311: Sword Master

With a ninth-rank puppet by his side, the destruction of the Li Family, the subjugation of Zhao Peng, and the sweeping up of herbs above the seventh rank—these feats combined pushed his reputation in the Trial Grounds to an unprecedented height.

Qin Hu and the other three were soon overwhelmed by the influx of people seeking to join them; eventually, unable to cope, they could only issue another announcement for everyone to line up and register.

This scene turned the Faces of the other Cultivators in the top ten of the Trial rankings livid with rage.

Especially Jiang Ling; looking at the dense list of names on the light screen, she gritted her teeth in anger and actually stopped midway.

Staring at the map in her hand, her eyes blazed with fury: "You posturing bastard, I'll see just how much you're really worth!"

The location marked on the map was precisely the path Zhao Peng's group had to take to reach the Weak Water Pool.

Zhao Peng quickly discovered this news and hurriedly sent a message to Feng Ming: "Boss, that girl Jiang Ling is setting an ambush ahead. It looks like she's coming for you. Should we take a detour?"

Hearing this, Feng Ming shook his head without even looking up: "No need."

Seeing this, Zhao Peng said no more, only secretly passing down orders for the accompanying group to increase their vigilance.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the tenth day after Feng Ming's departure.

A piece of news suddenly shattered the peace of the Trial Grounds—Zhang Bai was actually the first person to break through to the ninth layer!

At this time, there was still a full month left before the end of the Trial.

When Feng Ming learned of this news, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

With Zhang Bai's current Cultivation speed and the foundation he had accumulated, it was indeed possible for him to undergo Undergoing Tribulation and truly step into the Mahayana Realm before the Trial ended.

Looking at himself, he had just touched the threshold of the ninth layer of the Mahayana Realm. More fatally, the moon gazing tears were exhausted; from now on, his Cultivation path could only rely on his own hard work and the Dragon and Phoenix Reversal Art.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Weak Water Pool, Zhang Bai was staring wide-eyed with rage at a communication stone.

On the communication stone were several messages sent by his mother:

"Son, listen to your father's advice. That Feng Ming is not someone our Zhang Family can afford to provoke!"

"Obediently hand over the herbs to him. Once you leave the Trial Grounds, your father will surely find better treasures to compensate you."

"Without those herbs, you can still break through to the Mahayana Realm. There's no need to offend a god of slaughter for such things!"

Zhang Bai clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

He knew in his heart that unless things had truly reached a point of extreme dread, his mother would never have said such words.

"Feng Ming! Feng Ming again!" he growled, his eyes full of resentment. "It's one thing for Xiao Qian to like him, but why must even my herbs be handed over?"

"What does his wife being pregnant have to do with me!"

"He wants my herbs? Fine!" A flash of ruthlessness crossed Zhang Bai's eyes. "Then let's see if he has the ability to take them!"

After speaking, he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart, and closed his eyes to continue Cultivating. The spiritual energy fluctuations around him became increasingly violent.

Time passed, and another five days went by; it was now the fifteenth day after Feng Ming's departure.

Zhao Peng sent another message. Feng Ming thought he had run into Jiang Ling, but he didn't expect Zhao Peng's voice to carry a hint of solemnity: "Boss, the situation is a bit tricky! That Jiang Ling has actually broken through to the ninth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm as well!"

He paused and couldn't help but ask, "Boss, on your side... you haven't broken through yet?"

Feng Ming shook his head helplessly, but a hint of certainty showed between his brows: "Soon, it should be in the next few days."

Three more days passed, coinciding with the eighteenth day after Feng Ming's departure.

Zhao Peng's voice suddenly rang out in his Sea of Consciousness, carrying a hint of killing intent: "Boss! Jiang Ling has appeared! You'll probably have to handle this hurdle yourself!"

This was a dense forest where Sky-Piercing Pines grew everywhere.

These trees were straight and tall, with no side branches sticking out, like sharp swords piercing straight into the firmament.

Feng Ming emerged from the storage ring. Sweeping his gaze, he saw a woman in red standing tall in the clearing ahead.

The woman was only in her early twenties, in the prime of her youth, but her clear Face was covered in a layer of frost, and her eyes revealed undisguised anger.

Feng Ming sized her up and said in a flat tone, "You're blocking the path here; do you want to seek revenge for your family?"

Jiang Ling sneered, her voice bone-chillingly cold: "Why? Is it not allowed?"

Feng Ming shook his head, a faint mocking smile curling his lips: "It seems you're not very smart either."

"What do you mean by that?" Jiang Ling's gaze suddenly became sharp, like a sword about to be unsheathed.

Feng Ming cast his gaze toward the Sky-Piercing Pines beside him and said unhurriedly, "Your parents and older brother were banished because they deserved it. Yet you're blaming me for it—isn't that incredibly foolish?"

"Can your brother's lecherous nature and him being used by others be blamed on me?"

"Or should your parents' bullying and lack of discernment be attributed to me as well?"

"From beginning to end, what does this matter have to do with me?"

He looked at Jiang Ling with a half-smile, "Oh, perhaps the only connection is that I shouldn't have appeared in the Quiet Garden that day and gotten in the way of your 'good deeds'?"

Jiang Ling was left speechless by his words. After a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, "Sophistry! I don't care to listen to your fallacies!"

"I am here today only to fight you!"

"The reason doesn't matter at all!"

She took a step forward, her red clothes fluttering loudly, her tone full of provocation: "You only need to answer me: do you dare, or do you not?"

After saying that, she added another sentence with a half-smile, her tone full of mockery: "Don't worry, I won't take your heaven ranking tickets. Regardless, you are considered a son-in-law of my Jiang Family. The grudge between you and me is just an internal conflict of the Jiang Family."

Hearing this, Feng Ming couldn't help but laugh: "You're quite clear-headed about that, at least."

Changing the subject, he said calmly, "In that case, I won't take your heaven ranking tickets either. For the sake of Old Master Jiang, I will spare your life today."

"Arrogant!" Jiang Ling shouted angrily, her eyes full of disdain. "Just a Cultivator at the eighth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, and you dare to talk so big?"

One must know that although there is only a one-layer difference between the eighth and ninth layers of the Nascent Soul Realm, they are actually worlds apart.

Seeing this, Zhao Peng hurriedly whispered a warning: "Boss, don't underestimate this girl!"

"Although she doesn't have a natural Physique, she is the most talented individual among the Jiang Family's younger generation. She has been studying the sword under the Sword Venerable for years, and her swordsmanship far exceeds that of her peers!"

Only then did Feng Ming realize why this girl was so confident; she was the Personal Disciple of the Sword Venerable.

This Sword Venerable was a very famous figure in Liang Province.

He was an eighth-rank powerhouse in the Immortal King Realm. Looking across Liang Province, almost no one could surpass him except for Jiang Qinghe.

This man had been obsessed with the Dao of the sword his entire life, with no other distractions, and was thus honored by the world as the Sword Venerable.