Chapter 1175: Show of Strength
The location of the gathering was on the second floor of the Conflagration Restaurant, which had already been reserved by the organizer. One could not enter without an invitation.
After handing over their invitation, Xiao Chen and Ba Yan entered without any obstruction.
Compared to the noisy hall, the second floor was much quieter. The two were not really early. Several young cultivators already sat on the seats arranged.
The instant the two entered the second floor, Xiao Chen felt sharp gazes looking towards him.
He saw many familiar people here. It seemed like Liu Yun and Xia Yang had been here for some time already.
The surprising thing to Xiao Chen was that Jiang Feng, whom Xiao Chen met once in Black Water Island, was here as well. After not seeing Jiang Feng for a while, he noticed that Jiang Feng’s strength had increased remarkably, now gaining a dangerous aura.
Jiang Feng noticed Xiao Chen as well and was equally surprised. However, a murderous intent immediately flashed in his eyes. His lips curled up in a cruel smile.
Many of the people who saw Xiao Chen started to whisper with each other. The story of Xiao Chen chopping off the metal puppet’s head recently set the place abuzz, resulting in many discussions about it.
A blue-clad bladesman suddenly hit the table with his palm, sending a wine cup flying up and spinning rapidly.
“Hey, White Robed Bladesman, you became pretty famous recently. Let me treat you to some wine!” The blue-clad bladesman smiled coldly and gently sent the wine cup flying towards Xiao Chen at a speed so fast, it was barely visible to the naked eye.
Indeed, as Ba Yan said, the people here were all arrogant and obstinate. If one was weak, one would just end up humiliated.
The moment the two entered, someone immediately tried to put on a show of strength.
There was a lot going on with the wine cup flying over. Not only was it so fast that the naked eye found it hard to keep up with, but the wine in the cup was also infused with the blue-clad bladesman’s strong saber intent.
If Xiao Chen was not careful, whether he caught the wine cup or not, he would end up looking bad.
If Xiao Chen simply caught the wine cup, after spinning around in the cup for thousands of revolutions, the wine infused with saber intent would have already reached a critical point and would cause the cup to explode on contact.
This would result in Xiao Chen getting drenched with the wine. However, every drop of wine would be potentially lethal, reducing him to a sorry state.
If Xiao Chen did not catch the wine cup, the other party would claim that he had no sincerity.
This was an incredible show of strength. All the Great Bandits’ descendants smiled coldly, waiting to see how Xiao Chen would react.
Ba Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not make a move to help. This was a show of strength targeted at Xiao Chen. If Xiao Chen could not pass this small test, it would only prove that Ba Yan made a misjudgment and should not have brought Xiao Chen over.
Xiao Chen smiled gently. At some point in time, the Lunar Shadow Saber appeared in his left hand. In the time it took for a spark to fly, he drew that resplendent and magnificent blade.
“Whoosh!”
The instant the saber came out of its scabbard, a gust carrying Xiao Chen’s saber intent blew, ruffling the hair of everyone present.
Xiao Chen first used his strong saber intent to completely neutralize the saber intent in the wine cup, making it stop spinning.
When he completed his draw, the saber’s blade and the wine cup happened to align with each other. Then, the wine cup landed securely on the tip of the saber.
Making use of his strong saber soul and outstanding vision, Xiao Chen caught the wine cup that the other party sent out on the tip of his saber. This move made it looked like the two were good friends that had not met for many years.
The blue-clad bladesman tossed out the wine cup, and Xiao Chen drew his saber to catch it. This string of actions looked very coordinated.
Although that provocative scene from earlier appeared very tense, it lasted only a moment, in the blink of an eye.
The wine cup on the saber tip stopped spinning, and the wine leaped out of it in a beautiful, graceful arc. Xiao Chen raised his head and opened his mouth, letting the liquid fall into his mouth.
“Not bad, it is indeed good wine. Here, have the cup back!”
Xiao Chen sheathed his saber, but the wine cup remained in the air. After wiping the wine on his lips, he narrowed his eyes, and the seventy-percent-comprehended saber soul in his sea of consciousness moved with a thought. It entered the wine cup and shot the wine cup back at the young, blue-clad bladesman.
The empty flying cup appeared like an unparalleled saber light, incredibly sharp and containing boundless saber intent.
According to the etiquette of a toast, Xiao Chen should have returned a toast and not an empty cup.
Naturally, Xiao Chen knew the right etiquette. However, he had other reasons for doing this.
The moment this person saw Xiao Chen, he immediately tried to put on a show of strength. Honestly speaking, Xiao Chen did not hold a strong grudge against this person for his effrontery. This was the way of the world of cultivators; those who were excellent were easily envied.
Xiao Chen already accepted this way of life long ago. However, he had his own pride as well. If the other party could catch this cup, then the other party would be qualified to receive a toast from him.
If the other party could not catch it, then sorry, Xiao Chen would not even look that this person.
The expression of the blue-clad bladesman had become more reserved when Xiao Chen caught the wine cup perfectly with the tip of his saber.
Now that the blue-clad bladesman saw the empty cup returning to him, his expression turned grave.
There was a saying “the way a layman watches a bustling scene is different from that of a professional.” The exchange between the two looked very simple. However, all the outstanding talents present knew the dangers involved with these simple actions. If a weak Small Perfection quasi-Emperor had received that blue-clad bladesman’s wine cup, it would have been sufficient to injure him severely.
However, not only did Xiao Chen catch the wine cup perfectly, but he even returned an empty cup to test the blue-clad bladesman’s strength. The situation immediately turned interesting.
“Interesting, Liu Yang’s grandfather is known as the Black Sea Saber Sovereign. All along, he himself has been known as the strongest bladesman of the Black Sea’s younger generation. This time, he met with a true expert. I wonder if he can catch this cup.”
All the outstanding talents immediately looked at Liu Yang to see how he would react, increasing the pressure on him.
Liu Yang’s thoughts raced as fast as lightning. He came up with many countermeasures in his mind but rejected most of them. It was not difficult to catch the cup. However, he did not want to just catch the cup. He wanted to do it as elegantly as Xiao Chen did, making it appear easy.
Otherwise, if it looked like it took effort, in this impromptu competition, he would have lost.
Liu Yang instantly came up with a countermeasure. He stretched out his right index finger and gently caught the empty cup with perfect poise.
“Whoosh!”
The wine cup spun quickly on Liu Yang’s fingertip. With each rotation, the saber intent that Xiao Chen infused in it diminished significantly.
A strong wind blew, whistling endlessly. The saber wind that emerged filled the second floor. Like a treasure saber buzzing without pause, the sharp saber intent made everyone’s expression turn solemn.
The tricks involved in the empty wine cup that Xiao Chen sent back was impressive. Likewise, the way Liu Yang caught the empty wine cup was no inferior.
In this quick exchange, in the round trip of the wine cup, the two were considered equal.
“There is no wine in the cup. It seems that although Young Master Xiao said that it was good wine, you actually look down on the wine I served you, not even returning the favor. That does not matter. This Liu will offer up another cup and convince you of it beyond mere superficial words.”
The empty wine cup that Xiao Chen used to test out Liu Yang became Liu Yang’s excuse to make another move.
The wine cup on the tip of Liu Yang’s finger continued spinning. Then, he quickly retracted his finger, letting the wine cup rotate in the air.
After that, it looked like he was performing magic. The instant he withdrew his finger, an exquisite jade flask appeared in his right hand; it was a white-jade wine bottle emanating cold Qi.
The wine pouring out of this wine flask was like the melted white snow from the mountain peaks as it slowly filled the wine cup.
The temperature in the entire second floor immediately plummeted, becoming increasingly cold—so cold that everyone felt like their blood was freezing.
Strands of cold Qi came from the wine cup as a heady wine fragrance wafted out, intoxicating everyone with just a sniff and evoking somewhat drunken expressions.
“What wine is this? Why is it so fragrant?!”
“It is no doubt a peak quality wine. At the same time, it perfectly matches Liu Yang’s will of ice. This cup of wine he is offering is definitely very extraordinary.”
“Interesting. This is really becoming more and more interesting.”
All the outstanding youths present discussed with each other. The unexpected clash between the two bladesmen filled them with incomparable anticipation.
The wine happened to finish filling the wine cup just as the wine cup landed on the table. Then, Liu Yang put down the wine flask and held up the wine cup, gently shaking it.
A clump of snowflakes soared out of the wine cup and made snow fall. Then, an Ice Phoenix grabbed the cup and took flight with its wings outspread.
“This wine is called Thousand Year Snow. I was fortunate to be able to buy ten bottles of it in the distant Ice Sea. I hope it will not disappoint Brother Xiao this time!”
Liu Yang’s gaze turned chilly. Then, his cold, emotionless saber intent spread into the wine cup filled with the Thousand Year Snow as it charged out together with the Ice Phoenix.
Initially, the Ice Phoenix was just an illusion. However, with the enhancement of Liu Yang’s saber intent, it seemed to come to life. It gripped the wine cup with both claws and displayed a cold, piercing, emotionless gaze.
Just this cold gaze clearly demonstrated Liu Yang’s strong saber intent.
The Ice Phoenix that suddenly appeared made this wine cup fly much faster than the previous one. When it spread its wings, it carried a sharp saber intent and firm pressure.
Xiao Chen did not dare to underestimate this. So he chose to avoid it temporarily. He pushed off the ground and extended his arms wide, moving to the back.
Xiao Chen retreated!
Liu Yang’s lips curled up in a cocky smile. In the end, Xiao Chen still retreated.
However, Liu Yang’s smile slowly froze in place. The robes and hair of the retreating Xiao Chen fluttered. Every strand of hair and every part of his clothes fluttered lightly, radiating strong saber intent.
“Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang!” With the movement of Xiao Chen’s hair, saber sounds rang out like zither notes. As his clothes rustled, the saber sounds were like the ruffle of powerful war drums.
Amid the zither and drum sounds, Xiao Chen advanced by retreating. Using his strong saber intent, he melted the sharp saber intent belonging to Liu Yang contained in the Ice Phoenix.
Then, Xiao Chen gracefully spun around, landed behind a table, and sat down. He smiled faintly and casually set down his Lunar Shadow Saber before extending his hand to receive the wine cup.
Xiao Chen already rid the Ice Phoenix of the saber intent, so he easily caught the wine cup. After that, the Ice Phoenix circled his head and turned into snow drifting down.
Looking at the wine in the cup, Xiao Chen held it up and downed it in one go. When the wine entered his throat, the burn of alcohol was incredibly strong. The kick was powerful, making one feel very carefree and delighted.
“It is indeed good wine. Young Master Liu, it truly lived up to its name.” Flushing slightly, Xiao Chen appeared somewhat drunk as he put down the wine cup and gave his praises to Liu Yang.
Liu Yang’s heart sank, but his hands did not stop moving. He said coldly, “When meeting for the first time, one should exchange three cups of wine. Since this is good wine, have three more cups!”
Unwilling to submit, Liu Yang moved in a dazzling fashion, filling up three more wine cups to the brim with Thousand Year Snow and sending them towards Xiao Chen again.
“That is good timing!”
Xiao Chen was a person who loved wine in the first place. This Thousand Year Snow really suited his taste. He laughed loudly and held up his empty wine cup while infusing his own saber soul in it to meet the incoming cups.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”