BOOM!
Long Chen and Luo Zichuan were both sent flying, both of them speckled with blood. But Long Chen had more blood on him.
"You still dare to hold back at this time? Do you want to die?" barked Luo Zichuan.
"If I kill you, I won't be able to face my mother. She's had a hard enough time. I can't add to her pain."
Blood slowly dripped down Long Chen's body, but his aura remained in his strongest state.
"Fool, if you don't use your full power, how will you comprehend the true Saber Dao? Without comprehending the true Saber Dao, you will be cut down by others. With your power, even ten thousand of you wouldn't be able to kill me. Keep holding back and I'll kill you. Rather than dying to someone else in the future, it would be better for you to die to my hands." Luo Zichuan's eyes began to grow brighter until they were like two violet suns.
A violet sea appeared behind him. For the first time, Luo Zichuan summoned his manifestation. Violet qi filled the world, and a majestic bloodline power was unleashed.
In that instant, Long Chen felt the surrounding space press down on him fiercely. It was as if Luo Zichuan had become the ruler of this space, and a single thought from him could kill him.
Long Chen was shocked. Luo Zichuan had said that he would only use his power in the Four Peak realm. He hadn't expected Luo Zichuan to become so terrifying after activating his primal bloodline. Despite being in the Four Peak realm, his aura was far more terrifying than late stage Divine Lords.
With Luo Zichuan's primal bloodline activated and his manifestation out, Long Chen felt an intense sense of death. He knew that Luo Zichuan didn't want to kill him, but with him going all-out, if he couldn't receive this attack, he would definitely die. Even Luo Zichuan himself wouldn't be able to stop it.
"Divine ring! Battle armor!"
A pillar of light exploded out of Long Chen, forcing back the violet qi. A dragon roar resounded throughout this space. The entire Luo family shuddered, its buildings creaking. Cracks appeared in some buildings, and the Luo family's experts hastily activated the formations, protecting those buildings.
Luo Changwu, Qin Feng, Xu Zixiong, Bai Xiaole, Luo Bing, and the others all stared in shock in the direction of the Honing Heavenly Staircase.
They saw two pillars of light, one violet and one golden. They blasted away the clouds, piercing the firmament of the heavens, forming a giant vortex. It was even possible to see a twisted starry river within that vortex.
"It's been so many years since I've seen the family head's manifestation. Back then, with a violet sea over his head and the Violet Fern in his hand, he killed those powerful experts until they collapsed and fled in terror…"
Countless elders of the Luo family grew emotional when they saw the violet light. They had followed Luo Zichuan in that battle back then. They felt like they had returned to that time.
"I didn't expect that the family head would personally instruct Long Chen. The three of us never got any pointers!" Luo Zichuan bitterly smiled.
His memories of his father were rather vague. He didn't recall his father ever hugging him. The number of times that he had seen him did not surpass ten.
Luo Zichuan was mysterious and emotionless. Others respected and revered him, treating him like a god. Not one person was ever capable of analyzing his thoughts.
Luo Zichuan was personally guiding Long Chen now? Furthermore, it had almost been twenty days. Even Luo Changwu didn't know what exactly he was feeling inside.
As their sabers collided, divine light raged. Their sabers were wrapped with Heavenly Dao energy, unleashing giant saber-images that made it look like enormous sabers were clashing. It was like a battle of gods.
This was Long Chen's first time feeling so refreshed. He felt like he had limitless power, like Kunpeng swimming in the vast sea and soaring above the nine heavens. He felt free.
BOOM!
The two retreated at the same time. Luo Zichuan's violet qi returned within him. Long Chen also deactivated his battle armor.
Long Chen was extremely grateful to Luo Zichuan, and he also felt great reverence for him. He was definitely the strongest person he had met. His attainments of the Saber Dao seemed to have reached a kind of limit.
The current him was a completely different person from before he had come to the Luo family. Thanks to Luo Zichuan's sharpening, he had turned from a dull blade to a divine blade unleashing a brilliant light.
"The fight can end here. You have essentially comprehended seventy percent of my saber realm. The remaining thirty percent would only restrict you if I taught it to you. In that case, you would only ever become a second Luo Zichuan. You would never surpass me. Next, I will teach you some principles. Whether or not you can understand is up to yourself." Luo Zichuan sat lotus style on the ground.
Long Chen also respectfully sat in front of him, listening with rapt attention.
"You have comprehended the saber realm, but have neglected saber techniques. This is unacceptable. Your mental realm is extremely high. You've comprehended many principles. But great intellect has drawbacks. The Honing Heavenly Stair has ninety-nine steps, but you think that only the final nine steps have any use. It's like a starving person who ate fifty buns just to feel full. He thinks that that the fiftieth bun filled him, while neglecting the contribution of the first forty-nine. Within the laws of heaven and earth, what is most important is progressing in the correct sequence. If your footsteps are too big, you will neglect many things. The most perfect things look as if they have flaws. Wisdom lies within small things. In the same principle, the Major Daos lie within the Minor Daos. By grasping the small things, it leads you to bigger and bigger things, until you can see the whole universe," said Luo Zichuan.
"Junior understands. Whether or not something has a use or not depends entirely on whether a person feels that it has a use or not." Long Chen nodded.
Through this battle, he had comprehended many things that he had previously neglected. As a Heaven Master, he understood countless principles. But after his battle with Luo Zichuan, he was completely ashamed of himself.
Back then in the Dao discussion convention, he had brazenly said that everyone else was spouting nonsense. Now he felt like he was the one slapping his face.
Luo Zichuan was the true example of someone experienced with both theory and practice. Long Chen had walked many paths. But he was always looking forward, while neglecting his own footsteps.
Although he stood at this height, he had neglected his process of rushing over here. He had not taken the time to enjoy the scenery at every stop.
Long Chen had always felt that memorizing saber techniques was weaker than fighting freely. If he had a technique, it would have a flaw. A styleless form lacked flaws. At least, that was what he had thought. Luo Zichuan had used himself to show him just how important proper technique was.
He had not yet reached the realm of needing no form, but had tried to comprehend the essence of a formless form. It was the very picture of someone with a high standard, but little ability. That was a grave taboo for a cultivator. He had actually been making such a taboo without even realizing it. That was why Luo Zichuan scolded him as foolish. He was fully convinced.
Luo Zichuan nodded. "Not bad. For you to be able to say such a thing means that you have truly understood. Other than that, let us discuss the Heavenly Daos. Do you know why the Heavenly Daos dislike you?"