"Tell me. How did you lose to that wretch?" Xuan Yuan Haoran's heart burned with fury, yet he forcibly restrained himself and spoke as calmly as possible.
Like Jin Yuanqing, he thought very highly of Ding Yingzong.
Otherwise, he would never have sent him to handle something as important as purging Wen Haishan's mortal bloodline.
Yet he had never expected Ding Yingzong to lose.
"The Dao Peak Mountain Dragon Child you sent to fight Xiao Chen was Yingzong?"
Jin Yuanqing was stunned. He had originally assumed that the Dao Peak Mountain Dragon Child defeated by Xiao Chen had been some weaker seed, never imagining it would be Ding Yingzong.
"That's right. Yingzong was the one I sent to deal with Xiao Chen's family before," Xuan Yuan Haoran said.
Jin Yuanqing looked at Ding Yingzong in surprise, then instantly understood why he was so dejected. It was because he had been defeated by Xiao Chen.
In that instant, his estimation of Xiao Chen soared once more.
Defeating Ding Yingzong meant that Xiao Chen at least possessed the strength to rank among Dao Peak Mountain's Dragon Children, and likely near the top.
For a youth from the mortal world, that was utterly terrifying.
"He was too strong. Not yet twenty, yet he had already cultivated the Sword Dao to Sword Heart Clarity. I was no match for him."
Ding Yingzong's battle armor was shattered, and he was covered in blood. Standing before Xuan Yuan Haoran with his head lowered, he looked like a child who had made a mistake.
Before meeting Xiao Chen, he had believed himself powerful, a dragon among his generation. After meeting Xiao Chen, he felt himself utterly ordinary, even beneath notice.
That immense psychological blow struck him like a hammer, draining every shred of spirit from him.
"Sword