Shadow Saber

For a time, no one from Everjoy County spoke.

Guo Wei snapped, "You won one match and already don't know your own limits. Step down."

But Xia Chun smiled and waved a hand. "It is rare for young people to gather in one place. A few more sparring matches won't hurt, so long as no one gets injured."

With those words, Zhao Tang grew even more high-spirited.

Clearly, he treasured this opportunity to take the stage and was determined to make a name for himself in a single stroke.

Ding Yuan quietly asked Li Dashan for permission to fight, but Li Dashan waved him off. "This is the stage for the martial examinees. Why make ourselves unwelcome? Just watch the show."

Ding Yuan flushed with embarrassment and stepped back.

The next moment, a figure leaped out from among the seats. It was Li Cheng.

Zhao Tang smiled faintly and called out, "State your name."

Li Cheng said, "Li Cheng of Everjoy County, Skin Tempering Third Layer."

Zhao Tang asked again, "Who are your father and grandfather?"

Li Cheng's expression remained calm. "We are testing the skill in our hands. What is the point of asking that?"

Zhao Tang snorted coldly. "Fine. Let me see what skill you have in those hands."

The moment he finished speaking, Zhao Tang lunged forward, raising a fist straight at Li Cheng's chest.

Li Cheng turned aside to evade, his right hand snapping out with the motion. His five fingers curved like hooks as they clawed toward Zhao Tang's elbow.

Zhao Tang used Sinking Shoulder, dropping his elbow and swinging his fist to force Li Cheng back. He immediately followed with another punch.

Li Cheng used a secret hand technique passed down through his family. His moves changed with astonishing speed, and every strike was exceedingly tricky.

When Zhao Tang had faced Sun Hui earlier, he had been able to rely on Yuewang Dispersed Strikes to seize the offense again and again, keeping the entire fight firmly in his grasp.

But against Li Cheng, just as his fist momentum began to unfold, it would be cut off in advance.

In barely more than ten exchanges, Zhao Tang had gone from attacking proactively to being forced onto the defensive.

His punch missed, and Li Cheng's two fingers were already stabbing toward his Adam's apple.

Zhao Tang hastily arched backward to avoid them and retreated two steps, his expression becoming increasingly ugly.

Zhao Tang knew the score well. If he continued trading fists and kicks, he would only grow more bedraggled. He shouted, "My saber!"

Someone from Dongting County immediately threw a long saber into the arena.

Zhao Tang raised a hand and caught it. The blade slid from its sheath, and its cold gleam lit up half his face.

Guo Wei's expression darkened slightly. "This is only a spar. No injuries."

"Rest assured, Uncle. I know my limits."

Just then, a longsword was thrown into the arena, and Li Cheng caught it steadily.

Zhao Tang gave a long howl, his blade sweeping across with a shriek of wind.

Zhao Tang's saber technique resembled the style of Yuewang Dispersed Strikes. Both excelled in fierce, unbroken assaults.

Once his saber momentum unfolded, it was like a violent storm and driving rain, one slash following another without granting his opponent a moment to breathe.

Yet Li Cheng refused to meet him head-on. His longsword extended, gliding along the saber's blade as it stabbed toward Zhao Tang's saber-wielding wrist, nimble and treacherous.

Zhao Tang was alarmed and had no choice but to alter his move, drawing back his saber.

But just as his saber momentum turned back, Li Cheng's sword tip had already swept up from below, striking toward his ribs.

Zhao Tang hurriedly twisted aside to dodge, his saber momentum forced to break once more.

Zhao Tang was greatly startled. Move after move, he encountered the same situation.

His saber momentum was clearly fiercer, and he held the advantage in strength, yet he could never truly unleash it.

Whenever one move was ending and the next had not fully connected, Li Cheng's longsword would arrive at precisely the spot that made him most uncomfortable.

If Zhao Tang did not withdraw his saber, he would be pierced by the sword tip first.

But once he pulled back his saber to save himself, the offensive momentum he had painstakingly built up would scatter with it.

The discussions around the arena gradually became more animated.

Zhang Yan exclaimed, "This is the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude? I never expected Li Cheng to have mastered this technique. His talent truly is outstanding. If he were willing to remain and develop in our Celebration Hall, he would surely become a formidable hand in the future."

Li Dashan quietly drank his tea as though he had heard nothing.

He knew the score well. How could a young master of the Li Family possibly be content to nest in Celebration Hall?

In the arena, Li Cheng fought with increasing ease, while Zhao Tang became ever more impatient. With a roar, he gripped his saber in both hands and swept it fiercely across.

The long saber came whistling at Li Cheng's waist, wrapped in a powerful gale, seeking to force him back through sheer strength.

Li Cheng retreated, avoiding the strongest part of the saber's momentum. Only after Zhao Tang's sweep had passed and his arm began to draw back did the longsword suddenly cut in.

The flat of the sword passed beneath the saber's edge and struck Zhao Tang's wrist with perfect accuracy.

Zhao Tang's hand went numb, and his five fingers involuntarily loosened.

With a clang, the long saber flew from his grasp and landed several yards away.

The victor had been decided.

Zhao Tang stood where he was, his face shifting from red to white.

Moments ago, he had been swaggering before the people of Everjoy County. Now, his weapon had been knocked from his hand in full view of everyone. Naturally, he could not save face.

But before Xia Chun and so many prominent figures from both counties, he could not continue making a scene. He could only pick up his saber, grit his teeth, and return to his seat.

Li Cheng sheathed his sword, cupped his hands toward those around him, and prepared to leave the arena.

At that moment, Song Wuliang suddenly set down his wine cup and smiled at Xia Chun. "Lord Pacification Commissioner, since today is meant to watch the young heroes of the two counties contend, we cannot let only the martial examinees show their faces. There are also quite a few outstanding young talents in our counties' martial world."

Xia Chun was in high spirits and laughed heartily. "Sect Master Song is right. Since it is for entertainment, there is no harm in watching a few more matches. Who will challenge young friend Li Cheng next?"

Before Xia Chun's words had faded, Song Que had already strode into the arena. From afar, he cupped his hands toward Li Cheng. "Song Que of Dongting County, Skin Tempering Fourth Layer. Please instruct me."

He was like a saber concealed within its sheath, his bearing stern and imposing.

Deng Qing was even more shocked. He had already considered his cultivation speed fast enough, having risen from the first layer to the third. He had not expected there to be someone even stronger.

How long had it been? Song Que had actually risen directly from the first layer to the fourth.

He could not help thinking to himself, Senior Brother Fan was right. So long as one is willing to put in bitter effort in the Skin Tempering Realm, has ample resources, and receives the help of an expert, breaking through barriers is no difficult matter.

As Deng Qing studied Song Que, Song Que also locked onto Deng Qing from the corner of his eye.

After his defeat at Blackwind Ravine, Song Que had changed his former path of cultivation.

In the past, he had thought highly of himself. Though he lacked no resources, he had been unwilling to rush into breakthroughs, always wanting to temper his foundations to perfection.

Only after losing to Deng Qing did he understand that so-called grand prospects in the future had to be built upon the ability to defeat the enemy before one's eyes.

Over the past few months, he had used the resources Song Wuliang gave him to break through consecutive barriers while diligently practicing the Golden Saber Sect's secret hand techniques.

All so that one day, when he encountered Deng Qing again, he could reclaim the face he had lost at Blackwind Ravine, along with that Blacksteel Soft Sword.

Today, the Pacification Commissioner, officials from both counties, and figures from every major martial hall had gathered in one place.

In Song Que's eyes, there could be no better place to wash away his past humiliation.

But to deal with Deng Qing, he first had to deal with Li Cheng before him and earn the status of arena champion.

And Li Cheng was confident that he had already entered the threshold of the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude. Though Song Que was renowned and his martial realm now surpassed Li Cheng's, Li Cheng remained utterly fearless.

Neither wasted words. They began fighting at once.

The moment they exchanged blows, Li Cheng sensed that something was wrong.

Song Que's saber technique was bizarre and unpredictable. When he cleaved out with one stroke, the saber light suddenly flickered midway, seeming to split into several overlapping shadows.

Though the frontal saber momentum was at its strongest, the true edge might be hidden at the side.

By the time one saw through it, the blade had often already arrived before one's body.

"Shadow Saber."

Li Dashan's gaze sharpened as he said quietly, "This is one of the Golden Saber Sect's deepest secret techniques. It excels at using phantom shadows to bewilder opponents, mingling truth and falsehood until there is no way to tell them apart."