Martial Cultivator

The old man had originally intended to retreat to Lonely Moon Peak. But halfway there, he suddenly changed his mind and turned toward another mountain peak instead.

After all, among the nine peaks of Windspirit Mountain, the remaining seven were already in name only. Even if the battlefield were chosen over there, no one would dare say a word.

The old man landed atop a certain peak and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, letting the qi within his body circulate. But just as it had begun to circulate halfway, he immediately dissipated on the spot, not daring to stay.

The next moment, a boot came crashing down from the sky, stomping directly onto that mountain peak, shattering it completely. Countless rocks exploded with deafening roars.

Countless shattered rocks tumbled down the mountainside, causing the entire Windspirit Mountain to tremble.

Looking from afar, the old man’s eyelids twitched violently.

But soon, a hearty laugh came from behind him.

”If you don’t want to fight, surrendering is fine too. This official won’t insist on taking your life.”

The old man gave a cold snort and ignored him. His figure continued to appear and disappear, his movements complex, doing everything he could to prevent that young man from getting close.

But each time he stopped, he left behind a trace of qi at that spot. After several such stops, he had left behind an unknown number of qi traces, just enough to encircle those mountain peaks.

Several minutes later, the old man disappeared again. Yet, Chen Chao did not pursue him directly but instead rushed toward a certain direction. As soon as he arrived atop a lone peak, the old man’s figure appeared.

The two stood facing each other, only several dozen feet apart.

The old man frowned, flicked his wide sleeves, and dissipated once more.

Chen Chao was not in a hurry. This game of cat and mouse, he was happy to observe more of the opponent’s techniques, to better understand the methods of these cultivators.

And so, traveling back and forth the seven peaks, Chen Chao shattered several mountains. Though no one was injured, Windspirit Mountain was left thoroughly humiliated.

Later, Chen Chao landed at the foot of a mountain, deliberately arriving a step behind that old man. Just as he was about to leave, a young boy suddenly rushed out from a nearby thatched hut and shouted loudly, ”Your Excellency, are you really going to demolish all of Windspirit Mountain? The mountain hasn’t provoked Your Excellency!”

Chen Chao paused, glanced at the youth who had a rather delicate appearance, and narrowed his eyes with a smile. “If this official really demolishes it, what can you do about it?”

The young man shook his head. “I can’t stop Your Excellency, but I’ll remember it. One day, I’ll settle the score.”

Chen Chao clicked his tongue. “Still young, but quite the tone. Aren’t you afraid this official might get angry and kill you too?”

Although those words were spoken half in jest, for some reason, the boy was not afraid at all. Instead, he lifted his chin and stared at Chen Chao. “If Your Excellency truly wants to kill me, then it just means I was wrong about you!”

“Wrong?”

Chen Chao grew curious. “You’ve heard my name before?”

The boy named He Gu nodded. There was a group of young disciples on Windspirit Mountain, himself included. Though they had never descended the mountain, they were very interested in the affairs of the world below. Given that Chen Wannian had always enjoyed a good reputation on the mountain, they naturally paid close attention to Chen Chao who was similarly a martial artist.

The stories circulating about Chen Chao had reached the mountain, and the disciples held mixed views of him. Still, a good number of them had a favorable impression.

Including He Gu.

Chen Chao could not help but laugh. Originally, he had planned to casually trample a few of Windspirit Mountain’s peaks flat today. After all, taking Chen Wannian away would not win him any favor here anyway. But now, thinking it over, it did not seem all that necessary.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and revealed a smile, “Then this official won’t demolish them.”

With that, Chen Chao stopped playing cat and mouse with the old man and instead traced the man’s qi. Soon, he found him atop a lone peak.

With a single punch, he struck the old man in the chest, forcing him several steps back, unable to steady himself.

But this time, the old man no longer thought of fleeing. With a wave of his hand, several streams of light shot up from the peaks and all charged toward Chen Chao.

As it turned out, his earlier stops had all been measured, he had not acted aimlessly, but had instead chosen formation nodes to leave his methods behind. By now, the formation had been completed, meant to trap Chen Chao like a turtle in a jar.

But Chen Chao still did not care. After all, from the start he had already noticed the old man’s little tricks. This so-called grand array formation, even if completed, what was there to worry about?

Just smash it with a punch.

Chen Chao took a deep breath. Qi surged in his body. Before those streams of light arrived, he punched first, shattering the leading stream. Then the second stream of light was caught by Chen Chao with one hand and kicked to pieces.

The remaining streams of light were more or less the same. Like this, the formation had yet to take shape before it had already fallen apart and shattered completely.

Chen Chao casually tore apart the last stream of light, then clapped his hands. The young martial artist who had not even drawn his saber looked at the old man and smiled: ”Old fogey, got any more tricks to use?”

The old man’s face was ashen. Even if he was beaten to death, he could not imagine that the young martial artist before him would be this strong. It was completely not what Chen Wannian could compare to.

But even so, the old man was still prepared to attack.

Yet the next moment, Chen Chao appeared in front of him in an instant, grabbed his collar, then drove his elbow into the old man’s chest.

”What I despise the most are you old geezers. Stay in the mountains for decades, cultivate to Nepenthe or whatever else, and think you’re something special. It’s laughable. You bunch of old frogs in a well really think you’re impressive. Wake up. The sky out there isn’t as small as your damn well’s mouth!”

As Chen Chao spoke, he casually blocked the old man’s struggling while throwing punches. Every punch was measured, he did not kill the old man outright.

So even though the old man coughed up mouthfuls of blood afterward, even though he grew weaker and weaker, he was still left with a sliver of life.

Half a stick of incense later.

A stream of light crashed onto the lone peak.

Chen Chao released the old man’s collar, stared at the stream of light charging toward him, and was not angry in the slightest. He merely narrowed his eyes and said, ”So we’re no longer playing by the rules?”

Chen Chao shot up from the ground to meet that stream of light.

The two streaks of light collided midair, producing a sound like huge bells and ancient drums.

A thunderous boom.

A moment later, Chen Chao hovered beneath the horizon, and the man before him staggered back a few steps. But he also remained suspended in the air.

Once the brilliance faded, Chen Chao finally saw the man’s face clearly. It was an ordinary-looking face, his figure not particularly tall or sturdy. But judging by his clothing, it was the same as the Windspirit Mountain’s style.

Although the clash just now forced the man to retreat several steps, Chen Chao could still tell that the man’s physique was not weak.

The strange thing was, this man was clearly a cultivator, not a martial artist.

Not something often seen.

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