Guidance

He Shaobing backed away in terror, but Lin Xuan's sword was faster than him.

A brilliant red flash swept past, swift as lightning, leaving everyone stunned.

By the time the crowd came back to their senses, Lin Xuan's Red Flame Greatsword was pressed against He Shaobing's chest. With the slightest exertion of force, it would pierce his heart. He Shaobing did not dare move at all, his face pale and his eyes filled with terror.

What a fast sword!

What precise control!

There were also experts ranked within the top hundred at the martial arts arena. Seeing such a battle, they could not help drawing sharp breaths. Lin Xuan's strength exceeded even their expectations. To aim at a vital point like the heart—how much confidence did that require?

One had to know that killing was forbidden within the sect, especially the senseless killing of elites like He Shaobing, who had a good chance of becoming inner sect disciples.

Yet Lin Xuan had dared to attack his opponent's heart during a sparring match, proving that he was fully confident in his control. At that speed and with that power, abruptly withdrawing his attack without the slightest mistake was something these watching disciples admitted they could not do.

"I... I lost..." He Shaobing said dejectedly.

Huff! Lin Xuan withdrew the Red Flame Greatsword and stepped down from the flag formation arena.

"Your swordsmanship is not bad, but your grasp of timing is lacking. You need more real combat practice."

"Hm?" He Shaobing froze. Was Lin Xuan giving him guidance?

He scratched his head. Lin Xuan was right. He rarely hunted ferocious beasts, and he seldom sparred with fellow disciples. Most of his time was spent cultivating alone.

"Th-thank you," He Shaobing said earnestly. "Your strength is enough to enter the top hundred. I was too impulsive this time."

"Top hundred?" Lin Xuan asked. "What top hundred? I really don't know why you came to fight me."

"Because of this." The slightly plump youth called Little Wei stepped forward and handed Lin Xuan a roster.

"The Outer Sect Rankings." Lin Xuan took it curiously and quickly looked through it. Ranked first was a disciple named Shangguan Liuyun, followed by Jiang Yulong, Duan Fei, and the others.

Lin Xuan found his own name at rank one hundred, with He Shaobing at rank one hundred and one. Only then did he understand what had happened.

"The person who made these rankings really has a venomous eye. As expected, I overestimated myself!" He Shaobing mocked himself.

"It's nothing. Don't take these things to heart. There's nothing wrong with believing in yourself." Lin Xuan smiled. He certainly did not believe he was only strong enough for rank one hundred. His goal was first place!

"What?" He Shaobing and Little Wei widened their eyes. Lin Xuan seemed not to believe the rank assigned to him on the rankings. The two hesitated for a long while, but ultimately said nothing more.

"You can come spar with me often in the future." Lin Xuan patted He Shaobing on the shoulder.

He Shaobing was stunned for a moment, then said happily, "Mm, I'll definitely improve next time!" With that, he pulled his friend Little Wei away.

"Shaobing, this Lin Xuan seems different from the others!" Little Wei said.

"Mm, I have a feeling that he is definitely more than just rank one hundred. I really hope someone can break the curse of these rankings!" He Shaobing's eyes brimmed with anticipation.

When the watching youths saw that Lin Xuan remained humble in victory and had even guided his opponent, they immediately began seeing him in a new light. Apart from the disciples of the three major factions, who merely sneered disdainfully, those disciples who had not joined any group developed an inexplicable feeling toward Lin Xuan.

"Lin Xuan, right? My name is Guan Yunfei. Could I spar with you?" Before long, a disciple came forward to challenge him. Lin Xuan readily accepted. In his view, cultivating behind closed doors could never improve one as quickly as real combat.

After Guan Yunfei, many more disciples came to spar with Lin Xuan. There were two reasons. First, Lin Xuan's swordsmanship was indeed exceptional, and fighting him allowed them to learn quite a few things. Second, his attacks were extremely precise, so those who fought him did not need to worry about being injured.

Very soon, an entire day passed. Lin Xuan fought more than a dozen youths one after another, then finally sat down in the martial arts arena to rest.

As the sun set in the west, its lingering glow fell upon the martial arts arena as though draping it in a thin veil of gold.

"Brother Xuan, are you even human? You're practically a monster! You fought so many matches, yet you're not tired at all!" Guan Yunfei said enviously.

"Exactly! We're exhausted, but you look like nothing happened!"

Lin Xuan smiled. When his Eternal Life Art had opened his fifth spirit vein, it had gradually begun to display its power. Although his cultivation was still at Meridian Condensation Stage Five, the amount of spiritual energy he possessed was twice that of an ordinary fifth-level Spirit Warrior, even more than that of an average sixth-level Spirit Warrior. This greatly increased his endurance in battle.

"Brother Xuan, shall we fight again tomorrow?" the youths asked eagerly.

"Sure, no problem." Lin Xuan happened to want to train Shadowstep to the great mastery realm, so he readily agreed.

Beneath the light of the setting sun, the youths raced swiftly toward the residential area.

As the date of the inner sect selection tournament drew nearer and nearer, fewer and fewer disciples went to the Mission Hall to accept missions. Chen Dazheng rarely enjoyed such leisurely days.

"Ah, I'm so jealous of those guys who can enter the inner sect!" Chen Dazheng began sorting through the records.

"Excuse me, Senior Brother, may I post a mission?" A timid voice sounded.

"What?" The voice was too soft, and Chen Dazheng had not heard clearly.

"Y-yes, sorry. I want to post a mission." This time, the voice was slightly louder, but it still sounded like the buzzing of a mosquito.

Chen Dazheng turned around helplessly and discovered that a young girl was standing before him. She had glossy black hair, gemstone-like eyes, and a fair little face tinged with a faint blush from shyness. She looked delicate and helpless.

"Oh, you can. What mission do you want to post?" Chen Dazheng seemed never to have seen such a delicate disciple before, and he could not help looking at her a few more times.

The girl lowered her head shyly and murmured, "My longsword is broken. I want to have it repaired."

As she spoke, she handed over the longsword in her hands.

Chen Dazheng gave it a glance, then said, "Why don't you leave it here first? I'll post the mission for you, and we'll notify you once it's repaired. But there will be a handling fee and a mission fee."

"Ah?" The girl seemed not to have expected it to be so troublesome. She softly said, "Th-then forget it."

The girl gently put away her longsword, then turned and prepared to leave.

"Hey, wait!" Chen Dazheng sighed, quickly wrote a line on a sheet of white paper, and handed it to her.

"If you want to repair your longsword, go find him. In the entire outer sect, I'm afraid only he can fix your weapon."

The girl took the note and looked at it curiously. She found that it listed the residence of an outer sect disciple. She thanked him, then left with her head lowered.

At noon, the sunlight was just right.

Lin Xuan did not go to the martial arts arena today. He wanted to digest what he had gained from his cultivation these past few days and examine the results of his training. First was the Thunder Movement Swordsmanship. Its first level had already reached the great mastery realm, while the second had reached the minor mastery realm and would soon reach great mastery.

The Lone Mountain Swordsmanship had reached the perfected realm, Shadowstep had reached the great mastery realm, and the Golden Jade Body Tempering Art had reached the perfected realm. With the strength of his physical body alone, he could now completely overpower a fifth-level Spirit Warrior.

Very good. The martial arts in my hands are nearly all trained to completion. The next step is breaking through to the Sixth Level of Meridian Condensation. Lin Xuan's eyes were filled with confidence.

Knock, knock, knock!

A series of low knocks sounded, shattering the quiet within the small house.