âThe venerated enforcer?!â Qing Di suddenly registered a ray of sharp light behind him, one that threatened to slice him into two!
Unbidden, he gave up on his target and changed the direction of his sword, slashing out behind him.
Two swords viciously bit into each other and a muffled feeling crushed Qing Diâs chest. He spat out blood, his eyes dimming somewhat.
âSo strong!â He slid backward a hundred and fifty kilometers before stabilizing his body.
Wearing a cold sneer on his frosty face, the venerated enforcer came at Qing Di with a second move.
âIâll help you!â Qing Ting bounded forward.
âOut of my way!â Qing Di roared back. âThis is my battle!!â
Qing Ting screeched to a halt, surprised.
âThe Dragonling Assembly is an occasion to test geniusesâI am one of the greatest geniuses of the realm! There is no need for me to avoid fighting with the once greatest half step kings of the realm! This is my fight!!â
His king-grade flying sword lit up correspondingly and a proud battle intent flared from his body. He clashed thirty thousand times with the venerated enforcer as he spoke, losing out on each exchange. It wasnât just that he possessed weaker strength, but that his techniques, cultivation methods, and combat arts were also of comprehensively lower caliber.
Though Qing Di was no match for the venerated enforcer, he set his jaw and refused to back down. This was the Dragonling Assembly, this was his fight. Even if he couldnât rival the venerated enforcer, he would never back down or admit defeat!
Qing Ting nodded and retracted her sword, watching their fight with cold eyes and preventing anyone else from interfering.
However, mobbing the two was the furtherest thing from the minds of the surrounding cultivators and arcane beasts. They quietly observed from the sides, like they had for the venerated enforcer and the Jade Dragon Duke.
Qing Di was infinitely close to Jade Dragon, but he was still a hair's breadth away from matching her. It was a minute gap that took shape as a chasm for the venerated enforcer.
Jade Dragon could return his blows and even cause him some trouble, but Qing Di could only suffer a beating when facing the venerated enforcer. The latter saw through all of Qing Diâs combat arts before he deployed them and destroyed them while they were still being crafted.
âThe venerated enforcer⌠is still the venerated enforcer,â sighed the previous dragon lord. âIf it wasnât for him wanting to pursue the great dao and desiring to ascend to titled kinghood at the loftiest heights possible, he wouldâve reached our levels long ago.â
âYour level, not mine⌠Iâm just a half step king,â Lu Yun mumbled.
âAhem!â coughed the dragon lord. âSince you are also a half step king, would you be a match for the venerated enforcer if you fought him in fair combat?â
âWith pure battle strength, you mean?â Lu Yun blinked.
âYes.â The previous dragon lord nodded. âSee how sword dao brims around the venerated enforcerâs movements, but he wields neither treasure nor flying sword. He utilizes only his innate force to project sword qi, and just that is sufficient to thoroughly trounce a Qing Di wielding a king-grade flying treasure.â
âEh, thatâs because I took his flying sword.â Lu Yun flipped his hand over and materialized a hazy purple flying swordâthe venerated enforcerâs flying sword.
âAs for whether or not Iâd be a match for him⌠we can verify that.â Lu Yun nodded.
âVerify? How?â The dragon lord blinked. âThe rules say that you cannot descend the mountain after Iâve brought you here.â
Lu Yun gathered energy from their surroundings with a beckon of his hand and formed an ancient seven string zither with classic lines. He sat down cross-legged and placed the zither on his knees, gently stroking the strings.
Gentle zither music flowed out of the instrument in front of him.
âIâd always thought that I was relatively on par with the venerated enforcer. It looks like my assumption was incredibly wrong,â sighed the Bloodclad Duke as he watched the fight. âMy defeat at Morningstar Dusksnowâs hands was well deserved. He could take three moves from the enforcer!â
âHe does indeed deserve his reputation.â Purplecladâs expression was far from pleasant. Though he was loathe to admit it, it would be almost impossible for him to surpass the venerated enforcer.
âQing Di is very strong too, heâs only losing because his opponent is who he is.â Li Yiran, Zhang Lingge, and others of the top one hundred found this an unwelcome discovery.
Though the venerated enforcer was once hailed the foremost powerhouse beneath titled kings, that still left a bit of room for imagination. They could daydream about defeating or surpassing him one day. But nowâŚ
Heâd fought twice on the mountainâonce perfectly defeating Dragonhollowâs greatest genius, the Jade Dragon Duke, and later dominating Azure Dragon Cityâs greatest genius, Qing Di. The latter had taken countless Pills of Creation, which vaulted his strength to new heights, but he was still no match for the venerated enforcer.
He was far from even coming close!
âI wonder what itâd look like if the Champion Duke fought the venerated enforcer,â Li Yiran suddenly wondered. âWould he be able to put up a fight?â
âJust wait for it. Even if his so-called disciples block all of us from scaling the mountain, that doesnât mean the end of the Dragonling Ranking battles. We still have the chance to challenge anyone on the ranking, so thereâs bound to be a battle between the Immortal King and venerated enforcer at some point.
âIf his name is the only one on the ranking, then he can prepare himself to suffer endless rounds of fights.â
As conversation flew thick and fast, a pleasing zither note suddenly echoed in their ears. Everyone paused.
âIs someone playing a zither?â Qing Ting cocked her head, not understanding why the sound had come from the mountainâs peak. There should be more people than just Lu Yun at the peak, so they didnât know who was the player.
âThis zitherâŚâ Completely outmatched, Qing Di readied to retreat when the music note flowed into his ears. His mind sharpened with focus and he discovered with great shock that this melody seemed to be some sort of guidance. It was teaching him how to fight and utilize his combat arts!
âItâs the Immortal King!â Qing Di lit up and relaxed his mind, concentrating fully on the marvelous tones and following its instructions to release his potential.
The crowd immediately discovered a notable difference in his fighting style. Up until now, Qing Di had been fending off his opponent by the skin of his teeth, but he was suddenly able to counterattack the moment the zither sounded!
âSince martial grandfather wishes to test my cultivation, then I humbly make a fool out of myself.â The venerated enforcer immediately grasped what was going on and murmured inaudibly to himself. A hazy purple sword shadow descended from the skies in the next momentâhis flying sword that Lu Yun had taken!