After rounding two bends and passing through a forest of stone pillars, Chu Qingyun spotted a large hall with quite a few people inside.
To avoid revealing his Storage Ring, Chu Qingyun first summoned his puppet. He then took out a large bag of Primordial Stones before entering the great hall with the puppet in tow.
Over a hundred people had already gathered inside the hall, all of them staring with fiery gazes at a transparent crystal in the center.
On a stone platform over three meters high rested a transparent Crystal Ball about half a meter in diameter.
Inside the Crystal Ball floated a dozen or so drops of crystalline liquid, yet not the slightest fluctuation or aura emanated from it.
Chu Qingyun didn't recognize the substance, but from the attitudes of those around him, he could tell that it was definitely something precious.
After all, even members of the three great clans of Lianshan County Cityâthe Jin, Zhou, and Ye Familiesâhad gathered here instead of pressing onward.
Of course, the four top-tier experts hadn't bothered to stop in the previous passageways, nor had they lingered here.
Given their status, they couldn't care less about the treasures found up to this point.
Their goal was crystal clear: the inheritance of the Canglang King, a set of King-level Sword Techniques.
Everyone in the hall was wary of one another, and the atmosphere was tense.
The moment Chu Qingyun appeared, he was noticed by everyone.
Being stared at by so many people at once, including quite a few experts at the level of Fifth-level Martial Artist or higher, made Chu Qingyun's heart skip a beat. He couldn't help but feel nervous.
However, the sight of the puppet by his side reassured him considerably.
The combat strength of a seventh-level Martial Artist was not to be underestimated, no matter the situation.
With the puppet by his side, Chu Qingyun had the confidence to vie for a piece of the pie.
Chu Qingyun didn't deliberately conceal his aura, and his strength as a mere first-level Martial Artist earned him looks of utter disdain from everyone present.
No one took him seriouslyâexcept for Ye Lan of the Ye Family.
'Heh heh, I didn't run into this brat earlier. I thought I'd missed my chance. But who would've thought... you shun the open gates of heaven and charge headfirst into a gateless hell. In that case, don't blame me for what comes next...'
Ye Lan watched Chu Qingyun and sneered inwardly.
He had arrived in Qingshan City a few days early and was instantly smitten with Ye Qi.
Not only was Ye Qi beautiful, but her father was a Martial Spirit Level expert and a city lord, which gave him a respected position even within the Ye Family.
If he could win Ye Qi's favor, it would be immensely beneficial for his future prospects.
But despite his relentless pursuit for several days, Ye Qi had completely ignored him. Instead, she couldn't stop talking about Chu Qingyun, his name constantly on her lips.
Even for this trip, Ye Qi had expressed deep regret that her own strength was too low for her to accompany Chu Qingyun.
All of this filled Ye Lan with bitter jealousy and hatred for Chu Qingyun.
"Ye Xiaohai, go kill that piece of trash."
Ye Lan whispered the order to a lackey beside him.
The man nodded and walked toward Chu Qingyun with a cold smirk.
"You little bastard, you're just a first-level Martial Artist. What right do you have to be here? Get on your knees and crawl out!"
Ye Xiaohai said, pointing at Chu Qingyun.
The onlookers all folded their arms to watch the show, none having any intention of getting involved.
"And who do you think you are?" Chu Qingyun shot back with a cold glance. "Does this Martial King's Tomb belong to your family?"
"Haha, good. You've got some nerve, you little bastard."
"You think killing some worthless third-level Martial Artist makes you an expert? Let me tell you, in our eyes, people like you will always be just one thingâtrash!"
Ye Xiaohai roared with laughter, not giving Chu Qingyun a shred of respect.
Hailing from the Four Great Clans of Lianshan County City, they possessed an innate sense of superiority and had always looked down on those of humble birth.
"Hmph. Barking dogs seldom bite," Chu Qingyun snorted. "You're full of nonsense. I wonder if you actually have any bite to you."
"You damn brat, of course I bite!"
Provoked, Ye Xiaohai blurted it out without thinking.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong. By admitting he bites, wasn't he essentially admitting he was a dog?
"Oh, so you're a dog that actually bites..."
Chu Qingyun nodded thoughtfully.
The crowd erupted in laughter, especially the members of the Zhou and Jin Families. They not only howled with amusement but also shouted taunts and jeers.
As fellow members of the Four Great Clans, their relationships were anything but harmonious.
"You little bastard, you're dead!"
"Baji Fist!"
His face flushed crimson, Ye Xiaohai let out a furious roar. The violent aura of a third-level Martial Artist erupted from him as he charged at Chu Qingyun with clenched fists.
Ye Xiaohai's arms were wreathed in pure Primordial Power, and as he threw a punch, it emanated a unique sensation.
It was a sensation Chu Qingyun was familiar withâit was "Momentum." Specifically, it was Fist Momentum, something Ye Xiaohai had comprehended on his own.
Swords have Sword Momentum, and blades have Blade Momentum. Similarly, one who practices fist techniques could comprehend Fist Momentum by condensing the power of an entire technique into a single punch.
This was the first time Chu Qingyun had ever faced such an opponent.
Not daring to be careless, he instantly drew his longsword and met the attack with Dawn Wind and Waning Moon. He even readied his Five-star Vine Soul and Shadow Martial Soul for immediate use.
The two quickly clashed. Sword Aura and the force of the punches intertwined in an incredibly fierce exchange.
However, Chu Qingyun was only a first-level Martial Artist, after all. The purity of his Primordial Power was far inferior to Ye Xiaohai's.
Moreover, he discovered to his dismay that even the most powerful move of his Gale Seven Swords, Wind-Scattering Clouds, was weaker than Ye Xiaohai's Fist Technique.
Therefore, it wasn't long before he found himself at a disadvantage.
"Brother Ye Lan, that kid is doomed to lose. His Sword Technique is just some trash-tier, low-level art, while Xiaohai's Baji Fist is a high-level Fist Technique from our family's treasured collection."
"No one in the County City would even take a trashy Sword Technique like that for free. Even if mastered to the stage of Great Success, it's not powerful enough to condense Sword Qi."
"Haha, don't forget that brat crawled out of the mountains. It's probably their so-called Village's Swordsmanship."
The members of the Ye Family all began to mock Chu Qingyun.
As for Chu Qingyun, he felt utterly helpless.
His innate talent for comprehending the Sword Dao was nothing short of terrifying.
But you can't make bricks without straw. The Gale Seven Swords was, after all, just a technique his grandfather had stumbled upon by chance. The vast majority of Sword Techniques a typical Martial Artist could acquire were low-level ones.
For Chu Qingyun to have comprehended Sword Momentum using a low-level Sword Technique was already an incredibly difficult feat.
"Eight Extremes Stone Splitter!"
"Eight Extremes Tiger Suppression!"
"Eight Extremes Earth Shaking!"
Ye Xiaohai found his rhythm, unleashing the moves of his Baji Fist one after another. He forced Chu Qingyun back again and again, leaving him unable to properly defend himself.
Bullying a low-level Sword Technique with his high-level Fist Technique felt incredibly satisfying.
'Damn it, my Sword Technique is inferior... Do I have to use my Martial Soul? But this guy has one too...'
In his panic, Chu Qingyun swept his sword out again. But because he was distracted, the slash was almost purely instinctual.
Moreover, the move he used was Autumn Leaves, one he hadn't practiced in a long time.
However, while his hands executed Autumn Leaves, his mind was trying to execute Gale and Torrential Rain.
His mind and body were out of sync, but to everyone's surprise, the power of this sword strike was enough to block Ye Xiaohai's punch head-on!
'This is... I understand now!'