The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 384 Xu Xingchen: Brother Duan, let's break up!
In the stone chamber beneath Sword Lake, the light streaming through the crystal window grew ever brighter.

It took Duan Yu a long time to get up from the ground, but his eyes were still fixed on the jade statue with rapt attention.

It wasn't until Xu Xingchen picked up the silk scroll beside him and handed it to him, saying, "Brother Duan, stop daydreaming. This is a martial arts manual left to you by your fairy sister. Take a look!"

"Oh? Ah!" Duan Yu turned his head, blankly took the silk scroll, and carefully looked at the delicate characters on the silk in the light of the crystal window. He was then shocked: "This, this, the fairy sister actually wants me to practice martial arts and kill people?"

Xu Xingchen chuckled and teased, "I heard you say earlier that you would absolutely listen to your fairy sister, even if it meant going through fire and water, you would never regret it."

Hearing his earlier ramblings, Duan Yu blushed deeply and tried to explain, "How can that be the same? I said I'd go through fire and water, but I never said I wanted to practice martial arts or kill people."

Xu Xingchen laughed twice, ignoring Duan Yu's increasingly flushed cheeks, and asked leisurely, "So what do you intend to do? Are you going to go against your fairy sister's wishes and no longer be at her beck and call?"

Duan Yu turned to look at the jade statue, his eyes once again filled with infatuation. He hesitated and said, "I... I'll learn the martial arts on it. Perhaps, all the people from the Xiaoyao Sect are already dead!"

"I thought you had given up on learning." Xu Xingchen's face showed an extremely regretful expression: "Unfortunately, I can no longer take the scroll from your hands; and I will never again see your fairy sister on the scroll, with so many beautiful, naked images."

Duan Yu first exclaimed in confusion, then after a moment, he stared in disbelief and said, "Brother Xu, what, what did you just say?"

Xu Xingchen feigned extreme reluctance as she looked at the silk scroll in his hand, shaking her head and sighing, "What a pity! What a pity! So many beautiful women!"

This time, Duan Yu finally reacted, hurriedly untied the silk cloth, and pulled open the scroll inside. Immediately, one after another, beautiful and charming fairy sisters came into Duan Yu's eyes, making him blush and flustered. In a moment of panic, he actually threw the scroll in his hand away.

Xu Xingchen caught it and opened it up from both sides, looking at the Northern Darkness Divine Art cultivation diagram on it with amazement.

Upon seeing this, Duan Yu rushed forward, snatched the scroll, and shouted, "Don't look!"

Xu Xingchen looked at Duan Yu, who looked nervous, and said with a half-smile, "If you don't want to look, then don't. I've already been looking for ages anyway."

"Ah!" Duan Yu exclaimed again, looking down at the silk in his hand and then up at the young man in front of him. His face turned pale and then red, as if his fairy sister had been desecrated. He felt extremely uncomfortable and conflicted.

But he had no reason to blame others for looking at the patterns on it. If they hadn't placed the scroll in his hands, he, a young master with no strength, might not have been able to snatch it from them.

Seeing Duan Yu standing there in a daze, Xu Xingchen couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Brother Duan, stop daydreaming. Next, we should talk about how to divide the contents of this cave."

Duan Yu was momentarily confused and asked, "What...how are we going to divide them?"

Xu Xingchen said seriously, "Look, Brother Duan, we discovered this cave together, didn't we? Since we discovered it together, shouldn't we divide the contents of this cave equally?"

Seeing that Duan Yu was still somewhat confused, Xu Xingchen continued, "I have already examined this cave. The most valuable things in the entire cave are only two: the martial arts manual of the Xiaoyao Sect that you have, and this jade statue."

"So, Brother Xu, which one do you intend to choose? The scroll in your hand that records the martial arts of the Free and Unfettered Sect, or this jade statue?"

"What?" Duan Yu was so shocked that he was speechless.

It took him a long time to come to his senses, and he stammered, "Brother Xu, you can't do this! This jade statue and the scroll in my hand both belong to this stone chamber; we've learned the martial arts from the scroll, so how can we touch the jade statue? Wouldn't that be blaspheming the fairy sister?"

Xu Xingchen frowned and said in a deep voice, "Brother Duan, you are mistaken! This stone chamber has been abandoned and is therefore unclaimed; its contents should naturally be divided among those who come after it. How can one enter a treasure vault and leave empty-handed?!"

At this point, Xu Xingchen looked at the jade statue beside her, a determined expression on her face.

Duan Yu suddenly stepped between Xu Xingchen and the jade statue, spread his arms, and shouted, "Brother Xu, you cannot desecrate the fairy sister!"

Xu Xingchen withdrew his gaze from the jade statue and then fell on the scroll in Duan Yu's right hand. He said calmly, "Since Brother Duan does not want me to desecrate this jade statue, then give the jade statue to Brother Duan. I only need the scroll in Brother Duan's hand, that will do!"

"No! I can't give this to you either." Duan Yu quickly clutched the scroll to his chest, but the alluring figures depicted on it kept flashing through his mind. How could he bear to hand it over?!
Whether it was the scroll in his hand or the jade statue behind him, they were equally precious to him.

It must not fall into the hands of a second man!
However, Xu Xingchen's words were absolutely correct. Since the two of them discovered the stone chamber at the same time, the contents inside should naturally be divided equally between them. There was no reason for him to have it all to himself.

For a moment, Duan Yu was truly caught in a dilemma, his heart filled with anxiety.

Seeing this, Xu Xingchen deliberately darkened his expression and said coldly, "Brother Duan, whether it's the jade statue or the scroll in your hand, you should at least give me one! Now, you refuse to give me the jade statue, and you refuse to give me the scroll in your hand either. What kind of logic is this?"

Duan Yu was sweating profusely with anxiety when a sudden inspiration struck him. He quickly said, "The fairy maiden in this cave may have just gone out for a stroll and might return any day now; how can we, two outsiders, casually touch her things?!" "Brother Xu," Duan Yu continued, "I think it would be better if we learned the martial arts techniques on this scroll, and then left the jade statue and the scroll here untouched. How does that sound?"

Xu Xingchen shook his head and refused immediately: "No! Brother Duan, I'll say it again, I don't have the habit of leaving a treasure mountain empty-handed; I must take one of these two things with me!"

"I'm not greedy. You can choose between these two items first."

In the end, Xu Xingchen resorted to threats: "Brother Duan is a scholar, he should understand the power of money to move people's hearts; I have already done more than enough by allowing you to share something; Brother Duan, don't put me in a difficult position!"

"But! But!" Duan Yu paced anxiously, only able to fob off Xu Xingchen with phrases like "The fairy sister is not to be profaned."

But Xu Xingchen remained unmoved!
Finally, Xu Xingchen feigned impatience and said, "Since Brother Duan can't make a decision, then let me make the choice!"

Having said that, ignoring Duan Yu's attempts to stop him, he walked straight to the jade statue, patted it on the shoulder, and declared, "This jade statue is mine!"

Duan Yu tried to stop her, but Xu Xingchen gently pushed him aside.

At this moment, Duan Yu secretly regretted that he didn't know martial arts and couldn't stop this villain who "coveted the beauty of the fairy sister".

Xu Xingchen placed her hand on the jade statue's shoulder, kicked the statue's calf, and then forcefully lifted it upwards with her arm.

The jade statue then rose into the air, somersaulted, and landed on Xu Xingchen's shoulder.

The jade statue's face was facing upwards, and the long sword in its hand pointed towards the cave ceiling, so that it could not obstruct Xu Xingchen's path.

Xu Xingchen, carrying the jade statue, turned and left the stone gate. As he walked towards another secret passage, he shouted, "Brother Duan, let's go! I've found the way out!"

Duan Yu stuffed the rolled-up silk into his chest pocket, his face contorted in a bitter expression, and hurriedly followed behind.

Her gaze kept drifting to the jade statue on Xu Xingchen's shoulder, and she kept muttering to herself with a distressed expression, "Brother Xu, how could you do this? How could you desecrate the fairy sister's jade statue? Brother Xu, let's put it back, okay? Let's put it back."

Xu Xingchen completely ignored Duan Yu's nagging. The jade statue, weighing three or four hundred pounds, landed on his shoulder as easily as a straw.

He strode ahead, climbing the steps, and replied, "Brother Duan, a real man should act with integrity and uprightness! Don't be so fussy and act like a little girl!"

After climbing more than a hundred stone steps and turning three corners, one could faintly hear the rumbling sound of rushing water ahead.

At the end of the stone steps, a brightly lit cave entrance appeared in front of you.

The cave entrance was only three feet in size. Looking out, one could see a mighty river with raging waves and a rapid current.

Xu Xingchen tilted the jade statue on her shoulder at an angle before handing it over.

Then, he slipped out and hoisted the jade statue back onto his shoulder.

Looking up at the surging river before me, and then turning around to look around, I found that the surrounding mountains and rocks were steep and majestic.

The exit is located in the middle of the riverbank and the river itself. The cave entrance is several dozen feet above the river below, so even if the river rises sharply, it will not flood the cave.

Behind him, Duan Yu quietly crawled out of the cave entrance. Seeing the great river in front of him, his heart pounded.

After a long while, he exclaimed with delight, "Ah, this is the Lancang River! We're finally out!"

Xingchen laughed twice, grabbed Duan Yu's shoulder, and leaped up amidst the latter's exclamation.

After leaping twice across the rugged rocks, he landed on the ground above.

Putting down the still somewhat shaken Duan Yu, Xu Xingchen said with a smile, "How about that? You still have martial arts skills, right?! It would take you half a day to climb up such a steep place, but I jumped up in no time."

Duan Yu was about to speak when he looked up and saw the "fairy sister lying on Xu Xingchen's shoulder with her jade-like body" on his shoulder. His chest tightened and he could no longer speak.

(End of this chapter)