Entrusted, Never Betrayed

Zhao Jie's expression turned icy. He glanced at the eager Xu Zhuo, then at Cheng Yuan, whose smile carried a provocation. The anger in his heart grew fiercer, his palm trembling slightly as though a volcano were about to erupt.

It was not enough that they had watched the Zhao Family Martial Arts Academy lose—they even wanted his disciple to challenge someone above his level.

If Wang Sheng's cultivation was higher than his opponent's and he still lost, then the Zhao Family Martial Arts Academy's reputation would be finished today. That would not merely be adding frost to snow; it would be like letting their opponent stomp on their face and spit on it.

Ever since Zhao Jie had advanced to Great Martial Master, he had not suffered such humiliation in over a decade!

However,

with someone provoking him right to his face,

refusing the challenge and leaving in disgrace was not Zhao Jie's style.

"Wang Sheng, do you dare accept?"

Zhao Jie's voice was cold, devoid of the slightest emotion, as he watched Wang Sheng on the training ground. The furious yet heavy pressure of a Transforming Energy Grandmaster made the entire yamen fall faintly silent.

Wang Sheng hesitated slightly. He looked at Cheng Yuan, the head of Cangshan Martial Academy, before carefully choosing his words. "Junior Brother Xu Zhuo is not much weaker than I am. I'm afraid I might not control my methods well and accidentally..."

At this point, Wang Sheng deliberately stopped and cupped his hands in salute.

Zhao Jie, Cheng Yuan, and the others naturally understood what Wang Sheng meant.

Was he not simply afraid of accidentally killing Xu Zhuo?

Before Zhao Jie could speak,

Cheng Yuan gave a faint smile. "Your disciple is quite slippery. Since you've put it that way, blades and swords have no eyes in the arena. Life and death shall be left to fate!"

"I would like to see what methods this supposedly highly perceptive disciple of yours has, to defeat the genius I carefully trained."

"Agreed!"

Zhao Jie could not be bothered to waste any more words and merely nodded.

Seeing that neither Great Martial Master objected, He Xiangjun and the others were naturally delighted to watch them fight to the death and wear each other down. They watched from the sidelines with great interest.

Very soon,

the disciples of the various factions on the training ground cleared space, leaving the field to Wang Sheng and Xu Zhuo.

"Wu An, you have fought both Wang Sheng and Xu Zhuo. Who do you think will win?"

Cui Sheng frowned deeply as he questioned the badly injured Wu An beside him.

The other disciples, including Li Hu, also wore grave expressions, unease filling their hearts.

They knew just how much Zhao Jie cared about saving face. If nothing happened today to satisfy their master, then forget rewards—it would already be fortunate if he did not punish them harshly. He might even break their arms and legs.

"The gap is far too great!"

"How many moves did Wang Sheng use to defeat me at the academy? And how many moves did Xu Zhuo use?"

"Wang Sheng is no match for Xu Zhuo at all."

Wu An's face carried a mocking look. He felt Wang Sheng was overestimating himself, and he was even somewhat looking forward to it. Once Wang Sheng lost, he would probably be the first to face Zhao Jie's towering rage.

What Wu An did not know was that when Wang Sheng had fought him at the academy, Wang Sheng had deliberately beaten him up like that for fun.

"It's over!"

"There's no hope for becoming a personal disciple!"

Pain showed in Cui Sheng's eyes.

On the training ground,

Wang Sheng and Xu Zhuo cupped their hands in greeting and announced their names to each other.

"Xu Zhuo greets Senior Brother. I hope Senior Brother will show mercy!"

Xu Zhuo saluted. His face was youthful, but faint arrogance showed between his brows as he spoke with a smile.

"Of course! Of course!"

A gentle smile hung on Wang Sheng's face as he nodded.

"The match begins!"

The yamen clerk acting as referee called out loudly.

In the main hall, Cheng Yuan leaned forward slightly, considering that if Xu Zhuo proved unable to win later, he would intervene and save his disciple.

As for their agreement to disregard life and death, what was that supposed to be?

Zhao Jie sat upright, expressionless.

"Kill!"

Xu Zhuo's youthful face instantly filled with killing intent and sharpness. Holding a long saber, he suddenly charged toward Wang Sheng.

Clang...

An incomparably faint sword cry pierced the air. Its penetrating force was like the howl of a flood dragon, shaking people to the core.

Wang Sheng remained calm, dragging his longsword behind him. The three forces of his body-tempering technique, Great Tablet Shattering Hand, and White Dragon Sword Technique intertwined before he suddenly exerted force and slashed down.

Already one level stronger in cultivation than Xu Zhuo, he unleashed threefold force, the strength of a Body Refiner, and his powerful physique tempered by Dark Energy all at once.

A martial artist at the early Bright Energy stage, crossing five levels to challenge me, a martial master equivalent to Late Dark Energy? You've had your whole life already!

Dazzling white sword light,

like lightning,

flashed past in an instant,

and an ear-piercing explosion burst from the tearing air.

Pfft...

Like a sharp weapon slicing through tofu,

Wang Sheng's sword struck later yet arrived first, smoothly cutting straight through the charging Xu Zhuo from head to toe.

A true single slash, dividing him in two.

Xu Zhuo's eyes were blank. Then, just as his expression began to twist savagely, a straight bloody line ran from his forehead through his entire body. The two halves of his corpse collapsed, steaming blood and organs spilling out with a splatter.

The entire yamen was instantly filled with the stench of blood.

At the same time,

both the yamen's main hall and training ground fell utterly silent.

A dropped needle could have been heard.

Everyone's expressions changed.

Even He Xiangjun and the others, who had been watching the show and drinking tea nearby, put down their teacups.

Wang Sheng and Xu Zhuo had been laughing and chatting only moments ago. What happened to showing mercy? In the blink of an eye, Wang Sheng had cut Xu Zhuo into two with a single sword strike.

The enormous contrast made many people feel as if reality had split apart. They kept blinking, trying to confirm that they had not seen wrong.

Cheng Yuan stood stunned. He confirmed once again that he had not seen wrong. His disciple had truly been cut in half, right before his eyes, his heart and lungs laid bare as scorching blood qi flowed all over the ground!

Cheng Yuan had thought they would at least exchange a few moves.

He had thought this would be a desperate battle between dragons and tigers!

Yet in the time it took him to blink, the disciple he had painstakingly trained was gone!

Kill! Kill! Kill!

The surging emotions and rage in Cheng Yuan's heart made the veins on his forehead bulge. He wanted to tear Wang Sheng to pieces, snap apart every bone in Wang Sheng's body, and dig out his five viscera and six bowels!

"Hahahaha..."

Zhao Jie's booming laughter was like a stone smashing glass, shattering the silence of the yamen.

"Good, good, good!"

Zhao Jie's face immediately reddened, radiant with delight as he said "good" three times in a row.

He had guessed that Wang Sheng had deliberately hidden his strength in his battle with Zhou Mo, hoping to lure Xu Zhuo into challenging him.

But Zhao Jie had not expected Xu Zhuo to actually dare step forward, nor had he expected Wang Sheng to truly possess the strength to kill him!

This sword strike

had truly allowed Zhao Jie to vent every bit of the pent-up frustration from his earlier losses.

While warily guarding against Cheng Yuan leaping over the wall in desperation, Zhao Jie looked at Wang Sheng and nodded in satisfaction, his eyes full of expectation!

Wang Sheng had originally remained on guard, afraid that Cheng Yuan might go mad and attack him. Yet after waiting for quite some time, Cheng Yuan made no move, and Zhao Jie's laughter broke the oppressive atmosphere.

Wang Sheng immediately cupped his hands. "This disciple did not fail your trust!"

"What a fine 'did not fail your trust'!"

Cheng Yuan's voice suddenly became hoarse. His aged eyes were bloodshot, and his graying hair seemed to have withered considerably in an instant.

In the end,

he still forced down the rage and grief filling his chest.

Even Zhao Jie did not dare overturn the table. How could an old man like him dare to do so?

He had also realized what had happened. That little brat Wang Sheng had done it deliberately—he had deliberately lured Xu Zhuo in, knowing that the hot-blooded young man wanted to make a name for himself, first appearing weak before revealing his strength!

Wang Sheng did not reply. After the clerk declared his victory, he obediently moved to retreat behind Cui Sheng.

"Wait. Does Junior Brother Wang Sheng dare challenge me across levels?"

Gao Yun, the female disciple of Cangshan Martial Academy at Perfected Bright Energy who had defeated Li Hu, stared fixedly at Wang Sheng with her face full of killing intent.

"I don't."

Wang Sheng cupped his hands and retreated behind Cui Sheng.

Gao Yun gritted her teeth in fury, yet there was nothing she could do.

Even her master Cheng Yuan did not dare act. What could she, a late Bright Energy martial artist, do if she still wanted to avenge the junior brother she admired?

"Junior Brother truly possesses astonishing strategy. You are no ordinary man!"

Cui Sheng praised.

"Junior Brother has saved all our lives!"

Li Hu solemnly cupped his hands in thanks.

"Junior Brother Wang Sheng has won two battles in a row. This senior brother is inferior to you! Shameful, shameful!"

Yu Cheng approached Wang Sheng with a broad smile, intending to reach out and pat his shoulder.

"It is only because Master taught me well. Compared with all my senior brothers, I am still far behind!"

Wang Sheng modestly replied at an unhurried pace while seeming to step back casually, avoiding Yu Cheng's touch.

Damn it, he actually wanted to leave a hidden force injury in my body. Yu Cheng, do you really want to die sooner?

Wang Sheng's heart turned cold. He had once been ambushed by the man in black who gave him the White Dragon Sword Technique. How could he possibly fall for the same trick again?