Chapter 402: Chapter 398 Seeking Knowledge

Xu Ming looked up and asked Ling Chen, "Who is your opponent?"

"Yi Shuiyan. Have you heard of this person before?"

"Mad Blade Shuiyan, the most prominent young man of the Dangyang Sect, and also the youngest expert," Qiu Yong said with a solemn expression. "So it was him who sought you out. It looks like the Dangyang Sect is not giving up on the Tianling Blade; they even deployed Shuiyan. However, it’s normal for you to lose to him. Let alone you, even if our fifth sister were to face him, there would be no guarantee of victory. As one of the outstanding young generation, Yi Shuiyan’s skills are indeed formidable."

"Big brother," Ling Chen couldn’t suppress the doubts in his heart and asked, "If Shuiyan is so strong, on par with experts on the Dragon List, why isn’t he on the list?"

"Because of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion," Xia Yue explained from the side. "The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion likes to recruit talent. Anyone eyed by the Pavilion, as long as they pass the challenges of the Heavenly Mechanism Great Ceremony, can join and become a member of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. That is the only way to enter. Other than that, there is no other method. Every year, hundreds, if not thousands, yearn to join the Pavilion, but only two or three actually succeed."

"Correct," Zhang Zhongfeng nodded slightly. "The Pavilion’s criteria for selection are very strict. They don’t want those who are too old, those with insufficient talent, or those with an unclean background. To even qualify, one’s strength must not be lower than that on the Tiger List; otherwise, it’s out of the question. It’s precisely because of this reason that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has always maintained its transcendent status and formidable power. If we were back in ancient times, the Pavilion’s status would be akin to that of the leader of the Martial Arts, having the ability and deterrence to command the heroes."

"Big brother, among the promising young generation, besides Yi Shuiyan, are there any others?" Ling Chen asked.

"To my knowledge, there are six individuals. Yi Shuiyan is just one of them, and moreover..." At this point, Qiu Yong glanced at Ling Chen, hesitating, as if there were more he wished to say but refrained from speaking. Seeing this, Ling Chen could not help but ask, "Big brother, is there something you can’t say?"

"It’s not that Big Brother doesn’t want to say it, but rather he’s worried it might demoralize you," Xu Ming chimed in. "Among those six people, Shuiyan is at most ranked fifth. There are four others even more formidable than him." After speaking, Xu Ming sighed. "Your generation indeed has quite a few natural-born talents. It has been many years since we’ve seen such a situation. But with too many talents, conflicts within the Martial Arts will also increase, as everyone wants to be the dragon that soars to the heavens."

"Little sixth brother, don’t be too disheartened. After all, you have just begun to truly step into the Martial Arts World. You are different from Shuiyan and the others. They have been cultivated from a young age; apart from talent, enormous resources have been expended to build their strength to what it is today. Therefore, you don’t have to undervalue yourself. If you were on the same starting line as them, they would have no bragging rights at all."

Upon hearing Qiu Yong’s words, Ling Chen nodded slightly. "Big Brother, I’m not concerned with these matters at all. I’m just wondering if, within less than two months, I can catch up to Shuiyan’s pace."

Qiu Yong spoke with full confidence, "If you were to follow the usual hard training process, it definitely wouldn’t be possible, but we are the Eight Eccentrics. The Eight Eccentrics have never done things by the book. Hence, ordinary methods are useless for you; we must adopt unorthodox methods." After that, Qiu Yong beckoned Xia Yue over, gave her an instruction, and then rose up and walked out of the living room.

Seeing his actions, everyone immediately followed him to the spacious courtyard.

By now, the sky was slightly bright; the dawn brought the white belly of the fish in the east. A sliver of the faint sunlight shone on everyone, accompanied by the cold breeze of early winter gently blowing.

"Little sixth brother, come out."

Hearing Qiu Yong’s words, Ling Chen obediently walked and stood in the center of the courtyard.

At the same time, Xia Yue, Yuan Yun, and Wei Jiahao came out of the adjacent room.

Ling Chen was startled and asked with concern, "Third Brother, Eighth Brother, your injuries haven’t healed yet. Why aren’t you resting inside?"

Yuan Yun waved his hand with a smile. "After lying down for so many days, the injuries have mostly healed. It’s no big deal; don’t worry about me." After finishing, Yuan Yun changed the subject, "I heard you’re going to face Shuiyan at the Heavenly Mechanism Great Ceremony, so I came to give you a hand."

With those words, Yuan Yun flicked his wrist, and a steel saber over three feet long immediately appeared in his hand, stepping right in front of Ling Chen.

"Before we help you, we first need to understand your gap with Shuiyan to devise a corresponding plan. Don’t hold back during the bout; go all out."

Ling Chen hesitated, "This... Is this really okay?"

"What, are you afraid of hurting me?" Yuan Yun raised his head and laughed. "Honestly, I’m not afraid of you hurting me; I’m afraid you don't have the skills."

Ling Chen touched his nose, knowing that his third brother was trying to provoke him. If Yuan Yun could ignore his own injuries to help him, and Ling Chen acted squeamishly, it would really be unfair to everyone’s good intentions.

With this in mind, Ling Chen took a deep breath, composed himself, his gaze focused slightly, staring at Yuan Yun, who was ten steps away, adjusting his breathing, as the Inner Strength in his Dantian flowed gently through his meridians, like a trickling stream.

"Third Brother, excuse my offense!"

With a light shout, Ling Chen lightly tapped with the tip of his foot; his body shot forward like a cannonball, rapidly advancing towards Yuan Yun. His iron fist smashed forward mercilessly, the punch ferocious, the sound of wind whistling.

"Nice one!"

Yuan Yun smiled, shifting his feet backwards by a step, leaving space, raising his saber to chop towards Ling Chen’s incoming fist.

Seeing danger, Ling Chen quickly retracted his fist, twisted his waist, and instantaneously sidestepped to Yuan Yun’s left, using both shoulder and elbow to get close, aiming to limit Yuan Yun’s saber with close combat.

Last night, when he had battled with Shuiyan, he had used the same method, but the difference in strength between them was too great, so it didn’t have a significant effect.

At this moment, Yuan Yun’s steps moved agilely, dodging Ling Chen’s attacks. His steel saber was continuously gathering strength, waiting for the right moment.

Ling Chen did not pause; his punches forceful, one after another, pressuring Yuan Yun, wishing to force a weakness through a storm-like offensive. However, Yuan Yun’s defense was watertight, not leaving any opportunity.

Just as the two were locked in a standoff, Yuan Yun casually swung his saber in an attempt to force Ling Chen back, but Ling Chen easily dodged it. Simultaneously, Ling Chen saw Yuan Yun expose his side, a huge opening; he was delighted and immediately seized the opportunity, shooting forward with a blasting punch.

Just as the punch was about to hit the target, Ling Chen’s eyes lit up, his mouth corners just beginning to smile. Yet before his smile could broaden, he suddenly felt a blur in front of his eyes, and Yuan Yun disappeared from his sight.

Where did he go?

Seeing what happened, Ling Chen was greatly shocked and turned his head around hurriedly, looking in all directions.