Chapter 23: Sword Inten

"...Her beauty was said to be devastating enough to destroy continents and her talent with the sword unrivaled. Many generals, kings, even emperors tried to court her, but alas, none of them were successful, as she was only looking for someone who was stronger than herself, which was nearly impossible during that era."

Su Yang's calm voice and perfectly paced story-telling quickly made the place silent.

"Then there was this young rogue cultivator who fell in love with her. However, this young man was from a common background and could be regarded as an ant in the eyes of these kings and emperors; he was someone who wasn't meant for her, not even in ten lifetimes."

"However, despite knowing that he would never be able to stand next to her, the young man never gave up and earnestly cultivated both his body and sword techniques, wishing that it could help him close their never-ending distance..."

Su Yang stopped the story at this point and glanced at Dai Zheng with a calm, yet overbearing gaze. "What do you think happened to that young man?" he asked him.

"A fool chasing an impossible dream... what else besides the obvious would happen?" Dai Zheng sneered.

Su Yang smiled at his answer, and he casually lifted the sword in his hands.

"!!!"

Suddenly, Elder Zhou's eyes snapped open, his gaze filled with shock and disbelief.

"What's that glow surrounding his sword?"

"I have never seen anything like that before..."

The disciples were puzzled by the visible aura that suddenly appeared around the steel sword in Su Yang's grasp, giving it an overbearing pressure and seemingly twisting the space that surrounded it.

"Impossible! That looks like Sword Intent!" Elder Zhou recognized the aura surrounding the sword. However, his knowledge only further confused him, even shocking him to the core.

Sword Intent is the essence of a sword; it is something that only appears when the user has complete control and comprehension over the sword, in other words, complete mastery. These users are widely known as Swordmasters, and they are highly respected figures around the world.

"How could it possibly be Sword Intent?! He's just 16 years old! Not even experts at the Earth Spirit Realm would be able to emit such a powerful Sword Intent!" Elder Zhou didn't dare to believe that a 16 year old idiot like Su Yang could become a Swordmaster despite the clear Sword Intent, so he forced himself to believe that Su Yang had prepared some cheap tricks in order to make it seem like Sword Intent.

Su Yang casually swung his sword, and a tyrannical pressure swept the place, sending chills down the spine of everyone there — Elder Zhou included.

"Sword Intent relies on one's experience and mastery with swords. It does not matter if I am a mortal or a saint, as long as I understand the sword, I will be able to use Sword Intent," Su Yang recalled the countless hours he had spent trying to master the sword in his previous life.

"You... what is your partner's name?" Su Yang suddenly asked Dai Zheng, who seemed to be frozen solid ever since the domineering Sword Intent appeared.

"Cheng Yu..." Dai Zheng unconsciously replied.

Su Yang nodded and said in a nonchalant tone, "Don't worry, I will be sure to take care of your girl after your death so she wouldn't be lonely without your presence... Elder Zhou, we can begin."

Dai Zheng directly coughed up a mouthful of blood after hearing Su Yang's vicious words.

To hear Su Yang say such words after all that has happened, Dai Zheng was already on the verge of death from sheer anger before the fight even began!

"I will fucking kill you, Su Yang!" Dai Zheng threw away his fighting stance and charged at Su Yang like a madman with red eyes. He was so angry that it made him blind and unable to see the blade slashing down at his direction.

Su Yang sighed inwardly. "I hope this will be the first and last time I take a life in this place..."

While Su Yang wasn't the type to kill people over small things, he needed to set an example for the others so it wouldn't happen again. In his previous life, he has encountered many situations where he showed mercy only to have them bite back twice as hard later on.

"Wait!" Elder Zhou hastily called out, but alas, it was too late.

The tip of the sword in Su Yang's grasp gently touched the ground, and a beautiful arc of light appeared, cleanly cutting Dai Zheng in half from top to bottom.

Shocked gasping resounded as organs fell. Blood splattered all over the arena and covered Su Yang, and everybody stared at the horrifying scene with wide eyes and dropped jaws, looking as though they were watching a scene from hell.

Nobody there, Elder Zhou included, have seen such a merciless strike occur on this stage before, not even in the cruelest deathmatches.

Su Yang turned around to face the shocked audience with a calm expression, and he said coldly: "Knock on my door if you want, I will play with you, but be prepared to face the consequences."

The overbearing and domineering pressure Su Yang was emitting caused many there to fall on their rear. He looked like a general who has fought many wars before, someone with an unfathomable presence.

"As for the story... that young man not only conquered the general's heart with his sword techniques, he also continued to achieve many impossible feats that none of these kings and emperors could have imagined possible for themselves, let alone from someone who they regarded as a mere ant..."

Su Yang approached Elder Zhou, who stood there with a dazed face, and returned the bloody steel sword to him. "A decent sword," he said to him before calmly walking off the stage.