Chapter 51: The Clown Was Actually Me

At this very instant, Su Yu before him instantly exploded, transforming into a mass of black mist that obstructed Ji Juechen's field of vision.

"Screw your mother, I'm out of here."

Just as Su Yu had taken a single step, a sharp Sword Intent from behind locked onto Su Yu directly; a chill ran down his back, and cold sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.

A large character for "Danger" appeared on Su Yu's forehead, a point of cold light emerged, and the sword light shattered the black mist.

Bang!

The sound of a mirror shattering rang out, and Su Yu, who had been struck by the sword light, vanished once again.

"You are worthy of me making a move!"

Ji Juechen's cold voice appeared behind Su Yu; this sword strike had no frills, nor did it involve the use of any soul skill—all it had was pure Sword Intent.

Once a sword is drawn, there is no turning back!

The sword light was like a rainbow, striking directly at where Su Yu's true self was located; no matter how Su Yu confused Ji Juechen, his Sword Intent could always firmly lock onto his true self, leading to the ensuing chase.

However, thank heavens that Ji Juechen still kept his word, continuing to use only strength at the same level as Su Yu, but with Ji Juechen's ability, even with his soul power suppressed, he was absolutely incomparable to others of the same level.

Sword and sword collided once more, the two stalemated for about half a second, and the next instant, Su Yu's longsword shattered again, countless fragments transforming into sharp Hidden Weapons that assaulted Ji Juechen from all sides.

"Want to dodge? Not a chance!"

Su Yu beckoned with his right hand, and a longsword condensed once more; my sword will shatter, but yours will not.

"Space Splitting!"

Black mist appeared, and two Su Yus, both gripping longswords, slashed toward Ji Juechen, who was being attacked by the fragments.

This time, let's see how you dodge!

Ji Juechen planted his longsword into the ground and the blade vibrated, then a massive force exploded outward; the ground instantly suffered large-scale collapse and cracking that spread for seven or eight meters, the terrifying air wave forcibly blasting the fragments away, and even Su Yu, who had attacked simultaneously, was shaken until his blood surged.

"So this is your true strength? Very good. Now I will raise my strength to Three-ring Soul Venerable; let me see where your limit lies."

Ji Juechen's long hair danced, and for the first time in a long while, a touch of fanaticism appeared in his eyes; that feeling was blood boiling and battle intent burning!

He stepped forward abruptly, and this step placed him several meters away; this was already completely beyond the strength a Three-ring Soul Venerable should possess, and Su Yu even felt a great sense of oppression.

Facing Ji Juechen's gaze, Su Yu felt no fear; he turned his body, raised his longsword high, and together with his re-condensed clone, slashed toward Ji Juechen.

The three longswords met, a crisp sound rang out, and then at the point where the swords touched, a booming sound erupted as if space were collapsing.

A glint flashed in Ji Juechen's eyes; he flipped his wrist, shattered Su Yu's clone with one strike, and then vibrated his blade to knock the true body down from the air.

Just as Ji Juechen was about to strike again to defeat Su Yu, Su Yu's true body vanished once more.

Fake?

Ji Juechen frowned; under the lock of his Sword Intent, it was impossible for him to miss, the only possibility being that Su Yu had dodged through other means the moment his longsword descended.

A flash of white light passed, and Su Yu appeared behind Ji Juechen; he saw the Heavenly Meteor Iron Sword pass across his chest, a cold light slashed out horizontally, aiming straight for Su Yu's throat.

Su Yu interlaced his fingers, and countless fragments swept toward Ji Juechen's Heavenly Meteor Iron Sword.

Hum!

A crisp sword hum sounded; in an instant, sword lights crossed, and under the refraction of countless fragments, it was like starlight shining across the night sky.

But two rings are two rings after all; Ji Juechen took a step and stomped heavily onto the ground, his speed so fast that Su Yu was completely unable to react.

Then came a sharp whistling sound, and a sword hilt smashed fiercely into Su Yu's back. With a thought, countless fragments gathered behind him, and Su Yu brought his hands together, the fragments rapidly condensing into a Mirror.

Boom!

The Mirror shattered upon impact, and Su Yu was blasted away by the powerful sword Qi, flying several meters before barely landing; looking at Ji Juechen opposite him, whose battle intent was growing more fanatical, Su Yu stood up with some difficulty, hands on his hips.

A brilliant sword light flew toward Su Yu, creating a violent wind pressure on the spot, yet Su Yu gripped his longsword, flashed, and appeared in another position.

Over a dozen sword lights slashed in succession; Su Yu dodged them one after another, his figure advancing instead of retreating, the distance between the two constantly closing.

As the distance closed, those fragments suspended in the air constantly gathered in front of Su Yu like a vortex.

A point of cold light appeared, and the hair on Su Yu's body stood on end; this point of cold light made him feel danger, the danger of life and death!

No, Ji Juechen is definitely not just using Three-ring strength; it is highly likely Four-ring!

The point of cold light constantly magnified in Su Yu's eyes, but the sword tip's forward speed was greatly slowed by the vortex-like Fragment Storm; however, every inch the sword tip advanced, it erupted with powerful air waves and roaring sounds.

Feeling that powerful Sword Intent that seemed capable of breaking through all things, Su Yu felt only despair; if Ji Juechen were truly only Three-ring, it would be absolutely impossible to unleash such a powerful attack.

That sharp Sword Intent constantly pierced through the obstruction of Su Yu's Fragment Storm, like a raging tide breaking through a reef; that indomitable momentum rose to its peak at this moment!

The next instant, Su Yu suddenly raised his head; he forced himself to meet Ji Juechen's gaze, forced himself to endure that Sword Intent capable of breaking all things!

Finally, lasting only a few seconds, the Fragment Storm was broken, and Ji Juechen's sword tip slowly appeared at the center of Su Yu's brow.

Just as Su Yu thought he would be pierced through by the sword in the next instant, Ji Juechen's sword stopped steadily at the center of Su Yu's brow.

Holding the sword in one hand, Ji Juechen slowly withdrew it; the movement seemed incomparably difficult, as if every motion weighed a thousand pounds; withdrawing the longsword, Ji Juechen looked at Su Yu, who was ten years younger than him, and sighed slowly.

The next instant, with Su Yu as the center, the ground within a thirty-meter radius instantly exploded, appearing with large-scale cracking and collapse!

"I lost..."

"I lost..."

The two spoke in unison, then stared at each other in bewilderment with wide eyes.

One big, one small, one tall, one short, they just stared at each other like that.

This strange atmosphere lasted for a full few minutes before Su Yu couldn't help but say: "Many thanks to Brother Ji Juechen for showing mercy, otherwise I would have died from that sword; it is I who lost."

"No, you won; for that final sword, I used Five-ring strength; I did not keep my promise, so I lost."

Ji Juechen was never one to drag things out; whoever could beat him was someone he respected, especially in close-quarters combat.

Su Yu hadn't expected Ji Juechen to hold back, and even less did he expect that Ji Juechen had actually used Five-ring strength for that final sword.

Actually, there was no need for Five-ring at all; even against a Four-ring Ji Juechen, Su Yu could only barely hold on, but that final sword was enough to kill even a Five-ring Soul King; Ji Juechen's sword was too strong, too ruthless!

It was a pity he didn't have the protagonist's halo, and in the end, could only become a foil for the protagonist; Ji Juechen was more like the successor to the Sword Douluo, a man who had pushed the Sword Dao to its limit.

It was just a pity there was no godhood for the Sword God, otherwise Jian Chenxin and Ji Juechen would have been the perfect candidates.

But it is a pity to say, after all, Douluo is a low-martial plane, and the Sword Dao has indeed declined to a certain level...

Looking at the somewhat sullen Ji Juechen before him, Su Yu spoke up: "Alright, you're a twenty-something Five-ring Soul King coming to find me, a thirteen-year-old kid, for a spar. I want to know which bastard came up with this rotten idea!"

Su Yu knew he had definitely been sold out; given the extent of Ji Juechen's obsession with the sword, once he heard someone had superb swordsmanship, he would certainly come to challenge them. Su Yu's registered martial soul was indeed a sword, but it was absolutely impossible for Ji Juechen to go and challenge Su Yu, a Second Ring Great Soul Master.

Someone must be playing tricks behind this!

"I remember it seemed to be someone named Wang Shaojie who came to tell me that there was a Su Yu in their class with superb swordsmanship for his rank, and that I could suppress my strength to spar with him."

Ji Juechen recalled it in detail. As Su Yu listened to this, all he wanted to do right now was go back and beat that bastard Wang Shaojie to death.

Damn it, if I didn't have a few tricks up my sleeve, I really would have been screwed by you. This is going too far even for a joke!

Su Yu roared in his heart. Ji Juechen also felt a bit ashamed; he had been suppressed by Su Yu at the Second Ring, continued to retreat step by step at the Three-Ring, and only managed to win a round at the Four-Ring.

He was a bona fide Five-ring Soul King; if Su Yu's strength could reach the Four-Ring level, he would likely be an excellent opponent!

No, I can't just let this kid run away like this. I must have a real fight with him where I go all out!

If I fight him again, I will definitely be able to break through. I will definitely be able to pursue a higher level of Sword Dao!

A fanatical fighting spirit and sense of anticipation burned in Ji Juechen's heart. For some reason, the way he looked at Su Yu became increasingly excited.

Sensing something was wrong, Su Yu was so frightened that he shuddered all over. Looking at Ji Juechen's fanatical gaze, he scrambled away as fast as he could.

Damn you, can you stop looking at me with that kind of gaze!

You're a twenty-something young man, for heaven's sake, staring at me, a thirteen-year-old child, with that kind of look—I seriously suspect you have some bad habits. Holy crap, don't come over here!

Seeing Su Yu slip away, Ji Juechen hurriedly gave chase; how could he let such a rare opponent just slip away like that?

"Holy crap, Big Brother, don't come over here anymore. Wouldn't it be better for you to go back and cultivate? Stop chasing me, I beg you!"

Su Yu wailed as he ran; after all, he had been scared half to death by Ji Juechen's fanatical gaze.

However, unfortunately for him, Su Yu hadn't run far before Ji Juechen waved his large hand and plucked him up. With Ji Juechen's Five-ring power fully unleashed, Su Yu was completely like a kitten with no power to resist, being carried along in a state of utter despair...

"Big Brother, let's talk this over. Can you put me down first..."

Su Yu helplessly kicked his legs, and looking at himself with his feet off the ground, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

"Fine, but you must promise me that when you reach the Four-Ring, you must fight me again."

Ji Juechen spoke without hesitation. This wasn't a negotiation at all; it was practically a hostage situation—a treaty signed under the shadow of the city walls!

Alas, my strength is weak, so I can only be bullied by you to this extent. It looks like I'm going to be abused again this time...

Su Yu nodded quite miserably and agreed, his eyes brimming with tears.

Why are my eyes brimming with tears? Because I really can't beat him...

Looking at the Soul Guidance Device in his hand, Su Yu fell into a state of mixed grief and joy; it was the Token that Ji Juechen had left for him.

Uh...

Does this count as being added as a friend by Ji Juechen?

…………

Carrying confusion and anger, Su Yu returned to the laboratory, but the most bizarre thing was that the breakfast he had left on the table was gone?!

Holy crap, can thieves even get into the laboratory these days?

However, a Soul Master's five senses were long since far superior to ordinary people. Sniffing the air, Su Yu smelled the familiar scent of soup, dumplings, fried fish, and soup dumplings.

"Have any of you seen my breakfast?"

Looking at the four people sitting bolt upright before him, Su Yu instinctively felt suspicious.

At this moment, the petite Keke turned her head and looked at Su Yu in confusion, "No, how would I know about your breakfast?"

As she spoke, she casually wiped the remaining oil from the corner of her mouth. On her clothes, there was still a small piece of fish meat...

"Which hateful guy stole your breakfast? That is simply too much!"

Zi Mu, who was to the side, slapped the table indignantly, looking as if he were standing up for Su Yu.

Su Yu couldn't help but cover his face. Looking at the dumpling skin remaining on Zi Mu's collar and his hands covered in oil stains, Su Yu fell into deep reflection...

"Luo Yu, hurry up and go look for it. You can't go to class on an empty stomach. While there's still time, hurry up and make another portion."

At this moment, Wang Shaojie spoke up with concern. Seeing that sincere expression made Su Yu only want to beat this bastard to death.

If it weren't for this guy setting him up, he would never have faced that lunatic Ji Juechen. Damn it, he almost died right there, and you, damn it, you even stole my soup dumplings!

Under Wang Shaojie's table, there was still the paper wrapper for the soup dumplings, though it had been reduced to dust on the floor. However, a few fragments had fallen at his feet, and on his chin, one could still faintly see a trace of soup from the dumplings...

At this moment, Ju Zi, who was to the side, stretched and said with sleepy eyes: "Forget it, forget it. While there's still time, hurry up and make another portion. Teacher Xuan will be teaching a new lesson in a while."

Although Su Yu hadn't seen what was on the table where Ju Zi was sitting, he could clearly smell that fragrant scent of soup. Even though he didn't know where it had been hidden, Su Yu knew the soup must have been stolen by Ju Zi!

Good grief, a four-person gang operation. So I'm the only outsider here.

Slapping his forehead with his palm, Su Yu helplessly covered his face. He was completely speechless at this group of thieving bastards. To commit a group crime and still be so righteous—are they trying to trick me like a fool? Holy crap...

So the clown turned out to be me!