"Shink!"
Wang Hao's expression turned cold. He pulled up the greatsword planted in the ground beside him and swung it casually, carving a gash about a foot deep into the ground. Staring straight at the man in black, he said calmly, "What did you just say?"
"Gulp!"
At the sight of the sword gash, everyone present couldn't help swallowing.
The training ground was paved with granite, no less hard than hundredfold-refined fine iron. Yet the greatsword in his hand had just cut a gash about a foot deep into it as though slicing through tofu.
Clearly, the greatsword was a rare divine weapon. Matching blades with a fellow wielding a divine weapon like that would be courting death.
"We're all on the same side. It really wouldn't be appropriate to use sharpened weapons in a spar."
The man in black looked at the deep sword gash, then at the greatsword in Wang Hao's hand, which was over five feet long, and finally at the little saber in his own hand, which was less than two feet long.
His face twitched. In the end, he put his curved saber on the weapon rack for the time being and picked up another one much like it, except that it had no edge.
"Shink!"
Seeing that his opponent knew what was good for him, Wang Hao let the matter drop. He planted the greatsword back in the ground and beckoned to the man in black across from him. "Make your move! If I go first, you won't get the chance."
After awakening his True Spirit Sword Intent, Wang Hao had gained the ability to sense others' strength. Although he could only make a rough judgment, it was still quite useful.
The man in black was only about as strong as Wang Heihu. Wang Hao no longer took the likes of him seriously.
"How arrogant!"
As though he had suffered a tremendous humiliation, the man in black's face abruptly turned frosty. Without another word, he flashed forward and charged at Wang Hao, his curved saber slashing out in a flurry of blade shadows that enveloped Wang Hao's entire body.
Yet in the face of the attack, Wang Hao stood with his arms folded, making no move to respond. He didn't even dodge; it looked as though he intended to take the blows head-on with his body.
The sight made the man in black even more angry, and he added a little more internal force to his hand.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
Blade light flashed again and again as the man in black struck Wang Hao more than a hundred times with his curved saber, the final blow landing squarely on Wang Hao's forehead.
Yet Wang Hao still hadn't moved, nor had he suffered a single wound. Only the dark red marks all over his body proved that the flurry of blade light had not been an illusion.
"Good speed, but your blows are a little weak!"
Wang Hao looked down impassively at the man in black before him. He had long since calculated that the fellow couldn't hurt him, which was why he hadn't defended himself or even counterattacked.
After all, the fellow was thin and moved nimbly. One look was enough to tell that he was a speed-oriented martial artist. Such martial artists might be extremely fast, but their strength was correspondingly much weaker.
On top of that, curved sabers weren't weapons known for their power. Their main method of attack was cutting, which relied more heavily on the sharpness of their edges.
But this curved saber had no edge, wiping out its greatest advantage at a stroke. Naturally, Wang Hao had no need to guard against it.
Besides, Wang Hao's predecessor had practiced the Iron Cloth Shirt.
What was the Iron Cloth Shirt?
It was an external skill formed by combining nine of the most basic hard Qi skills: the Iron Head Skill, Iron Throat Skill, Iron Elbow Skill, Iron Hand Skill, Iron Body Skill, Iron Waist Skill, Iron Crotch Skill, Iron Leg Skill, and Iron Foot Skill. It tempered every part of the body, leaving no blind spots.
Not to mention that he had now switched to externally training the Golden Bell Shield. Although he had only just begun practicing it, the added effect of the Golden Bell Shield's unique method of directing force had raised his defenses another notch, making him considerably tougher than raw cowhide.
With such formidable defenses, he naturally had no fear of an attack like that.
"Everyone, get him! Let's have some fun with him!"
The man in black's expression changed. He flashed backward and shouted to the dozen or so people behind him, clearly preparing to gang up on Wang Hao.
"Get him!"
The dozen or so people on the perimeter exchanged glances, switched their weapons at the rack, and charged in together.
Facing the assault from more than a dozen people, Wang Hao grew serious as well. He unleashed his fists and feet, first using Arhat Strikes the Bell to send both fists crashing into the two young men charging him head-on, knocking them flying along with their weapons. Then he swung his head into another young man beside him.
Relying on his formidable body and powerful defenses, Wang Hao threw himself into the fight without restraint. With nearly two thousand jin of strength, any casual blow could send someone flying.
These fist and foot techniques came with the Golden Bell Shield. They were mainly used to temper the body, but they could also be used against enemies, and to considerable effect.
It was said that the Mighty Vajra Palm, Great Radiance Fist, and Vajra Leg Skill, three of Shaolin Temple's seventy-two supreme arts, had evolved from these body-tempering moves of the Golden Bell Shield. They were truly vast and profound.
Like a tiger among sheep, Wang Hao charged back and forth through the dozen or so people surrounding him, letting his fists and feet fly. Every blow drove someone back, and he had the upper hand in every respect.
Of course, attacking without defending had its drawbacks. His clothes had already been reduced to strips, and deep red marks covered his body, all inflicted by the weapons in these people's hands.
But his skin was indeed tough, and with the Golden Bell Shield's method of directing force, these unsharpened weapons couldn't hurt him at all.
He only needed to keep them from attacking vulnerable vital points such as his armpits, throat, and eyes.
As for the marks, they quickly faded under the effects of his Bloodline Power, while his body gradually grew stronger.
Of course, he also expended a great deal of stamina.
After he had beaten them all to the ground, Wang Hao's stomach growled right on cue.
"You're pretty good. Come back here tomorrow and we'll continue!"
Rubbing his stomach, Wang Hao glanced at the people lying on the ground and spoke with satisfaction. Then he slung the greatsword onto his back and headed for the dining hall.
Little Erha hurried after him, running along happily on four short little legs.
The people sprawled on the ground looked at one another, wanting to cry but having no tears.
They had thought he was just a big fool with an intimidating build at best, and that his strength surely couldn't amount to much. Who would have thought he was so ferocious?
Although their weapons had no edges, the internal force they infused into them gave their blows several hundred jin of force, enough to break a person's bones and snap his tendons.
Who would have thought that against this fellow, they would leave only shallow marks that quickly disappeared?
Their whole group had really ended up as his sparring partners!
Worst of all, the fellow had actually said they would do it again tomorrow. This was murder!
As they complained inwardly, they also made up their minds that tomorrow-no, for some time to come-they would stay away from this training ground. At worst, they could go into seclusion and devote themselves to cultivating internal skills.
In any case, they would never fight that freak again. Otherwise, they were bound to be beaten to death.
As for fighting him with real weapons, that was even more out of the question.
The gash left by his greatsword was still right there!
They didn't think their weapons were much tougher than granite, much less that their bodies were harder than hundredfold-refined fine iron.
"Hall Master, this brat is so arrogant and overbearing. Aren't you going to do something about him?"
In a pavilion not far from the training ground, a lean middle-aged man glared angrily at Wang Hao's departing figure. He had been about to step in and teach Wang Hao a lesson, since Wang Hao had gone far too far.
More than half of the dozen or so people beaten to the ground were his subordinates. Now that they had been beaten so decisively without inflicting any real damage on their opponent, he had lost face as well!
Worst of all, the Hall Master had seen it happen. How could he save face now?
"I won't stop you from teaching him a lesson, but not today. Fight that brat in a decisive battle one month from now. I'll come and watch. If you win, I'll let that old matter go."
Zhao Fengxue took a sip of tea and spoke calmly.
He didn't say what would happen if the man failed, and the lean man understood that defeat would mean death.
"Do you mean that, Hall Master?"
The lean man was overjoyed. He had committed an offense years ago, and Hall Master Zhao Fengxue had held it over him ever since. If he could get the Hall Master to let it go this time, he would come out far ahead.
"I never speak in jest!"
Zhao Fengxue's expression remained calm, and he clearly didn't take the matter to heart. Deep in his eyes, however, a trace of concealed mockery appeared, directed at the man before him.
He had long wanted to get rid of this piece of trash, but had never had the chance. The man was also cautious enough, and had someone backing him. Even though Zhao Fengxue held evidence of his crimes, it wasn't enough to eliminate him.
Seeing what had happened today, he had used a ploy to lure the snake out of its hole. Sure enough, the fellow had fallen for it.
"Thank you for your mercy, Hall Master. I'll take my leave!"
Overjoyed, the lean man respectfully thanked Zhao Fengxue, then left happily, preparing to issue Wang Hao a challenge.
In his view, this was a battle he was certain to win. After all, he was a peak First-Rate expert who had even touched the threshold of Super-First-Rate. Wouldn't killing a Second Tier martial artist be as easy as reaching out and grabbing him?
Even if his opponent had cultivated a formidable hard skill and possessed combat strength far exceeding martial artists of the same level, he was still a long way from matching him!
Even if he gave his opponent a month to grow, he remained full of confidence.
"It's a little early to thank me!"
Zhao Fengxue smiled coldly. Now that the fool had stepped into the trap, he was as good as dead.
Although Wang Hao was indeed no match for him at present, the outcome was uncertain a month from now.
After all, that boy was an absolute monster!
According to the information his son had given him, the brat had only been a Third-Rate martial artist a few days ago. But ever since swallowing the Great Rejuvenation Pill, he had improved at an astonishing speed, as though he had shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones.
While in Chaoyang City, he had been able to kill Wang Heihu and two others, who were in the middle to late Second Tier, with a cultivation level at the peak of Third-Rate.
Early this morning, he had held out for a full thirty breaths against five percent of Zhao Fengxue's strength, broken through in the middle of the fight, and even unleashed the Sword Qi he had casually condensed.
Although Zhao Fengxue didn't think much of that level of strength, such speed of improvement was simply outrageous.
Even now, he couldn't say how much the brat would grow in a month.
"Pass down the order. Prepare one portion of grade-B medicinal cuisine for that brat every day, and do your best to meet any other requests he has."
Zhao Fengxue gave the order calmly. Standing behind him, 9527 nodded slightly to show he understood.
"Little fellow, I've already prepared your test. Whether you can pass it is up to you."
After murmuring to himself, Zhao Fengxue returned to savoring his tea.
This was Dahongpao that he had gone to great lengths to obtain. It was exceedingly precious, and he had to savor it properly.