"Actually being able to block my three swords in a row, quite interesting!" Xiao Qingfeng was slightly astonished, his eyes fixating on Ling Feng, curling his lip he said, "However, that's all there is to it. I advise you to hand over the 'Nine-layered Sea Suppressing Fist' manual, or else, with your little strength, you're bound to suffer a great deal, even to the point of losing your little life!"
When he reached the words "little life," Xiao Qingfeng's gaze obviously turned icy, causing even the surrounding disciples to feel a chill and shiver involuntarily.
"Oh?" Ling Feng laughed aloud, "Unfortunately for you, I, Ling Feng, have always been one to resist coercion and accept persuasion. If you want the fist manual, fine, come and take it with your strength!"
"Shh!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding disciples all sucked in a breath of cold air.
Has this guy's brain been kicked by a donkey?
Xiao Qingfeng's strength, that's the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation!
Could it be that he thinks just because he blocked a few moves from Xiao Qingfeng, he can now stand shoulder to shoulder with such a talent?
Utterly foolish!
Xiao Qingfeng almost laughed out loud from anger, "Kid, I only exerted thirty percent of my power just now! Good, very good!"
Xiao Qingfeng stared coldly at Ling Feng, "Since you're looking for death, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Bring it on!" Ling Feng remained unfazed, although Xiao Qingfeng held the advantage in True Qi, he also had the weakness revealed by the Heavenly Dao Eye, and even if he was no match, he wouldn't be without a chance to disengage.
At that moment, suddenly a disciple hurried over and whispered a few words in Xiao Qingfeng's ear, causing him to immediately snort coldly, and fix his stare on Ling Feng, "Kid, consider yourself lucky to escape disaster! However, do you have the guts to fight me on the Life and Death Platform in ten days?"
Once on the Life and Death Platform, life and death would not be accounted for, each left to their fate.
Naturally, Ling Feng understood the meaning of the Life and Death Platform and was resolutely unafraid, and retorted coldly, "If you are not afraid to die, I am more than willing to accompany you!"
"Good! Very good!"
Xiao Qingfeng glared at Ling Feng, "Then enjoy another ten days of life! In ten days, you will realize just what sort of terrifying opponent you have provoked!"
With that, Xiao Qingfeng left with the disciple, as the summons from the Peak Master was an obligation one couldn't ignore.
After watching Xiao Qingfeng leave, Ling Feng shrugged nonchalantly and walked away as if nothing had happened.
To him, Xiao Qingfeng might be a formidable opponent now, but ten days later, that might not be the case.
...
Very soon, the agreed duel between Xiao Qingfeng and Ling Feng spread throughout the Wenxian Sect.
Ling Feng's reputation became unparalleled for a time.
First, he managed to stay on in a place like Little Bamboo Peak, then he boldly taught Shi Tailong a harsh lesson, blinding one of his eyes.
Next, he brought out the Sect Leader Token, making even the Guardian Elder choose to step back and endure in his presence.
Now, before the previous news had even cooled off, the word spread about his ten-day life-and-death challenge with a talent like Xiao Qingfeng!
If it wasn't for Ling Feng joining Little Bamboo Peak, perhaps he would also become a legendary figure praised by the Inner Sect Disciples.
Unfortunately, he was the disciple of Duanmu Qingshan, the previous Sect Leader who had been slain.
Ling Feng had no idea how "famous" he had become, and he didn't care about these things either.
At this moment, he had already returned to the Bamboo House on Little Bamboo Peak and saw Duanmu Qingshan drinking in the courtyard. He immediately stepped forward to pay his respects, "Thank you, Master!"
It was in the Scripture Pavilion that, had Duanmu Qingshan not sent a Sword Qi through the Sect Leader Jade Token, he might have been crippled by that Guardian Elder.
"I told you I could cover for you, now do you have any doubts?" Duanmu Qingshan raised his head, "glug, glug, glug," and took a few drinks of wine before finally grinning with a smile.
"Heh, this disciple never really had any doubts," Ling Feng touched his nose, feeling somewhat guilty as he spoke.
"You kid, hahaha..." Duanmu Qingshan burst into laughter, then added, "Although I can protect you by sending Sword Qi through the Token, you should still stay close to me as much as possible, otherwise they might resort to some treacherous methods to deal with you."
"I understand," Ling Feng nodded and then said, "By the way, Master, I selected quite a few herbs in the Elixir Medicine Pavilion and thought of an elixir prescription that should help accelerate the removal of the Sword Qi from your body."
"Good boy, you've put in a lot of effort for me again," Duanmu Qingshan touched Ling Feng's head, smiled faintly, but then seemed to remember something sad and let out a melancholic sigh.
Ling Feng knew Duanmu Qingshan must be thinking of his wife and daughter and didn't know what comfort to offer, so he could only accompany him in drinking in the courtyard.
...
Early morning at the rear mountain of Little Bamboo Peak, a sheer cliff.
Endless clouds rose, a gentle breeze came, and Ling Feng stood with his sword facing the wind.
At this moment, the long sword in his hand had been replaced. In his last encounter with Xiao Qingfeng, his fine steel sword was chipped in three places. It wasn't that his swordsmanship was inferior to the opponent's, but that the quality of the fine steel sword was far beneath the Xuan Artifact in Xiao Qingfeng's hands.
As for his proud disciple, Duanmu Qingshan was not stingy. Seeing Ling Feng's sword damaged, he directly threw him a Low Grade Xuan Artifact named "Moon Slash Sword."
After practicing the Shattering Star Sword Technique a few times, Ling Feng took out the three secret manuals from his chest.
He had taken a movement technique manual called "Rapid Light Step" from the Scripture Pavilion. Although he had used the Heavenly Dao Eye to copy another technique, "Chasing Cloud Steps," which was an entry-level technique any disciple, even an Outer Disciple, could practice, Rapid Light Step was much more sophisticated.
A Body Refining Cultivation Technique, "Rock Body," Duanmu Qingshan had said that the "Asking Immortal Qi Refining Technique" was enough for him, so he didn't select any of those varied Qi Condensing Techniques and chose a Body Refining technique instead.
After using the Human Dao Eye for thirty breaths the previous night, he had already begun to cultivate the technique from "Rock Body." Body Refining was different from ordinary Martial Techniques, with no shortcuts to take; the first was the training of one's body, and the second was cleansing and tempering through medicinal baths.
"Rock Body" wasn't considered a particularly sophisticated technique, so the needed herbs were not rare; Duanmu Qingshan's Medicine Garden had all of them. Next was to build up over time, and Rock Body would be cultivated.
The last was "Nine-layered Sea Suppressing Fist," but it had already been exchanged with Xiao Qingfeng for the fragmented lower half of its score.
Ling Feng pondered for a while and wasn't in a rush to practice Nine-layered Sea Suppressing Fist. Instead, he turned to the secret manual of Rapid Light Step.
Perhaps because he was once a healer himself, Ling Feng didn't like clashing head-on with others. If he could dodge an opponent's attack using his movement technique and be the only one who could land hits while the opponent couldn't touch him at all, wouldn't that be fun?
"Heavenly Dao's First Divine Pattern, condense!"
His right eye felt slightly hot as the Divine Pattern formed, and Ling Feng felt as though he could see the figures on the pages of the manual move themselves.
This sort of "movement," while much less effective than watching someone demonstrate in person, allowed him to feel as if his senses were heightened and his thoughts were swift when the Heavenly Dao Eye was active. Every piece of information in his mind became very clear.
As those figures entered his mind, he began to simulate the practice in his Consciousness Space.
After several repetitions, Ling Feng finally started to cultivate the movement technique from Chasing Cloud Steps.
The first attempt went smoothly, and although it was lacking in polish, with continued cultivation, it wasn't difficult to grasp.
This was the wonder of the Heavenly Dao Eye—ordinary disciples might need a month to reach elementary proficiency at Chasing Cloud Steps, but Ling Feng merely had to read the manual several times to achieve it.