Meng Fan's attention had just shifted to Jiang Poyue, as he too had just been testing his sword technique.
To be honest, Meng Fan instinctively looked down on Cheng Feiyu's bout, which was quite normal.
But now it seemed that among these outer and inner sect disciples, there were indeed some dazzling talents.
He himself relied on the "Sword Dao Transcendence" as a sort of cheat to achieve such monstrous results.
And this He Ying, he must be a genuine genius, the kind with exceptional enlightenment.
Of course, like himself, this guy probably had his drawbacks, such as a less superior Spiritual Root, making his cultivation slower.
Meng Fan could rely on the Essence of the Sword to speed up his cultivation, but He Ying had no such luck.
That's why he was only at the first level of the True Martial Realm!
However, this time he had demonstrated his enlightenment, and in the future, he would likely receive focused training from the sect, possibly securing a promising future.
Even if he ultimately lost to Jiang Poyue, the mere fact that he defeated Cheng Feiyu was enough to prove his excellence, and the sect would not overlook this talent.
"So this literary competition is quite necessary after all. Sometimes, the advantage of enlightenment is not much less than that of a Spiritual Root!" Meng Fan muttered to himself.
Only Liu Yanping heard Meng Fan's words.
She wholeheartedly agreed with this.
Because she had witnessed firsthand how someone with a Mixed Spiritual Root rose step by step, catching up and surpassing her in an incredibly short time.
Having been defeated by Meng Fan so often, Liu Yanping even came to believe that the role of a Spiritual Root was not as important as enlightenment!
Of course, this was certainly a bias.
Liu Yanping, the young lady, simply had too little experience, and her own Spiritual Root was only intermediate, not particularly impressive.
Thus, she had never experienced the thrill that a superior or excellent Spiritual Root could bring.
The advantages of a Superior Spiritual Root and an Excellent Spiritual Root were incomparable to an Intermediate Spiritual Root.
Meng Fan's attention was now on He Ying.
In fact, not just Meng Fan, at this moment, everyone's attention was on He Ying.
Because he was the first to defeat Cheng Feiyu and stand out among the inner sect disciples.
Most importantly, he was only at the first level of the True Martial Realm.
At this time, the lower the cultivation level, the more it proved his genius.
The elders of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect all looked at He Ying with satisfaction.
After defeating Cheng Feiyu, He Ying approached Jiang Poyue to challenge him.
Jiang Poyue looked at He Ying with a hint of surprise on his face.
He knew very well that those who could defeat Cheng Feiyu and stand out must be extremely skilled in sword technique.
At least in terms of sword technique, they were far superior to their own cultivation level.
Therefore, Jiang Poyue did not look down on He Ying for being at the first level of the True Martial Realm; instead, he sized up He Ying very seriously.
"Inner sect disciple He Ying, requests guidance from Senior Brother!" He Ying saluted Jiang Poyue and then drew his saber.
Jiang Poyue also returned the salute and drew his longsword.
If it had been a few years ago when he was still at the first level of the True Martial Realm, he might not have been much stronger than this He Ying.
Unfortunately, he had practiced for a few more years, and this disparity was unfair.
After all, although Jiang Poyue valued He Ying, deep down he still did not believe He Ying was his match.
This was human nature; while he respected his opponent, the pride ingrained in his bones was indelible.
"Zing—" He Ying's longsword emitted a sword hum.
The longsword, like a bolt of lightning, slashed towards Jiang Poyue at an extremely fast speed.
A trace of surprise flickered in Jiang Poyue's eyes, and his expression became three parts more serious than before.
"This Junior Brother He Ying is so fast!" Liu Yanping exclaimed in surprise.
Meng Fan nodded, his face also showing surprise at He Ying's strike.
"He Ying is not only strong in sword technique, but his physique is also exceptional. He must have practiced a body cultivation technique, and his mastery is not low. Otherwise, relying solely on sword technique, he wouldn't be able to burst forth with such speed!"
Normally, as cultivation level increases, the body is also tempered and strengthened.
But this enhancement is limited; it's different once one practices a body cultivation technique.
If the body cultivation technique is successful, the physical body of someone at the first level of the True Martial Realm could be comparable to the Heavenly Origin Realm, or even beyond!
Of course, in theory, there isn't much difference between the physical bodies of someone at the first level of the True Martial Realm and the Heavenly Origin Realm.
After all, a cultivator's battle mainly relies on True Qi and cultivation level.
The strength of the body is just icing on the cake!
Unless one specializes in body cultivation and reaches an extremely high realm, they can truly rely on the strength of their body to fight.
This is also why the Shu Mountain Sword Sect only selects disciples strong in sword technique to go to the Demon Realm, not those with strong physical bodies.
Because looking at the entire Shu Mountain Sword Sect, there wouldn't be any disciple who truly excels in body cultivation!
Take Meng Fan, for example; although Elder Lin gave him the "Supreme Dominance Body," this technique is really too slow to practice.
The Supreme Dominance Body has nine levels, and Meng Fan is still at the first level.
Most importantly, the Supreme Dominance Body isn't a particularly strong body cultivation technique.
The Shu Mountain Sword Sect is a sword cultivation sect, not a body cultivation sect, so it's destined not to achieve much in terms of physical strength.
To gain some achievement in body cultivation is already extremely rare, like He Ying at this moment!
"This He Ying seems to be using the Great Annihilation Sword Technique!" Liu Yanping said, somewhat surprised.
She wasn't like Meng Fan, who had browsed the Scripture Pavilion and recognized many sword techniques.
She recognized He Ying's sword technique purely because it was famous.
"Indeed, it's the Great Annihilation Sword Technique!" Meng Fan nodded.
He had seen this technique on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
The technique was strong, but not many disciples practiced it because it had a significant flaw.
And this flaw was also its advantage.
That is, its lethality was too strong!
Strong lethality is an advantage.
The reason it's also a flaw is that the sword technique is too murderous and can easily lead to deviation.
If one's will is not extremely firm, they could be backfired upon the first time they practice it.
There's a big difference between those with firm will and those with extremely firm will.
So many disciples actually tried to practice this sword technique, but gave up the next day because they all experienced the pain of being backfired.
They couldn't endure the splitting headache.
But clearly, He Ying had persevered.
"An inner sect disciple has really emerged as a talent, not only with exceptional enlightenment but also skilled in body cultivation, and most importantly, with extremely strong perseverance," Meng Fan murmured softly.
"It's foreseeable that in the future of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, there will definitely be a place for this He Ying!"
This was inevitable, because if Meng Fan could notice this, the eyes of the sect would certainly see it too.
So He Ying would definitely be given focused training next!
Although Liu Yanping agreed, she still said with a smile, "Even so, I think this Junior Brother He Ying is still not as good as you, Junior Brother Meng Fan."
Meng Fan just smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
This was undoubtedly true; after all, he was a cheat!
On the Heaven-Connecting Platform, He Ying and Jiang Poyue began to fight, with sword lights rampant and Sword Qi crisscrossing.
Although neither of them used their cultivation level or True Qi, Sword Qi still burst forth.
When a sword technique is practiced to the extreme, reaching the level of Sword Rhyme, one can drive out Sword Qi with the technique alone.
Even Liu Yanping could do this.
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three strikes.
In the fourth exchange, He Ying unleashed the Great Annihilation Sword Intent.
This made many people in the audience gasp in amazement.
"An inner sect disciple at the first level of the True Martial Realm has actually cultivated Sword Intent, this is truly a gift from heaven!"
Similar exclamations were endless.
Hearing these gasps, Liu Yanping's face showed a proud expression.
She had cultivated the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword Intent at the second level of the True Martial Realm, with Meng Fan's guidance.
Although she was slightly behind He Ying, by this calculation, even if she wasn't a prodigy, she was still a top talent!
After He Ying displayed his Sword Intent, Jiang Poyue also followed suit with his Sword Intent.
As a cultivator at the Condensation Pill Realm and an absolute genius, how could he not have cultivated Sword Intent?
After five moves, He Ying's longsword flew from his hand, and he was defeated.
This was the first time someone had lasted five moves against Jiang Poyue; previously, not even disciples at the Heavenly Origin Realm had lasted five moves.
"This Junior Brother He Ying is quite impressive, actually setting a new record!" Liu Yanping said with an astonished face.
Similar discussions were everywhere, and everyone was extremely amazed.
Meng Fan said to Liu Yanping, "Although He Ying is indeed excellent, Jiang Poyue was holding back. He probably wanted to gauge He Ying's level, so he didn't go all out.
In fact, if Jiang Poyue had used his full strength, He Ying might not have lasted a single move!"
Hearing Meng Fan's words, Liu Yanping was somewhat stunned, looking at Jiang Poyue on the Heaven-Connecting Platform in disbelief.
Was this guy a great demon?
Truly terrifying!
She didn't doubt Meng Fan's words because she was very aware of Meng Fan's sword technique accomplishments.
"By your words, it seems that none of our Shu Mountain Sword Sect disciples will be his match. I wonder if the enforcers will be unable to resist making a move," Liu Yanping said with some anticipation.
"They will definitely make a move," Meng Fan said.
This Jiang Poyue was indeed too strong, already beyond the category of "disciple" and definitely reaching the rank of enforcers.
So the Shu Mountain Sword Sect would certainly have enforcers eager to take on Jiang Poyue.
Liu Yanping turned to look at Meng Fan, somewhat skeptically, "This Jiang Poyue is so formidable, are you really his match?"
Meng Fan just smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
He had previously said that he and Jiang Poyue were "evenly matched," and that they would only know after fighting, which was modest.
If it were Meng Fan who hadn't comprehended at the Sword God Stele, even with strong enlightenment, he might not be Jiang Poyue's match.
But Meng Fan, who had comprehended the Primordial Great Way of the Sword, had long since transcended the category of normal people.
Plus, he had been observing Jiang Poyue's sword technique for the past few days. Although Jiang Poyue had never gone all out, Meng Fan had still roughly analyzed his sword technique.
At this point, if Meng Fan were to go on stage, he could actually completely overwhelm Jiang Poyue!
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Recheck: Lotas