It wasn't long before Xiaotian looked at the person with whom he had to demonstrate his abilities.
He suddenly frowned, and anger took hold of him when a familiar face came into view.
More than familiar, it was a hated face. The same face of the man who dragged him out of his room a few days ago. The man who then beat him terribly on the outskirts of the city, wanting to take his sword, and who later gave the order to throw him down that mountain ravine.
Zhang Lucheng.
The elder noticed the overflowing anger and hatred in Xiaotian's body, but said nothing.
"Young Lucheng, as I told you before, although your grandfather has personally asked me to train you, I will not do so unless you prove yourself worthy. My time is valuable, you see," said the elder.
Lucheng nodded. "Elder, is this the person I have to face?" he asked respectfully, studying his opponent's stance in front of him.
"Yes, it is." The elder nodded and continued. "I will be teaching you these days, so you will have to prove that you can at least stand up to him in order to be accepted by me. If not, you will have to return to the lower floors to continue your training."
Lucheng nodded again. "I understand, Elder." Then he turned to his opponent and bowed respectfully. "I look forward to a good fight."
Xiaotian stared at him behind his mask and took a deep breath before looking at the elder.
"Fight him," said the elder, handing them two wooden swords reinforced with metal.
Xiaotian held the sword and stared at it for a moment before looking back at the elder. He seemed to be asking: Can I use that?
The elder smiled. "Everything is permitted, as long as you can control your power so as not to kill the other person. Even though it's wood, a poorly aimed blow can be deadly. Furthermore, it's a combat following the rules of the Tower; that is, the use of cultivation is prohibited."
He nodded and moved away a little to get into a fighting stance.
Lucheng, on the other hand, was stunned. 'Who is this guy? How come the elder gets along so well with him and treats him with so little respect?' he wondered.
He would expect him to bow to the elder, as he seemed to be his teacher. But his opponent did not, and now he was staring at him, as if he wanted to make him suffer.
'He must be a very competitive guy,' Lucheng thought, but smiled. 'It doesn't matter. I am currently the most outstanding genius of the Zhang family in the city. Even Xiao Ding has to admit it. Not many could beat me!'
"Begin." The elder started the fight, and Lucheng smiled.
He moved his sword slightly before lunging forward.
Or at least that was his intention.
Before he could even do so, Xiaotian's sword fell upon his with a loud thud.
Five meters of distance were closed in a second, and Xiaotian began his attack. The first blow was just a feint; soon, an avalanche of powerful attacks rained down on Lucheng's body, forcing him to retreat quickly.
But it was in vain; the sword moved from left to right, and each movement landed a precise blow. Thrusts, horizontal attacks, vertical attacks...
Chest, shoulder, and legs, Lucheng couldn't defend himself.
His body was caught in the avalanche of blows from a madman who didn't know how to defend himself, because he didn't need to. Besides, those attacks hurt terribly.
Even so, he did not give up. After circling the room in backward movements, Lucheng saw an opportunity to attack and seized it. His sword struck his opponent's firmly, sending it flying with his arms above his head.
A large opening became visible to Lucheng...
The Drunken Elder had a déjà vu at that moment; the situation seemed strangely familiar to him…
He sighed. 'The difference between Son of the Sword of Zhang and the second best is that great.'
Soon, his déjà vu came true.
Xiaotian smiled coldly under his mask. His sword fell vertically with terrifying power as fire enveloped it...
The following attacks did not even need to be described. Lucheng was crushed by a powerful round of fiery attacks.
Unfortunately for him, it was not the Drunken Elder who could have avoided all the damage.
He was Zhang Lucheng, a young man of the same age as Xiaotian. His cultivation was better than Xiaotian's, but his sword technique was much worse. The worst part was that Xiaotian hated him.
Therefore, although he restrained himself from killing him, Xiaotian destroyed him.
"Stop!" shouted the elder when he saw that Lucheng was no longer able to defend himself. "It seems that Young Lucheng is not yet trained."
A snort came from Xiaotian's mouth before he turned away and ignored Lucheng.
"Wait," said Lucheng, in pain. Even his voice trembled from the pain of so many blows. "What was that attack?" he asked.
But Xiaotian, although he stopped, did not answer.
"You're quite young, aren't you? You must be a great genius of the empire, I can see it in your aura." Lucheng, with great difficulty, got up and clutched a rib that hurt terribly. "I've lost. Thank you very much for the lesson, senior. I hope to share another round of dueling with you soon."
He spoke with genuine respect, even calling him "senior," thereby acknowledging his inferiority. If he knew who was behind the mask, he would surely vomit his own guts out and tear out his tongue for what he had just said.
As far as Xiaotian knew, this proud young master might even throw himself off a mountain cliff as punishment for himself.
Xiaotian smiled and finally spoke: "We'll have the opportunity very soon."
Lucheng was glad that he finally recognized him. That kind of genius doesn't usually recognize anyone, so it was a great honor. He knew that.
"Thank you very much, senior," he said, bowing before him.
He didn't even recognize his cousin's voice.
Then Lucheng looked at the elder standing there. "Thank you for the opportunity, Drunken Elder. I'll talk to my grandfather so he won't bother you anymore. I'll earn this position on my own." He said with conviction, then turned and left.
The Drunken Elder watched him until he was gone. "Hatred between family should never exist," he whispered with resignation.
"I never hated them, despite how they treated me before," said Xiaotian. "But after what they did, do you think I can continue to turn a blind eye?"
The Elder shook his head. "I don't think so."
"That's why you gave me the opportunity to test myself against him, right? I appreciate it." Xiaotian took off his mask and bowed slightly. A genuine thank you.
"Test yourself? Haha, I gave you the opportunity to crushed him. I'm afraid several of his ribs are broken."
Xiaotian shrugged. "If I could have broken his neck, I would have done that too."
"I don't doubt it." The elder smiled.
The two then began an intense training session.
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