Ling Tian, not just anyone, appeared beside Ma Hu. Ling Tian was the senior disciple among those on the mountain, the "child of another family" in the words of their masters.
Back when they were on the mountain, Ma Hu used to be unconvinced by this senior disciple, only to be thoroughly subdued by Ling Tian. Now, when Ling Tian spoke to him, he didn't even have the courage to retort.
"Master Four has said it countless times: killing is not child's play. If you can avoid using two strikes to finish off an opponent, don't use two! After the fight, regardless of whether the opponent is dead or not, transfer immediately to ensure your safety. What were you doing there?"
"Uh... Senior Brother Ling Tian, I was ambushing him, and it was within Grand Master's formation. Moreover, the guy I killed was completely defenseless..."
Ling Tian's face immediately turned stern. Although he was only a few years older than these junior disciples, when Ling Tian got serious, none of his junior brothers dared to fear him.
"Ma Hu, the masters have all said more than once that there is always someone better, and there are people beyond people! You might think the opponents you encountered this time were weak, but what about next time? How can you guarantee that every opponent you face will be a weakling? Da Feng Novel Network. Senior brother once believed that our Longpan Mountain was invincible, whether in martial arts, sorcery, or formations. We could walk sideways in the martial arts world of China. It wasn't until I went out this time that I deeply understood what 'there is always someone better' and 'there are people beyond people' truly means!"
Ma Hu lowered his head in shame after Ling Tian's words.
"Senior brother, I know I was wrong..."
"Alright, now I have a task for you. Go over there, to the trees, and find Yi Yao. You two return to the Taoist temple together. After all, the defense of the Taoist temple is the most important matter. I don't want the people in the temple to get hurt! Leave these guys to me and Second Master!"
Ma Hu was a little unwilling; he still wanted to show off his skills.
"Senior brother, let me stay here. There are only a dozen or so of them, and they've already lost several. I don't think they have the ability to reach the Taoist temple. Besides, Grand Master is personally leading people to guard the temple..."
"Fine, then I'll show you!"
Ling Tian said, grabbing Ma Hu and walking towards a spot dozens of meters away. There, a man in combat gear, holding a weighted samurai sword, was searching for targets like a headless fly. With his Heavenly Eye divine ability, Ling Tian had long noticed the peculiarities of these God-Bestowed Warriors. Ling Tian had been observing them from the shadows, including the injury of his Fourth Master, Xiang Yun Tian. Even Ling Tian hadn't expected that someone as skilled as Xiang Yun Tian would be wounded by these God-Bestowed Warriors.
Ma Hu, true to his name, was as fierce as a tiger. Seeing the God-Bestowed Warrior, he picked up his steel fork and charged towards him. Ma Hu's steel fork weighed over 30 jin. The handles of ordinary steel forks were made of wood, but the two-meter-long handle of his steel fork was made of hollow steel tubing! In fact, the steel fork was a very practical weapon, appearing over 2,000 years ago. The steel fork itself was a long weapon, and as the saying goes, "an inch longer, an inch stronger." Especially Ma Hu's steel fork, with barbs at the tip, was far more serious when it pierced the human body than being stabbed by a spear. Furthermore, the steel fork could be used to lock an opponent's weapon, and it played a very important role in many ancient battlefield formations.
Ling Tian knew that Ma Hu had put a lot of effort into mastering the steel fork. Since the age of thirteen, this kid had dared to go up the mountain alone with this steel fork to hunt wild boars. Wild boars, once cornered and in danger, would go mad and even dare to charge at cars. Yet, Ma Hu remained unusually calm when encountering wild boars. When a boar charged, he would use all his strength to control the steel fork, stab it into the back of the boar's head, and then use his own body weight to pin the boar to the ground.
At this moment, in Ma Hu's eyes, the God-Bestowed Warrior opposite him was not much more advanced than a wild boar. He charged forward directly, his momentum like a fierce tiger descending the mountain. In the blink of an eye, Ma Hu was close. He gripped the steel fork with both hands and thrust it directly at the God-Bestowed Warrior's lower back.
However, the God-Bestowed Warrior had already detected Ma Hu's presence. He immediately drew his saber and swung it horizontally, directly chopping at the steel fork.
"Clang..."
The two weapons collided, sending sparks flying in the night. Ma Hu felt a tremendous force transmitted through his hands, making his tiger's mouth go numb, and he almost dropped the steel fork. He was somewhat surprised; the force in the opponent's saber strike was too great. Moreover, it seemed the opponent wasn't using an ordinary samurai sword, otherwise, there wouldn't be such a strong force feedback, as if the opponent were wielding a hammer!
In fact, Ma Hu's judgment was not wrong. The opponent's saber was indeed extraordinary. Although it looked like a samurai sword, it was crafted using the techniques of Tang Dynasty swords, made with the folded steel method. The folded steel method was a unique ancient Chinese secret technique for making Tang Dynasty swords. The principle was not complicated: it involved adding a piece of steel with a different density to the surface of the forged Tang Dynasty sword. Then, these two materials were heated to high temperatures and hammered repeatedly until the two materials merged perfectly. Tang Dynasty swords made with this folded steel process not only had increased weight but also significantly improved hardness and toughness. The samurai sword in the God-Bestowed Warrior's hand, while styled like a Japanese sword, was scaled up proportionally and used the folded steel process and special alloys, making the saber far superior to ordinary Japanese swords in both weight and hardness.
Ma Hu was forced back several steps by the impact, but the God-Bestowed Warrior only staggered back one or two steps! He continuously twirled the saber, and the dozen-jin heavy Japanese sword felt like a child's plastic toy in his hands! However, what surprised Ma Hu was that his strength, which he usually took pride in, was suppressed. It was known that on the entire Longpan Mountain, only his Second Master, Monk Jie Nu, could previously overpower him in strength. After this brief exchange, Ma Hu even felt that the strength of the strange person opposite him was not inferior to Second Master's full power!
But he had no time to dwell on it. The God-Bestowed Warrior suddenly flipped his wrist and swung his saber horizontally, aiming for Ma Hu's waist. Ma Hu was greatly alarmed. He gripped the steel fork with both hands and plunged the handle directly into the ground. At that moment, the opponent's steel saber struck the handle squarely.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew, and the steel fork handle, as thick as a rolling pin, was actually bent! Of course, the force was reciprocal; the samurai sword in the God-Bestowed Warrior's hand also suffered a notch!