The saber in Murong Ying’s hands was indeed a good one—it was a high-tier spirit weapon. One hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones was equivalent to ten thousand low-grade ones; its monetary value alone was already a hundred times greater than that of the [Nine Snakes’ Sword], and it was no wonder that a single strike was nearly enough for the [Nine Snakes’ Sword] to be destroyed. Such weapons were nearly impossible to find in the mortal realm, and only cultivators would possess them. Ordinary people without any Qi wouldn’t even be able to lift these high-tier spirit weapons.

　　Fang Xing’s eyes glistened with excitement and desire after narrowly escaping the saber’s first strike, and he tightly held the almost destroyed [Nine Snakes’ Sword] before dashing towards Murong Ying. Not only had Fang Xing studied martial arts back at Guiyan Valley, but he had also spent the last three years in close-range combat with countless beasts and demons; although most cultivators preferred using spells, he was far more comfortable and skilled in physical combat. Furthermore, Murong Ying was using a saber, and the further they were from each other, the more powerful the strikes would actually be.

　　As such, Fang Xing immediately chose close range while waiting for the opportunity for victory.

　　Taking advantage of the slight period of time after the saber had missed him, Fang Xing briskly closed the distance and aimed the tip of the [Nine Snakes’ Sword] directly at Murong Ying’s throat—a sneaky and ferocious move. Although Fang Xing’s attack left no time for Murong Ying to return his saber close and defend himself, the latter poured Qi into his [Saber of Azure Dragon] in response. A draconic howl was heard from the blade before the shadow of a bloodthirsty dragon launched itself straight at Fang Xing’s face.

　　Astonished, Fang Xing quickly activated [Levitation]. His body became as light as a feather and he retreated back in the blink of an eye.

　　Close inspection would reveal the arm-thick silhouette of a dragon encircling the saber Murong Ying wielded, the silhouette seemingly made of black smog. Such smog had properties that were similar to the malicious energy that suffused the entire Duanzhen Valley, and it would be rather interesting to find out who had the power to craft a weapon with the ability to seal such large amounts of maliciousness within that could be released aggressively to attack in combat.

　　Such malicious energy was formless and shapeless, and Murong Ying’s level of cultivation did not give him the ability to shift it into a physical form to attack. That being said, the energy itself—even in a formless state—still had the ability to affect the thoughts of an enemy. If someone were to come into contact with large enough amounts, they would feel fear, anxiety, and confusion which could allow the user to find and create flaws in that person’s attack. Furthermore, if this energy was used defensively, it could act as a shield that protected the user from sneak attacks.

　　“This sword is too good. It has to be mine!” Fang Xing nearly drooled at the weapon before taking a look at the [Nine Snakes’ Sword] in his hands. In comparison, the golden sword felt more like a piece of trash now.

　　“Little mutt, didn’t you want my Saber of Azure Dragon? Come and get it!” Murong Ying smirked, a gust of wind whirling up once more before striking out towards Fang Xing.

　　“Haha, perfect! This saber is going to be mine!” Fang Xing laughed. With a shake of his wrist, he shattered his [Nine Snakes’ Sword] into shards before sending them towards Murong Ying in a scattered golden shimmer.

　　Murong Ying let out a loud howl and swiped the [Saber of Azure Dragon], sending all of the shards straight to the ground. With a swift motion, he then aimed his sword once more at Fang Xing, only to find the boy had turned to run at that very moment. Murong Ying was left somewhat surprised and paused in his action to laugh. “Now aren’t you a smart one?”

　　“The boy is running away?”

　　All of the disciples inside and outside the valley looked on in dismay, unable to believe what they were seeing. It had only been a few rounds before Fang Xing decided to run; from beginning to end, the conclusion felt like it came a little too quickly….

　　“Heh, just as I thought. It seems that beating Shixiong Shen was nothing more than some dog-sh*t luck after all!”

　　“Yes, yes. A piece of trash is forever a piece of trash. As soon as he’s faced with someone as prepared as Shixiong Murong, he shows he’s no match. His sword even got cut into pieces by Shixiong Murong’s saber. Without a weapon, how would he continue?”

　　Everyone seemed to have a cold and lofty expression on their faces while making their own comments on Fang Xing’s actions. That moment, a soft voice rose up within all of the disdainful remarks, “Regardless, it’s the truth that he beat Shixiong Shen, right? And isn’t it also true that he was the one that kicked our butts?”

　　After hearing the soft voice, all of the people turned their attention to the oblivious bastard who had spoken out of turn. They had all made negative remarks because they knew that there was no other way to vent, so why was he going out of his way to point out their shortcomings? As a result, the person with the soft voice shut his mouth before everyone continued on.

　　“Look, he’s so timid and now running like an aimless little rabbit. Isn’t that shameful?”

　　“Exactly. Shixiong Murong isn’t even chasing after him and he’s still running. What a gutless rat, how disgraceful!”

　　—

　　“Good choice.” Seeing Fang Xing frightened off, Murong Ying stood with his saber touching the ground. He swept a cold glance across all of the onlookers before turning back to return to his cave estate.

　　“Murong Ying, you son of a bi*ch! Not only do you not pay your debts, but you’re also pretending like you’re something with that saber now?” Fang Xing’s curses suddenly broke out once more. He hadn’t run far, and instead had somehow made his way onto a hill within the valley. As he stood atop the highest point of the hill with his hands on his hips, he continued to berate with even greater volume, “But this saber belongs to me, your grandfather! What a disgrace you are to use my own sword against me today in this Duanzhen Valley? Why don’t you just go die? Even the beggars on the streets know not to be in debt with other people; do you not feel honor or shame?”

　　This surely ignited Murong Ying’s anger right away, and he pointed his sword towards Fang Xing in response. “You little good-for-nothing mutt! I’ll kill you right now!” Along with a loud howl, he put the sword on his back and took off towards the hill with powerful steps. However, just as he arrived at the base, a shadow seemed to cast itself over his body. He tilted his head up and was thrust into shock.

　　Fang Xing had thrown a boulder the size of a large millstone right at him, a moss-covered stone weighing over thousands of pounds. Yes, Murong Ying was in the sixth tier, but being hit by such an object head-on would still heavily wound him even if he did manage to survive! ‘How does the mutt have such strength?’ Such a question flashed only briefly through Murong Ying’s thoughts; he had no time to think any further and waved his sword above him, as though trying to slice open the heavens.

　　BANG

　　The millstone-sized rock was cut into half, while the edge on the saber itself was completely undamaged.

　　“Shixiong Murong is so godly….”

　　Numerous onlookers cheered in excitement, all of them amazed by such a clean movement.

　　“This is only expected of Shixiong Murong. The force of that single slice must have been greater than five thousand pounds.”

　　“The mutt has already lost, yet he’s still not giving up and is just cursing at Shixiong Murong. He’s sure getting himself in some pretty deep trouble.”

　　“Heh, look, he’s still not willing to give up and is going for a second one…. Oh sh*t, this big?”

　　Mutters once again filled the valley as the onlookers praised Murong Ying, yet as soon as they saw what Fang Xing went for next—a giant rock double the size of the previous—everybody lapsed into silence.

　　After slicing the first moss-covered stone in half, Murong Ying could already feel a slight soreness in his arms; there was no way he would dare to take the second rock head-on. Along with the loud “bang” earlier, this giant rock had landed just inches in front of him, and a third of the rock had embedded itself into the ground. The gust of wind it created when it landed had been so strong that it cut through the air like numerous sharp blades.

　　Murong Ying’s expression dropped, as he now understood the reason why Fang Xing had lured him here. This hill was the place where disciples in the Duanzhen Valley would come to test the strength and sharpness of their newly crafted weapons, and there were no fewer than hundreds of stones in all sizes. Although the boy was quite young, he did possess some extraordinary strength; if Fang Xing continued to throw stones at him, he would eventually be turned into minced meat.

　　As soon as he had such thoughts, Murong Ying readied himself to back away.

　　“Where are you going!” Fang Xing screamed as he raised both of his arms. Another rock—this one weighing over three thousand pounds—was thrown again towards Murong Ying.

　　Another strong gust of wind formed behind Murong Ying. With a swift turn, he sliced this stone into pieces before using [Gravitational Force] on another incoming stone, forcing it to land somewhere twenty feet away instead.

　　“That’s amazing….”

　　“The Dragon Catching that Shixiong Murong just used was so fluid. Such a large stone became nothing more than a small ball of mud….”

　　“Haha, once Shixiong Murong leaves the bottom of the hill, it doesn’t matter how conniving the boy is; he won’t be able to do anything anymore!”

　　“…” While everyone else was cheering on, Murong Ying was the only one to know the truth of the matter: his arms were shaking. Blocking both stones in such a short span of time was not an easy task for him. He had already given everything he could.

　　Then, something even more frightening occurred. Fang Xing sent three more stones towards Murong Ying with three swift kicks. Even though the sizes of these stones were slightly smaller than those before, the speed at which they traveled was astonishing, as if they would arrive in the blink of an eye. In the meantime, Fang Xing leapt forwards and activated [Gravitational Force] to move in Murong Ying’s direction.

　　“How dare you!” Murong Ying’s eyes were practically bulging out of his sockets as he used his remaining strength for two more slices, and the saber’s aura extended thirty yards ahead of him to slice apart two of the three stones mid-way. Only Murong Ying knew that he was already doing better than normal thanks to the influence of his rage. Despite it all, the third stone was missed, and it headed right for Murong Ying’s chest like a small asteroid. Without much choice, he concentrated all of his Qi into both arms and put the saber in front, attempting to reduce the force of the collision.

　　BANG

　　The stone crashed into the saber, and even though it did not hit Murong Ying directly, his body was sent into a temporary state of numbness and his Qi became unstable. It was at this exact moment that Fang Xing arrived following behind the third stone to kick it straight against Murong Ying’s body.

　　Murong Ying was barely holding on. He was like an arrow at the end of his flight, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

　　Using [Gravitational Force] once again, Fang Xing jumped into the air before throwing himself downwards like a bird of prey. He swooped down and gave Murong Ying the final blow, right atop the head.

　　BANG

　　Murong Ying was unable to defend himself and was slammed into the ground. With a “cling” noise, the saber fell to his side as well.

　　Fang Xing spread open his palm and—with a pulling motion—the saber flew right into his hands. Beneath the moonlight, he examined the weapon carefully before letting out a long peal of laughter, “Hahaha, what a nice sword this is….”