The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 49, paragraphs 59 and 60: Sword Pointing at an Inch, Easily Taking Down Ouyang
Seeing Lu Chen challenge Ouyang Ke, everyone immediately turned to look at Ouyang Ke, their eyes filled with schadenfreude.

Ouyang Ke has an impressive background and a grand presence. Although he appears refined and humble, he looks down on Jianghu outcasts like Sha Tongtian and occasionally reveals a hint of contempt.

But apart from the narrow-minded and self-confident Lingzhi Shangren, everyone else knew who Ouyang Ke's uncle was.

Therefore, even though they were scorned by Ouyang Ke, they dared not speak out and even had to put on a smiling face. But deep down, they all hoped that Ouyang Ke would suffer a great loss.

"Young Master Ouyang is the young master of White Camel Mountain, and his skills are truly astonishing. Although Young Friend Lu is young and has not yet made a name for himself in the martial arts world, at this moment, I believe no one would dare to doubt his skills. If the two of you could have a friendly spar, we would certainly be amazed!"

Peng Lianhu said with a smile.

These words seemed harmless at first glance, but they were actually a dig at Ouyang Ke, comparing him to Lu Chen—

You are the young master of White Camel Mountain, a family of great importance. He is just a young, unknown junior, but his martial arts skills have already been recognized by everyone present. Do you, Young Master Ouyang, dare to accept his challenge?

“Indeed. We have all heard of the formidable reputation of Young Master Ouyang’s uncle. Even if we are not fortunate enough to witness Young Master Ouyang’s unparalleled martial arts, it is still a great fortune for us to see him make a move and indirectly experience his divine power.”

Sha Tongtian also echoed Peng Lianhu's words.

Liang Ziweng remained silent.

Although he disliked Ouyang Ke's arrogance, as the only lucky one present who had been brutally beaten by one of the Five Greats, he knew best how terrifying the Five Greats were, and dared not stir up trouble here, lest he incur Ouyang Ke's wrath.

Furthermore, compared to Ouyang Ke, who came from a high-ranking family and had a strong background, Liang Ziweng was even less willing to be overtaken by Lu Chen and Huang Rong, two relatively unknown young people.

As the oldest guest minister in the Prince's mansion, Liang Ziweng had an instinctive aversion and even disgust towards young geniuses.

Although on the surface he was not as aggressive as Lingzhi Shangren, and even seemed somewhat kind, deep down he had already begun to plan how to target and suppress Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

Hou Tonghai shook his head and said:
“I’m afraid Young Master Ouyang won’t be able to handle him. Young Master Lu’s lightness skill is superb, his swaying back and forth is dizzying. His finger strength is even more remarkable, his two fingers are like iron cones, he can even break through Lingzhi Shangren’s ‘Great Handprint’ head-on, if he were to poke someone, wouldn’t it leave a bloody hole in one go? I think Young Master Ouyang is afraid he can’t beat him.”

This simpleton wasn't being sarcastic; he didn't have any complicated thoughts at all. He just followed his straightforward nature and spoke his mind as always.

However, it is precisely this "straightforwardness and sincerity" that is most fatal.

Ouyang Ke was already embarrassed by Peng Lianhu and Sha Tongtian's words, and with Hou Tonghai's words, he had no room to back down.
As the nephew of the Five Great Masters, "Western Poison," if he dares not even accept the challenge from an unknown junior like Lu Chen, he will not only lose face for himself, but also for his uncle.

Furthermore, while Lu Chen's movement skills were indeed superb, Ouyang Ke's self-proclaimed family secret technique, "Traveling a Thousand Miles in an Instant," was also a top-notch lightness skill, and his movement skills were no less than Lu Chen's.

As for Lu Chen's so-called "Formless Sword Finger" that was able to break through the "Great Handprint," in Ouyang Ke's view, it was just an advantage of "surprise."

"Sword pointing" is, after all, just a finger.

Not only is its attack range far inferior to that of a real sword, but it also lacks the resilience of a real sword. It cannot combine strength and flexibility, or exhibit the elasticity and trembling of a real sword. It also lacks the dual-edged blade of a real sword, possessing only the power of a fingertip. Its moves are greatly limited, and it cannot perform as many tricks as a real sword.

Having witnessed Lu Chen's use of the "Formless Sword Finger" and understood its secrets, there is no need to be too wary of the sharpness of Lu Chen's fingertip.

After quickly calculating in his mind, Ouyang Ke had gained confidence.

He immediately snapped his folding fan shut and gave a cold laugh:
"Very well, I'll come and see for myself how skilled you are, young friend Lu!"

After speaking, he flashed and flew to the courtyard with an extremely elegant and graceful posture, facing Lu Chen directly.

He had wanted to teach Lu Chen a lesson during the day and show off his skills in front of Huang Rong, but Hou Tonghai, that scoundrel, ruined it, so he left feeling bored.

This is the perfect opportunity to defeat Lu Chen in public, to save face for Wanyan Honglie, to make Sha Tongtian and the others admire his methods, and to make Lu Chen lose face in front of Huang Rong.

With this thought in mind, Ouyang Ke didn't stand on ceremony and said to Lu Chen:
"Young friend Lu, be careful!"

In the blink of an eye, he had already rushed to Lu Chen's front like the wind, his palms creating layers of palm shadows that enveloped Lu Chen.

What he used was the White Camel Mountain's ultimate technique, the "Divine Camel Snow Mountain Palm".

Ouyang Ke's "Divine Camel Snow Mountain Palm" is completely different from Lingzhi Shangren's "Great Handprint".

Master Lingzhi's palm techniques are expansive and powerful, but the moves are relatively simple and the variations are not complex.

Ouyang Ke's palm techniques are elegant, complex, unpredictable, and full of feints.

As soon as the palm strike begins, a flurry of palm shadows fills the sky like a snowstorm, dazzling the eyes. But hidden within these intricate feints are ruthless, sharp, and extremely powerful real moves. Whether feints or real moves, they all appear to have the same momentum, making them difficult to predict.

This palm technique, being one of the Western Poison's signature skills, is naturally extremely powerful.

However, Lu Chen had experienced the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms," which were simple and unadorned but almost flawless, as well as Hong Qigong's various styles of fist and footwork, and the "Falling Flower Divine Sword Palm," which was also known for its complex and unpredictable moves, and the "Heavenly Net Formation" of the Ancient Tomb Sect. He already had a wealth of experience in dealing with these kinds of palm techniques.

With his current experience and skill, even without a sword, he had a way to deal with it. At the same time, he moved quickly to dodge Ouyang Ke's dense palm strikes that resembled a blizzard, while using his fingers as a sword to find an opening to counterattack.

Of course, just as Ouyang Ke had predicted, the "sword finger" was not a real sword after all. Lu Chen had not yet trained his entire finger to be as sharp as a sword blade. Its killing power was indeed limited to the fingertip, and its attack range was too short. He could not fully unleash his exquisite swordsmanship.

But the most lethal application of swordsmanship is precisely the word "thrust".

Lu Chen only needed to use his sword fingers to perform various stabbing moves, making it seem as if he was seeking to clash with Ouyang Ke's palm, to make Ouyang Ke wary. Ouyang Ke dared not use many of his palm techniques, and could only use feints to test Lu Chen's weaknesses.

But given Lu Chen's experience in dealing with palm techniques, how could he easily reveal a flaw?
Not only did he defend flawlessly, but he even occasionally unleashed a move called "Treading on Frost and Breaking Ice Palm" to hone this palm technique, which he had never practiced diligently, by using the pressure of Ouyang Ke's palm technique.

woohoo hoo...

Amidst the rustling of their robes, Ouyang Ke in white displayed his family's "Instant Thousand Miles" lightness skill, moving across the arena alongside Lu Chen in black. The two figures, one white and one black, moved swiftly and agilely, constantly shifting and leaping, changing positions, while their fingers and palms flew, rapidly exchanging moves.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over a hundred blows.

Ouyang Ke became increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed.

He thought he had overestimated Lu Chen as much as possible, but it wasn't until they actually fought that he realized he had underestimated Lu Chen's abilities.

He is thirty-six years old and has been learning martial arts from his uncle since childhood. Although he did not dare to practice his uncle's most prized Toad Style because it was too profound and risky, he has mastered all the other martial arts. He believes that even if he were to look at the whole world, he could be considered the best below the Five Greats.

Unexpectedly, this "little sword demon" who appeared out of nowhere, who looked to be less than twenty years old, had such high level of martial arts skills that he could not show any flaws under the fierce attack of the "Divine Camel Snow Mountain Palm" that Ouyang Ke had mastered the most, and could even frequently counterattack with sword fingers and palm techniques.

If he is so skilled with his bare hands, how powerful would this "Little Sword Demon" be if he had a sword?
Out of fear, Ouyang Ke became increasingly cautious when making moves.

Not only did he repeatedly withdraw his palm halfway through, avoiding clashes with Lu Chen's sword and finger techniques, but even when Lu Chen used his not-so-skilled "Frost-Treading Ice-Breaking Palm," Ouyang Ke did not test his palm strength against him, fearing that Lu Chen was bluffing him and might suddenly switch from palm to finger techniques to deliver a vicious blow.

of course.

Although Ouyang Ke fought cautiously, even secretly alarmed by Lu Chen's skills, he still felt that the advantage was in his hands.

He didn't believe that Lu Chen, at his age, could be more skilled than him.

The constant movement and rapid exchange of moves between the two, without a moment's rest, is extremely taxing on their skill, physical strength, and even mental energy.

Ouyang Ke prided himself on his profound skills and long stamina, but after dozens of moves, he felt quite exhausted. How much more so for Lu Chen, who was seventeen or eighteen years younger than him?

It should be noted that Lu Chen had just been dodging over a hundred attacks from Lingzhi Shangren with his swift movement technique, which must have depleted a lot of his power.

Now that he's engaged in such a high-intensity battle with Ouyang Ke, how long can he hold out?
Therefore, in Ouyang Ke's view, although Lu Chen was fighting him to a standstill with the sharpness of a young swordsman, as long as he could drag it out for a while, and wait until Lu Chen exhausted that sharpness and his strength and stamina were also depleted, he would definitely be able to gain the upper hand and ultimately win a great victory.

Ouyang Ke was confident of victory and patiently fought Lu Chenyou, without intending to use the "Spirit Snake Fist Technique".

The Serpent Fist was a new technique created by his uncle, intended to catch the other five masters off guard at the next Mount Hua Sword Tournament. Therefore, Ouyang Ke was unwilling to reveal this technique unless absolutely necessary.

Ouyang Ke intended to wear down Lu Chen with his profound skills, but little did he know that after more than a hundred moves, Lu Chen had gradually become familiar with his movements and palm techniques and no longer intended to drag the fight out. He wanted to end the duel.

So just as Ouyang Ke once again withdrew his palm halfway through Lu Chen's sword strike and retreated, Lu Chen suddenly lunged forward, his sword pointing straight at Ouyang Ke's throat.

This time, he used the "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones" technique from the Quanzhen Swordplay.

The "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones" technique relies on the flexibility and elasticity of the sword. With a flick of the wrist, the sword vibrates, and the tip of the sword bounces rapidly to both sides, allowing the sword light to split into three.

Using a finger as a substitute for a sword makes it difficult to differentiate sword light in the same way. Therefore, when Lu Chen used the Qi Transformation into Three Pure Ones technique, he only aimed at the middle one and thrust. As he advanced rapidly, he launched a series of thrusts with each step and each sword strike. One sword strike followed by another, with the sword pointing at Ouyang Ke in a continuous series of thrusts.

shhhhhh!
Amidst the sharp, piercing sound of air being cut, Lu Chen executed eighteen consecutive sword thrusts in one breath.

Ouyang Ke dared not confront his sword finger head-on, and used all his lightness skill to retreat and dodge.

Having barely dodged Lu Chen's eighteen consecutive sword strikes, Ouyang Ke suddenly noticed that Lu Chen's frantic advance had paused slightly, and even his thrusting sword finger had faltered slightly.

This discovery immediately caught Ouyang Ke's eye. He believed that Lu Chen's eighteen consecutive sword strikes were too fierce and consumed a great deal of energy, finally causing him to run out of steam.

"In the end, he was young and impatient! Before he had established a winning position and forced me into a disadvantageous position, he carelessly launched a killing move, which wasted his own energy and left him with no stamina!"

Ouyang Ke was overjoyed, feeling that he had caught Lu Chen's weakness. Without hesitation, he seized the opportunity and unleashed his family's lightness skill, "Instant Thousand Miles," at full power. In an instant, he changed from retreating to charging forward, leaping forward like lightning. He spread his five fingers, forming a claw, and used a grappling technique to grab Lu Chen's sword finger, intending to break his finger and cripple his "Formless Sword Finger" in one fell swoop!
Just as Ouyang Ke was about to seize Lu Chen's two fingers with his grappling technique, a hint of smugness appeared in his eyes.

Lu Chen's lips suddenly curled up slightly, revealing a strange smile.

At the same time, he flicked his sword finger upwards. Although the sword finger did not touch Ouyang Ke's palm, Ouyang Ke's right pinky and ring finger were severed off at the root with a hiss!

Ouyang Ke's expression changed, and he leaped backward. After regaining his footing, he looked at his blood-soaked right hand and saw that the severed finger was completely smooth, as if the two fingers had been cut off by an extremely sharp weapon.

Ouyang Ke was both shocked and furious, and asked through gritted teeth:

"What kind of kung fu is this?"

Lu Chen flicked his fingernails and said calmly:
"Formless Sword Finger".

When a real sword is used to unleash its sword light, a pale blue aura is visible to the naked eye.

However, when the sword is activated by the finger, it becomes an invisible sword aura that is invisible to the naked eye.

The name "Formless Sword Finger" is quite fitting.

“The Formless Sword Finger…” Ouyang Ke nodded: “Good, what a fine Formless Sword Finger! I’ll remember it!”

After saying this, he didn't even pick up the severed finger. He simply bowed to Wanyan Honglie and then turned and left.

With two of Ouyang Ke's fingers severed by Lu Chen, no one among the experts present questioned whether Lu Chen and Huang Rong were qualified to be on equal footing with them.

Well, not everyone agrees.

Master Lingzhi firmly believed that Lu Chen was using "sorcery," and kept muttering to himself:

"Young Master Lu's finger didn't even touch Young Master Ouyang's finger, yet Young Master Ouyang's finger was broken. What is this if not sorcery? Your Highness, this young Master Lu is a sorcerer! You must not be deceived by him!"

Wanyan Honglie was speechless.

At this moment, he felt a mixture of joy and sorrow.

The good news is that "Little White Dragon" Huang Rong is a true master of martial arts, and "Little Sword Demon" Lu Chen has defeated great masters such as Lingzhi Shangren and Ouyang Ke without even using a sword!

Furthermore, Huang Rong and Lu Chen are both so young, and their current martial arts skills are by no means their limit. They will surely make even greater progress and become stronger in the future.

Having the assistance of two promising young masters was undoubtedly a great thing for Wanyan Honglie.

The problem is that Lu Chen injured Ouyang Ke, severing two of his fingers, thus creating a considerable grudge. Ouyang Ke's uncle, Ouyang Feng, is one of the Five Greats of the World.

If Ouyang Feng were to seek revenge for his nephew and clash with Lu Chen and Huang Rong, how would the situation end?
Wanyan Honglie was filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry, and had a terrible headache, but of course he dared not neglect Lu Chen on the surface.

He whispered to a maid to collect Ouyang Ke's two severed fingers and deliver them to Young Master Ouyang, then laughed heartily and praised Lu Chen:

"Young hero! Young Master Lu is truly an extraordinary young hero! Come, come, Young Master Lu, please enter the banquet hall. I, the King, would like to offer you three cups of wine!"

The banquet resumed.

This time, Lu Chen and Huang Rong became the main characters.

Whether it was Sha Tongtian and Peng Lianhu, who were wary of them, or Liang Ziweng, who harbored dark thoughts and was plotting how to suppress them, they all appeared to be all smiles, praising the two of them and toasting them endlessly along with Wanyan Honglie.

Hou Tonghai, being straightforward, wore his emotions on his sleeve. Although Lu Chen defeated Ouyang Ke, which made him, the old Hou, win the bet and gain face, he also felt that the two of them had stolen the limelight from his fellow disciples and the prince's favor. He didn't give Lu Chen and Huang Rong a good look throughout the whole process.

More than half an hour later, the banquet ended, and the guests and hosts were all in high spirits.

Lu Chen feigned a slightly drunken state, and he and the pretty, rosy-cheeked Huang Rong supported each other as they returned to Hanmei Garden, escorted by Steward Jian and Tang Zude.

After Butler Jian and Tang Zude left, Lu Chen rubbed his face, and his hazy, drunken eyes suddenly became bright and alert.

Huang Rong, who was also half-drunk, patted her cheeks to regain her senses and said with a mixture of joy and worry:

"Why did you cut off Ouyang Ke's finger?"

Lu Chen laughed and said, "I promised to teach him a lesson, so of course I have to keep my word."

"But……"

"No buts."

Lu Chen gently placed his hands on Huang Rong's shoulders, looked into her eyes, and smiled:
“Ouyang Ke is not only full of malice towards me, but also harbors ill intentions towards you. I will teach him a painful lesson.”

"But Ouyang Feng..."

Huang Rong herself wasn't worried about Ouyang Feng causing trouble, but she was genuinely afraid that Ouyang Feng would harm Lu Chen.

"fine."

Lu Chen smiled confidently:
"Tonight, we will acquire a treasure. With it, we will not only greatly increase our power but also become immune to all poisons. At that time, even if the Western Poison comes in person, he may not be able to do anything to me!"

"Ah."

Huang Rong nodded slightly, then suddenly felt that something seemed a little off.

Recalling Lu Chen's domineering and decisive tone when he interrupted her twice earlier, and then looking at him now with his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her with an air of superiority, Huang Rong couldn't help but puff out her cheeks, look up at Lu Chen, and say reproachfully:
"Lu Chen, how dare you be so rude! Are you thinking you've become too powerful and are now defying Master Rong?"

Lu Chen chuckled, looking at her adorable face flushed and eyes full of reproach, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead.

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(End of this chapter)