Her opponent was a girl with buns for hair, wielding a pair of silver swords. The moment she saw the panda, her starry eyes narrowed.
Then, her expression turned stern, becoming cold and ruthless.
"That... that panda, quickly surrender. I will show no mercy,"
the girl with buns said seriously.
As for pandas, everyone had a method of assessment. Generally speaking, the larger the size, the better the development and the stronger the panda. The smaller ones tended to have poor development and usually possessed weaker strength.
The panda in question was much smaller than the others; it looked cute and easy to bully.
Hua Xiaohua blinked and stayed where she was, not speaking.
Seeing this, the girl with buns hesitated no more.
With a flick of her fingers, the two flying swords crossed and slashed down, bursting forth with radiant silver-white brilliance.
The sword technique was majestic and strict, a standard Basic Sword Control Skill's slashing move, enhanced in power by the dual set of flying swords. Even a late-stage Qi Practicing cultivator would be slain in a single encounter.
Hua Xiaohua's black nose twitched as she took a deep breath, feeling a bit nervous for her first high school exam battle.
Still, she remained motionless as the two crossing silver-white flying swords aimed for her throat, not even bothering to deploy a Xiantian martial artist's True Qi shield.
The swords' edges, concentrated with sword qi, created a piercing screech as they sliced through the air, touching the white fur near the panda's throat.
Jiang Ding gave a slight nod.
Randomly encountering a late-stage Qi Practicing cultivator who could wield sword control skills above this standard showed just how much Xianmen Sect's level of cold weapon combat had improved over the past nine years due to constant internal pressure.
"Silly and cute little fellow!"
The girl with buns settled in her heart upon seeing this, seemingly already picturing the panda's defeat. She said with some regret.
The two silver-white swords slashed at the white fur of the panda's neck, yet there was no sight of fur splitting or blood scattering.
Instead, there was a clear sound of metal clashing, sparks flying off.
The two silver-white flying swords were repelled as if struck by lightning, their spiritual light dimmed. The girl with buns, who was the master of the swords, spat out blood, her figure staggering.
The girl with buns turned pale, taking out a middle-grade magic tool shield to protect herself, voicing her disbelief.
Merely upon contact, her silver swords were utterly damaged. This was beyond what her teachers had taught her, something she couldn't comprehend.
Within the cold wind, a large sword with spikes and flames descended.
It was held in the cute little paws of the panda as it swung down, the girl with buns' head exploded on impact, followed by the rest of her body. Blood and flesh chunks sprayed in all directions.
From the beginning to the end, the little creature had not spoken a single word.
"Seventh Level of Qi Practicing, dead?"
"Who was that just now, definitely not my family's Xiaohua!"
The live broadcast room for the high school exam was popular, mostly because of the faces. At this moment, the audience couldn't help but be dumbfounded, suspecting they were hallucinating.
"This fighting style is too bloody... It's as if it's led our Xiaohua astray..."
Within the Wolong Nature Reserve,
a group of pandas, large and small, were also watching the live stream, occasionally exclaiming and cheering. Many of the adult pandas twitched at the corners of their mouths, having an ominous premonition.
"Her embryo of the Magma Thorn Sword, refined and successfully assimilated,"
Jiang Ding thought, somewhat astonished.
Those with longevity should avoid forming attachments and emotions with those of short lifespan.
A panda that had awakened its spirit, if it couldn't break through to foundation-building, would perish by the age of one hundred at most.
The path of the sword was always fraught with danger and brutality, even with the best conditions, it was possible to die during the cultivation process, and it seemed that her heart was rather timid and fragile, not resolute...
Therefore, he had not paid attention to her over the years.
Jiang Ding felt joyful, pleased that the way of the sword had welcomed a peer with exceptional talent and a validated state of mind.
"Peak of Xiantian, just like myself back in the day, and with the Iron-eating Beast clan's strong physique, the embryo of Magma Thorn Sword, she has the potential to become this year's top contender in cold weapons... If it is so, the development of the sword path will have seen its first milestone."
After spending some time watching Hua Xiaohua, Jiang Ding continued to observe others, to make an accurate assessment of the young generation's swordsmanship skills within the Xianmen Sect.
"Somewhat unexpected, the level is much higher than previously estimated, the highest level of swordsmanship seems to be at the level of an amateur swordsman of the eighth grade."
"The Xianmen Sect has many talents."
"Just offer them a path and some assistance, and even sword path talents are like carp leaping over the dragon's gate. In the cultivation world of the Three Kingdoms, even twinling root cultivators can't compare to them."
Jiang Ding knew that it's not that the race of his home planet was especially excellent, having undergone reproductive isolation or anything like that.
It was entirely due to the continuous investment in education by the predecessors of Xianmen Sect, relentless research and development, and endless growth; as long as you have the related talents and paths, talent will continue to emerge without end.
This is the difference postnatal education makes.
"I estimate that in just a few years, we will see amateur ninth-grade swordsmen, reaching a peak of swordsmanship skill."
"As for professional swordsmen..."
"That's a bit harder, it's not just about talent requirements, it also emphasizes specialization, completeness, totally giving up other paths and immersing oneself entirely in the way of the sword—that's the only way one might realize the Sword Intent and become a professional swordsman."
"Those with exceptional talent may not choose this path."
"And those who choose this path may not have the highest level of talent, it's quite a paradox. It can only rely on the accumulation of time and the inevitable coincidences that keep arising."
Jiang Ding scattered his thoughts, recording each candidate's level of swordsmanship as data Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive!
Unknowingly, this year's cold weapons exam moved into its latter half.
Jiang Ding's gaze once again fell on Hua Xiaohua.
She had encountered a real opponent, a chubby little kid at the peak of Qi Practicing, who seemed to also possess a wind-type spiritual body.
His mastery of wind-type magic was captivating, with wind knives, wind swords, and storms being flung at Hua Xiaohua one after another, never daring to let a real flying sword magic tool come into contact with the seemingly delicate panda.
Hua Xiaohua remained motionless.
Divine Tortoise Magma Thorn Sword Canon!
Her Sword Embryo came from this canon, and although she was at the Eaglet Innate Peak, she already possessed a trace of the divine tortoise's perseverance. Let the wild winds from all directions assail her, she was immobile. With her sword anchored, she disregarded the surrounding chaos.
"I'm not fighting anymore!"
After a relentless barrage for over ten minutes—leaving the panda unscathed—the Wind Green Fish was panting heavily and just slumped where he stood.
Wind-type magic was famous for its speed, inherently possessing an unbeatable advantage.
Hua Xiaohua spoke for the first time in a babyish voice.
Then, her body curled into a spiky ball, there was a booming sound, and the energy she had accumulated from the beating erupted. Her Divine Soul locked on, and her body transformed into a spiky streak of light and rammed into the Wind Green Fish in the sky.
"You can actually fly!"
The Wind Green Fish yelled, his figure flickered erratically, producing seven or eight similar-looking shadows that rapidly flew in all directions, too fast for average foundation-building cultivators to catch up in an instant.
The black and white spiky ball ignored the other figures, relentlessly pursuing just one—straight lines, turns, ups, downs, detours. Despite the spiky ball's clumsy and cute appearance, it was exceptionally nimble.
The spiky ball rammed into one of the shadows at a much higher speed than the Wind Green Fish, with a loud bang, blood and flesh splattered, and the seven or eight other shadows dissipated—it was undoubtedly his true body.
At the scene, a black and white spiky ball spun around dizzily several times before it finally came to a stop.