Shock, fear, and confusion continuously changed within Qiu Lu's eyes. He didn't see, nor did he understand what exactly was happening in that instant.
Why was it that even though the Black Flower Pike he thrusted out was clearly invulnerable, even though the other party was clearly trash who had never undergone any martial skill training, not only was he able to effortlessly block his attack, his speed of brandishing his blade was actually this fast?!
Right now, Lin Xi couldn't be bothered with what Qiu Lu was thinking at all. Just now, he only knew that if his cultivation was great enough to the point where a single blow could hack through the black armor, then this attack would have already ended Qiu Lu's life. However, right now, his cultivation was still not high enough, unable to deliver any threat to the black armor, which was why he had to display a second strike, then a third strike.
The short blade in his hands moved like skipping stones on a water surface. Borrowing the forward momentum of his body, the short blade in his hands tilted upwards, hacking down on Qiu Lu's right shoulder.
Meng Bai's mouth was wide open. For him, this was an extremely terrifying scene.
Qiu Lu's pike was knocked off to his left, and then Lin Xi's blade smashed into his chest, darting to Qiu Lu's right side immediately afterwards, delivering another blow to Qiu Lu's right shoulder. Meanwhile, at this time, Qiu Lu's pike was still to his left, left without any time to pull it back.
Pa!
At the same time, the moment his mouth had just opened, Lin Xi and Qiu Lu's figures displaced, another cut was delivered with a turn of his hand, smashing into Qiu Lu's lower back.
However, Qiu Lu wasn't cabbage. When this strike hit him, he finally reacted, his entire body turning forward fiercely.
While Lin Xi's feet naturally shifted about, turning around to attack him again, Qiu Lu sprung up from the ground, spinning the pike in a full circle with a single hand like a staff, blocking Lin Xi's advance. He took several steps back fiercely, increasing the distance between Lin Xi and himself, his body shaking intensely.
He looked at Lin Xi, unable to hold back the urge to say something. However, Lin Xi still stepped towards him silently, making him subconsciously take another heavy step back.
All of the black-armored students on the cliff were also silent. Qiu Lu's strength couldn't be underestimated, but this heaven's choice displayed overwhelming superiority in their first encounter!
Liu Ziyu's body continuously trembled, his pretty face beneath the silver mask was actually pale to a frightening degree.
"You all seem so confident, are you sure that Qiu Lu is Lin Xi's match? After saying all of this… if Qiu Lu ends up not being Lin Xi's match, what will you all do then?"
The calm words Gao Yanan spoke outside the training valley were calm and without the slightest bit of a temper. However, for the current him, they were the greatest mockery!
If it was anyone else who spoke these words, then it was still alright… but the one who said this was Gao Yanan, her cultivation aptitude was five!
Just this alone would trigger the tussling between many prestigious houses, let alone the fact that her appearance alone was already enough to leave others in admiration.
As a golden spoon whose father was about to become an important figure within an entire region, he didn't try to reflect over where he acted wrongly in this matter. Instead, he placed the entire affair on Lin Xi's head, thinking that if he ended up leaving Gao Yanan with such a bad impression today, then he definitely wouldn't let Lin Xi off easily.
…
Lin Xi didn't utter a single sound, even the sound of his breathing forcefully suppressed.
He pressed towards Qiu Lu once again.
Qiu Lu didn't back up anymore, but the pike in his hands produced a great spear flower.
It was pretty, able to display his knowledge of the fundamentals, but it was completely useless.
It was because right now, he was still outside the spear's range of attack.
"Golden spoons will still be golden spoons in the end. No matter how well these movements are trained, they still never truly witnessed the splashing of blood… and really are a bit too weak." The moment he saw these movements, Tang Ke immediately released a sneer of contempt inwardly.
If this Black Flower Pike was in Tang Ke's hands, then even if Tang Ke only had martial skill at Qiu Lu's level, he still might not necessarily lose to Lin Xi.
After all, with Qiu Lu's cultivation, in terms of pure strength, he was a bit superior to Lin Xi. He, who was equipped with many life and death experiences, would have completely seized the advantage.
However, right now, Qiu Lu was already clearly in a state of fear.
In the battles he had experienced, those who sunk into terror this easily only had death waiting for them.
These golden spoons might not understand it at all, but in some battlefield situations, the border barbarians most of these golden spoons looked down on, even if they were facing opponents with strength several times that of themselves, even if the enemy's weapons were already impaled into their bodies, they would still throw away all fear within their bodies, do their utmost to swing their blades.
That was why this battle, in his eyes, was already decided.
"I reckon this fella hasn't even tried the Direct Spear Strikes Trial, right?"
It wasn't just Tang Ke, even Lin Xi felt like Qiu Lu really was a bit too weak. It was because he still had his ability to rewind time by ten minutes, so he wasn't worried in the slightest, remaining extremely calm. However, he had no idea just how great a pressure his cool-headedness, which left even all of the spectating lecturers in disbelief, had on Qiu Lu. He only felt that since this was the case, then he didn't have to waste his precious cultivation time when defeating this kind of opponent.
Lin Xi wasn't an arrogant person, but towards this kind of arrogant person before him, he would never show mercy… because if a lion didn't bare its fangs and claws, it would still just be a cat in the end.
Through the silver mask, Lin Xi stared at the still trembling Qiu Lu. He felt the strips wrapped around his arm and the blade's handle, and then immediately afterwards, he no longer remained silent, instead shouting with an incomparably cold and deep voice, "Kill!"
The moment this extremely old shout of slaughter left his mouth, his entire body charged forward, brandishing his blade, hacking towards Qiu Lu.
Qiu Lu's body froze momentarily, and then the Black Flower Spear swept out. A muffled thunk sounded. He only saw Lin Xi hold the blade, actually moving while sticking to his spear. A step was taken towards Qiu Lu, and then the blade was brandished viciously once again!
This time, Lin Xi's blade was no longer light and flowing, instead incredibly ferocious, as if his entire body was like a blade, smashing straight at Qiu Lu!
Ssssss...
Many of the black-armored students on the cliff sucked in air at the same time, a lot of them from this blade's fierceness, but quite a few noticed that this blade might not be able to cut into Qiu Lu if he took a step back.
A chance!
Qiu Lu, whose entire body was going cold, subconsciously brandished the spear in his hands. However, right at this moment, Lin Xi raised his head slightly, staring at his nose. The short sword in his hand left his hand, connected by the cloth strips, smashing viciously into Qiu Lu's face, right into the bridge of his nose.
Pa!
The silver voice changing mask possessed astonishing defensive abilities, even if they were layers of threads, they could still provide quite a bit of cushioning. However, the face and nose were still the weakest areas in the end. This blade that left the hand smashed into Qiu Lu's face with great precision, beads of blood immediately filling the areas of the silver mask where the mouth and nose were.
Back then, in Summer Spirit Lake, Uncle Liu's fist precisely smashed a nose crooked. Meanwhile today, Lin Xi also hacked down on the nose.
Blood streamed down Qiu Lu's nose, while Lin Xi's foot was already on his chest, making him forcibly swallow down his miserable scream.
Qiu Lu fell down on his bottom, blood continuously pouring out from behind the silver mask, the scene miserable and terrifying. However, Lin Xi still grabbed the short blade in a clueless manner, bringing the blade down on the chest of Qiu Lu who was crawling backwards.
Pa! Pa! Pa!...
One blade strike after another, the black blade smashed heavily into Qiu Lu's body. The Black Flower Spear had already separated from Qiu Lu's hands, who was now only struggling within a small area in a futile manner, unable to retaliate in the slightest.
Victory and defeat were already decided in an instant, moreover, the loser was still the incomparably overbearing, self stated ranked Qiu Lu. Many students on the cliff couldn't help but sympathize with this golden spoon youngster. They never expected Lin Xi to actually have such vicious methods, to end the battle so quickly, actually not giving the other side any chance to retaliate.
This was especially the case for the Self Defense Department golden spoons who mocked Lin Xi with Qiu Lu, their faces turning pale. Lin Xi actually had this level of battle prowess, yet they previously actually dared to wantonly mock him.
Pa! Pa! Pa!...
Lin Xi brought the blade down on Qiu Lu again and again, just like he was chopping vegetables.
Qiu Lu was already beaten until he could only roll on the ground while holding his head, yet there were still no lecturers calling for a stop. It was because Qiu Lu still didn't completely lose his fighting strength from Lin Xi's strikes.
"Stop! Enough!"
Qiu Lu was finally smacked until he was driven mad, his hands pushing up from the ground, erupting with a hysterical roar.
This crazy roar gave many students on the cliff a fright, but Lin Xi didn't pay this any attention, only bringing the blade down heavily on his body again, sending his body that had just supported itself back into the ground.
One blade strike after another. Lin Xi continuously brought his blade down, as if he was cutting vegetables, viciously hacking at Qiu Lu.
Qiu Lu was struck until his entire body was shaking. Finally he screamed in despair, "Don't hit me anymore… I admit defeat!"
Lin Xi withdrew his blade, standing there without moving. However, he inwardly smiled. "Teacher Tong, your personal disciple here didn't lose you any face… knocking him to the ground so easily."
Luo Houyuan who was dressed in old-fashioned black robes walked out from the forest, removing a golden pentagon emblem from Qiu Lu's body, handing it to Lin Xi who was currently greeting him.
"You all can also disperse into the forest. After ten minutes, the training will begin, you all can then choose your own opponents."
Luo Houyuan spoke this line in a calm manner , directing it towards the students who were thinking all different things.
While watching Lin Xi receive the removed golden pentagon emblem, Qiu Lu whose entire body felt like it was splitting apart from pain from being hacked by Lin Xi, was filled with shame and anger, but he couldn't utter a single word, directly fainting.
…
Lin Xi began to silently sprint through the forest. He definitely didn't want to stay nearby, becoming the target of everyone and being attacked from all sides.
Even if others had no grudges with him, those who wanted to fight a heaven's choice student like him definitely weren't few.
While quickly leaving this place, he was pondering over something in a somewhat conflicted manner: since he could obtain a point in reward with five successive five emblem withdrawals… should he try to achieve five instances of five emblem withdrawals first, or was it better to pass the Direct Spear Strike Trial before anything else?
Even though because of his battle with Qiu Lu, the number of students who entered the training valley was much greater, withdrawing with five emblems before leaving this place wasn't that hard for him.
It was because not far from where he was right now was a longbow, as well as a quiver filled with black arrows.
In reality, even during that ten minute search, he already found this Black Stone Power Bow that required a hundred jin of strength to draw, a bit stronger than even the black horn strong bow he used before.
In Yunqin Empire's army, ordinary soldiers were only allocated with either the black horn strong bow or this Black Stone Power Bow, these two war bows. Those with comparatively weaker strength would use the black horn strong bow, while those with greater arm strength would use the Black Stone Power Bow. The former were usually used to shoot down enemy troops who came within a hundred steps of their own defensive formation, while the latter were typically used in equestrian archery, to thin out enemy troops who came within one hundred to two hundred steps with barrage fire.
With Lin Xi's current strength, even though he still couldn't fully draw the Black Stone Power Bow, bringing down someone like Qiu Lu with a few arrows wasn't really an issue.
The reason why he didn't use this longbow before was only because he didn't want to expose too much. Moreover, the most crucial thing was that if he knocked down Qiu Lu with a blade… it would leave the other party feeling more convinced.