Geniuses Exchange

If Chao does reaches the 2nd layer, his prowess will considerably increase. But at the same time, the suspicions it will draw won't be small.

An average cultivator would need months of energy and perception accumulations to break through.

Even geniuses need a month or several weeks before their next breakthrough.

Chao needs to seriously consider Chen Li before most of his actions. He really doesn't want any greedy, suspicious people hanging around his home. By then, it would be too late to regret.

'Alright then. I'll just reach the peak 1st layer. I doubt we will face anything too strong tomorrow.'

Plan in mind, Chao quickly headed home.

...

The night quickly passed and morning swept through Creek City.

Bright and early, Chao was already strolling down the luxurious Western district. Just like yesterday, the average cultivator notices his patrol status and gave him a slight breadth.

Chao wasn't expecting anything noteworthy to happen during his walk, like yesterday.

But he was soon taken in for a surprise.

Once again, another loud clamor, greater than the one he heard yesterday, ranged through the streets.

"Eh? Is that Mr.Nian? And he seems to be going up to Sky Breeze's Miss. Mei? Is a great event about to happen right in the streets?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. The Great Sword Sect and the Sky Breeze Sect have been on bad terms since who knows when. Now that Creek Martial gathering is upon us, these geniuses will fiercely compete in any way they can."

"It won't be surprising if the Great Sword Sect ends up on top again. They have always been faintly superior in terms of their geniuses."

Chao looked over to his right and saw a gradually forming crowd. This greatly intrigued him. He previously heard tales of geniuses competing on the streets when he was a mortal.

This is usually done so the sects could raise their prestige for the upcoming Creek Martial gathering.

The competitions aren't anything particularly fierce. It should be done in one move. But even with just one move, the abilities these geniuses can showcase weren't anything to scoff at.

Chao sneakingly shuffled his way through the crowd and set his sights on two youths just 100 meters away.

One of them was the Great Sword Sect genius, Nian. And the other was a young, beautiful maiden of the Sky Breeze Sect, Lu Mei.

On the surface, Lu Mei's calm gaze seemed as if she was expecting this. But Chao could spot her fingers slightly twitching. With a keen eye, he could tell this was a considerable issue for her.

Whereas Nian appeared completely calm. He almost look like he was going for a stroll.

Nian slowly walked toward Lu Mei, only stopping 20 meters from her. He gently smiles and said, "Miss. Mei, it's been some time, hasn't it? I've been wondering how your sword arts were coming along. Shall we?"

Nian cut straight to the chase, directly offering his intent to a one-move challenge. He even used a highly elegant tone that made it hard to refuse his challenge.

Being from the Big Three, reputation was particularly important among them.

No matter the challenge, none of these disciples can show any weakness. Otherwise, it would be far too easy to focus and prey on any slight weakness.

Lu Mei took a slight quiet breath, nodded, and then took out a gleaming Spirit sword. "Sir Nian. I am ready whenever you are."

Her Origin Aura instantly erupted. Flickers of blue lights flashed from both her body and her Spirit Sword.

A cool breeze discharged out of her. It swept through the surrounding, kicking up all the dust and pebbles on the road.

At the same time, Nian took out his own Spirit Sword while erupting his Origin Aura. A sharp presence of the sword bore out of him. His whole atmosphere changed.

To any weaker cultivator, it was like staring into a sword that can instantly reap their lives away.

Nian and Lu Mei's Origin Aura frantically spread out, washing over the gathering crowd.

Shock, reverence, and fear as evident in many cultivators' eyes.

"It's only been a year since the last gathering and Sir Nian got this much stronger with Sword Laws. It's almost hard to directly stare into his face."

"Mn. Compared to him, Miss. Mei seems a bit more lacking. I think the match has already been decided."

The crowd erupted into discussions. While Chao chose to ignore everyone else and focus squarely on these geniuses' Origin Auras.

Yesterday, just Nian's natural aura was confusing to him. It felt like he was trying to perceive into a mysterious fog.

Today, however, Chao could clearly detect his layer of Origin Qi and Law essence. He focused his mind, nearly falling into a trance.

From the thickness of his energies and the way he smoothly controls every ounce of his power, Chao slowly perceived that Nian had to be at least 60x times stronger than the average 1st layer Origin cultivator.

He could also detect the same amount of strength within Lu Mei.

Of course, as geniuses, Chao expected them to be several times stronger than what they were showing. But what he can perceive was enough to tell these geniuses had to be 6th layer Origin experts!

This was the very peak of the Titled Origin phase. At this layer, cultivators would have around 60% of Origin Qi comprehended and 14% of Ordinary Law essence comprehended.

Perceiving their energy flow would be good practice. Chao concentrated on his soul sense to not miss anything.

A stifling atmosphere permeated Nian and Lu Mei.

One was still gently smiling, but his eyes showcased intent and focus.

While the other one was as serious as they come. Her lips didn't even twitch, her expression was completely stone-faced.

Then, as if a bell was struck, the geniuses struck out at each other!

Nian quickly swiped out Spirit Sword, a bolt of dazzling glow lighting up the blade. Out from the tip of the glowing blade, a stream of Sword essence soared forth.

The presence of a sword engulfed the surrounding. Many had to close their eyes just from the sharp sensations the Sword essence gushed out.

At the same time, Lu Mei struck out with her own Spirit Sword. Light blue wind essence converged all around her blade before shooting out to greet the sharp Sword essence.

The presence of her wind was slightly less potent than Nian's sword presence, however.

'Bang!'

Wind and Sword essence smashed into each other, releasing powerful shock waves.

Even though the geniuses held back plenty, many surrounding cultivators still had to rapidly retreat.

Chao was no exception, though his soul sense still locked onto them.

'So strong! The power of Titled experts!' Were many cultivators' thoughts.

When the flash from the collision died down, the crowd saw that there was now a 10 feet crater from where the collision occurred. If the geniuses were to go all out, the destructive force would've been greater.

The crowd couldn't help but wonder where their limits lay.

Nian had put away his Spirit Sword and clasped his hands. His expression never changed from his intent smile. "Well fought, Miss. Mei."

Lu Mei's expression seemingly stayed the same as well while giving out polite regards. "Indeed. Sir Nian is brightly talented."

Before the crowd broke into more discussion or even seeing the end of the exchange, Chao had already fitted out from them. He had zero desire to see more beyond their prowess.

At this moment, his soul sense was intently recounting the sensations he perceived from both Nian and Lu Mei.

It felt like his Spiritual Sea was a sponge. Everything, from the flow of their energies to the thickness of their energies, Chao's Spiritual Sea slowly grasped a small portion of their principles.

As he strolled toward Creek City's wilderness, Chao's mind gained more clearly. His understanding of Qi flow and Law flow gradually increased.

...

After only a short walk, Chao soon reached his patrol squad.

The Ming Family patrol squad's main uses are to clear away Vicious beasts for their cores and to deal with any small scuffles from enemy Martial Families.

It was a simple task, but one that can easily cost anyone their lives if they're not prepared.

Chao took a calm gaze over his patrol squad.

There was his rough-looking captain Pao Dai, and now there were three other young men. They all carried regular, mortal-grade swords.

These mortal-grade swords are far less expensive than Spirit-grade Swords but don't can't enhance the wielder's powers as much as Spirit-grade weapons. The most it can do is slightly increase prowess or tear through defenses that normal means are unable to do so.

These three men all had experienced looks, showcasing that none of them weren't any greenhorns. They wouldn't tolerate any weakness or any foolishness really.

When they all settled their gazes on Chao simultaneously, a faint oppressive pressure gradually released into the atmosphere. Their natural auras were refined after countless battles and bloodshed.

Any regular youths looking to join the Ming Family most likely would've felt greatly intimidated by this kind of environment.

Chao, however, kept his calm stride just like how he did with Pao Dai yesterday. A polite smile graced his face as he waved his hand. "So you all are my partners? I'm sure you already heard it, but my name is Chao."