On the arena.
Ding Hao did not attack again. He held the hilt in his palms and saluted with his hands folded together. He smiled slightly and said, “Great sword technique! You’re really good, perhaps we can be friends and learn from each other often in the future.”
“I can’t ask for anything better.” Fang Tianyi did not speak much. He nodded at Ding Hao and then turned to jump off the arena.
Below the arena.
The way the youths looked at Fang Tianyi had changed as well. Their eyes were filled with respect and awe.
Even though he had lost, he had done it graciously. The sword technique that he had shown was a rank or even a realm higher than most. If he had not encountered an expert like Ding Hao, he would no doubt have won.
There was a short pause, and suddenly, loud applause and cheers filled the room.
Everyone cheered for the battle of swordsmanship. The exciting martial arts contest had also ignited the will to win and competitiveness in each youth’s heart. Everyone was about the same age and was all talented. Their hearts pumped hot with blood. There was not much cunningness in their eyes, and they could be friends easily.
Ding Hao who was standing on the arena felt a little touched as well.
This atmosphere seemed to have brought him back to his previous life when he was in high school. He recalled the times he spent with his best buddies doing ridiculous things in their youths.
He bowed to his fellow male apprentices below the arena and returned to the side.
After this battle, Ding Hao had firmly established his position in the Eastern Academy of green shirts.
Moreover, many of his fellow disciples below the arena all grew to like this gentle and dignified young swordsman who had exceptional sword technique and a mesmerizing smile on his face all the time. Ding Hao was considered the oldest amongst all of the disciples and made them all feel as if he was an older brother they could count on.
…
In the four hours or so that followed, one disciple after another jumped onto the arena and challenged the 10 representatives.
However, no one tried to challenge Ding Hao again.
Because Ding Hao’s previous performance had already convinced the disciples of the Eastern Academy of green shirts in terms of both strength and manner.
The battles were considered thrilling.
Ding Hao also gained a clearer understanding of the strengths of the disciples of the Eastern Academy of green shirts.
Most of them were about to enter the Martial Disciple state and had just activated their Qi seed. Only four of them had activated the first aperture of the first meridian of Martial Arts also known as the First Meridian of Hand’s Minor Yang. Their abilities were at the one-apertured Martial Disciple state.
Moreover, these four people were all among the 10 seeds chosen by the cynical Teacher-in-Charge.
The final result of the battles was that no one had managed to defeat the 10 seeded fighters.
One had to admire the cynical Wang Juefeng for his foresight in this aspect. He did not look very dependable, but the people he had chosen randomly were indeed the strongest 10 among all 400 youths.
The youth from the hunter family, Zhang Fan, had also jumped onto the area for a challenge.
However, his strength was pitifully low. Other than his strong physical body, he had not managed to grasp any magic skills. He had not cultivated systematically Martial Arts either. As such, Zhang Fan had been tossed off the arena with a single slap by a burly youth who was as large as a bear among the seeded 10 fighters called Li Juling. The crowd had laughed loudly at that.
Zhang Fan was not annoyed either.
He knew his own capabilities.
He had gone onto the arena not to gain a position. Instead, he wanted to take every training opportunity to temper himself.
In the end, the youths were all agreeable to the cynical Teacher-in-Charge’s arrangements.
This was also the end of the first martial arts contest in the Eastern Academy of green shirts.
The ten seeded youths were ascertained to be the 10 strongest powerhouses of the Eastern Academy of green shirts for now. They had gained the right to represent the academy in the competition of the five academies in two days.
On the arena.
The cynical, bearded Teacher-in-Charge looked at the wounded youths below and laughed evilly. “Hahaha, nothing would have happened if you followed my arrangements. But you insist on coming up to get beaten, wounding yourselves and wasting six hours of my time. You are all stupid and serve you right. Haha!”
This man was indeed talented at making people hate him.
His single statement made all the youths stare at him angrily.
“Haha, alright. Brats, listen up. I’m going to teach you the first level of the cultivation method in “Taixuan Sword-seeking Scripture”. You have to practice diligently when you return.”
When he said that, the cynical bearded man started to look serious.
“Listen up, “Taixuan Sword-seeking Scripture” might be a top-level magic skill in the human realm, but it is the first level cultivation skill in Snow Province. It is the basis of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect when it was built on the land of the Snow Province. It can definitely help you to build the firmest foundation in your magic skills. Practice seriously and don’t try to do it all in one day. Don’t even think of those advanced cultivation skills in the scripture hall.”
Ding Hao nodded.
He was right.
According to the half-baked “Swordsmanship-seeking Sect Chronicles”, “Taixuan Sword-seeking Scripture” was indeed the sturdiest foundational cultivation skill. To the many youths who have just started learning Martial Arts, such cultivation skills were more suitable than the advanced magic skills on the Qi ranking.
The bearded Teacher-in-Charge might be cynical. However, he was very patient when teaching cultivation skills.
The first lesson ended only after all 400 disciples of the Eastern Academy of green shirts had more or less memorized the skill. Then, they all left the main hall of the martial house.
…
After returning to the No.8 hall with Zhang Fan, Ding Hao ate his dinner hurriedly and started cultivating in seclusion once more.
The bright moonlight streamed in through the window, looking like silver frost on the floor. It made the whole room looked silent and peaceful.
Ding Hao sat cross-legged in the middle of the entrance hall with his eyes slightly shut. He comprehended the first level of the cultivation method and incantation of “Taixuan Sword-seeking Scripture” in his mind.
“It is indeed a top-level magic skill cultivation method of the human realm. It is much more brilliant compared to the common “Drawing Qi formula”. It is more complicated and mysterious no matter in the method of drawing Qi and pathways of moving Qi.”
Ding Hao tried to draw his Qi according to the cultivation method in “Taixuan Sword-seeking Scripture”.
The warmth that was several times warmer than before grew in his dantian in almost the time of a single thought.
If the Qi drawn from the “Drawing Qi Formula” was a stream, then the Qi moved by “Taixuan Sword-seeking Scripture” was like a great river. It flowed nonstop, and its power crashed into Ding Hao’s dantian.
“How powerful! The effect of the highest grade magic skill is really no trivial matter. No wonder it is so popular.”
Ding Hao sighed appreciatively.
In the blink of an eye, the “Seed of Qi” in Ding Hao’s dantian had already grown to two times its previous size. It was a silvery white color like ice and was crystal clear. It shone brilliantly, looking solid and thick, as if it were a beautiful giant pearl.
Ding Hao used the cultivation method and activated the “Seed of Qi”. It rotated slowly, releasing continuous tendrils of silver Qi that looked like mist, nurturing his dantian and physical body.
The moonlight shone on his body like a layer of frost. A pure and clean aura slowly spread throughout his exquisite and handsome face.
Two hours later.
Ding Hao slowly opened his eyes, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
