Chapter 78: Old Matters of the Chen Family, Douluo's "Human Butcher", requesting favorites and subscriptions.
Looking at Xue Qinghe, who carried a noble Aura, and feeling the terrifying Aura locked onto him from the shadows, Chen Zhan felt somewhat helpless.
The other party's meaning was very blunt; regardless of his own Legacy, the person already had a teacher, so there was no need to take him as a master.
He gritted his teeth and looked at Su Yuntao, who was in a special state. Such a good seedling was the only one he had seen in his life. To fulfill his father's dying wish, he had to take him in no matter what.
"Fine, I admit, I know Chen Xin. By seniority, he is considered my Junior Martial Uncle."
Tang Shan, sitting to the side, was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected this person to have such a special identity.
Xue Qinghe turned to look at Tang Shan. Tang Shan naturally understood the meaning. Ultimately, Su Yuntao was a Disciple of the Grandmaster. Whether he could take a new teacher wasn't for him to decide easily. It was better to let Tang Shan, who was both Su Yuntao's brother and a Disciple of the Grandmaster, handle the discussion.
"Can you tell us the specifics? Are you from the same Sect? Why did that Sword Douluo join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?" Tang Shan looked at Chen Zhan and asked.
Regarding whether Su Yuntao would take a master, Tang Shan planned to let him choose once he woke up. As for the identity of "Disciple of the Grandmaster," it was purely for appearances. No one knew the Grandmaster's actual level better than Tang Shan. If Xue Qinghe asked later, he would just say the Grandmaster didn't care about such things and had no sectarian bias.
Seeing the youth beside the First Prince of Heaven Dou asking questions and the First Prince not objecting, Chen Zhan knew Tang Shan was definitely not ordinary. He asked hesitantly, "And you are?"
"Just consider me his Junior Brother. However, our teacher has no sectarian bias. If you truly have something to teach my big brother, there's no harm in taking him as a Disciple."
Tang Shan pointed at Su Yuntao and added, "By the way, you probably only know his code name, right? He is my big brother, Su Yuntao."
Chen Zhan's expression shifted. He hadn't expected that just as he wanted to take someone as a Disciple, the person's Junior Brother was sitting right there. However, after hearing the rest of Tang Shan's words, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Xue Qinghe had the servants clear the dishes from the table, ordered tea to be brewed, and had a chair brought over for Chen Zhan to sit down.
After sitting down, Chen Zhan didn't care that the tea was still boiling hot; he picked it up and drank it all in one gulp.
Phew!
Letting out a long breath, the surging thoughts in his heart gradually calmed down.
He looked at Tang Shan and Xue Qinghe at the table, then glanced at Su Yuntao, who was still in a special state nearby. Straightening his expression, he spoke slowly, "Since I want to take him as a Disciple, I should naturally explain my situation clearly. By seniority, Chen Xin is indeed my Junior Martial Uncle, and could even be considered my distant elder uncle."
Tang Shan and Xue Qinghe became increasingly curious. The two Titled Douluo hidden in the shadows also instinctively pricked up their ears; they were also very interested in the Sword Douluo's past.
"This story starts with my great-grandfather, who was also Chen Xin's grandfather—" Hearing the starting time of the story, Tang Shan couldn't help but be startled. Knowing that in the original work, Chen Xin's father was a Rank 98 Titled Douluo and a contemporary of Qian Daoliu, wouldn't Chen Xin's grandfather—Chen Zhan's great-grandfather—be even older than Qian Daoliu, perhaps a contemporary of the Gold Crocodile Douluo?
"My great-grandfather's Spirit was also a Longsword. His talent was exceptionally outstanding, and he almost never met an opponent throughout his cultivation until he broke through to become a Titled Douluo and encountered a Genius hidden by the Spirit Hall. That person's strength was extremely high, and his Spirit looked like a Vicious Beast. He defeated my great-grandfather in just two or three moves."
Chen Zhan fell into memory, his voice carrying a hint of emotion. "That Titled Douluo from the Spirit Hall didn't strike heavily; he only defeated my great-grandfather.
Afterward, my great-grandfather continuously sought him out for challenges. At the same time, he traveled the continent, joined the army, and gained insights into Slaughter. Through such tempering, the strength of both men improved rapidly."
Tang Shan muttered to himself. The powerhouse from the Spirit Hall that Chen Zhan mentioned was most likely the current Second Consecrated Elder of the Spirit Hall, the Gold Crocodile Douluo.
"Later, my great-grandfather cultivated to Rank 97, but that person had already broken through to Rank 98. In the final battle, my great-grandfather risked burning his Spirit but only managed to cause the other party some light injuries. Before passing away, my great-grandfather caught a glimpse of the Rank 98 cultivation path but ultimately couldn't cross it. He could only entrust that powerhouse to deliver his remains and Legacy to his two sons—my grandfather and Chen Xin's father."
He hadn't expected such an origin. Was the Gold Crocodile Douluo already a Rank 98 Super Douluo back then? Listening to Chen Zhan's narration, Tang Shan felt somewhat emotional. Reaching Rank 98 at such a young age, yet remaining at that level until Tang San became a god—he truly didn't know whether to call it lucky or unlucky.
"My great-grandfather created two sets of sword techniques. The first accompanied him in his cultivation to Rank 97 and isn't very famous; it's called Slaughter. The second was created just before his death after he glimpsed the Rank 98 Realm. You've surely heard of it—it's the famous Seven Kill Sword Art."
Two sets of sword techniques divided between two sons, different Legacy paths... Tang Shan could already guess the subsequent development.
Just as he thought, both brothers were exceptionally talented and brilliant. Then a drama of love and hate ensued, both wanting to prove that the sword technique they inherited was the most powerful.
"Because the Seven Kill Sword Art improves as long as one challenges opponents of the same level, Chen Xin's father's progression was relatively smooth. However, the Slaughter technique requires rich experience in battlefield killing. My grandfather was never able to break through to become a Titled Douluo in his lifetime. You can guess what happened next; Chen Xin's lineage gradually flourished, while mine slowly declined. It got even worse in my generation; my Spirit mutated, Awakening as a Longblade Spirit, which is completely unrelated to the Slaughter Sword my father passed down."
After understanding the sequence of events, Tang Shan suddenly noticed something was wrong: "Wait, what you inherited is a sword technique. Even if you adapted it yourself, at most it would be a saber technique. My big brother clearly has a Beast Spirit; how could he possibly Cultivate a Legacy related to sword techniques?"
"That's because it was only before my father passed away that he discovered the true cultivation method of the Slaughter Sword Art. The core is to have extremely high combat intuition and then continuously kill on the battlefield to progress. As for the so-called sword or saber techniques, they are just external forms. What's truly critical is the combat mode hidden inside."
Chen Zhan looked at Su Yuntao, his eyes full of fanaticism: "My father's only wish in life was to prove to Chen Xin that the Slaughter technique is no worse than the Seven Kill Sword Art. I wanted to fulfill his dying wish, but my own talent is mediocre. I had almost given up, but then I saw him at the Spirit Fight arena. His combat intuition and practical experience are the best I've seen in my life. He is absolutely the best candidate to Cultivate Slaughter."
Briefly organizing Chen Zhan's words, Tang Shan finally understood his Legacy and background. Simply put, he and the Sword Douluo Chen Xin shared the same origin, but the relationship between the two branches wasn't good, so they split. Chen Xin's branch mainly relied on challenging opponents to temper themselves, inheriting the Seven Kill Sword Art. His branch required sufficient combat intuition and experience first, then polishing and cultivating on the battlefield, inheriting Slaughter.
No wonder he used to be a soldier, and no wonder he felt Su Yuntao was suitable for cultivating Slaughter. A Spirit Master with beast-like intuition and combat experience was naturally a Genius for cultivating Slaughter.
Xue Qinghe also cleared her thoughts, but her attention clearly wasn't on the Legacy. She still looked at Chen Zhan expressionlessly, her eyes sharp: "I ask you, do you have any resentment toward the Spirit Hall? After all, your great-grandfather passed away after fighting someone from the Spirit Hall."
Chen Zhan felt a chill in his heart. He carefully observed Xue Qinghe's expression but couldn't tell if the other party wanted him to be dissatisfied with the Spirit Hall or not. He could only tell the truth: "What resentment could there be? In the letter my great-grandfather left for his two sons before he died, he said that burning his Spirit this time was to glimpse a higher Realm of the sword Dao, and there was no need to resent that powerhouse. Not to mention that the powerhouse took the initiative to return my great-grandfather's body and Legacy. There's simply no talk of resentment."
"But didn't the internal struggle in your Family arise because of the Legacy? Did you never have any suspicions?"
"I did once," Chen Zhan answered honestly.
"I did suspect it before, but after Chen Xin's father broke through to Rank 98, that suspicion vanished. Because Chen Xin's father discovered that of the two legacies left by our great-grandfather, each had the potential to lead directly to Rank 98. It wasn't as we initially thought—that one could only reach Rank 97 while only the other could reach Rank 98.
Furthermore, if these two sword techniques could be merged into one, there would even be hope of achieving the limit of the human world."
Hearing this, the killing intent in Xue Qinghe's heart toward Chen Zhan completely dissipated. If the other party really had any dissatisfaction toward the Spirit Hall, she would never allow Su Yuntao to take him as a teacher.
"That Legacy sounds decent. If my big brother is willing, I won't stop it." Tang Shan finally made the decision. After all, it was a Legacy that could lead directly to Rank 98; it would be a waste not to take it, though how much theory and experience truly helpful for cultivation were in there remained to be seen.
"Then I thank you both." Chen Zhan hurriedly thanked them.
Xue Qinghe didn't take the man's thanks to heart. Instead, she asked curiously: "What mistake did you make back then that got you expelled from the Barrier Army?" Chen Zhan let out a long sigh: "This matter is also somewhat related to Slaughter."
Afterward, Tang Shan and Xue Qinghe heard a little-known story.
Once, a small squad from the Barrier Army out on a mission happened to encounter a five-hundred-man army from the Star Luo Empire, and a conflict broke out. Because it was an elite squad, the members of the Barrier Army were all Spirit Masters, while the Star Luo Empire army, although numbering five hundred, consisted mostly of ordinary people. The two sides were evenly matched, but right then, Chen Zhan suddenly fell into a state of Epiphany. By the time he woke up again, the entire Star Luo Empire army had been slaughtered to the last man by him alone.
"After that Epiphany, although I mastered Saber Intent, I was also expelled from the army by the general."
Chen Zhan didn't mention the fate of the squad that followed him. Either they were killed by him in his state of Epiphany, or they died together with the Star Luo Empire army. Since Chen Zhan was expelled from the army, the answer was most likely the former.
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