“Our master doesn’t need to be here; he can still see everything, so you all must perform well,” True Man Still said with a smile.
“Excellent!” Feiyu clenched his fist, glancing at Ling Xiao, clearly eager to spar with him on the spot. Although killing or severely injuring was forbidden in the Martial Performance Hall, teaching Ling Xiao a lesson would suffice.
“Since today is an assessment, everyone must participate. However, it’s best to choose an opponent of similar strength for sparring; otherwise, it holds little value.”
The assessment was not a competition but an examination designed by Master Baiyun to evaluate the disciples’ cultivation progress. Naturally, only opponents of comparable strength could reveal any issues. If the strength gap was too wide, there was no point in sparring.
“Brother Still, that would waste too much time. Why not let me hold the stage and have everyone spar with me? During the spar, I can suppress my cultivation to match my opponent’s level. What do you think?” Ming Tian said with a smile.
“That’s not a bad idea. Using you as a benchmark would make it fairer,” True Man Still nodded after some thought.
Master Baiyun had not set rigid rules for the assessment, so True Man Still had the final say.
“Who’s first?” Ming Tian stood in the centre of the Martial Performance Hall, looking at the other eleven with a smile.
“I’ll go!” The first to step up was unexpectedly Zuo Leng.
The two were likely familiar with each other, and at equal cultivation levels, they fought evenly, neither gaining the upper hand.
Indeed, their talent and potential were quite similar, though Ming Tian’s cultivation was significantly higher than Zuo Leng’s.
Afterwards, Feiyu, Feiliu, Die Wu, Zhu Hua, Lu Xing, Shi Lei, Ling Yixue, Dai Yuling, and Leng Mei each took turns sparring with Ming Tian.
Ling Yixue lasted the longest, holding her own for a hundred moves without falling behind. However, after a hundred moves, she began to falter. Although Ming Tian suppressed his cultivation, the quality and depth of his true essence still surpassed Ling Yixue’s. More importantly, he used an extraordinary martial art, and Ling Yixue was defeated after a hundred and twenty moves.
This was expected.
What shocked everyone was Leng Mei. She lasted just behind Ling Yixue, holding out for over ninety moves before being defeated, and even left a scar on Ming Tian’s hand.
“Hm?” A surprised voice sounded from the darkness.
Others didn’t notice, but Ling Xiao did. Master Baiyun had been observing the assessment all along, just without showing himself.
“You’re the last one!” Ming Tian looked at Ling Xiao with a grin and said, “I’m very interested in you. Come on.”
Ling Xiao shook his head and said, “Let’s skip it.”
“Why?” Ming Tian asked, puzzled.
“Under equal cultivation, you would lose, and it wouldn’t offer me much training value,” Ling Xiao explained. “It would be more effective for me to spar with Dai Yuling, who’s at the early eighth level of the Martial Vein.”
“Outrageous! Are you looking down on Brother Ming Tian?” Before Ming Tian could respond, a group of geniuses from Tianren Academy were displeased.
“Not at all!” Ling Xiao couldn’t be bothered to explain further. He genuinely wasn’t looking down on Ming Tian; he was simply confident that, at equal cultivation, he was stronger. Without pressure, such a spar would be meaningless.
“Ling Xiao, you can’t be the exception. Spar with Ming Tian first. This is to assess your cultivation progress, not to show off your bravery,” True Man Still said, looking at Ling Xiao.
“Fine, since it’s you speaking, I’ll comply,” Ling Xiao said. He knew True Man Still was close to Lin Ze, and even if he didn’t respect others, he had to give True Man Still some face. So, he stood up.
“Junior Brother Ling, your cultivation is at the late seventh level of the Martial Vein, right? Don’t worry, I’ll suppress mine to the early seventh level. If you win, I’ll call you Senior Brother,” Ming Tian said coldly, clearly provoked by Ling Xiao’s words.
“No need for that. I heard Senior Brother Ming Tian has a fine treasure sword called the Snowfall Sword. If I win, how about gifting it to me?” Ling Xiao replied with a faint shake of his head.
“Hahaha, no problem!” Ming Tian was confident he wouldn’t lose to Ling Xiao.
With an extraordinary internal cultivation method and extraordinary martial techniques, along with quasi-extraordinary movement and defensive martial arts, he found cross-level challenges as easy as drinking water. Ling Xiao was only at the late seventh level of the Martial Vein, and Ming Tian believed suppressing his cultivation to the early seventh level was more than enough.
After all, when he was at the peak of the sixth level, he had single-handedly killed a peak seventh-level martial artist. Facing Ling Xiao with early seventh-level cultivation was already cautious enough. He wasn’t being arrogant.
“Thank you, Senior Brother,” Ling Xiao said with a smile.
“Alright, make your move,” Ming Tian said, waving his hand.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Ling Xiao’s figure vanished from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Ming Tian.
The entire process was almost like teleportation.
It was too fast!
Everyone present was astonished.
Even Ling Yixue, who knew Ling Xiao well, hadn’t expected his speed to have become so terrifying compared to before. No wonder he said that even Ming Tian, at equal cultivation, couldn’t beat him. This movement technique alone was enough to make him invincible.
“Quasi-extraordinary movement technique? No, this is an entry-level extraordinary martial art!” True Man Still, the master of Baiyun Temple, suddenly narrowed his eyes, staring at Ling Xiao in disbelief.
He was correct.
In those seven days, Ling Xiao had successfully upgraded Soaring Cloud Step.
Now, Soaring Cloud Step had undergone a complete transformation, evolving into an entry-level extraordinary martial art.
Its name had also changed to Cloud Dragon Divine Movement.
This evolution was far more thorough than before.
After all, evolving into an extraordinary martial art naturally warranted such a significant change.
Blood Blade Shadow King Strike!
Ling Xiao instantly pushed the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique to the peak of its sixth level, and the remnant soul of the blood blade appeared behind him, unleashing a killing move.
It was an extremely eerie shadow, striking from a position Ming Tian could never have anticipated.
As the sword light flashed, the crowd gasped.
“Ah!”
Ming Tian had no chance to resist and was pierced through by the sword.
“I told you, at equal cultivation, you’re no match for me, let alone at the early seventh level. If this were a life-and-death battle, you’d be dead!” Ling Xiao returned to his original position, standing there with a cold expression.
If he couldn’t instantly defeat a martial artist at the early seventh level, all his years of training would have been for nothing.
“Hmph, Ming Tian, you fool, you underestimated him!” Zuo Leng couldn’t help but curse.
Though he said this, if he were in Ming Tian’s place, he would likely have suffered a similar setback against Ling Xiao.
“Shut up!” Ming Tian glared at Zuo Leng, then, while healing his wound, looked at Ling Xiao and said, “Well done. I admit I underestimated you. Let’s have another round, this time at equal cultivation. How about it?”
Being pierced through the abdomen by Ling Xiao’s sword wasn’t a big deal for him, but it was utterly humiliating. He wanted to reclaim his honour.
“Before that, shouldn’t Senior Brother hand over the Snowfall Sword first?” Ling Xiao said calmly.
He also felt such a fight was dull. If Ming Tian fought at equal cultivation, they could probably exchange a few dozen moves, so he was willing to try.
