The cloaked man's position and Xu Ziming's line of sight were completely different. Without realizing it, Xu Ziming's vision had already been affected by the sound of the instrument.
Not good!
Before his attack even hit the cloaked man, Xu Ziming knew things were about to go badly.
He had no idea when the next attack would come, so he immediately closed his eyes.
Why?
Because he wanted to rely on the perception granted by the [Sword Saint Body Technique] to force himself to sense the cloaked man's position.
This attempt really was unusual. Sometimes the eyes could deceive you, but the body's instincts would not.
Vaguely, he could feel a trace of pain coming from the right side of his body.
"Here!" His eyes snapped open, and the Jinghong Sword in his right hand sprang from its sheath, slashing out in the space of a breath.
Just as his body had sensed, the cloaked man was indeed right in front of him this time. His slash landed squarely on the man's face.
"Whoosh!"
The blade knocked off his cloak and used the force to send the two of them completely apart.
When he turned and landed on the ground, Xu Ziming finally got a clear look at the cloaked man's face in the distance.
It was a face that wasn't particularly striking, but wasn't plain either.
Unfortunately, Xu Ziming didn't recognize him at all.
And when Xu Ziming knocked off his cloak, the man with the ID Guest Among Pines finally showed a hint of emotion.
"Basic Sword Method?" His voice reached Xu Ziming's ears, sounding almost incredulous.
Ever since Xu Ziming began cultivating and condensed Sword Momentum, he had always used the Basic Sword Method. He hadn't yet practiced the Five Prison Sword Art Ma Mingyu had given him.
So, up to this point, all his attacks had consisted of chopping, thrusting, lifting, and sweeping, with a burst of Sword Qi thrown in now and then.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use some sword moves that sounded impressive. He simply didn't know any.
"That's right. Basic Sword Method." Xu Ziming looked ahead, his face expressionless. All he had to say was in his sword.
"Good, good, good. Let me see how well you've practiced this Basic Sword Method." Anger crept into Guest Among Pines' face.
In his view, someone with sword skills like Xu Ziming's at his age couldn't possibly know only the Basic Sword Method.
Using only the Basic Sword Method to attack him was simply showing him contempt.
The next moment, a sound more soul-shaking than before rang out from Guest Among Pines.
It was an advanced musical attack, powerful enough to disrupt even Xu Ziming's instincts.
And that was exactly what happened. Under this music, he couldn't think at all.
It was as though all five senses had been taken from him, leaving only his hearing to run wild.
Xu Ziming felt as if he were in a void where he could sense neither time nor space.
In that world, nothing existed but endless, grating music and the sword in his hand!
The combination of the Sword Saint Body Technique and the Natural Sword Bone allowed him to sense the sword in his hand at all times, as if it were part of his own body.
His five senses were sealed, but the sword's were not. Somehow, he heard Jinghong's cry.
If he couldn't trust himself, then he would trust the sword in his hand!
Almost without thinking, Xu Ziming completely gave up controlling the sword and let it move on its own.
From Guest Among Pines' perspective, Xu Ziming had stopped moving the instant he heard the music. He only stood there, gripping his sword as he trembled slightly.
"That's all you've got? You even use the Basic Sword Method to act all cool." He was a high school student, after all, and of course he hated people who acted all cool.
The main reason he hated them was usually: Why couldn't it be me?
With that thought, Guest Among Pines no longer felt like wasting time on Xu Ziming.
Instead, he clenched his right hand, intending to finish Xu Ziming off with the Basic Fist Method.
Unfortunately, he had it wrong!
The instant his body came close to Xu Ziming, Xu Ziming moved. No, more accurately, Jinghong moved.
Without drawing on Xu Ziming's strength, Jinghong moved by itself, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it sliced off half of Guest Among Pines' fist.
"Ah!" A scream escaped his lips, breaking the previously balanced influence of the music. Xu Ziming also came back to his senses and broke free.
"You could've killed me outright, but you insisted on using the Basic Fist Method. You're the one acting all cool!"
Xu Ziming gave the man in front of him no chance to struggle. He turned his elbow, thrust Jinghong forward, and ended the match.
[Ranked victory, star rating +1]
[Current rank: Silver IV, two stars]
[Keep up the good work]
Hearing the voice by his ear, Xu Ziming didn't immediately choose to enter another ranked match. Instead, he rested for a while.
The brief influence of the music had put immense pressure on his mind.
"I need to pick a mental cultivation method."
Thinking of this, he instinctively glanced at his wristband. The wristband existed in Battle Net space, too, and could receive messages in real time.
[Account credited: 10 million Blue Star Coins]
[Nebula Martial Hall's martial arts database has been connected to your account wristband. You may browse it at any time.]
[Congratulations on becoming a prestigious S-Class Contract user of Nebula Martial Hall]
The money from signing the S-Class Contract had finally arrived, and even Nebula Martial Hall's martial arts database was now open to him.
At this moment, what Xu Ziming wanted most was to call his father, who was still at the front line, and tell him to retire and come home soon. But with the situation at the front so tense, calls could only be made at fixed times, so for now he could only put the idea aside.
He hadn't known what type of martial art to choose, but after that battle, Xu Ziming decided on a mental cultivation method.
He opened the database. Since it was free, he didn't have to consider the price.
After eliminating some of the more low-level options, he filtered the rest by cultivation difficulty.
With the Equipment Slot letting him cheat, he naturally wanted to choose methods that were extremely difficult to cultivate but had excellent effects.
In fact, the database didn't contain many mental tempering methods. After Xu Ziming finished filtering, only two remained before him.
One was called the Great Sun Visualization Method. Each day, at sunrise, he had to use the first ray of morning sunlight to stimulate and temper his mind.
Because the daily cultivation time was limited, and the sun's direct scorching of the mind was extremely painful, it was difficult to cultivate. Its effects, however, were excellent.
According to the method's description, as long as he mastered it and persevered for a month, his mental strength would be at least three times what it had been before cultivation.
The second was the special Nebula Mental Tempering Method developed within Nebula Martial Hall. Apparently, only the hall master had ever succeeded in cultivating it.
Fang Xingyun had brought it back from an alien secret realm.
Since it was powerful and its name was unknown, he had simply named it after himself, calling the mental cultivation method the Nebula Mental Tempering Method.
"These seniors really are casual about things. But why is he the only one who can cultivate it?"