"Mr. Guo, you are many generations older than me, just call me Ling Chen."
Mr. Guo smiled and said, "Alright then. Ling Chen, I’ll get straight to the point. I heard you have a weapon that can transform at will."
"Correct." Ling Chen nodded, this wasn’t a secret, everyone knew.
Mr. Guo, suppressing the excitement in his eyes, asked, "Can I take a look at it?"
"Of course, no problem." Having said that, Ling Chen took out the Tianling Blade he carried with him and handed it to Mr. Guo.
Mr. Guo held it with both hands, not sure if it was because of his age or his emotions, he shakily took the Tianling Blade, gently stroked the engraved patterns on the surface, and a compelling brilliance burst from his cloudy old eyes, showing no signs of being a man in his seventies.
"Tianling... so you really do exist." Mr. Guo murmured to himself, his tone carrying a trace of emotion.
"Mr. Guo, you know about it?"
Mr. Guo raised his head and explained to Ling Chen, "This weapon was forged by an ancestor of the Guo Family several hundred years ago. His name was Guo Tianling, therefore, the name ’Tianling’ was engraved on it."
Hearing this, Ling Chen was shocked. Mr. Guo mentioned this—could it be that he wanted to take the Tianling Blade back?
Mr. Guo seemed to see through Ling Chen’s thoughts, gave him a reassuring smile, and said, "Don’t worry, I have no intention of taking it back. I just wanted to see the object made by my ancestor. Besides, this weapon is not owned by the Guo Family. Back then, my ancestor forged this weapon at someone else’s request, putting all his effort and skill into it. Ling Chen, you must take good care of it in the future and not lose it."
"Moreover..." Mr. Guo changed the topic and said, "According to the records passed down by the ancestors of the Guo Family, this weapon seems to be more than just a simple weapon."
Ling Chen asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
"I’m not very clear on the specifics, the records about this weapon are fragmentary and not very detailed. However, one thing I can be sure of is that there is a secret hidden within this weapon."
"Secret?" Ling Chen seemed to think of something, his gaze unconsciously swept toward the Dangyang Sect’s seat. It might be because Yi Shuiyan was defeated, no one from the Dangyang Sect had come to watch the afternoon events, and the seats were empty.
Qin Wu once told him that the Tianling Blade was very important to the Dangyang Sect and they sought to seize it, but they never succeeded.
Could it be... that the people from the Dangyang Sect knew about the secret hidden inside the Tianling Blade, and that’s why they were so desperate to obtain it?
Thinking of this, Ling Chen felt this was very likely.
While he pondered, Mr. Guo handed the Tianling Blade back to Ling Chen, saying, "Ling Chen, there is a long story about this weapon. If you’re interested, you might want to visit my house sometime, and I can tell you all about it."
Mr. Guo took the initiative to invite him; naturally, Ling Chen wouldn’t refuse and readily agreed, "If I have the chance, I will definitely visit."
"Alright, my purpose for this visit was to see this weapon. Since my wish is fulfilled, I won’t stay any longer. Until next time."
"Mr. Guo, take care."
After watching Mr. Guo leave, Ling Chen played with the Tianling Blade in his hands, his curiosity piqued, wondering what secret this weapon hid. After the Heavenly Mechanism Great Ceremony ends, he must find the opportunity to thoroughly investigate it.
Before long, the afternoon’s martial arts contest officially began.
However, unexpectedly, when Song Ge took to the stage, Qu Jinxian failed to appear, and nobody from the Qingyang Sect came either. As the crowd speculated wildly with various conjectures, a disciple from the Qingyang Sect hurriedly arrived at the venue, whispering a few words into Zhou Qi’s ear.
After that person left, Zhou Qi stepped onto the stage, saying loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid I have to disappoint you this afternoon. We just received word from the Qingyang Sect that Qu Jinxian has relinquished his qualification to compete. Therefore, this fight directly advances Song Ge to the top three."
Hearing this, the commotion in the crowd grew louder.
To willingly give up at this crucial moment, what exactly is the Qingyang Sect thinking?
Nevertheless, some understood Qu Jinxian’s decision. After all, his opponent was Song Ge, ranked first on the Newcomer List. Everyone had seen Song Ge’s strength; even top fighters from the Dragon List seemed like weaklings before him, his power profoundly inscrutable. If Qu Jinxian were to face Song Ge, his chances of winning were utterly slim.
Ling Chen was speechless. Although he knew Song Ge was highly likely to win, he didn’t expect it to be so easy. Could Song Ge’s intimidating force be so great that it made Qu Jinxian admit defeat without a fight?
In any case, with Song Ge smoothly advancing to the top three, Ling Chen, as a friend, did not forget to congratulate him.
"Alright, the top three contenders of the newcomers challenge has been decided. Now, we’ll draw lots to determine tomorrow’s top three battle. As usual, one will have a bye, while the other two will determine the winner, and then the final battle will occur. Ling Chen, Han Yu, Song Ge, please come to the stage."
"No need to draw." Han Yu spoke up from the seat, "Ling Chen, since you’re so powerful, even defeating Yi Shuiyan, I would like to have a proper challenge with you. How about this, tomorrow it’ll be you and me, same rules, fight to death. If I lose, I don’t want the third-place prize, it’ll all go to you. What do you say, dare or not?"
Zhou Qi frowned slightly and said, "Han Yu..."
"Elder Zhou, don’t talk to me about rules, rules are made by people. Since you made an exception for Yi Shuiyan, why can’t you make one for me?" Han Yu interrupted Zhou Qi’s words.
Zhou Qi was momentarily speechless.
"Ling Chen, one word, do you dare?"
Ling Chen touched his nose, a faint smile on his face, "With such a gracious invitation, it’d be too rude of me to refuse. Alright, since you want a life-and-death battle, I’m with you all the way."
Seeing Ling Chen agree, Han Yu’s eyebrows relaxed, and a cold smile appeared on his handsome face.
"Very well, you haven’t disappointed me. Enjoy tonight well, I’m afraid you might not survive tomorrow." Having said that, Han Yu left the venue with several middle-aged men.
Qiu Yong looked worried and said, "Ling, wasn’t your acceptance a bit rash?"
Ling Chen replied helplessly, "Brother, faced with so many people, could I show weakness? Besides, who wins tomorrow is still uncertain."
"Alright, when the time comes, just give it your all. If it really gets out of hand, your brothers won’t sit idly by; we’ll definitely keep you safe."
As they were talking, Song Ge came over.
Ling Chen asked with a smile, "Did you need something?"
"Do you have time to go out and talk for a bit? I have something I want to discuss."
"You’re asking, how could I refuse. Let’s go!"