Chapter 245: 245, Sword Pond, Sword Lunatic

Translator: 549690339

Atop the arena, the Marquis who claimed to be the Sword Pond Successor stood nearest to Lu Xun.

Because when Lu Xun jumped down from the high platform, he… took the Marquis’s spot on the arena.

Hence, the two were on the same stage.

After the Marquis took a few steps forward, he wasn’t too far from Lu Xun anymore.

The reason he could advance a few steps was simple, he activated his Sword Heart.

Out of the seventeen challengers, his cultivation base was the lowest, barely stepping into the Initial Realm.

Converting it into game character levels, he was nothing more than a level eleven.

Forget Lu Xun, even Little Chan could effortlessly suppress and defeat him with her higher cultivation base.

Despite having the lowest cultivation base, the Marquis was the only one among the seventeen challengers who had a Sword Heart.

As mentioned before, the Sword Pond was a sect from the Ancient Times, as a former Holy Land of the Sword Path, the Sword Pond’s mission is to hone the Sword Heart.

This sect is quite strange, as the requirements for the Sword Heart even surpass cultivation base.

This Marquis might have a low cultivation base, but his Sword Heart had been well-refined, even clearer than Ye Sui An’s at the Initial Realm of Great Perfection back then!

It would seem that Ye Sui’an couldn’t compare to him in terms of Sword Heart when he first entered the Initial Realm.

“It looks like this man has excellent talent in the Sword Path, but his cultivation aptitude is rather poor,” Lu Xun concluded in his heart.

No wonder he had never heard of any Marquis of the Sword Pond when he was playing the game in his past life. People like this took a long time to advance.

If he could persist until the later stages, he would surely become a person of influence among sword cultivators with his achievements in the Sword Path.

But if he couldn’t last until the later stages, and couldn’t advance his cultivation base, his overall strength would actually be mediocre.

There’s a saying “a strong man can defeat ten skillful men”, which means a person with great strength can defeat ten who are skillful in martial arts.

If this person remained a cultivator at the third or fourth realm, no matter how well he refined his Sword Heart or how high he elevated his Sword Intent, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the overwhelming spiritual power of seventh realm Great Cultivators.

Moreover, if his cultivation base didn’t advance, the upper limits for his Sword Heart and Sword Intent would also be affected.

“Since I’ve never heard of such a person in my past life, he probably didn’t make it,” Lu Xun guessed in his heart, but he didn’t jump to a conclusion.

Just now, he had simply divided the power of the little sword inside his Sword Heart into seventeen parts. Now, only the Marquis was left. If Lu Xun wanted to, he could simply knock the bronze sword out of the Marquis’s hands, considering his cultivation base had just entered the Initial Realm.

Your Sword Heart is indeed good, better than Ye Sui An’s, but it’s still inferior to mine.

However, looking at the Marquis struggling to advance, Lu Xun thought for a moment and decided not to make it harder for him. Instead, he quietly controlled the small sword in his Sword Heart, waiting to see how far this so-called Sword Pond Successor could go.

The reason he did this was simple, because the Marquis was sincere and genuinely seeking advice, and Lu Xun had a good impression of him, that’s all.

As time ticked by, the Marquis switched from holding his sword with one hand to holding it with both hands.

The bronze sword without a tip was pushed forward slowly and with difficulty.

The audience could easily see that Lu Xun was holding back; he did not increase the difficulty.

Shen Yan and the others watched with smiles on their faces, feeling extremely triumphant in their hearts.

In their eyes, their junior uncle put on a flawless show.

Not only did he display his strength, revealing his edge but also at this moment, he demonstrated a kind and nurturing character.

Look at the young cultivators from your sects, who among them has the strength and magnanimity of our junior uncle?

If this situation was not so formal, Shen Yan and the others might burst out laughing.

Oh my, my old face, how can it be so glorious?

On the arena, the Marquis’s plain robe was soaked through with sweat. He had deep frown lines, rough skin, and even the veins on his forehead were extremely pronounced.

Many of his muscles were trembling slightly, but the hand holding the sword was very steady, extremely steady.

He didn’t roar out; he only grunted once, and then the man in the coarse cloth dress with extremely rough skin started his final sprint.

Around his bronze sword, a faint aura appeared.

Lu Xun sensed this and couldn’t help but smile.

However, on the high platform, the elders from One Sword Mountain and Ten Thousand Sword Mountain couldn’t help but frown, feeling astonished in their hearts.

“Sword Intent!”

“He actually grasped Sword Intent!”

This hint of Sword Intent was very faint, much fainter than when Lu Xun first had Sword Intent, but it was indeed Sword Intent!

Someone who took five years to reach the Initial Realm actually developed Sword Intent!

These two elders from the Holy Land of Sword Cultivation had not seen such disciples in their own sects.

What surprised them the most was that the Sword Intent displayed by the Marquis was very rudimentary.

It could be said that it was one of the worst Sword Intents they had ever seen.

Because it was so poor, they were actually astonished.

It was like the first time everyone attempted writing in their early childhood; some people might have produced beautiful words on their first try while others would have produced ugly ones.

People with high Sword Dao Aptitude would tend to have clear Sword Hearts when they first produced them.

When they first grasp the meaning of the Sword Intent, it would be rather advanced.

However, for those with low aptitude, their understanding would be barely adequate, their level much inferior.

Thus, their previous conjectures were wrong. This man’s cultivation aptitude was not only dreadful but his swordsmanship aptitude was equally disappointing!

Yet, Lu Xun didn’t look down upon him and instead held him in higher regard.

The palms of Marquis’s hands that were gripping the sword were covered in calluses.

His coarse long gown was very old.

His skin was rough, clearly showing the lack of rejuvenation by spiritual power after many years of exposure to harsh weather before his cultivation blossomed.

He was the first to step forward, insisting on seeking advice from Lu Xun in the face of the demonstration by the disciples of the Demon Sect.

He did not even hesitate for a second.

He performed the ancient rites, held his longsword in hand, and earnestly requested guidance.

This wasn’t a Sword Pond Successor, but a Sword Madman.

When this faint Sword Intent appeared, Marquis advanced several steps in quick succession, charging forward with determination in his eyes.

He was only a few steps away from the ‘three-foot radius around Lu Xun’!

At this moment, Lu Xun made his move.

He directly retracted the force of the small sword in his Sword Heart.

Lu Xun joined his two fingers together, generating a stream of Sword Qi from his fingertips.

With his current strength, he could actually defeat this Marquis with a single stroke of his sword!

But after the Sword Qi was produced, he also exhibited his Sword Intent.

Like smoke and fog, it lingered around the Sword Qi.

Mist Sword!

The mood of his sword compared to that of Marquis’s was vastly different.

The difference was as stark as clouds and mud!

One was high above, higher than a mountain.

The other was struggling in the mud, covered head to toe in mire.

Their Sword Qi clashed together, their Sword Intents entangled.

Just a single confrontation was enough, and Marquis was sent flying backward, tumbling off the stage.

His Sword Qi and Sword Intent were so weak in front of Lu Xun.

He had exhausted all his resources and still couldn’t withstand even a casual strike from Lu Xun.

Not to mention that Lu Xun still had his Sword Array to deploy.

“You’ve lost.” Lu Xun calmly spoke.

He acknowledged this to be a duel.

He hadn’t said this to the other sixteen people.

Marquis put his hands on the ground, struggling to get up.

There was blood at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were bright.

He coughed a few times, spat out a mouthful of blood-stained saliva, and once again held his sword with both hands, raising it up high. It’s just like it was when he first requested guidance.

Marquis spoke with a deep voice: “Thank you for the sword stroke, elder!”

“Marquis of Sword Pond, well taught!”

Lu Xun, holding his sword sheath, returned the salute, and said in the same manner:

“Lu Xun of the Demon Sect, well taught.”

The victory was brilliant, the loss was honorable.

But Lu Xun didn’t actually burden himself with too many thoughts. His thinking was extremely simple:

“There is no reason to look down on an ordinary person who is running madly.”