Chapter 148: Astonishing Skill

  Build Ye City.

  A cold wind blows fiercely from outside the city, bringing a few degrees of coolness to the passing people, and it has already entered deep autumn.

  However, compared to the desolation outside the city, Jianye City was still bustling at this time. Warriors in single-colored shirts walked back and forth, not fearing the cold at all. All the inns and wine houses were fully booked, and people who arrived late couldn't even get a spot.

  The opening of the Jianjia Name Sword Conference has attracted almost all the sword cultivators in Jingzhou, including those who came to participate in the competition, those who came to watch their seniors compete, those who came to make a profit, and those who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make some money. People from all walks of life have gathered here, it's strange if there's still room available.

  But what is Jianghu?

  The rivers and lakes are where I rule with an iron fist, you'd better give way!

  So the disputes will not be less, basically every day there is a commotion, it will not end. At first, the innkeeper was worried and frightened, but after a month, he became numb. Let them fight, anyway, after fighting, someone will compensate for the losses, and no one will bother to find a commoner like him, and they are happy to watch the show.

  At this moment, there were several sturdy men with rough faces patrolling inside the inn with unfriendly expressions.

  Looking to the left, several young boys and girls, very young, but wearing the same clothes and a similar pattern, although unfamiliar, can also guess, from the same family. If there's a family, it's best not to mess with them, hit the younger ones, the older ones come out, hit the older ones, even older ones come out... Ignore decisively.

  Looking to the right, a man in his thirties was sitting there eating, looking like he was alone, but on his right hand, a thick callus had been ground out, obviously a master swordsman.

  The man subconsciously shifted his gaze. A thirty-year-old lone swordsman, whose boundaries couldn't be discerned, but whose calmness was enough to make people dare not act rashly; generally speaking, this kind of person is a master.

  The other party directly released their strong momentum without looking back a few steps.

  The uniform color of the Condensed Sea Peak made Han's face look a bit unsightly, he himself was also at the Condensed Sea Peak, but every sword cultivator was terrifying, their realm was just auxiliary, transcending levels to challenge others was a common occurrence, provoking someone with similar strength to oneself was unwise.

  Just as he was about to leave, the young man noticed a twenty-year-old youth sitting in the corner near the window of the inn. The youth had a frail body, a pale complexion, and a warm smile. In front of him lay an open book, and at his waist hung a decorative sword with no practical value.

  The man sneered and said, "Is this the young master who came to watch the battle?"

  There are always some people who think that martial artists are just like the ones in the books they read, full of grandeur and passion. But this person in front of me seems to be telling me otherwise. I'm just a young master out for a stroll, come and bully me!

  Come on!

  Come on!

  Just in case, the man looked at his hands again, spotless and without a single mark. They were a pair of perfectly maintained hands, probably envied by many noblewomen.

  Hanzi led a few younger brothers to walk towards that table.

  The people around glanced at each other, and it seemed that they had long been used to such things. For them before the exhibition, it was not an unusual pleasure every day.

  "Wow, something exciting to watch again."

  "Yes, I saw that little brother just came in from outside, good luck, and also had one to eat, unfortunately, can't keep it."

  "Who is this man? Is he also a sword cultivator? His build is too robust."

  "Haha, he's a Jinling disciple, Jin Ming, the peak of Ninghai, with a set of Jinling swordsmanship that can suppress people in the same realm to the point where they can't fight back. In the Jin family, he's the number one person under Rongyuan. Don't be deceived by his appearance, this guy looks stupid and clumsy, but is actually very clever. I reckon he's observed all the big and small figures here before choosing the weakest one."

  "Who is the number one person under Ji Yuan? What a big tone."

  "Hey, it's just the Jin family, after all, they're just joking around."

  "What's this? You want to test his strength? Just go ahead then."

  "No rush, wait for him to finish with this little brother first, then I'll go up."

  "That young man? You must be joking, he's obviously just an ordinary person, maybe not even practiced swordsmanship, no matter how you look at him, he doesn't seem like a master."

  "Hehe, it's precisely because everything seems normal that there's a problem. Just you wait and see, the good show is about to begin."

  Everyone looked on, only to see Jin Ming walking up to the table with a ferocious and sinister expression, throwing down five taels of silver, and crudely asking: "You little brat, take the money and scram, this place is mine now."

  The young man raised his head in astonishment, numbly saying: "Brother, even eating a meal can get you shot?"

  This young man is Xia Lin.

  Since he came this time, he didn't plan to do anything good, so he used Qian Huan to completely change his appearance. In order to hide his strength, Xia Lin made his body more introverted and condensed, looking shorter by a few centimeters, slender in shape, looking more refined, and also more suitable for a sword cultivator.

  For the same reason, since people always looked down on me when I was 16 or 17 years old, I decided to make myself look a bit older. But unexpectedly, even at the age of 20, I am still being despised by others.

  Looking at the solitary figure in the distance, yet no one dared to cause trouble for this thirty-year-old middle-aged man, Xia Lin sighed and thought that he had become a big uncle.

  "What's with the sigh? Get out of here quickly." Jin Ming said angrily.

  Xia Lin didn't get angry, but instead looked up and asked: "Why me?"

  "Huh?" Jin Ming was stunned, clearly not expecting that Xia Lin's first reaction would be to ask a question back. He paused for a moment, looking at Xia Lin's seemingly unwilling expression, and suddenly burst out laughing: "A sword cultivator, no matter how well you take care of yourself, will still have calluses on your hands. But your hands are as smooth as a girl's, it's likely you've never even held a real weapon before. That decorative sword of yours might be good for show, but do you plan on using it to fight?"

  Is that so?

  Xia Lin nodded thoughtfully, it turned out to be a problem with the sword, this thing he really didn't understand very well, so he casually bought a good-looking one at the door and used it to hit soy sauce, unexpectedly being exposed.

  As for the cocoon thing... that kind of thing is just something to listen to, a true strong person absolutely isn't recognized by a cocoon, there are plenty of spiritual grasses that can improve one's skin, it's just that this group of poor people haven't come into contact with them yet.

  Do you think I would tell you that having too many siblings also has its own advantages?

  "Thank you for your advice." Xia Lin said with a smile, then sat there motionless.

  Jin Ming looked at him with an unchanged expression, "Kid, I've given you the silver, it's time to let me sit down."

  Xia Lin took a glance at the five taels of silver on the table, picked them up and threw them under his feet. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out another five taels of silver and tossed them over. He raised his head and smiled warmly: "I'll give you five more, take it and scram."

  "Whoosh——"

  Everyone was in an uproar, of course, most were just watching the commotion.

  "This kid is awesome."

  "This temper is quite flavorful, haha."

  "Jinming, if I were you, I absolutely couldn't bear it."

  "It's just, your reputation as the number one in the Jin family wasn't obtained by pretending to be cute and deceiving people, was it?"

  Jin Ming's anger surged for a moment, but he wasn't a rash person, so he knew to use his silver first and avoid fighting if possible. However, looking at Xia Lin's nonchalant expression, he still had some doubts - was this kid a master? At that time, under the influence of the crowd's chatter, he also threw away the thread of doubt from just now.

  Come on, in ten years I haven't misjudged many people, how could I be wrong about a little kid like you?

  "Listen here, you little brat! Don't give me that look and don't pretend to be innocent. If you don't get out of my way, don't blame me for being rude!"

  Xia Lin glanced at him with a hint of a smile.

  Jin Ming is indeed one of the best cannon fodders, he just needs to make a name for himself and let everyone think he's a sword cultivator, that's enough. And at this time, Jin Ming jumped out, too perfect.

  Seeing Xia Lin's disdainful expression, Jin Ming suddenly became angry, "You little brat, you're asking for death."

  Splash!

  A flash of golden light, Jin Ming drew out the long sword from his waist and stabbed it directly at Xia Lin.

  Golden light flashed, like a phantom jumping, this golden name, seemed foolish, but as soon as he made his move, it was a killing blow, and he actually used the Golden Mausoleum Sword Technique directly.

  "Wow, Golden Sword Technique."

  "What a swift speed! Jin Ming is ruthless, coming straight out with a killing move. This time, no matter if that kid has hidden strength or not, he's done for."

  "It's over, nothing exciting to see anymore."

  "Whoosh!"

  A sword hummed, the Golden Sword Technique stabbed straight down, when it was only half an inch away from Xia Lin, a phantom flashed by, and everyone instinctively felt their eyes blur, and when they looked back, they suddenly gasped in cold air.

  That terrifying Golden Swordsmanship, had just been executed and was instantly severed. Jin Ming's long sword was now lightly pinched between the young man's fingers, not one hand, but two fingers!

  Two fingers were pinched on the tip of the long sword, motionless, no matter how hard Jin Ming used force, he couldn't stab down.

  In an instant, all the vengeful spirits vanished.

  The Strong!

  The absolute strongest!

  It's too terrifying to break the Jinling Swordsmanship with just one move!

  There isn't even any fluctuation in the aura!

  What does this mean? This means that the young man did not use brute force to break through, but instead found a weakness in the Jinling Swordsmanship at that moment and broke it. Otherwise, an ordinary person's fingers would be shattered by touching the long sword.

  Xia Lin smiled lightly and said, "Go."

  After finishing, his right hand lightly shook, the sword tip burst into countless fragments, Jin Ming fell to the ground, countless fragments pierced in front of his eyes, almost every one of them nearly hitting his vital spot, making him sweat profusely. Fortunately, until the very end, the area around him was filled with broken sword fragments, but they all stuck into the ground without harming him.

  Jin Ming hastily got up and respectfully said to Xia Lin: "Thank you for sparing my life, senior."

  Xia Lin waved her hand and continued to sip tea and read books, seemingly very comfortable.

  Jin Ming turned around, intending to leave, but then asked somewhat reluctantly: "May I ask, senior, if you could tell me how to see through my Jinling Sword Technique? Jin Ming would be eternally grateful."