233 I Have Gotten Fainter, Yet Stronger [Four-in-One: Seeking Subscriptions!]

Lu Chen landed gracefully.

Looking around in a daze, he realized he was already standing at the pinnacle of Sword-Chief Peak.

The only things higher than him were the drifting clouds and the vault of heaven.

The surrounding hot winds had all been severed by a single sword strike.

"Have I drifted away, and become stronger too?"

Only then did Lu Chen realize that his Myriad-Phenomena Resonance had advanced to a whole new realm!

To put it more accurately, what he had previously mastered was merely a single-phenomenon resonance, capable of resonating with only one target at a time.

Now, it had upgraded to true Myriad-Phenomena Resonance, allowing him to resonate with multiple targets simultaneously and thereby achieve resonance with the environment itself.

It was equivalent to possessing a domain of his own, granting him absolute power of life and death within that domain, enabling him to control every blade of grass and tree within the boundary.

He could achieve even more perfect stealth than before—the kind that left not even physical traces behind.

He could also mimic the exquisite and infinitesimal Five-Elements Imperial Arts mastered by Ellie.

Furthermore, he had learned the foundational swordsmanship known as sword intent from Gloria.

As for Gloria's remark: "You sword-dao good-for-nothings are the only ones who actually know how to practice swordsmanship..."

Though the phrasing was rough, the reasoning was sound.

The more gifted a genius was, the less they needed insights, and the less they required unorthodox auxiliary methods. Relying solely on intuition and simple practice, they could master high-level power.

The more incompetent someone was, the more they needed to rely on various shortcuts.

Ellie's shortcut was relatively simple.

Utilizing the Five-Elements Imperial Arts, she had reproduced the delayed-severance effect of sword intent even before Lu Chen, and its power was acceptable.

However, it was essentially a meticulous mastery of five-element sword shadows, still some distance away from true sword intent.

Lu Chen's shortcut, achieved after elevating his Myriad-Phenomena Resonance to a brand-new realm and attaining perfect mental stillness, effortlessly replicated the trace-free severing force of sword intent.

To complete sword intent is to surpass sword intent.

This demonstrated that true Myriad-Phenomena Resonance was a heaven-sent power, a higher form of power than sword intent itself.

Ellie clapped her hands in excitement.

"Congratulations, Captain! We are now sword-spirit warriors too!"

"Counting from when we entered, how many days have passed in total?"

"Three and a half days!"

With an empty-handed grasp, Lu Chen recalled the sword to his right hand and sheathed it.

He turned to look at the bewildered Gloria.

After all, Ellie only knew that Lu Chen's sword strike was extremely powerful, but she had no idea just how powerful it was.

Gloria truly understood the realm of Lu Chen's sword strike. Although he had cheated, he had indeed reached the introductory realm of a Sword Saint.

"How is my swordsmanship, Teacher Gloria?"

Gloria brushed off the bamboo leaves clinging to her person, placed her hands on her hips, and naturally exuded a sword intent that highlighted her proud and stunning figure.

"Not bad, barely reaching half a day's worth of my own cultivation. Keep working hard, guard against arrogance and impetuosity... Can we clear the path now?"

Lu Chen nodded slightly, his gaze calm and distant.

It was as if his physical body remained here, while his spirit had drifted beyond the heavens.

"Wait a few more days. The headquarters of the Fang Corporation is still quite far ahead, and my hacking methods need a bit of an upgrade."

Gloria was stunned.

"Could it be that your swordsmanship is also powered by hacking cheats?"

Lu Chen spread his hands and said,

"Isn't this just foundational swordsmanship? Any idiot can do it, what special methods could possibly be needed?"

"..."

Gloria was speechless.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she always felt that Lu Chen's realm of sword intent was even higher than her own.

Of course, to her, sword intent was merely an introduction; Lu Chen had just taken the first step on the ten-thousand-li long march of the sword dao, he had simply stepped more firmly.

"Don't be too proud. Your journey on the sword dao has only just begun."

Lu Chen shrugged.

"I'm just a guy who drives broken armor, what do I know about sword dao? I'm just learning it out of sheer boredom."

"..."

The corners of Gloria's eyes twitched slightly. She glared at Lu Chen without uttering a word.

Her clear, picturesque eyes reflected flashing blades and flying swords, brewing a monstrous, billowing murderous intent.

I'll endure this!

Not only was Gloria deeply shocked, but the three senior disciples who had been practicing swordsmanship on the sword platform even ran over.

"What kind of swordsmanship is this? We didn't even see any sword qi, how did you manage such a massive range of severing force?"

"Could it be the legendary..."

"It's over, the bamboo forest personally planted by Master is gone, we're going to get yelled at."

The graceful senior disciple offered a slight bow to the three of them.

"May I ask which swordsman swung that sword just now?"

Lu Chen was taken aback.

"What? Do I have to pay compensation for cutting down a bamboo forest inside a cultivation cabin?"

The senior disciple smiled and shook his head.

"No, my master requests an audience."

"Oh? There's a big boss on Sword-Chief Peak?"

Only then did Lu Chen realize that his swordsmanship might have triggered a hidden stage on Sword-Chief Peak.

As he was thinking this, Ellie reminded him:

"Captain, look at the sword platform, someone suddenly appeared."

Lu Chen turned his head to look.

At the edge of the sword platform's cliff, an elderly man with white hair clad in azure-blue Daoist robes stood with his hands behind his back, facing a sea of clouds.

His figure was like a sword, his voice like the snapping of bamboo, possessing a distinct otherworldly immortal demeanor.

"The union of mind and sword gives birth to sword intent; this is the introductory realm to becoming a Sword Saint.

It can be mastered at a minimum cultivation of level fifty, but it requires extremely high talent in the sword dao—one in ten thousand practitioners can achieve it.

In the hundreds of years since the establishment of the Yunlan Sect, fewer than a hundred people have mastered sword intent from scratch on Sword-Chief Peak, and you are the only one to achieve it within a year... May I ask the young hero's name?"

Lu Chen stared at the old man, and a line of introductory text appeared above his head.

It was not an item identification, but a built-in prompt from the cultivation cabin.

The old man was named Liu Jianyun, the sword-wielding elder of the Yunlan Sect, the master of Sword-Chief Peak, and the sole Sword Saint of the Yunlan Sect.

His cultivation was at level one hundred and twenty!

Gloria suddenly frowned and said,

"Liu Jianyun? Why does that name sound familiar?"

Lu Chen directly pulled up the networked light-screen.

He searched for Liuyunzi.

Gloria was speechless.

In an ethereal immortal-cultivation world, you casually pull out a web page?

"This is a cultivation cabin in a completely offline state... No, even if the cultivation cabin were connected to the internet, it would only be connected to the Lianzhong combat local area network. How could it possibly allow you to surf the web? This is an immortal-cultivation world! Don't go too far, or you'll get kicked out!"

Lu Chen glanced around.

Whether it was Liu Jianyun or the three senior disciples, they all looked like wooden figures, completely unresponsive to his hacking behavior.

"What are you so nervous about? Senior Liu is a man of noble character and high prestige, he won't mind such trivial matters."

"..."

This guy is too arrogant!

Gloria endured.

Lu Chen quickly found Liu Jianyun's information.

"Found it. Liu Jianyun, sword-wielding elder of the Yunlan Sect in the Lianzhong cultivation cabin, has a real-world prototype.

His real name is Liu Jianyun, and his appearance and cultivation level are identical to those in the cultivation cabin. He studied under Li Daoxuan, the chief professor of sword dao at the Imperial Martial Arts Academy, and several of his fellow disciples are generals in the imperial headquarters.

For instance, Imperial Major General Abuzhai, who currently guards the Morningglow Route, is Liu Jianyun's junior fellow apprentice.

Liu Jianyun is not very old, only a little over three hundred years old. While his cultivation level among his peers is unremarkable, he is the Sword Saint with the lowest cultivation in history.

He once single-handedly dragged the minimum cultivation requirement for a Sword Saint down from level two hundred to just over level one hundred.

He is a sword fanatic who doesn't care about cultivation. It is said he has never taken any medicinal pills, relying solely on quiet meditation to break through the level-one-hundred milestone.

He spent two hundred years as a student at the Imperial Martial Arts Academy, living off them for free while studying sword dao day in and day out. The bizarre sword dao techniques he developed, however, were extremely difficult for other students to replicate.

Eventually, he was forcibly graduated and driven away by his teacher, Li Daoxuan.

A century ago, he rejected the summons of the Imperial Fleet, choosing instead to join the commercialized Lianzhong Corporation to continue his research on sword dao.

This is because every sub-map of the Lianzhong cultivation cabin is built with a proportional real-world prototype.

And the location of the Yunlan Sect is right at the end of the Blizzard Route in the Tianyuan Star System, which is currently within the imperial sphere of influence."

Lu Chen hadn't expected Lianzhong's influence to be so vast that they could recruit such a prominent figure.

"The lowest-cultivation Sword Saint in history... I thought that would be you, Gloria!"

Gloria waved her hand and said with a modest expression,

"Ah, I'm not, I'm not. My cultivation grew too fast; before I even learned the sword, my cultivation was already reaching its peak."

Lu Chen:

"..."

Ellie held back her laughter, and the fallen bamboo forest was filled with the sounds of smug, bragging laughter.

The three of them then arrived at the edge of the sword platform's cliff.

Lu Chen offered a slight bow to Liu Jianyun:

"Disciple Lu Chen pays respects to Elder Liu."

Liu Jianyun, however, continued staring at the clouds.

Staring at a gap in the clouds that refused to close even after a long while...

Lu Chen confirmed that he was merely an offline NPC.

Gloria was extremely displeased that Lu Chen had triggered a map boss.

"Old man, are your eyes blind? Isn't my swordsmanship much stronger than his? The last time we sparred, my normal strike was far stronger than his ultimate move—why didn't you come out and stroll around then?"

Liu Jianyun turned around.

His figure was not imposing; in fact, he was somewhat chubby.

His facial features were not particularly handsome either, and he even had a gap between his front teeth.

His head of white hair looked like it had been dyed...

Lu Chen and the others were dumbfounded.

However, it had to be said that his immortal demeanor was no fake. His entire body radiated an extremely powerful sword intent, far surpassing the sword intent Gloria currently displayed.

Liu Jianyun stroked his beard and smiled, saying,

"The young lady's sword dao connects with the divine; she is a naturally born sword seed, far beyond the reach of even this old man.

However, the sword dao is like ascending a peak; the more orthodox the path, the steeper it is, and the higher the demands on innate talent.

For sword practitioners like us with mediocre talent in the sword dao, thousands of sword techniques are akin to unorthodox paths. They can assist us in climbing to the summit and seeing scenery we otherwise could never behold.

Therefore, this old man has always been deeply interested in all kinds of sword techniques in the martial world and the process of their execution, which is why I manifested to observe just now.

To my surprise, Young Hero Lu, who mastered sword intent in five days, turns out to be such a young outsider who knows next to nothing about the sword dao.

Heroes have always emerged from the youth since ancient times, and often, the greater the outsider, the more capable they are of carving out a unique path in the sword dao.

I wonder how Young Hero Lu accomplished that sword strike?"

Lu Chen had no intention of exposing his heaven-sent power.

"Didn't the cultivation cabin detect it? Of course, I won't let it upload to the Lianzhong servers."

Liu Jianyun smiled.

"The Heavenly Dao only observes the grand trends; it may not necessarily discern every single detail of all things."

The Heavenly Dao? Did he mean the cultivation cabin?

Lu Chen felt as though he and Liu Jianyun were chatting across different frequencies, yet they understood each other completely without the slightest sense of discord.

Gloria crossed her arms and shrugged.

"Since you're interested in him, why not suppress your cultivation to the same realm and spar with him? If even my little disciple, whom I've only taken in a few days ago, isn't his match, then this sword-wielding elder of the Yunlan Sect should be replaced by me!"

Lu Chen was speechless. He leaned over to Gloria's ear and whispered in a low voice,

"Are you an idiot? What's so great about being a sword-wielding elder of a virtual sect? This old man is clearly trying to test my swordsmanship so he can steal it and learn it!"

Gloria was stunned.

"Aren't you completely offline? What are you afraid of?"

Lu Chen shook his head.

"Actually, it was only after I mastered sword intent that I remotely controlled the server on the spacecraft. Although the server didn't upload the details, it did record certain landmark breakthroughs, such as triggering Liu Jianyun. Therefore, this ship might already have been flagged by the Lianzhong Corporation."

Liu Jianyun suddenly stroked his beard and laughed aloud.

"Haha, this is a cultivation cabin after all... Are you two whispering conspiracy theories out loud?

Although Young Hero Lu has forged a unique path in the sword dao, purely in terms of sword combat, no one can defeat me at the same cultivation level.

If the young hero can defeat this old man inside the cultivation cabin, you will be qualified to go offline and verify it in person at the Yunlan Sect. Winning comes with a prize of five million spirit stones, provided by the Lianzhong Corporation."

Five million spirit stones!

Gloria's eyes widened, thinking she had misheard something.

"Come, come, come! Let me experience your brilliant moves first!"

Without giving the old man a chance to refuse, she drew her sword and slashed.

Right at his head!

Liu Jianyun's figure flashed.

He executed the fastest movement technique possible at level fifty-eight.

Yet he was still clipped by Gloria, losing a wisp of his white beard.

Gloria gave him no breathing room whatsoever, spinning around to follow up with another strike.

Liu Jianyun leaped backward, waving his hands repeatedly as he said,

"Wait a moment! Even if my cultivation is suppressed to the same level, an old man like me cannot match a young person; I need to warm up my joints."

Lu Chen frowned.

He had experienced Gloria's normal-strike sword dao—it was transcendent, possessing supreme skill that concealed its cleverness, the absolute peak of perfection.

Yet, in a close-quarters ambush where she held the initiative, she had merely managed to sever a wisp of the old man's white beard.

Liu Jianyun stood there huffing and puffing as he performed stretching exercises—the exact same routine people did before playing ball games—with not a single ounce of immortal demeanor left.

The three disciples were extremely shocked, whispering among themselves:

"I've never seen Master warm up like this before."

"Is this woman really that strong?"

"Need you ask? Master's beard was just cut off..."

Lu Chen and Ellie leaped onto a pine branch, sitting down to watch the show.

Liu Jianyun finished his warm-up and said with a deadpan expression,

"So-called sword combat only encompasses swordsmanship and movement techniques. If the young lady were to use magic power, this old man would certainly be no match."

Gloria asked,

"Does the movement technique you mentioned include physical combat and close-quarters grappling?"

Lu Chen could tell that Gloria did not possess absolute certainty of victory, which was why she wanted to find an opportunity to tilt the odds in her favor.

Liu Jianyun shook his head and stroked his beard.

How could he not know that many physical combat masters were monsters? Perhaps the opponent possessed some hidden monstrous strength that he would find difficult to withstand.

"Naturally, that is also not allowed."

"Tch."

After a round of mutual probing regarding the rules, the atmosphere on the sword platform grew heavy and tense.

Beneath the blazing sun, Lu Chen actually felt a trace of chilliness.

That was the impact on the surrounding environment caused by both parties pushing their sword intent to the limit.

The tension was palpable.

Ellie, however, produced a bag of melon seeds and happily began cracking them open.

The sparring commenced.

The swords used by both sides were identical: standard disciple swords.

Gloria had no tactics; she relied purely on normal strikes.

Yet both her sword intent and movement techniques had advanced by an entire realm compared to her previous spar with Lu Chen. She sought not to make every move lethal, but rather to ensure her defense was airtight.

"It seems only five million spirit stones could bring out the strongest Gloria."

Lu Chen sighed in admiration.

On the other side, Liu Jianyun's sword techniques lacked any aesthetic appeal whatsoever, but they were far more practical.

At least they were far more practical tactically.

Various tricky and novel sword techniques were executed with consummate skill, reaching the realm of perfection, repeatedly piercing through Gloria's flawless defense and ultimately carving bloody gashes across her arms.

Nothing more.

Gloria's sword techniques did not rely on sneak attacks; their strength lay in being airtight and maintaining endurance, slowly wearing the opponent down.

A dignified sword spar had ultimately degraded into the scene of an athletic competition.

Neither party employed flashy sword qi or graceful sword maneuvers, and the destructive impact on the surrounding environment was minimal.

It was remarkably restrained.

Overall, the spectacle was unsightly.

By the bamboo forest, Liu Jianyun's three disciples tilted their heads in utter bewilderment.

This was simply nothing like the master they knew; it was as if someone else had replaced him...

Up on the pine branch, Ellie watched in a daze, feeling as though the melon seeds in her mouth had suddenly lost their flavor.

"Is... is this the supreme realm of the sword dao?"

Lu Chen smiled and said,

"This kind of situation happens when both parties are too evenly matched. Those flashy sword techniques are basically meant for strong fighters bullying weaklings."

As he spoke, he recalled the scene on the boxing ring where Tyson bit Holyfield's ear.

"Who does the Captain think will win?"

Lu Chen fell into deep thought and analyzed patiently:

"If the two of them engage in a pure sword duel, relying solely on swordsmanship, Gloria has already lost. After all, she sustained more injuries.

It's not that Gloria's swordsmanship isn't brilliant, but rather that Liu Jianyun has too many unorthodox tricks up his sleeve—tricky, proficient, and impossible to guard against. It was Gloria's first time encountering such a style, and she suffered a major tactical setback.

Fortunately, while Gloria's brain might be lacking, her physique is on another level entirely. The moves Liu Jianyun used to pierce Gloria's sword defense could only manage to carve a few shallow gashes on her arms.

If this were a life-or-death battle, Liu Jianyun would undoubtedly lose.

Invincible swordsmanship combined with an invincible physique—that is the fundamental reason why Gloria can roam the martial world brainlessly.

At the same time, we can also see just how tremendously difficult it is for Liu Jianyun to train ordinary human sword techniques to this realm.

Yet, even after transcending his own limits, he would still be thoroughly battered in the face of true innate talent."

Ellie looked thoughtful.

"In other words, pure swordsmanship holds little meaning. Combat has always been a contest of comprehensive strength, and many factors determine life and death."

Lu Chen nodded.

"Therefore, the one who beat Gloria last time was undoubtedly me, the strongest."

Ellie's expression stiffened.

"Um, I'm sure the Captain is definitely the strongest!"

Lu Chen put on a straight face and said,

"Drop the words 'sure' and 'definitely'; using them only makes you sound less certain."

An hour later, Liu Jianyun called a halt to the spar.

"Let's leave it at that. It's a draw, continuing any further won't yield a result."

Gloria's azure robe was stained with blood, yet her fighting spirit remained soaring.

She could not accept a draw because it meant letting the five million spirit stones slip through her fingers.

"What do you mean, no result? Your stamina is almost bottomed out. If we keep going, your sword techniques will start to deform, and if you dare pop a pill, I can finish you off in a single move. You're bound to lose!"

Liu Jianyun was so exhausted that he could barely maintain his facial expression.

"This is a sword spar, not a life-or-death battle. Before the match, this old man should have added equal health and stamina bars, in which case I would have won long ago... What a pity I forgot."

In truth, he hadn't expected Gloria's foundational sword dao to be even more solid than an ordinary Sword Saint's, to the extent that he could only barely pierce her sword techniques and lacked the strength to overcome her heaven-defying physique.

Gloria said magnanimously,

"It doesn't matter, I don't care about empty fame. I'll challenge you at the Yunlan Sect in the real world."

Liu Jianyun hurriedly waved his hand, though his hands were trembling as he did so.

"This old man travels the four seas year-round and is never at the Yunlan Sect. The young lady should focus on her own adventures."

With that, he stepped onto his sword and prepared to make a run for it.

Lu Chen immediately shouted into the clouds:

"Senior, we haven't sparred yet!"

The person was already gone, leaving only a weak echo lingering in the misty clouds:

"Next time."

Once Liu Jianyun had completely vanished, with a thud, Gloria collapsed into a pool of blood as well.

Faint snores rose and fell with the violent heaving of her blood-stained chest...

Startled, Ellie hurried over to check her injuries and fed her a Spirit-Healing Pill, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"She's fine, just fell asleep."

Lu Chen nodded.

"That's normal. Liu Jianyun merely suppressed his spiritual power, while she didn't use any magic power either, practically draining away the stamina a level-one-hundred-and-twenty cultivator ought to have."

With that, Lu Chen and Ellie promptly exited the cultivation cabin.

They carried the sleeping Gloria to the bathing cabin.

...

After Ellie finished washing her up and tucked her back into bed to rest,

Lu Chen took a shower, grabbed some food, and subsequently left the Leonine.

Real-world time had also passed by three and a half days; it was now noontime on the fourth day.

Lu Chen went to the Pine-Maple Forest alone, making sure no one was nearby, so he could test things out with a few casual movements.

After all, upgrading the Myriad-Phenomena Resonance and mastering sword intent had only been achieved inside the cultivation cabin.

He had to test the results of his cultivation in the real world!

Emptying his mind and body, he closed his eyes and began to move, achieving complete resonance with the surrounding environment.

His body floated up once more.

Yet it seemed not quite as stable as it had been inside the cultivation cabin.

He kept crashing into trees.

Lu Chen practiced for over an hour before he finally attained the perfect realm he had experienced in the simulation.

His body moved with the wind.

The wind moved with his intent.

His resonance domain could encompass the entire forest.

With a mere lift of his hand, he could uproot pine trees from afar and effortlessly snap their main trunks.

It was equivalent to a set of Force-based chiropractic adjustments.

The diffusing resonance power whipped up ripples throughout the Pine-Maple Forest, humming incessantly.

Lu Chen severed a leaf with his bare hands; a maple leaf fluttered and drifted a long distance before finally landing on the ground.

Patter!

It split into two halves.

Lu Chen sighed with emotion:

"I'm just a mecha-piloting spiritual mechanic, it's completely normal for me to know a tiny bit of swordsmanship, right?"

"Quite normal."

A slightly husky, alluring female voice came from behind him.

Purple-tinted mist drifted into the Pine-Maple Forest.

Lu Chen felt somewhat awkward.

After all, he had once again casually ravaged one of the Madam's pine trees.

"Apologies, I was looking for a target to test my cultivation results, and I didn't expect this pine tree to be so brittle—it snapped the moment I pinched it."

The female voice behind him said,

"It seems not waking you up these past few days was the right choice."

Lu Chen turned around.

Madam August, clad entirely in white robes and a white hat, was leaning against a maple tree. As the wind rustled the leaves, she exuded a profound and captivating charm.

It inexplicably reminded him of that icy embrace from the night before...

At the time, he had only remembered a chilling sensation all over his body.

Thinking about it now... vast as the ocean, smooth as snow, and carrying a hint of refined medicinal fragrance.

Not waking us up was the right choice?

Lu Chen hurriedly asked,

"What happened these past few days?"

Madam August replied,

"The Adventurers' Association sent people to the island to investigate the matter of the human slave women."

Lu Chen had a bad feeling about this.

"How did it turn out?"

Madam August smiled and said,

"The outcome isn't very favorable for either you or the Baruch family. You might not get the Adventurers' Association's Exploration Medal."

A chill went through Lu Chen's heart, but his expression remained calm and breezy.

"Doesn't matter, I'm not such a superficial person."

With that, he turned and walked out of the Pine-Maple Forest.

Madam August, meanwhile, walked inward toward the purple bamboo forest.

As they crossed paths, Madam August suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, these past few days, a lot of people have been running over to curse you, calling you a hypocrite and an idolized figure pushed forward by the Adventurers' Association, and they all want to challenge you in the arena."

Lu Chen sneered:

"The idol part is true, but the hypocrite part is false—I'm a pure, unadulterated villain... I will accept the challenges, but we're going to spar with swords; I need to make some money to buy a high-tier mecha."

Madam August smiled faintly and asked softly,

"Are you truly certain of victory?"

"Madam can bet her entire fortune on me, I am bound to win."

"Very well, the island's finances have been running a bit low lately anyway."

...

Lu Chen didn't dawdle; once he decided to act, he did it.

After all, heading into the Empire this time would be fraught with danger, and since he had to take down the Fang Corporation, the difficulty would be immense.

He needed a set of level-sixty mecha armor for self-protection.

Additionally, he needed to upgrade his little bee drones, making them even more miniaturized while enhancing their physical breakthrough capabilities.

All of this cost money!

Moreover, if he fought using his mecha, the odds would be too low.

Once he kept winning, the odds would only shrink further.

Sparring with swords might temporarily secure him some decent odds.

Besides, if he didn't use a dramatic demonstration to shock the flock and serve as a warning to the monkeys, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would start running over to challenge him in the future.

With this in mind, Lu Chen immediately returned to the Leonine, boarded the Phantom Knight, and left the August Floating Island.

He called Ban Yue to rendezvous at the Cyber Bar.

By the time Lu Chen arrived at the Ninth Agency in the basement of the Cyber Bar, Ban Yue was already there.

Shan Pao and Ban Yue had actually thrown a party to welcome him.

Champagne, beauties, a pianist...

The match hadn't even been arranged yet, and they were treating it like a premature celebration.

When Shan Pao saw Lu Chen, it was as if he were looking at a mountain of gold; he immediately rushed over and gave him a bear hug.

"Brother Lu, these past few days, I've been waiting for you so eagerly that my heart grew weary and the flowers withered. The Dual-Blade Swordsman's recovery process is very long; if Brother Lu hadn't come, I'd practically be out of business."

Lu Chen thought to himself, you made forty thousand on a single ticket last time, and you're telling me you're out of business?

Ban Yue also chimed in excitedly,

"Brother Lu, you're becoming more famous by the day—infamy is still fame, and countless opponents are fighting to challenge you. Furthermore, you have a hefty bounty on your head; as long as we pick an opponent with a higher cultivation level than yours, won't the odds shoot right up?"

Lu Chen nodded.

"What you both say is true. However, this time I want to spar with swords; I've just learned a few moves."

Shan Pao and Ban Yue exchanged a glance, hurriedly stopped the music, and shooed all the beauties away.

Shan Pao pulled Lu Chen down to sit, adopting a stern, unsmiling expression as he said,

"Brother Lu, this kind of joke cannot be played.

Leaving aside the question of victory or defeat, when you fight in a mecha, even if you lose, your personal safety is still guaranteed.

Sword sparring... Of course, our arena doesn't have pure sword sparring, only free combat and free armed melee.

Sword sparring is armed melee; while you hold a sword, the other person is allowed to carry a gun. If they blow your head off or shatter your Dantian, you really might kick the bucket right on the spot.

Free armed melee features high offensive power and weak defense, making it the most dangerous type of match. The Dual-Blade Swordsman was nearly crippled in an armed melee; if it hadn't been for your female teammate showing mercy, his life would have been forfeit.

And you—you're still carrying a fifty-thousand-credit bounty. If someone kills you by 'accident,' they don't even need the match prize or betting winnings; they can just go straight to the Fang Corporation to collect that fifty thousand.

You must think this through very carefully!"

Lu Chen nodded.

"I have thought it through.

I've already caused a ruckus driving my mecha through a star system completely armed by the enemy fleet; getting good odds in a mecha match is simply impossible now. Therefore, I must change tactics and take a gamble on swordsmanship—perhaps that will yield favorable odds."

As he spoke, Lu Chen even gestured with his hand to outline a sword stance, looking quite convincing.

"I disagree!"

Shan Pao shook his head angrily and raised the bottle of champagne in his hand, intending to chug it in frustration.

The moment he lifted his hand, however, the champagne bottle was sheared cleanly in half.

The champagne splashed all over the floor in a gush.

The cut was smooth, leaving not a single trace.

Shan Pao and Ban Yue were dumbfounded.

They brought the upper and lower halves of the bottle back together, pressed firmly, and the pieces actually locked back into place, standing steadily upright once more.

Blankness filled Shan Pao and Ban Yue's minds. They looked at each other, desperately trying to recall the exact moment Lu Chen had made his move.

He had just gestured with his hand like that?

They hadn't even sensed any sword qi...

"Is this what Brother Lu meant by 'just learning a few moves'?"

Lu Chen nodded.

"Mhm, just a tiny little trick in the sword dao. Although I haven't mastered it too skillfully yet, it's more than enough to kill people."

Shan Pao and Ban Yue exchanged glances again, finally realizing that Lu Chen was dead serious!

"One set of offensive weapons, one set of defensive weapons. If you're taking a sword for offense, what do you plan to use for defense?"

Lu Chen thought about it seriously.

"A level-fifty close-fitting body armor, I suppose. Just arrange any set for me."

"If you wear level-fifty close-fitting body armor, you can only enter the level-fifty armed melee matches!"

"That's not a big problem."

"Alright, as long as you're confident, I'll arrange it."

"Arrange it as soon as possible, I don't have much time."

Shan Pao immediately stood up and summoned a floating computer.

He opened the light-screen and logged into the Cyber Bar's combat system.

He immediately submitted Lu Chen's match application.

Registering for the free armed melee match starting this afternoon.

The offensive weapon was designated as a level-fifty spirit sword.

The defensive weapon was designated as level-fifty body armor.

He even included Lu Chen's combat declaration in the notes:

"Those wanting to claim the fifty-thousand bounty, get in line and come die!"

The moment the match application was submitted, competing agencies instantly caught onto the keyword "Lu Chen."

They immediately notified the fighters who had previously expressed a desire to battle Lu Chen.

However, this time, Lu Chen had unexpectedly chosen free armed melee.

Mecha combat did not fall under the category of free armed melee.

The fighters who had previously issued challenges were ineligible to participate.

Even so, Lu Chen's application still caused an uproar and sparked widespread discussion within the Cyber Bar.

Because the protagonist was Lu Chen, who had just stirred up controversial news, and he still carried a fifty-thousand-credit bounty on his head.

The Cyber Bar quickly recognized the massive traffic and business opportunities hidden within this and promptly invited major media outlets to launch a concentrated publicity campaign.

Within a mere hour, public opinion exploded.

Primarily the opinion of the gambling addicts.

However, this time, it also drew in a large number of speculators eager to claim the fifty-thousand-credit bounty.

Consequently, it rapidly attracted massive attention.

A multitude of related posts soon appeared on the Association forum.

Promotional gambling websites also featured numerous forward-looking analytical articles.

Some claimed Lu Chen was trying to salvage his reputation.

Some claimed Lu Chen was trying to farm traffic...

Others even claimed Lu Chen was attempting to orchestrate a rigged match to rake in a huge payout.

Due to the overwhelming attention it attracted, the Cyber Bar decided to schedule Lu Chen's match during prime time tonight.

They also reserved extra time to select a well-matched opponent for Lu Chen.

Soon enough, the Cyber Bar selected ten individuals from the pool of applicants who had submitted for the match and placed them on the candidate list.

Although both offensive and defensive weapons were capped at level fifty, the fighters themselves varied—the weakest possessed level-fifty cultivation, while the strongest unexpectedly reached as high as level fifty-nine...

Shan Pao angrily shut down the light-screen and paced back and forth.

"This is completely absurd, they're deliberately trying to take your life!"

Lu Chen said nonchalantly,

"Isn't that just perfect? I was looking to shock the flock and serve as a warning to the monkeys anyway."

The final opponent would be determined by the Cyber Bar officials.

They would take audience voting into consideration, alongside the opinions of Lu Chen and his agency.

Lu Chen knew that under this level of public attention, if he wanted to make a killing, he had to go all-in.

To prevent scheduled updates from being blocked and affecting the AI traffic algorithm, future updates will all be published between midnight and 12:10 AM!

(End of Chapter)