Who let him join the Sword Sect?!-Chapter 838 - 421: So What, If I Can’t Use It, Then I Won’t

There was no sword light, no sword qi, nothing at all.

Just a simple slash.

With twenty-two breaths remaining, Emperor Xiaojing's apparition awkwardly dodged to the side, warily watching the sudden appearance of a newcomer, with no trace of regal demeanor.

"Who are you?" Emperor Xiaojing's apparition demanded.

Sword Sect Leader Chen Qianhu stood there with folded arms, taking a moment to scrutinize Emperor Xiaojing's apparition, then slightly frowned.

Facing the questioning from Emperor Xiaojing's apparition, Chen Qianhu couldn't be bothered to respond. He acted as if it didn't exist, bent down without any precaution, grabbed Zhang Ze by the collar, and lifted him up.

"Can you move?" Once Zhang Ze was steady, Chen Qianhu asked.

"I'm not dead yet. By the way, Sect Leader, he bullied me..." Zhang Ze coughed lightly while covering his neck, pointing at Emperor Xiaojing's apparition.

For some unknown reason, the cracks on Zhang Ze's body had completely disappeared by now.

"Hmm, not bad."

Chen Qianhu praised with satisfaction, patting the dust off Zhang Ze's shoulder, and then proceeded to pull Zhang Ze, who was trying to hide behind him, back in front.

Then he pointed at Emperor Xiaojing's apparition and said,

"Go, give him two slaps."

"Me?"

Zhang Ze pointed at himself with a bewildered expression.

"Yes, you." Chen Qianhu nodded.

"Don't, give him some face." Zhang Ze was a bit troubled.

Chen Qianhu said, "He's just a beast, why does he need face?"

Zhang Ze looked at Chen Qianhu with grievance.

Although he didn't know why the Old Ascender appeared here, nor where he had gone before, upon seeing the elder, Zhang Ze decided to place him in a protective position.

He had managed to land a slap on Emperor Xiaojing's apparition, largely due to sheer luck.

Mostly because Emperor Xiaojing's apparition, aiming to prolong its presence, didn't exert extra effort, choosing only to suppress with his realm.

In that life-and-death moment, as the Innate Dao Body began to crack, Zhang Ze suddenly had an epiphany, he entered a certain realm of 'nothingness.'

At that moment, everything in the world was indistinguishable in his eyes.

Heaven and earth were a chaotic mass, all things were void, only his true self was real, transforming himself into a king.

At that time, his heart was incomparably calm, as if he understood everything.

Understanding meant no fear, no fear meant no suppression.

Additionally, because Emperor Xiaojing's apparition stood in shock, that's how he managed to land that slap.

To do it again now, honestly, he couldn't.

Mainly because upon seeing the Old Ascender, his pent-up anger dissipated, making it difficult to reenter that state.

Now, Zhang Ze just wanted to lie down, wait for the Old Ascender to effortlessly take care of everything, then go straight back to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, have a wash, and a deep sleep.

"Stop wasting time, hurry up, I've got your back." Chen Qianhu kicked Zhang Ze's butt, propelling him toward Emperor Xiaojing's apparition.

But Zhang Ze, as nimble as a monkey, took two steps forward, then twisted his body, reached back, and clung to the Old Ascender's leg, refusing to let go.

"No, I want to go home."

...

The ignored Emperor Xiaojing's apparition watched the two jesters in front, his temples throbbing.

"Fine, fine! You dare to ignore me! You will die as well!"

Emperor Xiaojing's apparition regrew his arms, reached forward, and the distance of space lost all meaning before him. He took a step forward, reaching for Chen Qianhu.

Then... and then nothing followed, as Emperor Xiaojing's apparition, like a waterbird falling into a mud pit, was frozen in place.

Did the Sword Array unfold beneath Chen Qianhu's feet?

Within the Sword Array, I reign supreme.

In this place, he makes the rules.

Even among the Mahayana, there are disparities.

"Now, go give him a slap." Chen Qianhu removed Zhang Ze, who had turned into a leg accessory.

Seeing Emperor Xiaojing immobilized, Zhang Ze gained a profound understanding of what it means to borrow the tiger's might, he puffed himself up, rubbed his hands, built up power on the spot, and jumped up.

Then he delivered a kick to Emperor Xiaojing's apparition,

it went straight to the face.

The kick was solid, leaving a large black shoe print neatly on Emperor Xiaojing's apparition's face.

The damage wasn't great, but the insult was immense.

Just as Zhang Ze planned to continue beating the drowning dog, the Old Ascender suddenly withdrew the Sword Array.

Zhang Ze, "?"

Emperor Xiaojing's apparition, "?"

Although he didn't know what was happening, Emperor Xiaojing's apparition was overjoyed. He made a move again, this time not attacking Chen Qianhu, but heading straight towards Zhang Ze.

Although he lacked related memories and didn't recognize Chen Qianhu, after the confrontation, he realized the gap between them.

Couldn't defeat him.

And seeing him withdraw the Sword Array, he realized that this person intended to use him as a whetstone for that kid to practice on.

Humiliation filled his hollow heart.

At this moment, he no longer cared about the mission.

The only thing he wanted now was to twist off the head of the despicable little brat in front of him.

"Sharpening your knife, huh? Don't cry when it breaks!" Emperor Xiaojing's phantasm glared venomously at Chen Qianhu, making a move to crush Zhang Ze's skull.

"It's not a knife, it's a sword."

Chen Qianhu smiled and waved his hand, and the Sword Array reappeared under his feet.

In another instant of life and death, Zhang Ze felt a gentle breeze lift his arm, and a formless sword appeared in his hand. He swayed lightly with the rhythm of the breeze, slicing off Emperor Xiaojing's phantasm's arm.

"Remember the swordsmanship I taught you when you first went to the Main Pavilion? Cut him down."

Chen Qianhu's voice rose behind Zhang Ze.

Zhang Ze stepped forward, grasped the air, and thrust with his sword.

That mysterious feeling returned; under Chen Qianhu's deliberate maneuvering, the Sword Array shifted beneath Zhang Ze's feet, supplementing his lack of strength.

Whenever there was a gap, the breeze would blow gently, keeping Zhang Ze safe.

After finishing a set of the Seven Celestial Swords, Emperor Xiaojing's phantasm took two more kicks.

Cupping his face, Emperor Xiaojing's phantasm began to tremble, choosing to exhaust all his power with nothing held back.

He disappeared, and then a singularity suddenly appeared in his place, transforming instantly into a black starfield crashing toward the Sword Array.

The Dongqi royal family's Dharma Method heritage shares many similarities with the Celestial Sect.

In the Sumeru Space, the starfield invaded the Sword Array, and Zhang Ze couldn't evade it, being swept into a lightless void.

Maybe it was a moment, maybe an eternity, Zhang Ze opened his eyes to find himself floating in a lightless cosmos, with all stars dead and silent.

The concepts of time and space vanished, as if he would float away forever.

The Sword Array was gone, yet the breeze still guarded Zhang Ze, allowing him a faint sense of peace.

Chen Qianhu's voice sounded in Zhang Ze's ear, calm and gentle.

"The Seven Celestial Swords, how much do you remember?"

Zhang Ze didn't answer immediately. He looked at his hand, hesitated for a long time, and then replied somewhat awkwardly.

"I...forgot it all."

"That's normal." Chen Qianhu was not angry either.

Zhang Ze wasn't faking like Zhang Wuji practicing the Tai Chi Sword; he really had forgotten.

The dark starfield entrapping him not only stripped away the concepts of time and space but also the concept of the sword.

Zhang Ze couldn't recall any sword moves, not even how to hold a sword.

As he pondered how to hold a sword, Emperor Xiaojing's phantasm's venomous voice echoed suddenly, resonating in the boundless cosmos.

"If you want to use me to test your sword, I'll let you have a good test."

"Ignore him, keep thinking," Chen Qianhu's voice rang out again, dispelling the phantasm's last echoes.

At this moment, Zhang Ze had only two choices: one, to attain enlightenment alone, reclaim the concept of the sword, and use the Sect Leader's power to break through this lightless starfield.

Two, have the Sect Leader directly assist, pulling him out.

Although they seemed similar, the difference was fundamental.

Once he chose to ask Chen Qianhu for help, Zhang Ze's path in the Sword Dao would be completely severed, making him forever unable to proceed on the way of the sword.

As for breaking through on his own, Emperor Xiaojing's phantasm hadn't considered it possible; he didn't think Zhang Ze could achieve it.

This trap had killed many prodigies, none leaving unscathed.

But even if Zhang Ze were extraordinarily lucky and had a rare epiphany, it wouldn't matter to him.

After all, he was just a phantasm existing for a moment, unaware of the full extent of the original body's plans. Even if problems arose, he bore no responsibility.

When one dies, the birds scatter; dead people hold no importance, let the original body deal with the fallout.

Whether disgusted by the little brat, that black-robed Mahayana, or the original body, the phantasm was delighted; they were all enemies in his eyes.

Good riddance!

This was Emperor Xiaojing's phantasm's final ripple.

One had to admit, the phantasm's shit-stirring move was quite clever.

But unfortunately, he encountered Zhang Ze.

Swapping him for a regular Sword Dao youth, he might have shattered their Tao Heart upon understanding the situation. Even if rescued and changed to another path, they would be forever downtrodden, overwhelmed by Heart Demons, with their path to the Dao ruined.

But again, he encountered Zhang Ze.

Tao Heart shattered, maybe in another life.

As the Sword Sect's prized treasure, upon realizing he might never wield a sword again, Zhang Ze made his choice.

"So what if I can't use it, then I won't. What's the problem?" he answered candidly.

All roads lead to Mahayana; going any way is still a path.

Chen Qianhu, "…"

Floating in the darkness, Zhang Ze didn't notice the Sect Leader's peculiarity, continuing to speak to himself.

"You have no idea; I know so much now. Boxing, artifact refining, playing with explosives, chanting sutras, drawing talismans, glowing with vibrations, turning into stone, raising pigs, walking dogs, driving a tractor...

"Once I'm out, I'll quit the Sword Sect, join Dragon Tiger Mountain directly. It doesn't matter, cultivating whatever, since it all ends the same. Even going to Beast Taming Sect for boxing is actually…"

Before Zhang Ze finished, he suddenly felt the gentle spring wind around him drop by eight degrees.

Old Ascender's voice coldly whispered in his ear.

"Find your own way out quickly, or I'll spank you later."