Stellar Transformation World
During this period, Cao Bing had been studying under Feng Yuzi, a Golden Core cultivator.
However, Feng Yuzi was an Immortal Master after all and needed to cultivate himself. Under normal circumstances, Cao Bing could only see him once every four or five days, but every meeting brought him immense gains.
Fortunately, although Cao Bing could not often see Feng Yuzi, the Zhendong Royal Mansion was not short on Xiantian experts. During this time, Cao Bing had come to know more than a dozen Xiantian experts openly stationed there. And that was only the Zhendong Royal Mansion; the Qin Family, which controlled the entire Eastern Three Commanderies, naturally had even more Xiantian experts under its command.
"Brother Wang! I really must thank you for your help during this time. If not for you, my Phantom Blade Technique would never have broken through so quickly!"
Dressed in black, Cao Bing stood on the training ground as straight as a spear, smiling at the man ten meters away.
"Little Brother Cao, what are you saying? If you truly want to thank me, then let me see just how powerful your newly improved Phantom Blade Technique is!"
The man had a full beard and stood roughly two meters tall. He wore a green martial outfit and appeared to be a man in his thirties.
Yet he was actually over eighty years old. A Xiantian mid-stage expert had a lifespan of around five hundred years, which was why he looked like a man in his thirties. His name was Wang Dong, and he was one of the few good friends Cao Bing had made over the past two months.
"Fine! Then be careful, Brother Wang!" Cao Bing's eyes shone brightly as he stared at Wang Dong, his fighting spirit surging.
Compared with before, Cao Bing's cultivation had not improved much, but his combat techniques, battle wisdom, and experience had risen by a great deal. More than half a month of life-and-death battles had not been for nothing!
Furthermore, after cultivating during this period, Cao Bing's Phantom Blade Technique had successfully entered the second level. His strength had improved enormously!
"Take this!" Cao Bing roared, and his body instantly vanished from where he stood.
He pushed the Flying Shadow Technique to its limit, moving at an astonishing speed. At the same time, two phantom arms seemed to grow from his body.
But those two phantom arms were not to be underestimated. Though blurry and illusory, their destructive power was not weak in the slightest. Each phantom possessed fifty-five percent of his own attack power.
Moreover, with every level the Phantom Blade Technique advanced, its attack power increased by another fifty percent. Once Cao Bing reached the seventh level of perfection, it would be equivalent to having seven extra arms, each possessing eighty percent of his own attack power. It was absurdly powerful.
Of course, the current Cao Bing was still far from achieving that.
"Good!" Wang Dong's fighting spirit was also stirred. With a loud shout, he swung his saber at Cao Bing.
The blade pointed directly at Cao Bing's vital spots.
Impressive!
Cao Bing thought to himself.
That strike looked plain and unremarkable, yet it sealed off every route of Cao Bing's attack, forcing him to abandon his previous offensive line and spring away.
He did not dare receive Wang Dong's strike head-on.
If he had the body from the Devouring Starry Sky World, Cao Bing would not have feared it. But in the Stellar Transformation World, both his physical qualities and Internal Force cultivation were far too lacking.
If he truly took that strike, he would probably be severely injured and forced out of the fight immediately.
"A Xiantian mid-stage expert is absolutely not someone I can face head-on. But direct clashes were never what I was best at!"
With that thought, Cao Bing tapped the ground repeatedly with his toes. He brought his Micro-level footwork and the intricacies of the Flying Shadow Technique to their utmost limit. His speed and changes in movement were so fast that even a Xiantian expert like Wang Dong found them hard to handle.
Three arms wielded long sabers, continuously slashing at Wang Dong's vital points from all kinds of tricky angles. However, these were merely probing attacks.
Based on Cao Bing's experience, such attacks could not possibly injure a Xiantian-level expert.
And that was indeed the case. Wang Dong swung his heavy saber, its movements seemingly slow and plain, yet his defense was airtight and flawless.
No matter how Cao Bing probed, he could not find the slightest opening.
"Worthy indeed of being an expert supported by the Zhendong Royal Mansion!"
Cao Bing sighed inwardly.
Yet the saber in his hand did not slow down in the slightest as he pressed his attack again and again!
"Haha! Little Brother Cao! You've attacked for so long—how about taking one of my strikes!"
With a hearty laugh, Wang Dong remained utterly composed beneath Cao Bing's rain-like barrage of attacks.
"Not good!"
The alarm bells rang wildly in Cao Bing's mind. Wang Dong's saber momentum abruptly changed, turning from defense to offense. With one strike, he knocked aside all three of Cao Bing's blade shadows, while his heavy saber shot straight toward Cao Bing's face.
"Retreat!"
Cao Bing's brows tightened as he hurriedly sprang backward. At the same time, the three blade shadows rushed to meet Wang Dong's heavy saber.
Three sharp metallic clangs rang out. The two phantom arms at Cao Bing's sides instantly vanished, leaving only his real arm to block Wang Dong's strike.
"Brother Wang, what strength! Cao Bing admits defeat!"
After taking only one strike from Wang Dong, Cao Bing's entire right arm holding the saber had been numbed and swollen from the shock. Though he had not suffered internal injuries, his strength had still dropped by twenty percent!
"Not at all. If you had Xiantian-level Internal Force, I, Old Wang, would never dare act so arrogantly and fight you!" Wang Dong shook his head, showing no pride over his victory.
To be honest, Wang Dong was extremely shocked by Cao Bing's strength. He knew exactly how strong he himself was. Among Xiantian mid-stage experts, he was considered one of the best. Even ordinary Xiantian late-stage experts might not be his match.
Although he had appeared to handle the exchange with ease, he had actually used seventy percent of his strength.
That much power was enough to easily defeat a Xiantian early-stage expert, yet at the beginning, he could only defend completely. In terms of speed, he knew he could not keep up with Cao Bing's movements.
"Little Brother Cao, no more fighting. Let's go drink!" Wang Dong said as he sheathed his heavy saber and laughed.
"Brother Wang, you know I can't hold my liquor!" A bitter smile appeared on Cao Bing's face.
Whether in the Devouring Starry Sky World or the Stellar Transformation World, he rarely drank. First, he truly was not good at it. Second, he had always placed great importance on cultivating his martial strength in both worlds. Alcohol naturally numbed the nerves, so he basically never touched a drop.
Still, after coming to the Zhendong Royal Mansion, he inevitably made a few friends. At first, he thought the Stellar Transformation World was merely an ancient world and surely could not produce high-proof liquor, so he assumed there would be no problem.
But he was quickly proven wrong. There might not have been modern brewing techniques here, but they had Internal Force, as well as precious brewing ingredients unavailable on Earth.
With all that combined, it would be difficult not to make excellent liquor. And this was the Zhendong Royal Mansion—how could it lack master brewers?
Besides, could Xiantian experts like Wang Dong possibly drink inferior wine? With the strength of a Xiantian expert, a shake of Internal Force could dispel weak alcohol. How could they possibly get drunk?
Thus, the liquor they brought out was all rare treasure-grade wine, enough to easily drink even Xiantian experts under the table. How could ordinary brewed alcohol compare?
The result was that when Cao Bing first drank with Wang Dong, he shamefully collapsed after just two cups. He could not even crawl away, remaining drunk for an entire day and night! He became a laughingstock among quite a few Martial Artists of the Zhendong Royal Mansion.
After that, Cao Bing never drank with those fellows again.
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