Can't Play Around with Spirit Cultivation Anymore

"Begin. Stop at the right point; do not injure each other," Meng Kuo ordered.

Winning or losing this match did not matter. At worst, Jiang Ping An could be made Middle Captain.

As soon as the battle began, Yang Hu charged forward with the Nine Ring Broadsword in hand.

Any experienced Martial Warrior knew that to defeat a Spirit Cultivator, one had to fight them at close range.

Spirit Cultivators lacked strength compared to those at the same level, and close combat could easily interrupt their spellcasting.

To sum it up in one sentence, a Spirit Cultivator's weakness was their inadequate close-combat ability.

Many Spirit Cultivators practiced swordsmanship, blade arts, and the like to make up for this shortcoming.

Jiang Ping An swiftly formed hand seals and cast the Earth Wall Art.

The soil beneath Yang Hu's feet suddenly rose up. If he had not noticed, he might have taken a tumble.

Though Yang Hu looked rough and brawny, his mind was meticulous. He exerted force through both legs and leaped high, dodging the earth wall beneath his feet as he slashed toward Jiang Ping An.

Jiang Ping An quickly cast the Fireball Art. A fireball the size of a human head, blazing with terrifying flames, smashed toward Yang Hu in midair.

It was extremely difficult to dodge attacks while airborne.

That had been his goal.

Yang Hu shouted and fiercely swung the blade in his hand.

The fierce blade edge cleaved the fireball straight apart.

Seeing his opponent rush over, Jiang Ping An leaped high into the air, landed on the rooftop, and continued attacking with the Fireball Art.

Yang Hu swiftly landed on the ground, pushed off with both legs, and launched himself toward Jiang Ping An.

Jiang Ping An used Gale Step and began moving rapidly across the rooftop.

This time, he used Gale Step. Energy circulated through his legs, increasing his movement speed. At the highest level of this movement art, one could tread upon grass without bending it.

He had obtained four arts from the Goatee Cultivator, and he was currently learning all of them.

Yang Hu chased after him with his blade, while Jiang Ping An refused to attack him head-on. He simply hopped about across the rooftops, occasionally firing Fireball Arts, as though flying a kite.

"Kid! Why are you running? Are you even a man?!"

Yang Hu was not particularly agile. He could only use his strength to leap and run across the rooftops. One careless step and his foot would sink in, making it difficult to catch up to his opponent.

"I'm not a man. I'm still a child."

Jiang Ping An did not fall for the provocation at all. He continued jumping around, refusing to engage in close combat and occasionally casting two Fireball Arts at once.

"General! This kid is fighting dirty!" Yang Hu complained to Meng Kuo. There was no way he could hit his opponent like this.

Meng Kuo said blandly, "There has never been a fair battle in this world."

Seeing that the general had no intention of stopping them, Yang Hu could only grit his teeth and continue the pursuit.

The two chased each other across the rooftops for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, and the people below had begun yawning.

Yang Hu was on the verge of collapse. No matter how he chased, he could not catch Jiang Ping An. Fireballs kept grazing him, and his beard was nearly burned away.

"Ahhh!"

Yang Hu let out a thunderous roar that pierced the clouds, then heavily dropped from the roof.

"I'm not fighting anymore! This is boring! I don't want the Great Captain position anymore, all right?!"

With his explosive temper, he simply could not endure this torment. He was constantly being hit, yet he could not even touch the corner of his opponent's clothes.

"Your temper is too volatile. With that state of mind, you cannot be Great Captain."

Standing on the roof, Jiang Ping An spoke calmly.

Everyone: "..."

If anyone else had said that, they would have thought it made perfect sense.

The problem was that it came from a fourteen-year-old boy, making it feel strange no matter how they heard it.

"This kid is really arrogant!"

Yang Hu gnashed his teeth in anger and said to a handsome young man beside him,

"Brother Ye, help me teach this kid a lesson! No matter what, don't let him become Great Captain!"

Ye Lin slowly drew the sword at his waist, stepped forward in black boots to the center of the courtyard, and smiled up at Jiang Ping An.

"Your luck is very bad. If it were another Body Cultivator, they truly would not be able to catch your speed. But I just happen to follow the speed path."

"My attacks and my movement art happen to counter Body Cultivators like you who deliberately wear down opponents from afar."

As he spoke, his body suddenly flashed onto the rooftop with astonishing speed.

Li Yuntian took a sip of wine and sighed. "Little Ye has grown up too."

"Yes. He's twenty-one now and can shoulder great responsibility. When we picked him up back then, he was only eight." Meng Kuo reminisced.

Li Yuntian set down his Wine Gourd and watched intently.

"Little Ye has always pursued the speed path. Among those at the same level, no one can catch him. He focuses on killing with a single strike. If Jiang Ping An gets careless, he may very well lose."

Meng Kuo said indifferently, "If he loses, Jiang Ping An can be Middle Captain. Ye Lin is actually quite suitable to be Great Captain."

Meng Kuo liked Ye Lin very much. He was young and powerful, and he would likely become a pillar of Continuous Mountain County in the future.

If Jiang Ping An had not appeared, Ye Lin had originally been the one selected for the Great Captain position. His strength was beyond question.

Jiang Ping An was also startled by the other man's speed. It was not the least bit slower than when he used Gale Step.

Ye Lin stood at one corner of the rooftop, sword in his right hand. His black hair fluttered gently as his black eyes fixed upon Jiang Ping An.

"I will not allow a fourteen-year-old child to become the Great Captain of the army. That would be treating the soldiers' lives as a joke. So, I will not hold back."

With a thought from Jiang Ping An, he communicated with his Storage Bag through Divine Sense, and a rune-covered blade appeared in his hand.

"I want better resources. I want to become stronger. I must have this position."

This man was powerful. He could not play around using Spirit Cultivation anymore.

If Yang Hu had known that Jiang Ping An had been playing with him the entire time, who knew what he would have thought.

"Oh? You've switched to a blade. But it's useless. Once the match begins, you will not even be able to see my attack before the outcome is decided." Ye Lin chuckled.

"Begin," Meng Kuo said softly.

Ye Lin and Jiang Ping An moved at the same time.

Clang!

A flash of sparks flew, and a sword soared high into the air before embedding itself in the courtyard's artificial rockery.

Jiang Ping An's blade rested against Ye Lin's neck.

Meng Kuo, Li Yuntian, and the other experts' pupils contracted.

Yang Hu, who had been about to cheer for Ye Lin, stared blankly. "What happened? What just happened?"

He had just been about to shout encouragement when a flash of fire appeared, and then he saw Jiang Ping An's blade pressed against Ye Lin's neck.

Ye Lin had lost?

What exactly had happened just now?

The experts present were filled with horror, their voices trembling.

"This kid actually combined the Vibration Blade Art with the Phantom Blade! How did he do that?"

"He learned the second level of Vibration Blade Art in just one month? It took me several months back then just to barely master the first level!"

"This youth's skill as a Body Cultivator is actually this high!"

The pride on Ye Lin's face vanished, leaving only shock and dejection.

The instant the battle began, they had both moved at once.

He saw Jiang Ping An use Phantom Blade, but he could easily see through Phantom Blade at that level of speed, so he swung his sword at the true blade.

Who could have known that Jiang Ping An had another move hidden up his sleeve? Behind the Phantom Blade, he had concealed the Vibration Blade Art!

When the two collided, his sword was sent flying by the vibration.

The Vibration Blade Art was an extremely famous blade art in Continuous Mountain County, divided into three levels.

At the first level, it numbed the opponent's arm. At the second level, it shook the opponent's weapon from their grasp. At the third level, it shattered the opponent's arm.

This boy before him had actually mastered the second level of Vibration Blade Art!

Most terrifying of all, he could combine it with Phantom Blade!

Ye Lin could still feel the numbness in his arm.

He had lost, and he had been defeated in an instant. If this had been a battlefield, he would already be a corpse.

He had witnessed firsthand what a true genius was. The pride in his heart was utterly swept away.

Like Miss, this person was a genius who did not belong in a county of this level.