I became a Sword Emperor in the Martial Arts World

Chapter 126: It's time to show the real skills.

After a nearly two-hour high-speed train ride, Ye Qingzhou finally arrived in Xingcheng and got off at the South Station.

"Hello, Teacher Xu, I've arrived in Xingcheng."

"Have someone pick me up? No need, I'll just take a taxi myself."

"Don't worry, you know my strength. If you encounter bad guys, what you should worry about is whether they can leave with a complete corpse."

Ye Qingzhou hung up the phone and declined Xu Lan's offer to send someone to pick him up, mainly because he disliked being constrained and engaging in pointless socializing.

Rather than incurring a favor by showing the way, he preferred to take a taxi himself, since it wouldn't cost much and he didn't want to bother a stranger.

Outside the station, Ye Qingzhou took out her phone and called a car through a ride-hailing app.

The car arrived quickly. Through the car window, Ye Qingzhou saw two pretty girls sitting in the back seat. They were both very young, and judging from their attire, they were naive high school students.

Ye Qingzhou glanced at it but didn't look at it much. He was in a hurry and didn't mind sharing a ride with others, so he took his sword bag and sat directly in the passenger seat.

One of the girls, however, seemed to recognize him and asked tentatively, with a hint of doubt, "Ye Qingzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingzhou turned around, her expression one of surprise: "Who are you?"

"I'm Li Yan'er. We were classmates for three years in junior high, you haven't forgotten me, have you?"

Li Yan'er pouted, her tone carrying a hint of complaint, but her eyebrows curved and her smile remained, clearly indicating that she wasn't really angry.

"Yes, I remember now, you are Li Yan'er."

Ye Qingzhou nodded seriously, and indeed found a familiar figure in the original owner's memories.

But the distant and unfamiliar attitude still made Li Yan'er's pretty face narrow with anger, and she muttered irritably, "Goodness, you've really forgotten about me."

She then couldn't help but take a closer look at Ye Qingzhou a few more times, and said in surprise, "You've changed so much, I almost didn't recognize you."

Ye Qingzhou, however, was exaggerating without thinking, and insincerely complimented Li Yan'er, saying, "You're much prettier than before, that's why I didn't recognize you."

"Hmph, I think you've completely forgotten about your old classmate!"

Li Yan'er clearly didn't believe Ye Qingzhou's nonsense.

Then Li Yan'er introduced her friend to Ye Qingzhou: "She is my classmate, Lu Jingyao."

"Hello, handsome."

Lu Jingyao greeted Ye Qingzhou warmly. She was enthusiastic and cheerful, with a sweet smile that exuded youthful energy.

Ye Qingzhou nodded to her as well: "Hello."

Li Yan'er glanced at the sword pouch in Ye Qingzhou's arms and was immediately surprised: "Being able to carry a sword on the high-speed rail, have you become a trainee martial artist?"

In the Eastern Kingdom, professional martial artists enjoy many social benefits, including free public transportation such as airplanes, high-speed trains, and buses.

In addition, medical treatment at hospitals is free, with all expenses reimbursed by the state. There are also various hidden benefits such as obtaining bank loans when buying a house and registering one's household registration. These benefits are numerous and demonstrate the extent of government support for martial arts practitioners.

While apprentice martial artists do not enjoy the same social welfare benefits as professional martial artists, they do have many privileges, such as being able to carry their own weapons through security checks when taking public transportation such as airplanes and high-speed trains.

In the past, there were instances where martial artists were attacked while entrusting their weapons for transport.

In addition, many martial artists' personal weapons were lost during shipping for various reasons.

It's important to know that martial artists' personal weapons are all custom-made with precious materials. Once lost, even insurance money can't buy back an identical one.

The economic losses are secondary; the key issue is that without a suitable weapon, who will be held responsible if the competition is lost?

So after a while, the government simply relaxed its control over this area.

After all, restricting martial artists and prohibiting them from carrying weapons on public transportation is meaningless.

When facing ordinary people, martial artists don't need any weapons to kill them; they can wreak havoc with their bare hands and tear people to pieces.

Instead of doing so, it would be better to simply deregulate.

Ye Qingzhou nodded and replied, "Yes, martial arts training is very interesting."

Lu Jingyao then interjected with a smile, asking, "Ye Qingzhou, what level are you at now? Li Yan'er is an elite level now, she almost got selected as a martial arts prodigy at Mingde, she's really strong."

"Elite level?"

Ye Qingzhou was full of questions. In Lingyun Cave, the weakest people he had ever met were all geniuses, and he had long regarded ordinary geniuses as worthless trash.

As for the elite level?

He had almost forgotten that this level existed.

It had been over a year since they last met, and Li Yan'er was completely unaware of Ye Qingzhou's current situation: "What, are you now an elite-level person?"

Ye Qingzhou shook his head: "I'm not an elite."

At this moment, he was clearly not a peerless genius who could be measured by normal standards.

Simply put, Ye Qingzhou himself is at one level, while the other martial arts apprentices use a different level system.

There are four levels of martial arts apprentices, or martial arts students. Besides the highest level, the genius level, there are the apprentice level, the trainee level, and the elite level.

The apprentice level is the foundational stage. Anyone who can master the basic stances of any beginner martial art is considered to be at the apprentice level.

The apprentice level means you've mastered all six basic stances. This is a passing grade for a high school graduate.

The elite level represents outstanding students. If a student can master any one of the six basic stances, they can be considered an elite among high school students, basically one in a hundred.

Despite the fact that Ye Qingzhou is surrounded by geniuses and elites are as rare as dogs, truly elite-level martial arts apprentices are extremely few and far between. They are the top twenty students in each school, and their proportion is very low.

Therefore, it is clear that Li Yan'er's achievement of reaching the elite level is already quite remarkable in the eyes of ordinary people.

That's why Lu Jingyao is so proud and honored to have a friend like Li Yan'er.

After listening to Ye Qingzhou's words, Lu Jingyao smiled and encouraged him, "Then you'll have to work harder. If you have time, you might want to ask Li Yan'er for advice."

Ye Qingzhou could tell that Lu Jingyao meant no harm when she said those words, so he simply smiled and said, "Yes."

He then looked at Li Yan'er and said, "If there's a chance, we can have a friendly spar."

"OK."

Without much thought, Li Yan'er agreed.

The three of them then got off the bus together at Jilei Mountain, clearly indicating that they were all heading to the same destination.

However, Ye Qingzhou came to Jilei Mountain because he had obtained the qualification to enter the secret realm.

As for Li Yan'er, she came here mainly to attend classes.

"Ye Qingzhou, your weapon is a sword, so you must specialize in swordsmanship, right?"

"yes."

"In the next few days, a renowned swordsman will be teaching at Jilei Mountain. You can go and take a look; you might learn something and benefit greatly from it."

Li Yan'er specializes in Thunder Force and is skilled in swordsmanship. Her weapon is a pair of swords, and her martial arts skills are mainly characterized by light, agile, swift, and varied moves.

She came to Jilei Mountain this time for further studies.

The concentration of vital energy in Jilei Mountain is much higher than that in the outside world, and the interior is divided into three major areas.

The outermost open area is at the foot of the mountain. Basically, any martial artist with elite-level strength or above can queue up and make an appointment to enter and cultivate.

Entry is restricted from the second floor onwards; unless invited, no matter how much you long to enter, you cannot.

As for the most core area, it is located on the mountaintop, where a towering jujube tree grows. It can attract thunder from the sky and has survived countless lightning strikes, thus possessing extremely high spirituality.

However, because of this, the magnetic field near the jujube tree is abnormal, and there are often flashes of electricity, making it very dangerous. Not to mention ordinary people, even martial artists cannot approach it at will.

Each month, Jilei Mountain will only release twenty spots for the most outstanding martial arts geniuses to use the lightning-struck wood properties of jujube trees to cultivate and rapidly improve their cultivation.

It was here that Miao Yi broke through his lightning technique to the Great Perfection realm, thus gaining powerful combat strength.

If it weren't for Ye Qingzhou's appearance, Miao Yi would have been the number one genius at Linjiang No. 1 Middle School, which shows that Jilei Mountain is truly a sacred place for ordinary martial arts practitioners to cultivate.

Li Yan'er was clearly not a first-timer, so she introduced Ye Qingzhou to the specific situation of Jilei Mountain: "There are quite a few martial arts schools here. If you perform well, you might receive an invitation. For ordinary martial artists like us, joining a martial arts school might be a good choice."

After speaking, Li Yan'er asked Ye Qingzhou for his opinion: "Have you thought about which school of martial arts you want to join?"

"no."

Ye Qingzhou shook his head directly. The main reason was that he was neither lacking in cultivation techniques nor resources. Joining a martial arts sect would not only bring no benefits, but he might also have to work as someone else's slave in the future.

If given a choice, Ye Qingzhou would still prefer a free and unrestrained life.

After all, martial arts schools, while ostensibly providing various forms of assistance and support to martial artists from humble backgrounds, are ultimately organizations established by people.

As long as it is an organization, there will be exploitation and oppression from the top down. Therefore, unless Ye Qingzhou is invited to become the sect leader or elder, he will not bother to join any organization or force.

Why would someone choose to be a dog, only to be obligated and receive no benefits?

Ye Qingzhou isn't some kind of masochist; he doesn't have that kind of masochistic hobby.

Li Yan'er was unaware of Ye Qingzhou's thoughts. She simply felt that fighting alone was ultimately too weak and vulnerable, so she could only advise, "If you have the opportunity, it would be better to join some famous and prestigious martial arts schools."

Lu Jingyao chimed in, "Yes, why don't you and Yan'er join the Divine Firmament Blade Sect together? After all, you're old classmates, so you can look out for each other."

After saying that, she winked at Li Yan'er—"Sister, this is all I can do to help you."

Li Yan'er rolled her eyes at her—"You're always meddling in other people's business!"

At this moment, a figure hurriedly walked over. The person was tall and had long arms. He walked steadily and had a long breath, clearly a master of considerable strength.

Ye Qingzhou didn't turn around. He merely used his Cicada Sense to sense the situation briefly and immediately understood: 'A genius-level weakling, his strength is about the same as Miao Yi's.'

"Junior Sister Li."

The newcomer spoke, clearly indicating that he knew Li Yan'er.

"Senior Brother Yuan."

Li Yan'er returned the greeting politely, but deliberately kept her distance from the other party.

Yuan Zhiyi is one of the inner disciples of the Shenxiao Blade Sect stationed at Jilei Mountain. He is a local of Xingcheng and a sophomore at Central South University. He is currently preparing for his professional assessment.

With his prestigious university background, genius-level martial arts skills, and status as an inner disciple of the Divine Firmament Blade Sect, Yuan Zhiyi seemed to have a perfect life story.

His future prospects are so great that they surpass those of 99.9% of the people in the Eastern Pole Kingdom.

For someone like that, finding a partner is not difficult at all.

Alas, King Xiang had a dream, but the goddess had no heart for him.

Yuan Zhiyi took a liking to the gentle and charming Li Yan'er, but Li Yan'er had no feelings for him. Every time he spoke to her, he always maintained a polite but deliberately distant attitude.

Yuan Zhiyi saw this and was very anxious.

Hearing that his junior sister Li Yan'er was coming to Jilei Mountain, he immediately rushed over to greet her, only to find a boy standing next to her, chatting and laughing with his beloved girl.

Can't stand it!

Yuan Zhiyi stepped forward with great poise to greet him, then his sharp gaze fell on Ye Qingzhou, and he asked casually, "And this gentleman is?"

Li Yan'er quickly stepped forward to introduce him: "His name is Ye Qingzhou. He's my junior high school classmate. He happened to be in Jilei Mountain today, and we met him while sharing a ride on the way."

"Is that so..."

Yuan Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief, but then became wary again. After all, old classmates are the easiest to become old flames, and he dared not be careless at all.

No, I have to let my junior sister know that I am her Prince Charming!

It's time to show the real technology!

Once she witnesses my power, my junior sister will definitely fall deeply in love with me!

Yuan Zhiyi looked at Ye Qingzhou with arrogance, glanced at the three swords at Ye Qingzhou's waist, first gave a contemptuous smile, then said with feigned calmness, "You practice swordsmanship, right? Although I specialize in saber techniques and my swordsmanship is only so-so, it should be enough to give you some pointers. How about we spar?"

Ye Qingzhou blinked in surprise, then shook his head: "Forget it, you're too weak, I'm not interested."

"Um???"

Yuan Zhiyi was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead: "Me, weak? Do you even know I'm an inner disciple of the Divine Firmament Blade Sect? How dare you call me weak!"

Ye Qingzhou looked at Yuan Zhiyi with a puzzled expression: "Aren't the weaklings of the Divine Firmament Blade Sect also weaklings?"

"You're asking for it!"

Yuan Zhiyi pressed his hand against the knife, but he couldn't suppress the boiling anger in his heart. Ye Qingzhou's words were simply too infuriating.

He keeps calling me a weakling, but I'm a martial arts genius!

"Senior brother, please wait a moment, there must be some misunderstanding here."

Seeing that Yuan Zhiyi was about to attack Ye Qingzhou, Li Yan'er was terrified. She quickly stood in front of Ye Qingzhou, then turned back, her expression urgent: "Ye Qingzhou, apologize quickly!"

Ye Qingzhou looked bewildered: "Why do I need to apologize? Did I say something wrong?"

"You bastard!"

Li Yan'er stomped her feet in anger. Where had the timid and kind-hearted Ye Qingzhou gone?

This old classmate of mine has not only changed his demeanor, but his personality is also completely different; he speaks with an outrageous arrogance.

"Junior sister, don't stop me!"

Yuan Zhiyi was now absolutely furious, glaring at Ye Qingzhou: "He's not only insulting me, he's insulting the entire Divine Firmament Blade Sect!"

Clang~

Drawing his sword, Yuan Zhiyi's eyes blazed with fury. Pointing at Ye Qingzhou, he roared, "Boy, I'll show you today that the name of the Sword Sect cannot be dishonored!"

Thunder Force, a mid-level martial skill at the Great Perfection stage, Thunder Slash!

With a single slash, lightning crackled between the blades, the power of thunder seemed capable of tearing everything apart, howling in with a fierce wind, its power incomparably fierce.

Yuan Zhiyi had completely grasped the changes in the moves and could control them at will. This slash fully demonstrated his formidable cultivation and superb swordsmanship.

Even if a mountain stood in his way, he would still cleave it in two with a single stroke!

Unfortunately, such an attack was too weak for Ye Qingzhou, who had already mastered the Indestructible Golden Body and the Mountain Might Technique to a superb level, leaving him completely unmotivated.

Ye Qingzhou yawned lazily, then raised his hand and flicked his finger at the incoming blade light.

Hey~

Ye Qingzhou's fingers lightly flicked against Yuan Zhiyi's longsword, producing a crisp, metallic sound.

Immediately, Yuan Zhiyi's face showed a look of horror. He had a feeling that his knife had not cut his finger, but rather the body of a speeding dump truck.

The immense and unparalleled force was overwhelming, and his lightning energy was directly shattered, while his tiger's mouth instantly split open, bleeding profusely.

Yuan Zhiyi's longsword flew dozens of meters away from his hand, landing and embedding itself in a large rock, while the blade continued to vibrate and hum.

"I told you, you're too weak."

After Ye Qingzhou finished speaking, he ignored Yuan Zhiyi, who was standing there in a daze, and walked straight past him, starting to walk along the main road leading to the top of the mountain.

Li Yan'er and Lu Jingyao, who were still standing there, were both dumbfounded.

Especially Li Yan'er, she was just thinking about how to stop Yuan Zhiyi and protect Ye Qingzhou, but in the blink of an eye, her senior brother was defeated?

And the defeat was so devastating...

Lu Jingyao grabbed Li Yan'er's arm: "My goodness, is your old classmate really that fierce?"

Li Yan'er gave a helpless bitter smile: "How would I know? He wasn't this capable back then."

Originally, Yuan Zhiyi wanted to show off in front of his beloved junior sister, but in the end, he made a fool of himself. Feeling utterly humiliated, he slunk away.

Lu Jingyao chuckled and poked her friend with her fingertip: "Seriously, you two are quite a good match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman."

"Can you please stop trying to matchmake us? Ye Qingzhou and I are just classmates."

"But you two seemed to get along quite well, didn't you?"

"We get along really well, so should we become a couple?"

"Hehe, I have no objection if you like it."

(End of this chapter)