Chapter 1281: Destroying my Dao heart

On the mountain peak, the wild wind howled.

Chen Guanlou stood holding his blade, confronting Master Qi.

Master Qi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looking utterly incredulous. That little thief surnamed Chen had actually managed to wound him.

How could this be possible!

Chen Guanlou wore a smile that wasn't quite a smile. He was injured, but he possessed the Longevity Dao Fruit, which had repaired his wounds in an instant.

"Old thief, you're only half-baked! You couldn't even wait to officially ascend to Grandmaster before rushing out to seek death; you really don't want to live, do you? I'm a person who respects the old and cherishes the young, so I'll certainly fulfill your wish."

"Little thief, stop with your sharp tongue. Just based on you, wanting to kill this old man? Heh, wait another fifty years." Master Qi was very arrogant and very proud.

Chen Guanlou sneered, his expression one of extreme disdain. "No need to wait fifty years. Fifty breaths, and I'll take your dog life!"

"Little thief, stop being so arrogant. This old man is a dignified Grandmaster..."

"You? You can't even beat me, yet you dare call yourself a Grandmaster? Hahaha..."

Endless mockery.

Without waiting for Master Qi to make a move, Chen Guanlou leaped with his blade and slashed down.

"Old thief, go to your death!"

The two traded blows, blade light and sword shadows clashing, blades hacking and swords thrusting. Mountain rocks shattered, trees flew horizontally, and dust filled the sky; even the insects hiding in the soil to pass the winter were about to be chopped into ten segments!

Nearby villages heard the rumbling movements coming from the distant mountain peak and were so frightened they hid in their houses, not daring to step outside.

It wasn't an earthquake; it must be those martial artists deciding life and death on the distant peak.

Who told them their geographical environment was good? Far from the capital, far from towns, it was suitable for martial arts sparring. They came a few times every year. But no time could compare to the commotion tonight; it was too terrifying!

The mountain had collapsed, the earth had split, and a whole mountaintop had been shorn off.

People were going to die!

Amidst the clashing of blades and swords, a bolt of lightning suddenly tore the night sky apart.

Rumble!

A thunderclap exploded!

Chen Guanlou and Master Qi looked at each other.

Chen Guanlou suddenly revealed a contemptuous smile.

Before Master Qi could react, he saw dust rushing into his face; his vision was instantly lost, and everything around him became a blur.

"Little thief, you used a trick!"

"All is fair in war! You old immortal, tonight is your death day!"

"Little thief, you have guts! If you kill me, the Jixia Academy will definitely avenge this old man; they will never let you go."

"You kill me and it's righteous and bold, but if I kill you, I have to worry about the Jixia Academy? Do you think I'm stupid? So what if I kill you!"

Chen Guanlou stopped talking nonsense, taking advantage of his illness to take his life, thrusting his blade in.

Master Qi spat out a mouthful of blood, turned around, and retreated repeatedly.

He brandished the precious sword in his hand, as angry as a trapped beast.

"Little thief, you ambushed me, you won without honor!"

"In a life-and-death battle, who talks to you about rules!"

Another slash came down, directly piercing through Master Qi's body.

"Old thief, you're going to die. Do you have any last words?" Chen Guanlou acted like a petty person who had become arrogant upon success, deliberately provoking the other party.

Master Qi spat blood repeatedly, his body falling backward uncontrollably.

He used his precious sword to support his body, struggling to breathe. "You... this old man..."

Chen Guanlou walked in front of him and kicked him over. "Even if I hadn't used a trick, I could still have killed you. It just would have taken a little longer. You half-baked fool, you spent nearly a year in seclusion and didn't achieve anything; it's truly shameful. With your aptitude, you should have accepted your fate long ago."

"No, that's not it!" Master Qi knelt on the ground, his head hanging, one hand supporting his precious sword. "This old man has outstanding talent and is a rare martial arts genius. I entered the Jixia Academy in my youth to study, and my martial arts cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. I ascended to a Ninth-Rank martial artist at a young age. However, I lingered at the peak of the Ninth Rank for decades, unable to advance an inch. This seclusion was this old man's last chance, but unfortunately, it did not go smoothly."

"Why are you telling me this?" Chen Guanlou didn't understand.

At this moment, Master Qi was no longer as irritable and angry as before. He slowly raised his head and said, "You young people, you don't know the weight of things when you speak and act, and you don't know how to respect your elders. This old man won't argue with you. But, you shouldn't have, you absolutely shouldn't have destroyed this old man's Dao heart."

Chen Guanlou laughed in anger. "Old senior, if your skills are inferior to others, you must accept your fate! If you don't accept your fate, your Dao heart will naturally be unstable."

"Accept my fate?" Master Qi gritted his teeth. "If this old man had accepted my fate, it would have been impossible for me to ascend to the Ninth Rank at a young age. If I had accepted my fate, this old man wouldn't have entered the Jixia Academy back then, and if I had accepted my fate, this old man wouldn't have killed my own brother just to seek a chance. If I had accepted my fate... Hahaha... The path of martial arts is inherently going against heaven; how can one accept their fate? Those who accepted their fate died long ago, and the grass on their graves is already a person's height. Little thief Chen, do you accept your fate?"

"I do not accept my fate!" Chen Guanlou was very honest; there was no need to lie to a dying man.

"If you don't accept your fate, why do you demand that this old man accept mine?" Master Qi was a hundred percent unconvinced.

Chen Guanlou laughed and said slowly, "Because you lost, so you must accept your fate. You, an old senior famous for many years, sparred with me, a young person who just entered the martial path, and yet it was a draw. A draw is a loss! You lost but won't accept your fate; you deserve to have an unstable Dao heart and fall into demonic cultivation."

"You young people, you all deserve to die!" Master Qi's eyes were full of hatred. "You destroyed this old man's Dao heart, causing this old man's seclusion to be full of setbacks, unable to comprehend the mysteries of a Grandmaster, unable to touch that profound moment. You destroyed everything this old man had; I must kill you!"

"You fell into demonic cultivation and failed your seclusion, so you want to kill me. You are a coward! You don't dare to admit your own failure, you don't dare to admit your aptitude is insufficient, you don't dare to admit your skills are inferior to others, and you only know how to shift the responsibility onto others. No wonder you couldn't break through. Let alone being at the peak of the Ninth Rank for decades, even if I gave you another hundred years, you wouldn't dream of breaking through to the Grandmaster realm. What do you think a Grandmaster is?"

Master Qi roared angrily, "Do you even know what a Grandmaster is? You accuse this old man of being a coward, but how are you any better than this old man?"

Chen Guanlou smiled that smile that wasn't quite a smile. "As for what a Grandmaster is, I don't care how others understand it; to me, it is a matter of course, letting nature take its course, a free and easy state of mind, rounded and thorough! May I ask you, old man, does even one of these fit you? You are irritable, impulsive, and easily angered; you are narrow-minded, vengeful, and jealous of talent. With your character, as long as Heaven isn't blind, it's impossible for you to ascend to Grandmaster!"

"Nonsense! A Grandmaster is someone whose strength has arrived, and they will naturally break through."

"Then did you break through? You've been at the peak of the Ninth Rank for decades, why didn't you break through?" Chen Guanlou mocked. "In the past, no Grandmaster summarized a set of effective experiences, always saying that when the realm arrives, one will naturally break through."

"But, what is a realm? Have you ever thought about it carefully? What you think is a realm is that martial arts cultivation has arrived. But in my opinion, a realm is not just martial arts cultivation; it also includes cultivation of the state of mind and cultivation of character. If you don't cultivate yourself to a rounded and thorough state, free and easy, how dare you claim that your realm has arrived." ===== CHAPTER 1282 =====