"Examiner, I am ready."
Xu Taiping turned to glance at the examiner not far away.
"I am ready as well."
Lu Yuan also spoke up to signal his readiness.
By now, the confusion had vanished from his face, replaced by curiosity and excitement.
Interesting, he thought. I've been on Cloud Cottage Mountain for seven years. Down here below the mountain, there are hardly any people left who dare wield a saber before me.
"Since you are both ready, let the match begin."
The examiner announced this in a ringing voice, then swung his arm, striking the bronze gong beside him with a clang.
Shing!
Shing!
Almost at the same instant the gong sounded, Xu Taiping and Lu Yuan drew their sabers in unison.
Two surges of blade qi howled out from the eastern and western sides of the arena like two suddenly rising gales, finally colliding with a clang.
Boom!
Amid the clash and the qi explosion, Xu Taiping's and Lu Yuan's blades touched and parted, and both men flew backward to their original positions.
Clearly, they had used this strike to test each other's strength; neither had gone all out.
Yet this single exchange, over as soon as it began, sent the disciples watching below into an uproar.
"That young man really does know how to use a saber!"
"It was only one strike, but he already has considerable skill. He doesn't look like someone who just started."
Of course, this was not Xu Taiping's first time using a saber.
Over the past two years, to give himself more hidden cards for the Seven Peaks Selection, he had devoted a large portion of his energy to practicing the Seven-Kill Blade.
With Lingyue guiding him at his side, his progress had been considerable.
"We still underestimated Taiping."
Before the bronze