Chapter 77

Chen Hai used the words from the Tao Te Ching to deceive Dong Ning, who was indeed taken in by it.

She had encountered a bottleneck in practicing the Great Derivative Sword Technique and had been delving into the profound and intricate principles of swordsmanship, making it hard for her to extricate herself from such deep thoughts. This was why she was so easily troubled by Chen Hai's strange behavior.

When it comes to profound and intricate principles, nothing is more impressive than the opening words of the Tao Te Ching. Dong Ning, upon hearing them, indeed found them very reasonable, yet she could not grasp the essence of these six short words, and thus fell into a state of confusion.

Chai Rong saw that the Princess Ning had been deceived by Chen Hai's few words, but he was not willing to let Chen Hai get away so easily.

Chai Rong sneered, "What kind of reasoning is this? At the Iron Stream Ridge Dao Academy, everyone knows you are sharp-tongued and can justify your misdeeds with words. But as a direct descendant of a noble family, you have the privilege to practice on the Upper Seven Peaks, yet you cannot open the Secret Palace of the Spirit Sea. Do you really think you can deceive Princess Ning with such talk on the Qiyun Ridge?"

Hearing Chai Rong's words, Dong Ning came to her senses. She thought to herself, "Indeed, even if Chen Hai finds it difficult to re-practice after his cultivation was nullified, with the resources of the Chen family, he should have at least reached the Spirit Sea Realm by now. What profound and intricate principles could he possibly have to teach me?"

It seems that Chen Hai is just good at talking, and I almost fell for his trick.

With this thought, Dong Ning frowned, feeling a mix of shame and anger at being toyed with. She said unhappily, "To know is to know; not to know is to not know. Even if you don't want to deal with me, you don't need to deceive me with such talk."

"Indeed, I have some insights into the Way of the Sword, but my cultivation is not yet at the level where I can express them. However, I can demonstrate them to you, Princess," Chen Hai said with a charming smile, bowing to Dong Ning. "Princess, may I borrow your sword for a moment..."

Chen Hai, who usually used a war spear, found it too conspicuous to bring it into the scripture hall, so he left it in the disciples' dormitory. Now, he directly asked Dong Ning to borrow her sword to demonstrate the Way of the Sword.

Dong Ning, unwilling to let Chen Hai off, handed the Moon Reflection Sword, which was placed on the desk, to Chen Hai. She wanted to see what tricks he could pull. "Then please demonstrate the sword technique you claim you cannot express to all of us."

Chen Hai took the Moon Reflection Sword, drew it out, and saw a moonlight-like glow flow from the blade. The sword had a profound Dao symbol engraved on both sides, and within the sword, a mysterious array subtly influenced the surrounding elemental forces.

The Moon Reflection Sword was a high-grade yellow-level spirit sword, naturally extraordinary, but since Chen Hai had not refined it, even though the sword contained a vast amount of elemental forces, it was irrelevant to him. In his hands, it was just a slightly sharper ordinary sword.

"What a fine sword!" Chen Hai lightly tapped the blade, listening to the pleasant sound, thinking that if he could deceive this spirit sword from Dong Ning, the trip to the Upper Seven Peaks would be worth it.

However, considering the serious consequences of deceiving the Princess of Yuecheng, Chen Hai decided against it. He turned to Chai Rong, who had instigated the conflict, and said coldly, "Since Senior Brother Chai believes I am talking nonsense and deceiving Princess Ning, do you dare to take my sword?"

Chai Rong had wanted to pull Chen Hai into the trial tower to give him a good beating. How could he not dare to take his sword now?

Chai Rong formed a secret seal with his hand, activating the true essence within his body. Several strands of spiritual light flowed from his palms, forming a shield in front of him with a flowing Dao symbol. He sneered, "If you can cut a single crack in this shield with one sword, I will bow and admit my mistake. Why not?"

He knew that even if Chen Hai could not use the Moon Reflection Sword's powers, the sword's sharpness was far superior to an ordinary sword. He guessed that Chen Hai's intention in borrowing the sword from Princess Dong Ning was extremely cunning, but he was not a three-year-old who would easily fall for it. He was thinking about how Chen Hai would break his Six Jia Secret Shield.

"Senior Brother Chai has only been practicing in the Spirit Sea Realm for a little over a year, yet he has refined the Six Jia Shield to this level. Truly remarkable!" The inner disciples in the second-floor scripture hall, though mostly new to the Upper Seven Peaks, could not help but admire the power and subtlety of Chai Rong's defensive technique.

Everyone watched with a sneer, waiting to see how Chen Hai would handle the situation.

Although the Six Jia Secret Shield was not an extremely powerful defensive technique, once formed, it was extremely resilient. The true essence and magical power flowed freely within the shield, forming a cohesive whole. It was not something that could be cut open with a sharp blade, let alone a crack.

Chai Rong's use of the shield to test Chen Hai's sword clearly saw through Chen Hai's intention to take advantage of the Moon Reflection Sword's sharpness. At this moment, everyone looked down on Chen Hai even more.

For a mortal to break the Six Jia Secret Shield, the only way was to have a strength of a thousand or two thousand pounds and use a heavy weapon like a hammer to smash it.

The Moon Reflection Sword, though sharp, was light and agile. Even if Chen Hai were a rare strong and powerful warrior, it would be impossible for him to use this three-foot-long narrow blade to cut through the Six Jia Secret Shield.

Dong Ning, at this moment, finally understood why Chen Hai wanted to borrow her sword, feeling both annoyed and relieved that Chai Rong was quick-witted and did not fall for the trick.

Chen Hai, seeing that everyone was eager to see him make a fool of himself, felt a sense of isolation and loneliness welling up in his heart, even though he had Chai Rong on the hook.

Chen Hai sighed lightly, took out the Golden Peak Spirit Ring and the Nine Flame Dragon Seal, and said in a calm and lonely tone, "I never bet without testing my sword. Since Senior Brother Chai wants to see my sword today, please put up stakes that match these two magical treasures, so the winner can take all!"

Chen Hai's ability to still act so arrogantly at this point left Chai Rong speechless, almost spitting blood.

However, the Golden Peak Spirit Ring and the Nine Flame Dragon Seal were a mid-grade and a high-grade yellow-level magical treasure, respectively. As a member of a collateral branch of the Chai family, Chai Rong did not have the means to casually put up two powerful magical treasures as stakes.

Chai Rong had a mid-grade yellow-level magical sword, the Green Shadow Spirit Sword, but could he say he could not afford the stakes and refuse to take Chen Hai's sword?

Chai Rong's forehead veins bulged with anger, wishing he could tear Chen Hai's face off and bite his bones. He never thought Chen Hai would be so cunning and arrogant, using such an excuse to interrupt the sword test.

But he could not say it out loud; he had no stakes to put up!

Others, though eager to see Chen Hai's downfall, would not provoke trouble for no reason.

Dong Ning, seeing Chai Rong's face turn red as he clutched his spirit sword, did not understand at first. After a while, she realized Chai Rong could not put up the stakes, feeling even more angry at Chen Hai's cunning. She said, "My Moon Reflection Sword is not inferior to your Nine Flame Dragon Seal. The two swords should be enough to match your two magical treasures!"

"Fine, I'll bet with you!" Chai Rong said fiercely, throwing his spirit sword onto the desk in front of Chen Hai.

Chen Hai, not expecting Dong Ning to take the bait, inwardly groaned: "Oh, my lady, who would dare to deceive your magical treasures?"

Chen Hai also regretted that he had actually wanted to force Chai Rong to borrow magical treasures from others to bet, but did not expect Dong Ning to be so straightforward and jump in to ruin his plan.

Moreover, he did not dare to really win Dong Ning's Moon Reflection Sword. In the Taiwei Sect and the Wuwei Army, he could offend anyone, but not the Dong family...

Chen Hai glanced at the spirit sword Chai Rong had thrown on the desk, as if it were already his, and then looked at Chai Rong, asking calmly, "This sword will no longer be yours after my strike. Are you ready to test the sword now?"

Damn it, just strike already! Chai Rong inwardly shouted in frustration...

"Please, Princess Ning, give the order," Chen Hai said to Dong Ning.

"Strike quickly, stop talking nonsense. Do you think Chai Rong and I will cheat you?" Dong Ning, losing her patience, urged.

Chen Hai swung his sword at the Six Jia Secret Shield in front of Chai Rong. As the tip of the sword touched the shield, the shield, which everyone had high hopes for, quietly shattered, turning into a burst of light that dissipated into the void.

Everyone was stunned. Was it over so quickly?

Chai Rong was also stunned. Was it over so quickly?

Dong Ning's lips parted slightly, looking at the scene in disbelief.

************************

In the cave on the back mountain of the Ancestor Hall, Sun Buhui also watched the scene reflected in the Water Moon Mirror, finding it hard to believe that Chen Hai had so easily shattered Chai Rong's Six Jia Secret Shield in the scripture hall.

"How is this possible?" Sun Buhui asked, seeing the Ancestor, Ge Xuanqiao, smiling and stroking his messy white beard, as if he had foreseen this.

"Why not?" Ge Xuanqiao crossed his legs and said, "If you can grasp the complete meaning of shattering, you can also shatter the Six Jia Secret Shield with an ordinary sword. Although it is a low-grade true meaning, to grasp the complete meaning of shattering from the martial path without opening the Spirit Sea is truly remarkable! The sect has not seen such a genius in over a hundred years. How could Old Yao let such a world-class genius be expelled from the Yao family? It's strange, isn't there some hidden secret?"

The complete meaning of shattering?

Sun Buhui was also shocked by the Ancestor's words, finally understanding why the Ancestor had the intention to take him as a disciple. This almost universally despised and abandoned Yao family outcast had already grasped the complete meaning of shattering!

What does this mean?

Although Chen Hai's cultivation was nullified, making it extremely difficult for him to re-practice, grasping the complete true meaning of the martial path means that Chen Hai would have no bottleneck in reaching the Dao Pill Realm.

Even the lowest-grade true meaning is a complete true meaning. In the past hundred years, how many peak Enlightenment Realm cultivators in the sect have been unable to grasp the complete true meaning, even the lowest-grade complete true meaning, and thus failed to reach the Dao Pill Realm, dying with regret?

"How could Chen Lie, the Marquis of Zhaoyang Pavilion, have such a talented nephew and not report it to the sect, directly placing Chen Hai in the True Transmission for focused cultivation?" Sun Buhui asked, puzzled.

Indeed, to help Chen Hai re-practice, the sect would need to invest unimaginable resources, but think about it: the sect would gain a young Dao Pill Realm cultivator, a significant gain.

A young Dao Pill Realm cultivator is destined to be a top player on the Earth List, with the potential to reach the Dao Fetus Realm in the future. No matter how much the sect invests in him, it is worth it.

"Who knows how many plots and schemes are hidden within the Chen family? I, the old Daoist, can't even compete with the old ghost Chen. It's infuriating!" The old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao pounded his chest and shouted, pointing at Sun Buhui, "I'm in a bad mood today, I need to test my sword on you!"

Sun Buhui thought that Chen Lie might be worried that Chen Hai's shocking talent would be exposed, leading to adverse actions from the Chen family's patriarch, Chen Zhiyi. If so, he would need to keep this secret and not speak of it recklessly.

Sun Buhui could see that the Ancestor cherished talent. If Chen Hai were to encounter any mishap due to his negligence, he would not gain the Ancestor's favor. However, the Ancestor's offer to test his sword left him both excited and fearful.

Excited because whoever the Ancestor chose to test his sword would see their cultivation improve, but fearful because the process of testing the sword was like going through hell and returning to the human world!