Chen Ming rolled his eyes at Owl. Since when did an array master need to fight in close range with a remarkable assassin?

He didn’t eat enough lemons!

Chen Ming controlled the nine dragons to attack Owl.

His body flashed in mid-air, dodging a lava dragon, then stomped on another one’s head, burying it underground. Owl raved as he swished Dragon Halberd around, “What use do these things have? Your array is obsolete before me!”

Chen Ming chuckled, starting up King Slayer Aura, “Are you sure?”

Owl felt Chen Ming’s power spiking with added killing intent, surpassing even his, “You’re an assassin too?”

A mere Assassination King Aura playing around in front of King Slayer Aura. Ain’t that the same as a dwarf facing a giant?

Swords swooped around Chen Ming, covering the two’s battlefield in an instant. Owl charged Chen Ming without remorse, not getting any sense of danger from the swords!

But Chen Ming blinked away at that moment leaving him to search his traces. Chen Ming then emerged behind Owl, unleashing Dao Empyrean Bamboo upon him, “Ten Thousand Swords Become One!”

It only staggered Owl, giving him a dull ache, yet it didn’t stop him in thrusting his halberd behind, “Regiment Shattering!”

Chen Ming posed Dao Empyrean Bamboo in between him and the attack, but it sent him flying anyway. He felt his hand shivering, This guy sure is strong!

Owl laughed at Chen Ming, “Ten Thousand Swords Become One. You must be training in ten thousand swords. The sword Dao is the pinnacle of the killing path. This pinnacle translates in harnessing all of it into one sword. Then there’s you who trains in countless sword arts. You will never understand the sword Dao for as long as you live. Who on this earth can bear ten thousand swords?”

“I never dreamed that an Autarch like you, a sword cultivator, didn’t even understand Sword Intent!”

Sword Intent is the thought, a notion, taken to the extreme. So how can an extreme thought evolve ten thousand swords?

Chen Ming has long been stuck at the doorsteps of the Sword Intent, but still didn’t give his Sword Intent a final shape!

His Sword Intent had to envelop ten thousand swords.

But Owl’s words reminded him of something. The only one who could bear so many swords was Dao Empyrean Bamboo. Chen Ming knew that what he cultivated, the thought he had to form, was not Dao Empyrean Bamboo.

Dao Empyrean Bamboo was a treasure born from nature, and a rare one at that. It came to be able to hold ten thousand swords because it was the sheath to an equal amount of swords.

Then it hit him, and Chen Ming realized something, “Ha-ha-ha, I always cultivated the sword, but I forgot that what I cultivate isn’t the sword at all!”

Owl saw his power shifting, not sharper like a sword, but steady and heavy without measure.

The spiritual swords flew at Chen Ming as if the ten thousand swords returned to their sheaths. On his back wings took shapes, wings of swords.

The spiritual swords’ sword energy converged on Chen Ming’s body, at his heart, shaping his Sword Intent!

Chen Ming grinned at Owl, “I shall name this sword, Sword Sea!”

With his body as a sheath, it could hold ten thousand swords!

Chen Ming split a thousand spiritual swords, which also held the ones with the teleportation array as well as the nation weapons. He waved Dao Empyrean Bamboo with his sword intent, who became a sword aimed at Owl. Owl faced it with his halberd but Chen Ming blinked behind him and Dao Empyrean Bamboo shredded his armor and back, splashing a rain of blood into the air.

Owl stared at Chen Ming, “Blinking Art?”

“The demeanor and technique are like no one else’s!”

Owl howled, “Shadow Step!”

His figure vanished, only to pop before Chen Ming. Chen Ming’s eyes flashed with vigilance, yet the next moment, Zi Tianzang voice came out from the Astral Immortal Sect’s compass, “Alliance Leader, is something wrong? Someone reported sightings of Autarchs battling at the Ghosts Cavern!”

Chen Ming was this close in believing Zi Tianzang’s message had to do with Owl. He blinked to another spot and roared, “This Alliance Leader has no time for idle chat. We’ll talk once I crushed Owl!”

In the sea of swords, the two’s figures changed constantly. Afterimages were left everywhere in the sky, followed shortly after by weapons’ collisions.

Halberd images and sword waves weaved together in the sky!

Owl released arts without any delay in between while Chen Ming blinked each time. The two played this game for countless exchanges.

Two hours later found them still across from each other, gasping for breath. They were dog-tired with no spiritual power left to spare. Chen Ming shouted at Owl, “I cultivate innumerable cultivation methods, train in all kinds of sword arts. I comprehended a sword art called Farmer God and I shall have you try out its power!”

Owl stared back, “You can still attack?”

Chen Ming continued, “This Farmer God sword art of mine dims the sun and moon, turning the heaven and earth bleak!”

Owl tightened his grip on his halberd and raised his guard, Chen Ming is about to unleash his finishing blow!

Chen Ming vanished, leaving Owl to look everywhere in fright, Where’d he go?

Such a powerful sword art. He must be hiding for the right moment to end him!

Owl’s eyes peered his vicinity with extra caution, afraid of missing even a grain of sand!

Each lapse in judgment had a high chance of ending his life!

While in reality…

Chen Ming was back on Yan Mountain for a while now and was in his room downing three pill bottles as he talked, “I can’t take it… I’m dying… Not enough spiritual power… I’m dead tired!”

“Speaking of, that Farmer God Sword Art clearly has something to do with farming. It helps me come back and get some much-needed pills first!”

“Returning feels better. I’ll go fight once I’m done taking pills.”

“Oh, Qingyao! Come help massage your Master’s feet. I’m about to drop dead from exhaustion! Fetch me a bowl of noodles, I’ll be right back to eat it! ”

Twenty breaths later, Chen Ming blinked before Owl, flickering the horsetail whisk!

Owl countered with his halberd but the clash sent him staggering!

Owl was pissed, “Impossible! We matched blow by blow for two hours yet he’s still in peak condition! And even seems to be bursting with energy!”

Chen Ming laughed, “My Farmer God Sword Art is unmatched under heaven!”

This earned Owl’s ire, “This art of yours can bring you back to your peak!”

Chen Ming chuckled awkwardly, “You guessed it, but no red flower(1) for you!”

(1) Given to small children as a reward for doing good. A reward and punishment type of thing.