Supreme Emperor of Swords

Under the silvery white moonlight, a group of red sword light twinkled in and out of existence. They rolled back and forth, and the sword whistled. It was free and casual. Ding Hao's movement grew from slow to fast and then slowed down from rapid to extremely slow. He was immersed in a mysterious state.

Four hours passed in the blink of an eye and the moon hung in the middle of the sky.

Ding Hao's movement was so slow that it could not slow down any further.

It was like the slow-motion in films but had a certain charm to it.

If someone had been staring at the trajectory of the rusted sword by the side, they would definitely feel exhausted, dizzy and faint within moments.

The power of the sword had far exceeded that of regular sword skills.

What was even rarer was that Ding Hao did not sweat as profusely as before. Instead, he only had a few drops of fine, crystal clear sweat.

"Whoosh!"

Ding Hao kept his rusty sword and nodded, satisfied.

"I used to feel tired when I practiced with the sword for more than ten times. Sweat would also flow incessantly from my pores. This is actually an abnormal loss of energy from my body. Now, I can basically lock the energy in my body and only sweat a little even if I practice my sword skills for more than six hours. Furthermore, I don't feel tired at all...This, this is the secret of activating the seed of Qi, right?

Ding Hao slowly understood the mystery of Qi.

According to the records in "Drawing Qi Formula", Ding Hao could already move Qi into the "Martial Arts First Meridian", also known as the Hand's Minor Yin Meridian. He could officially enter the Martial Student Realm.

However, Ding Hao did not continue.

After all, the "Drawing Qi Formula" was common and did not hold any mysteries. If Ding Hao wanted to become a true powerhouse, he had to cultivate in better skills. Officially entering the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect and cultivating in the mid-range "Taixuan Asks Sword and Senses Qi Article" was the best choice.

After all, good magic skills can help him to lay a solid foundation for future martial art realms.

Furthermore, he should not have any problem passing the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect's entrance exam as he had reached the entrance point of the Martial Student Realm.

Now that Ding Hao had already grasped two sets of Swordplay. He lacked actual combat experience and dodging skills.

He took out the footwork secret manual that was low-level of the human rank. It was called the "Stunning Steps" and he started reading and practicing it.

The "Stunning Steps" were named so after the quick movements of swan geese. According to the manual, when one practiced the footwork well, they would be able to move as quickly as swan geese. When used with swordplays, power would be multiplied. When one mastered the skill, they would be able to move 10 times in one second. It was considered one of the best auxiliary skills in the lower levels of the human rank.

Time passed by quickly.

Ding Hao was completely immersed in the joys of cultivating. He was like a passionate pilgrim who had devoted his heart and soul into cultivation. He felt a joy that he had never felt before.

...

In the days that followed, all was calm and harmonious.

Other than cleaning up the area around the Sword-cleansing Pond every day, Ding Hao spent all his time cultivating.

He had already mastered the basic swordplays and the "Rapid-Cross Sword", and was also very familiar with the "Stunning Steps".

Ding Hao also found some clues: his understanding of swordplays was rapid, but the rate of cultivation of his footwork and mind seemed to be slightly slower. However, it was already at the level of a genius.

As for the tattered copy of blade instructions, Ding Hao had yet to have the time to practice it.

He was going to cultivate in it after he officially entered the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.

Time flew by and in the blink of an eye, there were less than three days before the day the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect officially opened its doors to take in disciples.

Over the past few days, a large number of young people had started appearing in the mountains under the protection of their families and guards. They climbed up the hill and were prepared to take the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect's entrance test.

As the largest human sect within the thousand-mile radius, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was very attractive to those teenagers. The annual disciple acceptance ceremony had always been a grand meeting.

Of course, it was difficult for ordinary children from poor families living in human settlements to come.

Because they had to traverse through multiple patches of wildland to get here, and it was dangerous beyond compare.

It was highly likely that the ferocious beasts in the wildlands could swallow you up and digest you into a pile of shit. Those from noble families and sons of mayors would cross the dangerous wildlands under the protection of their guards. And only they would be able to arrive at the Swordsmanship-seeking Mountain near the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect safely.

There were exceptions. People like Ding Hao, who came from poor families but lived in front of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect's door had the upper hand geographically.

...

It was a beautiful, sunny day.

At the edge of the mountain beside the Sword-cleansing Pond, Ding Hao had just finished a set of swordplay.

Just then, on the mountain paths in the distance, the dense sounds of horse hooves clopping suddenly sounded. Dust and dirt flew in the air.

Soon, a team of about twenty or thirty burly riders who wore bright armors and fierce faces rushed out of the woods, screaming. They galloped towards Ding Hao at an extremely fast speed and arrived by the Sword-cleansing Pond in the blink of an eye.

"Halt-!"

A handsome young man who was about 13 stood at the front. He stretched out his hand and waved towards the back. The riders all tightened their reigns and stopped.

"Hey, young man, is this where the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect is?" The young man looked at Ding Hao and waved his riding crop, asking loudly in a condescending manner.

"That's right," Ding Hao nodded.

In the past few days, countless people had come to visit the mountains. There were countless people who were more arrogant than this boy. Moreover, these riders looked fierce and strong. They were people who had witnessed bloodshed and death. A gentleman would not stand beneath a dangerous wall, and there was no need to make trouble with these people.

"Hah, we have traveled an entire afternoon. We shall rest here for a while before going up the mountain."

The handsome young man leaped off the horse and threw the reins to a warrior behind him. He walked quickly to the Sword-cleansing Pond and scooped up the clear water to wash his face. He laughed loudly and turned around, saying, "This is the land of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect and there are no monsters here. We can finally rest easy. Chen Wu, set up the tent here temporarily. Cousin Yi Ruo, come and rest and wash the dirt off you."

The burly man with a mustache named Chen Wu agreed loudly. He then commanded the other riders to set up tents with familiar ease.

A beautiful girl wearing a long, pure white dress slowly emerged from the crowd. Suddenly, everything around her seemed to have lost their color.

The girl was about 14 or 15.

It looked as if her eyes were painted. The lines of her face were perfect. Her nose was exquisite, and her lips were rosy and very tempting. Her pale skin was like sheep-fat jade and it might break if you touched it. Her long hair was as black as ink and she looked alluring as it contrasted with her white dress. It looked as if she was enshrouded in a pure white glow, and her beauty was so clean it seemed almost unreal.