I became a Sword Emperor in the Martial Arts World

Chapter 121 I'd recognize him even if he were ashes

"Ridiculous! I am the most handsome man in Linjiang. No woman, from eighty to eight years old, can resist my charm."

After saying that, Huang Liwen raised his eyebrows smugly, his confidence bordering on narcissism.

"Stop flirting, it's useless. That rich and beautiful girl is clearly after Ye Qingzhou. She specifically asked to transfer to our Class 7. You have no chance at all."

Nong Pengming's words were like a knife, piercing Huang Liwen's pride and making him howl in pain: "Damn it, could it be that Old Ye's romantic entanglements outside have come back to haunt me? Am I going to become an uncle? I'm not prepared for this at all!"

"Get lost. You're a man, stop reading those ridiculous romance novels."

Ye Qingzhou rolled her eyes at her deskmate, who was probably imagining some scandalous story that couldn't be written down.

Then, the homeroom teacher, Zhu Hanwen, led Liang Yawen into the classroom.

Today, she wore a snow-white dress, revealing a small section of her fair and delicate calves. She looked exquisite and beautiful, exuding a pure and innocent aura that made the boys in the class's hormones surge.

Many boys clutched their pounding hearts, experiencing first love and the feeling of love at first sight.

Oh no, it's the feeling of falling in love!

However, Liang Yawen soon demonstrated through her actions what heartbreak truly meant to the boys in Class 7.

After assigning seats, she stood up, smiled sweetly, and walked up to Ye Qingzhou, asking softly, "After school this afternoon, can we go home together?"

Upon hearing this, the boys in the class were stunned; some even wondered if they had misheard.

Is the pretty new transfer student in our class going home with Ye Qingzhou?

Ye Qingzhou raised her eyes, but did not refuse.

Liang Ya-wen was new to the area and unfamiliar with everyone, so she probably wanted to find someone she knew to go home with. Since it was on the way, she nodded and agreed, "Okay."

"Thank you, Ye Qingzhou."

"You're welcome."

Liang Ya-wen then obediently sat down next to Zhu Jin-feng, showing a quiet and relaxed side.

Huang Liwen nervously grabbed Ye Qingzhou's arm: "Damn, she's going home with you, and you're still saying there's nothing going on between you two?"

Ye Qingzhou casually flipped through the book: "Legs my foot, she's my neighbor, she just moved in yesterday."

"!!!"

Upon learning the truth, Huang Liwen remained indignant, lamenting the injustice of fate: "Why is your neighbor a rich and beautiful woman, while my neighbor is just an old lady buying groceries? The difference is too great! It's not fair!"

Ye Qingzhou put down his schoolbag, patted his deskmate on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "This is the meaning of hard work. My family lives in a villa, so the person living next to me is very likely to be a rich, beautiful, and successful woman."

Huang Liwen retorted, "You didn't try hard before either."

"But my dad tried his best."

"I see."

Huang Liwen nodded as if he understood, then slapped the table excitedly and said, "When I get back, I'm going to give my dad a good talking-to and make him work harder so I can become a rich kid too."

"..."

Ye Qingzhou remarked, "You really are your father's most filial son."

Huang Liwen, who didn't feel like he was letting his father down at all, proudly puffed out his chest: "Of course, I'm super filial."

Then he brought up another matter: "By the way, there's been a group of beautiful girls going for a night run at the community square lately. Shall we go and join them?"

"Why should we two guys join in the fun of beautiful girls jogging at night?"

"Run along with us."

Huang Liwen naturally stated that he has always been very determined and unwavering in his pursuit of women.

"Can't you do something worthwhile?"

"But I'm only 17 years old, why should I be successful?"

Huang Liwen's words made so much sense that Ye Qingzhou didn't know how to refute them, so she simply refused, "I won't go. I'm busy cultivating lately."

The original owner of this body seemed to enjoy joining in the fun with classmates, living like a proper 17-year-old boy. His biggest worries every day were whether the girl he liked had glanced at him, or whether his ideal woman had looked at another boy.

On the contrary, Ye Qingzhou was the non-mainstream among high school students, whose daily life consisted of nothing but cultivation.

To many, such a life might seem rather dull and monotonous.

However, Ye Qingzhou became addicted to it. He enjoyed the feeling of improving every day. He had once stood at the pinnacle of the martial arts world on Earth.

While they may appear powerful and imposing, for the truly strong, the greatest pain in life is finding themselves with nowhere to go.

Because what you're pursuing has reached its end, no matter how much effort you put in, it's meaningless—there's no road ahead.

Now, Ye Qingzhou is walking on a martial arts path with no end, and his heart is filled with boundless joy.

After school in the afternoon, Ye Qingzhou and Liang Yawen went home together.

Liang Ya-wen's mother, Liu Li-juan, was very enthusiastic: "Ye Qingzhou, thank you so much. Here are some green dates; would you like to take them back and try them?"

"Thank you, Auntie."

Ye Qingzhou took the fruit box and saw that it contained glossy, moist green dates with faint fluctuations of vital energy. Although it was far inferior to rare treasures like fire dates, it was definitely not cheap.

After dinner, Liang Yawen picked up her phone and called her cousin: "Cousin, I'm back in Hunan."

"That's great! You can come to Changsha when you have time, and I'll show you the scenery of Hunan."

Liang Jia smiled sweetly on the other end of the phone.

The two are only a few months apart in age, and they even went to elementary school together in Linjiang City, where they had a very close relationship.

Later, their parents went their separate ways. Liang Jia's father settled in Changsha, while Liang Yawen followed her parents to Shanghai, more than 2,000 miles away. They could only call each other on weekdays to chat about their lives.

"By the way, did you practice martial arts in Shanghai? I heard there are countless talented martial artists there, there must be some really amazing martial arts geniuses, right?"

Liang Jia then started talking about Shanghai.

Shanghai is incredibly wealthy; it's arguably the richest city in the entire country, bar none.

While it's true that martial arts masters can't be created simply by accumulating resources, the more resources one has, the greater the chance of producing a master—that's an objective fact.

"My martial arts aptitude is too average. Although I'm practicing, I haven't made any significant progress. However, our school has several martial arts geniuses, the most powerful of whom is Luo Yunchuan..."

When the topic of Shanghai came up, Liang Yawen became very excited and began to talk at length about her experiences and observations in the big city. But then, she changed the subject: "By the way, sister, it seems you've started practicing martial arts too, right?"

"Yes, and I'm pretty good now. I'm currently the vice-captain of the martial arts team at Yali Middle School. If anyone dares to bully you in the future, just tell me, and I'll teach them a lesson for you."

"Hehe, sis, are you going to continue being the boss?"

Liang Yawen rolled over on the mattress, her fair feet twitching, and said, "By the way, there's a really amazing boy at Linjiang No. 1 Middle School where I study now. His name is Ye Qingzhou. Do you know him, sis?"

"..."

After a long silence on the other end of the phone, Liang Jia finally asked, "Are you sure it's Ye Qingzhou?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

From the microphone came Liang Jia's voice, filled with gritted teeth: "Even if that guy were reduced to ashes, I'd still recognize him!"

"???"

…………

Wednesday, at the entrance of Linjiang No.1 Middle School.

The bus we rented last time was torn to shreds by the Tyrant Black Serpent. Luckily, it was insured, so the school didn't have to pay anything. Otherwise, we probably would have had to buy tickets to go to Xingcheng this time.

"Teacher Ye, are we going to challenge Yali High School this time?"

"It's a friendly exchange."

"Got it, the challenge needs to be a little gentler, right?"

Leon understood immediately, patted his chest, and gave a "I know it all" and "Nobody understands communication better than me" look, eager to try it out.

A teenager like him, with his delusions of grandeur, feels restless if he doesn't show off for a day.

At Linjiang No.1 Middle School, he is currently ranked third, behind Ye Qingzhou and Zhu Jinfeng, so he urgently needs to regain his confidence outside of school.

"Master Ye, I'd like to take the lead this time."

"So confident?"

"Absolutely!"

Leon puffed out his chest: "Ever since I started practicing the internal energy secret technique that Master Ye taught me, my back doesn't ache anymore, my legs don't hurt anymore, and I can carry a bag of rice up five floors without getting out of breath after high-intensity training every day."

Currently, only Ye Qingzhou, Zhu Jinfeng, and Lei Ang have cultivated the Dragon's Breath.

The problem of the aftereffects of dragonification has finally been initially resolved. At least in less intense battles, the dragonification characteristics will not be too obvious.

The exchange team consisted of 24 people, led by Xu Lan herself. The core group of members included Ye Qingzhou, Xu Yuebing, Zhu Jinfeng, Lei Ang, Miao Yi, Lu Yifan, Hou Fei, and Yu Shouping.

Miao Yi, the original candidate for team leader, felt utterly exhausted.

Once the top fighter of Linjiang No.1 Middle School and the uncrowned king of the students, he can no longer even rank in the top four in the team. It's so embarrassing!

Miao Yi, Lu Yifan, Hou Fei, and Yu Shouping have recently been privately referred to by the students of No. 1 High School as "the remnants of the old era," a group of older students who have been completely overtaken by freshmen like Ye Qingzhou.

Xu Yuebing, in particular, has recently been studying the "Formless Sword Scripture," and her strength has improved by leaps and bounds. Miao Yi exchanged a few blows with her and found that he was no match for her at all.

Needless to say, Zhu Jinfeng and Lei Ang, once they unleash their Dragon Breath, beating them is like a father beating his son, a complete rout.

This doesn't even include Ye Qingzhou, the peerless genius whom he admires from afar and who inspires no desire to challenge him.

Just outrageous!

Am I, this old-timer, really going to die on the beach?

Miao Yi looked up at the sky, his heart filled with melancholy.

In the team from No. 1 Middle School, the members are now all preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Xu Yuebing was still sulking because of Yingyue's matter.

Leon, on the other hand, had an excess of energy and spent all his time thinking about how to make a big show of himself, so that everyone around him would be shocked and worship him.

As for Miao Yi, he was full of worries, always frowning and wearing a bitter face. No one knew what he was so worried about at such a young age.

However, Ye Qingzhou had no time to pay attention to such trivial matters. After all, whether his comrades were pigs or not was of no concern to him at the moment.

At this moment, all he could think about was the key to breaking through the mountain's power to a state of divine mastery.

"According to human physiology, aerobic exercise can improve cardiorespiratory endurance, while anaerobic exercise can improve muscle strength. Alternating between the two types of exercise can make the body continuously stronger."

"The so-called external training method is actually based on this principle, but with the addition of the variable of vital energy, which allows the upper limit of physical enhancement to be raised infinitely."

Ye Qingzhou's mind raced as he mentally simulated the fire and the mountain's terrain, experiencing how these two fundamental stances strengthened his body.

The mountain's energy primarily relies on internal energy cultivation. As skill levels increase, it can continuously and efficiently enhance a martial artist's skeletal strength. Simultaneously, it can also strengthen physical fitness and endurance, similar to the principles of aerobic exercise.

Conversely, the fire's energy, generated by the breath within the fire, enhances muscle strength and explosive power, similar to the principle of anaerobic exercise.

"The divine power represented by the fire refers to burning emotions, using the seven emotions and six desires as fuel to unleash power beyond the limit."

"Then, what does the divine aura realm represented by the mountain's shape refer to?"

"The four cardinal directions are: there are not two suns in the sky, not two kings among scholars, not two masters in a household, and not two superiors among honored ones."

"So, the essence of Divine Power is to dominate and control everything, thereby establishing a stable order to resist external shocks?"

Ye Qingzhou had thoughts in his mind and actions in his body.

He had already begun to silently circulate his inner energy, earnestly comprehending its profound mysteries: "My Panlong Sword Intent can draw upon the power of the earth's veins with the sword's heart. The earth is receptive, and a virtuous person carries all things with great virtue. In this world, is there anything more solid and stable than the earth beneath our feet?"

"I see, I get it now!"

As the bus arrived at its destination, Ye Qingzhou finally grasped the true meaning of the sublime realm of mountain formations.

As soon as he got out of the car, his feet touched the ground, and the Panlong Sword Intent within him drew upon the power of the earth's veins, merging with his aura into one, inseparable.

The ten grounds remain unmoved, and all laws cannot penetrate them; success is achieved!

An indestructible force, though intangible, enveloped Ye Qingzhou, making him as steady as Mount Tai, unbreakable and unshakeable.

"Ye Qingzhou".

"Ye Qingzhou?"

"Ye Qingzhou!"

Liang Jia, who led the team to greet Ye Qingzhou, called out three times, but Ye Qingzhou still did not respond.

Feeling slighted, Liang Jia was so angry that her pretty face turned red, her teeth clenched, and she wanted nothing more than to grab Ye Qingzhou's ear and yell at his eardrum.

After Ye Qingzhou had completely mastered the mountain's terrain to a superb level, he looked at Liang Jia with a puzzled expression: "Were you calling me?"

"Are you deaf? I've been calling you for ages!"

Liang Jia complained irritably.

Ye Qingzhou didn't seem to care at all: "No, I was just thinking about something."

"What are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing, you wouldn't understand anyway."

Ye Qingzhou shook his head. It wasn't that he was being overly protective of his knowledge, but rather that with Liang Jia's current level of spiritual power, she couldn't even project her divine sense outwards, let alone resonate with the power of the earth's veins.

Even if Ye Qingzhou told her the key, she still wouldn't be able to master the Divine Qi Power.

Liang Jia, however, was quite displeased: "Don't look down on me. I've become much stronger since the sword fighting tournament ended. If we fought again, I might not lose to you!"

Liang Jia remained resentful about losing to Ye Qingzhou.

However, she recently had a fortuitous encounter in the secret realm, learned new sword techniques, and greatly improved her strength. Therefore, she really wants to compete with Ye Qingzhou again and get revenge.

Ye Qingzhou looked her over carefully for a few moments, then shook his head: "You want to fight me? I'm afraid that's not an option. I'm actually here to be a judge this time."

"???"

Liang Jia froze on the spot.

What the heck are the judges?

What qualifications do you, a student, have to be a judge?

As a result, Ye Qingzhou was indeed invited to sit on the judges' panel in full view of everyone. He was flanked by martial arts teachers from Yali Middle School, each of whom possessed the strength of a professional martial artist. Yet, they treated Ye Qingzhou as an equal, chatting and laughing with him, completely disregarding his status as a student.

In fact, this is because Ye Qingzhou's reputation is currently only known in the Xiangnan area.

The news had reached even the top schools, but many ordinary students were completely unaware of Ye Qingzhou's current strength, their impressions mostly still stuck on the sword fighting tournament.

The reason is simple: after the Dragon Tower assessment, news about Ye Qingzhou was deliberately restricted by the authorities.

This is not an official attempt to suppress Ye Qingzhou; on the contrary, it is a protective measure that the authorities have to take because they value Ye Qingzhou so much.

To prevent Ye Qingzhou from becoming too outstanding and attracting unnecessary suppression and persecution after his reputation spreads.

After all, the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind.

What the students didn't know was that the school's higher-ups were fully aware of the situation. With Ye Qingzhou's unparalleled mastery of the Thunder Force, his understanding of martial arts was probably deeper than that of any of the martial arts teachers at Yali High School.

This is also the reason why Yali High School held this exchange conference between the two schools. For this purpose, the principal of Yali High School even used his old friendship with Zhao Dezhu.

Seeing Ye Qingzhou sitting at a table with her martial arts teacher, while she could only sit at a table with other students, Liang Jia felt like she was about to break down.

What happened?

He can't really be here as a judge, can he?

Later, when I'm competing in the ring, will he be the one to judge and give me some pointers?

Unacceptable!

Liang Jia's competitive spirit wouldn't allow her to accept such a cruel reality.

The opponent she had faced in the sword fighting tournament was now so far ahead of her, it was hard to understand, and it was completely beyond her comprehension.

Wang Ao, the captain of Yali Middle School, the top student in this grade, and a super genius that even martial arts geniuses can only look up to, shared the same thoughts as her.

"Ye Qingzhou, I heard you won the championship of this year's Qinglan Sword Fighting Tournament?"

Wang Ao's face radiated a confident and composed smile: "Coincidentally, I also won the Yunmeng Spear Technique Competition. How about we have a match?"

(End of this chapter)