Interesting!
After Long Hui's surprise came delight.
The powerful combat strength Li Xuanxiao displayed didn't make him back down; instead, he fought even more bravely!
"Now this is worthy of being my opponent!"
He immediately raised his sword and continued his fierce assault on Li Xuanxiao!
Having unleashed the Vairocana's Seven Radiances, Li Xuanxiao's pupils had turned completely golden; at first glance, he even possessed a touch of divinity!
His gaze swept over Long Hui, and the other's speed was noticeably slowed down in his eyes.
Long Hui fought with increasing vigor, clearly entering some sort of fanatical state.
Qian Technique—Firmament Sword Intent!
Buzz—
With a faint hum, an invisible Sword Intent unfolded in an instant!
The sky seemed to resonate with it, clouds rolling and unfurling.
The vastness and depth of the sky were reflected in Long Hui's eyes.
His Sword Intent resonated with the firmament; every swing of his sword seemed bolstered by the power of heaven and earth!
With a fanatical expression, he let out a heroic shout: "Come on! Come at me! Get over here!"
Long Hui swung his sword at Li Xuanxiao continuously, driven by an intense bloodlust for battle.
He was like a Tryndamere who had popped his ultimate with a lethal rhythm!
Holy crap, this kid's getting carried away!
Li Xuanxiao responded calmly, using Steps of Unbound Freedom to dodge repeatedly.
"Why are you running! Can't you just fight me face-to-face?"
Long Hui shouted and charged once more.
Li Xuanxiao dodged again; his goal was clear, and he wouldn't fight a pointless battle.
If he were facing a Heaven Realm Demon Race Member, he would be even more frenzied than Long Hui!
After all, he could earn Demon value Points from that.
But for now, he didn't want to waste his energy.
"Let's end it here! Three rounds have passed."
Li Xuanxiao surged his thick True Essence, tanking one of Long Hui's strikes as he spoke calmly.
Long Hui froze, then remembered what he had said earlier.
A look of hesitation crossed his face; he still had so many Martial Arts he hadn't used!
But a man's word was his bond, and Long Hui ultimately chose to stop.
Good, he's a reasonable one!
Seeing Long Hui stop, Li Xuanxiao also withdrew his True Essence and deactivated his Martial Arts.
He silently sized up Long Hui.
The strength Long Hui had shown was the greatest he had seen so far!
Although the other's Realm was lower than his own—only the Third Layer of Qian Realm—
His Martial Arts attainment was faintly one Rank higher than his own.
Li Xuanxiao strongly suspected that the various Qian Techniques Long Hui used were all at the Major Achievement stage!
If not for the fact that all his own Martial Arts had been deduced by the System and were of higher quality than ordinary ones,
And that his True Essence was so abundant he could maintain a technique longer—trading time for power—
He might not have actually been able to fight to a draw.
If they kept fighting, it would just turn into a battle of attrition using True Essence to wear the other out...
As expected of a Disciple from a top-tier power of the Upper Kingdom!
His strength is indeed far superior to an average Martial Artist!
If it were an ordinary Third Layer of Qian Realm, they would have been dead long ago after he used just two Qian Techniques.
Long Hui took off his robe and threw it to Li Xuanxiao: "I accept my loss, take it!"
Li Xuanxiao happily accepted it and put it on immediately!
Heh!
Don't say it, just don't say it!
A new skin really does feel different!
Li Xuanxiao was very pleased; besides being stylish, the dark gold patterns on the Martial Artist robe had a faint luster flowing through them.
Not only did it look quite mysterious and noble, but the dark gold patterns seemed to have another purpose!
"This robe is the standard uniform for 'D' Rank Disciples of the Ancient Martial Mystic Court. The dark gold patterns are specially made miniature Formations with many uses. They provide bonuses to True Essence recovery and manipulation, as well as movement speed, and it comes with a one-time defensive Formation."
Long Hui silently explained to Li Xuanxiao.
Li Xuanxiao nodded; it really was good stuff, a perfect match for him!
It seemed this Martial Artist robe had played a part in Long Hui being able to exert such powerful strength!
Li Xuanxiao didn't waste words, immediately circulating his True Essence to use Steps of Unbound Freedom again.
After moving several times in succession, his face suddenly showed shock.
His movement speed had increased by at least 20%!
That was an incredible boost!
It was almost equivalent to a Realm breakthrough.
Is this the foundation of a top-tier power... Truly a grand gesture!
This Martial Artist robe alone likely isn't cheap, it might even be priceless and unavailable on the market!
Long Hui felt quite uncomfortable, not because he had to give the clothes to Li Xuanxiao, but because the fight hadn't been satisfying!
"Don't forget, you have to return it to me when we reach the Upper Kingdom!"
Li Xuanxiao nodded: "Don't worry, you kept your word, so I will naturally keep mine."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Long Hui returned to Bai Junyi's side, while Li Xuanxiao flew back to Chu Yin and Wu Jiangming.
Chu Yin praised repeatedly: "Brother Li, you were actually able to go toe-to-toe with a Disciple of the Ancient Martial Mystic Court!"
Wu Jiangming leaned in: "Brother Li, have you decided which top-tier power you want to join? If you're not sure, why not consider my Taiyi Dao Sect! Everyone in my Taiyi Dao Sect is a talent, and they speak so pleasantly..."
Li Xuanxiao pursed his lips: "I still prefer slaying demons and monsters! A person like me who enjoys fighting and killing shouldn't disturb the peace of the Daoists."
On the other side, Bai Junyi looked at Long Hui with a smile: "Well?"
Long Hui pondered for a moment: "Very strong! For a non-Upper Kingdom Martial Artist, Li Xuanxiao's performance can be described as astonishing! Not only has his Realm reached the Qian Realm Fifth Layer, but his various Qian Techniques are at least at the Minor Achievement stage! In terms of Martial Dao, his talent would be noteworthy even in my Ancient Martial Mystic Court!"
"Oh right, he also knows Buddhist Dharma! This is simply unbelievable!"
Bai Junyi nodded and sighed: "Yes, that's also what I find incomprehensible. He's clearly a Martial Artist, yet he can also comprehend such Xuan Buddhist Dharma. This is completely different from our Upper Kingdom's traditional education; I've never heard of anyone capable of Dual Cultivation of Buddhism and Martial Arts!"
Long Hui paused and then said: "A fellow like Li Xuanxiao is simply a natural-born Martial Dao seed! I will report this to my Master after I return. If possible, we must recruit him into our Ancient Martial Mystic Court! With such talent, if provided with sufficient resources, who knows, my Ancient Martial Mystic Court might produce another Martial Saint in time!"
Bai Junyi raised an eyebrow in surprise: "A Martial Saint!? You think that highly of him? He just defeated you..."
Long Hui's brow twitched: "What do you mean defeated! We agreed on three moves, but I forgot and didn't go all out! If we really fought, there's no way I would lose! Besides, a fight is a fight, and talent is talent; how can I let my emotions cloud my judgment!"
Yan Qingshan coughed: "You two, I've been thinking, and I feel there are some things I need to explain to you. Although it's a bit dishonorable to talk about someone else's secrets behind their back, I am an Upper Kingdom citizen after all, and I must prioritize the Upper Kingdom's interests. Li Xuanxiao has offended an existence he absolutely cannot afford to cross..."
Long Hui didn't care at all: "He's just a Martial Artist from a small kingdom. No matter how much trouble he causes, what kind of existence could he possibly offend? Even if he can't afford to cross them, once he joins my Ancient Martial Mystic Court, his enemies will never dare to continue bothering him! The Masters, Seniors, and Senior Brothers of my Ancient Martial Mystic Court are extremely protective. Daring to trouble Li Xuanxiao is the same as troubling all of us!"
Bai Junyi also nodded, agreeing with Long Hui's statement.
The Ancient Martial Mystic Court indeed had that capability and was indeed protective!
There was once a Disciple who went on a solo mission and was killed in a Demon Race ambush.
After the news reached the Ancient Martial Mystic Court, that Disciple's Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, Master, and Great Master all mobilized!
In the end, not only was that group of Demon Race uprooted, but even the earthworms in the vicinity were pulled out and chopped into eight pieces...