A deathly silence ensued.
Everyone widened their eyes and looked at the scene in front of them in disbelief.
Ying Jiankong had been defeated!
His sword-wielding hand hung by his side, and blood gushed out from his shoulder, dyeing his clothes red.
His facial expression was lifeless, as if unable to accept this result.
On the other hand, Ding Yue still held his longsword and stood proudly.
He stood alone in the midst of the experts and looked down on them.
Gulp!
Even the half-step Emperor realm experts present were stunned.
That sword strike had been too fast!
It was so fast that they only caught a brief glimpse of it before the sword was sheathed again.
They did not even see clearly that sword strike. By the time they blinked, Ying Jiankong had already been defeated.
Liu Pingfeng's eyes flashed with greed as he stared at Ding Yue. He wanted nothing more than to rope him over to the Great Qian Dynasty's side.
As an expelled disciple of Nine Swords Mountain, how could he not hate the Nine Swords Mountain?
Liu Pingfeng could use him to pin down Nine Swords Mountain.
Even though he was a ninth-level truth realm cultivator, defeating Ying Jiankong with one strike meant that he was a threat to even half-step Emperor realm cultivators.
To be honest, Liu Pingfeng knew that he had no chance of beating Ding Yue in a fight.
The people from the other forces were also having various thoughts.
Nine Swords Mountain's elder, who was sitting cross-legged on a big rock, stood up and looked at Ding Yue with a serious expression.
Nine Sword Mountain's number one disciple, Ying Jiankong, had actually lost to an expelled disciple of Nine Swords Mountain.
This was undoubtedly a ruthless slap on Nine Swords Mountain's face.
It would even become a joke in the cultivation world, that Nine Swords Mountain was blind and had expelled a true peerless genius!
Ying Jiankong's lips trembled with disbelief. After a long while, he raised his head and stared at Ding Yue.
"I lost? That's impossible. You must have used some kind of secret treasure!"
"Ha!"
Ding Yue smiled contemptuously. "You can't accept your loss?"
"I used a secret treasure?"
"Did you even see my sword strike?"
Clang!
A sword gleam flashed past. Before Ying Jiankong could react, a sword was already pressed against his throat.
Fast!
It was so fast that he could not react in time.
Ying Jiankong's face turned ashen.
He had really lost!
He had lost to an expelled disciple of Nine Swords Mountain, who he had regarded as a useless piece of trash.
How ridiculous was this?
He would eventually be treated as a joke in the cultivator world!
"Ding Yue, stop!"
A woman angrily rebuked him from the top of Nine Swords Mountain's peak.
Ding Yue's heart did not waver at all. He did not even turn his head. He completely ignored that angry rebuke.
At this moment, he realized even more deeply that the three stages of the way of the sword that his master had imparted to him were extremely profound!
The person he loved would only bring him harm!
It was indeed true!
Just look! She had rebuked him angrily.
If he had not forgotten about his sweetheart, he would definitely have felt cold, sad, indignant, and distracted after being rebuked like this.
Turning his head back to look at that person in this situation would undoubtedly be extremely dangerous, and might even get him killed!
Hmph!
'I, Ding Yue, have already broken through the first stage of the way of the sword and have forgotten about my sweetheart!'
'Trying to mess with my heart? Dream on!'
Ding Yue stared at Ying Jiankong and said, "Do you know why you lost to me?"
"Why?"
Ying Jiankong looked at him blankly.
"Because you have a woman in your heart!"
Ying Jiankong: "???"
Han Yingmeng: "???"
Everyone: "???"
Everyone was stunned. Ying Jiankong had indeed lost to you, but what did that have to do with a woman?
Could it be that he had stolen your childhood sweetheart?
Ding Yue sheathed his sword and looked at Ying Jiankong with disdain. "A woman will only affect the speed at which you draw your sword!"
Ying Jiankong: "???"
Han Yingmeng: "???"
Everyone: "???"
"What does this have to do with a woman?" Ying Jiankong took a deep breath and asked.
He felt that Ding Yue was mocking him.
He was definitely being mocked for having stolen Ding Yue's childhood sweetheart, yet being defeated by him in the end.
"This is the difference between you and me. This is the reason why you are unable to comprehend the Supreme Sword Dao."
"You have a woman in your heart, and you have a woman by your side. Your heart is burdened and is full of hesitation. As such, your sword is slow and not fierce enough. Therefore, you lost."
Ding Yue held his sword in his arms and looked down at him.
Ying Jiankong was silent for a moment.
Was that really the case?
Was it because Han Yingmeng was by his side? Did he not display his full strength when he attacked to avoid accidentally hurting her?
It was possible!
With this thought in mind, Ying Jiankong turned his head to look at Han Yingmeng and said, "Move further away from me. I will try again!"
Han Yingmeng: "???"
Her pretty face turned red with anger. What did Ying Jiankong mean by that?
Was he implying that she was a hindrance?
B*stard!
She glared hatefully at Ding Yue. It was all this b*stard's fault. He had gone too far!
Her graceful figure fluttered as she retreated.
Ying Jiankong took out some medicinal pills and consumed them to recover his energy and heal his injuries.
Ding Yue just continued looking at him indifferently, waiting for him to make his second attempt.
He did not want to kill Ying Jiankong.
There was no meaning in killing him.
He wanted to become a huge barrier to Ying Jiankong's Sword Dao. He would make Ying Jiankong hate him, but be completely helpless. The latter would want nothing more than to kill him, but would be completely powerless to do nothing about it.
He wanted to become Ying Jiankong's inner demon.
Every time he recalled that the piece of trash who he had once humiliated had left him far behind, and that no matter how he chased after him, he would never reach him.
He would live in torment daily, wallowing in self-mockery and self-pity.
After half a day, Ying Jiankong's injuries had basically healed.
His strength had once again recovered to its peak.
In addition, the rest of the Floating Flower Pavilion's exploration team.
Their leader was a beautiful woman who was also a half-step Emperor realm expert.
Looking at the mountain peak that was occupied by Ding Yue, her expression darkened. She was about to make a move to expel Ding Yue.
Han Yingmeng hurriedly stopped her.
Ding Yue was too powerful. If the Floating Flower Pavilion offended such a strong man with endless potential, there would be endless trouble in the future.
It was not the only mountain peak there, after all.
Moreover, even if she attacked, she might necessarily be able to beat Ding Yue.
The half-step Emperor realm elder of Nine Swords Mountain did not attack either.
It was precisely because he was not confident.
Otherwise, he would have made a move long ago to eliminate Ding Yue. As an expelled disciple, he was a future threat to the safety of Nine Swords Mountain.
The Floating Flower Pavilion chased away one of the other forces and occupied the mountain next to the one Ding Yue was on.
At this moment, Ying Jiankong drew his sword again.
His aura was condensed but contained.
He was like a sharp sword that had not been unsheathed.
He was not in a hurry to make a move.
Even though Ding Yue was simply holding the longsword in his arms and ignoring him, he forced him to calm down.
Impatience would only confuse his heart.
"This time, I won't lose so easily to you!"
Ying Jiankong was filled with confidence.
Ding Yue was still looking at him with contempt.
As the wind blew past, the mountain peak where Ding Yue was at was suddenly enveloped by a strong killing intent.
"That's the sword intent of the One Sword technique of Nine Swords Mountain!"
Liu Pingfeng's expression became solemn.
"Sword intent!"
The Evil King's expression was solemn as well.
Ying Jiankong was condensing his sword intent in preparation to display the One Sword technique, which was Nine Swords Mountain's signature technique!
One Sword technique!
After using it, his entire body would enter a state of weakness, and he would need to rest for a period of time to recover.
However, in return, this sword was extremely powerful!
In the same realm, no one had been able to block the One Sword technique of Nine Swords Mountain!
Moreover, Ying Jiankong was constantly gathering power and condensing sword intent.
The longer he did, the greater the power of this sword.
This was not the One Sword technique that was normally used in combat.
This was its true maximum strength.
