After looking carefully, he discovered a few human shaped portraits and words on the stone tablet as
well.
Rocky walked over to the nearest stone tablet. Curiosity was brimming on his face. A Taoist with a long
sword on his back was carved on the tablet. Somehow, the Taoist on the tablet looked ethereal, and on
the side of the stone tablet, a few words were engraved: Darius, the Sword God.
"Darius, the Sword God? Was this person the Sword God? If true, then his swordsmanship must have
been amazing!" Rocky murmured.
At that moment, the Taoist on the stone tablet suddenly moved. Rocky's jaw almost dropped to the
ground the next moment when the Taoist walked out of the stone tablet. Somehow, he seemed like a
corporeal entity instead of an illusion.
"Are you going to challenge me?" the Taoist asked.
"What? Challenge you? Are you kidding me? You are the Sword God and I am not going to make a
mountain out of a molehill." Rocky immediately waved his hand. However, he could feel that the
Taoist's aura was similar to his own. In fact, the Taoist did not look like a peerless master of great
strength.
"Really? Because if you challenge me and then win, you will be able to obtain a unique swordsmanship
of the Sword Spirit Sect. It's known as the Thousand-star Swordsmanship," the Taoist said.
"Really? Will that really happen?" This was the first time Rocky had encountered such a situation, so
he was unable to react for a while. Whatever was happening in front of him right now was beyond his
wildest dreams. He was a modern man, so it was impossible for him to imagine a man walking out of a
stone tablet. And then, to top it over, the man had said that if Rocky succeeded in winning a battle
against him, he would receive an incredible reward. This was also beyond Rocky's imagination.
Luckily, he was quite flexible and adapted to the unfamiliar environment quite well. He immediately
asked, "What if I fail in the challenge?"
"If you fail, you will be bedridden for a few days at most. I will try my best not to kill you," the Taoist said
honestly.
Hearing that, Rocky suddenly had an impulse to spurt blood. What did he mean by 'try not to kill you'?
Was it possible that he could die in this challenge? This was exciting!
Rocky liked excitement and challenges and therefore, decided to give it a shot.
"Okay, I'll challenge you sir. Please show me mercy," Rocky declared, cupping his hands.
"Since you haven't reached the Emperor Realm yet, I'll give you a head-start of two moves. If you can
touch the sword behind me, you win," the Taoist offered.
"It is better to accept deferentially than to decline courteously." Rocky's face lit up when he heard the
proposal. In terms of strength, he certainly could not defeat Darius. However, in terms of adaptability,
he was confident that he could achieve victory.
"Please!" After saying that, Darius put his hands behind his back.
He then nodded to show that he was ready. Rocky stretched out his body immediately and directly
attacked Darius with all the strength he could muster.
On the other hand, Darius didn't even move. The moment Rocky tried to touch him, a forceful spirit
power burst out from his body and pushed back Rocky's hand.
Rocky didn't want to be outdone and continued to attack. However, no matter how close he got to
Darius, he would always be shaken away by the forceful spiritual power from him. Let alone touch the
sword, he couldn't even get his hands on Darius' clothes.
Seeing that a direct approach wasn't working, Rocky summoned Glutton and activated the Spirit
Possession. This increased his strength and speed several folds. Then he attacked head-on again.
However, even after more than a dozen rounds, he was unable to do anything to Darius, and was
already a little out of breath.
"Your speed is good, but your heart is not calm enough. An anxious heart will always affect your
physical performance. You can be much faster, but because of the shackles in your mind, you are
unable to reach further. Study my words carefully and then challenge me again later." After saying that,
Darius turned around and entered his stone tablet with his hands behind his back. Once there, he
turned back into a stone carving.
"Looks like I will have a lot of fun here." Rocky was still excited. He hadn't been this enthralled in a long
while.
Although he hadn't succeeded in completing the challenge, he had still benefited a lot from it. The last
words Darius had just said were quite insightful.
When Darius was gone, Rocky looked at the other stone tablets around him. Soon, he discovered that
apart from the carvings which looked like peerless human masters, several other carvings of spiritual
beasts and Spiritual Weapons were also engraved upon a few of them.
"If all of these creatures can be challenged, then the following days aren't going to be so boring at all."
Rocky smiled and looked around. "But how would I get out of this place?"
Just as he had wondered aloud about exit routes, Rocky suddenly came to his senses and found
himself back in reality. It was as if he'd never left.
"I think my spiritual sense entered the jade," Rocky murmured. He checked his Spiritual Infant and saw
that it had grown slightly. His strength had also increased a little.
It must be the result of his entry into the Scarlet Heaven Jade. It was then he realized what a precious
treasure the jade was. Rocky sighed softly. He was now certain that entering the Martial Spirit
Graveyard this time could prove to be a crucial turning point for his martial arts career.
Early next morning, Rocky left his Magic Spiritual Space and decided to look around for Tessa.
Unexpectedly, she appeared in front of him in the beast farm herself.
"Tessa, what a surprise. I was just looking for you. How come you are here?" Rocky asked.
"I'm here for you, you idiot. I have something I need to ask you," Tessa said with her beautiful eyes
twinkling softly.
"What is it?" Rocky raised his eyebrows.
"Come with me." Tessa waved her hand mysteriously, instead of giving him a straight answer.
"Okay." Rocky left the beast farm with Tessa under the watchful eyes of the farm's disciples.
Not long after walking out of the beast farm, Tessa suddenly turned around and asked with a puzzled
look, "The day I merged with the martial spirit, I could feel that my strength was not enough. However,
when you patted me on the shoulder later, I felt a sudden surge of power, and the martial spirit, which
was resisting till now, also merged with me by itself. Tell me honestly; did you do something for me?"
"I don't think so. I just gave you some encouragement," Rocky answered with an innocent expression.
"I don't believe you." Tessa was certain it could not be a coincidence.
"If you don't believe me, then I cannot make you do so," Rocky said helplessly with a shrug.
"I know you must have done something to me, whether you admit or not," Tessa declared firmly.
"Believing me is your choice. I am telling the truth. But tell me, how do you feel after fusing with the
martial spirit?" Rocky changed the topic.
"Not bad. My father also checked up on me this morning. He said that the martial spirit is quite
compatible with me. Also, it is a feminine type of martial spirit which is very suitable for my
swordsmanship." Tessa's eyes lit up.
"Really? Good for you. Congratulations!" Rocky smiled encouragingly.
"Thank you. Truth be told, if you hadn't risked your life to draw those martial spirits away from me, I
wouldn't have had enough time to fuse with it." Tessa was aware of the great sacrifice that Rocky had
made just so she could fuse with the martial spirit without hindrance.
"Ha-ha, it's not a big deal." Rocky smiled disapprovingly. He didn't like
formalities.
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