Ding Meng's second strike was still a lightning-fast stab. There were no fancy movements, nor were there any profound transformations. This strike was direct, fast, and pure. The moment it was unleashed, it would create a breathtaking pressure on his opponent.
Why had Zhao Yue felt that Ding Meng was quite talented back at the Listin Academy?
That was the reason. Beginners of swordsmanship usually started with the simplest stab, and they would only learn other moves when they reached a certain level of mastery. However, once you reached a high level of mastery, you would realize that the most effective, powerful, and practical move was actually the simplest stab. It didn't seem to have many transformations, but in reality, it contained all of them.
Ding Meng had only practiced for a few days and nights to reach this level, which was why Zhao Yue had taught him several of his own swordsmanship techniques. Lan Bing didn't try to dodge this strike at all. She seemed to know that she couldn't dodge this strike by dodging, and she also knew that Dark Ice Force was no longer enough to stop Ding Meng.
"Hah!" Lan Bing roared as she slammed her palms forward.
Although it looked like Dark Ice Annihilation Palm, it was actually a raging storm of ice and dust emanating from her entire body. From a distance, this storm formed a cone that enveloped her, and the tip of the cone collided with the tip of Ding Meng's sword.
"Ding!"
The sound was extremely ear-piercing. The tip of the sword and the cone were evenly matched. Lan Bing couldn't push the cone away, and Ding Meng couldn't advance at all. However, both sides were using their Origin Energy to resist the other's attack. This was a standard contest of strength, a contest of whose foundation was deeper.
Soon, steam began to rise from the tip of the cone. It was obvious that the heat from the ancient sword was melting the ice on the cone. With a series of cracking sounds, the ice shattered, and the tip of the cone disappeared. The ancient sword had actually advanced quite a bit, and it was now only five meters away from Lan Bing.
"You!"
Lan Bing was once again shocked by Ding Meng's explosive power. "I didn't think that a mere laborer would be able to force me to use my full strength."
Ding Meng also felt a little nervous that she could still speak in such a desperate situation.
As expected, Lan Bing slowly brought her palms together and assumed a drilling posture. The cone-shaped ice storm slowly retracted and changed color, transforming into a giant dark blue sword of ice a few seconds later.
The tip of the Ice Sword was facing the tip of the Ancient Sword. After the two swords clashed, the tables were quickly turned. Blue Ice was advancing step by step, while Ding Meng was retreating involuntarily. His heel shattered the stone floor, leaving a long mark on the ground.
Xiao Ai's voice also seemed to be shocked. "Her origin energy index has broken through 50,000 points. ACT5570, hurry up and let go, or the consequences will be unimaginable."
Little Rascal sucked in a breath of cold air. "So she's a high-tier Origin Energy Warrior. Ding Meng, don't force yourself. Hurry up and retreat."
Ding Meng couldn't retreat even if he wanted to. The Ice Sword seemed to possess a powerful adhesive force. The Ancient Sword couldn't pierce through it, and it couldn't be pulled back either. It was as if it had been frozen in ice. In addition, the Ice Sword continued to transmit wave after wave of energy, forcing him to withdraw the Origin Energy in his body. Obviously, Lan Bing's foundation was far greater than his.
When she saw Ding Meng's expression twist in pain, Lan Bing finally revealed a trace of a smile. "Actually, you should have realized a long time ago that there are some people you can't resist. You originally had a very good opportunity to soar to the top. Why were you so stupid as to walk down this path of despair?"
It would have been better if she hadn't said this. As soon as she said this, the frozen Ding Meng became much more clear-headed. When a person was in danger, not only would they think of the past, but they would also be able to stimulate their potential.
Ding Meng didn't see Lan Bing's beautiful face in front of his eyes. Instead, many scenes flashed past his mind. Child 4033 had been trampled to death by the crowd in Heijin Base's plaza. Little Four had died miserably while clutching the bracelet in his hand. Bamboo Pole had sacrificed himself with Julie in order to keep the secret. Old Yu had worked tirelessly day after day in the fields. Randy had risked his life in order to save Qu Xiaoqing's life …
These people and events gave Ding Meng a surge of courage. I'm much luckier than they are to be able to live until now. I've already had enough. Living is hard enough, and death isn't that scary. Even if I'm going to die, I won't kneel and beg for mercy in front of people like you. I won't die without any dignity …
At this moment, he couldn't help but say angrily, "I'll let you see if the lowly people you usually look down on are walking down a path of no return."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ding Meng stopped in his tracks. Instead, he thrust his ancient sword forward. The ancient sword once again broke through the ice with a series of cracking sounds.
In Lan Bing's senses, Ding Meng seemed to have regained his powerful aura from before. Once again, he shared half of the energy with her. Little did she know that this was because Ding Meng's six Origin Points were operating at their maximum capacity. Before he mastered the sixth Origin Point, he wouldn't be able to operate Origin Energy at such a high intensity for long.
However, Ding Meng had calculated the situation very clearly. What was stopping him from moving forward was Lan Bing's powerful ice energy. However, no matter how hard your ice was, could it be harder than an ancient sword that had been fortified with Krypton?
Therefore, although Ding Meng seemed to be continuing to stab forward, he was actually pushing the ancient sword forward with all his might. The ancient sword even broke through the ice as it moved forward. He was using all his telekinesis to control it from a distance.
By the time Lan Bing realized that something was wrong, it was already too late. The ancient sword was like a dark golden viper that was slithering through the ice. The distance between them was so close that it was almost impossible for her to dodge it. It wasn't that she couldn't dodge it, but she didn't expect Ding Meng's brain development to be so high that he could use telekinesis in this situation.
Chi — — —
The sharp tip of a sword protruded from behind Lan Bing's shoulder. It was stained with blood.
This sword directly pierced through her shoulder blade, and the place where the sword pierced was very insidious. Ding Meng had stabbed in the same place where she had been injured.
"You!"
Lan Bing was furious. Her body shook violently, and the ancient sword was immediately shaken out of her body. At the same time, the ice sword was also shaken into countless blue icicles that pierced Ding Meng's body. Ding Meng was also sent flying backward.
This attack was no small matter. When Ding Meng landed, his first reaction was that the sixth origin had stopped spinning. Apart from the first origin, the other five origin points had all stopped spinning to varying degrees due to the impact. As for the wounds on his body, he didn't have the time to pay attention to them. His whole body was freezing at a speed visible to the naked eye, just like Randy.
However, Ding Meng wasn't as strong as Randy. This layer of ice only froze him temporarily. It was far from enough to kill him.
Just when he thought that Lan Bing was going to kill him, Lan Bing suddenly turned her head and yelled at Long Ming in the distance, "Kill her. I'll leave with you later."
Long Ming, who had been laughing like a fool, suddenly returned to normal. This was obviously because Lan Bing had used telekinesis to dispel his illusion and control his mind at the same time.
"Sh * t!"
Ding Meng cursed inwardly. After Long Ming recovered, he immediately sprinted toward the southwest of the hall. The dying Qu Xiaoqing was leaning against the blind spot. In this state, even a normal person could easily take Qu Xiaoqing's life, let alone Long Ming.
Little Rascal couldn't help but say anxiously, "Damn it. How cunning."
Xiao Ai said, "ACT5570, don't worry about him. That woman is controlling the carrier. Stop her."
Ding Meng also saw with his telekinesis vision that Lan Bing had floated to the center of the hall. She took out two cup-shaped metal instruments and covered the energy body from both ends. The energy body's fluctuations were almost negligible at this time.
Ding Meng suddenly realized that he had injected extra heat into the energy body. How could Lan Bing not have sensed it?
Even if she didn't know where the heat came from?
At the very least, she could sense that the energy body's fluctuations had weakened.
The question now was: stop Lan Bing or stop Long Ming?
Long Ming's body had turned fiery red as he ran. This was another sign that he was about to use his Soaring Flame Style.
Ding Meng half-knelt on the ground. He gritted his teeth and forcefully activated the first four Origins. This was the limit of what he could do in his current state.
Two seconds later, the layer of ice on his body cracked. He waved his hand again, and the ancient sword on the ground whizzed back into his hand.
Ding Meng got up and rushed toward the southwest corner of the hall.
When he had been trapped by Dark Ice, Qu Xiaoqing had rushed over with the energy bomb to save him, even injuring herself in the process. Now that Qu Xiaoqing was in danger, Ding Meng would naturally choose her. This was his principle: since you've chosen me, I can't abandon you at a critical moment like this.
Long Ming was still running. His Origin Energy flowed smoothly, and he focused all his energy on his left fist. Qu Xiaoqing's figure was getting closer and clearer.
He had spent at least a year training in 《Flame Energy Rushing Fist》, 《Flame Energy Penetrating Force》, and 《Flame Energy Spatial Style》. He couldn't defeat Ding Meng because Ding Meng's Origin Energy was too strong. However, he was confident that he could defeat Qu Xiaoqing, let alone a dying Qu Xiaoqing. Therefore, when he was still ten meters away, he was confident that he could defeat her.
Suddenly, he felt a flash of light in his field of vision. Before he could even see where the light came from, he felt himself flying up and almost flew to the top of the hall.
When he lowered his head again, he found that Ding Meng was standing right below him, maintaining a half-kneeling posture with her head lowered. The sword in her hand was raised diagonally behind her back.
Then, he saw himself standing behind Ding Meng, less than three meters away from Qu Xiaoqing. He was still in the Soaring Punch position, but his head was gone.
He finally understood what this ray of light was. The moment he punched, Ding Meng glided over from the side. With a backhanded slash of her sword, she directly cut off his head into the air.
The wound on Randy's neck was spurting blood. It was the same scene when Randy died. Blood bloomed in the massacre like a flower blooming at dawn. It was clearly a terrifying death, but it looked so beautiful. It was so beautiful that it was soul-stirring and dazzling.
"What a fast sword." This was Long Ming's last thought.