“Pffttt!”
The conversation had changed direction quickly, and Qiao Qianzhi was so startled that he sprayed the tea from his mouth.
Cheng Xingchu was aghast. But before he could speak, Xu Xiaoshou continued.
“If you win, you will gain both Ms. Zhiwen’s and my respect. If you lose, I suppose I could take your sword as a prize?”
He extended his hand toward Yu Zhiwen, who was by his side, and she glared sullenly.
What did the competition have to do with her?
“A contest of the physical body then?”
Despite looking like he was about to turn into a raging monster, Cheng Xingchu still retained his intellectual capacity to reason. After all, had he been an ordinary person, would he have gotten to where he was at present?
The word, “physical body,” reminded Cheng Xingchu of the rumors he had been hearing in the Outer Yard of late.
Xu the Three-headed, Xu the Six-armed, Xu the True Dragon.
He had heard the rumors about the famous Big Brother Xu of the Outer Yard—the one who had the uncommon Innate Level Physique. He wondered if they were referring to Xu Xiaoshou.
Jiang Bianyan and Yu Zhiwen wondered about it as well. Both of them looked at each other with questioning eyes.
In a doubtful tone, Cheng Xingchu then asked, “So, you are the one with Innate Level Physique, then?”
Xu Xiaoshou said nothing, and it was a silent confirmation of his ability. Cheng Xingchu smirked in response.
So, Xu Xiaoshou had Innate Level Physique. So what?
No matter how resilient his body was, he would not survive a thrust of my sword, anyway.
“Alright, the rules sound fine to me, although they lean to your benefit. But the stakes?”
What’s this about winning or losing? Yet, what’s at stake is my sword?
Cheng g Xingchu gave him a sardonic look. He shook his head and retorted, “Are you taking me for a fool?”
Xu Xiaoshou nodded.
The place fell silent for a second.
“Pfftt!”
Qiao Qianzhi blew out the hot tea he had in his mouth again.
He put the cup down right away and did not dare to take any further sips. He figured that drinking tea was ill-suited whenever Xu Xiaoshou was present.
The veins on Cheng g Xingchu’s forehead popped and throbbed.
He glowered at the young man standing across him with a stern look on his face. Cheng g Xingchu was panting heavily and seemed to have lost all capacity for speech.
“How about this then?” Xu Xiaoshou added, seeing that Cheng g Xingchu was not saying a word. “If you dislike it, I will change the rules a bit. Let us have a contest of swordsmanship, but the stakes remain.”
Cheng g Xingchu was still at a loss for words.
He stood there dumbfounded, feeling like he was being toyed around with like a monkey.
“Alright, let us do this then!”
Despite appearing like he was shouting out impulsively, Cheng g Xingchu had already given a lot of thought to it.
He instantly thought that the youth across from him had a death wish. Why would he give up his advantage of having the Innate Level Physique and settled for a contest of swordsmanship instead? Xu Xiaoshou must have thought that he could overwhelm him in all areas. What else could it be?
“Let us take a seat.”
Xu Xiaoshou gestured for Cheng g Xingchu to take it easy. He waited until the other man had seated again before continuing. “The path of the sword comprises two words—sword and path.”
To avoid doing unnecessary damage to both of us, let us not get to dueling. We will do it with words instead. We will allow your sword to decide which side it chooses to follow—it would do this totally at its own will.”
How about it?”
Everyone looked stunned. Probably only the prominent Elders from both parties may have seen such a competition take place before. So, everyone present was quite surprised at the suggestion.
However, Cheng Xingchu looked amused.
He was the master of the Spirit Sword. He had experienced firsthand how Xu Xiaoshou could rile someone up with words alone. But could this lad persuade his sword?
“Haha, haha! Xu Xiaoshou, do you think you could manipulate the laws in your favor with just words alone?”
“Alright! I, Cheng Xingchu, take up the challenge!”
Give it your best shot!”
He held onto his Spirit Sword and turned around dismissively. “I would like to see how you can persuade my…”
SHING…!
The sword in his hand rang and trembled before he finished talking, immediately surprising him.
Slivers of white sword aura emanating from his sword—was it what he thought it was?
“Sword Will?”
His eyes flew wide open. He immediately realized that not only did Xu Xiaoshou possess Innate Level Physique, the man also had Innate Sword Will.
Across the entire continent, it was exceedingly rare to come across practitioners who excelled in swordsmanship and had physical prowess. As it turned out, Xu Xiaoshou, the lad who was standing in front of him, was someone like that.
Cheng Xingchu was all flustered, not expecting that things would turn out that way at all.