"Xavier sent you to deal with me as well, didn't he? Get right to it and fight me head-to-head," Rocky
said point-blank.
"Xavier? He doesn't mean anything!" the disciple in black said disdainfully.
"Didn't Xavier send you to challenge me? If not, then who are you working for?" After Rocky weighed
the disciple's tone, it convinced him that Xavier wasn't the one behind the provocation.
"Our young master has already issued a warning for you to steer clear of Miss Tessa. If you keep
badgering her, you'll end up with something worse than today..." the disciple replied in arrogance.
"Oh, it appears that Miguel sent you. So this means I don't need to act so graciously." Rocky
understood what he meant right away. It seemed like it wasn't only Xavier whom he had antagonized,
but somebody else as well!
"Rainstorm Sword Attack!" The disciple blatantly raised his sword without reluctance and wielded a
strong medium-stage sword skill. Within moments, the sword's aura enveloped Rocky like heavy rain.
Simultaneously, Rocky pulled out the spiritual sword hanging from behind him and dashed forward in a
split second.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
In a single blow, streaks of sword aura scattered and erupted, intensifying into an overwhelming force.
It circled Rocky and occupied the area up to a few hundred meters.
Everyone had the impression that Rocky could not escape, but a rapid shadow emerged from the
sword aura like a visual illusion to their great surprise.
He moved past the disciple as if nothing had happened and retracted the spiritual sword back into its
sheath.
Within a few minutes, the disciple's chest began to bleed profusely. A sharp groan came out of his
mouth before his knees caved in. He was powerless to strike back and suffered severe injuries.
Rocky's devious attack left the other disciples utterly distraught because none of them saw how he did
it. The incident and Rocky's amazing strength shocked them, especially after he succeeded in hurting a
disciple who had reached the seventh grade of the Spirit Realm.
That was, of course, unbelievable!
"This guy..." Miguel, who was sitting beside Hannah, became enraged. His eyes darkened after he
watched Rocky easily defeat his man.
Two of the Sword Spirit Sect's elders took notice of Rocky's performance. However, neither of them
knew that Rocky was still a novice. One said, "Harrison, I cannot remember this disciple, even though
he appears very powerful and has a natural ability for hiding his spiritual aura. Did he make his mark
just recently?"
"Well, I guess you could say that!" Harrison managed to smile a bit, as even he was somewhat
surprised. He certainly did not expect Rocky to have ample strength to defeat such a powerful disciple
right away.
Besides, Harrison wasn't alone in the shock. All the other attendees were beyond belief.
"It is now obvious that his power is in the seventh grade of the Spirit Realm. How did he cover it up all
this time? Why didn't I find out earlier?" Among those seated in the crowd was Ramon, who also
appeared confused.
Meanwhile, Tessa was still busy confronting another disciple. But when she saw Rocky demonstrate
his true strength, she was also a bit taken aback. She couldn't figure out why his strength had grown so
quickly!
After the disciple fell with Rocky's single strike, all the other disciples were on high alert and got into a
defensive stance. No one dared to oppose him.
Just like that, the once congested competition area became uncrowded, with the participants dropping
sharply to twenty. The others were all in the seventh grade of the Spirit Realm, except for Rocky, and
they all held ranks in Sword Spirit City's top twenty.
About an hour later, five more disciples lost, leaving just the number of survivors at fifteen, including
Rocky. Those that remained had the opportunity to participate in the ultimate competition. Provided
they defeat another opponent, they could be ranked in the top eight and compete in the decisive battle.
But there was one catch. With only fifteen people left, it meant that one of them would have no
opponent. Rocky was weaker than any of them.
Even though he defeated his opponent in a single blow earlier, he seemed to have done it by chance.
So, for a while, Rocky became the other disciples' target.
"Don't give me that look, okay? It'll make me shy!" Rocky immediately smiled firmly at the other
disciples whose eyes looked upon him. They all focused on his direction, except for Tessa.
In no time at all, those disciples charged toward Rocky at the same time. They all aimed to challenge
him.
"Get out of my way! I'm up against him..." Xavier's voice resounded from nowhere. His eyes had
followed Rocky's every move for a while now. He rushed through several competitors as his spiritual
power flared. He was the first to rush straight into Rocky's face.
Tessa's knowledge of Xavier's arrival prompted her also to make an appearance. She stopped him just
before he made it to Rocky.
"Hey, Captain Xavier! How about showing me how powerful your Blood Sword is?" Tessa said with
provocation.
"Miss Tessa, you will have the opportunity to fight against me. Unfortunately, it is him that I want to
challenge today. I hope you don't cross my path..." Xavier eyed Rocky, who was standing behind
Tessa.
"I hate to disappoint you, but I'm your opponent now!" She was intent on protecting Rocky.
Her tenacity infuriated Xavier. He knew that, among all the Sword Spirit City disciples, Tessa achieved
the fastest progress over the past year. Besides, with her knowledge of advanced sword skills, her
strength could easily rival his own. With the consciousness in mind, he could not show negligence
around her.
Although he could not deal with Rocky at the time, Xavier believed that other disciples could still defeat
him, even if he took no action. Eventually, he went up against Tessa.
As soon as the other disciples saw that, they rushed forward to come near Rocky.
The corners of Rocky's mouth turned up at once, and he lunged toward them without disengagement.
A series of curses suddenly sounded in the air.
"Who stepped on my foot?"
"Who smacked me on the face?"
"Who the hell stabbed me in the backside?"
"Why don't you go to hell?!"
Soon the disciples fought in chaos. Consequently, they battled one another, and Rocky ended up
without any opponent.
When everyone came to their senses, they saw that Rocky was sitting at the edge of the competition
area, watching the battle from afar. Regardless of the result, he had already earned the chance to
participate in the competition's second stage.
Suddenly, the crowd got excited. Nobody expected that Rocky, who was only a novice in the Sword
Spirit City, would suddenly advance into the competition's second stage. It was truly unbelievable!
When Hannah realized how impossible it was to hide the truth, she asked Harrison, "What do you think
of Basil's strength?"
"I can't say it yet. Even though his strength is not weak, it cannot be as powerful." For an extended
period, Harrison had kept a closer eye on Rocky. But he never uncovered the secret behind his spiritual
power.
"I think he decided to hide his strength on purpose. Hannah, haven't you noticed something unusual
when you rescued him before?" Harrison asked at once.
"No, and so did Ramon." Hannah shook her head in dismay.
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