Happy Woods lay southeast of the Sword Palace. It had once been a training ground for the Red Plume Army, but had fallen into disuse after the barracks were relocated. Some enthusiasts had planted saplings there, and as time slipped by, those little trees had grown into towering giants. The woods encircled a grassy clearing of roughly two mu. People came there to practice martial arts, strengthen their bodies, or stroll with their caged songbirds, making it a well-known local spot for recreation. Of course, contests of strength and vicious fights often broke out there too.
Thanks to Qiu Mubai's deliberate publicity, his duel with Hu Xiaotian had become the talk of the entire city in just two days. Hu Xiaotian was not a belligerent man, and he had certainly not accepted Qiu Mubai's challenge on a hotheaded impulse. Rather, he had sensed that someone might be pulling Qiu Mubai's strings. To uncover whoever lurked behind him, he first had to defeat Qiu Mubai. More importantly, he now had the strength to back himself up. Ever since swallowing the Wind-and-Cloud Fruit, his internal power had advanced, improving almost daily under the guidance of the Formless Divine Skill. Over the past two days, Sumeru Heaven had taught him the Spirit Snake Nine Swords, and he had found a sword manual inside the Black Iron Token. Although he could not be certain whether it contained the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords, its method of controlling a sword with qi had benefited him immensely, raising his understanding of swordsmanship to an unprecedented level.
When he had first accepted Qiu Mubai's challenge, Hu Xiaotian had thought that even if he could not win, he could at least preserve his life with the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps. Now, however, he possessed tremendous confidence-the confidence to defeat his opponent.