At those words, Mu Qingyue's expression changed.
Though she did not believe him in the slightest.
She would not waste time arguing, either.
For she had always held to one principle.
Let their skills do the talking!
"Words are pointless! Show me what you can do."
The moment Mu Qingyue finished speaking,
Zhang Teng felt an extraordinarily powerful sword intent gathering!
Within that space, Mu Qingyue seemed to have become a sword!
With her at its center, her sword intent rapidly permeated the Heaven-and-Earth spiritual power, and vast amounts of it began converging!
So this is the process of Manifestation of Martial Intent... Just as I thought.
Then,
Zhang Teng drew a deep breath, stepped in front of Mu Qingyue, and abruptly activated the Breath-Absorbing Art!
In an instant, he breathed great quantities of unattributed Heaven-and-Earth spiritual power in and out.
As that vast quantity of Heaven-and-Earth spiritual power gathered, it directly disrupted Mu Qingyue's efforts to condense her sword intent.
But Mu Qingyue's sword intent was exceptionally strong. The Heaven-and-Earth spiritual power stirred by Zhang Teng's breathing was instantly permeated by it.
Still, Zhang Teng was not discouraged.
He continued practicing the Breath-Absorbing Art, using unattributed Heaven-and-Earth spiritual power to displace the spiritual power permeated by sword intent.
During this process, Mu Qingyue's expression changed as well.
Originally, she had not believed him.
But now, she had no choice, for she truly found it difficult to condense her sword intent.
Although Zhang Teng could not prevent her from condensing Sword Intent, the entire process would take at least ten times longer than usual!
If two martial artists in the martial dao true intent realm were fighting, that delay would be utterly fatal!
"How did you do that?"
Mu Qingyue asked in astonishment.
Zhang Teng smiled faintly. "That is a secret of us immortal cultivators. If you want to know, you must join the Martial Arts Grounds and receive Master's personal instruction."
Mu Qingyue paused, then gave a faint smile.
"True enough. It is a new school, after all. It does have its strengths."
At that point, her tone shifted.
"But for us martial artists, strength is ultimately what matters."
"Disrupting Martial True Intent may be marvelous, but without strength of your own, you are still nothing but fragile porcelain."
Mu Qingyue looked at Zhang Teng.
"May I see what makes your school of martial arts for Immortal Cultivators exceptional?"
Zhang Teng brimmed with confidence.
"Please!"
Mu Qingyue smiled faintly.
"In that case, I won't hold back... I'll spar with you using the strength of the early dantian sea realm. That is the recruitment standard!"
With that, Mu Qingyue lightly brushed her shoulder-length hair.
The next second!
She pulled the Hairpin straight from her hair and flung it at Zhang Teng.
Her Hairpin was actually a small sword. Its two edges were unsharpened, but its tip had been honed.
At that moment,
Lin Bei, watching from the shadows, could not help cursing inwardly.
Despicable!
Now he, too, realized that once martial artists started fighting, they apparently disregarded martial honor.
On closer thought, that was only natural.
The strong reigned supreme, and whoever won was the strong one.
Faced with Mu Qingyue's surprise attack, Zhang Teng was initially somewhat startled.
He had not expected an expert of Mu Qingyue's caliber to resort to such tactics.
But Zhang Teng quickly reacted.
Though she had caught him by surprise, he had already mastered the Breath-Absorbing Art and possessed exceptionally keen perception, so he did not panic.
The instant the small throwing sword reached him, his two fingers closed like chopsticks, catching it securely.
"Indestructible vajra? Catching a hidden weapon barehanded?"
Seeing the golden gleam between Zhang Teng's fingers, Mu Qingyue looked surprised.
At that moment, she seemed to understand something.
With indestructible vajra protecting him, Hall Master Cheng's defeat was hardly unjust!
But the assessment was not over yet.
The next second, Mu Qingyue darted toward Zhang Teng like a wily hare, attacking directly from his right.
Her right foot was like a sword.
It shot out like lightning, so fast it even left an afterimage in the air.
Zhang Teng bent backward at the waist, evading the blow.
At the same time,
A small tree as thick as an arm, three meters away from him, was severed across its middle.
What a sharp martial technique! That qi shoots straight out of her body!
Though she was only using Early Elixir Sea Stage strength, she was clearly far stronger than Hall Master Cheng!
But Zhang Teng was far stronger now than he had been before!
Over these past days, he had comprehended the Breath-Absorbing Art and used it for Body Tempering and strengthening his body.
If he fought Hall Master Cheng as he had been back then, he could subdue him within three moves!
Otherwise, he might truly have been unable to withstand her.
After that first strike, Mu Qingyue's attacks immediately came pouring down like a raging storm.
Three more exceptionally sharp kicks followed.
Zhang Teng shifted his feet, dodging left and right, easily evading her attacks.
I knew my earlier feeling was right. Zhang Teng really is formidable!
Mu Qingyue thought to herself.
Just then, Zhang Teng's counterattack followed close behind. One hand formed a palm strike and shot straight toward her jade-like throat.
When martial artists fought,
Every move sought a life!
Though this palm strike looked gentle, Mu Qingyue could sense the hardness hidden within its softness.
Even she would suffer if it landed!
Left with no choice, she could only retreat and dodge...
For a Central Hall martial artist, this was simply inconceivable.
Normally, anyone who could last three moves against a Central Hall martial artist passed the assessment.
Who could even speak of counterattacking, let alone driving one back?
After all, the strength of an Early Elixir Sea Stage martial artist from the Central Hall was far greater than that of an ordinary martial artist!
Even a mid-elixir sea martial artist might not be a match for an Early Elixir Sea Stage martial artist from the Central Hall.
I never expected him to seize the opening in my martial technique and counterattack in an instant...
Before Mu Qingyue could finish marveling,
Zhang Teng unleashed Tai Chi, his attacks flowing without end.
Mu Qingyue dodged several times, then seized an opportunity to counterattack.
One hand became a sword and slashed straight down!
This time, however, Zhang Teng did not dodge. He took it head-on!
With a clang, his clothing split open, revealing gleaming golden flesh and muscle!
"What? Indestructible vajra... can actually block my Arm Sword!"
He could even withstand martial techniques head-on?
As Mu Qingyue stared in astonishment, she felt a chill at her neck. Zhang Teng's hand had formed a throat-gripping claw and stopped just before her throat.
His chain of attacks had concealed murderous intent all along!
At that moment,
Mu Qingyue felt somewhat dazed.
She...
Had actually lost?
She had lost while administering the Central Hall's assessment?
"I wonder whether our Martial Arts Grounds has met your Central Hall's recruitment standard?"
Zhang Teng withdrew his attack, then smiled slightly.
During their exchange, every move had been lethal.
But once they stopped, both immediately became friendly again.
"You have."
Mu Qingyue gave Zhang Teng a complicated look.
She had always been proud. Even among the Central Hall's martial artists, she was outstanding.
Yet now, fighting Zhang Teng with dantian sea realm strength, she had actually... been defeated?
She found it somewhat difficult to accept.
"We welcome your Martial Arts Grounds into our martial hall's ranks."
After saying that, Mu Qingyue could not help offering a word of praise.
"Zhang Teng, your Immortal Cultivator school is truly remarkable. You actually managed to cultivate indestructible vajra."
At her words, Zhang Teng smiled faintly without saying anything more.
This so-called indestructible vajra was merely an accidental breakthrough in martial body refining he had made while practicing the Breath-Absorbing Art.
Indestructible vajra? Was it that impressive?
He had never considered it anything special.
"Indestructible vajra? Nothing but a petty trick."
At those words, Mu Qingyue gave a slight start...
One word flashed through her mind.
Arrogant!
Before you continue