The muscular man looked at Ding Fan, whose face bore traces of a smile, and felt a bit puzzled. Could it be that this was a confident smile? That would be ridiculous. He should know that not only is he the most outstanding disciple of the Qinghe Sect, but according to his master, even if he were placed among all the disciples of the Thirty-Six Caves, he would definitely rank in the top three.

Yet the opponent could still smile, which is the funniest joke in the world. Does he believe that his martial arts are superior, hence feeling smug? How foolish!

"I will suppress my cultivation to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage level to fight with you, hoping you can last a few seconds in my hands. Don't let me down."

After saying this, the stalwart youth's True Qi suddenly thinned considerably, appearing similar to Ding Fan's cultivation.

At this moment, Sect Master Tian, standing nearby, looked complacent, casting a proud glance at Sect Master Gao, saying as if naturally:

"This disciple is always benevolent, but he has never made a mistake at critical moments."

"Oh, oh." Sect Master Gao responded with a slightly unpleasant expression, feeling a bit irked in his heart. Sect Master Tian's little trick was fully understood by Sect Master Gao, who knew it was nothing more than showing off how his disciple was superior to Gao's disciple. Although Sect Master Gao felt a bit aggrieved, the facts were undeniable; his disciple was indeed defeated by that cultivator, and he had nothing to say.

The young cultivator, previously defeated by Ding Fan, felt deeply ashamed upon seeing his master and Sect Master Tian. He lowered his head heavily, filled with self-reproach, thinking if only he had been a bit more diligent in his regular practice, he wouldn't have disgraced his master at this moment...

Sect Master Gao gently patted the young cultivator's shoulder, indicating for him to watch the impending battle. Sect Master Gao did not blame Feng Er, as Feng Er was already very excellent. It was just that the opponent he encountered this time was too formidable. Furthermore, Sect Master Gao did not believe that even if the Qinghe Sect's disciple faced that cultivator, he could easily defeat the opponent.

Although the opponent's cultivation was somewhat lacking, their martial arts accomplishments were formidable. The opponent's martial arts could well make up for the deficiency in their cultivation, but if he could definitely defeat the Qinghe Sect's disciple, Sect Master Gao did not dare say so.

Sect Master Gao knew the Qinghe Sect's disciple was extremely strong, that stalwart youth, and not merely outstanding within the Qinghe Sect. Among all the disciples of the Thirty-Six Caves, that stalwart youth could easily rank among the top five. Few of his age on the entire Donglai Continent would be his match.

Additionally, the opponent, being so young, had already cultivated to the peak of the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, which was remarkable. Though his disciple, Feng Er, was also at the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, it was due to him forcibly having Feng Er consume a lot of Heavenly Materials and Earth Treasures to ensure he wouldn't miss this Thirty-Six Caves meeting that his cultivation was elevated.

Feng Er's cultivation had only recently advanced, and evidently, his strength was still significantly inferior to that of the Qinghe Sect's stalwart youth.

Upon hearing his words, Ding Fan gave a faint smile, finding it quite amusing. It seemed the youth's pride was even greater than he had estimated. Ding Fan calmly said:

"Go ahead and use all your strength, I will also use all mine."

After Ding Fan finished speaking, the stalwart youth was stunned for a moment. Was the opponent saying that he hadn't used his full strength when he fought with the Gaoyuan Sect's disciple before?

Not just the stalwart youth, but Sect Master Gao, Sect Master Tian, and others around them were all shocked, feeling very astonished by Ding Fan's words. How could the youth claim he hadn't used his full strength before? Although the young cultivator from the Gaoyuan Sect lost to the opponent, it wasn't an easy win for the opponent...

The expressions of the crowd turned grim upon hearing Ding Fan's words, as it seemed overly arrogant if the opponent continued boasting.

Upon hearing Ding Fan's words, the stalwart youth sneered, looking scornfully at Ding Fan, and said somewhat harshly:

"Fine, since you want to end the fight quickly, I'll grant your wish!"

Ding Fan looked at the opponent with a calm smile, finding it somewhat interesting. If that was how the opponent interpreted it, so be it!

"Take this!"

Ding Fan shouted, reminding the opponent, while his figure flickered, his aura suddenly surging significantly. With a single-handed sword strike, he performed the Wind-like Sword Technique, directly charging at the opponent.

At this moment, the stalwart youth was startled by Ding Fan's actions. The opponent's momentum was indeed too fast, leaving the stalwart youth scrambling to draw his longsword and assume a defensive posture to withstand him. The muscular man never expected that the opponent's cultivation was not at the Nascent Soul Stage.

At this moment, looking at the opponent's cultivation, it had to be at least a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Early Stage. No one could have expected that the opponent could hide their cultivation so skillfully, even my master, who was at the Spirit Severing Initial Stage, did not notice, and the muscular youth believed that even the Sect Master of the Gaoyuan Sect definitely couldn't see through the opponent's true cultivation.

Ding Fan merely displayed the power of the sixth level of Divine Vigor, and if converted to True Qi, it was merely of the Late Nascent Soul Stage. But Ding Fan's Divine Vigor was far stronger and much more solid and thick compared to that of an ordinary divine warrior, giving the impression of Nascent Soul Stage strength.

At this moment, Sect Master Gao was astonished at Ding Fan's display, not expecting that the opponent's cultivation could be so well-concealed, and he hadn't discovered it. This also showed that the young man was not bragging before, and the match between him and Feng Er was done while only exerting the strength of the Early Nascent Soul Stage.

The young cultivator, upon witnessing Ding Fan's display, was even more amazed while also feeling great admiration for the opponent. Not only did the opponent give him some guidance in martial arts, but he also realized that the opponent hadn't been using full strength before.

The young cultivator knew that although the opponent was around his age, their strength was not comparable to his, the gap was substantial! At this moment, he couldn't help but admire the opponent!

Sect Master Tian, upon seeing this scene with Ding Fan, was shocked and inwardly thought it was bad, considering that if the opponent had hidden his cultivation previously, his disciple might not easily triumph over him...

Just as Sect Master Tian thought of this, the battle between Ding Fan and the muscular youth ended.

Ding Fan stood calmly in front of the muscular youth, with a flying sword resting on the opponent's shoulder. If the opponent dared to move even slightly, Ding Fan could easily cut him down, clearly establishing the victory.

The muscular cultivator was greatly shocked, his face full of astonishment, and even his eyes seemed they were about to pop out, unable to believe that in just one move, Ding Fan's flying sword was already at his neck, leaving him unable to move. It was just too fast!

At this moment, the muscular youth recalled his previous words and felt deeply shaken. He intended to end the battle with the opponent as quickly as possible, and indeed, the fight ended swiftly, but evidently, the outcome was entirely contrary to what he had imagined, filling him with shame.

Meanwhile, he began to thoroughly recall that sword move from the opponent, it was incredibly fast and quite mysterious, clearly not something an ordinary cultivator could handle—truly unbelievable! At this point, his confidence was completely shattered, understanding that even if the opponent executed that sword technique again, he wouldn't be able to defend against it. That strike was terrifyingly bizarre.

He realized it was entirely something he couldn't defend against at present, and even a Spirit Severing Stage cultivator might not withstand that slash, even his master would likely struggle to block it...

If Ding Fan knew what the muscular man was thinking now, he would likely have some appreciation for him, as he proved to not be just an arrogant individual with nothing of value. His judgment was quite accurate. Ding Fan's sword stroke could undoubtedly kill a Spirit Severing Initial Stage cultivator in one swing, and while it might not instantly kill a Spirit Severing Mid Stage cultivator, it would seriously injure them.

At this moment, Sect Master Tian of the Qinghe Sect witnessed this scene, utterly flabbergasted, with his mouth agape and unable to speak. He was shocked to the core, wondering how it could have ended like this! After a brief time, Sect Master Tian had no choice but to accept the result—his most prized disciple hadn't even completed a single round before being captured by the opponent.

This was simply unbelievable!

However, being a Spirit Severing Stage cultivator, Sect Master Tian soon understood Ding Fan's technique, realizing the opponent's swordsmanship was exceedingly mysterious, having defeated his disciple entirely due to its peculiarity. His most valued disciple completely lost due to the opponent's sword technique.

When Ding Fan's cultivation surged significantly, Sect Master Tian had a very bad feeling, but he never expected that the opponent could defeat his disciple in just one move and even capture him. The opponent had shown mercy, or else his disciple would have been killed!

At this moment, recalling his previous statements, Sect Master Tian felt he had been starkly contradicted by reality, feeling utterly embarrassed!

Initially, he had planned for his disciple to triumph over the opponent, striking a blow to the Gaoyuan Sect's pride, but he hadn't expected this slap to hit his own Sect's face hard. After all, the Gaoyuan Sect disciple had previously engaged several rounds before losing to Ding Fan.

And yet, his disciple couldn't even withstand a single round before being captured. This was completely humiliating, but as a Spirit Severing Stage cultivator, Sect Master Tian was keenly aware of the power behind Ding Fan's sword stroke. Even if he faced that strike himself, it would be challenging to avoid it. At Ding Fan's young age, possessing such formidable strength made Sect Master Tian question whether he really was just passing by.

It probably wasn't that simple.

Regardless of who he was, Sect Master Tian harbored resentment towards Ding Fan since his face was left with nowhere to hide, especially as Sect Master Gao from the Gaoyuan Sect looked at him smugly, making Sect Master Tian's face feel hot.

Evidently, Sect Master Gao was in a great mood!