Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation
chapter-2167

Chapter 2167 Raw 2274 : My Love Smiles at Me

After Liu Ruyue left, only Xiao Chen and Lu Benwei remained at Fiend Cloud Hall.

Xiao Chen entered deep thought as he watched Liu Ruyue leave, resisting an extremely strong urge to tell her the truth.

He had to keep warning himself that he would die if he revealed the truth before he got strong enough.

The person he loved was clearly right before him, but he had to pretend to be a stranger. Only Xiao Chen could understand the pain of that.

“Little Brother Xiao Chen, your saber skills are truly a refreshing sight. However, the weaknesses are quite clear as well,” Lu Benwei said with a smile.

Every Saber Technique had its weaknesses. There was no such thing as a Cultivation Technique or Martial Technique that covered everything. Naturally, Xiao Chen understood this.

Xiao Chen did not get angry. He said politely, “Big Brother Lu, please give me your advice.”

“Definitely.”

After receiving pointers, Xiao Chen was shocked to realize that the seemingly unremarkable Lu Benwei possessed such exquisite saber skills.

It was not just Lu Benwei’s cultivation that surpassed Xiao Chen’s, but his understanding of saber skills also greatly startled Xiao Chen.

Lu Benwei was far from being as simple as Xiao Chen thought. Xi Mu was a person who could be admired but only watched from afar; Xiao Chen could not discuss things in detail with him.

Lu Benwei happened to make up for that. He could discuss things in fine detail with Xiao Chen, making up for any lack.

“Many thanks, Big Brother Lu. I really benefited a lot,” Xiao Chen said sincerely as he performed a cupped-fist salute in thanks.

Lu Benwei smiled faintly and nodded. “You are too polite. Remember to come tomorrow. Although Master said he did not take you in as his disciple, he did not chase you away. You should know what that means, right?”

“I do,” Xiao Chen said softly.

It meant that Xi Mu just could not get over the hurdle in his heart. He could not set aside his ego, but he genuinely cherished talent and did not want Xiao Chen to end up buried.

On the second day, Xiao Chen arrived at Fiend Cloud Hall on time. He sat beside Lu Benwei as he listened to Xi Mu’s lecture.

After Xi Mu left, Xiao Chen exchanged moves with Liu Ruyue. However, the two did not speak.

There was a tacit understanding between the two and not much need for words. As the two exchanged moves, they could feel a wondrous feeling flowing in their hearts.

Their strengths improved significantly. Liu Ruyue found this feeling strange; however, she could not swallow her pride to ask Xiao Chen about it.

Xiao Chen understood why but was not willing to take the initiative to explain.

It was like the two were playing a game of chicken. Time flew by, flowing like water. In the blink of an eye, five years passed.

During these five years, the two never exchanged more than three sentences at any time.

Liu Ruyue gradually felt that their tacit understanding had reached an inconceivable level. She found it strange in her heart. However, when she saw Xiao Chen’s calm face, clearly not willing to explain anything, she felt somewhat angry.

Then, she remembered that Xiao Chen had once said he already had a lover. Her initially moved heart slowly turned cold and calmed down.

Five years!

Xiao Chen remained at this place for five years, listening to Xi Mu’s lectures and receiving countless pointers—via Lu Benwei asking questions on his behalf—from Xi Mu.

Although the two did not have a master-student relationship in name, they already had one.

Five years. During these five years, Xiao Chen finally fixed his saber Dao. He also relied on the Ice Fire Divine Origin to improve his Ice Great Dao to the Ice Dao Domain.

It had been two years since Xiao Chen grasped three Dao Domains. However, he did not rush to form the Divine Seal and become a half-step Sovereign Emperor.

This was because Lu Benwei said that Xiao Chen’s three Dao Domains had yet to harmonize. If Xiao Chen forcibly formed the Divine Seal, the result would be imperfect. Furthermore, this Divine Seal was crucial to forming the divine flame.

If Xiao Chen rushed into forming his Divine Seal and raised his strength quickly, he would enjoy a temporary delight, but it would be over when the time to advance to the Faux God Realm came.

After hearing Lu Benwei’s opinion, Xiao Chen held off from forming the Divine Seal for the past two years, only waiting for an opportunity.

Calculating the time, Xiao Chen already had been in this Faux God World for seven years.

More than half of the ten years had already passed.

Aside from bitterly cultivating on the mountain in these five years, Xiao Chen would go to the Trial Tower when Xi Mu did not conduct a lecture at Fiend Cloud Hall.

Xiao Chen no longer cared about breaking records. He only entered the Trial Tower to test what he had learned in practical use.

Although he did not care about breaking records, as he climbed the Trial Tower, he ended up breaking many records.

Now, two names stood out prominently on the Glory Stele in front of the Trial Tower.

One was Chu Chaoyun, and the other was the Heavenly Alliance’s Xiao Chen.

However, Chu Chaoyun had already advanced to Sovereign Emperor and left long ago. There was no chance for the two to meet.

On this day, Xi Mu just finished his lecture at Fiend Cloud Hall.

Going by usual practice, Xiao Chen started exchanging moves with Liu Ruyue in Fiend Cloud Hall. In the past five years, the two had interacted a lot and already reached a tacit understanding.

Zhang Yushan and his two junior brothers showed helpless expressions as they watched from the sky. This was especially so for Zhang Yushan; amid his helplessness, he felt rage.

Back then, he had endured one month in the Thunder Saber Prison. Unexpectedly, he had to put up with seeing Xiao Chen for the next few years.

The even more unacceptable thing for Zhang Yushan was that previously, Lu Benwei would always get him to exchange moves with Liu Ruyue. Now, it was Xiao Chen doing so.

Zhang Yushan tried to negotiate to send away Xiao Chen. However, who could have known that his first senior brother would step forward and lecture him?

After being embarrassed in front of everyone, Zhang Yushan could only watch as Xiao Chen exchanged moves with Liu Ruyue from then on, helpless to do anything about it.

If not for wanting to listen to Xi Mu’s lectures for the past five years, Zhang Yushan would have left long ago.

Every time Zhang Yushan saw this scene, he felt frustrated and furious.

After watching for a while, Zhang Yushan showed a cold expression as he left first. Soon, only Xiao Chen, Liu Ruyue, and Lu Benwei, who guided them from the side, remained.

After Liu Ruyue and Xiao Chen finished exchanging moves for the day, Liu Ruyue strangely did not immediately leave. She looked at Xiao Chen and said, “You should be close to forming your Divine Seal, right?”

Xiao Chen nodded. “If I want to, I can form my Divine Seal at any time.”

“Then you should do so quickly. The eighty-first floor of the Trial Tower will open three days later. At that time, the people of the super factions will participate. If you are not a half-step Sovereign Emperor, you will be at a great disadvantage.”

Xiao Chen felt it was strange when he heard her say this. He knew that the Trial Tower’s eighty-first floor was opening.

He was also preparing to form his Divine Seal during these three days to become a half-step Sovereign Emperor.

In reality, Xiao Chen could have merged his Thunder Dao Domain with his Soul Energy to form his Divine Seal five years ago.

However, he had waited for three years to comprehend three Dao Domains. After that, he had waited another two years to form a perfect Divine Seal.

Now, as long as Xiao Chen wanted to, he could form the Divine Seal. Due to meeting all the required conditions, he would not need even fifteen minutes to do so.

Xiao Chen’s accumulations were already extremely horrifying. Most people in the Faux God World formed their Divine Seal with one Dao Domain. Only the outstanding talents would dare to form their Divine Seal with two Dao Domains. People who formed their Divine Seal with three Dao Domains, like Xiao Chen wanted to, were very rare.

Hence, Liu Ruyue’s words seemed somewhat redundant. What was she trying to say?

Liu Ruyue added, “Since you say you can form the Divine Seal at any time, then do it now. I’ll wait here and watch.”

Xiao Chen showed a strange expression. Then, he looked at Lu Benwei. Lu Benwei shrugged, not understanding what was going on, either.

“What’s wrong? Were you lying to me again?”

Some hidden bitterness flashed on Liu Ruyue’s face. Clearly, she still could not let go of Xiao Chen’s lying to her five years ago.

Seeing Liu Ruyue like that, he somewhat could no longer maintain his usual calm and indifference.

The corners of Xiao Chen’s eyes turned somewhat moist, and he smiled bitterly. However, this smile eventually turned into one filled with aspiration. He said seriously, “How can I lie to you? Since I said that I could break through at any time, I can break through at any time.”

Right after Xiao Chen spoke, three lights of different colors flowed around his body.

One was purple, representing the Thunder Dao Domain; one was white, representing the Ice Dao Domain. The remaining one was the most dazzling, representing Xiao Chen’s Flawless Saber Dao Domain.

With a thought, the three Dao Domain lights entered Xiao Chen’s forehead, into his Soul Pool. Then, they merged with the azure-colored dragon seal that represented his soul.

There were no obstructions; all the conditions were right. As the Dao Domains merged with his soul, the dragon seal changed continuously.

When the dragon seal stopped changing, a golden dragon seal that seemed alive appeared. It displayed a supreme Dragon Might and the sharpness of saber, accompanied by lightning and snow in the Soul Pool.

A perfect Divine Seal.

The three Dao Domains perfectly merged with Xiao Chen’s soul. When this golden dragon seal emerged in Xiao Chen’s Soul Pool, it appeared to be a perfect Divine Seal.

“Boom!” An overwhelming saber intent immediately burst out of Xiao Chen’s body, illuminating the entire Fiend Cloud Hall.

The mysterious phenomena in Xiao Chen’s Soul Pool appeared and encased Fiend Cloud Hall.

Zhang Yushan and his two junior brothers, who were halfway down the mountain, saw the mysterious phenomena when they looked up. Their expressions changed significantly. “Three mysterious phenomena! Three mysterious phenomena! That fellow really formed a perfect Divine Seal!”

Back at Fiend Cloud Hall, Xiao Chen withdrew the various mysterious phenomena into his body with a thought.

He had undergone a rebirth in just an instant, forming a Divine Seal and becoming a half-step Sovereign Emperor. Now, his strength reached a horrifying level.

For all the conditions to be right, one needed to endure loneliness and be patient. Only Lu Benwei, who accompanied Xiao Chen, could understand what Xiao Chen had gone through.

Xiao Chen had spent seven years of effort preparing for this moment.

“Very good.”

The hidden bitterness on Liu Ruyue’s face disappeared, turning into a smile. For the first time in five years, Liu Ruyue smiled in front of Xiao Chen.

This smile somewhat distracted Xiao Chen. By the time he regained his senses, Liu Ruyue was leaving.

Lu Benwei was about to congratulate Xiao Chen when he suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh no! How muddle-headed of me! Today is the day Junior Sister Ruyue leaves the Faux God World. Her ten years are up already.”