Chapter 60: The Path of Slaughter!

Xiao Xuanzhen's highly recognizable voice came from afar, drawing near, as crisp and pleasant as that of a lark.

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me; I know you are here."

If not for this mood-ruining sentence that followed, Chen Yi's mood might have been somewhat better.

Ever since he defeated Xiao Xuanzhen in that evaluation spar, the Sect Master's daughter had set her sights on him.

Almost every few days, she would seek him out on Sword Peak.

Fortunately, however, every time she came, she came alone...

"Brother Yi."

Just as she arrived at the martial arts arena on the summit of Sword Peak, Lin Xueru, who had previously been lagging behind, broke into a trot, directly bypassing Xiao Xuanzhen and standing before Chen Yi a step ahead.

That slightly chubby little face was wreathed in smiles, and a pair of large eyes blinked as they gazed fixedly at Chen Yi.

Chen Yi smiled and greeted her, but when he turned around to look at Xiao Xuanzhen, the smile on his face vanished instantly.

"I say, Senior Sister Xiao, it's only been three days since our last spar. Surely you didn't need to rush over so soon?"

However, the instantaneous shift in his expression had already been caught by Xiao Xuanzhen, nearly causing the small volcano within her heart to erupt.

She glared at Chen Yi angrily, thinking that this fellow must practice some kind of facial-transformation technique.

A moment ago, his face was full of that kind of smile, but when her turn came, it turned into a dead-fish face?

You must know that she was Xiao Xuanzhen—

Not only was she the daughter of the current Sect Master of the Void Dao Sect and a true传 (lineage) disciple of the Void Dao, but she was also the disciple with the highest status in the entire Void Dao Sect!

No matter which peak she went to, wasn't she always treated with the utmost respect and given wide berth?

How was it that when she came to this bad guy Chen Yi, she ended up being the unwelcome one?

Thinking of this, Xiao Xuanzhen lifted her chin and snorted, "Three days ago, the Void Eight Methods I studied had not yet been fully mastered."

"And today they've all been mastered?" Chen Yi asked.

"Though not all have been mastered, six of the methods have, and that's more than enough to defeat you!"

Chen Yi looked at her proud and haughty little expression and was left speechless for a moment.

Where did she get such confidence?

Let alone mastering just six methods; even if she had mastered all eight, or even brought them all to minor completion,

Xiao Xuanzhen at this moment would still definitely not be Chen Yi's opponent.

This was no longer in suspense, ever since he had claimed the reward for attaining mastery in the Sword Dao and received that century-long span of swordsmanship experience.

To put it in common parlance, the realm of Sword Dao mastery was the state of consummate Sword Intent.

Moreover, the Sword Intent Chen Yi mastered was not one of nature, emotion, or other such moods, but the far more terrifying Slaughter Sword Intent.

It was a Sword Intent he had grasped only after slaughtering hundreds of millions of demons and fiends during that century which felt as though he had experienced it personally.

Not only had it fused his previously learned tens of thousands of swordsmanship techniques into one, but the razor-sharp edge of his sword qi extended a full mile, combining killing intent, dominance, precision, and ruthlessness into a single stroke, honing his "slaughter" sword intent to perfection.

If he were truly exerting his full strength, he wouldn't even need to draw his sword.

Merely relying on the intense killing intent within his sword intent was enough to cause Xiao Xuanzhen's mind and spirit to collapse.

Therefore, after acquiring the realm of Sword Dao mastery, Chen Yi had spent a full half-month without going out to see anyone.

It wasn't until he had completely mastered the "slaughter" sword intent and was able to ensure not a single shred of sharpness leaked out that he finally stepped out of his quarters.

To be honest, Chen Yi had once imagined what his sword intent realm would look like.

It should be a single sword stroke, sufficiently dashing and filled with poetic beauty.

At the very least, it should be like a sword bringing falling snow, drifting petals, or fluttering leaves, akin to an immortal descending from beyond the heavens.

Yet, never did he expect that after experiencing that century of slaughtering demons and fiends, his thoughts would ultimately change.

Especially when his gaze fell upon the endless armies of demons, when the ears echoed with the mad roars that could shake the heavens and earth, and when his nose inhaled the thick, pungent scent of blood.

That ceaseless slaughter which constantly overtaxed his mind, physical strength, and energy caused him to cast aside all romantic notions of falling flowers and flying immortals.

The only thought left in his mind was—kill, kill, kill!

To slaughter every demon that dared to reach out its claws toward him, and even those who looked at him from afar with cold and vicious gazes would be decapitated by his sword!

Thus, after a century of slaughter, Chen Yi's sword intent ultimately took shape—the Slaughter Sword Intent, also known as the Slaughter Sword Dao!

"Not talking? Then I'll start—"

Seeing him lost in thought, Xiao Xuanzhen executed the Xunfeng Wind-Tracing Step, swept in with the wind, and followed up with a Kun-Soft Palm.

Bang!

Seeing this, Chen Yi flicked his finger.

A single thread of spring-like sword intent wrapped around the hilt, the blade slid out an inch, and with a flash, it tapped Xiao Xuanzhen on the forehead.

"Hiss, it hurts, hurts, hurts..."

As if struck by a heavy blow, Xiao Xuanzhen instantly dispersed her true essence, clutched the instantly bulging bump on her head, and squatted down.

With tears welling in her eyes, she cried out in pain repeatedly.

"When you finally manage to cultivate all eight methods to the realm of minor completion, come find me for a spar again."

Having said that, Chen Yi abandoned the physically and mentally battered Xiao Xuanzhen, took Lin Xueru by the hand, and went to reunite with Hua Youxiang and the others.

Along the way, he even softly asked Lin Xueru if that Senior Sister Xiao had done anything strange to her.

Upon receiving a negative answer, he nodded and offered a few words of caution,

telling her to stay farther away from Xiao Xuanzhen, lest she catch her stupidity.

"Chen Yi, you just wait for me! Once I master the eight methods, I'll come looking for you again!"

Xiao Xuanzhen glared at that detestable little figure, still thoroughly unconvinced.

At that moment, Ning Xue walked over, pulling out a bottle of Black Jade Ointment.

As she applied the medicinal cream to the bump on Xiao Xuanzhen's forehead, she smiled and persuaded, "Junior Sister, why go to all this trouble?"

Xiao Xuanzhen grimaced in pain, her large eyes fiercely glaring at Chen Yi as she grumbled, "Senior Sister, sooner or later I will defeat him."

Ning Xue chuckled helplessly and said, "Senior Brother Chen's talent in the Sword Dao is viewed very favorably even by my master."

"If you want to defeat him, I'm afraid you can't carry on fooling around like this. Why not focus on your cultivation first and come find him another day?"

Xiao Xuanzhen's little face froze, and her gaze then swept over to Lin Xueru, who was chatting and laughing with that detestable fellow, as she mumbled, "Junior Sister Lin was making a fuss on the mountain wanting to come see him, and I was worried something might happen to her if she came alone."

"Junior Sister Xueru?"

Ning Xue also looked at Chen Yi and Lin Xueru, and said thoughtfully, "I heard the two of them were betrothed since childhood."

"Betrothed?" Xiao Xuanzhen's eyes widened. "Can people get married when they're this young?"

"Not married yet. Their respective elders arranged the engagement for them, and they are only to be wed once they reach adulthood."

"Abominable! Such backward customs even exist?"

Backward customs?

Ning Xue gave her a strange look, but did not bother explaining the concept of parental orders and matchmaker's words.

After all, those things were far too distant for Xiao Xuanzhen, who had grown up in the Void Dao Sect.

After pondering for a moment, she instead said, "In the future, if Junior Sister Xueru wishes to see Senior Brother Chen, just send me a message, and I will come fetch her."

"..."

Xiao Xuanzhen opened her mouth, wanting to refuse but unable to find a suitable excuse, so she could only nod helplessly.

Detestable fellow, just you wait until I learn the Void Eight Methods, and I'll settle accounts with you.

Yet at this moment, a trace of doubt also arose in Xiao Xuanzhen's mind.

It seemed that compared to after the master-selection assessment, Chen Yi's attainments in the Sword Dao had become terrifyingly profound?

Clearly, at the very beginning, she was still able to trade blows back and forth with him evenly; why was it that now she couldn't even block a single sword strike?

Could it be that that bad guy's talent in the Sword Dao was truly as terrifying as Senior Brother Li had claimed?

If that were really the case, wouldn't Junior Sister Lin be...

No, she couldn't let her fall into the tiger's mouth at such a young age!

Thinking of this, Xiao Xuanzhen made a secret resolution to discuss with Senior Uncle Gu later about teaching her the Void Dao's true lineage techniques as soon as possible.

After all, given Junior Sister Lin Xueru's special bloodline, nothing could be more suited for studying the Void Eight Methods.

If in the future Junior Sister Lin's strength surpassed that bad guy's, let's see how he'd have the face to get married.

And if Junior Sister Lin couldn't beat him...

There was still her!

Xiao Xuanzhen simply didn't believe that the combination of her and Junior Sister Lin couldn't take down a mere "Little Sword Immortal"!

"However, before that, I need to find a way to make Junior Sister Lin stay further away from him..."