If You Want a Beating, Just Say So

"Yu Jingjing, if you want a beating, just say so!"

Luo Lan's fiery temper flared; she glared with furrowed brows and drew her sword in challenge.

"Cackle, I'm just joking."

Yu Jingjing stepped back twice, curling her lip. "I heard this kid is the disciple with the worst spiritual roots in your Lingxiao Sect. Luo Lan, what exactly do you see in him to keep him by your side every day?"

Luo Lan sneered haughtily. "My Junior Brother is a genius of the sword."

In only half a year of cultivation, he had already attained four-tenths of the true intent of the Lingxiao Sword Technique.

If he were to immerse himself in the sword for ten or twenty years, what terrifying realm would he reach?

Surpassing Ancestor Lingxiao would be a trivial matter.

"I've also heard that this kid was evaluated as having four-tenths true intent, but Luo Lan, his cultivation speed is a fatal flaw. Some people, even if their swordsmanship is inferior, can crush him simply through the weight of their cultivation realm!"

Yu Jingjing smiled faintly.

She cast a fleeting glance at the Lingxiao Sect youth, the disdain in her eyes growing more pronounced.

Not far away, in the Lingxiao Sect's encampment, a young man stood before a tent with his hands behind his back, staring at the scene unfolding in the distance, his expression as calm as an ancient well.

"Junior Brother, let's go."

Luo Lan had no desire to waste more breath on Yu Jingjing; she grabbed the youth's hand and hurried toward the camp.

Once they entered, she saw the man before the tent and quickly cupped her hands. "I didn't expect Senior Brother Qin to be here as well."

"The beast tide in Cloud Mist Mountain has been surging lately, so the various sects have dispatched Foundation Establishment disciples to hold the line. I am in no rush to breakthrough, so I came here to hone my swordsmanship..."

Qin Changtian smiled slightly, casting a meaningful look at Chen Changming. "Junior Brother Chen, how about we find an opportunity to exchange pointers on the Lingxiao Sword Technique?"

"Senior Brother Qin, my meager swordsmanship is nothing but an axe-wielding display before a master; I wouldn't dare."

Chen Changming smiled and politely declined.

He felt instinctively that this Qin Changtian was a man of deep schemes, and that under the guise of exchanging pointers, he likely wanted to probe his true strength.

He would only reveal his trump cards in a life-or-death crisis.

Therefore, let alone Qin Changtian, even if it were his Senior Sister whom he always respected, he would still hide his true capabilities and never reveal his hand.

A look of disappointment flickered across Qin Changtian's face, but his expression returned to normal almost instantly.

After entering the camp.

Luo Lan took two tents from her Storage Bag, set them up, and then parted ways with Chen Changming, ducking into her own.

Seeing how considerate his Senior Sister was, Chen Changming felt quite moved.

He entered his tent, sat cross-legged, and began to practice the Evergreen Art.

Truth be told, he had not neglected the Evergreen Art during this time, but the fourth breakthrough still felt like a distant, unreachable horizon.

Chen Changming was not in a hurry, however.

The fourth reinforcement required at least fifty thousand repetitions; at his fastest, it would take two or three years to break through.

One must remain low-key. Never expose one's strength in front of others, or once a powerful enemy is provoked, I fear I won't even live to see the fourth reinforcement of the Evergreen Art...

He recited this to himself several times, his vigilance growing ever sharper.

Qin Changtian had just served as a reminder; selfless people like his Senior Sister were rare in the sect. Most were selfish, rarely considering the needs of others.

He had to keep a low profile, keep his various techniques growing stronger, and bide his time until his cultivation rose.

In the dead of night.

The roars of demonic beasts drifted faintly from the mountains. Before long, the sound grew louder and louder, startling many in the camp awake.

"Beast attack!"

Someone shouted.

In an instant, figures flew out from the various camps, rushing toward the entrance of the valley.

Chen Changming had just stepped out of his tent when a figure flashed past and his Senior Sister's voice rang out: "Junior Brother, the beasts are extremely powerful. Be doubly careful when we fight!"

"Understood, Senior Sister."

Chen Changming acknowledged her and charged out as well.

Under the pitch-black night, a massive horde of demonic beasts surged out of the valley entrance, forming a torrential flood that crashed toward the camp.

Simultaneously.

A current of cultivators surged forth, meeting the beasts head-on.

The moment they collided, a desperate, life-or-death slaughter began.

By the time Chen Changming arrived, the main force was already locked in combat. He stood toward the rear, his eyes darting back and forth as he observed the beasts ahead.

"Awoo!"

A wolf's howl erupted, and a dozen massive black wolves broke through the cultivators' barrier, lunging toward the weaker disciples in the rear.

"It's an Iron-Armored Wolf!"

Watching the black wolf draped in a layer of iron armor, Chen Changming's pupils constricted slightly.

He had heard his senior sister mention these Iron-Armored Wolves on the way here; even at the first level, initial stage, they grew over two meters long. They were ferocious by nature, agile in movement, and possessed formidable iron-clad defenses, making them the most populous species of demonic beast throughout Cloud Mist Mountain.

They were also the most troublesome.

One slip-up, and he could easily be mauled to death by an Iron-Armored Wolf.

"Kill!"

Many disciples from various sects with cultivation levels similar to Chen Changming's also brandished their swords and charged forward.

Chen Changming activated his Dragon Glide Step, his footwork lithe and nimble. Holding his sword in one hand, he dodged an attack from a first-level, initial-stage Iron-Armored Wolf and slashed down at it from behind.

Clang!

The longsword bounced off, and the Iron-Armored Wolf remained completely unscathed.

This defense is truly extraordinary...

Chen Changming smiled faintly and dodged another attack from the Iron-Armored Wolf.

He had only been testing the waters just now to gauge the defensive capabilities of the beast's iron hide.

A flash of sword light streaked through the air.

This time, Chen Changming severed one of the Iron-Armored Wolf's iron claws with a single strike. The giant wolf let out a howl of agony and, to his surprise, turned and fled.

A first-level, initial-stage demonic beast was worth 200 contribution points; how could he let such prey fly away?

Chen Changming rushed forward and unleashed a flurry of strikes, thoroughly killing the Iron-Armored Wolf.

In truth, he could have finished the Iron-Armored Wolf with a single blow.

But Chen Changming did not want to expose his true strength, so he added a few extra strikes before finally killing the beast.

Once it was dead, he waved his Storage Bag and stowed the Iron-Armored Wolf inside.