Seeing Nie Yun defeated, the people of War King City couldn't accept the reality and felt a burning sting on their faces. Nie Yun, as their representative, had lost to an obscure Martial Artist from a minor place. To them all, it was a shame.
Nie Yun's own face was terribly dark. He could accept defeat, but being beaten by someone he had ridiculed as a frog in a well was intolerable to him.
He couldn't have imagined that Zhao Letian would possess the Four Layers Sword Force, as well as such Sword Skill, not at all inferior to his Sky Splitting Slash—in fact, it was even stronger. It simply didn't fit the strength one from a minor place should have.
However, he didn't know that Zhao Letian indeed came from a minor place as a Martial Artist, with resources for cultivation and worldly experience incomparable to his. But the inheritance memories in Zhao Letian's mind were the accumulated wisdom of generation upon generation of Dragon Clan ancestors from countless planes of existence. If talking solely about insight into martial cultivation, Nie Yun was in no position to discuss this with Zhao Letian.
As for the people from Qingzhou City and Galaxy Sect, they weren't too surprised by this outcome. They had already witnessed Zhao Letian defeating many seemingly unbeatable opponents. Nie Yun was just another one; instead, they felt it was unusual that Zhao Letian took such a long time to barely defeat a peer, which, despite the defeat, was an honorable performance by Nie Yun.
"Did you hold back with that last sword strike?" Nie Yun looked up after a moment of silence, his eyes on Zhao Letian, who stood proudly on the arena. He asked reluctantly, knowing well that with Zhao Letian's swordsmanship and sword force, if he hadn't held back, he would have suffered more than just a fall from the arena—at least, he would have sustained serious injuries.
"Does holding back make a difference?" Zhao Letian replied indifferently, calmly stepping off the arena. He indeed had held back, as he wasn't a fool. If not necessary, he wouldn't want to easily provoke a terrifying force stronger than Galaxy Sect. He only needed to defeat Nie Yun; that Nie Family was best left unprovoked if possible.
"Showing mercy on the arena is the greatest insult to an opponent. Zhao Letian, I will remember you. Next time we fight, if you dare to hold back again, I will strike you down," Nie Yun said tightly clenching his fists, giving Zhao Letian a deep look before turning to leave.
A true genius does not fear defeat. Returning twice as strong after a defeat to beat their opponent is just what they do, and Nie Yun was that kind of genius. He believed that he wasn't much worse than Zhao Letian; he was just slightly lacking in understanding of force. Once he comprehended the knifework to a higher realm, he was determined to challenge Zhao Letian again.
"Master Nie, the words you just said, do they still count?"
Someone at the peak of the True Martial Third Realm suddenly stopped Nie Yun.
"What did I say?" Nie Yun frowned, his mind occupied with how he could train to quickly surpass Zhao Letian, forgetting other matters.
"The offer to join your team in exchange for a hundred Mid-Grade Essence Stones. Will you still give them?" the person asked. Though Nie Yun had lost to Zhao Letian, he proved his strength wasn't far from Zhao Letian's, making him worth following if Essence Stones were involved.
Moreover, while Nie Yun and Zhao Letian were fighting, the crowd had already inquired about Nie Yun's background. The Nie Family was like a large tree; if one could rely on the Nie Family through Nie Yun, it would be even better.
Nie Yun's face turned ashen as he uttered the word through clenched teeth. Bringing up this matter now was enormously embarrassing for him, who had originally boasted he would defeat Zhao Letian in one move, only to be the one blasted off the arena instead.
The response from Nie Yun ignited excitement in the eyes of those at the peak of the True Martial Third Realm. They eagerly followed Nie Yun as he left, some of whom had previously vowed not to abandon Zhao Letian for greed.
Zhao Letian was unconcerned with those who left. It was better for those with weak resolve to be gone; they might hold him back in battle. After all, there were plenty of people present eager to join his squadron, those few were not a loss.
"Qin Hai, aren't you going with him?" Zhao Letian joked to Qin Hai by his side.
"Pfft, a mere hundred Mid-Grade Essence Stones? Would I, Dawan City's top genius, covet such a thing?" Qin Hai scoffed. He had initially followed Zhao Letian simply because of Zhao's convincing strength, and now that he knew Letian better, he respected Zhao's character. Conversely, he had no interest in Nie Yun and wouldn't leave easily.
Zhao Letian shook his head with a smile, knowing well that Qin Hai wasn't the type to change loyalties easily.
After assembling ten small teams, Zhao Letian took them to meet their commander Xiao Feng. Conveniently, Xiao Feng had also gathered nine other squadrons, and together, they went to the great hall in front of the Martial Arts Arena to receive their Identity Tokens for the squadron.
These Tokens were similar to the sect tokens of Galaxy Sect, used for identity recognition and messaging.
"Dragon Tooth Army, Vanguard Camp, Third Battalion, Sixth Squadron, Fifth Team, Team Leader, Zhao Letian." Zhao Letian observed the Identity Token in his hand, with his detailed military identity engraved on the back, while the front was smooth like a mirror, capable of displaying text messages, images, and sound.
After receiving the Identity Tokens, there was nothing else to do. As newcomers to War King City, they didn't have to immediately go to battle. They had a three-day leave before they would need to leave the city for missions.
"Master, during these three days of leave, let us brothers take everyone for a tour around War King City and show our hospitality," Da Hu suggested enthusiastically, putting away his Identity Token. The full series lives on My Virtual Library Empire (*).
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that War King City is very bustling, much more prosperous than our little place. Let's all go have a look together," Jiang Xuemei, lively in nature, was excited about Da Hu's suggestion.
"Xuemei, everything is up to Master Letian. What are you fussing about?" Jiang Fan chastised with a straight face.
Jiang Xuemei obediently closed her mouth, sticking out her tongue and making a funny face at Da Hu, which was very cute and playful, making Da Hu's face flush with warmth.
"It's okay, we will definitely explore War King City, but before that, Da Hu, I'd like to visit your parents first. Your father is unwell, and as his junior, I should show my concern," Zhao Letian said calmly with a light smile, not minding at all. He had never considered himself a noble young master and didn't share the temperament of those with such status.