General's Mansion.
The current General is named Teng Xiao.
His retainer is a white-haired youth, Jing Yuan.
The two were waiting for the delegation leaders from the other Immortal Vessels to arrive for a meeting.
After all, this was the Xianzhou Alliance.
Naturally, their treatment had to be different from that given to delegations from other civilizations.
"Yuan'er, haven't the people from the Immortal Vessel of Cangcheng arrived yet? It's been so long; they should be here by now."
Teng Xiao paced back and forth, his heavy armor clanking loudly.
He was at least 1.9 meters tall and extremely burly.
While his physique was intimidating, his face was quite amiable.
"General, don't rush. Haste makes waste."
Jing Yuan stood to the side.
His long hair covered his eyes, giving him a sickly appearance.
But he was the sword fighter defending the stage for this Martial Arts Ceremony, the face of the Xianzhou Luofu.
"Let me tell you, when I was still a retainer, I heard the name of the Sword Immortal and thought he was very formidable back then."
Teng Xiao stopped, turned around, and continued pacing with a clanking sound, "I heard the Moonlight Sword Immortal is participating this time. I'm afraid you'll be instantly defeated."
"Yuan'er, if you are instantly defeated, it will be the Xianzhou Luofu's reputation that suffers."
Teng Xiao was extremely anxious.
He had never been this anxious even during war.
The key was that the previous Sword Head had sacrificed herself.
Now the position of Sword Champion of the Luofu was vacant again. If Jing Yuan could successfully defend the stage, he would become the Sword Champion of the Luofu.
Even if he couldn't win, he couldn't lose too quickly, or the Luofu would lose face.
"Alas,"
Jing Yuan sighed, "So, General, you are so eager to meet the Azure City representative because you want to negotiate beforehand?"
"Of course, we can't immediately concede. We must test him first," Teng Xiao said earnestly. "I will test the waters for you first. I am a General now, so I shouldn't be weaker than the Green Lotus Sword Immortal. If I can match him, then you shouldn't be instantly defeated by Jingliu. Losing after fighting a hundred rounds wouldn't be shameful."
"Of course, I think I'm close enough. We have the Aura, and since it focuses on attack and defense, it shouldn't be a big problem."
Teng Xiao was still very confident.
After all, the strength of an Emanator was evident.
Jing Yuan shook his head helplessly.
The General truly worried himself sick over the Xianzhou Luofu.
A moment later.
The Jiedushi led Oliver and the others to the General's Mansion.
As soon as Oliver entered, he saw the burly and tall Teng Xiao, who resembled a tank.
And the youth beside him was Jing Yuan, whom he had praised back then.
Since Jingliu had been taken away by Oliver, Jing Yuan's master had become Teng Xiao. He studied martial arts under Teng Xiao and was being groomed as the next General.
"You're finally here! I've been waiting for ages!"
Teng Xiao enthusiastically welcomed them.
Clang, clang.
Just hearing that sound indicated immense power.
"General Oliver, why haven't you been officially promoted yet?"
Teng Xiao asked, "If you take the assessment at the Jade Palace, you can receive the blessing of the star-fated bow and become stronger. Why are you unwilling?"
This question was also one that others were curious about.
After all, with so much time having passed, the matter of the Acting General not being officially promoted for over a thousand years had spread everywhere and was no longer a secret.
Oliver waved his hand, "Ah~ I don't want to rely on the blessings of the Aeons. I only want to grow stronger through my own efforts."
Saying this, Oliver suddenly adopted a world-weary look, "The strength I possess today is entirely the result of my own hard work."
Wow~
As soon as he spoke, Jing Yuan, Teng Xiao, Yingxing, and Bai Heng all wore expressions of admiration.
Teng Xiao suddenly felt very uneasy.
Although he had trained diligently and achieved a small measure of success, he now found himself complacent just because he had the enhancement of the Aura.
Compared to Oliver's state of mind, he was far too lacking.
No wonder the other man was a Sword Immortal.
"I am impressed!"
Teng Xiao cupped his hands, "I cannot match General Oliver's state of mind."
"In that case, I would like to spar with you. I won't use the Aura; I just want to know how big the gap between us is."
This probing match originally had a different purpose.
However, now, Teng Xiao was genuinely convinced by Oliver's state of mind and truly wanted to see the extent of the difference between himself and Oliver.
Now, it was for the sake of his own martial path.
"I don't think so. If I draw my sword, you will die."
Oliver said indifferently.
It was this indifferent tone that caused the surrounding people to gasp sharply.
An Emanator of The Hunt killed by a single sword strike?
How powerful must he be?
Jing Yuan couldn't help but start feeling nervous.
Yingxing was also very curious about how strong his idol truly was.
Could he really kill a Xianzhou General with one sword strike?
"Then how about this: You strike me with your sword, using only fifty percent of your strength. I will take your blow and see how much strength I need to use."
Teng Xiao simply did not believe Oliver could kill him with a single sword strike.
Are you kidding? I have high offense and high defense, dual Fire and Lightning attributes. I have fought wars for so many years, and my defense has never been broken.
Even the great Suiyang Prairie Fire was suppressed by him. A century ago, he encountered the Aeon of Abundance Shuhu and cut it down a hundred times.
How could he possibly be instantly killed by one sword?
Since Teng Xiao invited him repeatedly, Oliver could no longer refuse.
Anyway, he was the one who asked for it.
"Alright, since you insist, I will strike once. Do not blame me if you die."
Oliver nodded helplessly.
Teng Xiao waved his hand, laughing heartily: "No blame, no blame! I trust you know how to hold back."
Jing Yuan suddenly had a bad feeling, sensing that Teng Xiao was about to mess up this time.
Yingxing naturally supported Oliver and secretly cheered him on.
Bai Heng and Jingliu exchanged glances, seeing schadenfreude in each other's eyes.
"Let us go, we will head to the training grounds."
Teng Xiao gave a thumbs up, pointing east, "I am afraid of damaging things here."
After all, using power always leaves residual force.
"No need. Nothing will be damaged. If anything is broken, I will pay for it."
Oliver smiled, then extended his hand.
Jingliu immediately condensed an ice sword and handed it to him.
The ice sword felt incredibly cold in his hand.
"General Teng Xiao, be ready."
As soon as Oliver finished speaking, a sword strike gently fell.
That is it?
This is fifty percent power? Who are you looking down on?
Teng Xiao grew anxious, feeling insulted.
Where is the fifty percent power in this?
At most, it is 0.5 percent.
It seemed the opponent did not take him seriously at all.
Teng Xiao: "Since that is the case, then I will..."
*Smack!!*
A loud slapping sound rang out, attracting the attention of everyone in the General's Mansion.
The staff moving in and out were also startled and turned their gaze.
They saw General Teng Xiao kneeling on the ground with his hands pressed together, catching a shimmering white ice blade.
In this moment.
General Teng Xiao's mind was completely blank.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Why am I kneeling?
Jing Yuan massaged his forehead, thinking: "As expected, it is still that Sword Immortal whose single strike makes thousands kneel. Even General Teng Xiao must kneel. Is this the gap?"
Yingxing stared at the proud Oliver, then looked at the kneeling Teng Xiao: "So it is true that one strike can kill—it kills your social standing."
Jingliu and Bai Heng wore expressions of having seen this countless times.
Having been with Oliver for so long, they had never seen anyone who did not kneel after one strike.
For the past thousand years, Jingliu had used "catching Oliver's sword strike without kneeling" as her goal.
Seeing that even the General knelt, she knew Oliver still had strength to spare.
"What the heck? Why did General Teng Xiao kneel to him?"
"I do not know, it was so sudden. Why?"
"General Teng Xiao must have his reasons for doing that."
A dozen or so staff members whispered amongst themselves.
Teng Xiao felt like a monkey.
Just now, he did not know why, but his body simply lost control and knelt down to catch the sword.
No, saving face is crucial.
"Ahem, not bad. To make me use half a percent of my strength, that is good."
"Again, let me see how much power you can force me to use?"