The wide training ground held only me and the youth, everyone else watching from a distance; even Yan Luo looked utterly captivated.

"Did you hear? That kid is a spy from the Inner Academy!" "A damned fellow, daring to sneak here to gather intelligence." "Take this chance to teach them a lesson." "Exactly." "But that kid seems to have already mastered Dou Qi; he won't be easy to deal with." "What are you afraid of? With our Eldest Senior Brother stepping up, that kid is done for."

The surroundings buzzed with chatter, the crowd swelling until the entire perimeter of the field was packed. Everyone seemed intensely curious about me, the alleged spy from the Inner Academy. A chill ran down my spine; I hadn't expected such a commotion.

"Heh heh, scared now, aren't you? If you confess honestly, maybe I can let you off easy," the youth said smugly. "Last chance: who exactly are you?"

"My name is Lan Xing."

"That's it?" The youth seemed greatly dissatisfied. "Where are you from? Which sect do you follow?"

"I am from Lan Family Village in Cang Yue Liusu. As for a sect, I don't have one yet," I explained patiently.

"Good boy, stubborn until the very end, won't give up until you see the coffin. In that case, I won't hold back." This fellow was clearly combative, yet insisted on putting on a facade of righteous indignation, which made me both annoyed and amused.

"Eldest Senior Brother, stop wasting time with him. Hurry up and teach him a lesson!" The youngsters around were only too eager to stir up trouble, constantly egging him on.

"En." The youth nodded slightly. "Lan Xing, is it? Remember my name—Jian Xin." Jian Xin then drew the longsword from his waist. "Now, did you bring a weapon, or do you want to pick one from here?"

"Find me a Ling Feng!" I spoke up. I had no intention of using my Hundred Battles Saber or my fencing sword here; those were too recognizable. Though these youths were all students of the Manor, who could guarantee they hadn't heard of the Blue Lightning?

"Kid, catch!" Someone tossed a Ling Feng, which stuck upright diagonally before me.

Taking the Ling Feng, I casually executed a few graceful sword flourishes before standing before Jian Xin amidst the cheers of the crowd—though I knew those cheers certainly weren't for me.

"I didn't expect you'd actually dare to fight," Jian Xin looked at me with a touch of awe, his expression resembling an adult encouraging a brave child, which gave me a strange feeling.

"Hey, are we fighting or not?" I asked impatiently.

"Let's fight!" Jian Xin seemed fully prepared and stopped wasting words. He charged forward with his sword raised.

In truth, my sparring match with Jian Xin served another purpose. Dragon Shadow Manor has always been famed for its swordsmanship. As a disciple of the Manor, Jian Xin's sword skills must be formidable. Through this bout, I could observe the subtleties of their sword techniques more closely.

The opponent couldn't be too strong, as facing a true powerhouse would require all my focus just to defend, leaving no objective or calm perspective to analyze the opponent's style. Nor could the opponent be too weak, as they wouldn't be able to display the essence of their sect’s swordplay. Thus, someone of Jian Xin’s level was perfect—not too weak, not too strong. As the senior student of the Outer Academy, his comprehension of swordsmanship would certainly surpass most others; otherwise, he wouldn't be so confident.

Seeing Jian Xin's approach, I swept my sword out. The Ling Feng became a streak of shadow, stabbing toward Jian Xin's sword-holding right wrist like lightning. Since my debut, neither my swordsmanship nor my sabre techniques had followed any specific routine. My swordplay mainly consisted of a few basic thrusts, and my sabre work was just a few simple chops, all coupled with agile footwork and movement—that was the extent of my arsenal. Simple and practical—that was what I favored.

Naturally, years of actual combat had sharpened my eyesight. The moment Jian Xin initiated his attack, I spotted a clear flaw: his wrist was slightly too high. Instinctively, I thrust my sword toward that vulnerability.

"Good!" Jian Xin reacted quickly. Ning Shuang turned slightly, his wrist following suit. This not only evaded my thrust but also allowed Ning Shuang to carve a strange arc, slashing toward my right hand like a flash of lightning.

A fine sword move. It seemed that previous flaw was intentional, designed to bait my thrust. This alone proved Jian Xin's swordsmanship was extraordinary. The change in move was incredibly fast, infused with Dou Qi energy, blending hardness and softness, solid and profound—truly a superb strike. Of course, analyzed purely from a swordsmanship perspective, this counter might be impossible to defend against for others. However, for me, whose strength lay in speed, fighting speed with speed was my specialty. In the blink of an eye, I perceived five potential openings in this move. This didn't mean Jian Xin's technique was flawed; it only meant his cultivation wasn't high enough to fully integrate and execute the move flawlessly. During his change of attack, his wrist twisted in a peculiar way—this minuscule distortion was a momentary lag caused by the opposing motion between his wrist and arm during the sudden directional change, creating a tiny flaw in an otherwise perfect strike.

Thoughts raced, intention following the movement. The Ling Feng, merely wobbling slightly in my hand, shifted from a thrust to a sweep, slicing toward his chest. This change required minimal amplitude and almost no pause. Seemingly plain, it instantly breached the inside gate of Jian Xin's sword circle, the hardest area to attack. Remarkably, while attacking Jian Xin, I also avoided his lightning-fast counter-strike.

"Ah!" Jian Xin, whose thrust went wide, was greatly alarmed. He quickly manipulated his sword, pulling it back in a reverse grip.

Clang! The two swords met for the first time, emitting a crisp resonance. Simultaneously, I instinctively flicked my wrist. As the Ling Feng was repelled, it rapidly followed the rebounding force like a water snake, obliquely stabbing toward Jian Xin's left shoulder, as if that had been my original target.

"Excellent swordsmanship!" The onlookers involuntarily cried out in astonishment. Jian Xin's expression changed drastically. He inhaled sharply and leaned back, executing a move reminiscent of the Iron Bridge backward arch. The Ling Feng sword narrowly grazed his chest. As my attack missed, Jian Xin suddenly pushed off the ground with both feet, flying backward ten meters diagonally, attempting to escape my blade's edge. But I had no intention of letting him flee just yet. The instant Jian Xin launched backward, I closed the distance swiftly. The Ling Feng swept down in a chopping motion toward his chest. This sequence of maneuvers was as fast as lightning; Jian Xin had no chance to break free, remaining under the assault of my blade. In reality, with my speed, defeating Jian Xin should have been effortless. However, to witness the Dragon Shadow Manor's swordsmanship, I deliberately slowed my drawing speed considerably—at least matching Jian Xin’s output speed—and kept the Dou Qi affixed to my sword around the level of a mid-stage High Rank. In essence, I was currently confronting Jian Xin using the speed of a mid-stage High Rank cultivator. Only by doing this could I elicit his finest moves. To outsiders, it appeared we were evenly matched, with Jian Xin having lost the initiative at the start and now being driven back defensively by my continuous pursuit.

"Be careful!" "Dodge quickly!"

As the Ling Feng was about to cleave Jian Xin's chest, the crowd couldn't help but exclaim in alarm.

"Roar!" At the critical juncture, Jian Xin roared, stabbing his sword backward into the ground. His body twisted strangely, and in a flash of lightning, he shifted three meters sideways, causing my strike to fall harmlessly into the empty air.

Good kid, not slow to react, I praised him internally. But escaping me wouldn't be so easy. Without pausing after missing the strike, I immediately executed a horizontal sweep, unleashing an assassination sword energy that chased the retreating Jian Xin like a meteor in pursuit of the moon.

"Hmph!" Jian Xin coldly sneered, suddenly swinging his sword to release two streams of golden light that shot toward my face and chest with alarming speed, murderous intent instantly flashing. As he released the golden lights, Jian Xin performed a light backflip, neatly dodging my assassination sword energy. However, I was caught off guard by the two incoming golden beams. Relying on the reflexes honed by long practice with fast swords, I instinctively spun and flipped sideways, dodging the incredibly fast golden lights in the blink of an eye. Strange, that wasn't assassination sword energy. As I dodged the two lights, I sensed something peculiar about them.

Just as I thought I had evaded them, a faint sound of air being cut reached me from behind.

"Ah! Be careful!" It was Yan Luo’s voice, laced with utter terror.

Though unsure what the objects were, I instinctively slashed backward with my sword, releasing a crescent moon sword energy, guided by my superior intuition directly toward the two sinister auras behind me.

Clang! After a violent impact, the two streams of golden light shot up and then scattered left and right, attacking my left and right shoulders.

What kind of move is this! I was greatly shocked. These two golden streams behaved as if they possessed life—they could change direction in mid-air!

"Excellent! It’s the Twin Dragon Phantom!" The crowd erupted in earth-shattering cheers.

"Eldest Senior Brother, go! Show him the might of the Dragon Shadow Sword Technique!"

What? This is the Dragon Shadow Sword Technique? I was stunned. In the modern world, the Dragon Shadow Sword Technique was one of the ultimate skills for legendary warriors. On the Mafa Continent, wasn't it classified as a secret imperial manual, inaccessible to ordinary people? Yet now, I had the chance to witness this legendary technique firsthand.

Despite my shock, I showed no hesitation in my actions. The Ling Feng sword slashed left and right repeatedly, striking the two golden beams again.

Ding! Buzz! Buzz! Upon impact, they emitted a distinct resonant hum, like striking a massive bell. A massive repulsive force transmitted through my hand; had I not already reached the strength of the initial stage of Scarlet Moon, my power greatly amplified, the Ling Feng would have been shaken from my grasp.

Whoosh! The two struck golden beams flew back toward Jian Xin. Jian Xin merely swept his sword, and the two streams vanished without a trace.

"..............." I was dumbfounded. What the hell was that? From start to finish, I hadn't even seen what they looked like.

"To force me to use the Dragon Shadow, you are indeed exceptional," Jian Xin said, holding his sword across his chest arrogantly.

"Dragon Shadow!" I exclaimed in shock. "Are those two golden beams just now?"

"Heh heh, correct. The Twin Dragon Phantom is my signature technique," Jian Xin confirmed.

"Twin Dragon Phantom. What exactly is it? Where did those two golden beams go?" I was completely bewildered now. Those beams had vanished with just a gentle curl of Jian Xin's Ning Shuang. What was going on?

"Oh, you want to see the Twin Dragon Phantom?" Jian Xin said triumphantly. "Then open your eyes wide and watch closely!" The Ning Shuang in Jian Xin's hand suddenly emitted a dazzling white light—I knew this was the result of Jian Xin infusing his sword with a powerful surge of Dou Qi energy.

But what good would this do? Just as I felt puzzled, the Ning Shuang sword in Jian Xin's hand underwent an astonishing transformation. On the white blade, on both the front and back surfaces, two vivid, lifelike golden dragon patterns emerged. Their shape was identical to the Azure Dragon of ancient China.

"Roar! Take this!" Jian Xin roared and swung his sword.

This time, I saw clearly. The two golden dragons originally coiled on Ning Shuang flew out. Their speed was unbelievable, reaching my chest in the blink of an eye.

Heavens, what kind of monstrous technique is this? Even seeing it clearly, I couldn't grasp the mystery. But that wasn't important; now that I knew the origin of these two dragon shadows, the situation was manageable. From the previous collision, I knew that although these two dragon shadows were strange, they weren't entirely undefendable; at least I managed to cleave them apart. This suggested they were merely a peculiar form of physical attack; as long as my reaction was fast enough, I could block them.

Admittedly, the speed of these two dragon shadows was astonishingly fast, but compared to the speed of fencing, it was negligible. With my reflexes, I could easily track their trajectory. The two dragon shadows split into golden light, attacking from above and below like lightning toward my chest.

"Roar!" Although my reaction speed and strength allowed me to cleave them with my sword, I decided to rely solely on movement techniques to maneuver around them, wanting to truly appreciate the nature of these two dragon shadows. With a mere sideways swivel and sidestep, I evaded their charge. The two empty-handed dragon shadows quickly changed course, circling back like two cruise missiles charging at me again.

And when they reached five meters in front of me, they executed a cross-line maneuver: one suddenly darted from the lower right to the upper right, attacking my face. The other moved from directly above, changing direction to attack my waist. All of this happened in a split second, an unbelievable speed. I had never witnessed such erratic and elusive attacks. This wasn't swordsmanship; it was the Sword Control Art from myths and legends! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I truly wouldn't believe such a bizarre and unique sword technique existed in this world. These upward and downward shifting golden beams moved like living, spirited creatures, finding gaps in my defense in mere moments. Furthermore, the two dragon shadows seemed to coordinate; just as they were about to strike me, the one heading lower suddenly decelerated sharply, while the other suddenly accelerated. This change surprised me greatly. I could only side-flip to evade the dragon shadow attacking my face while simultaneously unleashing a crescent sword energy to intercept the lagging dragon shadow.

Clang! A dazzling burst of light and sparks erupted instantly. The dragon shadow that was struck was repelled far away, flying into the air before curving back around to attack again. The other one I had avoided was now hurtling toward my back with terrifying speed. The two dragon shadows attacked simultaneously, one behind and one below.

"Ah!" This time, I truly had my eyes opened. Such a fantastical and brilliant attack trajectory was impossible to defend against completely. The Twin Dragon Phantom was sometimes light and graceful, sometimes whistling sharply, sometimes fast as lightning, sometimes fierce and brutal, and sometimes cunning and tricky—truly like two sea swallows darting through a violent storm.

Fortunately, my reflexes could still keep pace with the speed of the two dragon shadows. I dodged left and right, flipped up and down, and only used crescent sword energy to block when evasion was impossible. The scene was perilous, and the surrounding noise was deafening.

The spectators outside only saw two golden streaks of light engaging in an incredible high-speed chase, crisscrossing the arena like two flashing electric snakes circling the single black figure in the center. The surrounded black figure darted left and right with unpredictable movements, always evading the two golden lights at the last possible moment.

In the fierce fight, I gradually discerned something. Although I didn't know how Jian Xin controlled these two dragon shadows, they seemed completely subject to his will. Moreover, while controlling the shadows, Jian Xin stopped engaging me in close combat, instead staying far away and constantly waving his Ning Shuang. With every wave, the two dragon shadows invariably produced miraculous changes.

In the blink of an eye, countless moves passed. The crowd even forgot to shout, staring blankly at the two lights and one shadow moving rapidly in the arena.

"Heavens, that kid actually dodged the Twin Dragon Phantom attacks completely." "Such incredible speed." "No way, Eldest Senior Brother's Twin Dragons haven't landed a single hit on him." "Who in the world is this guy?" "Unbelievable." ............................

Bump! After another violent collision, the two golden beams shot high into the sky, but this time they did not attack me; instead, they flew back in front of Jian Xin.

Whoosh! With a slight wave of his Ning Shuang, the two dragon shadows vanished once more.

I could only stare blankly at Jian Xin, noticing his face was pale and his sword-holding right hand was trembling slightly, as if injured, though I was certain I hadn't struck him.

At this moment, Jian Xin was examining me with a look of utter bewilderment. "What kind of monster are you? You managed to dodge all seventy-six strikes of my Twin Dragon Phantom."

"Seventy-six strikes? Twin Dragon Phantom?" I was shocked. "Is that the sword technique you just used on me?"

"What else did you think it was?" Jian Xin seemed exasperated. "This is unbelievable, truly unbelievable! How can you have such speed to evade my Dragon Shadows?"

"What a powerful ultimate skill," I murmured. "If I hadn't also specialized in speed, I truly would have been defeated by your sword."

"Damn it, you can go now," Jian Xin appeared heavily discouraged.

"Ah, is it over already?" I asked, bewildered.

"What else do you want?" Jian Xin retorted irritably. "I already said if you could withstand fifty of my strikes, I'd let you leave."

"So that's it." I finally recalled that Jian Xin had indeed mentioned this at the beginning. But looking at his pale face and slightly trembling arm, the previous barrage had clearly been his strongest attack.

"However, don't get cocky. What I just displayed was only the second layer of the Dragon Shadow Sword Technique—the most basic form. Although, given my aptitude, this is the highest level I've managed to cultivate so far," Jian Xin said seriously. "But I am not the strongest disciple in the Outer Academy. There are at least ten others stronger than me among the Outer Academy disciples. If you make it to the inter-academy competition, you will see what the true Dragon Shadow Sword Technique looks like." With that, Jian Xin turned and left without looking back.

"No way! Even the Eldest Senior Brother couldn't handle him!" "That guy is terrifyingly strong." "Will it take Senior Brother Jian Yao to defeat him?"