I Cheated While Cultivating

“That’s some serious courage, unless he believes that because he’s a true disciple of Pure Yang Palace, Chang Xing Sect wouldn’t dare to lay a hand on him?”

“Knocking on the door to provoke a fight, it doesn’t matter if you’re killed, that’s the rule of Jianghu, and even Pure Yang Palace can’t oppress with their power.”

“I heard that Zhou Heng is the sixth generation true disciple of Pure Yang Palace, the brother of the present true Yang master, Yan Shouyi—is that true or false?”

“You believe that? Can’t you use your brain?”

Zhou Heng’s arrival set off a buzz of discussion among many people, most of whom had come to enjoy the spectacle because they had heard rumors; they were generally not of Entry Rank, or they were just ordinary Ninth Grade.

Other Eighth Rank and Seventh Rank practitioners, as well as renowned masters whose names were listed in the rankings, all watched Zhou Heng with serious expressions and a hint of wariness in their eyes.

With their ability to perceive, which was beyond what ordinary martial artists of Jianghu could match, they could see that Zhou Heng was in full spirit, and every move he made exhibited his martial arts skills, clearly indicating that his martial prowess was extremely profound.

Most likely, he had already reached the peak of Eighth Rank, just a step away from Seventh Rank.

In their view, Zhou Heng’s visit to Chang Xing Sect this time was probably not just about seeking revenge for his mentor and friends; another likely objective was to use this as an opportunity to refine his martial skills, in an attempt to step into the Seventh Rank.

Zhou Heng had a record of single-handedly defeating three Seventh Rank Warriors while he was at Eighth Rank. How powerful would he be if he stepped into Seventh Rank?

For a moment, several young masters who ranked in the twenties and thirties on the rankings felt a surge of anxiety.

Currently, Zhou Heng was ranked forty-second, and if he made a breakthrough in his martial prowess, those with the most precarious rankings were them.

At this moment, a strikingly handsome young master with gentle features covered his lips with a folding fan and gazed at Zhou Heng, asking a youth in green attire beside him, “Hey brother, do you think you can beat Zhou Heng now?”

The youth in green looked to be in his late teens, with rugged features, sharp eyebrows, and starry eyes, exuding a strong masculine aura and quite handsome.

Hearing his companion’s words, his sword-like brows rose, and he hummed softly, “Little sister, are you underestimating me? Having cultivated our Pei Family’s martial arts for over a decade, can’t I beat someone like Zhou Heng who comes from a crude background?”

“Oh, brother! I am now the graceful young master of the mundane world! Don’t call me little sister!” the exceptionally handsome young master shot a displeased glance at the youth in green and complained, “I don’t think you can beat him, he’s really powerful!”

“How do you know he’s powerful?” The youth in green looked skeptical, examining his sister closely, “Don’t tell me when you ran away from home to have fun in Huangtong Mansion City, you went looking for him? But didn’t you say you were visiting your best friend? No wonder you insisted on coming with me this time.”

“Not at all, I went to play with Yun Xiu, brother, you’re overthinking,” the exceptionally handsome young master responded with a guilty tone, covering half his face with the folding fan and whispering, “I just witnessed him fighting others, that’s all.”

“Well, I would like to see just how powerful he really is,” the youth in green said with a touch of disbelief, eyeing Zhou Heng and pondering whether he should issue a challenge after this matter was settled, to show his sister his true strength.

These two were none other than the legitimate daughter and son of the Pei Family head from Pingzhou, Pei Luoling and Pei Luoshu.

…

Zhou Heng rode his chestnut horse leisurely through the crowd and stopped in front of the Chang Xing Sect disciples.

These disciples were easy to distinguish by their uniform attire—a total of more than thirty gathered together, glaring at Zhou Heng with anger seething in their eyes.

Since Chang Xing Sect wasn’t among the mightiest of martial sects, none of these Seventh Rank warriors was under thirty; most were over forty, and there were quite a few in their fifties and sixties.

However, this didn’t mean they were weak; older warriors tended to have much richer combat experience than their younger counterparts, and their skill was usually much more profound.

“It’s surprising to see such enthusiasm from everyone at Chang Xing Sect,” Zhou Heng chuckled and greeted the crowd with clasped hands, smiling, “Since you all feel so passionate, I’ll try not to kill anyone.”

Hiss!

Many in the watching crowd couldn’t help but draw in a breath of cold air, stunned as they looked at Zhou Heng.

What a poisonous tongue.

And what immense courage.

Wasn’t he afraid that the sect, in a fit of anger, would have thirty or forty Seventh Rank warriors surge forward and attack?

It is said that two fists are hard to contend with four hands.

For most Seventh Rank Warriors, this principle held true; facing an onslaught from a large number of same-level fighters, even if one were far stronger than any individual among them, they were likely to suffer a great loss.

Even more so considering that Zhou Heng was still just Eighth Rank and hadn’t even reached Seventh Rank yet.

His courage was immense.

Naturally, the most enraged were the Chang Xing Sect disciples themselves; they were accustomed to throwing their weight around in Huangtong Mansion City, and had the power of life and death over various subordinate martial halls. When had they ever encountered defiance?

Thus, from the beginning, the fact that Zhou Heng came to challenge all the Lower Third Rank disciples of Chang Xing Sect infuriated them, and now hearing his words, they were beside themselves with rage.

“Zhou Heng, I don’t know how skilled you are, but your mouth is truly disgusting!” A Seventh Rank warrior of Chang Xing Sect couldn’t hold back any longer.

This was a bearded, burly man in his forties.

He stepped forward, blocking Zhou Heng’s chestnut horse, brandishing his long saber before him and shouting loudly, “Dismount and fight! I will see if I can’t tear that foul mouth of yours!”

As he spoke, the spectators perked up, polishing their eyes, eager to witness an exciting fight.

“Dismount?” Zhou Heng merely glanced at the man indifferently and chuckled, “Do you think you’re worthy?”

Following that, he gently tapped the Mysterious Door Sword hanging on his chestnut horse.

Clang!

A sword cry rang out, a flash of silver light burst forth like a spring gushing from nowhere. The Mysterious Door Sword unsheathed itself and, without anyone wielding it, swiftly slashed through the air towards the man!

“What?!” The man was shocked, having never dreamed Zhou Heng would use such a wondrous technique. He lost his composure and became flustered on the spot.

Nevertheless, as a Seventh Rank warrior, even having lost the initiative, he still had a chance to fight back. He hurriedly raised his long saber, attempting to block the incoming strike from the Mysterious Door Sword.

But his long saber was merely an ordinary hundred-refined weapon; how could it contend with a superior blade like the Cross Mysterious Door Sword?

The moment they made contact, the saber was cut open with ease as if it were made of paper, utterly incapable of any resistance.

Broken into two, the sword blade relentlessly thrust toward the man’s face.

If this thrust connected, it would have pierced through the man’s skull, killing him instantly on the spot.

Just then, the Cross Mysterious Door Sword suddenly stopped in front of the man’s face, hovering there without actually stabbing down; but then the blade tilted to the side, slashing open the man’s mouth, causing blood to gush forth.

“Ah!!” The man screamed, clutching his mouth and rolling on the ground in excruciating pain.

“That’s it?” Zhou Heng sneered. With a flick of his sword finger, the Cross Mysterious Door Sword flew back into its sheath. He then cast his glance over the disciples of the Chang Xing Sect, chin slightly raised, and coolly said, “Next, any more takers?”

This single question made a dozen Chang Xing Sect disciples unconsciously take a step back.

But the next moment they realized their retreat was embarrassing, so they stepped forward again.

Nevertheless, no one dared to speak up.

The surrounding onlookers were silent too, many with their mouths agape, staring at Zhou Heng in disbelief.

After a while, the crowd suddenly erupted.

“No way, what was that just now? A Sword Control Technique??”

“A Sword floating in the air, isn’t that a secret technique that only Innate experts who have stepped into the Sixth Rank can practice?”

“How did Zhou Heng perform it? How does he know a Sword Control Technique??”

“It’s too incredible, simply unimaginable!”

The sounds of discussion and astonishment were endless.

In the crowd, Pei Luoling had a face full of joy, excitedly saying to her brother, “Brother, see, I told you he is amazing, hey, Brother, why aren’t you speaking?”

“…” Pei Luoshu was staring blankly at Zhou Heng, silently deciding that it would be best to avoid encountering Zhou Heng if possible, lest he become one of those whose ranks were knocked down by Zhou Heng from the top forty.

What a joke, how did a Martial Dao Eighth Rank learn a Sword Control Technique?

Even if some special Seventh Rank sword techniques could achieve an effect similar to the Sword Control Technique over short distances, such sword techniques are generally extremely difficult to practice, require a high demand on the Divine Soul, and are usually only possible to learn at the initial convergence of the external scenery at the Peak of the Seventh Rank.

Zhou Heng was merely at the Eighth Rank yet he was able to perform a technique similar to a Sword Control Technique.

It was utterly inconceivable!

In the crowd, there was a middle-aged man wearing a simple Taoist robe; seeing Zhou Heng wield the Sword Control Technique, his eyes revealed a look of sudden realization, and he looked at Zhou Heng with even more admiration.

On a distant mountain peak.

Cheng Jianjian sat at the edge of a cliff, watching the situation in front of Chang Xing Sect’s gates, her gaze fixed on Zhou Heng, her lips curled into a smile, “He’s become much more formidable.”

After hearing about Zhou Heng’s situation with the Chang Xing Sect, she had temporarily set aside her own tasks and rushed over as quickly as possible, ready to help at any moment, in case Zhou Heng suffered a disadvantage in a possible group attack.

At this time, the Seventh Rank Warriors of the Chang Xing Sect listened to the surrounding discussions and exclamations, their faces turning the livid color of liver, their bodies trembling with indignant rage.

They sent out two people to carry back the one who had been injured by Zhou Heng to bandage his wounds.

Then they began shouting again.

“Relying on a superior weapon to bully others, what kind of master are you!”

“Exactly, put up a fair fight with your bare hands if you are capable and don’t rely on sharp weapons to harm people!”

“Right! You’re a true disciple of a prominent martial family, armed with a superior weapon, how could we stand a chance against you?”

“Do you dare to fight with just fists and feet?”

As soon as these words were uttered, the crowd immediately jeered; the look in their eyes toward them was laced with disdain.

How ludicrous!

Zhou Heng was merely at the Eighth Rank of the Martial Path, and here was a group of Seventh Rank warriors saying he relied on a superior weapon to harm others, audaciously demanding that he fight empty-handed.

What sheer audacity!

The group from the Chang Xing Sect had lashed out in heated foolishness, nearly losing their senses, but once they came to their senses, the words had already been said and could not be taken back; they could only grit their teeth and stand firm.

“Fine!” Zhou Heng agreed readily, surprisingly everyone.

He dismounted and approached the Chang Xing Sect warriors bare-handed without taking the Cross Mysterious Door Sword. He shook his hands and smiled, “Actually, I think you might regret this in a minute.”

Fighting empty-handed was indeed his intention.

After all, using the technique of Transforming Shadows and Minor Wuxiang Power to return their own methods back on them, thus driving the Chang Xing Sect to complete despair and total loss of face, was his goal.

He had previously shown the prowess of the Cross Mysterious Door Sword with the hundred paces flying sword technique, precisely to make the Chang Xing Sect warriors feel he was bullying them with it, anticipating they would eventually ask him not to use his weapon.

As expected, the Chang Xing Sect were shameless just as he had anticipated.

“The one who will regret it is probably you! Boy, you may be young, but you have a big mouth!” A cold laugh came, and a strapping middle-aged man emerged from the Chang Xing Sect crowd.

He stood there like a mighty spear, exuding an oppressive presence. He pointed at Zhou Heng and declared, “Just now my junior was caught off-guard by you, and his weapon was not as sharp as yours. Don’t think he genuinely could not match you!

“Hong Wanzai, known in the martial world as ‘Mountain-Bearing Spear’, let me test your skills! Boy, make your move!”