Within the arena.
“I didn’t think you had the courage to go through with this,” The corners of Sun Jiutian’s mouth curled in a disdainful sneer.
His body was a bit on the heavy side, but not overly obese and he looked very handsome still. Ding Hao’s eyes were filled with disdain and had a look of provocation in them.
Inwardly, Ding Hao felt calm and unmoved.
However, there were some exceedingly over-enthusiastic female disciples amongst the audience. They were screaming wildly and even accused Sun Jiutian of being too arrogant!
“Wow, Fourth Brother is certainly popular with all the female disciples these days! I never thought he would immediately be the public enemy of females after meeting Ding Hao.” Elder Chen Qidong stroked his chin in surprise.
“He looks rather puny with his small white face, how can he ever be worthy of being Fourth Brother’s opponent?”
“You women are totally short-sighted, not capable of seeing far!”
The others in the Honorable Alliance of Seven shook their heads in dismay when they thought about the distressful situation they were in.
Liang Feixue shook his head and with a dignified look said, “Fourth Brother should be more careful. We don’t know the extent of Ding Hao’s powers.”
Li Muyun nodded in agreement. “Ding Hao is known to be a dark horse with lots of good luck, as his opponents are generally weaker than him. But I think this is just biasness on the people’s part against him. He is known as ‘the first sword in the Eastern Hospital of the Blue Shirt.’ He has never exposed the full strength of his fencing skills, so he could have some tricks hidden up his sleeve!”
Both Li Muyun and Liang Feixue were held in the highest esteem in the Honorable Alliance of Seven and they were among the strongest there. After hearing their comments, the people sobered up and started to observe the competition seriously.
Within the arena.
“Why don’t you jump first, to save yourself the embarrassment of being defeated? Your reputation among your female fans will be greatly tarnished!”
While the judges were checking the equipment of the two men, Sun Jiutian continued taunting Ding Hao.
Ding Hao’s eyes were calm and he remained unruffled.
“You are only a small player and relatively unknown. It is only through sheer luck that you were able to reach the level among the top 13. Do you think you are capable of winning the big competition of the five academies?
Sun Jiutian kept up his provocation of Ding Hao.
Ding Hao’s eyes remained calm, as though he was totally undisturbed by his opponent’s provocation.
“It seems that you are still keen on taking up the challenge. My advice to you is to give up. You are ranked 100th in the total list, while I am at number 64. You are not worthy to be my opponent at all and I will go all out to defeat you. You will be well-advised to throw in the towel now while you still have the chance.”
Sun Jiutian kept up his mockery and taunts. His attitude was one of total scorn for Ding Hao.
The magistrate had done a thorough check on the luggage of the two men and found no hidden weapons. He drew back and signaled that the competition could officially start. The atmosphere around the stage immediately became tense.
“Ha ha, Ding Hao, this is your last chance to leave the ring; or this will be a bitter defeat for you!”
Sun Jiutian burst out laughing and slowly pulled out a sword that was hanging from his waist.
A cold light dripped onto the ground like droplets of mercury and spread around the arena.
This arrogant attitude immediately aroused the anger of Ding Hao’s female disciples and also the disciples from the Eastern Academy of green shirts, especially Zhang Fan and Wang Xiaoqi. They swore aloud, making a lot of noise which echoed around the arena.
Ding Hao raised his hand slightly and made a downward gesture.
Suddenly, strange images appeared.
Following Ding Hao’s gesture, the noise ended abruptly.
The screaming female disciples, Zhang Fan, and the other disciples from the Eastern Academy of green shirts quieted down and silently watched the sun-drenched figure of Ding Hao, as he stood in the challenge arena.
Seeing this, the faces of Li Lan, Li Muyun, and others suddenly changed.
They totally understood what the scenario meant: A certain level of prestige was required in order to complete the picture. Anyone trying to emulate Ding Hao’s actions would end up being scolded mercilessly and even mocked.
Within the arena.
With a smooth hand movement, Ding Hao pulled out a rusty sword from his back. Setting the sword on his chest, he made a slight gesture and stared at Sun Jiutian, his eyes bright and clear.
The old four from the Honorable Alliance of Seven felt his scalp tingle.
The feeling he had, as if he were the target of a monster, made all his muscles tense instinctively.
“One stroke!” Ding Hao felt as if he was in a tunnel.
“What’s going on?” Sun Jiutian did not understand what was happening.
“If you are able to capture my one stroke, then you are the winner!” Ding Hao declared.
Sun Jiutian was stunned. However, his anger soon changed into mocking laughter. “You are indeed arrogant; don’t blame me for not sparing you!”
“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz…!”
The sound of a bell rang out.
The tournament had officially begun.
“Whoosh!”
Ding Hao performed the “Jinghong Step” with his feet. His blue shirt streaked through the air, like an arrow flying rapidly from the bow. With his black hair streaming backward, he headed rapidly for Sun Jiutian.
“Ha, ha, how dare you to show off in front of me; It is merely a “Jinghong Step” move.
Sun Jiutian laughed aloud, a hint of contempt showing in his eyes.
He did not even bother to try to escape.
He held a fine steel sword in his hand, leaning it on the ground. Sun Jiutian’s long hair and clothes were ruffled by the strong breeze blowing unceasingly.
Sun Jiutian made his move only when Ding Hao was less than one meter away from him.
Two bright lights burst from his eyes.
Suddenly, the long steel sword in his hand quivered and emitted a series of sounds, which resembled that of a dragon’s roar. It flashed blindingly in the sunlight and had a surreal quality about it.
At the same time, a strong and aggressive momentum emerged from his plump body.
The temperature instantly raised, the air felt scorching hot.
Swimming Dragon Sword Style!
Flame Attribute Qi!
A thunderous uproar could be heard around the arena.
The Honorable Alliance of Seven was made up of excellent young masters.
Sun Jiutian was ranked fourth in the Honorable Alliance of Seven and has been around since the early period of the three orifices in the three-apertured Martial Disciple state. It also mastered the sword skill “Swimming Dragon Sword Style” and condensed their own flame attribute Qi. Such skills were definitely the way to attain the next level in the magic skills martial arts way.
The crowd could not help exclaiming out loud.
This “Swimming Dragon Sword Style” move combined with the high temperature of the flame attribute Qi; its power was definitely not inferior to the superior sword skills of Lyu Kuang and Liang Feixue.
“Ding Hao, how will you overcome this?”
At the next moment, a flash of light from the challenge arena, gave them the answer.
While everyone thought that the appearance of Sun Jiutian’s sword was not something to be scoffed at, Ding Hao seemed unperturbed by it. He did not evade the onslaught of the attack. Instead, with his rusty sword that seemed incredibly fragile and looked like it could break off any time, he faced his opponent unflinchingly.
The sword seemed to be clueless.
It felt like an ordinary guy who did not know the art of defending displayed those fancy moves.
