After coming to a stop, the white-robed youth from the Xiaoyao Sect immediately cupped his hands politely toward Liu Chuxuan and said:
"Junior Liu Gu of the Xiaoyao Sect greets Prefect Liu and all the seniors."
But as he leaned forward, his toe accidentally landed on a pebble, and his ankle twisted with a crack.
The dark-faced youth beside him hurriedly steadied Liu Gu and asked with concern:
"Liu Gu, are you all right?"
Flushing red, Liu Gu waved his hand in embarrassment and said:
"It's fine, it's fine. It'll heal in a moment."
Seeing that he was unharmed, the dark-faced youth relaxed. Then he, too, cupped his hands toward Liu Chuxuan and the others, grinning to reveal a mouthful of white teeth:
"Qi Po of Yellow Maple Valley. Greetings, Prefect Liu! Greetings, seniors!"
At this point, Qi Po suddenly planted both hands on his hips and looked up at the demons beneath the imperial edict:
"Seniors, rest assured. Even if I have to stake my life on it, I, Qi Po, will kill at least one Demonic Beast!"
The youth was steeped in the worldly air of the martial fraternity.
On any ordinary day, those on the Sword Platform might merely have smiled, but today, neither they nor those in the stands or before the Spirit Mirrors could smile.
They simply could not understand why the Sword Chief Ranking had chosen two young cultivators like newborn calves unafraid of tigers to take part in this Sword Inquiry, upon which True Martial Heaven's survival depended.
Just then, a cultivator in the stands suddenly roared in fury:
"There are ten Demon Emperors on the other side! Are you of the Nine Prefectures really going to stand by and watch the Sword Chief Ranking disregard True Martial Heaven's survival and choose these