Chapter 196: Liang Chen Wouldn’t Mind Competing With You Till The End!

　　Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

　　There were nine entrances towards the training grounds and Xu Que randomly picked one to enter, not caring too much about who his opponent might be.

　　At the same time, he called out the system interface and entered the store section.

　　Ever since he was promoted to the lofty rank of Act Tough Gangster, there were many more manuals and skill books sold within the system store.

　　Xu Que scanned his eyes across the items for sale and decided to purchase the best knife technique manual without hesitation.

　　“Ding! Congratulations to host for purchasing Relationship Vanquisher Blade Technique. Would you like to train this skill?”

　　Whoosh!

　　A bright ray of light circled around his brain before it shot through his dantian. He could feel a certain gush of energy flood within his body, as his veins started glowing.

　　In the blink of an eye, he had mustered the simplest, yet most powerful knife technique.

　　Xu Que stepped through the entrance of the training ground and felt all the core energy within his body drain away as it flowed back into his dantian. Soon after, he felt a certain seal being placed on his dantian to prevent any core energy from being utilized.

　　“Ding! After detecting that the host’s cultivation has been sealed, the system is able to break out of the seal for 100 act tough points.” The system rang out in his head.

　　Xu Que’s lips curled into a grin. Since he knew that the system could break out of the seal anytime he wished, there wasn’t anything to worry about. After all, his cultivation had been sealed once before when he was with the demonic humans. This feeling felt all too familiar and didn’t bother him much.

　　‘There’s no need to break through the seal now. Allow me, Ye Liang Chen to act tough first before we decide how to proceed further.’ Xu Que thought to himself as he rejected the system’s recommendations and walked towards the training grounds.

　　As soon as he took several steps in, he felt an immense energy shroud his entire body. Soon after, he was being transported onto a stage.

　　At this point, there was already a cultivator wielding a long pointed spear on the stage, waiting for his opponent to arrive.

　　When he saw Xu Que dressed in black robes and couldn’t see his face clearly, the cultivator let out a roar of laughter as he shouted out, “Are you trying to play a fool? No matter, it’s your bad luck that you’ve met me so early on.”

　　“Damned handicapped retard!” Xu Que scolded under his breath as he entered the system store once again to purchase a basic knife from the system store and held it in his hand.

　　At the bottom of each stage was an Imperial Guard monitoring the battle. Xu Que’s stage was no exception to this.

　　The guard looked at both of them and identified the weapons wielded by each of them. He then took out a book and asked for both their names before recording their details down. Without much expression on his face, he shouted out, “Begin!”

　　As soon as these words were spoken, the long spear wielding cultivator charged towards Xu Que and attempted to sweep him off his feet with his spear.

　　Xu Que was extremely calm and composed as he entered the system store yet again and purchased a lighter.

　　At the same time, he hacked down viciously at his opponent.

　　Relationship Vanquisher Blade, I shall vanquish all your relationships with this blade by ending your life!

　　Metal clashed against metal as sparks burst out in all directions.

　　The cultivator’s expression fell. Just a single stroke was enough to cause his hands to bleed from taking the powerful blow of the knife.

　　“You’re looking to die!”

　　The cultivator roared in anger as he raised his spear once again and jabbed forward towards Xu Que.

　　Xu Que stepped aside almost lazily to avoid the point of the spear before he shouted out, “Wait, wait, wait! Give me a second!”

　　“Wait? Are you afraid? Don’t be afraid. I shall end you with my spear now.” The long spear wielding cultivator didn’t seem like he intended to pause as he continued showering a flurry of strikes towards Xu Que.

　　“What are you so anxious about? Liang Chen is addicted to cigarettes! Can’t you let me smoke a few puffs first?” Xu Que nodded his head as he ducked to avoid the spear. He then whipped out a cigarette from within his robes and placed it in his mouth. He even specially bought a lighter on this occasion to act tough!

　　Pa da!

　　A naked flame appeared from the lighter and lit the cigarette up.

　　The guard beneath the stage was astounded by the sight.

　　This was a cigarette!

　　The entire Imperial City had people clambering to buy cigarettes to no avail and yet it actually showed up here- the most unlikely of places.

　　In fact, this person was fighting and smoking his cigarettes at the same time. Was he really so unafraid? Or did he not even respect his opponent?

　　The guard was so astonished, his mouth was gaping wide open.

　　Xu Que’s opponent also froze in shock as he watched Xu Que smoking his cigarette rather calmly as a look of pleasure materialized across his face. He even blew several smoke rings, all in the middle of battle!

　　He then realized that this kid was shouting so loudly for him to wait up, so that he could smoke his cigarette!

　　Asshole!

　　The cultivator immediately felt underestimated and humiliated and his embarrassment turned into anger. He gripped his spear tightly as he charged towards Xu Que, making a sweeping movement with his spear.

　　“Yo, are you angry now? Don’t misunderstand me. The reason I decided to smoke now was to imagine how it feels like to have a broken relationship. Now that I’ve felt what it feels like, it’s your turn. I shall let you taste what it’s like!” Xu Que’s smiled as he started hacking down, one hand holding onto his blade, the other holding his cigarette.

　　His battle stance was beautiful beyond measure.

　　However the potency of this blade wasn’t a joking matter at all.

　　The Relationship Vanquisher technique was extremely powerful.

　　However, this technique which Xu Que had learnt wasn’t complex at all. In fact, it mostly relied on his physical strengths to strike out and deal devastating damage.

　　After Xu Que had mustered the God of Hell’s Compulsion, his body had increased tremendously in strength. Every slash he brought down was much stronger than the previous.

　　The longspear and the knife clashed against each other heavily.

　　Just with this contact, the cultivator’s spear cracked and broke into fragments as he flew into the air from the amount of force which Xu Que had used. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent soaring into the air like a kite. When he landed, he was knocked unconscious.

　　The guard beneath opened his eyes wide in amazement and was astonished.

　　He found it extremely hard to believe that a person could possess such terrifying powers even after sealing up his core energy. In fact, he was even smoking while fighting and managed to send his opponent flying in the air. Even that metal spear had been shattered.

　　With such power displayed, the guard wondered if Xu Que was actually human!

　　“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 70 act tough points.”

　　“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 70 act tough points.”

　　Xu Que exhaled a thick smoke ring as he looked at the Imperial Guard and spoke to him in a calm voice, “Comrade, would you like a puff? Could you help me arrange for my next match, please?”

　　“Comrade? Who addresses anyone as comrade?”

　　The Imperial Guard was taken aback, but didn’t have time to think much. He hurriedly whipped out an amulet from his robes as he pasted it onto the unconscious cultivator and sent him away from the arena.

　　As soon as the cultivator vanished, the teleportation spell on the stage started to activate once again.

　　The teleportation spell glowed brightly before a white robed cultivator holding a long sword appeared before Xu Que.

　　When the guard looked up to see, he was stumped as he muttered under his breath, “The Legendary Swordsman, Ye Chang Feng.”

　　At the same time, away from the stage, several eyes flocked towards Xu Que’s stage.

　　However, the person they were paying attention to was Ye Chang Feng.

　　This cultivator was the most resplendent and prominent disciple. The future star of Jade Sword Sect. He was nicknamed the Legendary Swordsman and had finally entered the arena.

　　He was holding a long sword in his hands which everyone knew was called the Shadowless Blood Blade. This sword was personally forged by the sect leader of the Jade Sword Sect and was rumored to kill without a shadow.

　　Along with his immense strength and incredibly proficient sword techniques, he was probably the most powerful candidate in this contest to become the Prince Consort.

　　Hence, this contest in which Ye Chang Feng was in had attracted the attention of many onlookers.

　　To them, he was one of the most gifted cultivators around and probably the most worthy of becoming the Prince Consort.

　　As soon as he appeared, everyone watched on in anticipation, hoping to catch a glance of his fabled skills.

　　The martial arts foundation of the Legendary Swordsman was extremely solid. Even if his core energy was sealed up. His sword techniques alone were said to have reached perfection. Winning three rounds out of three was only too easy for him.

　　Everyone thus pitied his opponent, for he would be rather displeased at having been eliminated so early on. The black robed cultivator was thus the subject of sympathy.

　　“Ai, it seems like this black robed cultivator has already won his first round.”

　　“It’s such a shame that he’s met with Ye Chang Feng. He only has to blame his poor luck.”

　　Everyone shook their head and pitied Xu Que.

　　On the side of the Jade Sword Sect, there were several disciples who have yet to join in the contest. They sat on a chair by the side of the stage and watched on with smiles across their faces.

　　“Heheh… Why don’t we guess how many strokes would it take before senior brother Ye takes down his opponent?” A Jade Sword Sect disciple taunted as he asked.

　　“Keke… senior brother’s sword is for killing and yet this contest prohibits anyone from killing. But I’m sure brother Ye would succeed in taking him down within a single stroke.”

　　“That’s right. With senior brother Ye’s quickness, even without his core energy, he’s the strongest swordsman within the entire five nations.”

　　“That black robed cultivator would most certainly fall within three strokes.”

　　“Heheh… I’m guessing two strokes.”

　　The few disciples laughed as they discussed the outcome of the match with each other. Nobody present ever spoke the possibility of Ye Chang Feng losing. They were guessing how many rounds it would take for Xu Que to fall, or that he would surrender.

　　By the side of the stage, the Imperial Guard finally regained his senses after being deeply awed by the prowess shown by Xu Que. He was rather astonished at this new match up. On one side was the reputable and talented genius, the Legendary Swordsman Ye Chang Feng. His opponent was someone who seemed equally powerful, the black robed cultivator who defeated his previous enemy within a single stroke. Just the thought of the both of them competing against each other filled him with anticipation.

　　“Cultivator Ye Liang Chen, this is your second match. Please change your weapon.” The Imperial Guard spoke out to Xu Que.

　　When Xu Que heard this, he pouted. Damn it. He had only just purchased and used the Relationship Vanquisher Blade and now he couldn’t use it anymore.

　　When he entered the system store, he realized that the skills within the yellow section of the store only costs several dozens of act tough points. Xu Que didn’t feel the pinch at all considering they were extremely cheap.

　　However, he was deciding as to which skill he should purchase. At this point, he had narrowed his options down to 18 Palms of the Descending Dragon, Godly Six Swordstrokes and the Sunflower Tome.

　　Xu Que started to hesitate as he contemplated his purchase.

　　Maybe it was because he looked rather dispirited while deep in thought, most of the audience misunderstood his feelings and assumed that he was so stunned by his opponent that he fell into a daze.

　　Those who misunderstood him included Ye Chang Feng, who looked at Xu Que emotionlessly and spoke out, “I can give you the chance to admit defeat now, so we won’t have to waste time competing.”

　　Admit defeat?

　　When Xu Que hear this, he was elated!

　　Ye Chang Feng nodded his head plainly. “This sword is meant for killing, and I was never one who bothered with the rules. Between the both of us, only one can emerge alive, and that person is me.”

　　Yo ah!

　　You’re truly an act tough convict! If it weren’t for the fact that Zhao Ri Tian wasn’t present today, the both of you could truly compete in acting tough.

　　(T/N: Zhao Ri Tian was referring to young master Zhao, the leader of the four great students)

　　It’s a pity that when it comes to acting tough, I create my own opportunities to act tough while you’re just leeching off me. Do you think you can ever compete against me, Ye Liang Cheng, when it comes to acting tough?

　　Xu Que smiled coldly as he shook his head, his lips parted to reveal a grin. He looked at Ye Chang Feng and smoked, “Actually, my surname is also Ye. Just like you. I hate trash talking and wasting time as well. If you truly feel like you can match up to my powers, I wouldn’t mind competing with you till the end!”

　　“Ye Liang Chen? I’ve never heard of you.” The Legendary Swordsman replied as he shook his head plainly.

　　“I am a local and I possess at least a hundred different techniques which would completely overpower you.” Xu Que replied.

　　Everyone was extremely astonished to hear this exchange taking place.

　　Ye Liang Chen is a local? What the hell?

　　“Big brother, we’re all from the Imperial City. Why haven’t we heard about your supposedly renowned name then? Besides, where did you have the guts to speak this way to the Legendary Swordsman, Ye Chang Feng?”

　　Both of your surnames are Ye? Can you not be so crazy? Do you know how ugly it will be for you if you lose?

　　Many students and cultivators who were witnessing this exchange were thoroughly speechless.

　　At this point, Ye Chang Feng looked rather impatient as if he didn’t wish to suffer anymore of Xu Que’s bullshit. He then shouted out, “Since you’re looking for death, I shan’t hold you back!”

　　“Haha! I wish to see who is it who’s looking for death!” Xu Que sniggered as he called out his system interface and entered his system store.

　　Wretched fool! Your blade is only meant for killing? You don’t care about the rules? Aren’t you an arrogant, boastful kid?

　　System, I wish to purchase the Nine Deserted Swords!