Chapter 117: Xiao Chen Claims Victory, the Upcoming Disciple Acceptance Ceremony
On Mirror Lake, Xiao Chen held his sword straight toward Ye Lingxiao, his gaze firm and sharp, with an even stronger aura than before.
Ye Lingxiao held his sword single-handedly, the tip drooping downward. The arrogance on his body had faded by three parts.
Was the match already decided?
Everyone scrutinized the two, trying to catch any subtle changes in their condition.
"He's bleeding! Senior Brother Ye Lingxiao's shoulder is bleeding!"
As that exclamation rang out, a breeze swept past. It wasn't strong, but it made Ye Lingxiao's body sway unsteadily.
Instinctively, he looked at his shoulder. A look of disbelief flashed in his eyes. Then he closed them and murmured, "This battle... I've lost."
Xiao Chen cupped his fists and said, "Senior Brother Ye, you're very strong. If you'd fully mastered that sword technique, I would've been the one to lose today."
Ye Lingxiao opened his eyes and gave a bitter smile. "A loss is a loss. I can only blame myself for not mastering my skills. But tell me, Junior Brother—why did I sense two different sword intents in that strike of yours just now?"
At those words, the crowd that was just about to cheer all choked back their voices.
"Senior Brother Ye has good eyes. I did indeed comprehend two different sword intents," Xiao Chen said with a smile.
Ye Lingxiao's eyes widened sharply. "Junior Brother Xiao! How could you do something so self-destructive to your sword path?!"
The high-level figures of Wendao Academy all turned sharp gazes toward Chu Feng. Sword intent was considered a personal domain because it was an essential part of walking the path of the sword. While it wasn't impossible to comprehend multiple sword intents, doing so usually led to inner demons during one's pursuit of the sword path.
At best, conflicting sword intents would cause a loss of cultivation. At worst, they could lead to mental collapse, turning one into a mindless killing machine.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Ye. But I already know the path of the sword I want to walk. My sword heart will not be disturbed.
Besides, the 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin' and the 'Taiji Sword Technique' both carry the meaning of encompassing all and unifying everything. If I hadn't trained in the Taiji Sword Technique, I wouldn't have been able to comprehend the killer move of 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin'—'All Swords Become One'—in such a short time."
"What?"
Ye Lingxiao asked in disbelief, "You haven't even reached the Path Union Realm—no, not even the Spirit Nourishment Realm—and you already know which path your sword dao should follow?"
"That's right."
Xiao Chen simply admitted it without hesitation.
"This defeat is not unjust. Thank you, Junior Brother Xiao, for showing mercy."
After Ye Lingxiao finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving Xiao Chen to bask in the cheers of the crowd.
"Senior Brother Xiao is amazing!"
"Senior Brother Xiao is invincible!"
"…"
In the spectator stands, the Sword Martial King looked at Chu Feng and said, "You brat, how could you let Xiao Chen take such a reckless step? If he hadn't found his own path, Wendao Academy would've lost a true prodigy!"
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Sword Martial King."
Chu Feng responded calmly, "Xiao Chen possesses a Sword Dao Divine Body. His comprehension of the sword is something rarely seen even in ten thousand years. If he were to cultivate by the book, his future would only be limited.
It's better to let him blaze his own trail. Only then can he truly dominate an era with his sword. As for the risks you mentioned—I've considered them. But Xiao Chen's dantian was already destroyed. How much worse could things get?"
With that, all the bigwigs present fell silent. They had been so amazed by Xiao Chen's performance that they'd completely forgotten what kind of state he used to be in.
"Well said. Very well said."
The dean suddenly spoke. "Xiao Feng, your unconventional method of teaching disciples has truly opened this old man's eyes!"
Chu Feng bowed respectfully and said, "Dean flatters me. I simply teach according to the student's nature."
Upon hearing the phrase "teach according to the student's nature," the dean stroked his beard and sighed, "To think that after all these years of Wendao Academy's growth, only your Miscellaneous Dao Institute still upholds the core principle of disciple cultivation."
As his words fell, the other eight institute heads fell silent, each of them lost in thought.
The success of the Miscellaneous Dao Institute was clearly no coincidence. It seemed they would need to initiate some reforms when they returned—otherwise, the Miscellaneous Dao Institute might soon overshadow all eight of them.
As the dean loudly declared the grand competition officially concluded,
Xiao Chen was formally recognized as one of Wendao Academy's Saint Son candidates. From now on, he would wear a specially made spirit robe to mark his distinguished status.
The academy would also assign a Nirvana Realm expert within three months to act as his protector.
This competition turned out to be a major win for the Miscellaneous Dao Institute.
Right then and there, Chu Feng announced, "My disciples, it's time to go home and celebrate. Tonight, we drink till dawn!"
The people around them cast strange looks at the Miscellaneous Dao Institute's group.
But the disciples didn't care about how others looked at them. They all shouted in unison, "Long live Master!"
Under the bewildered gazes of the entire crowd, Chu Feng led his disciples back to the Miscellaneous Dao Institute.
Once they returned, Chu Feng got busy hosting, pulling out beast meat and various ingredients to start preparing a feast.
While they were bustling around, two familiar figures appeared in the courtyard of the institute.
"Elder Bing, Niece Liu, are you here to celebrate with us too?" Chu Feng asked with a wide grin.
Liu Yue'er nodded. "I came to congratulate Senior Brother."
Elder Bing spoke up, "I came to finish what I left undone."
???
Many in the courtyard looked at Elder Bing in confusion. Hadn't the agreement between her and the master already ended?
Seeing everyone's bewildered expressions, Elder Bing explained, "I want to set my mind at ease."
Chu Feng smiled. "As long as you're happy. Have a seat—the food will be ready in half an hour."
Half an hour later,
Everyone sat around a large round table.
Chu Feng raised a white jade wine cup and said, "Let's toast to the successful conclusion of our competition!"
"Cheers!"
After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere at the table grew lively.
Elder Bing, who had remained silent until now, suddenly asked, "Chief Chu, for this upcoming disciple recruitment, how many does the Miscellaneous Dao Institute plan to take in?"
As soon as she finished, everyone turned their eyes to Chu Feng.
After this competition, the Miscellaneous Dao Institute had no outer disciples left, and even among the inner disciples, only Wang Baole remained.
Chu Feng smiled and replied, "We'll see when the time comes. When it comes to taking in disciples, I go by one principle—fate."
Xiao Chen said, "But Master, every year tens of thousands of disciples join the Wendao Academy trials. You can't possibly evaluate each one yourself, right?"
Chu Feng nodded. "You have a point. Seems I'll need to come up with a standard for selecting disciples for the Miscellaneous Dao Institute. When the time comes, you all can recruit based on that."
Everyone present looked intrigued.
Elder Bing asked, "Are there really techniques for selecting disciples?"
Chu Feng's lips curled up. "Of course there are. Let me give you an example. First of all—appearance matters. After all, strength is temporary, but being handsome lasts a lifetime. That's actually why I favored Ling Zitong and not Kuang Sandao."
At that, everyone was dumbfounded. For a moment, no one knew how to respond...
====================================================================================
Get access to 20 chapters in advance and enjoy 2 daily updates by supporting the series. Available on Patreon: https://patreon.com/Alex_Cruise or Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/anish_44