The man quickly used the curved saber in his hand and swiped it at Ho Ming's sword.
Dang.
With the curved saber, Ho Ming's sword was blocked.
He narrowly escaped the fate of his chin being pierced through like a skewer by Ho Ming's sword.
But now, Ho Ming's right hand came thrusting at his waist with his twirling wind strike.
The man leaped back, thinking Ho Ming's studious practice would allow him a breather.
What he didn't expect was Ho Ming throwing one of his swords at him.
It shot at him so fast that he couldn't react to block with his curved saber.
Thud.
The sword stuck in his chest, and he flew back about ten meters.
Ho Ming wanted to go in to make sure, but the judge had stopped him.
The man was now lying unconscious on the ground.
Disciples of the Qing Feng sect erupted in loud cheers when they saw it.
"See, that's the Sword Peak for you."
"It's not only that, look at him, he has a double sword cultivation root."
"To think they have the gall to challenge us."
When he heard what the other disciples felt, Lin Fan was glad.
He could picture Ho Fu, with his pipe, puffing and nodding approvingly at Ho Ming right now.
Too bad Ho Fu wasn't here to witness it.
With one man down, Ho Ming quickly went over and helped Khoo with the other man.
The other man was much stronger.
When he saw Ho Ming approaching, he wielded the curved saber in a crescent; white glow formed and sliced at Ho Ming.
Dang!
Ho Ming put both of his swords in front of him, forming an X and blocked the crescent strike.
Seeing that the man was distracted, Khoo went in for the kill.
He used the Cross Wind Slash, slicing wave formed in the shape of an X, and the man was cut on his wrist and legs.
The pain caused the man to drop his curved saber.
"Stop and surrender," Ho Ming appeared in front of the man and held his sword against the man's throat.
The man wanted to fight back, but he stopped when he felt another sword pointing at his back.
Khoo was now behind him.
Without any other options, the man raised his hand and surrendered.
"Qing Feng sect wins!"
The judge announced the winner.
Qing Feng sect's disciples grew ecstatic; they were now tied at two against two.
Among them, Tan Rui stood expressionless and stared at Ho Ming.
He cursed and swore silently at him.
After his defeat during the monthly ranking, it had been downhill from then on for him.
All because of this Ho Ming and that Lin Fan.
Slowly, hatred simmered within, and he vowed to get back at them, no matter how.
"Don't celebrate too early."
"Yeah, if I remember correctly, the next one is with a menial disciple."
"Pfft. You think your menial disciple can win over our core disciple?"
The Storm Fist Thunder sect's disciple countered with Lin Fan's identity as a menial disciple.
Qing Feng sect's disciples began to have mixed feelings about Lin Fan.
They were just betting against him, but right now, the victory for Qing Feng sect ironically rested on Lin Fan's shoulders.
With them stepping into the arena next, Zhang Xi patted Lin Fan's back. "Don't worry. I will teach them a lesson and call for help if you are in danger."
Lin Fan nodded; his mind was focused on the fact that he'd heard their opponents were core disciples.
To stay on the safe side, he decided.
When the judge called for them to enter, he stopped and raised his hand.
The disciples looked at him with confused looks.
What was he trying to do now?
Don't tell me...
"Look, he is chickening out."
The Storm Fist Thunder sect disciples pointed at him and laughed.
Qing Feng sect's disciples weren't too happy at what they saw.
Lin Fan shook his head.
Why wouldn't they let him finish talking?
Every time they jumped to conclusions.
"My weapon is in my wooden hut. Let me retrieve it first," Lin Fan shouted.
He'd wanted to use his hammers, just in case the core disciples were too strong for him.
After all, his contribution points were at stake here.
"I think he is trying to run away."
"Let someone fetch it here."
"Right, don't let him run off."
The Storm Fist Thunder sect disciples started to frame it as Lin Fan wanting to run away.
So that the Qing Feng sect could change some other disciple to fight.
Zhang Xi slapped her forehead; she didn't expect this.
"Let us go and fetch it for you," some of the menial disciples volunteered to help.
They wanted to get into Lin Fan's good books desperately.
The judge asked Lin Fan's opponents, a pair of twin brothers, and they agreed to wait.
It took some time before the menial disciples returned.
"What took you so long?"
"This must be Qing Feng sect's cunning plan to frustrate us!"
"How despicable."
The Storm Fist Thunder sect disciples had grown impatient, grumbling at the menial disciples.
"We had to find a cart to bring the pair of hammers here," the menial disciples explained as they leaned forward, using all of their weight to push the cart.
The disciples looked at them with suspicion.
Were they acting as if the hammers were so heavy?
"Thanks," Lin Fan said as he picked up the hammers as if they were light as feathers.
He swung them around, warming up for the match ahead.
This reinforced the others' thinking that it was all a show by the menial disciples.
Pathetic, they thought.
"Alright, competitors enter the sparring area and get ready."
Finally, it was time.
Zhang Xi readied herself with her right fist in front of her and knees slightly bent, ready to pounce at any moment.
Their opponents looked pale as white, even their hair and pupils were white.
One stood in the stance of a tiger, and the other in the stance of a crane.
"Be careful, these two must have some special cultivation roots," Zhang Xi warned Lin Fan when she saw the two brothers.