"Hua Nongying need not worry,"
Ling Xiao said with a smile, "Still, I must thank you for providing this information."
It was the same old saying: A person who had once been defeated by him would never be able to catch up to him again, much less defeat him.
Now a Martial Pulse Seventh Level Initial Stage Martial Master, he had experienced much and understood how terrifying his Mountain and River Martial Soul could be.
If he didn’t even have this much confidence, then what was the point of talking about transcendence?
He currently wasn’t using any realm template because the news of his breakthrough to the seventh layer had already spread throughout the Hidden Dragon Camp. Using a realm template now would be meaningless.
However, realm was one thing and actual strength was another. If anyone merely considered him a common Martial Pulse Seventh Level Initial Stage Martial Master, they would suffer a great loss.
As the three were conversing, three ninja youths wearing headbands walked into the Hidden Dragon Camp.
Of course, General Jiu Yue followed them, appearing to be leading the way while also supervising them.
After all, this was the Hidden Dragon Camp; they couldn’t allow the people from Heavenly Ninja Academy to do anything too outrageous.
"The prodigies from Heavenly Ninja Academy have arrived; this is bad. Could this be another crushing defeat?"
The disciples from Heavenly Ninja Academy all wore headbands, so the talents of Hidden Dragon Camp recognized them at once.
Those who knew about the last sparring results had rather grim expressions on their faces.
Although the Hidden Dragon Camp couldn’t claim to always be united, they would still stand together against a common enemy.
The three young prodigies, one with a slightly plump body, one always looking sluggish, and one a very lively girl.
"I heard that Dai Yuling has already joined the Twelve Tiger Guards; I wonder who else can be our opponent this time. Maybe we can win all three matches, right?" the lively girl said excitedly.
"The people from Hidden Dragon Camp are of no concern; it’s the competition inside our Heavenly Ninja Academy that’s fierce. It’s uncertain who will catch Master Baiyun’s eye this time," the sluggish youth said, resting his head on his hand. "Master Baiyun is the strongest in Baiyun Province, even more powerful than Governor Wan Ben and Border Guarding General Lin Ze. He just likes to travel, so he only returns once every three years to take in disciples."
"It would be great if he selected us," the chubby one muttered as he snacked while walking.
"Don’t worry, Master Baiyun isn’t of the Human Race, so he doesn’t restrict his choice of disciples by race. As long as one has talent, anyone could be selected. It seems likely that he will choose a disciple from our Heavenly Ninja Academy this time, too," the sluggish youth said with a smile. "Up to now, Master Baiyun has taken in two personal disciples, and both are ninjas with outstanding talent. One is Zuo Leng, and the other is Ming Tian. Ming Tian has been traveling with Master Baiyun, while Zuo Leng has stayed at the Heavenly Ninja Academy, his strength far surpassing that of Senior Brother Fei Yu. I even heard that he killed a Ninth Stage Martial Artist with his Eighth Level Cultivation."
"I’ve heard about it too!" the lively girl said hastily.
"But Ming Tian clearly looks down on Hidden Dragon Camp, which is why he has never lifted a finger in these consecutive sparring events. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any talk of Dai Yuling," the sluggish youth said disdainfully as he glanced at the onlooking disciples of Hidden Dragon Camp, deliberately raising his voice.
"Insolence!" someone exclaimed. "Who dares to spout such arrogance in our Hidden Dragon Camp!"
Suddenly, a figure flashed out; it was Hidden Dragon Camp’s Deputy Commander, Hua Nongying.
"So this is the person Hidden Dragon Camp has sent out for the spar, huh? Hehe, a Martial Artist at the mid-stage of the 7th level Martial Pulse. Not a bad cultivation level, but unfortunately, the aura is too rash and the foundation unstable. I could defeat him with one move!" the sluggish youth said as he looked at Hua Nongying and smiled faintly.
"Don’t fight with me over it. Let me handle this," the lively girl giggled. "I quite want to experience the formidable skills of the Hidden Dragon Camp disciples."
"Fine, although you’ve just broken through to the Martial Pulse Seventh Layer Middle Stage, you should have more than enough to deal with him," the sluggish youth nodded and said.
As the two conversed, they seemed to completely disregard Hua Nongying.
Although Hua Nongying was an undercover agent sent by Wan Ben to Hidden Dragon Camp, the three of them had no knowledge of this.
Originally, Hua Nongying had jumped out with the intention of feigning defeat.
However, provoked by the other party’s remarks, a fire was kindled in his heart, and he thought it wouldn’t hurt to give them a show of force before pretending to lose.
Thus, with a flick of his slender treasured sword, a rose vortex tore through the earth and pounced towards the lively young girl.
The ground itself was torn open by the whirlwind.
It was evident that though Hua Nongying’s cultivation level hadn’t broken through, the power of his swordplay had significantly increased.
It was even stronger than when he had fought with Ling Xiao before.
For an ordinary Seventh Layer Martial Master of Martial Pulse, facing this overwhelmingly powerful strike, they would certainly not dare to take it lightly, as a single misstep could lead to a fatal outcome.
However, the lively girl had a smile on her face and simply gave a light, causal pat with her hand.
A pale blue ripple emanated from the palm of her hand, which rapidly expanded and transformed into a beast’s head shape. Upon closer look, it resembled a wild boar with two sharp tusks.
Despite its unimpressive appearance, the beast head formed from the condensation of True Essence easily shattered Hua Nongying’s sword technique.
Not only that, but after breaking through the sword move, the beast head didn’t stop at all, continuing to thrust forward and colliding directly with Hua Nongying.
Hua Nongying, seeing that the situation was dire and attempting to dodge, found it was already too late. He was struck squarely by the beast head and sent flying with a "bang," crashing into several Hidden Dragon Camp disciples who were spectating behind him.
This scene darkened the expression of General Jiu Yue, who was standing on the side.
After all, he was one of the responsible Tiger Guards of Hidden Dragon Camp, and watching the deputy commander of the camp being blown away with one strike made his heart sink.
Because just a dozen or so days ago, Ling Xiao had also spent a good fifty moves to defeat Hua Nongying.
If the girl’s strength was much stronger than that of Ling Xiao, who could stand against her?
Moreover, by his judgment, this girl was the weakest among the three prodigies from Heavenly Ninja Academy.
"Damn it, people from Heavenly Ninja Academy are too strong, Commander Hua was actually defeated with a single strike."
"It’s over now, we’ve lost face completely this time. Previously we had Dai Yuling to hold the fort, but now, sigh, it’s all over."
The watching talents of Hidden Dragon Camp were all shaking their heads, feeling a strong sense of inferiority and even thoughts of betrayal.
After all, talented youths naturally seek better places, as water flows downhill; their loyalty to Lin Ze wasn’t that strong, after all.
This battle naturally also alarmed Ling Xiao and others, who were now rushing over to the scene.
Amidst the crowd, Hua Nongying leapt up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and coldly said, "I showed mercy in my hand, and I wouldn’t have thought you’d play for real!"
While speaking, stronger True Essence began to swirl around Hua Nongying’s slender sword; he was now burning his True Essence.
His claim that he had held back wasn’t excessive as he hadn’t burnt any True Essence in his previous move.
"Hehe, if that’s the case, then come at me again," the lively girl said, smiling, seemingly regarding Hua Nongying as someone hardly worth mentioning.
"Good—’Red Whirlwind of the Flower Sword’!"
Although Hua Nongying was undercover, he was at least a senior to these three people. Being taught a lesson in such a manner left him struggling to contain his anger; he figured that after disciplining the young girl, he could go and explain to the governor later.
This time, his sword technique was even more powerful.