Chapter 227 Huge Harvest

Chapter 227: Chapter 211: Huge Harvest

"Hahaha! What a satisfying battle to watch!"

Song Mingke’s aged but hearty laughter echoed over the Martial Arts Arena like a great bell.

In a flash, he appeared beside Chen Yue.

A heaven-piercing Sword Intent erupted from his body, instantly stirring the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in a radius of several hundred feet. It formed a violent Sword Momentum, an invisible dome that enveloped the entire Martial Arts Arena.

The Sword Momentum wasn’t harmful, yet it carried a suffocating pressure, as if it could come crashing down at any moment.

Song Mingke raised his head, his gaze like two tangible blades sweeping over Bei Sujian and the others on the Observation Platform.

Song Mingke knew exactly what Bei Sujian and his group were thinking. If they dared to make a move, he wouldn’t mind slaughtering every Liuyun Sword Sect disciple present.

Feeling the terrifying Sword Momentum that enveloped the arena, the faces of Bei Sujian and the others grew even more grim, but no one dared to make a single move.

Their high level of restraint was not only because Song Mingke would truly act without restraint and trigger an all-out war between the two sects. The thousand-plus Liuyun Sword Sect disciples gathered around the Martial Arts Arena were also a significant deterrent.

Before this, no one had expected Chen Yue to be able to defeat the entire Sword Heart Ranking on his own.

They hadn’t placed any restrictions on disciples coming to watch.

But now, these disciples had become their shackles.

With Song Mingke’s cultivation, if his Sword Intent were to draw upon the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to form a Sword Momentum and strike, ordinary disciples would be utterly unable to resist.

If Song Mingke were to unleash a single strike on the disciples in the Sword Heart Ranking section, at least half of the ranking’s prodigies would be killed or wounded.

This was a price the Liuyun Sword Sect could not afford to pay.

Song Mingke retracted his gaze and grabbed Chen Yue’s arm, about to lead him away.

But after taking just one step, he suddenly stopped, turned his head, and looked at Bei Sujian. "Aren’t you forgetting something?"

Bei Sujian frowned. Then, as if remembering something, his expression turned even uglier.

He took a Celestial Spirit Stone that was emitting a faint Spiritual Light from within his robes and tossed it to Song Mingke. It was the wager they had agreed upon.

Now that Guan Duhai had been killed in battle, the wager naturally belonged to Chen Yue.

Song Mingke caught the Celestial Spirit Stone, inspected it, and after confirming there was nothing wrong with it, casually handed it to Chen Yue.

Chen Yue accepted the Celestial Spirit Stone and placed it inside the Little Pill Furnace he carried with him.

Having done this, Chen Yue turned his head, his gaze landing on a spot at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena.

There, the Azure Sky Sword that Guan Duhai had used lay quietly on the ground.

The blade was covered in cracks and its Spiritual Light was dim, but Chen Yue still extended his right hand, fingers spread, and made a grasping motion toward the sword.

An invisible Power surged from his body. The Azure Sky Sword trembled slightly, then lifted off the ground, tracing an arc through the air before landing securely in Chen Yue’s hand.

Chen Yue held the Azure Sky Sword and glanced down at it.

’This sword’s material is quite good. Even though I’ve cracked it, it’ll still be usable after being reforged.’

’Even if I can’t use it myself, I can sell it for a nice sum of Contribution Points.’

"Let’s go!"

Song Mingke lingered no longer. He grabbed Chen Yue’s arm, and in the next instant, the two of them shot into the sky, heading toward the Panshi Sect.

Immediately after, Feng Hansheng and the others also took Liu Wenying and Lu Jingxing, soaring into the sky to follow close behind.

There was no need for any more words. The outcome of the day’s battle said it all.

On the Liuyun Sword Sect’s Martial Arts Arena, all that remained was the ravaged ground, a few shocking pools of blood, and over a thousand silent disciples.

Mu Cangya stood on the Observation Platform, watching the distant figures from the Panshi Sect until the black specks vanished over the horizon. Only then did he slowly avert his gaze.

He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

’A fair fight. We lost. What more is there to say?’

He turned his head, his gaze landing on Bei Sujian.

A tyrannical Sword Intent instantly bore down on Bei Sujian’s Heart Spirit.

Bei Sujian’s face paled.

’He knew that if one person was to be held responsible for everything that had happened today, it could only be him.’

’A month ago, he was the one who had brought Guan Duhai to the Panshi Sect and arranged this Life and Death Decision, a battle he had been certain they would win.’

’Yet now, it had ended in a way no one could have ever expected.’

Mu Cangya stared at Bei Sujian, his voice as cold as ice. "Go and see the Sect Leader yourself later. I can’t handle this matter anymore."

As his voice faded, he shot into the sky, vanishing from above the Martial Arts Arena in an instant.

On the Martial Arts Arena, only Bei Sujian, Ding Yuli, and a few other Liuyun Sword Sect Elders remained, along with the disciples, their faces a mixture of complex emotions.

One of the Liuyun Sword Sect Elders gazed in the direction the Panshi Sect party had vanished, then spoke after a moment of silence:

"’That kid... he absolutely cannot be allowed to live. If he’s this strong in the Refining Organ Realm, I’m afraid he’ll be another Song Mingke once he reaches the Innate Realm—or maybe even stronger!’"

Back in his day, Song Mingke was just as astonishingly brilliant, overshadowing countless peers. And this Chen Yue today seems no different—in fact, he might be even more outrageous.

Ding Yuli shook his head, his tone grave. "We can’t kill him. The Panshi Sect won’t let Chen Yue leave their mountain until he breaks through to the Innate Realm. We’ll have no opportunity to make a move."

Bei Sujian took a deep breath and suddenly spoke. "Since we can’t kill him, then let’s do that kid a favor... and spread his name far and wide."

Ding Yuli and the other Elders were stunned for a moment, but they quickly understood Bei Sujian’s meaning.

The news of today’s events was bound to spread.

Since they couldn’t stop it, they might as well fan the flames and make Chen Yue’s name ring out even louder.

Let the other Sects know that the Panshi Sect has produced such a monstrous talent.

They didn’t want to see Chen Yue grow into his power, and neither would the other Sects.

The Elders exchanged a look, then slowly nodded.

The situation couldn’t possibly get any worse, anyway. So they would ’kill him with praise’—make the other Sects eager to eliminate Chen Yue for their own sakes.

...

High in the sky, white clouds flowed beneath their feet, and distant mountains layered upon each other like an ink wash painting. The wind howled in their ears, their robes whipping in its gusts.

Song Mingke flew at the very front, with Chen Yue in tow.

He held Chen Yue’s arm with one hand, the other clasped behind his back. His body remained as steady as a rock, even as they flew at high speed.

His wrinkled face was currently overflowing with an irrepressible smile. He hadn’t felt this exhilarated in a very long time.

Today’s battle not only gave him hope that the Panshi Sect had a worthy successor, but more importantly, it allowed him to vent some long-held frustrations.

Those old geezers from the Liuyun Sword Sect always acted so high and mighty, but today, they were thoroughly humiliated.

After they had flown for some distance, Song Mingke turned to look at Chen Yue, his smile fading slightly.

"’You did very well today. It was immensely satisfying! But your methods were still a bit too dangerous for your own good.’"

Chen Yue nodded. "I understand. I only dared to act that way because the Elders were present."

Song Mingke shook his head, his gaze fixed on the distance as a hint of gravity entered his tone.

"’It’s not just about today. After this battle, your name will likely spread throughout the entire Celestial State Prefecture. Every Sect in the Prefecture will have its eyes on you.

’Until you break through to the Innate Realm, your life will be in danger the moment you step outside the sect.’

’The Liuyun Sword Sect won’t let this rest, and the other Sects won’t be happy to see a monstrous talent like you emerge from the Panshi Sect. You need to be prepared for this.’"

Chen Yue fell silent for a moment. He lowered his head slightly, his gaze landing on the panel in the corner of his vision.

[Refining Organ Realm (12906/29206)]

’Based on my current cultivation speed of about 570 points per day, I’ll only need about twenty-nine more days to reach the bottleneck of the Refining Organ Realm and prepare to break through to the Innate Acupoint Refining Realm.’

’Less than a month.’

’As long as I can get through this month, once I break through to the Innate Realm, I’ll at least have the power to protect myself, even if I can’t dominate the region like Song Mingke. I won’t need to constantly rely on the protection of the Sect Elders anymore.’

Seeing Chen Yue remain silent, Song Mingke assumed he was worrying about his predicament and couldn’t help but laugh.

"’But this is no big deal! Back in my day, I wasn’t nearly as strong as you are now, but I was three times as wild.’

’That youthful fire is a rare and precious thing. Since you’ve already done it, don’t overthink it. Hesitation and second-guessing will only dull your edge.’"

Chen Yue looked up, a smile on his face, and cupped his hands in a formal gesture. "Yes. Thank you for your guidance, Elder."

Song Mingke gave a slight smile and said no more, his gaze returning to the path ahead.

About half an hour later, the majestic mountain gate of the Panshi Sect came into clear view.

Lush green mountains, wreathed in clouds and mist—the familiar sight brought a sense of security to Chen Yue’s heart.

After landing on the bluestone plaza before Cloud-Gazing Hall, Song Mingke released Chen Yue’s arm, patted his shoulder, and walked off into the distance, a broad smile on his face.

His back was somewhat stooped and his steps were slow. It was hard to reconcile the image of this frail old man, seemingly in his twilight years, with the expert who had just single-handedly suppressed several Innate Realm masters at the Liuyun Sword Sect, daring them to speak.

Chen Yue watched Song Mingke’s retreating figure and let out a long breath.

’No matter how high your cultivation, if you can’t break through to a new realm before your time is up, the end result is no different from that of an ordinary person.’

’On the path of the Martial Dao, not advancing means falling behind—or even perishing.’

Shortly after, Feng Hansheng, Zheng Tongchen, and the others landed as well.

Feng Hansheng straightened his wind-tousled robes and turned to look at Chen Yue. His face, usually as calm as still water, now bore an undisguised smile.

He didn’t say much, only giving Chen Yue a slight nod, but the approval and relief in his eyes spoke volumes.

Then, with a flicker, he vanished.

Zheng Tongchen strode up to Chen Yue, laughing heartily as he clapped him on the shoulder. The force was so great that Chen Yue’s shoulder dipped slightly.

"’You kid! You really made the Sect proud today! But listen, don’t you go leaving the mountain for a while. Until you break through to the Innate Realm, you stay put right here in the sect. Don’t go anywhere!’"

Chen Yue cupped his hands. "Yes, I understand!"

Zheng Tongchen smiled and nodded, then turned to leave, muttering to himself as he went.

"’Damn, today was satisfying. I’ve gotta go have a few drinks with Old Man Feng!’"

Before his voice finished echoing, he too vanished in a flash, disappearing onto the mountain path that led to Celestial Pillar Peak.

Liu Zhengyi ambled up to Chen Yue, clutching his earthenware teapot and beaming. He looked Chen Yue up and down, his eyes full of appreciation:

"’You’ve got a brighter future than I ever did, kid. You did something I always wanted to do but never could. From now on, if you need anything, just come find me! If it’s something I can help with, I won’t hesitate!’"

A warmth spread through Chen Yue’s heart. He cupped his hands. "Thank you, Elder Liu!"

Liu Zhengyi nodded. After giving a nod to Meng Yu Jin and Mo Ciqiu, he said no more, leaping into the air and flying straight toward his personal courtyard.

Lu Jingxing walked up to Chen Yue and opened his mouth, but then hesitated, at a loss for words.

He looked at the young man before him, so much younger than himself, and for a moment, he truly didn’t know what to say.

What had happened today was too shocking. He needed some time to process it all.

Finally, he managed to choke out a single sentence: "When you have time... let’s spar some more. But, uh, remember to hold back."