I defeated the saint with a parry.

"Xu Huaixu, your subordinates have no manners at all, aren't you going to discipline them?"

Shadow, observing everything that happened around Xu Ling in the backyard, looked at Xu Huaixu who was resting with his eyes closed and couldn't help but ask, "Are you just going to watch like this?"

"Duels are permitted within the Demon Suppression Division, as long as no one is killed."

"But they are, after all, members of the Li family, and they have reached the Spirit Platform Realm."

"Don't panic. Don't you know what kind of strength this kid has? That youngest son of the Li family probably suffered some grievances at home and wants to find more grievances here. Just let him be."

"no......"

"Listen to me, Xu Ling is from Zhangye. If I don't let him show his face in the Demon Division of Fancheng Town, how can I get him into my hands? If I don't let him demonstrate his true strength, wouldn't I be the subject of gossip when I promote him?" Xu Huaixu didn't even twitch his brow, and said with his eyes closed, "Those blind idiots in Zhangye handed such a prodigy to me, so don't blame me for taking action. If you delay my plans, don't blame me for turning against you."

"You planned this all along," Shadow exclaimed, dumbfounded. "When did this happen?"

"Ha! Otherwise, how do you think such a top-secret matter could become known throughout the city overnight? Do you really think my Demon Suppression Division is a plug?"

Xu Huaixu said calmly, "Among the Li family members, apart from the eldest son and the current Li Tao, the rest are all mediocre. If it weren't for Prince Kang behind them, the Song family could have easily crushed them."

"Tsk! You bookworms have such dirty hearts."

Xu Huaixu didn't care, but his shadow couldn't stand it. After cursing, the shadow disappeared from the spot and went to watch the battle from a corner with a good view.

After he left, Xu Huaixu smiled and hummed a little tune he had heard somewhere.

......

Inside the trial space.

After Xu Ling effortlessly defeated Li Xuance, who had entered the second stage of demonic transformation, he silently gave the support system a thumbs up.

So this system can actually distinguish between loyalty and treachery to some extent. Shouldn't we use it to train any extraordinary beings we encounter in the future?

Xu Ling's assessment of Li Xuance was that he was not as good as that white snake.

Even after transforming into a demon, Li Xuance only used up Xu Ling's three thousand or so chances, far less than ten thousand.

It could be due to Xu Ling's improved strength and awareness, or it could be due to practice making perfect; in any case, Li Xuance didn't have many attack methods.

With the help of the deflection and parry function, Xu Ling can avoid damage well and cause Li Xuance to be stunned and increase damage.

In conclusion, there are only two things to be careful about when fighting him:

First, there's the fan in his hand, which appears to be an ordinary paper fan, but is actually a magical treasure. Xu Ling has suffered many losses against this treasure, all due to its unpredictable attack methods. But after being tricked so many times, he's figured out the patterns and can simply dodge according to them.

Beware of its fan-shaped world; if you are sucked in, you will surely die.

We must also guard against its ability to create a water painting area ten feet in diameter, and to bring Li Xuance to and from the scene without a trace.

In the same field of water painting, Li Xuance can transform into whatever he paints, even more so than Xu Huaixu. Fortunately, it's just an imitation, not a real summoning.

The most troublesome thing was this transformation technique, which made Xu Ling a little tired, as if he had fought several different bosses.

The second thing to be aware of is Li Xuance's transformation into a demon.

However, he wouldn't use this in public, so Xu Ling only needed to defend against the fan.

......

"Come!"

Li Xuance was much more eager than he was in the trial space, and he immediately used the treasure fan in his hand.

"This fan is called the Mountain and River Fan, a mid-grade spiritual treasure. Junior brother, be careful, and don't say that your senior brother is bullying you."

Xu Ling grabbed the scabbard of the Ink Blade, swung his arm and threw the scabbard out, embedding it in the ground in the courtyard: "This blade is called the Ink Blade. It was a gift from your aunt. I don't know its grade, but you can try it out."

The words, "It was a gift from my aunt," sounded like a conversation between an elder and a junior, immediately putting Li Xuance's imposing manner to an abrupt halt.

It feels a bit like meeting an uncle (not really).

Even if that's not true, it sounds like the real thing.

Those around him suppressed their laughter, but stared thoughtfully at the scabbard embedded in the ground. Xu Ling's strength and skill were not those of the Body Tempering Realm, but rather those of the Spirit Condensation Realm.

However, Xu Ling did not have any spiritual energy fluctuations; he only had qi and blood.

"Please step back ten feet." In his anger, Li Xuance waved his fan, and the ink on the fan surface flew out and came to life, quickly spreading in all directions.

Several people managed to stay upright, but their feet were quickly soaked in the ink, making it impossible for them to move. They only managed to run ten feet away with the help of the demon slayers around them.

Wang Dachui exclaimed, "This magical treasure is truly powerful. The entire area beneath the ink-wash painting is probably its domain. We barely even touched it and were unable to move. What about Xu Ling?"

"Huh?"

To everyone's surprise, Xu Ling didn't move at all, seemingly ignoring the unfolding of his domain.

This is not normal.

"Isn't he afraid?"

Wang Dachui looked at Zhang Li and saw that he was also clenching his fists, nervously watching the scene.

Zhang Li gritted his teeth and replied, "This is tactic! Do you understand tactics? Show weakness to the enemy. Brother Xu could beat him even with his eyes closed."

"Nonsense! Such boasting is something I, Old Wang, could never have imagined."

"Big Hammer, what do you know? Do you expect me to tell you that I've killed Spirit Platform Realm demons with my eyes closed?"

"Hehe... Zhang Li, if you're still not fully awake, why don't you go back and sleep again?"

Although they were arguing, their eyes never left the scene.

Li Xuance charged forward, waving his fan. As he flew, he made a simple stroke on the fan, and a few drops of ink transformed into the shape of a longsword, circling around him and piercing Xu Ling with each thought.

"clang!"

"Clang clang!"

Three clanging sounds rang out, and Xu Ling knocked away three flying swords of different frequencies without moving an inch or showing any fluctuation of spiritual energy.

This is the most basic move.

Everyone present had learned basic moves when they first came into contact with martial arts: parrying, blocking, deflecting, and counter-attacking.

It was clearly a basic skill, but Xu Ling used it in a fancy way, deflecting an attack from a Spirit Platform Realm cultivator.

Just as everyone thought it was a coincidence, all the remaining flying swords beside Li Xuance shot out.

This time there were stabs, slashes, and sword energy flying up and continuously striking out.

Multiple different attacks shot towards Xu Ling simultaneously.

Wang Dachui exclaimed, "Oh no! So many sword moves! There's no way to dodge them! How am I supposed to defend myself?"

"one!"

"two!"

...

Ok?

Everyone present saw Xu Ling's mouth move: "What did he say?"

It looks like counting.

"One, two, three, four? What's this for?"

"Counting during a duel, could it be the starting move of some secret technique?"

Whether it was a secret technique or not, no one understood it, but Xu Ling's next actions corresponded to the numbers.

One...two...three...four!

Xu Ling's readings have a rhythm, which is what we often call beat.

He was counting correctly, and he was noting the timing of Li Xuance's attacks, as well as the intervals between them.

In other words, Xu Ling knew exactly when Li Xuance would attack and had calculated the timing in advance, so he could intercept Li Xuance's attacks one by one according to the time.

"hiss...."

Everyone present was a tough guy who had survived real combat, so they understood this perfectly well.

"Terrifying!"

I can read your moves and then use the most basic moves to break your offensive.

Absolutely.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, waiting to witness what was about to happen and to confirm their suspicions.

"Clang clang clang clang".

After four crisp sounds, the remaining flying swords, including the sword energy, were all shattered by the ink blade.

As Xu Ling chanted numbers, he stepped forward, his feet treading on ink-wash patterns. He just missed the last flying sword and met Li Xuance, who was already approaching, with a slash that broke through Li Ershao's defenses.

"It was another basic slash, but it struck precisely where it was weak!"

Wang Dachui clenched his fist and swung it excitedly, as if he had slashed that amazing blow himself: "Goodness, Zhang Li, you were right, we were indeed feigning weakness just now."

Mom!

This was the first time they had ever watched people fight, and they enjoyed watching them use only basic moves.