Chapter 101: The Heaven-Felling Axe
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Chapter 101: The Heaven-Cleaving Axe
Chapter 12: The Sacred Mountain’s Transmission of the Sublime Way, Riding the Clouds Alone for Ten Thousand Miles (Part Eleven)
The white-bearded elder nodded slightly and folded away the brocade cloth. After a while, when the remaining contestants in the arena had finished their bouts, he turned to Huan Ming and nodded again. With a subtle gesture forward, the transparent dome before them slowly cracked open a narrow slit.
The elder called out loudly from within, “All disciples, come forth!” Soon, the few who had been competing inside the arena emerged from the exit. The victors wore joyous expressions, while the defeated looked deeply dejected.
In moments, the arena was empty except for the young man who had just summoned the dual-horned White Spirit Rhinoceros. He remained seated in meditation, motionless.
The white-bearded elder faced Huan Ming, saying, “Since you have signed the Life and Death Pact, then life and death are predetermined. Are you aware of this?”
Huan Ming nodded. “Disciple understands.” With that, he leapt forward, passing through the radiant dome and landing squarely in the center of the arena.
The bystanders erupted in cheers, shouting, “Good lad!” “Ha ha, don’t disgrace yourself!” “Teach him a lesson! Let him vent his anger!”
Ye Hua heard the shouts and smiled faintly, his eyes flickering with thought:
“This senior brother Huan Ming, though newly acquainted, seems bold and skilled. His technique surely must be astounding. That aside, he has just arrived at the Xuanwu Arena and, seeing injustice, immediately steps forward. Such courage commands respect. Even if he were to lose, I would have to aid him, breaking the rules if necessary!”
The young man who had been sitting nearby slowly rose, sneering coldly at Huan Ming. “Another fool who doesn’t know his fate! You signed the Life and Death Pact—your death is mine to claim! Dao Master will send you to the afterlife! Heh heh!”
Before he finished, a flash of gold appeared in his hand—a long golden halberd sparkling as he swung it fiercely forward.
Huan Ming remained calm, emitting a low shout. His hands formed mystical seals; his right index finger traced swiftly through the air. A dazzling rune of radiant clouds materialized, meeting the halberd’s strike.
A tremendous clash resounded. The halberd trembled and recoiled; the young man’s expression shifted, recognizing a formidable opponent. As the rune advanced, he roared wildly. His left hand emitted a brilliant glow as a massive apparition slowly took form—the very dual-horned White Spirit Rhinoceros from before.
He sought to leverage the rhinoceros’s power for a swift victory. The creature’s head flickered with golden light, its twin horns shooting forth golden beams that struck the rune. The rune shattered like fragile bubbles.
Huan Ming glanced at the White Spirit Rhinoceros with delight. “Excellent!” he exclaimed, flashing forward to attack.
The spirit beast growled fiercely, its horns whipping upward like streaks of lightning, two blinding white arcs descending swiftly toward Huan Ming. He dodged with a slight lean, evading by a hair’s breadth. With a leap, he reached the rhinoceros’s head, his right hand glowing with radiant light as he revealed a finely crafted axe. With speed, he swung it toward the beast’s twin horns.
Ye Hua’s heart relaxed slightly. Indeed, Senior Brother Huan Ming’s mastery was profound and not to be underestimated—worthy of being a disciple of the Mountain of Endless Chess.
The opposing cultivator observed Huan Ming’s axe strike at the horns and sneered, “Fool! Don’t you know these twin horns are the hardest part? Even a supreme spirit treasure can’t sever them!”
He moved swiftly behind Huan Ming, bringing his halberd down hard on his back, sneering as he expected to see Huan Ming collapse in pain.
Suddenly, a fierce roar rang out. A flash of golden light erupted before him—a tremendous force struck him. Alarmed, he looked forward and saw the enraged White Spirit Rhinoceros radiating golden light, sending beams outward. The immense force that had struck him was caused by his own spirit beast. His heart burned with both anger and confusion.
Just as he sought to summon his beast back, he noticed in shock and pain that the twin white horns on its head were missing!
Landing heavily, he saw a small axe swiftly follow, barely able to evade. A mocking voice rang out: “Heh heh, how do you like my Heaven-Cleaving Axe? Can you still rely on those horns?”
A hand suddenly grasped the small axe, halting it before his neck.
Huan Ming calmly turned from behind to face the young man, holding the two milky white horns—the very ones he had severed from the White Spirit Rhinoceros’s head.
Laughing, he said, “I’ll take these horns as well! Ha ha!”
The young man’s face twisted with rage, fear, and hatred. He spat blood and collapsed, utterly defeated.
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Ye Hua, seeing Huan Ming’s feat of severing the spirit beast’s horns with the small axe, recognized its value and asked Ma Fei, “Senior Brother Ma, what do you think of that axe in Huan Ming’s hand?”
Ma Fei shook his head and sighed, “That must be the Heaven-Cleaving Axe. Rumor has it that the Mountain of Endless Chess’s treasured weapon is a supreme spirit treasure called the Heaven-Cleaving Axe! The one Huan Ming carries is probably cultivated to the lower spirit treasure rank! This… this is truly remarkable!”
Ye Hua nodded. “So it is the Heaven-Cleaving Axe! I’ve heard it’s a prize on the Scarlet Book’s Golden Ranking List. Though ranked lower, it’s still incredibly formidable!”
Ma Fei replied, “You’re right! Because it’s on the Golden Ranking List, cultivating it is extremely difficult. To forge a great weapon, even endless time and countless rare materials are required! Not to mention the countless heavenly and earthly treasures needed!”
Zhang Ke nodded. “I suppose this Heaven-Cleaving Axe was bestowed by his sect. Given his years of cultivation, it’s impossible he reached this level on his own.”
“Perhaps,” Ma Fei agreed.
As they spoke, a commotion arose among the spectators. They saw Huan Ming slowly walk out of the arena, his opponent unconscious on the ground. Ma Fei smiled, “Junior Brother, you’ve made quite a haul this time!”
Huan Ming grinned, “Senior Brother, you flatter me. I’ve long sought the White Spirit Rhinoceros’s horns. This encounter was rare and must not be missed. Besides, observing his ruthlessness, I cannot be blamed for acting decisively!”
The crowd laughed heartily at this.
Ye Hua curiously asked, “What does Senior Brother intend to do with those White Rhinoceros horns?”
Huan Ming gazed at the two horns, each about a foot long. “I’ll use them to temper the Great Azure Sword. Although these horns are somewhat low grade, I’m not sure if they’ll suffice.”
Ye Hua nodded. “Using White Rhinoceros horns to temper the Great Azure Sword would certainly add many useful properties!”
Just then, a voice filled with hatred sounded behind them: “You disciples of the Old Rogue Shouchang!”
Ye Hua was startled, wondering who dared speak so rudely.
Turning around, he saw seven or eight people approaching from about thirty yards away. Leading them was the young man with the pockmarked face named Kong, who had fought with him yesterday in the Great Scripture Pavilion.
Ye Hua sneered coldly, “So it’s you! Have you already forgotten yesterday’s bitter defeat? If I had known you’d come today, I would have broken both your legs!”
Kong’s face darkened with rage. “You little thief, don’t just talk big! Today you’ll learn the true might of the Dao Master!”
Before he could finish, he lunged forward to fight Ye Hua.
But a refined young man nearby suddenly reached out and restrained him, frowning. “Kong Lao Si, did they not instruct you how to behave before coming? Having lost, how can you still act this way?”
Kong turned to the refined youth, stammering, “But, big brother, but…”
The refined youth waved him off. “Old Four, step back! Today we will reclaim your honor. When has the Kong family ever been bullied before outsiders? Heh heh!”
He then stepped forward slowly. Kong retreated behind him, glaring at Ye Hua as if he wanted to tear him apart.
Ye Hua paid no mind to him. Smiling slightly at the refined youth approaching, he said, “Since you are also of the Kong family, why not have a contest?”
The refined youth smiled. “You’re straightforward! Under other circumstances, we might have been friends. But you injured a member of the Kong family for no reason. Still, justice must be served. If you apologize, we might let it pass!”
Ye Hua replied calmly, “Friends? I dare not. An apology? You really joke! As for justice, it’s not for you to claim. Your fourth brother brought this on himself. It’s no fault of mine.”
“Good lad!” “Big brother, let’s take him down together!” “Big brother, don’t waste words!”
The refined youth’s followers shouted.
Ma Fei laughed heartily. “I wonder who these arrogant scoundrels are. Want to gang up on us?”
Shi Lei added, “Yes, Senior Brother Ma, just look at this spectacle! Heh heh, but they don’t even know where they are. Even our dogs know better where to relieve themselves.”
With that, Zhang Ke and others closed in.
The spectators nearby noticed the tension and shouted, “Hey, if you’ve got guts, come down and fight!” “Ha ha, what fun is watching a fight up here? Get down to the arena!”
The refined youth stared silently at Ye Hua and his companions for a moment. “Since you don’t know your limits, we’ll settle our grudges in this contest!”
Ye Hua smiled. “Very well. Let’s see what the Kong family is capable of!”
“Junior Brother Ye! Let me go and compete,” came a gentle voice. Zhang Lan stepped forward, intercepting Ye Hua with a slight smile.
Since departing Zhang’s mansion, Ye Hua and Zhang Lan had deliberately avoided each other and had not exchanged a word in the Xuanwu Arena. Now hearing her words, Ye Hua’s face flushed.
He gazed at her delicate face, bathed in sunlight that seemed to cast a soft halo, making his eyes squint slightly. At a loss for words, he stammered, “Thank you, Senior Sister Zhang. I can handle it! Don’t worry!”
The refined youth, seeing a woman step forward, snorted coldly and strode toward the white-bearded elder beside the arena. He whispered something to the elder, who nodded. The elder then summoned a radiant brocade cloth. The refined youth dripped a drop of blood onto it and slowly stepped into the arena.
The crowd saw him enter. Ma Fei and the others warned, “Junior Brother Zhang, be careful!”
Ye Hua did not linger further and walked toward the white-bearded elder. Ma Fei and the others watched him leave but were not overly worried, thinking to themselves, “With Junior Brother Ye’s strength, it’s rare to find a rival within the Seven Treasures realm! Unless this person is comparable to the Four Young Masters of the Capital. But even they are hardly easily matched!”
As the crowd contemplated, they saw Ye Hua sign the Life and Death Pact and enter the arena. Inside, five or six pairs of cultivators were already competing. When the audience saw another pair step forward, excitement surged once again.
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