Chapter 99: Chapter 91: Du Chengfeng in Others’ Eyes

Cui Yuan remembered clearly that the first time he met Du Chengfeng was when he went to find someone to sharpen his sword.

At that time, he was still preparing for a duel with his lifelong rival, Liu Qingyun, so he needed to present himself in perfect form to defeat this heart demon engraved in his heart since childhood. With the weight of hundreds of lives on his back, he couldn’t seek out the official craftsmen, so he resorted to trying his luck with these civilian craftsmen.

And so, he met Du Chengfeng.

In all fairness, Cui Yuan didn’t consider himself a bloodthirsty person. Indeed, he had killed many, but all his opponents were at least on par with him—he would only draw his sword against opponents of matched skill, and even stronger ones, as only this could help him improve his swordsmanship.

As for drawing his sword against the weak, such actions were mostly a waste of energy unless he deliberately trained himself to fight against multiple foes. Otherwise, battles that did not advance his swordsmanship held no meaning.

But at that meeting, for the first time, Cui Yuan felt the urge to draw his sword against the weak.

An unarmed grinding craftsman was undoubtedly weak, especially when facing a swordsman who had trained for more than ten years; this was certainly a weak person.

Yet facing such a man, Cui Yuan could barely control his hand.

"This is a master!"

Cui Yuan’s instincts frantically warned him.

Draw the sword, he must draw the sword, find any excuse, but he must draw his sword.

"If I must describe it... I couldn’t quite understand it before, but now, perhaps it’s some kind of invitation."

Seeing the bewildered expression of the carpenter beside him, Cui Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh.

"You’re not a martial artist; you probably won’t understand this situation. After all, it’s hard to put into words... When our gazes met, I had to make a move; otherwise, my swordsmanship might never progress and would remain stagnant."

Cui Yuan thought about it; he really didn’t know how to describe this feeling to an ordinary person. He only knew that if he didn’t make a move at that time, it would be equivalent to denying his own swordsmanship, acknowledging that it wasn’t strong enough.

A swordsman who lives by the sword cannot accept this.

Fortunately, he did draw his sword in the end, though he used a clumsy excuse like "just testing." But his fighting spirit at that moment was no pretense—it was genuine. The result of this duel relieved Cui Yuan somewhat; it was barely a draw, indicating that this man named Du Chengfeng wasn’t as strong as he had imagined.

As long as he continued to hone his swordsmanship, there was still a chance for him to surpass the other.

Cui Yuan once thought this way.

But after entering the room, he realized that the duel he had just experienced, which felt like a life-and-death battle to him, was nothing more than casual play for the man named Du Chengfeng.

This man, skilled with a saber, hadn’t even drawn his blade.

Therefore, he must fight once more, giving his all. He must conquer this insurmountable mountain, for only then could he go further on the path of swordsmanship!

Otherwise, he might never have the chance to defeat this opponent in his lifetime.

And facts proved his intuition was correct.

A quarter of an hour later, the sword was sharpened, and he was in what he thought was his strongest form. However, this man named Du Chengfeng effortlessly cut his prized longsword into two with a single stroke.

At that moment, Cui Yuan realized vividly that although only a quarter of an hour had passed, this man named Du Chengfeng had suddenly grown several times stronger.

It wasn’t just because he had taken up a saber; Cui Yuan could sense that while the heavy broadsword was indeed powerful, it was merely on par with his sharp sword.

The real change lay in the person wielding the saber.

Cui Yuan couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

But at least one thing was clear to him: his intuition had indeed been correct. Even though only a quarter of an hour had passed, this man named Du Chengfeng had indeed become an insurmountable mountain in his lifetime.

"Fortunately, he was still willing to enlighten me."

Cui Yuan forced a grim smile.

"It was because of his guidance that I understood that the breaking of the sword wasn’t the end of everything. Or rather, it was because the obsession with the sword was broken that I could embark on a new beginning."

"Could he have done such a thing..."

The carpenter, Li—plagued with confusion—couldn’t help scratching his head. He hadn’t imagined his friend Du, in secret, was such a person.

Competing with a highly skilled swordsman, and after winning, sparing his opponent and even offering guidance... it all sounded like the demeanor of a grandmaster.

Was this brother Du of his such a person in private?

"So, it could be considered a good thing, I think."

After running everything through his mind, Li the Carpenter nodded.

"If it were any ordinary person, being attacked twice in a row, they would surely be furious, perhaps even want to kill you out of anger... Since Brother Du didn’t kill you, doesn’t that mean he is actually a good person?"

"A good person? Is that how you see it?"

Cui Yuan gave a helpless smile.

"For you ordinary people, maybe it does mean that..."

But for martial artists, it’s entirely different.

In the beginning, Cui Yuan hadn’t realized this. After being enlightened by the man named Du Chengfeng, he even managed to defeat his nemesis Liu Qingyun in a duel with half of a broken sword, and understood how to turn evil qi into a sword aura—yet it was only after this duel victory that Cui Yuan realized the matter was far from over.

Indeed, he had defeated the shadow of his childhood, and beaten Liu Qingyun, who had always been his target, but his swordsmanship, his state of mind, still remained at a standstill.

Simply because a new great mountain blocked his path.

To climb over this mountain, sharper swordsmanship was necessary. To overcome this nightmare, more diligent training was required. Therefore, in order to continue onward and to advance further in swordsmanship, he continued roaming the lands of Jizhou, solely for the day he could confront this formidable rival once again.

Fortunately, this opportunity eventually came to him.

It was when he was using a gang of horse bandits for training, preparing to face many opponents alone, that the formidable rival made his way there.

Was it a coincidence, or a destined reunion?

Cui Yuan could not care less at that moment; he only wanted to know if the fruits of his days of training, the five-foot sword aura on his broken sword, could truly surmount this great mountain.

Yet he once again encountered failure.

This time, he deployed a new move, while the man named Du Chengfeng wielded Liu Qingyun’s Broken Horse Long Saber—the former owner of this weapon had once been defeated under his hands, yet now it reappeared before him, how could he possibly lose then?

But just when Cui Yuan believed he could finally defeat this formidable rival, the hard scabbard struck his chest and abdomen.

He had studied and devised a new technique, and that man named Du Chengfeng also used a new skill, seemingly improvised on the spot.

But its effectiveness surpassed even his five-foot sword aura.

"Then he spared me once more, and even offered some guidance."

Cui Yuan sighed deeply upon saying this.

It was only then that he finally realized what the man named Du Chengfeng was truly up to.

"Like an old farmer in the fields, he plants seeds time and again; when the seeds grow into rice crops, he harvests the crops. He has no need to kill me, for I will return with more techniques for him, providing him opportunities to harvest repeatedly, as long as I challenge him over and over again. He will always gain new martial arts skills and hence will become stronger and stronger."

"This..."

Li Mujian grew increasingly bewildered.

What seeds, what old farmer; what on earth was this swordsman named Cui Yuan talking about? He simply couldn’t comprehend.

"Regardless, he let you go, right? That makes him a good person, at least he doesn’t kill indiscriminately."

"Doesn’t kill indiscriminately?"

Cui Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head.

He distinctly remembered the look in the eyes of the man named Du Chengfeng when his sword was broken and he was first spared.

That look plainly said, why not just find a random excuse to kill him.

Even if it was just because he wasn’t wearing a hat.

For someone who would chop off your head simply because you weren’t wearing a hat, calling that person non-killer might be a bit too naive—such a person only needs a reason or an excuse to kill, even if it’s just something as trivial as not wearing a hat.

As a person obsessed with the sword, Cui Yuan knew that compared to ordinary people, his character was already somewhat eccentric. Yet compared with Du Chengfeng, Cui Yuan actually felt that he seemed more normal.

After all, he was merely seeking excuses to hone his martial skills.

But Du Chengfeng...that was another matter altogether.

So the now wiser Cui Yuan readily admitted his defeat. Indeed, having comprehended the path of non-killing made him stronger, but he no longer wished to cross swords with Du Chengfeng again—partly because he didn’t want to be harvested further, and partly because he truly didn’t want to deal with someone who seemed insane.

"So actually, you shouldn’t have advised him to leave."

Thinking of this, Cui Yuan glanced at Li Mujian.

"Perhaps, among ordinary people, this seems the most reasonable thought, but to someone like him... you deprived him of the excuse to kill."

"...Huh?"

Li Mujian became even more puzzled.

"This, what are you talking about? How could you say you deprived him of an excuse to kill? Why would he kill so many people?"

Upon hearing Li Mujian’s question, Cui Yuan just shook his head, too lazy to respond further.

Why kill people? Is this something that even needs to be asked?

It’s simply because by killing, one can become stronger.

In deadly battles, amid bloody slaughters, he could constantly refine his shortcomings, and continually overcome formidable adversaries... as long as killing makes him stronger, and killing more makes him increasingly powerful.

"As long as you kill, you can become stronger..."

Those scenes of bloody slaughter surged in Cui Yuan’s mind, ultimately turning into a sigh.

And far away in the martial repository of Yanzhou, Du Chengfeng also released a similar sigh.

"Can killing indeed make one stronger?"

In the deepest part of the repository, gazing at the huge character "Benevolence," Du Chengfeng remained silent for a long time.

His fingers gently touched the Rectangular Sword hanging below, and Du Chengfeng closed his eyes in contemplation.