Huh, I have a Blowhard of my own now? Secretly amused, Ding Songyan stepped into the courtyard and said to Li Baima and Wu Mo:
"I was just a fox borrowing the tiger's might, relying on the prince's residence to back me up."
"Not so, not so," Fan Chunlin hurriedly said. "I'm a guard of the prince's residence too, but facing Liu Cheng, my heart still pounded and my courage failed me. I didn't dare stand firm against him. Nothing like you, Brother Ding-you treated him as an equal and didn't make a fuss about him being a Martial Grandmaster."
Was I treating him as an equal? I clearly put on that arrogant 'Someone, write him an imperial decree' attitude to provoke Liu Cheng... Then again, though we only exchanged three moves, Liu Cheng's performance was definitely beyond Second Rank Subtlety... Ding Songyan smiled modestly and said:
"We're at the Son of Heaven's feet, in the foremost seat of good governance, and we're guards of the prince's residence. What have we to fear from gutter gangs?"
First Rank Spirit Communion on the exalted orchid roll was similar to Third Rank Divination: both stood before a major realm and were crowded with martial artists of wildly differing strength. The gap within a single rank might be greater than that between First Rank and Second Rank. Some could only beat Second Rank Subtlety Martial Grandmasters by a margin of two or three moves, while others could secure a swift victory within ten. With the right surroundings and the element of surprise, they might even have a chance to finish their opponents in one strike.
"Whatever the case, that courage, that composure, that bearing-they're everything I aspire to." Fan Chunlin lavished fervent praise on Ding Songyan, then said to Wu Mo and Li