Ch647 - Jiang Xu's Arena

As soon as Jiang Xu’s name was announced, many cultivators rushed over to watch him spar, curious about what they’d hear and see. Some began whispering amongst themselves.

“Dragon Clan Jiang Xu, rank strength Immortal Emperor, sword cultivator, accepts pure sword matches, each round 100 high-grade immortal crystals.”

“T-This is the arena of the Second Prince’s Consort?”

“The Second Prince’s Consort? Isn’t that the Sixth Prince of Sword City?”

“That’s right. I heard the Second Prince’s Consort contracted the Han Xing Sword from his clan and even recognized his Father!”

“Yes, I know about that too!”

“How strange, why would the Second Prince’s Consort come here to set up a fighting arena?”

“Who knows?”

“He must be looking for other sword cultivators to hone his skills!”

“En, that seems likely!”

While listening to everyone’s chatter, Yang Jiyi turned toward Jiang Xu beside him. “Senior Jiang.”

“Oh, no one will probably challenge me on the first day.” As he spoke, Jiang Xu pulled out two pieces of immortal fruit, gave one to Yang Jiyi, then started nibbling on his own.

“No, Senior’s sword technique is so good; there must be many sword cultivators who wish to spar with you.” Yang Jiyi felt that any immortal with ambition and strength comparable to Senior Jiang would not pass up the opportunity to learn from this Sword Emperor’s Sixth Prince.

“I hope so.” Jiang Xu nodded but showed no urgency.

As Jiang Xu had anticipated, during the first three days, most of those who came were spectators eager for excitement, yet not one stepped forward to challenge him. On the fourth day, while Jiang Xu was sitting there drinking tea, an immortal dressed in black flew onto his arena floor.

Jiang Xu couldn’t help raising an eyebrow at the newcomer’s strength equivalent to the ninth level of the Immortal King. “Do you wish to spar?”

“Your Highness, I am Lu He of Sword City.” The man bowed his head and introduced himself.

“Lu He? Oh, you’re one of my Father’s twelve disciples.”

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“That’s correct, your cultivation is lower than mine, so I wouldn’t want to have any unfair advantages if I used Han Xing Sword.” If he were to use Han Xing Sword, the other cultivator would likely be forced out of the arena with one strike; after all, this opponent had spent over 100 high-grade immortal crystals for a spar, and Jiang Xu wouldn’t feel right knocking him down with only one move.

“All right.” Nodding, Lu He revealed his weapon.

The two exchanged glances, then attacked each other simultaneously.

Though Lu He’s strength paled in comparison to Jiang Xu’s, he was a sword cultivator who had trained since childhood, so his foundation was exceptionally strong. On top of that, Jiang Xu didn’t hold back completely. Thus, the pair traded strikes for quite some time within the arena.

Lu He was the first to step onto Jiang Xu’s arena floor. After all, Jiang Xu was the Second Prince’s Consort of the Dragon Clan and the Sixth Son of the Sword Emperor, one of the most famous figures in the Upper Heavenly Domain. Every day, many people gathered around Jiang Xu’s arena to watch the excitement.

At the sight of Lu He stepping forward, the immortals below began discussing amongst themselves.

“The Sixth Prince’s sword technique isn’t bad.” Liu Zheng observed with a frown as he watched the two fighters on the arena floor.

“Indeed, the Sixth Prince’s sword technique is quite impressive.” Hong Ye nodded in agreement.

Liu Zheng and Hong Ye were both disciples of the Sword Emperor; Liu Zheng was the eleventh disciple, while Hong Ye was the tenth. The trio had planned to try the Heaven-Piercing Tower together. They hadn’t expected to encounter Jiang Xu here, so Lu He stepped onto the arena floor.

Jiang Xu and Lu He exchanged fifty blows before sending the latter straight down.

Standing beneath the arena, Lu He glanced at his torn clothes, then lowered his head and bowed deeply to Jiang Xu. “Many thanks for your mercy, Your Highness!” He knew well that if Jiang Xu weren’t holding back, he would have been sent flying long ago.

“No need to be so courteous, Junior Brother Lu. Your sword technique is respectable, but you rely too heavily on rigid forms and techniques; I recommend you practice more diligently when you return. If there are any areas of confusion, feel free to ask my Father, your Master for guidance.” Jiang Xu observed his opponent as he spoke.

“Yes, many thanks for the Sixth Prince’s instruction.”

“Sixth Prince.” Hong Ye flew onto the arena floor with his red robes fluttering behind him, catching Jiang Xu’s attention as he approached.

Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow at this newcomer dressed in scarlet robes with a dignified face.

“You wish to spar with me?”

“Your Highness, it is I, Hong Ye from Sword City.”

“Hong Ye, are you one of my Father’s disciples?”

“Yes, today, the Eleventh Junior Brother and Twelfth Junior Brother joined me. I came here to learn from Your Highness’s sword technique.” As Hong Ye gazed upon Jiang Xu, he seemed eager to begin.

“Very well.” Hong Ye was already at the third level of Immortal Emperor cultivation, which put him above Lu He in terms of strength, making Jiang Xu even more interested in him as a match.

Hong Ye presented his immortal crystals, then began to spar against Jiang Xu. Because both fighters were Immortal Emperors, their battle was far more intense than those before them, and Jiang Xu also unleashed all of his strength.

The two fought fiercely on the arena floor, dazzling everyone below with their skillful moves.

Lu He and Liu Zheng held recording stones to capture every moment of this match, both for their Senior Brother and also as a means of reviewing the techniques themselves later.

Jiang Xu and Hong Ye exchanged over two hundred blows before ultimately Hong Ye conceded, having been knocked off the arena floor by Jiang Xu.

“Your Highness’s sword intent truly is superb; Hong Ye gladly concedes!”

“Junior Brother Hong Ye flatters me. You have learned swordsmanship since childhood, possess a solid foundation, and received guidance from my Godfather, so your skills are exceptional.” Jiang Xu gave his opponent ample praise.

“The Sixth Prince flatters me.” Hong Ye had heard tales of how formidable the Sixth Prince was while he resided at Sword City, and now that he’d met him, he could confirm that these stories were true—indeed worthy of being the Son of Master, like Father, like Son!

Two Sword City cultivators offered Jiang Xu their services, and soon more sword cultivators began testing their skills against him one after another. Some came purely out of curiosity, while others genuinely sought to improve their sword techniques through sparring.

**********

Three hundred years later…

Tongtian City was now a bustling metropolis with many transient residents. All sizes of inns and hostels within the city were filled to capacity, and even the houses owned by locals were rented out by other traveling cultivators. There were three main reasons why Tongtian City had become so crowded.

First, many people came to ascend the Heaven-Piercing Tower; second, numerous sword cultivators traveled here seeking sparring partners; and third, someone had climbed to the ninety-eighth floor of the said tower.

With so many people living in the city, it went without saying that the City Lord’s residence was also packed. The Dragon Emperor, the Dragon Empress who had emerged from the Heaven-Piercing Tower a century ago, Jiang Xu, Emperor Yu, Sword Emperor, Array Emperor, Alchemy Emperor, Azure Emperor, Tiger Emperor, and Rabbit Emperor all resided there.

Having his own mansion overrun by a bunch of Immortal Emperors had put quite some pressure on Yang Tong, but thankfully, these guests were all entertained by his Master, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to handle them alone.

The various Domain Emperors sat together idly chatting, eventually discussing the matter of the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

“I think this is definitely my Son Liu Mufeng, no ordinary talent can compare to him,” the Dragon Emperor boasted proudly.

Upon hearing this, all present Immortal Emperors felt rather depressed and thought to themselves:The Dragon Emperor is already such a fucking asshole. If another Supreme Immortal Emperor rose from the Dragon Domain, would there still be any hope for them?

“Indeed, indeed, myXiaoXu is truly extraordinary.” Nodding, the Sword Emperor agreed.

At these words, the Dragon Emperor’s mouth twitched slightly. “XiaoXu has been participating in the daily tournaments, did you know? Every day, many sword cultivators rush over to give him gifts of immortal crystals.”

“I did. I went to see my Sixth Son not long ago.” Regardless, Jiang Xu was his Son, so it was only natural that the Sword Emperor attended his Son’s competitions. Thus, he had once taken several disciples with him to watch their Sixth Prince fight.

“Oh.” Nodding, the Dragon Emperor looked toward the other Immortal Emperors. “You can tell your subordinates, those shrimp soldiers and crab generals, to go give some immortal crystals to my Son-in-Law.”

“Yes, yes!” Responding, the other Immortal Emperors were quite dejected.Why should they have to let their disciples and heirs suffer at Jiang Xu’s hands when they aren’t even sword cultivators?

“Dragon Empress, do you also believe that the one who lit the ninety-eighth tower lamp is my dear Nephew, Nephew Liu?” As the matter concerned both the Heaven-Piercing Tower and the Yutian Sect, Emperor Yu didn’t dare take it lightly as he turned to ask the Dragon Empress.

“Rest assured, Your Imperial Majesty, this time my Son Mufeng only wishes to ascend to the ninety-ninth floor of the Heaven-Piercing Tower, he has no interest in the tower itself. Even if he succeeds, he will not make a contract with it.”

“Oh?” Emperor Yu was rather surprised by these words.

“My Son possesses three sacred artifacts,” Long Xingtian remarked disdainfully as he eyed Emperor Yu. “He looks down on your pathetic tower.”

“That…” Hearing this, Emperor Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but upon realizing that the Heaven-Piercing Tower, which had been passed down through generations of Yutian Sect, was being disdained, his spirits sank. He never would have imagined that Liu Mufeng felt this way—this young man truly didn’t seem to care for the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

“Nephew Liu has three sacred artifacts?” The Alchemy Emperor stared at the Dragon Emperor, incredulous. “Really?”

“En, my Son’s luck is unmatched—he acquired these magical artifacts himself. One of them is a palace-sized magical artifact called the Sea God Palace, just like the Dragon Palace, except it’s far larger. It’s also a sacred artifact, and I dare say it’s many times stronger than that Heaven-Piercing Tower.”

“I see.” The crowd nodded, thinking to themselves,Emperor Yu needn’t worry so much. If Liu Mufeng really did reach the ninety-eighth floor, there would be nothing to fear about theHeaven-Piercing Tower being contracted away.