Chapter 11: Bai Chong
"There's no mistake. That is the Nameless Sword Art, the supreme Nameless Sword Art of the Sword Marquis Manor!" The purple-robed middle-aged man's face showed shock, and in his mind, he couldn't help but recall the strike that Jian Wushuang had just executed.
That strike had simply been too fast. Although Jian Wushuang's strength was far too weak—even performing that strike, it posed no real threat to him—he knew full well that if the one executing that strike had been a powerhouse of the same level as himself, he might not have been able to evade it unscathed.
And such a terrifying sword art, he had seen before.
It was more than a decade ago, when the Sword Marquis Manor faced a powerful enemy. All the many warriors of the Sword Marquis Manor were helpless against that foe, yet in the end, it was Jian Nantian, the then-Master of the Sword Pavilion, who slew that powerful enemy single-handedly. And the technique he used to kill him was precisely this one!
The Nameless Sword Art!
The supreme first sword art of the Sword Marquis Manor! And this sword art had always remained a legend, even within the Sword Marquis Manor itself.
The reason for this was that the Nameless Sword Art was simply too profound and intricate. Ordinary sword cultivators, even after painstaking study for decades, would be unable to execute this sword art. Merely executing it was difficult enough, let alone completely mastering it.
Moreover, this sword art was a closely guarded secret even within the Sword Pavilion. Only the successive Masters of the Sword Pavilion had the qualification to study and cultivate it, and among all the successive Masters of the Sword Pavilion, only three had ever been able to actually execute this sword art.
The eighteen first-rate sword arts of the Sword Pavilion were already remarkable techniques, but compared to the legendary Nameless Sword Art, the gap between them was far from negligible.
"This little fellow can actually execute the Nameless Sword Art. Even if it's only the first form, it's still inconceivable." The purple-robed middle-aged man stared fixedly at Jian Wushuang. "What he used before was the Falling Leaf Sword Art of the Sword Pavilion, already executed to perfection. And the Nameless Sword Art is the very lifeblood of the Sword Pavilion of the Sword Marquis Manor—ordinary people have no qualification to even come into contact with it."
"A young fellow like this, at the fourth level of the Spirit Dao, possessing so many sword arts of the Sword Pavilion, and even capable of executing the legendary Nameless Sword Art. Then his identity..." The purple-robed middle-aged man's expression shifted, and he seemed to have already guessed Jian Wushuang's identity in his heart. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward. "Interesting!"
After the life-and-death battle ended.
"Mr. Nan, these are your winnings."
The black-robed steward of the Life-and-Death Arena handed a wooden box to Jian Wushuang. When the box was opened, inside were rows of milky-white pills exuding a delicate fragrance. Including the one Jian Wushuang himself had put up, there were eleven in total.
In life-and-death battles between opponents of the same rank at the Life-and-Death Arena, the odds were one-to-one. But for challenges across ranks, the odds were one-to-ten. This was precisely why Jian Wushuang had chosen to challenge across ranks.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
Jian Wushuang took the wooden box, examined it carefully, and nodded after confirming everything was in order, then prepared to leave.
"Mr. Nan, please wait a moment." The black-robed steward stopped Jian Wushuang.
"Is there something else?" Jian Wushuang's eyes narrowed slightly.
The Life-and-Death Arena was an extremely powerful force throughout the entire Tianzong Dynasty, and its reputation had always been excellent. Although Jian Wushuang wasn't worried that the Life-and-Death Arena would do him harm over eleven Spirit-Nurturing Pills of the First Grade, he still remained vigilant.
"It's like this—our Director of the Life-and-Death Arena just witnessed your wagered battle with the Spear Demon, and he seems very interested in you. He would like to meet you," the black-robed steward said.
"Oh?" Jian Wushuang's expression shifted.
At that moment, flanked by several gold-robed stewards, a middle-aged man in loose purple robes slowly walked in.
"Haha, Mr. Nan, I presume? I am Bai Chong, Director of the Life-and-Death Arena. You may call me Lord Bai Chong," the purple-robed middle-aged man said in a hearty voice.
Jian Wushuang's pupils contracted, and he quickly bowed and called out, "Lord Bai Chong!"
The Director of the Life-and-Death Arena held a status in Ba Shui Commandery nearly equivalent to the current Sword Marquis of the Sword Marquis Manor—perhaps even higher. Faced with such a figure, Jian Wushuang could not help but show respect.
"You may withdraw," Bai Chong waved a hand at the black-robed steward, who immediately bowed and departed.
"Mr. Nan, the sword art you used to slay the Spear Demon just now—surely that was the Nameless Sword Art of the Sword Pavilion?" Bai Chong looked at Jian Wushuang with a half-smile. "As far as I know, the Nameless Sword Art is a closely guarded secret of the Sword Pavilion, one that only the successive Masters of the Pavilion have been qualified to study. And in today's Sword Pavilion, the only person who could possibly know this Nameless Sword Art is one man—Jian Wushuang, son of Jian Nantian, the Sword Pavilion Master who has vanished without a trace. Only he, because of his father, had the opportunity to come into contact with the Nameless Sword Art. So I wonder, what is Mr. Nan's relationship with that Jian Wushuang?"
Jian Wushuang's heart jolted, and a trace of alarm flashed through his eyes.
Clearly, this Bai Chong had already guessed his identity.
"I only made one move, and yet I was recognized." Jian Wushuang sighed inwardly, feeling helpless.
The Nameless Sword Art had indeed been taught to him by his father, and it was indeed the strongest sword art of the Sword Pavilion. He had always kept it deeply hidden—even Jian Meng'er didn't know about it.
The reason he had chosen to gamble on a cross-rank challenge this time, to obtain a sufficient quantity of First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills all at once, was precisely because he feared that if he appeared in too many battles at the Life-and-Death Arena, someone might discern his origins and deduce his identity. With just a single challenge, the odds of being recognized were much smaller.
But what he hadn't expected was that in his battle with the Spear Demon, he had been forced into revealing his strongest technique, the Nameless Sword Art—and as it happened, a discerning eye had been watching from the stands.
"Haha, just a little joke, don't take it seriously." Bai Chong had noticed the flicker of alarm in Jian Wushuang's eyes, and instantly felt reassured. He laughed it off and continued, "Mr. Nan, judging by your appearance, you seem to be in great need of First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills?"
"Yes," Jian Wushuang nodded.
"Mm. First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills are indeed a good thing for Spirit Dao cultivators. However, although the medicinal effect of these pills is considerable, absorbing them takes far too much time. You currently hold eleven First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills, but if you want to fully absorb all eleven of them, I'm afraid it would take you at least a year," Bai Chong said.
"Is that so?" Jian Wushuang nodded outwardly, but inwardly he disagreed.
Indeed, for anyone else, fully absorbing the medicinal effects of eleven First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills would take at least a year. But he was different...
He was a reverse cultivator of the Grand Heavenly Creation Art!
Thanks to the miraculous power of the Grand Heavenly Creation Art, he could absorb the medicinal effects of these First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills very quickly. To fully absorb all eleven of them, he wouldn't even need a month!
"First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills simply take too much time to absorb. If you're hoping to make your strength surge in a short period, relying solely on First-Grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills isn't very realistic," Bai Chong said.
"I wonder what you're trying to say, Lord Bai Chong?" Jian Wushuang asked with a frown.
Bai Chong smiled, then looked over with a beaming expression. "Mr. Nan, have you ever heard of Innate Spirit Liquid?"
...