Hou Niao took a few steps forward, neither servile nor overbearing, and raised his hands in a formal salute.
"Hou Niao has little talent. Please instruct me, senior brothers and sisters."
He did not recognize a single person opposite him. Men and women alike, they were all scions of Jincheng lineages, which was why they dared act so brazenly. There was only one person he paid attention to: Rao Zongzhi, from the Jade Capital.
According to Daoist Wang, this senior brother ranked last among the five Jade Capital disciples visiting this time, but his strength was still in an entirely different league from that of country bumpkins like them. Handsome and dashing, he stood surrounded like the moon amid a host of stars. By contrast, few paid much attention to Hou Niao, their opponent.
One disciple stepped out from the crowd. "Zhou Duo of the Pastoral Marshal Prefecture. I wish to experience your brilliant moves, junior brother."
Everyone spread out around them and quietly watched what would happen.
Hou Niao drew his spare, standard-issue longsword and concentrated on facing his opponent. It was not that he underestimated him; rather, his lone sword was somewhat unstable at present, and he feared he might fail to control it. Daoist Wang had told him to strike without restraint, but these were fellow disciples, after all. He could hardly kill them.
Longsword in hand, Zhou Duo focused his gaze and gathered momentum. In contests within the Quanzhen Sect, swordsmanship alone mattered. Throwing spells into the mix to make up the numbers brought no glory even if one won. Everyone understood this without needing to say it.
He took a step forward, probing his opponent, leaving himself free to advance or retreat according to the response. Seeing Hou Niao standing motionless as a wooden chicken,