Chapter 10

Surrounded by beautiful, verdant mountains, a waterfall cascaded from the heavens, plummeting three thousand feet, its roar like the galloping of ten thousand horses, majestic and awe-inspiring.

Not far away, a blue lake, like a sapphire, lay quietly amidst the mountains, its surface shimmering with a greenish glow, the water rippling gently.

By the lakeside, horses neighed, their iron-gray coats gleaming, their noble and powerful presence evident as they galloped under the sunlight, their metallic sheen and luster shining brightly.

In front of the iron horse stable, Ximen Wushuang, dressed in a green robe, stared at the young man before him with eyes like a wolf's, his gaze intense.

The young man, dressed in a simple white robe, though worn, was clean and tidy. His long hair flew in the wind, and his brows revealed a calm and composed demeanor.

"Li Ke, what do you think should be done?" Ximen Wushuang fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking, his words seemingly without purpose.

The young man in white, Li Ke, had come to report to the iron horse stable. Beside him was Ling Yun, who was filled with excitement. Ever since Li Ke had passed on the Overlord Decision to him, Ling Yun had been deeply immersed in its profound mysteries, the deeper he delved, the more he realized its extraordinary nature, to the point of losing himself. If not for being in the iron horse stable, Ling Yun would have already started practicing.

After a brief moment of thought, Li Ke spoke straightforwardly, "In the sect's grand competition, eliminate all opponents! Who cares about genius disciples or high-ranking weapon spirits! Crush them all underfoot!"

His words stirred a thousand waves!

As soon as Li Ke spoke, the eyes of the three rows of disciples turned to him, their gazes filled with shock.

Eliminate all opponents?

Who cares about genius disciples or high-ranking weapon spirits?

Crush them all underfoot!

Li Ke's words were too overbearing! This didn't sound like something a disciple with a low-ranking weapon spirit would say; it was more like a declaration of war!

The disciples were as if they had each swallowed an egg, their eyes wide with shock, completely stunned by Li Ke's words, losing themselves.

"This... This is impossible! Senior Brother Li Yu, can you defeat Senior Brother Wang Hu from the medicine shop? Wang Hu is the top inner sect disciple, with a fifth-level cultivation in the Weapon Refinement Realm and a sixth-level weapon spirit. Eliminate him? Too unrealistic!"

"Let alone the top inner sect disciple Wang Hu, I can't even defeat the tenth inner sect disciple, Lin Zhou! Not to mention Wang Hu, who is aiming for the core disciple position in this grand competition. What are we, mere minnows, compared to him?"

"Ha! Indeed! Eliminate all inner sect disciples? That's too ridiculous! It's already good enough for us to have a place in the iron horse stable!"

"A bit too much like a dream!"

Although these discarded disciples often thought about crushing those who looked down on them and had high-ranking weapon spirits, the reality was too stark, making them realize how difficult it truly was.

"Eliminate all opponents! Who cares about genius disciples or high-ranking weapon spirits! Crush them all underfoot!" Ximen Wushuang looked at Li Ke. Although he agreed with Li Ke's words, he knew that the high-ranking weapon spirits had a natural advantage. Defeating those high-ranking and powerful inner sect disciples would not be easy.

"Exactly! That's right! It must be like this! Let those geniuses who always talk about low-ranking disciples and weapon spirits know that a high weapon spirit rank is useless!"

Li Ke was full of confidence. According to Ximen Wushuang, the grand competition of the Dual Saber Sect would take place in three months. He had three whole months to prepare. At his current cultivation speed, three months would be enough to reach the fifth level of the Weapon Refinement Realm, by which time he could easily sweep through all the inner sect disciples.

What if his weapon spirit rank was low? As long as his cultivation was higher and his methods stronger, that would be enough!

"Good! Very good!" Ximen Wushuang shouted, his spirit high. "Li Ke, I hope you don't disappoint me in the grand competition three months from now!" Although Ximen Wushuang still couldn't believe it, Li Ke's simple words had a bit of an encouraging tone, and he couldn't directly contradict them.

"Crush all the inner sect disciples with high-ranking weapon spirits! Crush them mercilessly, let them know that a high weapon spirit rank is useless!"

Ximen Wushuang silently repeated Li Ke's words in his heart.

His cultivation speed had never been fast, and it took him twelve years to reach the Qi Condensation Realm. He was once considered a waste, but his weapon spirit, a sixth-level orange willow leaf double sabers, did not disappoint him. The advantages of a sixth-level weapon spirit greatly accelerated his cultivation in the Weapon Refinement Realm. However, he never felt superior to others and instead treated those with low-ranking weapon spirits and slow cultivation speeds with extra care.

He always encouraged those disciples, telling them that there were no useless weapon spirits in this world, only lazy people, only useless people!

But today, Li Ke's short words made him realize!

All he had done was for this purpose! To crush all the inner sect disciples who looked down on them and had high-ranking weapon spirits, to let them know that a high weapon spirit rank was useless!

Although Ximen Wushuang had thought this, he knew it was impossible to achieve.

"Since you are so confident, I will give you three months. During these three months, you don't need to do anything else, just focus on cultivation. I want you to fight your way into the ranks of the inner sect disciples in the grand competition three months from now. If you fail, you will clean the horse stable for a month!"

Ximen Wushuang said seriously.

"Agreed!" Li Ke immediately responded without hesitation, his eyes filled with determination. Three months to fight into the inner sect ranks, this was no problem for him now.

"Hmm!"

Ximen Wushuang nodded slightly, still not fully believing, but Li Ke's determination made him unable to help but feel hopeful.

"Cleaver, find Li Ke an empty room first!"

After giving the order, Ximen Wushuang left with a mix of disappointment and hope.

"The iron horse stable hasn't appeared in the grand competition for a long time! Whether it's the outer sect or the inner sect... as for the core... sigh!" Looking at Ximen Wushuang's disappointed back, all the disciples of the iron horse stable felt disheartened. It wasn't that they didn't try, but the suppression of their weapon spirits made them feel powerless.

"This time... we will definitely appear!" Looking at the dejected expressions of the many disciples of the iron horse stable, Li Ke's heart was filled with determination. Although the Dual Saber Sect had abandoned him, now that he was in the iron horse stable, seeing these disciples who were also abandoned, his heart was suddenly filled with ambition. He wanted to tell those who had abandoned them:

You will regret it!

What others cannot do, he can!

They can too!

...

The iron horse stable was grand. On the Divine Weapon Continent, iron horses were a very rare species, extremely difficult to tame, and required very high living conditions. Therefore, the Dual Saber Sect built this iron horse stable to house both the iron horses and the disciples.

The iron horse stable had three floors. The first floor was where the iron horses lived, the second floor was for the disciples who tamed the iron horses, and the third floor was where Ximen Wushuang practiced.

Li Ke and Ling Yun were led to the second floor by a thin inner sect senior brother in a golden robe. The second floor had rows of rooms, each with a nameplate by the door. The thin senior brother led Li Ke to an empty room.

Opening the door, the thin senior brother said to Li Ke, "Junior Brother Li Ke, this will be your living quarters from now on. Elder Ximen said that for the next three months, you should focus entirely on cultivation. The taming of the iron horses will be taken care of by us!"

Li Ke looked around the room, which had a bed, a table, and two chairs, very simple. However, he liked the environment here because he could see the Dragon Slaying Mountains, which soared into the clouds, from the window.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Li Ke bowed to the thin senior brother, and Ling Yun smiled at him from behind.

"Junior Brother Li Ke, you're too polite! It's too formal to call me Senior Brother, just call me Cleaver!" The thin senior brother scratched his head when he mentioned his nickname.

"Uh?" Li Ke and Ling Yun were slightly surprised. "Cleaver? Does Senior Brother's weapon spirit happen to be a cleaver?" Li Ke thought for a moment and asked.

"Yes! A seventh-level red fish-patterned cleaver!" The thin senior brother's face was filled with disappointment when he mentioned his weapon spirit.

Seeing the thin senior brother's disappointed look, Li Ke patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Senior Brother Cleaver, don't be disappointed. A low weapon spirit rank doesn't mean anything. I believe Senior Brother Cleaver can use the cleaver in his hand to carve out a vast territory!"

Cleaver listened, looked at Li Ke, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes, though it was quickly suppressed, Li Ke still caught it.

Cleaver nodded heavily and said firmly, "Yes! I will work hard! I won't let anyone look down on me! Junior Brother Li Ke, you must also work hard! In the grand competition, I support you! You must crush all the disciples who usually mock our low-ranking weapon spirits underfoot!"

"Yes! Definitely!" Li Ke said with unusual determination.

"Yes! Junior Brother Li Ke, you rest first, I also need to go back and cultivate!" After hearing Li Ke's words, Cleaver was filled with enthusiasm and eagerly wanted to immerse himself in cultivation, for that vast territory.

Watching Cleaver's departing back, Li Ke narrowed his eyes slightly and thought, "A golden scale is not a creature of the pond!"

Much later, Li Ke's words proved true. Cleaver, with his seventh-level fish-patterned cleaver, became a legendary mad king—Mad Cleaver Feng Sandao!

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