Meng Jing

Jiang Ping An held his blade and looked at the proud young girl before casually swinging it.

Meng Jing raised her hand to meet the attack and shouted, "Get serious!"

Clang—

The two weapons collided, and the weapon in Jiang Ping An's hand flew from his grasp.

Jiang Ping An, who had not cared much about the fight, suddenly widened his eyes and looked at his right arm in disbelief.

His right arm was trembling violently. A numb sensation spread from his arm through his entire body, leaving it somewhat beyond his control.

Jiang Ping An looked up at the girl and asked seriously, "What kind of blade art is this?"

Under normal circumstances, an arm would be shaken painfully because the opponent's strength was too great.

But these were two ordinary blades. If they had collided with that much force, the blades should have broken. Yet they had not.

His blade had been shaken away and his arm hurt. The other side must have used some kind of blade art to create this effect.

The soldiers' discussion beside him gave him the answer.

"Miss truly is a genius. She has actually mastered the Second Floor of the Vibration Blade Art."

"Yes, reaching this level at only fourteen—Miss will definitely rank among the best in this Genius Selection Competition!"

"This boy doesn't seem all that impressive."

The soldiers looked at Meng Jing with eyes full of admiration.

They began to doubt Old Li's words. Perhaps the boy was powerful, but compared to Miss, there was surely still a gap.

"Vibration Blade Art?" Jiang Ping An clenched his numb arm. "A very powerful blade art."

He had originally intended to exchange a few casual blows, just enough to make this Miss happy.

But after witnessing such a formidable blade art, his desire to win rose in his heart, and he wanted to truly test himself against her.

"Come on. If you defeat me, I'll give you the Vibration Blade Art."

Meng Jing did not believe that someone her own age could defeat her.

She had heard that he had once been a farmer. How could a farmer compare to the daughter of a general like her?

"I'm attacking now." Jiang Ping An turned serious and swung his blade.

"Still not fast enough!" Meng Jing shouted as she raised her blade to meet him.

Suddenly, she noticed that the blade before her had become a phantom. The real blade had somehow passed through her defense and was slashing toward her!

"Phantom Blade!" Li Yuntian suddenly cried out, the Wine Gourd in his hand suspended in midair.

Meng Jing swiftly retreated and dodged the attack. Surprise flashed through her beautiful eyes. "Oh, not bad. Now it's this Miss's turn to attack!"

With that, she rushed back in and attacked at Faster Speed.

Jiang Ping An raised his blade to meet her.

Clang, clang, clang—

The two blades collided rapidly in midair, scattering sparks in every direction.

With every collision, Jiang Ping An felt his arm tremble. It was numb and tingling, and he could barely keep hold of his blade.

This girl truly was formidable.

A soldier looked at the stunned Li Yuntian and asked in confusion, "Old Li, this boy is indeed powerful. He can use the Phantom Blade at such a young age, but he doesn't seem especially strong, does he?"

They could not understand why Li Yuntian had been so shocked upon seeing Jiang Ping An use the Phantom Blade.

With Miss's abilities, even if he knew the Phantom Blade, he could not possibly defeat her.

Li Yuntian took a fierce swig from his Wine Gourd and said nothing, but the shock in his eyes did not fade.

According to the intelligence, Jiang Ping An had found a Cultivation Method and embarked upon the path of a Spirit Cultivator.

If Jiang Ping An had displayed some particularly powerful spiritual sword art, he would not have been so shocked.

The key was that this Phantom Blade was a Body Cultivator Martial Skill used by the soldiers of Flat Water County!

The time Jiang Ping An had possessed this Martial Skill might not have been long.

Most terrifying of all, Jiang Ping An had not used Spiritual Power at all. He was fighting Miss purely with physical techniques!

Could the intelligence have been wrong? Was Jiang Ping An actually following the path of a Body Cultivator?

That could not be right. When he had treated Jiang Ping An's injuries, there had clearly been energy fluctuations of the Fifth Level of Qi Refining within his body.

Could it be... Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Body!

When Li Yuntian thought of those four words, his heart shuddered violently once more.

He would rather believe the intelligence was wrong. If it was not, then this was far too terrifying.

A month ago, Jiang Ping An had relied on schemes to defeat Cui Xiao. After just one month, he had actually reached the point of standing against Miss!

And he had even walked two cultivation paths at once!

For such a thing to happen, either the boy's talent was exceptional, or his resources were abundant.

Li Yuntian had already tried his best to overestimate Jiang Ping An, yet he now realized he had still underestimated him.

Watching Jiang Ping An get beaten back step by step, the soldiers knew the outcome would soon be decided.

The smile on Meng Jing's face grew brighter and brighter. "I, Meng Jing, am still the number one genius of Continuous Mountain County! Final strike!"

Her arm shook forcefully as she swung the blade in her hand.

Jiang Ping An used the Phantom Blade to counterattack.

"Useless! I can see through your tricks!" Meng Jing's blade bypassed the phantom and shot straight toward Jiang Ping An.

Just then, she felt a sudden chill at her neck, and the blade in her hand froze.

The smile on Meng Jing's little face stiffened. She lowered her head blankly and looked at the blade resting against her neck.

The soldiers who had already prepared to cheer fell silent, their voices stuck in their throats as they stared at the scene before them in disbelief.

"You... have mastered the Second Floor of the Phantom Blade!"

Meng Jing stared fixedly at Jiang Ping An.

"Mm." Jiang Ping An replied softly.

After cultivating the Blood Qi Art to the Second Floor, his strength had greatly increased, and his control over the blade had improved. Naturally, he could use the Second Floor.

"I refuse to accept this! Again!" Unwillingly, Meng Jing knocked away his blade.

"Miss, that's enough." Li Yuntian walked over with a smile.

"No! I was careless just now. If I had known he could use the Second Floor of the Phantom Blade, I definitely would have been prepared!"

Meng Jing was unwilling to accept her defeat. She had never lost since childhood.

"On a real battlefield, no one will let you prepare yourself. Besides, Jiang Ping An was going easy on you. His physical fitness should have reached the minimum requirement for a Great Captain."

Li Yuntian gave Jiang Ping An a deep look. He had seen through Jiang Ping An's level of physical fitness.

If a Martial Warrior at the Middle Captain level had been struck by the Vibration Blade Art that many times, he would have long been unable to hold his blade, much less use the Phantom Blade.

Therefore, Jiang Ping An had definitely reached the minimum physical standards of a Great Captain.

Hearing Li Yuntian's words, Meng Jing and the surrounding soldiers widened their eyes.

This fourteen-year-old boy had reached the minimum requirement of a Great Captain?

How terrifying!

"I still refuse to accept it!"

Meng Jing bit her little canine tooth. "I can also break through to the physical fitness of a Great Captain! Father has always refused to let me break through. I'll break through right now..."

Tap—

Li Yuntian lightly tapped Meng Jing on the head.

"Miss, do not act on impulse. Tomorrow, you will be going to participate in the Prefecture County Genius Selection Competition. Save your strength."

"But..."

"No buts. Otherwise, I'll tell the general." Li Yuntian threatened.

Meng Jing's little face was full of unwillingness.

"Jiang Ping An, right? Just wait. When I return from the Prefecture County Genius Selection Competition, I'll trample you beneath my feet!"

She flung down her blade and stormed outside in a huff, her ponytail swishing back and forth.

When she reached several soldiers, she paused. "Listen up. You are not allowed to tell anyone about what happened today, or you'll have bitter fruit to eat!"

Meng Jing could not accept defeat and did not want others to know that she had been defeated by someone her own age.

The soldiers were so frightened that they quickly swore not to reveal the matter.

Even now, they were unwilling to believe that Miss, who had never suffered a defeat, had actually lost!

Lost to a boy the same age as Miss!

Meng Jing turned back and glared viciously at Jiang Ping An, engraving his face deep into her heart before finally leaving.

Li Yuntian waved his hand, dismissing the other soldiers, then returned to the room with Jiang Ping An.

"You practice Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Body?"