Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
Atop Shu Mountain's Divine Mace Peak, the mountain loomed like a pitch-black and upright steel mace, encircled by winding mountain roads layered upon each other. The Cloud Path race track for this event was laid out along these mountain roads, twisting through eighteen sharp turns.
This was nothing like the simple bend earlier; it was the most challenging section of the entire race!
Swoosh—
Chu Liang's Dustless Sword suddenly shot into the fray, with the other competitors waiting to see him become the butt of the joke.
That's because if one were to drift with their flying sword through the eighteen bends, they'd lose control after several consecutive turns and be flung out! In past flying sword races, many experts had been thrown off the course at this very segment!
If one were to drift at full speed continuously, an average expert might fail after just three to five turns, and even top experts couldn't surpass ten. Drifting through all eighteen bends without slowing down was something only the Sword God of Falling Goose Peak had ever achieved!
Swoosh—
In the blink of an eye, Chu Liang had already drifted around the third bend, still without slowing down!
The competitors behind him had all slowed down to some extent, trading speed for stability. As a result, Chu Liang's lead widened instantly.
But no one was worried for him.
The faster he flew now, the farther he'd be flung later!
It was just a matter of seeing at which turn he'd be thrown off!
Faster than thought, while these complex ideas were still crossing the minds of the crowd, the Dustless Sword had already swept past ten turns!
Incredibly strong…
A sense of astonishment began to surface in many people's minds.
Soon, this thought was magnified indefinitely, as Chu Liang also passed the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth turns…
Hey, hey, hey!
That's about enough!
The crowd began to shout internally.
But Chu Liang still hadn't failed; instead, he continued to drift at full speed, through the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth turns…
Boom—
His flying sword finally flew out heavily from the eighteenth bend, but before joy could rise in the hearts of the onlookers, they realized something was amiss.
Eighteen bends…
There were only eighteen turns in total!
He had completed all of them without slowing down in his sword drift!
Chu Liang had accomplished the feat that only the Sword God of Falling Goose Peak had ever completed! Had they inadvertently witnessed history once again?
At this moment, no one doubted Chu Liang's participation in the flying sword race; everyone's mind was filled with shock, and even their own rankings seemed to matter less.
Swoosh—
After the eighteenth bend, there was another long straight path. Chu Liang's vital energy was at its peak, and with a breath, he roared towards the end of the Cloud Path. In an instant, he reached the race track of Greenfall Peak.
Sword energy rained down like a shower!
This sword energy was just to harass the sword riders speeding by, naturally not too strong. Chu Liang didn't even blink, bracing himself as he charged through!
Due to his incredible speed, although the rain of sword energy was dense, only two strands grazed Chu Liang as he flew past the bend. Other than cutting a slit in the hem of his garment, they did no harm to him.
Nowadays, Chu Liang's physical body could at most show a white mark from such a scrape.
Boom—
The final stretch of the race track turned towards the base of Heaven-reaching Peak, then made a skyward sprint, the most thrilling part of the annual summit chase!
The audience could look down from the mountain, watching the competitors surge upwards at breakneck speed, then see the sword light flash before their eyes, shooting straight into the sky!
It was just a pity that this time, there was no scene of close pursuit.
Boom—
Chu Liang's Dustless Sword thundered past the cliff edge and soared into the high sky!
"Heh—" Chu Liang let out a long cry!
After such a thrilling journey on the flying sword, the exhilaration of extreme speed made his heart beat wildly! As he soared into the sky, he even wanted to shout out loud.
But he restrained himself.
He sheathed his sword and turned back to look below, suddenly feeling a bit puzzled.
"Eh?" Chu Liang seemed surprised, for he had been so focused on his own flight that he hadn't paid attention to others. Although he might have guessed he would win due to the smooth process, he hadn't realized he was so far ahead.
"I'm already halfway up the mountain; why are they still at the base?"
***
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
One after another, sword lights streaked across the sky, each shooting into the heavens before the audience's eyes, but this ceremonious moment didn't bring excitement to most of the competitors.
Because a handsome fellow had already surged past moments before.
Chu Liang had just landed when he suddenly heard a voice from behind, "Junior Brother Chu?"
He turned around and saw it was Chen Zheng from last time.
If it hadn't been for him, Chu Liang wouldn't have discovered the technique of sword drifting, so he responded with a smile: "Senior Brother Chen, what's up?"
Chen Zheng was obviously a few years older, so calling him Senior Brother was no loss.
Chen Zheng's eyes were filled with disbelief, disregarding the near-exhaustion after the race, he stepped forward and asked, "Last time in the group competition you couldn't sword drift, but now you're so proficient… it's like perfect mastery. How did you do it?"
Chu Liang replied with a smile, "I just practiced a few times."
"A few times?!" Chen Zheng was shocked.
In truth, Chu Liang's sword drifting technique might not be stronger than those few top experts, but with his higher cultivation, fierce vital energy, and strong divine sense, the same technique was definitely more powerful.
But you should know, they had this technique because they've been playing specialized flying sword races since childhood. Compared to them, Chu Liang could be considered a "wild card."
He had only practiced a few times?
Chu Liang wasn't lying; he had practiced a few times before and roughly grasped the knack of sword drifting, but it wasn't quite fluent. Just before going on stage, he tried it twice more and finally mastered the key, and then he began to drift smoothly with his sword.
Chen Zheng's shocked and doubtful tone made Chu Liang think he was asking about himself, so he recalled briefly and muttered, "Probably three times…"
"But seriously speaking, the first three bends just now also count as practice. I only grasped the key after turning those. So if that counts, it should be six times… Eh? Senior Brother Chen! What's wrong with you?!"
It turned out that as Chu Liang was speaking, Chen Zheng suddenly collapsed, unconscious.
It was unclear whether it was due to the excessive exertion just now or the shock being too great…
***
Zhang Xiaohan had only arrived at Shu Mountain today. As a disciple of the Wind-catching Hall of the Tianji Pavilion, she was usually very busy. Whenever there was big news somewhere, she had to go and see if there was anything worth writing about.
Originally, she didn't plan to watch the Shu Mountain Summit Meeting, intending to visit a few of the top performers after the summit ended.
But the news from the Shu Mountain Summit Meeting suggested that this year's competition was particularly exciting and dramatic. This triggered her sense of urgency; if she waited until after the summit, would the first-hand interviews be snatched away by her fellow disciples?
So she hurried to Shu Mountain, relying on her acquaintance with Chu Liang, and even went directly to Silver Sword Peak.
The reason for coming here was that Silver Sword Peak was this year's dark horse of the Shu Mountain Summit Meeting. With only one disciple, no one expected that this year they would almost sweep all the entertainment events, nearly achieving all champions!
And Chu Liang was still in the running for the chief disciple!
When Zhang Xiaohan arrived, Chu Liang and Liu Xiaoyu had just returned, and she was slightly surprised to see this twin-tailed young girl.
"Miss Xiaohan," Chu Liang smiled, recognizing her as an acquaintance, "The summit isn't over yet, why have you come to my Silver Sword Peak?"
"Ha ha, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch you after the summit." Zhang Xiaohan also smiled, "I heard that Silver Sword Peak has nearly won all champions, and I wanted to delve into this matter. Could you spare a moment of your time?"
"Of course, welcome," Chu Liang greeted her warmly.
"Hero Chu has just won the championship of the flying sword race…" Zhang Xiaohan said, "And this lady is?"
"This is Liu Xiaoyu, also a member of our Silver Sword Peak. She has just won the championship of the mahjong competition," Chu Liang explained.
Although Silver Sword Peak only had one disciple, there were several other members, which Zhang Xiaohan had heard about before coming.
Then he pointed to the big lazy head lying nearby, "That's the Golden Haired Gibbon, who has just won the championship of the spiritual pet fighting competition."
Compared to Chu Liang's first place, Liu Xiaoyu and the Golden Haired Gibbon's championships were even more undisputed.
There were other sixth-realm spiritual beasts on Shu Mountain, but those were usually the mounts of powerful beings, who would participate in a spiritual pet fight? Among all the participants, only the Golden Haired Gibbon was of the sixth realm. The competition was almost devoid of any rivals, and Chu Liang later didn't even bother to watch, knowing it would be another victory when he returned.
It was simply a case of bullying the kids.
"Eh? What are you guys doing here?" Di Nvfeng walked over nonchalantly; she had just rushed back from Heaven-reaching Peak and came over to join in the fun upon seeing the group gathered, "This little girl is so cute, where did she come from?"
Zhang Xiaohan didn't know Di Nvfeng, but when she looked up and saw this beautiful and lazy woman, who also complimented her on being cute, she greeted with a smile, "Is this beautiful lady also a member of Silver Sword Peak?"
"What championship did you win?"