Chapter 21: Impasse

At this moment of danger, Xiao Chen thoughts gained a sudden clarity and he finally managed to evade the sword at the most crucial moment. Despite this, there was still a small gash left on his neck, with a trickle of blood flowing out. How fortunate, Xiao Chen thought to himself.

Seeing his attack being evaded, Zhang He had an astonished look on his face. He then immediately pursued Xiao Chen relentlessly, each sword strike faster than the one before. Xiao Chen was unable to find the time to even catch his breath.

Xiao Chen's brain worked very hard, he knew that it was time for him to escape. Against Zhang He, who had a Spirit Weapon and wielded the powers of his Martial Spirit, he knew that he had no chance of winning. However, this battle had allowed him to learn of his limits. In a battle against a Martial Master, he would be at a big disadvantage. Xiao Chen knew that he had to work harder from now on.

After evading another sword strike, Xiao Chen stomped the ground ferociously with his right foot and streams of Essence flowed to his leg. Using the force created by the impact, Xiao Chen retreated several meters. While he was in the air, he even shot out two clumps of Purple Thunder True Fire.

"Young Master Zhang, I shall take my leave now, we will meet again in future." Xiao Chen laughed loudly as he turned around and dashed away frantically.

Trying to run? It's too late, Zhang He laughed coldly in his heart. He was about to give chase when the two clumps of Purple Thunder True Fire reached his body. Zhang He casually slashed the fire with his sword, intending to scatter the purple flames. Who would have guessed that when the purple flames touched the sword, the sword would catch on fire? In an instant, the entire Spirit Weapon was enveloped by the purple flames. Zhang He was startled and hurriedly tossed his sword away.

Those two clumps of purple flames looked ordinary but they were actually the result of Xiao Chen's quick thinking. He had almost compressed all the purple flames that his body could condense, this was not something that Zhang He could casually scatter with his sword.

Zhang He looked somewhat fearfully at the burning sword on the ground. If this strange flame had spread to his body, it would have been very scary. When Zhang He thought of that, he shivered.

"Big brother, why did you let him go? Chase after him quickly!" Zhang Zeyang said cluelessly.

When he heard this, Zhang He felt very exasperated. He could no longer suppress the blood in his throat and vomited it out. When Zhang Zeyang saw this, he was so frightened that he went pale.

Xiao Chen returned to the Xiao Chen in a somewhat sorry state. He had originally planned to purchase some herbs but he had not manage to do so. Xiao Chen laid on his bed and casually tossed the Azure Dragon Medicine Cauldron onto the table. It seemed that he had to give up his thoughts of refining medicines for today.

Lying on his bed, Xiao Chen kept thinking about every aspect of the battle with Zhang He today. If it was a battle with their bare hands, then he might not necessarily be at a disadvantage. However, Zhang He had a Spirit Weapon and had even manifested the powers of his Martial Spirit, leaving him helpless.

Zhang He's Martial Spirit was a Clear Sky Sword. In this world, the Martial Spirit of many people were holy items that had previously existed. The Clear Sky Sword was an example of this, it was a sacred object that appeared ten thousand years ago and had already disappeared in the passing of time.

His own Azure Dragon Martial Spirit was an ancient holy beast. Martial Spirits that used to exist had a name that was common to the continent — Spiritual Martial Spirit.

Spiritual Martial Spirits were able to communicate with spirits and its might was unfathomable. For example, a Medial Grade Martial Master like Zhang He could rely on the might of the Clear Sky Sword to give off a sword Qi that only Martial Saints and above could emit, causing Xiao Chen to be forced into a sorry state. This was the power of a Spiritual Martial Spirit.

Then what was the special ability of his Azure Dragon Martial Spirit? Xiao Chen was somewhat puzzled as he thought about this. After coming to this world, he had only been in a few battles and he had not actually used the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit yet. More specifically, he had not used the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit on his own accord and had completely relied on his Purple Thunder Divine Incantation to battle.

Logically, his Azure Dragon Martial Spirit should not be inferior to Zhang He's Clear Sky Sword. How could he utilize the power of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit?

Spirit Weapon!

After pondering for a long time, Xiao Chen finally thought of Spirit Weapons. He wanted to possess a Spirit Weapon. This was the only way to exhibit the power of the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit. Or else, it would be a waste of this ancient Holy Beast Martial Spirit. Furthermore, there was still a copious amount of Moonstones from the Thunder Emperor's cave that he had not used. The amount should be more than sufficient to forge a high ranked Spirit Weapon.

When he thought of it, he instantly made up his mind. Xiao Chen got up and changed into a new set of clothing, he also washed away the filth and blood on his face. After leaving his small courtyard, he headed to the Xiao Clan's library.

Since he was going to forge a Spirit Weapon, then he naturally had to find a Martial Technique for using Spirit Weapons. He had to look in Xiao Clan's library because it would be impossible for him to find a Martial Technique in the Compendium of Cultivation.

The Xiao Clan's residence was very large and the library was located in the southeast area of the Xiao Clan's residence. It was a distance from the courtyard that Xiao Chen lived in. Xiao Chen lazily walked on the path of the Xiao Clan's residence, going past a few gardens and courtyards before arriving at the library.

The Xiao Clan's library had three floors and there were many Cultivation Methods and Martial Techniques. The first floor contained ordinary Yellow Ranked Martial Techniques and Cultivation Methods; the second floor contained Profound Ranked Martial Techniques and Cultivation Methods; as for the third floor, it was very mysterious. Ordinary Xiao Clan disciples did not know what was in there.

The techniques kept in the Xiao Clan library were the result of the accumulations of many years, its value was not to be underestimated. There were elite guards patrolling the surroundings. A cultivator in the Spirit Refinement realm did not have the qualifications to enter the library. Only after reaching the Martial Disciple realm, may one enter the first floor and only after entering the Martial Master realm may one may enter the second floor. In the past, Xiao Chen was only in the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement, naturally, he could not enter. Now, after defeating Xiao Jian, no one would stop him even if he wanted to enter.

The library had always been a bustling place and at this moment, there were many Xiao Clan disciples focused on looking at various Martial Techniques. When Xiao Chen entered, he attracted the gazes of all these people, causing them to start chatting with each other.

"Look, Xiao Chen is here..."

"What is he here for? Isn't he only in the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement? How did he get the qualifications to enter?"

"You pighead! If he can defeat Xiao Jian, then he must have already become a Martial Disciple. The guards would have stopped him from entering otherwise. Those guards are Martial Grand Masters."

"This trash has now risen to prominence, you better keep your voices down. If he hears you, who knows what the consequences will be."

...

Their voices may have been soft but Xiao Chen could still hear them. Xiao Chen found it funny and just ignored them, directly going to the bookshelves to look for Martial Techniques for weapons. This was his first time here and the library was very big, it took him quite some time before he managed to find the bookshelf for weapons-related Martial Techniques.

"Thunderbolt Swordplay, Medial Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique, there are 13 moves to this swordplay, each stroke faster than the one before it. Use a speed as fast as a thunderbolt to kill the enemy."

"Mountain Splitting Hack, Inferior Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique, when trained to the great perfection realm, it can split the mountains and separate the seas with one hack.

"Revolving Spear, Inferior Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique, focuses Essence on the body of the spear, creating a revolving force. Able to achieve unimaginable results in battle."

…...

Xiao Chen kept reading book after book. The more he read, the less interested he was. The highest grade of Martial Techniques was only Medial Grade Yellow Ranked. There was not even a single Superior Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique. Furthermore, the descriptions were very exaggerated, they were only Yellow Ranked Martial Techniques. No matter how much they were trained in, it would be impossible to split the mountains and separate the seas or be as fast as a thunderbolt.

Putting down a Yellow Ranked Martial Technique book, he noticed a book as he lowered his head. The book was covered in dust and in the corner on the bottom shelf. There were some blurred words that he noticed, instantly attracting his gaze.

Heaven Ranked!

Xiao Chen carefully looked around, after making sure that there was no one around, he quickly and carefully picked up the book. Xiao Chen felt incomparably joyful. Looks like he had days when he was lucky as well, there was actually a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique on the first floor of the library. Furthermore, no one had discovered it.

Heaven Ranked Martial Technique — Dragon Subduing Slash. Xiao Chen slowly flipped the book open and read it, this Dragon Subduing Slash was an introductory saber technique. There was a total of 13 moves, every move requiring more Essence to exhibit than the one before. With Xiao Chen's current cultivation, he would not even be able to exhibit the first move — Return of the Azure Dragon.

Xiao Chen carefully kept the Dragon Subduing Slash book, then he casually grabbed a Medial Grade Yellow Ranked Martial Technique before looking for the manager of the library — Xiao Jue. Xiao Jue was the second brother of his father, he had already become a Martial Grand Master many years ago. However, he had then suffered an injury which caused his cultivation to drop to Martial Master, thus he was sent by the Xiao Clan to manage the library.

Looking at the Dragon Subduing Slash Xiao Chen handed over, Xiao Jue stared blankly for a while before saying: "Where did you find this Martial Technique?"

Were there some mysterious principles involved in this? Xiao Chen suppressed the suspicions he had in his heart and told Xiao Jue the truth of where he had found the Dragon Subduing Slash.

Xiao Jue laughed loudly after hearing it, "I have not seen this Martial Technique for quite a long time, so it was actually hidden there. Nephew Xiao Chen, you can't take this book out."

"Why?"

Xiao Jue replied with a slight tone of ridicule: "Did you think that you had gotten lucky and found a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique that no one else discovered? That your strength would suddenly soar when you learned it, that you will be able to slaughter everyone and become unparalleled?"

Xiao Chen, who had been seen through, said awkwardly: "What is wrong with this book? Since it is a Heaven Rank Martial Technique, why can't the Xiao Clan disciples take it out?"

Xiao Jue sighed in disappointment and frustration, "When I was young, I asked the same question as you. Since it is a Heaven Rank Martial Technique, why can't the Xiao Clan disciples practice it?"

Xiao Jue paused for a moment before sorrowfully continuing, "This Martial Technique can only be practiced by people who have the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit, anyone else would end up exploding and dying. However, the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit had not appeared in our Xiao Clan for a thousand years. Thus, this Martial Technique is like trash, taking it out will only cause harm to others."

Azure Dragon again!

Xiao Chen's heart beat very hard as he tried to maintain a poker face, "So, it is like this, then can I just take it back to reference it then return it? I promise not to practice it."

"This is no problem, this book is just a copy, you can take it back and don't bother returning it. Or else, someone else might get tempted by it and get into trouble. However, Xiao Chen, you must remember to never attempt to practice it. There were many in the elder generations of the Xiao Clan who have tried and ended up exploding. There have been so many precedents of this."

Xiao Chen nodded his head and smile, "I assure you I won't, second uncle, please do not worry. I shall take my leave first."

"Second Uncle, why isn't there even a Profound Ranked Martial Technique on the second floor?"

Xiao Chen was about to leave when he heard a familiar voice. The person who spoke was Xiao Jiao, who had just come from the second floor. Xiao Chen stopped in his tracks with some astonishment. Xiao Jian came from the second floor, this meant that he had broken through the bottleneck of peak Martial Disciple and was now a Martial Master, how surprising.

Xiao Jian walked over, holding a few Martial Technique books, he had not expected to meet Xiao Chen here. Xiao Jian was surprised for awhile before he smiled and said: "I didn't expect to meet second brother here, are you here to look for Martial Techniques too?"

Xiao Jian looked the same as he did before, he was dressed in a blue gi, looking very capable and experienced. The pride that used to show on his face had decreased somewhat but Xiao Chen could still see a trace of hatred hidden in his eyes.

Looks like the matter with Xiao Jian has not ended yet.

As though Xiao Jian could hear his thoughts, Xiao Jian slowly walked over and said in a low voice: "The duel between you and I has just begun. I will repay the shame from that day with interest." the final few words were slowly enunciated through clenched teeth.