Zhao Yuandian's sword appreciation conference was scheduled to take place in three months,but Su Xin was in seclusion during that time,leaving him with just over two months remaining.
It takes almost two months to travel from Jiangnan Province to the city of Xiaoyang in Dongjin Province,even with a fast horse without stopping.However,Su Xin chose to travel on foot.
This wasn't due to any particular quirk of Su Xin,but rather his intention to temper his internal strength through this method.
Currently,Su Xin had reached the pinnacle of the Divine Palace realm and was halfway to the Nascent Soul stage.Continuing to cultivate internal strength wouldn't yield much improvement.With just a sudden enlightenment,he could immediately advance to the Nascent Soul stage.
Thus,Su Xin chose not to focus on cultivating internal strength.Instead,he planned to continuously use his internal strength to travel along the way,expending all of it and then replenishing it.While this wouldn't further enhance his internal strength,it would refine it to a purer state.
So,with this ascetic monk-like method of practice,even though he traveled on foot,Su Xin still managed to reach Xiaoyang City in two months.
Two months of practice left Su Xin looking somewhat unkempt.After quickly freshening up at an inn and changing clothes,he was ready to explore.
Iron Battle hadn't provided him with any contact information for Xiaoyang City's spies,but he assured Su Xin that once he arrived in Xiaoyang City,the local spies would surely find him.So,Su Xin wandered freely within Xiaoyang City.
Xiaoyang City was a bustling trade hub between Dongjin and Da Zhou,so it was very prosperous,rivaling major prefectures like Jiangnan.
Da Zhou had been at odds with Dongjin for decades.If the Da Zhou Emperor,Ji Haodian,had exercised a bit more restraint and delayed his attack on Du Yuansheng's Three Xiang Wulin Alliance,focusing first on dealing with Dongjin,perhaps they could have wiped out Dongjin in one fell swoop.
However,the past was the past.Du Yuansheng was dead,the Three Xiang Wulin Alliance had collapsed,and the remaining few remnants had died in Changning Prefecture.Whether there were any hidden secrets behind these events,only the Da Zhou Emperor knew.
But Su Xin believed there must be some hidden secrets unknown to outsiders.
As the leader of Da Zhou's rise,Ji Haodian was not yet showing signs of aging at that time.However,his decision to hastily eliminate Du Yuansheng was a strategic blunder,not something a leader like Ji Haodian would typically do.
Due to that incident,present-day Dongjin had inherited the wealth of the former Great Jin Dynasty,allowing it to still stand firm against Da Zhou's attempts to conquer it.At least for now,Da Zhou's ambition to conquer Dongjin seemed impossible.
While wandering through Xiaoyang City,Su Xin felt a pair of eyes staring at him.
Initially,Su Xin thought it might be a spy from the Six Fan School coming to contact him,but he soon felt something was amiss.
If it were a spy from the Six Fan School,they could easily contact him covertly,rather than blatantly staring at him on the street.
When Su Xin turned around,he saw a young man with a purple-golden spear walking straight toward him.
Su Xin didn't recognize this person,but other martial artists in Xiaoyang City exclaimed,"Yan Dongchen of the'Seven Killings Spear'!What is he doing here?Is he here to participate in the sword appreciation conference?"
Someone retorted,"Yan Dongchen uses a spear.What's he got to do with sword appreciation?"
Ranked eighth on the People List,Su Xin had certainly heard of Yan Dongchen.He was one of the few martial artists from Dongjin who managed to make it onto the People List.
The People List was issued by the Six Fan School,which naturally took into account some sects and martial artists from Da Zhou,but Da Zhou's martial artists were never ranked higher than the People List.
However,Yan Dongchen was different.He hailed from the Dongjin military and had risen from a common soldier to the realm of innate mastery.He was accepted as a disciple by the Divine Martial Pavilion of Dongjin,receiving meticulous guidance.
The Divine Martial Pavilion of Dongjin was established during the early days of the former Great Jin Dynasty,originally dedicated to nurturing strong warriors from the royal family.
However,Dongjin had declined,and the old rules were no longer upheld.As long as they were from Dongjin,young martial artists were eligible to join the Divine Martial Pavilion,but the rules were strict,preferring quality over quantity.Sometimes,they wouldn't accept a new disciple for several years.
After reaching the pinnacle of the Divine Palace realm at the Divine Martial Pavilion,Yan Dongchen accompanied the Dongjin army to venture into the deep mountains and forests of the eastern barbarian tribes.
Unlike the southern barbarians who worshipped various chaotic deities,the eastern barbarian tribes were different.They were descendants of those who had hidden in the mountains and forests during the chaos of ancient times,inheriting martial arts passed down from ancient times,with formidable strength.
During the expedition to the east,Yan Dongchen shone brightly.He once single-handedly slew more than ten pinnacle Divine Palace realm warriors of the eastern barbarians and even infiltrated their tribes to assassinate their leaders,escaping from the hands of a Nascent Soul stage elder.
These solid achievements were undeniable,too dazzling to ignore even for the Six Fan School,so Yan Dongchen was placed on the People List.
It could be said that Yan Dongchen was the pride of Dongjin.As many Dongjin martial artists looked at him,most of them showed admiration in their eyes.
However,Yan Dongchen later left the military for unknown reasons and ventured into the martial world of Da Zhou.It wasn't until he broke into the top ten of the People List that he returned to Dongjin.
However,this incident led some Dongjin martial artists to call Yan Dongchen a traitor.
"'Blood Sword Divine Finger'Su Xin?"Yan Dongchen asked.
Su Xin nodded,"Indeed,what advice does Brother Yan have?"
Yan Dongchen took a deep breath,holding his purple-golden spear horizontally in front of him,and said in a deep voice,"A battle!"
Su Xin looked into Yan Dongchen's eyes and understood his meaning.
Yan Dongchen's purpose was straightforward:to challenge Su Xin.
The competition for the People List had always been fierce.The original top three,Lin Changhe,had already broken through to the Nascent Soul stage,while He Xiu and Xiao Huang had gone into seclusion.It was estimated that when they emerged again,they would also ascend to the Nascent Soul realm.
Therefore,those behind them were becoming more anxious.The more positions were vacant at the top,the more likely someone from behind could ascend.After all,everyone coveted the position of first place on the People List.
Lin Changhe,He Xiu,and Xiao Huang were too strong,so much so that they were like existences from another realm compared to other martial artists on the People List.
However,the difference between the other martial artists in the top ten of the People List wasn't as significant.They could compete for the top spot among themselves.
Upon hearing that Su Xin was present,the people on the street immediately showed disgust and hostility.
With Da Zhou and Dongjin at odds for so many years,especially now that Da Zhou had forced Dongjin,once the powerful Great Jin,into a corner,the enmity was deep.
So,martial artists from both sides generally harbored mutual animosity,especially the Dongjin martial artists who were in a weaker position.They were extremely exclusive.
Xiaoyang City was relatively tolerant in this regard,as it engaged in trade with Da Zhou year-round,accommodating martial artists from both sides.Therefore,these Dongjin martial artists mostly showed only some hostility rather than outright hostility.
If Su Xin were to enter the heartland of Dongjin now,he would likely attract a large number of Dongjin martial artists to besiege him,given his status as the Chief Constable of Jiangnan Province.
Now seeing Yan Dongchen challenging Su Xin,they were happy to see Yan Dongchen trample Su Xin underfoot.
It would be even better if Yan Dongchen could take the top spot on the People List in the future.Letting a Dongjin-born martial artist take the top spot would surely stir up the emotions of the people in the Da Zhou court.
"Then let's have a battle."Su Xin also said.
Of the top ten on the People List,Su Xin had only truly fought against He Xiu and Yue Qingping.
When he fought Yue Qingping,Su Xin wasn't in his peak state,and He Xiu's strength was too abnormal to be regarded as a martial artist at the Nascent Soul stage.So Su Xin wanted to see what the normal top ten martial artists were capable of.
Upon hearing Su Xin's words,Yan Dongchen's purple-golden spear trembled,and a powerful aura of iron and blood surged forth.
Yan Dongchen was originally an ordinary soldier,and later he accompanied the Dongjin army to conquer the eastern barbarians.His body was filled with the strong killing intent typical of a military formation.
With a sweep of his spear,Yan Dongchen's imposing presence was unparalleled.He perfectly interpreted the formidable nature of military-style attacks.
Su Xin reached out with one hand,and dozens of sword auras burst forth,invisible and formless,stirring up the wind and clouds,slashing towards Yan Dongchen.
"Break!"Yan Dongchen shouted,and his purple-golden spear turned into a roaring dragon of fierce wind,facing the invisible sword aura sent by Su Xin.
Yan Dongchen's nickname was'Seven Killings Spear',which was both his nickname and the spear technique he displayed.This spear technique he used was the'Nine Heavens Roaming Dragon'among his'Seven Killings Spear',possessing the power to shatter the sky!
A loud sound of intense aura burst forth.Su Xin's formless sword aura directly crushed the Nine Heavens Roaming Dragon,causing Yan Dongchen to retreat rapidly.Even his legs sank into the ground,pushed back step by step by the immense force.
Su Xin's fingers flicked continuously,and the sword auras,whether gentle as a breeze or fierce and violent,swept through freely,as if at his whim.
This was the power of the second stage of the Pre-Natal Breaking Body Invisible Sword Qi,with sword qi billowing everywhere.Now,Yan Dongchen seemed to be facing hundreds of sword cultivators.
Yan Dongchen's purple-golden spear swept,and for a moment,the fierce wind roared,and the sound of intense aura bursting echoed.
"Break the army!"The Seven Killings Spear was fierce and unparalleled,but under Su Xin's sharp sword aura,Yan Dongchen was directly suppressed,unable to lift his head.Each sword aura carried a hint of annihilation sword intent,making his hands numb.
His spear technique could break the army,but it couldn't break Su Xin's Pre-Natal Breaking Body Invisible Sword Qi!
