Chapter 33. Confidence (3)

Tension that couldn't be hidden crept onto Mingholin's face.

It wasn't just him. The senior disciples who were resting nearby and those who were sparring also focused their gazes on the two of them.

Yan Hozheng had proven his strength by defeating the notorious Chuxie Zhucheng.

Mingholin was the third son of the number one family in the world and had cultivated his martial arts more deeply than anyone else here.

When these two faced each other, an inexplicable silence fell. Even if some might not acknowledge it, this was a match between the two strongest people here.

Naturally, it couldn't help but attract a lot of attention.

Mingholin finally spoke up.

"Though a bit late, I watched your duel with Chief Chuxie well."

"Thank you."

"Your spear technique was incredible. Did the Yan family have such martial arts?"

"Not to be compared with the Ming family."

Mingholin smiled kindly.

"Quality is more important than quantity, isn't it? I was enlightened by your unique spear technique, which I had never seen before."

Yan Hozheng smiled back.

"I also want to see the true martial arts of the number one family in the world."

It was a meaningful statement.

Mingholin, unaware of his true intentions, laughed.

"Haha, I wonder if it will meet your expectations, Young Master Yan."

"You are modest."

Whoosh.

Yan Hozheng, gripping the middle of the iron staff, seemed to be ready.

"Though this is a messy place, we've had our taste. Let's move on to the main event."

By "taste," he meant close combat.

Mingholin's expression hardened as he recalled yesterday's close combat.

'He's not ordinary. And neither is today.'

The techniques he showed in the fight with Chuxie were all practical.

However, Mingholin saw Yan Hozheng's true abilities hidden within those fierce moves.

'It's not just about having good martial arts. The key is how you use them in different situations.'

Yan Hozheng knew how to wield his weapon precisely at the optimal moment.

That was something anyone would find difficult. It required not only talent but also an immense amount of practical experience.

Where could this young man have gained such practical experience?

'Furthermore...'

When Chuxie received the first three moves.

'There was definitely something then, right?'

He felt an indescribable aura that bound Chuxie.

Or rather, it seemed that way. Yan Hozheng seemed to have done something, but Mingholin couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

'Whatever it is, he definitely has something beyond what meets the eye.'

Yan Hozheng's eyes gleamed.

"Shall we begin?"

"Sure."

Mingholin picked up the wooden sword that had fallen to the ground.

It was a slightly curved wooden sword, different from a wooden sword.

Yan Hozheng's eyes gleamed.

'Sword technique?'

He recalled the time when his family was attacked by a mysterious group.

Whether in his past life or in this current regression, he had never forgotten that situation. The shock was so great that he remembered almost everything.

'There were definitely swordsmen back then.'

Not just swordsmen. There were also swordsmen, fist fighters, and spear users.

The attackers all used the most common weapons in the martial world. There was not a single person using distinctive weapons like hidden blades, mandarin ducks axes, whips, or iron pens.

If the Ming family was truly behind the attack on the Yan family.

And if he could see traces of them in the third son of that family's sword technique.

If the Ming family was truly the culprit, how should he proceed from here?

'...'

Yan Hozheng cleared his thoughts.

'The Ming family might not be it. Hasty judgments are to be avoided.'

Setting up the training ground atmosphere was not just for the sake of sparring with Mingholin.

It was to spar with all of them. In case he had missed something.

But he hadn't. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't find any similarities between the martial arts of other families and those of the attackers.

However, yesterday, he felt a similar strange aura from Mingholin's presence.

Swoosh.

Mingholin lowered his stance.

"Alright, I'm ready."

"Me too."

"Then let's begin."

Crack!

Without hesitation, both of them lunged at each other.

Even without exerting their full strength, they were fast. Their footwork was swifter than anyone else training here.

Yan Hozheng unleashed his martial arts without restraint.

Whoosh!

The Whirlwind Staff Technique was deployed. The staff technique, as free and gentle as the wind, aimed at Mingholin's shoulder and side simultaneously.

Mingholin's eyes widened.

'Strong!'

He knew in one move how formidable Yan Hozheng's weapon skills were.

This was on a different level from the bare-handed combat. The staff technique, drawing on the Bila Zhen Qi, carried both lightness and heaviness, two contrasting qualities.

Mingholin swung his wooden sword.

Clang!

It was an excellent response.

Mingholin's movements, wielding the wooden sword in a double-handed form, were fluid and efficient, cutting off the heavy force of the iron staff at its root.

Yan Hozheng's feet hit the ground.

Thud!

The strong rebound force traveled up his thighs and added power to his waist.

Whoosh!

A sudden thrust.

The strike, powered by the rotation of his waist, was incredibly fast. Mingholin quickly lowered his stance and deflected the wooden sword upward.

Clang!

Mingholin's eyes wavered.

He could feel it even without seeing. The wooden sword's surface had been slightly indented by the staff's thrust.

'Incredible strength!'

Crack!

Pushing the iron staff away, Mingholin leaped backward, momentarily startled.

Whoosh!

As if anticipating his retreat, Yan Hozheng was already closing in.

The distance was incredibly close. So close that there was no time to swing the wooden sword.

At the same time, the iron staff was moving. The horizontal strike was so fast that the staff was slightly bent.

'Can't block?'

They had only exchanged a few moves, yet he was already on the defensive.

If this continued, he would definitely be defeated. It wasn't a close match, and he hadn't made any mistakes, yet he was about to fall ignominiously.

'Complacency...'

Despite knowing how formidable his opponent's technique was, he had still ended up in this situation. It could only be attributed to complacency.

Complacency. Defeat. Mistake.

These three words stirred Mingholin's pride.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The arm wielding the iron staff became heavy.

The wooden sword was already blocking the iron staff, despite the fact that it should have been impossible to block.

Hum.

A faint golden aura emanated from Mingholin's body, holding the wooden sword with both hands.

Yan Hozheng's eyes widened.

Finally, Mingholin was unleashing his true strength.

Whoosh.

The golden aura, like mist, spread in all directions.

It was a truly beautiful sight. More than the grandeur of the aura, the fact that he could materialize his inner energy to this extent was astonishing.

'Impressive.'

Gadeshang was amazed.

'If the aura is this clear, even a peak expert would not be out of place.'

Crack!

Yan Hozheng retreated.

Mingholin, about to launch an immediate attack, was startled.

Yan Hozheng didn't just retreat. He grabbed the end of the staff and swung it, sending a powerful burst of energy toward Mingholin's chest.

It felt like a needle from the end of a whip flying at him. A simple release of inner energy wouldn't be enough to block it.

"Ha!"

Bang!

The clean, diagonal strike of the wooden sword shattered the burst of energy.

Whoosh!

Yan Hozheng charged again. He attacked before Mingholin could even recover his stance.

'What!'

It was an unbelievable amount of stamina.

His attacks and evasions were too fast. The problem was that this kind of exchange was extremely draining. No, it was a fighting style that overworked the muscles.

In fact, Yan Hozheng's body was already flushed red, pushing his muscles to their limits.

'Show me.'

Yan Hozheng swung the iron staff.

The staff technique, striking from all directions, forced Mingholin to retreat continuously.

'Show me your true martial arts!'

Thud!

The staff tip shattered the blue stone floor.

Right then, Mingholin's counterattack began.

Crack!

Yan Hozheng's eyes widened.

For a moment, it seemed as if his arm had elongated, striking the wooden sword diagonally.

It was a brilliant counterattack. It wasn't just Mingholin's reflexes; the technique itself was designed for counterattacks.

Clang!

He quickly gathered the iron staff to block, but the impact was strong.

It didn't end there. Mingholin's sword technique was just beginning.

Boom!

Mingholin advanced, pushing off the ground.

It was the true martial arts of the Nine Great Families, the Jinluo Divine Technique, followed by the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique. A powerful martial art that had only been passed down to blood relatives, despite being created less than a generation ago.

Clang! Clang!

The sword technique, wielded with both hands, was solemn and powerful.

But there was no grandeur in the form. It embodied the truth that simplicity is strength, giving strong power and speed to simple movements.

Clang!

Yan Hozheng was quickly pushed back. He was blocking with the iron staff, but his counterattacks were ineffective.

Mingholin's eyes gleamed.

Now that he had the upper hand, he intended to see it through. He maximized the power of the Jinluo Divine Technique.

Sizzle!

The golden inner energy burned even brighter.

At the same time, the energy in the wooden sword began to swirl gradually.

'...?'

Yan Hozheng's eyes widened.

'What is this?'

The third strike of the wooden sword was coming.

The form and the principles behind the technique were different. But the swirling energy within the blade was something he had seen before.

More precisely, he had seen the method of energy manipulation.

Clang! Thud!

The powerful strike sent the iron staff flying, scraping the ground.

The inner energy in the blade was spinning wildly. But the rotation was invisible to the human eye.

Yan Hozheng's eyes and his energy sense detected it.

A completely different feeling from Central Plains martial arts.

It seemed honest and deep on the surface, but the method of inner energy manipulation was fundamentally different from Central Plains martial arts.

And that martial art...

'Palm!!'

Yan Hozheng's eyes turned a deep blue.

Boom! Bang!

"Ugh!"

Mingholin's body was pushed back.

His eyes wavered.

'What, incredible martial arts!'

He looked at the wooden sword.

The wooden sword was almost shattered. If he hadn't maximized the Jinluo Divine Technique, he would have been severely injured by this strike.

Mingholin looked at Yan Hozheng.

Sizzle.

A deep blue aura emanated from Yan Hozheng's body. The Five Great Techniques of the Yan family, the Bila Zhen Jue, were burning, not inferior to the Jinluo Divine Technique.

He was in a stance with both hands on the iron staff and one knee on the ground. But the way he held the staff was strange.

It was more like he was holding a crescent moon saber or a large axe, not a staff.

Mingholin's spine shivered.

'This is not his true martial arts!'

That's right. The close combat, staff, and spear techniques Yan Hozheng had shown so far.

None of them were his true martial arts. His true skills were much stronger and more explosive.

Rustle.

Yan Hozheng bowed his head and stood up.

It seemed like he was bowing, or perhaps he didn't want to show his face.

"The sparring should end here."

Was it an illusion? Yan Hozheng's voice sounded slightly hoarse.

Mingholin, discarding the broken wooden sword, made a fist salute. His hands, holding the salute, were trembling slightly from the shock.

"I learned a lot."

"Me too. Then."

With that, Yan Hozheng walked across the training ground toward the inner courtyard. He walked so fast that even Lian Zhiping couldn't catch up.

The path to the inner courtyard's dormitory.

A terrifying killing intent flickered in Yan Hozheng's eyes.

"...The Ming family, then."