373: Chapter 373 Ordinary

No one knew that as soon as this miasma poison left Fang Zhao's body, it all surged into Feng Ming's body and was refined into his own cultivation by the Ten Thousand Poisons Scripture. To be honest, the toxicity of this miasma was unremarkable, and the boost to his cultivation after refining it was negligible.

But Feng Ming didn't care. Fang Zhao had just said that almost all the soldiers in Xun Prefecture were afflicted by this poison. The miasma from one person wasn't much, but when thousands upon thousands of soldiers were added together, it would be a massive amount of cultivation!

Feng Ming was secretly delighted, while Fang Zhao let out a long sigh of relief and slapped his thigh in excitement. "Holy crap! It's really all gone. This miasma was as clingy as old phlegm stuck in the chest, yet you just sucked it away? Brother Feng, how on earth did you do it?"

Feng Ming almost choked upon hearing that, and the Xun Luoyuan looked even more disgusted. "Watch your mouth! What 'old phlegm'? That's disgusting!"

Fang Zhao also realized his slip of the tongue and quickly apologized with a smile. "My fault, my fault. I'm just a crude man; Brother Feng, please don't take it to heart! How about this, Brother Fang will treat you to some wine as an apology?"

Feng Ming smiled and said, "Brother Fang, you're too kind. By the way, you mentioned just now that most of the soldiers in Xun Prefecture have been poisoned? If it's convenient, why not gather them all here, and I'll detoxify everyone together."

Fang Zhao was overjoyed. "That's wonderful! Brother Feng, you truly have the heart of a Buddha! I must toast you several times today!" With a wave of his hand, a long table appeared out of thin air, laden with fine wine and delicacies. Fang Zhao immediately filled the cups and toasted with Feng Ming.

Feng Ming didn't refuse; Fang Zhao's bold and straightforward personality made him very comfortable to be around.

Beside them, the Xun Luoyuan watched the two men who had been at each other's throats just moments ago now acting like brothers and enjoying wine together, leaving her speechless.

Feng Ming's social skills were just too powerful, weren't they? One moment they were about to fight, and the next they were calling each other brothers. She shook her head helplessly and said no more.

While Feng Ming and Fang Zhao drank, they discussed the matter of detoxifying the entire army, as the ship slowly sailed toward the opposite shore.

Half a day later, the Xun Prefecture continent finally appeared at the edge of their vision. Seeing that they were about to dock, Fang Zhao quickly pulled Feng Ming aside. "Brother Feng, we're almost at the shore! Once we land, leave everything to me. Don't find it too troublesome!"

Feng Ming smiled. "Of course not. The soldiers are guarding the borders; this is only what I should do." As they were speaking, a figure suddenly flew from the shore and landed on the deck.

The newcomer saw Fang Zhao, whose face was flushed and reeking of alcohol. His expression instantly darkened, and he shouted sternly, "Master Fang! What are you doing? Have you forgotten your mission!"

Fang Zhao was stunned for a moment and scratched his head, looking dazed. "Mission? Oh right, I think I did have a mission... How did I forget? What did the Lord send me here for again?"

Seeing Fang Zhao's forgetful state, Xun Yu was caught between laughter and tears. This wasn't just delaying business; he had completely forgotten it!

"Who is this?" Feng Ming asked, looking at the newcomer.

The Xun Luoyuan quickly introduced him, "This is the Dragon-Capturing General under my father's command, Xun Yu!"

"Big Brother Xun, what are you doing?" Xun Yu bowed to the Xun Luoyuan and said solemnly, "Xun Luoyuan, you need not interfere in this! His Lordship is uneasy about this Young Master and specifically ordered me to come and test his strength!"

"Uneasy? There's absolutely no need—"

Before the Xun Luoyuan could finish, she was interrupted by Xun Yu.

He turned his gaze to Feng Ming, his tone sharp. "You're Feng Ming, right? I heard you specialize in the Dao of the sword. I wonder if you dare to compete with me? Rest assured, we will only compare sword techniques and won't use our Realm to suppress each other. What do you say?"

"Big Brother Xun!" the Xun Luoyuan called out urgently to stop him.

Feng Ming, however, stepped forward and spoke calmly, "Feng Ming is happy to accept your guidance!"

The Xun Luoyuan looked at him in shock, never expecting him to actually agree to the match.

Feng Ming waved his hand gently to her, signaling there was no need to worry. Then, he and Xun Yu jumped off the ship together. If it were any other method, Feng Ming might have hesitated, but since it was a sword competition, he had no reason to back down.

Just as Xun Yu said, he was a Sword Cultivator, and the other party had promised not to rely on Realm suppression. Such a duel was a perfect opportunity to improve his Dao of the sword.

When he had competed with the Xun Luoyuan in the Imperial Capital, he had gained some insights, but the situation then was complicated and he couldn't enjoy it fully. Now that Xun Yu, who had received the true teachings of the Northwest King's sword Dao, could spar with him purely with sword Moves, it was exactly what Feng Ming wanted.

After the two landed, they immediately took up their combat stances. Xun Yu flipped his palm, and a deep blue longsword appeared out of thin air.

"I cultivate Sword Intent and do not need a physical sword. Big Brother Xun, please make your Move," Feng Ming said calmly. Xun Yu said no more; he flicked his longsword and his figure suddenly moved, charging straight at Feng Ming.

Feng Ming smiled slightly and quickly performed hand seals. A condensed Sword Beam formed out of thin air and became entangled with Xun Yu's longsword.

As soon as they clashed, Feng Ming noticed that Xun Yu's sword Moves were very familiar, identical to the ones the Xun Luoyuan had used before. Clearly, the Northwest King had taught the same sword technique to his generals.

Feng Ming effortlessly blocked a few Moves and then backed away. "Big Brother Xun, these Moves are useless against me. I already experienced them from the Xun Luoyuan back in the capital. If you have a trump card, why not use it directly?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Xun Yu's eyes, and he subconsciously turned to look at a pavilion in the distance. In the pavilion, the Northwest King stood with his hands behind his back, nodding slightly.

Seeing this, Xun Yu withdrew his gaze and laughed loudly. "Your Sword Intent is indeed extraordinary. In that case, I will no longer hold back!"

As his voice fell, he held his sword across his chest, and his Aura suddenly changed. Then, he swung his sword in a fierce horizontal slash. As the longsword fell, a visible, materialized Sword Beam swept toward Feng Ming in an arc!

The faces of the surrounding crowd changed at the sight. The Xun Luoyuan urgently warned, "Feng Ming, be careful! This is the first Move of the Dragon Capturing Three Swords—Breaking Formation Slash!"

"Dragon Capturing Three Swords? Quite impressive," Feng Ming thought to himself.

This was the first time he had seen such a sword Move. The Sword Beam slashed like a full moon, full of power, but since the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi wasn't being channeled, the speed wasn't particularly fast.

Feng Ming knew clearly that once Xun Yu used his ninth-grade cultivation to fully power this Move, its power and speed would explode several times over. At that point, he wouldn't even have a moment to react.

Logically, he could easily dodge it, but in a pure sword Dao competition, avoiding the fight would defeat the purpose. They were comparing the subtlety of sword Moves and the strength of Sword Intent; dodging would be considered inferior.

Xun Yu also spoke at this moment, "Xun Luoyuan, rest assured. I am only using sword Moves; he has plenty of time to respond. If he can't even take this, how could he be worthy of you?"

"But he's only in the Mahayana Realm, and you're using the Dragon Capturing Three Swords directly. That's just unfair!" the Xun Luoyuan said worriedly.

"This competition is about sword Dao Comprehension Ability; what does it have to do with Realm cultivation?" Xun Yu said indifferently. "Is the Xun Luoyuan afraid I'll hurt him?"