"Hmph!"
With a faint whistling sound, a silvery white blade light flashed past.
From this, it could be seen that the power contained in Ling Feng's blade was not to be underestimated. If an ordinary person took this blade, it would be enough to tear them to shreds.
But this powerful strike was easily dodged by the pockmarked Daoist with a backward step.
After his blade missed, Ling Feng's gaze sharpened. He tightened his grip on the hilt of Xi Li Long Yin and swung his blade again, only to be dodged once more by the pockmarked Daoist leaning back.
"Damn it! Again!"
Ling Feng's brows furrowed, and his eyes showed surprise as he looked at the pockmarked Daoist's figure. The pockmarked Daoist's strength was beyond his imagination. He hadn't gone all out at first, but now he had to.
The Xi Li Long Yin in his hand swung wildly. He had never practiced swordsmanship or blade techniques before; everything relied on his combat instincts.
The more this was the case, the greater the threat Ling Feng posed to the pockmarked Daoist, because Ling Feng's blade techniques had no pattern to follow, and every strike was full of force.
Facing such an onslaught, the pockmarked Daoist also had to be cautious and take it seriously, as taking a single careless blow would be no easy matter.
The figures of the two collided fiercely, and the clash of blades and swords continuously produced sparks and the sound of metal striking metal.
As time slowly passed, the difference in their strength and physical fitness became more apparent.
Ling Feng's blade-swinging speed grew slower and slower, and several sword marks appeared on his body. Blood stained Ling Feng's black windbreaker. In contrast, the pockmarked Daoist's speed did not change much, and there was not a single injury on his body.
Although the pockmarked Daoist was not a cultivator of immortality, he could be called a cultivator of the Dao, a Daoist.
Besides lifespan, his physical fitness had improved slightly. The most important thing was his spiritual energy. Although the physical fitness of Dao cultivators was inferior to demons, they could contend with demons by using magical treasures, formations, and spells.
Otherwise, with only human strength, they would not only be unable to wield the power of magical treasures but also unable to keep up with the speed of demons.
The difference between immortal cultivators and true cultivators was not significant; both defied the heavens and sought enlightenment. They were called true cultivators before formally becoming immortals and immortal cultivators after becoming immortals.
The pockmarked Daoist was a Dao cultivator in the Qi Refining to Spirit stage, equivalent to a Foundation Establishment stage true cultivator in terms of realm.
However, his physical fitness was far from that strong, and only his strength might meet the standard. In the fox demon world, only demons could barely be considered cultivators.
Although Ling Feng was a true cultivator, he was only at the first level of Qi Refining, an入门者.
Although his physical fitness had improved comprehensively, because he was still a minor, his improved physical fitness was only comparable to that of a normal adult.
The pockmarked Daoist, on the basis of being an adult, had improved his physical fitness through cultivation, far surpassing Ling Feng's physical fitness.
After more than thirty rounds of continuous engagement, the two stopped fighting and temporarily created distance.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."
Ling Feng gasped for breath, his right hand gripping Xi Li Long Yin trembling slightly, looking out of breath.
After continuously using Xi Li Long Yin, which weighed almost four catties, his stamina was almost depleted by sixty percent.
There were also several wounds of various sizes on his body, which were slowly bleeding.
These wounds were all inflicted by the pockmarked Daoist's long sword. Even Ling Feng's black windbreaker was stained black-red with blood.
If it were a normal person, such injuries might have caused them to cry out in pain long ago, but due to the effect of the Fearless Card, Ling Feng was now fearless of everything, including pain.
Ling Feng maintained his combat stance, warily staring at the pockmarked Daoist not far away.
The pockmarked Daoist was not panting like Ling Feng, only his breathing was a bit rapid, and there were no wounds on his body at all. It could be seen from this that the previous battle was a complete one-sided affair.
"Kid! How dare you deceive this old Daoist! Hand over your sword technique inheritance, and I might spare your life!"
The pockmarked Daoist said coldly, his gaze sinister, the greed in his eyes undisguised. As for sparing Ling Feng's life after getting what he wanted? It was pure deception.
He now wished he could skin Ling Feng alive and make him understand what it meant to wish for death rather than life.
"What if I don't?"
Ling Feng was slightly stunned at first, then quickly reacted. The pockmarked Daoist must have realized that he did not belong to any famous sect or family.
As for handing over the inheritance, he might be referring to "Sword Manifestation into Myriad Forms," as techniques and spells were rare in any world.
And the pockmarked Daoist's promise to spare his life after handing over the technique? Who would believe that? It was like a villain saying, "I'm a good person."
He probably would be the first one to kill Ling Feng once he handed over the technique.
"I will break your hands and feet first! Then I will slowly torture you! Make you understand what it means to wish for death rather than life." The pockmarked Daoist said threateningly, his brows furrowed.
"Then try me!"
"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! As a human, you dare to save someone of the demon race! Today, I shall act on behalf of heaven!"
The pockmarked Daoist's expression turned grim. He raised his long sword, and a silver sword energy slashed out. Immediately after, the pockmarked Daoist moved, charging towards Ling Feng at high speed, his long sword flashing with chilling light.
Seeing this, Ling Feng's expression became serious. He knew that the real battle had begun! He had to be fully alert.
Looking at the incoming sword energy, Ling Feng was no longer surprised or flustered as he had been initially. With a slight sidestep, he dodged the sword energy unleashed by the pockmarked Daoist.
"Die, beast!"
The pockmarked Daoist's voice echoed in Ling Feng's ears. His long sword lunged towards Ling Feng's right hand like a venomous snake. If it had hit, Ling Feng's arm would have a large hole in it.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound rang out. A dragon blocked the path of the snake. The tip of the long sword struck the blade of Xi Li Long Yin, unable to get any closer to Ling Feng's arm.
"What!" The pockmarked Daoist was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Ling Feng's reaction speed to suddenly become so fast, as if he knew he would thrust his sword towards his arm.
"I haven't just been taking hits! I've already understood your sword moves and habits! Drink!"
Ling Feng's right hand, gripping Xi Li Long Yin, exerted a sudden force, pushing away the long sword whose tip was resting on the blade of Xi Li Long Yin. Then, he followed up with a horizontal slash towards the pockmarked Daoist!
Ling Feng, in his pursuit of quickly defeating the pockmarked Daoist, put all his might into this strike. One strike was enough to carve a large fissure in the pockmarked Daoist's mortal body!
However, the pockmarked Daoist's physical fitness was superior to his. The moment he sensed the threat, he knew it was bad. He pushed off the ground and leaped back more than a meter, dodging Ling Feng's full-powered strike.
"Damn it! Fireball Talisman!"
A hint of madness flashed in the pockmarked Daoist's eyes. He took out three low-grade Fireball Talismans at once, injected his already dwindling spiritual energy, and activated them.
Three crimson fireballs, trailing flames, roared towards Ling Feng. At such close range and with such dense attacks, he didn't believe Ling Feng could still dodge!
Although each fireball had a power close to that of an Explosion Talisman, he had precisely calculated Ling Feng's tolerance limit. A light blow would break his limbs, and a heavy blow would cripple him, but as long as he didn't die, it would be fine.
...
"This move is useless against me now!" Ling Feng moved his feet and retreated rapidly. Xi Li Long Yin was retracted into the system space, and his hands quickly formed hand seals.
The true energy in Ling Feng's dantian surged out like mad, condensing about two meters behind Ling Feng.
Ling Feng formed hand seals more and more frequently, becoming more proficient, and his speed increased.
Spiritual energy swirled slightly, and spiritual swords took shape, nine in total, arranged in groups of three. Three groups each targeted one fireball.
Why condense nine swords instead of three? Ling Feng found that although a single spiritual sword had some sharpness, it was very fragile. The fact that three spiritual swords were easily destroyed by an ordinary sword energy just now was proof.
However, fireballs were not sword energy. Fireballs were like grenades; if you hit them, they would explode.
And in each group of three spiritual swords, the first two were meant to cover the last one, offsetting the burning of the flames and creating an opportunity for the last one!
"Uh huh!"
Ling Feng willed it, and the nine spiritual swords shot towards the fireballs simultaneously, like firefighters who would never turn back.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three explosions resounded all around! Like brilliant fireworks, they displayed their final glory!
Although the three fireballs were detonated by the spiritual swords, the high-temperature heatwave generated by the explosions still existed. The heatwave, like waves rising from the sea crashing onto the beach, similarly swept Ling Feng several meters away.
"Holy crap! My clothes!"
Ling Feng suddenly realized that all his clothes from Earth, worn under his black windbreaker, had been burned to ashes by the residual flames and high temperature.
If he hadn't worn a black windbreaker on the outside, he would be completely naked right now, a major social death scene.
[Ding! Remaining time for Fearless Card effect: 5 minutes!]
"What? Twenty minutes have passed that quickly?"
Ling Feng's face changed drastically upon hearing the system prompt in his mind. This was like a bolt from the blue for Ling Feng, very bad news.
He could be fearless of pain, fearless of fear, and so on, all thanks to the effect of the Fearless Card. Now, with only five minutes left on the Fearless Card, once the time was up.
Not only would the pain on Ling Feng's body erupt all at once, causing him immense agony, but the psychological barrier to killing would also resurface, making him hesitant to kill, and it would be much harder for him to kill the pockmarked Daoist then!
"Not much time left, what should I do?"
Ling Feng had no idea now. Kill the pockmarked Daoist within five minutes? With his current strength, it would take five minutes to resolve it, unless the pockmarked Daoist didn't resist and stood there to be killed.
But how could that be possible? Moreover, he didn't know how many different talismans the pockmarked Daoist had, nor how many. So far, the pockmarked Daoist had only displayed three types: Fireball Talisman, Explosion Talisman, and Vajra Talisman, which already made Ling Feng feel very troubled.
Who knew if the pockmarked Daoist had other talismans? Even if he didn't, the Eye of Deduction detected that the pockmarked Daoist still had one life-saving magical treasure with a chance to save his life, making it even harder to kill him.
In summary, it was difficult, very difficult, extremely difficult to defeat the pockmarked Daoist within five minutes.
"There's no other way, let's risk it all!"
Ling Feng's eyes were firm. If he couldn't defeat the pockmarked Daoist within five minutes, he would have to resort to ranged attacks to kill him, which would avoid close combat.
Why say this? Killing someone with a handgun is a matter of one bullet, while close combat requires a bloody fight, and seeing oneself kill another at extremely close range. Ling Feng couldn't imagine if others could do it, but he himself knew he couldn't.
"Whoosh!"
"Stomp, stomp, stomp!"
A figure suddenly shot out from the smoke caused by the fireball explosion. Their speed was as fast as a hungry wolf locking onto its prey. By the time Ling Feng heard the sound, the figure was less than three meters away from him.
"It's him! How did his speed suddenly become so fast!"
Ling Feng's pupils contracted sharply as he saw who was coming. It was as if he had seen something shocking, because this person was the pockmarked Daoist.
What shocked Ling Feng was the pockmarked Daoist's speed, which was more than twice as fast as he remembered.
But now was not the time to think about this. The pockmarked Daoist had already thrust his sword towards him, the tip flashing with soul-stirring cold light.
Ling Feng's gaze sharpened. Xi Li Long Yin instantly appeared in his right palm. He held the saber horizontally in front of him, trying to block the long sword and then push it away to counter-attack.
"Clang!"
After a crisp collision, Ling Feng felt a huge force transmitted to his arm and was greatly alarmed. He was instantly pushed back several steps to offset this force.
"What's going on? How did his speed and strength suddenly increase so much?"
Ling Feng frowned, staring intently at the pockmarked Daoist, a sense of foreboding in his heart.
The power contained in the pockmarked Daoist's thrust just now was more than double his previous strength. Not only that, but the speed the pockmarked Daoist displayed was also the same.
"Eye of Deduction!" A ray of light flashed in Ling Feng's eyes. The Eye of Deduction covered Ling Feng's pupils.
In Ling Feng's vision, in addition to the relevant information about the pockmarked Daoist appearing to his right, his arms and legs were emitting a faint reddish glow.
"As expected!" Ling Feng saw the glowing light and seemed to understand something.
"He must have used some talisman to temporarily increase his strength and speed."
Swish!
The pockmarked Daoist moved like the wind, swift as a startled rabbit. He charged towards Ling Feng at extreme speed.
In just one second, the pockmarked Daoist had crossed a distance of three meters and appeared in front of Ling Feng, his long sword relentlessly chopping down at Ling Feng without hesitation.
Ling Feng's pupils contracted sharply. He quickly swung Xi Li Long Yin to block the sword with his long saber. Seeing this, the pockmarked Daoist relentlessly chopped at Ling Feng's body like a storm.
"Today, I will definitely skin you alive! Make you understand what it means to wish for death rather than life!"
The pockmarked Daoist's expression was ferocious, and his tone was vicious. The angles of his sword strikes were extremely tricky, specifically targeting Ling Feng's limbs.
Ling Feng did not reply. His attention was now fully focused on defense. The pockmarked Daoist's attacks were extremely swift.
Even with his full concentration, Ling Feng could barely keep up with the speed. However, the difference in strength was insurmountable, and concentrating fully was extremely draining of mental energy. Ling Feng could only last for ten seconds at most.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" After blocking more than ten sword strikes, Ling Feng was sweating profusely. He was already a little mentally dazed.
It was precisely this moment of mental daze that the pockmarked Daoist seized an opportunity, using a feint.
As his long sword was blocked by Xi Li Long Yin, the pockmarked Daoist's eyes turned sinister. He fiercely kicked Ling Feng in the chest.
Caught off guard by the sudden kick, Ling Feng was sent flying back three meters before he could react. Due to exhaustion and mental daze, Xi Li Long Yin slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
"Without your weapon, let's see what you can do now!"
The pockmarked Daoist ignored Xi Li Long Yin on the ground and lunged towards Ling Feng. The long sword in his hand, like a venomous snake, lunged towards Ling Feng's shoulder.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Ling Feng stared at the sword tip that was rapidly enlarging in his pupils. Gritting his teeth, he recalled the feeling from when the system was assisting him. The true energy in his dantian began to converge on his hands.
"Blade of the God of War!!!"
When the pockmarked Daoist was less than a meter away from Ling Feng, a large, deep blue saber appeared in front of Ling Feng, its shining deep blue representing hope!
"Clang!"
The pockmarked Daoist's sword thrust hit the Blade of the God of War, unable to move it an inch, as if he had struck a copper wall and iron rampart!
"What! What is this?"
Now it was the pockmarked Daoist's turn to be astonished. This Blade of the God of War, which had appeared out of thin air, directly shocked him to his core.
"Take this saber strike!"
Ling Feng gripped the hilt of the Blade of the God of War with both hands. The Blade of the God of War, which Ling Feng could not move before, was now lifted by him.
However, the moment Ling Feng grasped the Blade of the God of War, he felt a heavy pressure on him, and a draining sensation from the Blade of the God of War. But Ling Feng gritted his teeth and endured it.
The saber strike was like an earth-shattering, mountain-splitting, sea-cleaving blow, descending upon the pockmarked Daoist.
The pockmarked Daoist felt the aura of death and a locking presence. A voice in his heart told him that he had to block this strike with all his might, or he would surely die.
"Vajra Body Protection Talisman!!!"
The pockmarked Daoist threw out two Vajra Body Protection Talismans at once. The talismans struck, and a golden shining shield enveloped the Blade of the God of War as it struck.
"Phew." With the defense of two mid-grade talismans, the pockmarked Daoist felt much more at ease. Two mid-grade talismans could even block the attacks of great demons, let alone Ling Feng, whose strength was inferior to his.
However, he had underestimated the power of the artifact, the Blade of the God of War.
The next moment, when the Blade of the God of War struck the golden shield, cracks immediately appeared on the golden shield. Then, to the pockmarked Daoist's disbelief, the cracks increased, and in less than two seconds, it shattered directly, continuing to descend towards the pockmarked Daoist!
Pockmarked Daoist: !!!(ﾟoﾟ)
The pockmarked Daoist quickly held his long sword horizontally in front of him, trying to block the Blade of the God of War, but his long sword was not as hard as the Vajra Body Protection Talisman. It was easily cut into two pieces like tofu.
"Clang!"
At this moment, the protective jade pendant on the pockmarked Daoist's chest sensed that its owner was in mortal danger and immediately flashed with a dazzling light, forming a shield even more solid than the golden shield.
"Bang!"
This time, the Blade of the God of War was finally blocked. The pockmarked Daoist looked at the shattered protective jade pendant on his chest, and his heart was also shattered. His last chance to save his life was gone!
But he knew that his danger was not over yet, as he noticed a tiny crack on the shield, which was slowly expanding. It might shatter in less than a minute.
The pockmarked Daoist quickly retreated, moving away from the Blade of the God of War.
He stared intently at Ling Feng, disbelieving that Ling Feng, who he had been suppressing, could wield that large saber without side effects.
As expected, Ling Feng could only swing it once before he could no longer bear the pressure and retracted the Blade of the God of War into the system space.
"Beast! I will make you die! Let you be chopped to death alive! Wrathful Thunder Talisman!"
The pockmarked Daoist's pupils turned red with anger. He pulled out a blue-patterned talisman from his Daoist robe and began to inject spiritual energy into it with all his might.
Thunder spells, regardless of the world, were powerful and fierce. This Wrathful Thunder Talisman was considered a top mid-grade talisman.
"You don't have a chance anymore!"
On the other side, Ling Feng formed hand seals. Although he was panting, his face was pale, and he looked extremely weak, he wore a smile that did not match his condition.
Before the pockmarked Daoist could understand what Ling Feng meant, a long saber suddenly pierced his chest from behind. The pockmarked Daoist's spiritual energy injection was thus interrupted, and the floating talisman fell to the ground like a piece of paper.
"Ho-ho-how is this possible." The pockmarked Daoist looked down at the familiar saber body in his chest, which was Ling Feng's Xi Li Long Yin.
"Nothing is impossible!"
Ling Feng willed it, and the long saber instantly broke through the pockmarked Daoist's chest and flew back into his hand.
The pockmarked Daoist covered the bloody hole in his chest with both hands, looking at Ling Feng with disbelief. He never expected to fall at the hands of an unknown junior today. He felt immense regret.
Regret that he should have left immediately the moment Ling Feng was thrown from the carriage.
Regret that due to his greed for Ling Feng's techniques, he had not gone all out to kill him from the beginning.
However, there was no medicine for regret in this world! The pockmarked Daoist collapsed to the ground, his life force continuously draining away. In just three seconds, he died.
On the other side, after hearing the system's prompt and confirming that the pockmarked Daoist was truly dead, Ling Feng's entire body relaxed, and he fell to the ground. However, holding Xi Li Long Yin, with its blade stuck in the soil, he did not fall directly.
"This mission was a rip-off! This is called a normal mission? Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Ling Feng said with tears welling up.
The decisive blow just now was a sudden idea he had. What if he used the condensation technique of "Sword Manifestation into Myriad Forms" to condense the true energy within his body directly onto Xi Li Long Yin?
Who knew it actually succeeded? The spiritual sword was equivalent to being attached to Xi Li Long Yin.
However, it was not enough to drive Xi Li Long Yin as a single spiritual sword. He used nearly thirty spiritual swords to barely drive Xi Li Long Yin.
[Ding! Fearless Card effect has ended!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the Normal (High) mission "First Battle Victory," all rewards have been distributed.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for mastering one of the true uses of "Sword Manifestation into Myriad Forms," extra reward: 5 Wish Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for initially mastering the true energy usage—Amplification, extra reward: 5 Wish Points and the "True Energy's Mystical Uses Experience Book."]
[True Energy's Mystical Uses Experience Book: One Star, written by a powerful cultivator in the cultivation world during a casual chat, containing various uses of true energy.]
Time returns to twenty-five minutes later...