After enduring a full two hours of relentless lecturing from Meng Yao, Xu Xing felt completely drained. He could only nod repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice, offering his apologies.
Fortunately, Yu Yan had smartly already taken her leave early. It had been two days since that incident.
Right now, inside the spacious courtyard, Meng Yao was personally guiding Xu Xing in his combat techniques. To tell the truth, Xu Xing felt deeply satisfied having such a powerhouse as a sparring partner. cultivation behind closed doors could only take one so far on the Grand Dao!
Meng Yao stood proudly in the center of the yard.
Xu Xing, on the other hand, felt a little tense. He didn't know exactly how strong his Senior Sister truly was. All he knew was that she stood at the Nascent Soul realm! Even their Master admitted her strength had reached a terrifying level.
"Junior Brother, do not worry! I will suppress my cultivation base to fifty percent of the Golden Core realm and only utilize the most basic techniques!" Meng Yao's silver, bell-like voice rang out.
Hearing this, Xu Xing still didn't dare to drop his guard in the slightest.
Beside Xu Xing, an elegant white sword box floated quietly in the air.
"Go!"
With a low shout, seven dazzling flying swords explosively shot out of the box! The final blade was a breathtakingly sharp azure sword, entirely covered in complex, profound runes. It was precisely the Skyfall Azure Sword!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The swords transformed into streaks of silver light, locking onto every vital point on Meng Yao's body from all directions. Yet, Meng Yao's figure was like a willow leaf fluttering in the wind. She casually sidestepped, dodging every single strike with effortless grace.
Seeing this, Xu Xing bit his tongue and wildly pushed his Qi to its limits! He forcefully increased the intensity of his sword array by three times! The flying swords instantly blurred into terrifying silver streaks.
But watching Meng Yao, who still wore a casual, teasing smirk, Xu Xing's eyes flashed with ruthless determination. He immediately stomped heavily on the ground, his body shooting forward to close the distance!
Meng Yao noticed his approach and lightly tapped her foot against the dirt, attempting to pull back. But how could Xu Xing let her succeed so easily? The flying swords suddenly shifted formation, completely cutting off her retreat!
Just as she dodged a thrust from a flying sword, Xu Xing appeared right behind her. His fist, covered in Qi, shot forward like a cannon.
Meng Yao merely scoffed and dodged easily by jumping sideways. But Xu Xing wasn't done yet!
Another batch of swords already waited at her landing spot. They attacked instantly, refusing to give her even a second to catch her breath.
Even with Meng Yao's perfect, peerless footwork, Xu Xing's constant harassment and the relentless pressure of the sword array finally began to trouble her.
Suddenly, Xu Xing raised his hand and roared,
"Senior Sister, get ready!"
Swoosh!
All six flying swords abandoned the ground assault and tore through the air, soaring straight into the clouds in the blink of an eye. Beads of sweat formed on Xu Xing's forehead as he frantically circulated his Qi, instantly activating his supreme move—the Crossing River Formation!
High up in the clouds, the swords locked onto Meng Yao.
Boom! Boom!
They plummeted downward like meteors, tearing the air apart with ear-shattering sonic booms!
Meng Yao didn't take this attack lightly. Her focus was forced to split between the sky and Xu Xing. She honestly wasn't sure if Xu Xing could still launch an attack while maintaining the complex Crossing River Formation at the same time!
Boom!
The first sword crashed down from the sky. Its speed was almost impossible for the naked eye to track!
Meng Yao barely twisted her waist to dodge it.
But without a single moment of respite, the second sword viciously fell! She hurriedly rolled backward.
Right then, her pupils shrank. She noticed the third sword had fallen alongside the second, with only a slight delay.
There was simply no time to dodge normally.
She instantly exploded the Qi in her meridians, executing a basic footwork technique. Her feet suddenly became illusory, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.
Bang!
For a split second, it appeared as if the terrifying blade had struck her directly!
But a light, bell-like chuckle resounded through the yard. Meng Yao already stood completely unharmed right behind Xu Xing!
Yet, Xu Xing didn't panic at all. He maintained a calm smile, as if everything remained under absolute control.
Seeing this, Meng Yao merely scoffed internally. She assumed her Junior Brother was simply being arrogant.
Soon, the fourth and fifth swords dropped!
Meng Yao dodged them both with rapid, blinding movements. She definitely felt some pressure weighing on her shoulders now. But with her vast combat experience, she didn't believe she would lose for even a second.
Then, the sixth sword dropped.
Boom!
It plummeted like a massive star falling from the heavens, ripping through the air with a deafening sonic boom.
Meng Yao's heart skipped a beat. She could clearly sense that the terrifying might and speed of this strike far surpassed the previous ones!
After all, the more swords stacked in the Crossing River Formation, the more heaven-defying the final strike became! Not to mention, this was the Skyfall Azure Sword! With its absolute compatibility with the formation, plus its special ability that exponentially boosted its speed and weight when falling from the sky...
As the sword rapidly descended from the clouds, Meng Yao tensed her legs, fully ready to dodge using her footwork.
But right at that moment—
Xu Xing suddenly appeared directly in front of her!
She was caught completely off guard! Her focus on Xu Xing had naturally dropped because she assumed he lacked the mental capacity to launch a physical attack while controlling the formation.
She truly panicked now. She barely managed to avoid his sudden palm strike using her illusory footwork.
But this momentary delay left her completely exposed! The azure blade crashed down instantly, forcing Meng Yao to finally draw her own natal sword just to block the terrifying blow!
BANG!
A massive crater was instantly blasted open around her feet!
Holding her sword up to parry the azure blade, she smiled brightly at him.
"Junior Brother, you truly are not bad!"
Yet Xu Xing gave her a look that said, I have won.
Meng Yao stared at him, her beautiful face filled with confusion. Why such an arrogant look? She had blocked all his attacks!
But her doubts were answered almost immediately.
Whoosh!
A sharp sword suddenly burst straight out from the ground beneath her. It stopped completely still, its tip resting a hair's breadth from her neck.
Meng Yao's body froze in absolute shock! Even though she had suppressed her cultivation to fifty percent of the Golden Core realm and restricted herself to basic techniques, she hadn't noticed when he buried this sword underground!
What she failed to realize was that, during the chaotic clash, the seven swords in the sky had subtly become six. Xu Xing knew he couldn't perfectly control seven swords, so he deliberately adapted the formation to work with six, leaving one behind as a hidden trap.
He didn't consider it a true victory. Meng Yao hadn't used her full strength and had even restricted herself to half of the Golden Core realm. But even at fifty percent of her Golden Core strength, it didn't mean Xu Xing was weak. Meng Yao was a monstrous genius, and her body had already been tempered to the Nascent Soul stage. So even with her cultivation suppressed, her physical body remained at the Nascent Soul stage.
Xu Xing politely cupped his hands. "Senior Sister, you let me win."
He didn't consider it a true victory. Meng Yao hadn't used her full strength and had even restricted herself to half of the Golden Core realm. But even if she had restricted herself to 50% strength of her golden core stage, it didn't mean Xu Xing was weak. Meng Yao was a monstrous genius and her body had already been tempered to nascent soul level without
Meng Yao didn't hold back her praise. "No, no, you truly are very impressive, Junior Brother!"
Looking at this handsome, talented, and obedient Junior Brother, she felt a surge of satisfaction. The only flaw she could find was his arrogant mouth.
It seems I will have to increase the duration of his daily lectures, she thought, her eyes turning determined.
Seeing that intense look on her face, Xu Xing felt confused. He had a bad feeling, but he couldn't explain it.
Suddenly, the crisp sound of footsteps reached their ears.
Xu Xing turned toward the courtyard entrance.
"Hello, Junior Brother and Meng Yao."
It was Yu Yan—the Saintess!
Her beautiful figure stood quietly. She had actually arrived quite early, but in order not to disturb their intense training session, she had patiently waited outside.
Xu Xing reacted first, quickly cupping his fists. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Yu Yan simply shook her head. She didn't mind at all. After all, she considered Meng Yao a true friend.
But Meng Yao looked at the Saintess with a deeply suspicious expression.
Did this iceberg of a woman covet her precious Junior Brother? Didn't she usually just cultivate in isolation and ignore everyone else?
"What did you come here for?" Meng Yao asked directly.
Xu Xing felt equally curious. After all, he wasn't familiar with the Saintess.
Yu Yan looked straight at Xu Xing. Her golden eyes showed a trace of concern.
"Is Junior Brother aware of the rumors currently spreading in the sect?"
Hearing this, Xu Xing was utterly dumbfounded. What rumors? He basically stayed locked in his courtyard cultivating all day! How could there be rumors about him?
Meng Yao was the first to respond. "Rumors? About Junior Brother? What rumors could there possibly be?"
Yu Yan's face darkened slightly.
"Word has spread that the Grand Elder's youngest disciple is a deeply arrogant fraud. They say he only joined the sect after heavily bribing his way in, possesses absolutely no talent, and spends his days chasing women."
She paused, taking a deep breath.
"They even claim he publicly insulted Saint Chendao, saying the Saint doesn't deserve his glory and couldn't compare to his shoe."
Meng Yao's chest heaved violently in anger!
"Who dares slander my Junior Brother like this?! I will cut them down!"
Even Xu Xing felt furious!
Forget about messing around with women—the only women he even knew in the entire sect were his Senior Sister and Yu Yan! And as for bribing his way in? He lacked the money to buy a single decent meal! And he didn't even go that far with his talk about Saint Chendao!
But he forced himself to stay calm. He quickly thought back to recent events.
The only time he insulted Saint Chendao was in front of his Senior Sister...
Wait!
Didn't the system trigger when they were outside? And the only outsider who overheard them was... Long Wei!
Yu Yan and Meng Yao reached the same conclusion instantly.
Not only did that bastard Long Wei relentlessly pursue her, but he was now deliberately spreading malicious rumors about her Junior Brother!
"I will go beat him to a pulp right now!"
Just as Meng Yao furiously turned to rush out of the courtyard, Yu Yan's voice stopped her.
"You can't."