Martial Cultivator

Among martial artists in the world, it often seemed that under the prerequisite of not using magic spells, the differences between them were not too significant. The tall martial artist before him was also at the Great Beyond Realm. Attacking at the moment Chen Chao was replenishing his qi, his timing was impeccable, seizing the opportunity perfectly. It was thanks to years of relentless training in honing his muscles and bones, along with numerous sparring matches and even several life-and-death battles, that he had managed to find such a chance at this critical juncture.

However, it was unfortunate that the opponent he faced was not just any ordinary cultivator in this world, it was Chen Chao.

Among the younger generation of cultivators, Chen Chao might not be the one with the highest cultivation realm or the most refined techniques, but he was undoubtedly the one who understood best how to preserve his life.

In an instant, just as the saber was about to pierce into his chest, Chen Chao's qi surged within him. He swiftly directed it to his arm, and with a powerful slap to the side of the saber, its edge veered off course. The tall martial artist who was already gravely wounded saw his desperate attack fail. His expression changed as he attempted to withdraw the saber and retreat. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Chen Chao's qi surged like waves crashing against the shore, quickly completing the cycle of new and old qi.

Chen Chao delivered a heavy blow to the temple of the tall martial artist, causing him to fall into a daze. Before he could recover, Chen Chao punched him squarely in the chest, sending him flying.

The tall martial artist's body soared through the air like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a pillar in the courtyard and raising a cloud of dust.

A trace of blood seeped out of the corner of Chen Chao's mouth.

Forcefully exchanging qi had resolved the immediate crisis, but the consequences were not insignificant.

Everyone instinctively glanced at the spot where the tall martial artist had fallen, their eyes filled with shock. For this assassination attempt, they had already gathered so many cultivators, with no shortage of those at the Great Beyond and Bitter Sea realms. By all logic, Chen Chao before them should not have been able to kill anyone, he should not have even been able to hold out this long.

But what was the reality?

Since the battle began, the sword cultivator who initially had the greatest hope of severely injuring Chen Chao was now gravely wounded and near death. Then, the tall martial artist who was also in the Great Beyond Realm had directly died. Many other cultivators at the Bitter Sea Realm had died as well.

Yet, this young martial artist had nothing more than a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth?

The surviving assassins looked grim. They had known this young man was not ordinary, having slain a demon race prodigy, but surely he was not supposed to be this strong?

Everyone gulped in unison.

“Kill him, and there will be a great reward!”

Amidst the tense standoff, one of the men standing around the courtyard spoke up coldly. He held the red string tightly in his hand, his expression ugly. “He's already an arrow at the end of its flight and won't live much longer. Finish him off in one final push! Anyone who dies or is injured will be handsomely rewarded! Whoever brings me his head, I'll personally request a reward from above!"

With such words of encouragement, the surviving assassins exchanged glances. A Bitter Sea martial artist was the first to charge at Chen Chao, slashing down with his saber. Chen Chao neither dodged nor blocked, nor did he draw his own saber. Instead, he threw a punch straight at the oncoming blade.

How could flesh and blood possibly compete against a sharp weapon forged from metal? This seemed like common sense, but in that moment, Chen Chao's punch shattered the high-grade saber, and with the momentum, he sent the martial artist flying into the main hall. There was no need to check, it was clear that the man's life had ended.

Chen Chao exhaled a turbid breath, then looked at the several Great Beyond Realm cultivators standing behind the crowd. Narrowing his eyes with a smile, he said, "With just the likes of you guys, having cultivation in vain, you dare call yourselves Great Beyond cultivators?!"

The cultivators remained quiet and just silently formed hand seals. By now, everyone understood that this was a fight to the death. Any hope of a peaceful resolution was long gone. The only way forward was to kill the young martial artist before them.

There was no other option.

Chen Chao tightened his grip on Cloud Mud and strode forward with large steps.

The remaining Bitter Sea Realm cultivators, which were fewer than ten in number, had no other choice. As the last two martial artists charged out, they each pulled a radiant white thread from their palms. With a swift motion, the courtyard was suddenly illuminated by a blinding light, and countless beams of brilliant radiance surged toward Chen Chao.

The methods of cultivators were ever-changing, and most of the time, martial artists could only dodge and evade. Unfortunately for them, this young martial artist they encountered was someone who, since the moment he appeared in the world's view, had never shown any inclination to avoid cultivators. Whether it was when he said he would kill a qi refiner back in Tianqing County and followed through, or when he angrily rebuked that old daoist nun in the Ministry of Penalty's hall, or later at the Myriad Willow Convention, where if not for Wei Xu's intervention, Song Changxi would have likely died at his hands. After that, he annihilated the Sublime Bright Sect, and then slaughtered all the cultivators on Clearwater Mountain...

One after another, each event showed that Chen Chao had never backed down from cultivators.

Now, as countless beams of radiance surged toward him, Chen Chao merely unleashed a single saber strike. The dazzling saber light emerged before him, forcibly cutting through the sea of light. In the blink of an eye, the saber light shattered many of the radiant beams. Before anyone could react, Chen Chao had already appeared beside a Bitter Sea Realm cultivator. He brought his palm down on the cultivator's head, and with a surge of overwhelming qi, instantly crushed the man's skull.

A nearby Bitter Sea Realm martial artist attempted to strike with a saber, but Chen Chao broke his arm with a single punch. After the martial artist fell, Chen Chao stomped on his chest, shattering countless bones.

Chen Chao exhaled a turbid breath and fixed his gaze on the nearest Great Beyond cultivator.

It was a gray-robed daoist.

The daoist's eyes met Chen Chao's, and he knew things were not good. Just as he was about to send out another talisman, his vision was obscured by a flash of saber light. By the time the light faded, a not-too-burly figure had already appeared in front of him, and without any hesitation, a heavy fist slammed into his face.

When it came to battles in the same realm, if a cultivator ended up in close combat with a martial artist, it was essentially a life-or-death situation.

Chen Chao remained silent. After landing a punch, he did not give the Great Beyond cultivator in front of him a chance to escape. Instead, he grabbed the man's arm with one hand and slashed his saber across the cultivator's throat.

Just like that, he easily decapitated another head. Chen Chao flung the head aside, and by now, he had a rough idea of the identity of these assassins.

The strength of cultivators in this world was actually very easy to categorize. Ordinary cultivators from major sects were destined to be stronger than those from smaller sects. In the same realm, they held a slight advantage. However, more talented cultivators could compensate for this disadvantage. Other than the foreign lands, those cultivators who served the Great Liang Dynasty were often weaker, as many of them were abandoned pawns from those sects. After arriving in Great Liang, most lived lives of complacency, enjoying the Great Liang's offerings. When they encountered cultivators from the foreign lands who had genuine achievements in cultivations, it often took three or five of them to equal one of the same realm.

The weakest were the itinerant cultivators who roamed the wild. These individuals typically had no sect to back them, and those who embarked on the path of cultivation either stumbled upon a cultivation method by chance and cultivated bitterly, or were trained by fellow itinerant cultivators, making them the lowest tier of cultivators.

The cultivators of the Heavenly Imperial Institution in Great Liang were slightly stronger than the latter two groups, but not by much.

However, the martial path was an exception. The strongest martial artists in the world resided in the Great Liang Dynasty, and those in the foreign lands, who were often overlooked, simply could not compare.

The combat abilities displayed by these cultivators suggested they were of that lower tier; likely retainers kept by some major families.

And it was likely they did not all come from the same family.

As for how many people in the Divine Capital had the capability to gather retainers from numerous great families, there were not many.

Chen Chao smiled but said nothing.

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