Sancheng Huang moved into a stance, and his aura increased like the tide had arrived, but it only lasted for a moment, as if his biofield and mind had both vanished.

If Chen Chuan did not see him right in front of him, he would be unsure as to whether Sancheng Huang was even around.

“This is known as the Returning Dive. I’ve only just mastered it. When I attack or defend while in this state, it uses my mental foundation, so I can’t keep it up for long. Do be careful now.”

He lifted his saber, and when the wind blew over the hill, he appeared in front of Chen Chuan, as if he had teleported over. His saber also came swinging down silently.

This time, he no longer feared their weapons clashing.

This was because he had become sure that Chen Chuan wasn’t going to kill him from the spar earlier, and the voice in his mind had calmed down. It allowed him to fight at full strength.

Chen Chuan could sense that Sancheng Huang had become serious, and this was precisely what he wanted. Even though Sancheng Huang’s presence was difficult to detect, he couldn’t hide himself completely.

So, he brought his saber up and blocked Sancheng Huang’s saber with a loud clang.

Sancheng Huang might have sounded like a coward, but he swung his saber with great power. Based on what Chen Chuan could sense, Sancheng Huang was no weaker than the Iron Monster after he unleashed his full strength. The moment their sabers clashed, Chen Chuan could feel a wave of mental energy surging into him.

It was something Jiancheng Sheng and the opponents before Sancheng Huang had never been able to do. Since Chen Chuan had been sparring against Hongfu for days, he instinctively used the Hollowed Heart Mark to fend against the attack. If the mental energy tried to attack his mind, he could immediately retaliate.

But Sancheng Huang was experienced in this area. His mental energy retreated after lingering around for just a bit and did not enter any further. Since his first attack didn’t land, he delivered a second one. It seemed like he was using some kind of unique technique, because he could make use of the momentum from his previous slash and keep attacking without pause. His attacks also became faster, just like a tidal wave.

After parrying a few strikes, Chen Chuan could tell that Sancheng Huang was building up power, and he wasn’t just talking about the refined force in his attacks. He was even building up his mental energy, and once he reached a certain amount, it was going to be released like an explosion, so he couldn’t let this continue.

When the next strike came, Chen Chuan’s mutated tissue increased the power in his saber. At the same time, the Mind Shattering Hammer was added to his attack. The moment their weapons clashed, Sancheng Huang unleashed the mental energy he had been accumulating in secret.

Their mental energies rammed into each other, and Chen Chuan felt his mental gemstone shine brilliantly, while light shone from Sancheng Huang’s eyes.

Chen Chuan could sense that Sancheng Huang’s mental energy was, without a doubt, much stronger than his. After all, he had only just begun training his mind. However, after Hongfu trained up his mental gemstone, he could defend it properly, and it did not tremble in the slightest.

The exchange was not just a mental clash. It was also a contest of physical strength. The power Chen Chuan put into his saber was clearly higher than Sancheng Huang’s, which allowed him to block Sancheng Huang’s fierce momentum.

Sancheng Huang froze for a moment. His mutated tissue was forced to negate the refined force that charged into him. Then, Chen Chuan’s saber flashed and came at him. It was completely unaffected by the attack just now.

Sancheng Huang wasn’t supposed to be able to block the attack in time, but a wave of refined force gushed out of him. It drew him back and let him block all of Chen Chuan’s attacks.

This was Fierce Wave School’s secret technique, Tide Viewing. As he attacked and defended, he could keep building up power. Whenever he swung his saber, he could gather a bit of power, and when he built up enough, that power could surge forth like a tidal wave. If he had a hard time attacking, that was fine. He could use it for defense as well.

After blocking seven slashes, the power he had accumulated was depleted, and his momentum as well as strength began to decline, but Sancheng Huang used this moment to recollect himself.

Right then, he noticed Chen Chuan speeding up.

In a flash, blood essence rushed out of his heart to increase his speed and strength so that he could fend against this change in speed.

If this were a fight to the death and he couldn’t find a chance to turn the tables after doing this, he would suffer a huge setback, but this was just a sparring session, and it didn’t matter who won. So, Sancheng Huang didn’t mind using his blood essence. As long as he could block the attacks and keep the fight going, that was good enough.

Over the next few minutes, they were engaged in a fierce exchange of offense and defense. They also acted in seamless understanding and never pushed the fight to one where the other must die. They kept it within a reasonable boundary.

When they negated each other’s refined force, they also gauged the other’s mental energy.

This act of observing the fight and analysing all the information they got required high-levels of concentration, which the average martial artist wouldn’t be able to handle.

Chen Chuan finally understood that those who had gone through mental training had a huge advantage in such fights. Those who had not started down this journey wouldn’t be able to withstand a refined mental energy attack.

If he could make use of it properly, it would be like using his physical abilities to overpower his opponent with one single attack.

Sancheng Huang’s use of mental energy showed great foundation and advanced technique. Since he had reached the state where his body could move exactly as his mind wanted, he didn’t even need to think when attacking or retreating. He just moved according to what his mind wanted as he fought against his enemy.

Chen Chuan had tried a few times to empty his mind with the Hollowed Heart Mark and lure Sancheng Huang into attacking him, but Sancheng Huang never fell for it. He didn’t think it was because Sancheng Huang knew about the technique, but because he sensed danger beforehand.

Unless Chen Chuan’s physical abilities were much higher, there was no way he could defeat him before his opponent’s mental energy ran out.

After sparring for half an hour, Sancheng Huang suddenly took a step back and lowered his saber. “Let’s stop, Mr. Chen! I’ve used up most of my mental foundation and blood essence. If we continue fighting, I’m going to collapse!”

Chen Chuan laughed. Even though Sancheng Huang said that he was going to collapse, judging by how lively he sounded, he still had plenty of mental foundation and blood essence left. But this was just a sparring session and not a fight to the death. If they continued fighting, they would just be depleting their foundations, so there really wasn’t any need for that.

Chen Chuan pulled his saber back as well and nodded. “Thanks for all the tips you gave me during the fight. I learned a lot.”

Sancheng Huang bowed to him. “You flatter me, Mr. Chen. I seldom see anyone as generous as you are. It was a pleasure for me to fight against you.”

Just then, he saw the Frost King Saber’s sheath next to his feet. With a stern expression, he picked it up and handed it to Chen Chuan with both hands.

Chen Chuan took it and nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Sancheng.”

Sancheng Huang bowed to him again.

Once Chen Chuan sheathed his saber, he took a look around the area. When they were fighting, they hadn’t paid too much attention to their surroundings. Even so, not much of the place was damaged.

They might not have used their full strength, but the Strange God Temple’s durability was still impressive.

Demolishing a building required a lot of money, and it was also far away from the downtown area. It was practically at the edge of the city, so it was no wonder why no one had taken over the place.

Still, it would be a good place to set up a martial arts school used specifically for sparring.

Sancheng Huang smoothed out his clothes and resheathed his saber, then walked over and looked down. “My grandmother and mother once lived here. According to them, they came here to pray every day. They didn’t actually believe in the Strange God, but for their families, they would pray every day. Even when they moved to the island nations, they kept up the habit. By then, the god they worshipped changed, but their hearts remained the same.”

Chen Chuan nodded at that, but he could hear an underlying meaning behind Sancheng Huang’s tone. “Have you seen a god in the island nations?”

“Something like that. Later on, I learned that it might just be a mutated creature that is affected by some existence from the other world. It demands two children as sacrifices every month,” Sancheng Huang said as he recalled the past.

“When I was around six or seven, I remember following the villagers to a worship session, and I saw that thing crawling out of the sea. It looked like a lump of mud that covered the entire beach. At that time, I heard and saw a lot of illusions.”

After that, he saw a saber flash, and the illusory world was cut apart. When he opened his eyes, he saw a tall figure standing in front of them with his back turned to them. In his hands, he held an extraordinarily long saber, while the large thing had already dissolved into fetid water.

He let his eyes fall partially shut. Even though Sancheng Huang was a martial artist, whenever he remembered that day, the dark clouds, roaring waves, and the pained wails of the children still caused him to shudder.

That scene was burned into his mind and heart like a brand.

“How are you compared to your master?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Him? I’m far weaker than he is. My master has reached the state where he is one with the mind. He’s a sabermaster who inherited the title of the Guardian of the School,” Sancheng Huang answered honestly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“One with the mind?”

“This is a state above moving as the mind wants. Your mind is you, and you are your mind. There is no barrier between your body and mind, and you can move at will. Once you reach that state, you start walking down the path of transcending human limits.

“The techniques you learn at this state are the true essence of Fierce Wave School. Unfortunately, only the masters of the school can learn them. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to learn them.”

After hearing that, Chen Chuan had a feeling that being one with the mind allowed the mind and body to perfectly fuse together. But Fenghe Shou had surpassed that state? If that were the case, being a sabermaster was probably their equivalent of a martial arts master. After all, many of the island nations kept the titles from the old era.

Only that sort of status was enough for a person to make a martial arts school strong.

“I’ve learned a lot today, Mr. Sancheng. Can I spar with you again some time?” Chen Chuan asked.

Sancheng Huang bowed to him. “I’m going to be staying in Jibei Road for a while. After sparring with you, I learned a lot too. If you’d like to spar again, I’d be happy to do it.”