Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

“Chi! Chi!”

Xiao Chen dragged his saber along the ground, creating countless sparks as he rushed directly at Jiang Zimo.

He did not dodge or flee from the palm strike that Jiang Zimo had sent towards his chest. He did not even have any intention of pulling back. It looked like he was intending to let Jiang Zimo hit him.

“What is he doing? He left his chest open. This one palm strike will decide the victor if this continues.” When the watching contestants saw this, they could not understand what was going on.

Jiang Zimo’s expression changed slightly. The moment he landed his palm strike, he pushed off the ground and quickly retreated, leaving afterimages in the air.

He kept retreating until he reached the edge of the arena. There, he scattered his Martial Technique and smiled bitterly, “You win, I admit defeat!”

“What is going on, after Jiang Zimo landed that palm strike, he was the one who should have won?!”

“Why did he admit defeat for no reason? I cannot understand what is going on.”

“I don’t understand what is going on either. Can someone explain it? How did Xiao Chen end up winning? This is too strange!”

When the people below saw Jiang Zimo surrendering, they could not understand what had happened even after thinking about it for a long time.

Up on the platform, Shi Hailong nodded with a knowing smile on his face. The old men beside him were also nodding as well.

There were some things that could not be seen before one reached a certain cultivation realm.

Shi Hailong said softly, “These two youths…one had the guts to stake everything on a gamble and the other knows when to retreat or advance, not seeking victory at all cost. This is probably what makes them stand out from so many geniuses.”

An old man at the side nodded and said, “In terms of technique, they are about equal. Xiao Chen’s Saber Techniques and Jiang Zimo’s Palm Techniques are not able to overcome each other.

“In order to obtain victory, they could only rely on something else aside from techniques. They had to use their brain and their unique advantages to tilt the fight in their favor.”

Another person continued, “Jiang Zimo’s speciality is his long-lasting combat prowess. Thus he needs to drag out the fight. When his opponent’s Essence is drying up, he can use a strong move to secure the victory.

“Xiao Chen’s specialty is his strong physical body and his strong explosive Essence. However, if he kept fighting, he would have exhausted too much Essence. Thus, he had to resort to a situation where both parties got injured, forcing them to decide the victory in one move. Even if he got injured heavily, it would not matter.”

Shi Hailong laughed gently and said, “They are both talents. I really look forward to find out how far they can climb in the Ancient Desolate Tower. Perhaps we will be astonished by them.”

The crowd below was dumbfounded when the Martial Monarch experts on the platform explained the seemingly simple battle.

They did not expect the apparently ordinary moves to have so much meaning behind them. They all felt enlightened and went deep into thoughts.

Xiao Chen scattered the Azure Dragon Qi on his left hand. He looked at the retreating Jiang Zimo and said, “Actually, you could have gambled on it too. After being severely injured, my body would have been weak. You might have been able to defeat me.”

Jiang Zimo shook his head and smiled, “You don’t have to be so humble. Without being seventy percent confident, I will not gamble on it. You win this round. Let’s see who can climb higher in the Ancient Desolate Tower then!”

Geniuses are naturally self-confident. Although Jiang Zimo had been defeated here, he was confident that he would be getting one of the twenty spots.

Xiao Chen nodded and said, “In that case, see you at the Ancient Desolate Tower!”

The arena battles continued. Xiao Chen felt helpless. Aside from Jiang Zimo, the following opponents surrendered the moment they went up the arena.

When the fifteenth round of drawing lots ended, Xiao Chen drew the number 8 blue token. When he walked to the arena with the number 8 red token hanging on it, he discovered that his opponent was a rather interesting person. It was the Holy Fire Manor’s Young Manor Lord, Leng Yun—the person who Xiao Chen snatched the Extreme Yin Flame’s Origin Flame from.

When Leng Yun saw Xiao Chen leap up to the arena, the corners of his mouth could not help but twitch. He clenched his fists tightly and nearly let out his killing Qi.

However, he calmed himself, and his expression reverted to normal. He said, “I am not a match for you, I admit defeat.”

However, Xiao Chen did not wish to let him off so easily. He smiled faintly and said, “Why do you admit defeat? Don’t you what your Origin Flame back?”

Leng Yun, who was originally preparing to leave the arena, froze when he heard this. The anger that he had been suppressing in his heart burst out. He clenched his fist and cracking sounds came from them.

The Origin Flame of the Extreme Yin Flame was something that he had spent ten years to bitterly cultivate. It had only barely reached the size of a baby’s fist when it was snatched away by Xiao Chen. Taking away his flame was even worse than killing him.

Leng Yun closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He said in a frosty voice, “Never mind, you can keep it first. I will take in back in the future with interest added!”

Xiao Chen frowned slightly as he watched Leng Yun leave. This fellow has a really stable state of mind.

Even after being provoked by me, he could still regain his calm and avoid acting rashly. Thus, Xiao Chen’s plan of crippling him openly in the arena went as quickly as it came.

The matches soon came to an end. Xiao Chen returned to the Tianwu Emperor’s statue and watched the others fight.

“This Chu Chaoyun is really low-key. Without causing any commotion, he unexpectedly won fifteen consecutive matches. Even Pei Shaoxuan was defeated by him.”

“The most important thing is that we still have not seen him draw the sword on his back. Unexpectedly, the Great Qin Nation has another powerful person aside from Xiao Chen.”

“We have underestimated them in the past. That Duanmu Qing seems to have won at least ten of her matches. His strength cannot be underestimated either.”

Those whose turn had not arrived yet or those who had already ended their fights watched the people fighting and discussed animatedly.

Suddenly, a thought struck Xiao Chen. He followed the crowd’s gaze. In the arena, Chu Chaoyun’s was facing a swordsman from the Great Chu Nation.

Chu Chaoyun had a sword on his back, and his expression was as carefree as before. This expression of his did not seem to be made on purpose but was instead something natural.

Chu Chaoyun looked like a very carefree person. This expression suited him perfectly.

After not seeing Chu Chaoyun for half a year, Xiao Chen thought he still looked exactly the same as when he first saw him.

Xiao Chen never doubted Chu Chaoyun’s strength. Even though he had improved rapidly and had defeated countless geniuses from various places, he still found Chu Chaoyun unfathomable. Chu Chaoyun was like a deep and old well—the further one explored, the deeper they found it to be.

“He won again. This fellow already has fifteen consecutive victories. Like Zuo Mo, Xiao Chen, and the others, he has not lost even a single match.”

“He really is a dark horse. How astonishing!”

Chu Chaoyun’s match ended. He had put in some effort and defeated the swordsman from the Great Chu Nation. After the match, he just silently left the arena.

After that day, no one would dare underestimate Chu Chaoyun anymore. Even the looks that Jiang Zimo, Xia Xiyan, and the others who stood at the peak gave him changed.

Night fell, and the first day of the arena battles ended. Some rejoiced and some despaired.

Those who were lucky and managed to draw people who were weak were very happy; they managed to finish off their opponents and gain victory in most of their matches.

Those who were unlucky were bitter; they had met with cultivators like Zuo Mo in many of their matches. This resulted in them being defeated most of the time and ranking at the bottom.

Of course, these were just the minority of people. Most people were neither lucky nor unlucky. They had both strong and weak opponents and arrived at where they were by relying only on their own strength.

Shi Hailong stood on the platform and shouted, “Don’t leave. We will spend the night here. When the results are out tomorrow, we will immediately leave for the Ancient Desolate Tower. We need to activate the Ancient Desolate Tower before dusk.”

When everyone heard this, there had no objections. It was merely a night at the plaza. It was not difficult for them to bear with this much.

Everyone found a spot and sat down cross-legged. They regulated their auras or cultivated.

Xiao Chen found a comparatively desolate place and did not hesitate to sit down. Then, he closed his eyes and started cultivating.

------

The next morning, the morning sun shined on the cultivators sitting in the plaza. All of them opened their eyes and got up to stretch their bodies, preparing themselves for another day of battles.

The first round of drawing lots started. Xiao Chen drew the number 23 red wooden token. After the first eighteen groups of contestants finished their match, he went up to an arena and hung his token up. Then he waited for his opponent to arrive.

He hoped that his next opponent would not give up before the fight started. If that happened again, then there would be no point to this. He felt helpless at the thought of it.

“Xiu!”

Just as Xiao Chen was muttering to himself, a familiar figure leaped up onto the arena. That person looked at Xiao Chen indifferently and said, “I am pretty unlucky. Unexpectedly, I have drawn the terrifying White Robed Bladesman.”

Xiao Chen squinted and looked at this person with a serious expression. “Chu Chaoyun!”

Chu Chaoyun smiled indifferently, “Let’s not bother talking about old times. Like before, let’s decide this with one move.”

Xiao Chen placed his right hand on his saber hilt and said, “Sure, I am curious as to whether your sword is still as sharp as before or not.”

The two stood a hundred meters apart and stared at each other with a serious expression. They continuously gathered their aura as their gazes clashed in midair.

It looked like a saber and a sword clashing. One could even hear faint clanging sounds. Suddenly, a swift wind swirled around the arena.

It made their clothes and hair flutter. Unknowingly, Chu Chaoyun’s right hand had already reached his sword hilt.

The carefree look on Chu Chaoyun’s handsome face slowly faded away. Instead, a serious expression appeared in its place.

Xiao Chen’s looked cautious as well. As their auras gathered and clashed, he started to circulate and merge his state of thunder and state of massacre.

Xiao Chen had never had the confidence to beat Chu Chaoyun, even in the past. The first time they had clashed, he was sorely defeated by the other party.

The second time they fought had been at the remnants of the Fire Li Sect Branch in Ink Forest. The fight ended halfway as a result of interference from the others.

Since Xiao Chen had debuted, he managed to surpass those who had bullied or defeated him in the past.

Then, Xiao Chen put such a huge distance between him and them that defeating him ever again became an uncrossable chasm which they could never surpass.

Only Chu Chaoyun remained unfathomable to Xiao Chen. Even though Xiao Chen had countless fortuitous encounters and spent all his time cultivating, he did not seem to be able to make out his exact strength.

However, Xiao Chen did not fear challenges. Long ago, when he was only a Martial Master, he had already dared to fight Chu Chaoyun.

Now that the distance had become smaller, why not fight again? He was no longer the Xiao Chen of the past.

As all these thoughts flashed through Xiao Chen’s mind, and his gaze became sharper. His gaze seemed to have become solid and sharp, like a saber’s edge.