Chapter 15: The Shift in Public Opinion
"Holy crap, did I see that right? Xiao Chen's sword strike just now had five parts Sword Intent!"
"You weren't seeing things. But wasn't Xiao Chen already a cripple? Can someone tell me what just happened?"
Xiao Chen paid no attention to the crowd's chatter. He walked straight through the sea of people and found a quiet corner to rest. He murmured to himself:
"I'm still not strong enough. I lost control of my Sword Intent just now. Three parts would've been enough to handle that guy."
As he finished speaking, he suddenly sensed someone approaching. Turning his head, he saw that it was Liu Yue'er.
"Senior Brother, congratulations," Liu Yue'er said with a bright smile.
She had learned Xiao Chen's assigned match number and had been waiting here early, curious to see how he would make his comeback.
And just like that, his very first match stunned the entire outer court of the Dao Seeking Academy.
'Senior Brother is the best, as always.'
"Junior Sister flatters me. It was just the first round."
Looking at the young girl before him, Xiao Chen, usually stoic and serious, couldn't help but show a rare faint smile at the corners of his lips.
"Right, Junior Sister, which arena are you on? I'll come cheer you on later."
There were thousands of outer court disciples in the Sword Dao Institute, and nearly everyone participated in the outer sect competition. Even with ten arenas, the first round would take quite a while to finish.
Liu Yue'er's eyes lit up with joy. "I'm at Arena Ten, right next door. But it'll be a while before I go on. Aren't you going to go back and cultivate, Senior Brother?"
In her memory, Senior Brother had always been a cultivation maniac who never wasted a second.
Xiao Chen chuckled, "No need to rush. I can use this chance to see if you've been slacking in your training."
Liu Yue'er was surprised. It felt like her senior brother had changed completely after training in the Miscellaneous Dao Institute for just a few months.
She nodded earnestly. "Senior Brother, I won't let you down."
"I'll be waiting to see," Xiao Chen replied.
Not far from the two, a cold, murderous gaze locked onto Xiao Chen.
It was Tang Feng.
Like Liu Yue'er, he had arrived at Arena Nine early, originally to watch Xiao Chen lose and then take the chance to publicly humiliate him.
But he hadn't expected Xiao Chen to win in one strike, leaving the whole audience stunned.
The lackey next to him quickly comforted, "Senior Brother, that Xiao Chen guy just got lucky. Once he meets a real opponent, he's toast."
Others nearby also chimed in.
"Yeah, his luck carried him this round. He won't make it far, much less into the top hundred."
"Hmph!" Tang Feng snorted coldly. "Go investigate who Xiao Chen's upcoming opponents are. If there are any tough ones, make sure they cripple him again."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
The lackey responded and quickly left.
On the viewing platform—
Chu Feng showed no surprise on his face as he watched his disciple defeat his opponent with a single sword strike, as though everything had gone exactly according to his plan.
The Alchemy King, Xuanhuo, laughed. "Xiao Feng, didn't expect your disciple to have some skill. But with just Dao Foundation Stage Level Two and five parts Sword Intent, there's no way he's winning first place."
Chu Feng politely replied, "Senior speaks the truth. Xiao Chen only has that much strength—there's no way he's taking first."
"...?"
Xuanhuo was briefly stunned, but being an old fox, he quickly caught on—Chu Feng was implying that his disciple had other trump cards.
'Looks like this competition is about to get interesting,' Xuanhuo thought as he subconsciously turned to look at the Sword King sitting nearby.
The Sword King's expression was dark and unreadable, his eyes filled with doubt.
As the head of the Sword Dao Institute, he knew Xiao Chen's condition better than anyone. When Xiao Chen left the Sword Dao Institute, he had only grasped three parts of Sword Intent.
Yet now, in just a few months, he had already reached five?
If he kept progressing like this, wouldn't Xiao Chen be able to truly comprehend Sword Intent within a year—unlocking his own unique sword path?
What surprised the Sword King the most wasn't just that Xiao Chen had grasped five parts of Sword Intent, but—
'How does this brat still have Dao Foundation Stage Level Two cultivation?'
His dantian was supposed to be destroyed. Unless he relied on medicinal pills to preserve it, his cultivation should've been deteriorating.
But the Miscellaneous Dao Institute is practically dirt poor. Could they even afford to buy spirit medicine?
'Unless Chu Feng threw in all his resources just to make this gamble?'
He immediately sent a voice transmission to the disciple behind him:
"Take my command token and go to the External Affairs Hall. Check whether Chu Feng has recently bought any spirit medicines."
The External Affairs Hall was one of the ten major institutes of Dao Seeking Academy, along with Heavenly Spirit, Sword Dao, Spell Cultivation, Body Tempering, Formation Dao, Beast Taming, Alchemy, Weapon Forging, and the Miscellaneous Dao Institutes.
However, the External Affairs Hall didn't take disciples or train cultivators—it handled all administrative tasks in the academy. So naturally, its head wasn't present at the tournament.
"Yes, Master."
The disciple responded and immediately left.
He had no idea why his master wanted him to investigate something so trivial, but following the Sword King's orders never led him wrong.
As for the other institute heads, their expressions remained mostly indifferent.
After all, Xiao Chen had no ties to them, and none of them had bet against Chu Feng either. No matter what rank Xiao Chen ended up with, it had nothing to do with them.
…
In the following days—
Xiao Chen continued to overwhelm every opponent, winning each match with just a single sword strike.
His reputation shifted rapidly.
Disciples who had once thought of him as an easy pushover now avoided him like the plague. No one could figure out how strong he really was.
But based on his current performance, entering the top 100 was all but guaranteed. Some even believed he might secure a very high spot within the hundred, earning better rewards and more academy resources.
In the Outer Court Tournament, everyone in the top 100 would receive prizes—and each additional victory meant even more generous rewards.
Even those who had originally bet on Xiao Chen losing quickly changed their tune and started wagering on him to win.
This scared Cao Youqian so much that he had to adjust Xiao Chen's odds before every match.
He glanced at Xiao Chen's championship odds, then recalled the look in Xiao Chen's eyes the day he placed that huge bet.
'Could this guy really win the whole tournament?'
'If he does… won't I be ruined?'
A chill ran down Cao Youqian's spine at the thought.
…
Inside the Miscellaneous Dao Institute—
Xiao Chen was currently chopping firewood with his sword. Why not slicing vegetables?
Because his master said: 'You still can't fully control your Sword Intent. You're not worthy of touching the kitchen yet.'
Half an hour later—
A table of fragrant, steaming dishes was served.
Chu Feng sat at the table, smiling as he looked at his beloved first disciple.
"Tomorrow is the final match of the preliminaries. Win that, and you'll be in the top 100. Eat up."
"Thank you, Master."
Xiao Chen cheerfully dug into the food, completely at ease. He had no pressure about tomorrow's match—making it into the top 100 was already in the bag.
But not everyone wanted Xiao Chen to reach the top 100.
That night, in the back mountain of the Sword Dao Institute, two shadowy figures appeared…
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