Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

”Gu Sheng, come up.”

Ke Yucheng’s voice was not loud.

Below the stage, Liang Yu leaned close to Wang Yun and asked in a low voice.

”Senior Brother Wang, what cultivation do you think Gu Sheng actually has? I saw how fast he broke the Array earlier; he should be at least Earth Palace Peak, right?”

Wang Yun shook his head.

”Gu Sheng has never gone all out, so I can’t say for sure. But...”

There was a hint of admiration in his eyes.

”I believe he can win.”

Beside them, Xu Guangzhi poured cold water on it.

”Being fast at breaking Arrays doesn’t necessarily mean strong combat power. Maybe Gu Sheng just has good talent in Arrays. Ke Yucheng is a solid Earth Palace Peak; it’s said he’s already touched the threshold of the Earth Palace.”

Wang Yun was unconvinced.

”So what? Gu Sheng, he...”

His words were cut off by Ke Yucheng’s voice on the arena.

”Gu Sheng, I’m very curious—how did you pass the Array assessment in such a short time? Tell me, and I might consider showing some mercy.”

Gu Sheng finally stepped onto the arena. Facing Ke Yucheng’s questioning, he gave no response, only slowly circulated his mental method.

As his Spiritual Power was mobilized, his aura began to climb.

Earth Palace mid stage... Earth Palace late stage...

His cultivation aura stopped at Earth Palace late stage.

Perceiving this, the tightness in Ke Yucheng’s expression visibly relaxed, and the corner of his mouth hooked into a cold smile.

”So it’s just Earth Palace late stage. I thought...”

He didn’t finish, but the contempt on his face was plain.

The crowd below burst into an uproar.

”Only Earth Palace late stage? Then how did he break the Array so fast?”

”He probably has some special Magic Technique.”

”He’s in trouble now. Senior Brother Ke won’t show any mercy.”

Wang Yun clenched his fist, worried for Gu Sheng.

But when he looked toward the arena, he found that Gu Sheng’s expression was still as calm as still water, without the slightest panic.

”Putting on an act!”

Ke Yucheng snorted coldly. He stopped wasting words; his figure flashed, and he appeared before Gu Sheng, striking out with a palm as Spiritual Power surged.

Unhurried, Gu Sheng drew the Green Jade Sword. A faint green light shimmered along the blade as it met the strike at just the right angle.

”Hm?”

Ke Yucheng was slightly surprised. Though he hadn’t used full strength, that palm was not something an ordinary Earth Palace late stage could take easily.

Gu Sheng laughed inwardly. He could have suppressed his cultivation to Earth Palace Peak and fought Ke Yucheng on equal footing, but that would be far too conspicuous.

Better to maintain the appearance of Earth Palace late stage, have a hearty battle with the opponent, and then lose in ”regretful” defeat.

This way he could explain away his rapid passage through the Array assessment without drawing too much attention like Ling Xiao.

An Earth Palace late stage being able to fight an Earth Palace Peak to a standstill—rare, but not outrageous in a Holy Land where geniuses gathered.

The duel on the arena was about to erupt.

”Take my Green Jade Sword!”

A cold light flashed in Gu Sheng’s eyes as the three-foot green blade in his hand burst into a dazzling emerald glow, Sword Qi tearing through the air.

Ke Yucheng grinned, a faint golden barrier appearing over the surface of his fist.

”Mere Sword Qi, and you dare act arrogant in front of me?”

”Boom!”

At the instant sword met fist, Ke Yucheng’s expression changed drastically.

That seemingly ordinary green Sword Qi actually tore through his Spiritual Power defense with ease.

Sharp pain shot up from his fist. Looking down, he saw a bone-deep gash on the back of his hand, blood dripping through his fingers.

”How is that possible?!”

Ke Yucheng hurriedly retreated, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

How would Gu Sheng give him a chance to catch his breath? The Green Jade Sword traced a graceful arc, thrusting straight for Ke Yucheng’s throat.

Before the sword tip arrived, the fierce Sword Qi already made Ke Yucheng’s neck feel chilled.

”Clang!”

At the last possible moment, Ke Yucheng finally drew the Longsword at his waist. The two swords collided with an earsplitting metallic ring.

Violent Spiritual Power clashed, forming a visible shockwave that spread outward.

The Protective Array at the edge of the arena flared with blinding light, barely blocking the aftershock.

Ke Yucheng staggered back five steps before steadying himself, while Gu Sheng was blasted back over ten steps, dropping to one knee, the Green Jade Sword stabbing into the ground to halt his retreat.

”Hahaha, so that’s all you’ve got!”

Ke Yucheng shook his numbed arm, though gloom clouded his eyes.

That last exchange, he had used seventy percent of his strength; by rights, he should have been able to send Gu Sheng flying off the arena with a single stroke. Yet the result had gone completely against his expectations.

The spectators below the stage exploded into an uproar.

”Did I see that right? Senior Brother Ke was actually forced to draw his sword?”

”What’s that Gu Sheng’s background? His Sword Qi could actually break Senior Brother Ke’s Vajra Fist Shield!”

”Tsk tsk, now this is going to be good...”

Zhuang Feichen stood at the very front of the crowd, his face as dark as water.

”Ke Yucheng, stop fooling around! Finish it quickly!”

Ke Yucheng’s eyes surged with killing intent.

”I was planning to play with you for a bit, but since you’re so eager to die...”

Before he finished speaking, the Spiritual Power around him surged, his robes billowing without wind.

The Longsword in his hand glowed with a faint blue light, with indistinct phantom currents of water swirling around the blade.

”That’s the Qinghe Holy Land’s ’Myriad Phenomena Sword Technique’!”

A knowledgeable Disciple exclaimed.

Gu Sheng slowly stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a hard-to-detect glint flashing in his eyes.

This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.

”Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!”

Ke Yucheng roared, swung his Longsword, and in an instant, Sword Qi filled the sky like a torrential downpour. Every strand carried a bone-piercing chill, sealing off all of Gu Sheng’s routes of retreat.

”Gu Sheng! Get out of the way!”

Ling Xiao shouted anxiously from below the stage, his fists clenched so tightly they turned white.

Only he knew that Gu Sheng was completely capable of dodging this move, yet this guy just stood there without moving.

Gu Sheng acted as if he hadn’t heard his friend’s warning. Instead, he closed his eyes, holding the Green Jade Sword horizontally before his chest.

To outsiders, he looked like he had given up resisting.

”Courting death!”

Ke Yucheng sneered viciously, his sword moves shifting once more. Amid the Sword Qi filling the sky, several particularly condensed strands silently locked onto Gu Sheng’s Dantian.

At the instant the Sword Qi was about to strike, Gu Sheng’s eyes snapped open, and the Green Jade Sword erupted with an unprecedented brilliance.

”Break!”

A cyan sword rainbow shot straight into the sky. Wherever it passed, the blue Sword Qi shattered one after another.

There were still several dozen strands that slipped through the net, viciously stabbing into Gu Sheng’s body.

”Puff, puff, puff—”

Blood spattered. In an instant, more than a dozen wounds appeared on Gu Sheng’s body, the worst one on his left shoulder, almost piercing through.

He staggered back, dropped to one knee, and only by propping himself up with the Green Jade Sword did he manage not to fall.

”Hahaha!”

Ke Yucheng threw his head back in wild laughter.

”With just this bit of skill, you dare challenge me?”

Below the stage, Wang Yun’s face was ashen.

”How could this be... Gu Sheng clearly...”

He turned to look at Ling Xiao, only to find that although the latter’s face was full of anxiety, there was no despair in his eyes.

On the arena, Ke Yucheng’s eyes rolled slightly, and his figure suddenly blurred, appearing behind Gu Sheng.

”Go die!”

His Longsword thrust straight at Gu Sheng’s back, the tip condensed into a point of faint blue cold light. It was precisely the Qinghe Holy Land’s secret ’Broken Vein Finger’ sword form, specialized in destroying a cultivator’s Dantian.

Gu Sheng seemed to have eyes on his back. At the instant the sword tip was about to touch his body, he suddenly twisted aside, the Green Jade Sword swinging back to parry.

”Ding!”

Sparks flew. That supposed killing strike of Ke Yucheng’s only slit open the sleeve on Gu Sheng’s right arm, leaving a shallow blood mark.

”Quick reaction.”

Ke Yucheng sneered, his offensive unabated, each sword move aimed straight at a vital point.

Gu Sheng looked like he was scrambling to defend, but in truth every block he made was just right.

Those dodges that seemed almost fatally close were all the result of his precise calculations.

The times he was occasionally struck were all in inconsequential spots. With his body tempered by the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, such superficial wounds healed in an instant.

”Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine...”

Gu Sheng silently counted the exchanged moves in his heart. When he reached one hundred, he deliberately let his footing falter as he turned, exposing a fatal opening.

”My chance!”

A vicious gleam flared in Ke Yucheng’s eyes. His Longsword shot out like a viper striking from its hole, stabbing straight for Gu Sheng’s Dantian.

”Stop!”

The proctor finally couldn’t sit still anymore and shot to his feet.

If this sword went through, even if Gu Sheng didn’t die, his cultivation would be completely ruined. This had already gone beyond the scope of a sparring match.

”Ke Yucheng, stop!”

A furious shout boomed like thunder. The proctor’s wide sleeves billowed without wind as Earth Palace Stage pressure instantly blanketed the entire arena.

The Spirit Sword in Ke Yucheng’s hand was only three inches from Gu Sheng’s Dantian, yet it was forcibly frozen in midair.