uncle, why did you come along?" Ling Yu asked, feeling it was weird.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and replied, "After sleeping for so many days, I have to move my body a little. Furthermore, since coming to this Purple Flame Sect, I have not properly checked out the place yet. Cut the crap and lead the way."
The gray-clad disciple felt shocked at this scene and thought to himself, Where did this white-clad person come from?
With just a few words, Martial Uncle Ling Yu really kept quiet.
After all, Ling Yu was the strongest core disciple, and he was very young, just around twenty years old.
Ling Yu might very possibly become the youngest true inheritor in the Purple Flame Sect's history.
Furthermore, Ling Yu had Ye Zifeng, the anchor of the sect, as his master. Hence, he had a connection to the legendary Pan Huang. His future was filled with unlimited potential.
Within the sect, several of the Elders did not even dare to get upset with Ling Yu. When they met him, they politely greeted him as Martial Uncle.
However, Ling Yu did not even dare to show his temper before this white-clad person. This was truly strange, confusing that gray-clad disciple.
The three of them quickly traveled through the mountain roads. Soon, they arrived at a solitary peak surrounded by clouds and fog.
There was a plain and simple pavilion beside an old tree on the peak. Many Purple Flame Sect disciples had gathered there.
Two Purple Flame Sect disciples lay at the side with pale complexions and pained expressions.
There was a purple-haired youth on the long bench before the pavilion, leading many core disciples wearing the Divine Firmament Sect's uniform, all of whom had smiles on their faces.
They all gazed at an arena hovering high in the sky in front, shrouded by fog and clouds.
Currently, two people fought intensely in the arena—one male and one female. The male was a core disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect, while the female was a core disciple of the Purple Flame Sect. The female should be the Senior Sister Bai that the gray-clad disciple mentioned.
"Greeting of Swords' Edges!"
These words were written on a stone stele in ancient calligraphy at the entrance. Xiao Chen thought about it for a while and roughly understood the situation now.
"Big Brother Lu, Big Brother Lan, what happened to you two?!"
When Ling Yu saw the two weakened people at the pavilion, his expression changed greatly, and he charged in with a flash.
"Little Martial Uncle, didn't we say not to come?" the two said with irritation on their faces.
"As the strongest core disciple, how can I not show up in such a situation?"
However, Ling Yu did not care. He checked on the two's injuries, and his expression immediately darkened.
Electricity coursed through their bodies, injuring their meridians and bones. They would not be able to recover within two months. How ruthless!
"Feng Yu, you bastard! Do you need to be that ruthless?!" Ling Yu became indignant, shouting angrily as he looked at that purple-haired youth leading the Divine Firmament Sect's group.
The purple-haired youth smiled faintly. "Both our sects have the Greeting of Swords' Edges to make it easy for the disciples of our sects to exchange moves. Fists and legs have no feelings; sabers and swords have no eyes. In an exchange of moves, it is hard to avoid some loss of control. Brother Ling, why so angry?!"
"Why all the shouting? It was a fair competition. I already showed mercy; what more do you want?" The Divine Firmament Sect core disciple that injured the Purple Flame Sect disciples stood up and gazed at Ling Yu in disdain, utterly remorseless.
The Greeting of Swords' Edges. The various sects all had similar places.
This was where a sect established its pride. No one would remove the Greeting of Swords' Edges. Doing so would be a sign of weakness, a humiliation to the sect.
All the other sects would laugh at them and look down on them.
The purpose of setting up such a place was to encourage and motivate the sect disciples. In the world of cultivators, the law of the jungle prevailed: the strong reigned and the weak were humiliated.
However, in recent years, the Purple Flame Sect disciples rarely headed to the Divine Firmament Sect's Greeting of Swords' Edges. It was usually the other party coming to humiliate them.
This time, the other party came prepared.
Clearly, the Divine Firmament Sect disciples wanted to deal a blow to the Purple Flame Sect disciples to prevent them from entering the Fiendish Demon Battlefield two months later, thus reducing the competition.
The Divine Firmament Sect disciples' ruthlessness was unexpected.
"Boom!"
As these people spoke, an electric light struck that exquisite female ferociously, sending her flying out of the arena.
Immediately, startled gasps rang out. Rage and reluctance appeared in the Purple Flame Sect disciples' eyes.
Three consecutive defeats!
Another three consecutive defeats. Aside from occasional exceptions, when the Divine Firmament Sect core disciples fought the Purple Flame Sect core disciples, the Purple Flame Sect's side normally ended up with three consecutive defeats.
The reason was none other than the Divine Firmament Sect's development of the younger generation of disciples, which surpassed the Purple Flame Sect's in recent years.
The Divine Firmament Sect's momentum was extremely ferocious. Nearly every year, they had new geniuses and outstanding talents appearing, firmly suppressing the Purple Flame Sect.
"Little Martial Uncle, who told you to come? Weren't you in closed-door cultivation?"
When the exquisite female saw Ling Yu, she spoke with a reproachful tone. Aside from that tone, her words were like those of the other two senior brothers, filled with concern.
Feng Yu, the Divine Firmament Sect's purple-haired youth who held the upper hand, smiled faintly and said, "Stop wasting time, putting on an act of sweetness for each other. We are tired of seeing that already. Ling Yu, it is your turn. Let me think. Who should I send so you can win one match to regain some face for your Purple Flame Sect?"
The moment Feng Yu said that, the Divine Firmament Sect core disciples all started laughing.
This was how it had been for the past few years. After three consecutive defeats, Ling Yu would make an appearance and win one match. After that, this purple-haired youth would enter the arena as a climax and defeat Ling Yu.
Such a farce happened nearly every few months.
There had never been any exception. In the Black Cave Mountain blessed land, the Little Thunder Saber Feng Yu was like Ling Yu's nemesis, firmly suppressing him.
"Hehe! Senior Brother, let me do it. Perhaps, this time, you might not even need to make a move." The Divine Firmament Sect disciple who injured the two Purple Flame Sect disciples mocked again, evincing no fear.
The Little Thunder Saber Feng Yu showed a faint smile from the very beginning, putting on the appearance of having full control of the situation at all times. He said, "Brother Ling Yu, please."
Ling Yu clenched his fist tightly. Even though he knew it was a trap, under such circumstances, he had no choice but to let the other party lead him around by the nose.
Junior Brother Fang, be careful. This Ling Yu probably had some kind of fortuitous encounter recently. I can tell from his aura that his strength improved significantly. The Little Thunder Saber Feng Yu secretly sent a voice projection to his junior brother.
Senior Brother, rest assured. I'm not that foolish. This fellow must have obtained some natural treasure. However, he has not completely refined it yet. He will definitely not be Senior Brother's match. I'll help Senior Brother test him out first.
These people were all core disciples of Rank 4 sects. Although the Divine Firmament Sect's people were arrogant and liked to gasconade, they were not fools.
Feng Yu's heart immediately settled down, no longer worried. Continuing to look at Ling Yu, he prompted, "Brother Ling Yu, what's wrong? My junior brother already entered the arena. Could it be that you don't even have the courage to face him?"
When Xiao Chen saw all this, he wanted to make a move to stop Ling Yu. However, Ling Yu could not hold his temper. He leaped up and landed on the arena.
"This child," Xiao Chen sighed to himself. However, he understood, as well. After all, Ling Yu was young; he could not truly endure the humiliation or disregard it.
In this situation, Ling Yu should endure this humiliation first.
After Ling Yu absorbed all of the Life Juice Source and trained properly with Xiao Chen, waiting for his strength to truly improve, he could go to the Divine Firmament Sect's Greeting of Swords' Edges and return the humiliation ten times—even one hundred times—over.
Ling Yu could deflate the other party's sharpness in one go.
That would be better than Ling Yu feeling resentful and helpless as he went over to that arena.
"The Divine Firmament Sect core disciple Fang Yun! Brother Ling Yu, do give me your advice!"
[TL Note: The name Fang Yun had been used before in the novel. This is likely another reused name for a new and likely insignificant character.]
The Divine Firmament Sect disciple performed a cupped-fist salute and bowed on the arena.
"Purple Flame Sect core disciple Ling Yu! Do give me your advice!"
When Ling Yu saw the smile on the other party's face, he could not control the rage in his heart. Right after he spoke, he punched.
The punch Ling Yu launched in anger contained extremely great might. The fist wind produced sonic booms, the piercing screams filling the surroundings.
The Little Thunder Saber Feng Yu nodded slightly. His judgment was right. This Ling Yu's strength had truly improved significantly.
However, everything was still within Feng Yu's control.
Forewarned that Ling Yu's strength had greatly increased, Fang Yun was not too shocked.
Fang Yu's figure flashed and left a lingering electric afterimage, avoiding the blow.
The strength that Ling Yu displayed in the arena made the Purple Flame Sect disciples' eyes light up. They could not help focusing their gazes on the arena once more.
Although Ling Yu was angry, he did not lose his rationality. He wanted to end the battle quickly and conserve his strength.
After that, Ling Yu would fight the Little Thunder Saber Feng Yu and avenge all the past humiliations.
Due to the golden Life Juice Source from Xiao Chen, Ling Yu's strength had increased greatly over the past few days. Now, he was very confident of defeating Feng Yu.
Xiao Chen felt somewhat shocked. This little martial nephew of his truly surpassed his expectations.
While Ling Yu's Fist Technique looked fierce and brutal, in reality, he put the force to good use. Every time he attacked, he did not waste much Veritable Essence Energy.
Ling Yu's movements were not impressive, but they slowly drove the Divine Firmament Sect's Fang Yun into a corner.
This prevented Fang Yun from launching attacks. He might not even have a chance to bring out his full strength, suffering a humiliating defeat.
Interesting. His improvements are truly extraordinarily great, Xiao Chen thought to himself. Perhaps, this time, Ling Yu might be able to create a miracle.