"As Sword Cultivators, we can only survive by being more ruthless in our killing and more unscrupulous in our methods than our foes." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

At this, Qi Hong shook his head and said,

"Little one, if I were you, I’d give up on these pointless fantasies. The world out there is far more treacherous than you imagine."

"The core of being a Sword Cultivator today is just one word: Kill!"

"Slaughter everything. Nothing is off-limits!"

...

Qi Hong’s words shattered Xie Yuzhu’s idyllic image of Sword Cultivators, leaving her speechless.

After a long moment, once she had composed herself, she bowed to Zhong Ming.

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you despicable. You were the rightful winner of our last match."

"I am a woman of my word. I will forge a high-quality flying sword for you. In the future, you can also leave its upgrades and maintenance to me."

At this, Xie Yuzhu’s expression suddenly turned serious.

"But I have one request. I want to fight you again."

It was clear she felt her previous loss was partly due to her own carelessness, and she couldn’t accept it.

She was even prepared to offer up some of her resources to convince Zhong Ming to accept the challenge.

"You’re the team leader for the Sword Testing Platform, aren’t you? I can pay you in Spirit Stones..."

"That’s not necessary. Since you’re forging a flying sword for me, I’ll consider myself in your debt. If you’re ever looking for a sparring partner in the future, you can always come to me."

Zhong Ming was no fool. Besides, he was the one who needed something from Xie Yuzhu now.

After all, she wasn’t just forging the flying sword for him; he would also need to rely on her for its subsequent upkeep and upgrades.

Under these circumstances, Zhong Ming had no intention of offending her. In fact, he was more than willing to build a good relationship with her.

Zhong Ming’s words made Xie Yuzhu look at him in a much more favorable light.

Then, right before their match, she added, "Be careful. This time, I’m going all out."

"I will."

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Ming once again fell into a sword-drawing stance.

Across from him, Xie Yuzhu poured a torrent of Magical Power into her Heavy Abyss Sword.

The next moment, she gripped the sword with both hands and swung with all her might.

WHOOSH! She threw the man-high heavy sword straight at him.

"Huh?!"

’She threw it!’

Zhong Ming was momentarily stunned as he watched the Heavy Abyss Sword hurtle through the air toward him.

He couldn’t understand why Xie Yuzhu would do such a thing.

But even though he didn’t understand, Zhong Ming reacted cautiously. He immediately executed the Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step and leaped to the side, trying to dodge the impact of the heavy sword.

However, just as Zhong Ming leaped...

"Go!" With a sharp cry from Xie Yuzhu, the Heavy Abyss Sword abruptly changed direction and continued streaking toward him.

’It’s actually a flying sword.’

Zhong Ming hadn’t considered it before. The Heavy Abyss Sword was so thick and heavy, like a door plank, that a sword like that shouldn’t be able to fly fast at all.

The fact that it was a flying sword truly took Zhong Ming by surprise.

But once he realized this, Zhong Ming was no longer worried.

He didn’t even bother paying it any mind. Perceiving that it couldn’t fly very fast, Zhong Ming leaped, intending to slip past its side.

In the next moment, he planned to accelerate again and charge straight for Xie Yuzhu.

However, Zhong Ming’s actions didn’t seem to frighten Xie Yuzhu. On the contrary, the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

Just as Zhong Ming leaped to the side of the Heavy Abyss Sword and his toes tapped the ground, preparing to accelerate again...

Xie Yuzhu’s sword-finger seal suddenly grew sharp, and two words escaped her cherry-red lips.

"Got you!"

As she spoke, a violent fluctuation of Spiritual Qi suddenly erupted from within the incredibly heavy Heavy Abyss Sword beside Zhong Ming.

’Not good!’

The fluctuation made Zhong Ming’s heart clench and his pupils contract.

Instantly, he halted his Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step, brandished his longsword, and executed his Longxi Swordsmanship.

BOOM!

Just as Zhong Ming unleashed his Swordsmanship, the Heavy Abyss Sword abruptly burst apart.

This wasn’t a metaphor, but a literal description. Under Xie Yuzhu’s control, the Heavy Abyss Sword had exploded, bursting from one longsword into seven.

The next instant, these seven longswords transformed into seven streaks of light, all shooting toward Zhong Ming in unison.

SWOOSH...

Fortunately, Zhong Ming was no weakling. He instantly unleashed his Longxi Swordsmanship with all his might.

Relying on the Water Fluctuation, Zhong Ming’s longsword generated a pulling force and was exceptionally skilled at deflecting power.

With a single sweep of his longsword, he diverted five of the seven attacking blades.

As for the remaining two, he dodged them using the Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG...

SWOOSH...

What followed was a desperate struggle between Zhong Ming and the seven longswords.

Wielding his longsword, Zhong Ming continuously dodged and weaved, unleashing his Longxi Swordsmanship to its fullest to form a swirling vortex of water around himself.

His movements were as swift as a dragon or a serpent. His sword guided the currents, elegant and agile, and even exuded a unique spiritual grace of water.

To deal with the seven flying swords, Zhong Ming held nothing back, displaying the full extent of his Swordsmanship, Stepping Technique, and Water Technique.

This display of all-around power earned a satisfied nod from the watching Qi Hong and the others.

Since Qi Hong and the others knew how quickly Zhong Ming improved, they were merely satisfied. But it was a different story for Granny Lan, who had accompanied Xie Yuzhu.

Zhong Ming’s performance made her eyes light up.

"To be able to withstand the Young Miss’s assault for so long with only the strength of an early-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator... Zhong Ming, his Talent is quite impressive."

But after her praise, she shook her head. "Still, this alone won’t be enough for you to be a match for the Young Miss."

...

Granny Lan didn’t believe Zhong Ming was a match for Xie Yuzhu. This wasn’t to belittle him, nor was she being biased just because Xie Yuzhu was her Young Miss.

The current state of the battle was indeed highly unfavorable for Zhong Ming.