Ding Hao’s eyebrows twitched furiously.

At that moment, he could not suppress the sense of extreme danger that crept up on him.

Was this faint red light the so-called ‘Dark Force’?

“According to the memories I’ve absorbed, the human martial artists in in this world are able to control a supernatural force known as the Dark Force, and use this Dark Force to refine their 12 meridians and 108 acupoints…

“The faint red light that appeared from his body earlier was probably the manifestation of the dark force. However, Song Jiannan’s strength is just average. He probably would not even be able to last a second against a first aperture martial disciple so I’ve got nothing to be afraid of.”

Ding Hao thought quickly and soon figured out their individual strengths.

“Little scum, today, I shall take your life,” Song Jiannan said as his eyes sparked with killing desire.

He had arrived like an esteemed emperor, not expecting to face such a terrifying oddball in this cave of civilians. It was clear to him that this man had not cultivated any form of dark force, and did not even have the seed to kindle dark force, but yet he had managed to send him flying with just one punch.

This was an absolute disgrace for someone like him.

It was unforgivable!

“Little scum, I will let you experience how it feels like to die under the power of the true sword,” Song Jiannan laughed as his killing desire surged.

Immediately after saying that, he stretched out his long sword and molded a sword tactic as he prepped for his initial move.

Instanteously, Song Jiannan’s entire aura experienced a significant change. He slowly started to exude an indescribable aura that could cause one to develop mental stress.

“Hm? This is…. interesting.”

Ding Hao frowned, then suddenly smiled.

An idea suddenly came to him and he used his palm to grip the hilt of the rusty sword as he mimicked Song Jiannan’s moves. He used his sword to make an identical starting position.

Similarly, an indescribable aura slowly emanated from Ding Hao’s body and filled the air.

He was obviously just mimicking Song Jiannan, but for some reason, Ding Hao’s moves, sword tactic, aura and bearing far surpassed that of Song Jiannan, as if he had spent decades perfecting this initial move. He managed to convey every nuance of the move to perfection.

“Idiot, do you really think you would be able to pick up a swordsmanship technique just by imitation? Ha ha, you must be dreaming. Little scum, time for you to die!”

“Whoosh!”

His long sword vibrated and cold light filled the surroundings as Song Jiannan suddenly made his move.

This set of sword technique was known as the ‘Cross Fast Sword’, and it was a lower human level swordsmanship.

After he displayed his sword technique, it was like howling winds and swift rain and its speed was like lightning. It was said that once this technique had been cultivated to the grand completion stage, one would be able to slash a fallen leaf into ten even pieces cleanly before it even touched a drop of water.

“Bring it on,” Ding Hao said, his starry eyes shining brightly.

The rusty sword in his hand vibrated and he suddenly slashed out, once again mimicking Song Jiannan’s move to a tee.

“Clash! Clash! Clash!”

Sparks flew everywhere as the long sword and the rusty sword clashed together violently.

With every move Song Jiannan made, Ding Hao would follow with the exact same move the next instant.

They were engaged in an extremely bizarre battle and it was just like a person practicing swordsmanship in front of a mirror with both the figures on the left and right executed the exact same swordsmanship technique in the same swordsmanship path.

Ever since that miraculous encounter in the mountain cave, Ding Hao had become ridiculously powerful, so even though Song Jiannan’s long sword was reinforced with dark force, he managed to hold his own with his rusty sword.

In a blink of an eye, they had traded dozens of blows.

Within this small fenced yard, sword Qi crisscrossed the compound and sword light blinked rapidly with the clang of metal.

Dozens of minutes later, Song Jiannan’s face started to change.

“Impossible! What is going on? How could this little scum of a bitch also wield my ‘Cross Fast Sword’ technique? Only Swordsmanship-seeking sect disciples on the waiting list would be worthy of learning this sword technique. Furthermore, is he or is he not just a beginner? How could he wield this technique with such deftness and sureness? His comprehension of his technique seems to be even….higher than me?

Song Jiangnan looked like he had just swallowed a rat, as he grew more and more astonished, for Ding Hao’s mastery of this technique only grew with time.

If Song Jiangnan’s skill was on par with Ding Hao during the first round, then the second time they deployed the same swordsmanship technique, Ding Hao was at least twice as skillful and deft in his control of the swordsmanship’s context as compared to Song Jiannan. His sword strength became faster and faster, to the point where Song Jiannan was finding it hard to keep up.

Finally –

Clang!

There was a clear ringing sound as both swords met.

Song Jiangnan felt his palm shake violently and his arms go numb as he lost his grip on his long sword. His long sword was sent sailing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ding Hao did not stop but slashed out with his backhand.

Before Song Jiannan could even react, the rusty sword’s side had already slashed across his face three time at lightning speed.

“Puff…”

This disciples on the waiting list from the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was sent flying like a ragdoll as blood flowed freely from his mouth.

Zhao Xingcheng and the others who were watching this shocking scene from the side felt a chill run down their spines, as if their soul had left them, or if they had been struck by lightning.

“Pfft…how dare you…”

Song Jiannan landed heavily on the ground, a disheveled mess. His face was flushed and he could not help but cough out another bout of fresh blood. His embarrassment turned into anger and he was just about to get to his feet to give Ding Hao a piece of his mind….

However, when he saw that Ding Hao coming at him without pause, swiftly slicing a fallen leaf into pieces with a wave of his sword, Song Jiannan was suddenly unable to utter a word, as if he was a duck held by its neck.

Ding Hao did not stop there.

He was completely immersed in the world of the sword and his sword momentum continued to evolve.

Soon, he fell into a mysterious state where he was just comprehending the way of the sword.

The rusty sword in his hand kept undergoing changes. It resembled a crimson light ball and rolled around his body in orbit as it flickered in and out of view. The sword wind howled and tore the air apart, a shocking sight to behold.

This was Ding Hao’s third time displaying this ‘Cross Fast Sword’.

However, his sword radiance was already to the point where it was hard to track with one’s naked eye. It was like a red mist that wrapped itself around Ding Hao until finally, the sound of the sword whistling through the air could no longer be heard. Only a faint trace of sword radiance remained.

This was the highest stage of this ‘Cross Fast Sword’ technique – slashing a leaf into 10 parts, without allowing a drop of water to land on it.

Song Jiannan’s spirits fell to rock bottom as he witnessed this scene, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

He had always thought of this technique as his highest achievement in swordsmanship.

Ever since he entered Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, he had trained hard for more than a year and his dark force had not increased by much. However, this set of swordsmanship techniques had already reached an acceptable level. He had planned on relying on this set of swordsmanship technique to gain fame in the sect and remove the words ‘in-training’ from his current status in the upcoming year-end appraisals to become formally recognised as an outer gate disciple.

Who could have predicted that this young man who looked like a beggar could attain grand completion stage after just practicing this technique thrice. Was he a monster?

This was a massive blow to Song Jiannan and caused him to go mad with rage and hatred.

Buzz buzz!

The red sword radiance immediately disappeared and Ding Hao finally kept his sword away, standing tall and straight.

White steam rose from his body, and he stood as tall as a javelin. Although his clothes were torn and tattered, he seemed to give off a light that no one could stare directly at.