Chapter 223: End of the Submissive's Move, The Beauty's Heart in Turmoil and the Sword Flees

“Pfft!”

The abrupt shift in topic made Qiao Qianzhi immediately lose control, spitting out all the tea in his mouth.

Cheng Xingchu froze for a moment. Before he could speak, Xu Xiaoshou continued:

“If you win, you’ll earn the respect of both myself and Miss Zhiwen. If you lose, how about you give me this sword?”

He gestured to the side, where Yu Zhiwen looked bewildered. *Why are you dragging me into your competition?*

“A physical contest?” Cheng Xingchu seemed enraged, but he still retained his composure. After all, no one who reached his position was an ordinary person.

Just the words “physical body” made him recall the recent widespread rumors in the Outer Academy. Xu San Tou, Xu Liu Bi, Xu Zhen Long… Could it be that Xu Xiaoshou was the legendary Senior Disciple Xu of the Outer Academy, the one with the rarely seen Innate Physical Body?

Jiang Bianyan and Yu Zhiwen also immediately thought of something. They exchanged glances, deep in thought.

Cheng Xingchu asked in surprise and suspicion, “So you… truly have an Innate Physical Body?”

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t answer, which was an implicit confirmation. Cheng Xingchu was left with only a cold sneer. So what if it’s an Innate Physical Body? Even the toughest body would be pierced instantly by his sword!

“The rules you set are quite reasonable, especially since they favor you. But this wager…” The outcome entirely dependent on his own sword? Cheng Xingchu scoffed, shaking his head mockingly, “You really take me for a fool, don’t you?!”

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

Silence hung in the air for a second.

“Pfft!” Qiao Qianzhi once again spat out hot tea, the mist filling the air. He immediately put down his teacup, no longer daring to drink. Tea from Xu Xiaoshou was utterly poisonous!

Three veins bulged on Cheng Xingchu’s forehead, twitching visibly. He gasped for air, staring intently at the serious-looking young man across from him, seemingly having lost the ability to speak.

“How about this?” Xu Xiaoshou said, seeing that Cheng Xingchu remained silent. He continued, “If you don’t like it, I’ll change the rules. We’ll have a sword contest, and the wager will still be the same.”

Cheng Xingchu was completely flustered. He felt like a monkey being deliberately played with.

“Alright, that’s the wager then!” What seemed like an impulsive shout was, in fact, a carefully considered decision.

This young man truly wasn’t afraid of death. He actually gave up the advantage of his Innate Physical Body to compete in a sword contest against him. Did he really think he could utterly crush him?

“Sit.” Xu Xiaoshou gestured to Cheng Xingchu not to be impulsive. Only after he had resettled did Xu Xiaoshou calmly state, “The Way of the Sword, or 'Kendo', is nothing more than 'sword' and 'way'.”

“So, to avoid any bad blood, neither of us will make a move. We’ll simply use our words to articulate your sword. Ultimately, where your spirit sword ends up will depend entirely on its own will. How about that?”

Everyone present was stunned. This form of contest was something even the three prominent figures on both sides had never witnessed before, and astonishment was clear on their faces.

Cheng Xingchu, however, was amused. He was the master of his spirit sword. While he had experienced Xu Xiaoshou’s infuriating verbal prowess before, to actually persuade his own sword…

“Haha, Xu Xiaoshou, do you really think you can make your words instantly take effect?” Cheng Xingchu laughed. “I, Cheng Xingchu, accept this contest! Come at me!”

He pressed down on his spirit sword, turning his head disdainfully. “I’d like to see how you’ll persuade my—” Before he could finish, the sword in his hand vibrated violently, and Cheng Xingchu froze. Those wisps of white sword energy drifting out… this was… “Sword intent?”

He instantly widened his eyes. Xu Xiaoshou wasn’t just an Innate Physical Body, but also possessed Innate Sword Intent? Such dual cultivation of sword and body was exceedingly rare, even across the entire continent. And Xu Xiaoshou, standing before him, was such a figure?

Cheng Xingchu panicked; he had utterly failed to foresee this outcome. It was like someone who happened to remember the world’s tallest peak, but would find it incredibly difficult to know and name the second tallest. If such a person existed, they would surely be desperately bored!

Cheng Xingchu was not idle. Even if he happened to know that the Spirit Palace had an Innate Physical Body, he wouldn't actively seek to find out who that person was. Had it not been for a sudden insight, he wouldn't even have realized that Xu Xiaoshou was the senior disciple of the Outer Academy.

So at this moment, he could only desperately press down on his spirit sword. After all, he hadn’t even comprehended Post-natal Sword Intent… He pursued the Spirit Skill path, not the Intent path!

“You tricked me?!” Cheng Xingchu’s eyes were bloodshot. As its master, needing to desperately stop his own sword from leaving was a humiliation!

“How did I trick you?” Xu Xiaoshou asked back, bewildered. “Even in a death match, you can’t ask your opponent to reveal their trump cards beforehand, let alone when we’re simply discussing the Way!”

Cheng Xingchu instinctively felt there was something wrong with that statement, but he no longer had the capacity to ponder what it was. The surging spiritual energy was solely to hold down his Fifth-grade sword.

Buzzzzzzz—

Xu Xiaoshou's expression was calm and unruffled, yet the sword was shaking violently. This was the power of the Intent path. Against those who followed the Spirit Skill path, as long as they didn’t strike first, they would never be able to strike at all.

Watching Cheng Xingchu’s face grow increasingly contorted, Xu Xiaoshou reminded him, “No striking, remember!”

Cheng Xingchu’s face turned green. Continuing like this, he would inevitably lose control of his sword. Rather than that, he might as well unleash a spirit skill with full force and utterly shatter Xu Xiaoshou’s scheme!

His pupils contracted, and he immediately drew his sword! A streak of sword light seemed about to shoot forth. At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou abruptly turned his head to look at Yu Zhiwen, whose slender, jade-like fingers, poised to move, instantly stiffened.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, the young man held his hand out into the air. “Sword, come!”

Clang—

With that single command, the nascent spirit skill instantly shattered, scattering into a sky full of spiritual mist, falling like sleet.

As if by divine decree, the spirit sword in Cheng Xingchu’s hand could no longer be controlled. With a joyful hum, it flew out of his grasp, performing a perfect sword flourish in the air, and settled directly into Xu Xiaoshou’s right hand, which glowed with precious light.

With a soft thud, it settled securely. The strong current of air from the spirit sword entering his hand stirred a few strands of Xu Xiaoshou’s long hair at his forehead, and brushed against Yu Zhiwen’s pretty face, as she sat beside him.

Xu Xiaoshou's lips curved into a slight, deliberately teasing smile, and he lowered his voice to say, “This is a contest between men; you mustn’t intervene!”

Yu Zhiwen was utterly captivated. The charisma of that single command, “Sword, come!” The elegant posture of receiving the sword without even looking back… Combined with the spiritual mist falling like sleet behind the young man, it automatically blurred out everyone else around them.

It was as if they were in a fairy-tale realm, with only her and Xu Xiaoshou present. “Thump-thump!” The loud, sudden acceleration of her heartbeat made her delicate body tremble. She immediately pushed her chair back, scraping it along the floor, and hastily distanced herself from Xu Xiaoshou.

“Screech—” The grating sound echoed in the hall once more, but Yu Zhiwen paid it no mind. Being caught secretly trying to help was embarrassing enough, but Xu Xiaoshou’s sudden glance back… It was too close! She felt utterly humiliated by Xu Xiaoshou!

“Thump-thump, thump-thump…” In the center of the hall, the spiritual mist settled. The close, face-to-face gaze between the man and woman across from him directly ignited a raging jealousy in Cheng Xingchu’s eyes.

“Die!” He abruptly stood up, no longer caring about any rules whatsoever. He only wanted to smash Xu Xiaoshou’s head with a punch and reclaim his spirit sword!

“Sit down!” Xu Xiaoshou called out sharply, without even turning his head. In response, a roaring explosion erupted. Just as Cheng Xingchu had barely risen, a streak of sword energy instantly pierced through his body.

It not only shattered his chair, but also forcibly twisted his legs so that they bent, leaving him hovering in mid-air, seemingly seated.

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou withdraw his gaze from Yu Zhiwen’s blushing face, and glance back at the person attempting to cause a commotion. Tapping the sword lightly on the table, his voice was slow, calm, and leisurely as he said, “I said we’d discuss the Way while seated, while seated… If you don’t sit, how can we discuss the Way?”