It was precisely for this reason that Duan Hong acknowledged Yan Congke's present-day swordsmanship and attainments in the Sword Dao.
After all, Yan Congke had always been a swordsmanship genius. Decades of accumulation, followed by a single day of Meng Zhao's guidance, had turned those reserves into an overwhelming advantage, allowing him to burst into the ranks of top-tier experts in one stroke. That was no empty boast.
Over the years, when it came to the number of people killed, Yan Congke ranked first among Meng Zhao's subordinates. Meng Zhao himself rarely acted, and Duan Hong acted even less often. Most of the killing had been done personally by Yan Congke, naturally nurturing the sword qi and killing aura around him.
Yan Congke sighed, his gaze somewhat complicated, and said,
"He truly is formidable. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have known that such an expert existed in this world.
To put it bluntly, I would not dare rashly conclude whether Zheng Ge'er could match this man."
Hearing this, Duan Hong was greatly shocked. He could scarcely believe those words had come from Yan Congke.
Over the years, Yan Congke's martial arts had grown ever more profound. Yet more than half of his rapidly advancing skills had originated from the Three Secret Sword Techniques Meng Zhao had taught him back then. Thus, Meng Zhao could be considered half his master.
Because of this, Yan Congke had great faith in Meng Zhao. Moreover, he occasionally sparred with Meng Zhao and had never once won. He had not even managed to force out Meng Zhao's true reserves. Naturally, he held Meng Zhao in the highest esteem and admiration.
In Yan Congke's eyes, it would not have been excessive to call Meng Zhao the number one