Chapter 300 - 45: The Blade, an Extremely Fast Blade

Chapter 300: Chapter 45: The Blade, an Extremely Fast Blade

"Yeah, I bet he talked a big game yesterday and now he doesn’t know how to back it up."

"I think that’s possible. The people he beat yesterday were probably just plants he hired!"

As the wait dragged on, impatient murmurs began to ripple through the crowd.

On the viewing platform, the brows of several Elders furrowed slightly.

Elder Zhao Xin, in particular, was growing displeased. "Number twenty-seven, Du Dao," he reminded him in a stern voice, "please begin your demonstration. Do not waste everyone’s time."

However, Chen Ye paid his words no mind.

He remained standing there, his half-lidded eyes seemingly fixed on some non-existent focal point.

"Hmph. Just trying to be mysterious." Jian Wuchen snorted, the glimmer of interest in his eyes quickly fading, replaced by a faint hint of disgust.

He despised attention-seeking clowns like this the most.

Just as he was about to order someone to throw the arrogant fool off the stage, Chen Ye finally moved.

He slowly raised his hand and gripped the hilt of the blade on his back, which was wrapped in a tattered cloth.

The movement was slow and light, yet it instantly captured everyone’s attention.

’He’s going to draw his blade!’

The thought flashed through the minds of countless people at the same time.

Everyone’s eyes widened, afraid to miss a single detail.

They all wanted to see just how sharp this blade, which had never been unsheathed, truly was.

Chen Ye’s hand rested on the hilt for a moment, then, under the expectant gazes of the entire crowd—

"VMMMM—"

The clear cry of a blade rang out without warning. The sound wasn’t loud, but its piercing quality was extreme.

Immediately after, an indescribable flash of light from the blade streaked past everyone’s eyes.

The light was blindingly fast!

So fast that their eyes couldn’t track its trajectory, so fast that even their thoughts couldn’t keep up.

All that remained in their minds was a field of blinding white.

When they finally recovered from their momentary blindness, Chen Ye was already standing in his original spot.

The blade on his back was still wrapped in the tattered cloth, as if it had never moved.

The entire plaza fell into a strange, dead silence.

"Wh-what happened?"

"Did he even draw his blade?"

"I think I saw a flash of light, and then I couldn’t see anything."

"Nothing happened, right? What is this guy doing?"

The crowd below was completely bewildered, having no idea what had just occurred.

From their perspective, there had just been a flash of bright light, and then nothing.

Everything on the stage was perfectly intact, and that fellow Du Dao was still just standing there in a daze, same as before.

"Silence!" Zhao Xin barked, frowning as he quelled the discussions below. But even he was at a loss.

Because in that single instant, he had indeed felt an incredibly sharp Sword Intent, but it was just too fast. So fast that even an Outer Sect Elder like him couldn’t see it clearly.

He was about to ask Chen Ye what he had done when something on either side of the stage caught his eye.

It was the two pillars that had been specifically erected to test strength.

Each of these two pillars was as thick as an adult’s thigh and forged from Refined Steel, making them incomparably hard. Even the previous Body Forging Martial Artist, using all his strength, had only managed to leave a shallow fist print on one.

But now, these two fine steel pillars were...

Zhao Xin’s pupils contracted violently. The other Elders beside him noticed the anomaly at the same moment, and one by one, they shot to their feet as if they had seen a ghost.

Their actions immediately drew everyone’s attention.

People followed their gaze and saw a diagonal cut appear across the middle of both fine steel pillars.

Then, the top halves of the two pillars began to slide off to one side in a bizarrely slow motion, moving along the incredibly smooth cuts.

CLANG!

CLANG!

The two severed sections of the fine steel pillars fell to the ground, emitting a dull, heavy noise.

Looking at the cuts on the pillars, they were as smooth as mirrors, even reflecting the sunlight.

What kind of sharpness, what kind of speed must a blade possess to create such a terrifying effect?

The key was that he had severed two fine steel pillars with a single strike, and the cuts were so impossibly smooth. It was simply unbelievable.

"My heavens, is... is this real?"

"He cut those?"

"How is that possible?! I didn’t even see him draw his blade!"

After a moment of dead silence, the entire plaza erupted.

Even the worldly-wise Sect representatives and Qingzhou Prefecture officials on the viewing platform were aghast, their gazes toward Chen Ye filled with shock and apprehension.

This blade strike could no longer be described as a petty trick. This was a true killing move!

Even Elder Jian, who had remained as calm and unconcerned as a fisherman on a riverbank, was visibly moved.

He murmured to himself, "’Man and Blade Unity. Intention Precedes the Blade. It seems this person’s comprehension of the Sword Dao has already reached an incredibly profound Realm!’"

As for Jian Wuchen, seated in the main seat, the expression on his face was even more spectacular.

For the first time, an emotion called ’surprise’ appeared in his arrogant eyes.

With his sharp eyes, he had naturally seen everything with perfect clarity.

In that instant, Chen Ye drew his blade, swung it, and sheathed it—three actions performed as one fluid motion.

But even more terrifying than the speed was the concept contained within the strike.

Pure. Sharp. Unstoppable.

It was as if all things in the world would be split in two before this blade.

"A little interesting." A slight smile played on Jian Wuchen’s lips, and a trace of excitement and curiosity appeared in his eyes.

"Ahem." Zhao Xin cleared his throat, his gaze toward Chen Ye now much more complicated.