âHonorable Swordsman of Snow! I shall be taking your sword!â
âHmph, if you want it so badly, letâs see you try to outlast me first!â
Atop one of Sword Prayer Cityâs skyscrapers, two swordsmen were in a battle with their sword qi raging in a flurry. Below them, a large crowd had gathered.
Frankly, fights like this were nothing new since so many swordsmen resided in the city, but these two were different.
âHonorable Swordsman of Snow and Sword Hoarder are at it again.â
âD*mn, theyâre both Honorable cultivators!â
âTheyâre here for the Century Sword, arenât they?â
âCan Honorable Swordsman of Snow win against Sword Hoarder?â
âIt looks like it could go both ways.â
The crowd chattered amongst themselves.
Chu Kuangren and Lan Yu had also stayed to watch the fight out of curiosity.
âMaster, both of them are quite capable, especially the one known as Sword Hoarder. Heâs no longer one of the weaker ones amongst the Honorables,â Lan Yu explained.
Sword Hoarder was a grey-robed old man with a solemn expression and carried a sword case on his back. His energy was very strong too.
âAh, Iâve heard of him. The statement that two masters and seven heroes exist in the Azure Dragon Domainâs world of swordsmanship, where the two masters refer to my teacher and Honorable Swordsman White Cloud, and the seven heroes serve under the both of them.
âSword Hoarder is one of the seven heroes.â
âHonorable Swordsman of Snow also has quite the reputation in the world of swordsmanship. But compared to Sword Hoarder, he does fall short.â
Chu Kuangren said while he watched the fight.
After some comparisons, Chu Kuangren realized that while his cultivation base was not as powerful as the two, he could still win against them with little difficulty if they were to fight.
He was much more powerful compared to three years ago.
âSupreme Technique, Everfalling Snow!â Honorable Swordsman of Snow held a longsword that emitted a chilling Daoist Rhyme.
With a single swing, snow-white sword rays pierced the skies.
âHaha! Well done!â
âMark of the Wolf!â Sword Hoarder laughed out loud. Then, countless sword qi weaved around him and formed a large purple wolf that dashed forth.
When the wolf clashed with Honorable Swordsman of Snowâs sword ray, the wolf shattered the other manâs sword ray in one large bite before it slammed straight into Honorable Swordsman of Snowâs body.
The impact sent Honorable Swordsman of Snow flying and coughing out blood.
Sword Hoarder took his chance and with one swing of his sword, he sliced the hand that Honorable Swordsman of Snow was holding his sword in off clean, claiming his prize.
âHa! With that, your sword, Snowpiercer, is mine.â Sword Hoarder opened the sword case on his back, and in it lay dozens of swords.
Each one of them was of outstanding quality as it gleamed and shimmered.
Sword Hoarder placed Snowpiercer into the case with a satisfied smile. A little ways away, Honorable Swordsman of Snow clutched his severed arm with a pale and bitter face. âThis is too much, Sword Hoarder!â
âToo much? How is this too much? A good sword deserves a good owner. You are inferior. Therefore, this sword is now mine,â Sword Hoarder spoke haughtily.
He was called Sword Hoarder for a reason. He loved collecting rare swords, especially from famous swordsmen. Each new addition to his collection gave him an unparalleled sense of accomplishment.
As for how he got the swords, he cared not about the methods.
In the crowd, Chu Kuangren shook his head.
To him, Sword Hoarder was just a crazed collector.
It was fine at first, but his methods were too extreme. No wonder he had a bad reputation in the world of swordsmanship.
âI feel bad for Honorable Swordsman of Snow. He was an unfortunate target.â
âSigh. In the world of swordsmanship, drawing attention to yourself when youâre not powerful just means youâll be targeted by Sword Hoarder.â
âItâs very likely that he came to Sword Prayer City because he had his eye on the Century Sword. Can anyone even stop him?â
âWell, Sword Hoarder is still one of the seven heroes after all.â
Sword Hoarder did not care about what the crowd was saying as he promptly packed up after getting the sword and was ready to leave.
That was until his eyes narrowed and he swept his gaze across the crowd as if he felt something.
âI sense the energy of a good sword.â
âItâs not just a good sword, itâs an outstanding one!â
âWhere are you?!â
Sword Hoarder muttered before finally locking his gaze onto Chu Kuangren. In a flash, he made his way to him.
Sword Hoarderâs sudden appearance made many people back away hastily.
âHey, kid, show me the sword you have within you.â Sword Hoarder stared at Chu Kuangren with a fiery gaze.
He could sense that this one definitely had a good sword!
Not to mention that it was heaps better than the Snowpiercer!
Chu Kuangren was slightly surprised. How did Sword Hoarder know that he had a sacred sword within him? With that in mind, he used his Eye of Revelation.
Instantly, information about Sword Hoarder flashed before his eyes, one by one.
âSword Hoarder, one of the seven heroes in the Azure Dragon Domainâs world of swordsmanship, cultivated the Human Sword Resonance skill, which gives him enhanced senses to swordsâ¦â
Only then did Chu Kuangren realize why he could sense the sword within him.
To think that the Human Sword Resonance skill was so fascinating.
âI canât give you my sword,â Chu Kuangren said with indifference.
âYou wonât give it to me?â
Sword Hoarder raised an eyebrow and sized Chu Kuangren up. It was his first time seeing someone that looked so extraordinary.
Not to mention that he was able to face him so calmly. Could it be that he was a sky-pride from one of the sage orthodoxies?
At that, even Sword Hoarder felt the need to be cautious.
So he took out his sword case and revealed all the extraordinarily rare and shimmering swords. âTake your pick. Iâll trade with you.â
Chu Kuangren took one look at the swords in the case and saw that while they were rare, none of them were worth more than a sacred sword.
Instead, it was the sword case that felt special.
âInteresting.â
Chu Kuangren looked at the sword case carefully.
The case seemed to be made from a single piece of bronze with the edges fused, and all over the case were plastered with images of alien-like beasts and mysterious runes.
Chu Kuangren subconsciously reached out to touch the case, but when he made contact with the surface, the case shook and a mysterious Daoist Rhyme rang out.
Sword Hoarderâs face fell, and he quickly slammed the sword case shut. He looked at Chu Kuangren with a face full of shock. âWhat did you do?!â
âWhat do you think I could have done? I just touched it.â
âAre you sureâ¦?â
Sword Hoarder was still skeptical.
One should know that ever since he had obtained the sword case, hundreds of skills were at his disposal and none of them ever had such a reaction.
Yet it reacted when Chu Kuangren touched it! What was going on?!
âEnough talk. Are you trading or not, kid?â
âNope.â
âIn that case, donât blame me for this!â
In the end, Sword Hoarder could not control his thirst for the sacred sword in Chu Kuangren as he made a move with two fingers piercing forth like a sword.
âHmph. Impudent.â Chu Kuangren cast a cold gaze at him. He did not think that Sword Hoarder would attack him just because he did not want to trade.
His spiritual power erupted as he lifted his palms to strike.
Human Mountain Stamp!
Majestic power gathered in his palms before it erupted in Sword Hoarderâs direction and hit both of his fingers. The horrifying shockwave from the impact caused both parties to back off.
âHe may be one of the seven heroes, but his power is only slightly stronger than the Winged Human Tribeâs Third Elder,â Chu Kuangren thought to himself.
He had killed the Winged Human Tribeâs Third Elder a while back. He may have been injured, but he was still an Honorable. However, compared to Sword Hoarder, he was still far weaker in both Dao techniques and spiritual power.