Ding Hao could not help but secretly sigh.

Based purely on appearance, this woman was indeed startling.

However, her cold and arrogant expression looked like an unmelting ice glacier. Even her profile felt as if she held herself several thousand miles aloof from others. This made Ding Hao feel rather uncomfortable.

This young woman had to be the handsome young man’s cousin whom he referred to as Li Yi Ruo.

There were two maidservants wearing light armor standing beside her. Their expressions were just as cold and stern.

Ding Hao glanced at them casually and discovered that the horses that these people rode all had hair that was as black as ink. The horses were more than two meters tall and their four legs were strong and nimble, just like ferocious beasts. They were Dark Cloud Lion Beasts which were also called half-demon horses. It was said that they possessed a demonic bloodline. They could travel 5000 miles in the day and 1500 at night. They were extremely handsome and each horse was worth several thousand dollars.

Furthermore, all these people wore armor that made from demonic beast leather. They were expensive and light and were better than steel armor.

It was evident that these people had extraordinary backgrounds, and were definitely from powerful families.

Ding Hao was unwilling to get into more trouble and he took off far away. He did not want to interact with such people.

The warrior called Chen Wu quickly set up a simple tent.

The other burly warriors began to cook by the Sword-cleansing Pond, causing a bustle by it.

Moments later, another odd change occurred.

The thunderous sounds of horse hooves clopping rang once again on the distant mountain road. The sound was even louder than what the handsome young man and his party had made.

Moments later, dust flew across the air. A large team of riders rushed out of the woods.

The party wore white armors and had white horses. It was as if they were a ball of snow rolling across the land, galloping like the wind. They came next to the pond in the blink of an eye.

The leader of the party was also a young man who was large and burly. He had a large face and ears, and his eyebrows were like blades. He was extremely intimidating and wore white armor and a white cloak. His black hair danced in the wind wildly like a waterfall. His eyes glinted with stars. He had a long sword tied to his waist and he looked strong and carefree.

The strapping young man pulled his reins and yelled out loud. He swept his eyes across the people by the pond, and when he saw the beautiful young woman in white, his eyes brightened. He then turned to look at the pale-faced handsome young man and laughed loudly. He said, “I didn’t think that the cowards from Xiyang Town would reach before us. Li Canyang, you ran faster than a damned rabbit when you encountered ferocious beasts yesterday in the wilderness!”

“I have to rush to get to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. I naturally do not have time to waste with those beasts.”

The pale-faced young man, Li Canyang said coldly, “But you, Xiao Chengxuan, the young master of Qingyang Town, insist on fighting with a group of beasts just to showcase your abilities. I see you’re missing six guards, are they dead? Hehe, you disregard the lives of your guards just for your own pleasure. I, Li Canyang, really can’t do something so stupid!”

“You…” The beefy young man, Xiao Chengxuan glared at him angrily.

The two parties seemed to have met earlier, but the relationship between the two was not pleasant. It was likely that the two parties had had a slight skirmish before.

And listening to their tones, it was likely that they were children of noble families in the distant human settlement town who had come to Swordsmanship-seeking Sect to study. The guards of both sides were mostly warriors in the Martial Student Realm. The two young men and the young woman all had a good martial arts foundation and were about to enter the Martial Student Realm.

Both sides seemed to come to a standstill.

Xiao Chengxuan laughed coldly and ordered his guards to set up simple tents by the Sword-cleansing Pond as well. They were going to stop here some ten odd meters away from the other party. While the two did not have any direct confrontations, but there was no lack of verbal sparring.

Ding Hao did not wish to have any dealings with these people. He sat far away by the Sword-cleansing Pond, and the rusty sword balanced on his knee. He took this time to cultivate and move the Qi in his body, constantly nourishing his physical body.

The startling beauty named Li Yiruo seemed to be a neat freak. She went to the Sword-cleansing Pond, under the company of two maidservants dressed like female warriors, and began to get water to wash. Then, she quickly changed into a set of tight and white warrior clothing. She rolled up her pants and began to play by the side of the pond.

The girl’s delicate and white feet were like sheep-fat jade. Her elegant toes were painted a vibrant red and her pale calves were beautiful beyond compare. It was startling and moving. One would be startled by her beauty and blush just looking at her from afar.

The warriors of both parties, including Li Canyang and Xiao Chengxuan, would all occasionally glance at her.

Everyone was attracted by the perfect and flawless beauty of the girl.

Only Ding Hao sat in the distance, with his eyes tightly closed. He focused on moving his Qi as if he could not hear or see anything.

Even though he wore cloth clothing, he seemed to exude a feeling that he did not belong to this world. His aura floated like those of deities, making him seem extremely handsome.

Li Yiruo quickly noticed Ding Hao.

Of course, the proud little swan only had to turn her lips slightly, and an arrogant and disdainful curve appeared at the corners of her beautiful lips.

She had seen too many of such young men in the past who tried to attract her attention by behaving that was unlike others. This sort of behavior was ludicrous and childish to Li Yiruo. She would not lower herself to pay attention to the poor lad who wore cheap clothing and did not have a future just because of her boring curiosity.

As time passed, noon approached and the sun grew hotter and hotter.

Odd things happened every year. But there was an exceptional number of such incidents this year.

It was unknown when a strange black shadow slowly approached from the large land by the forest in the distance.

It was a thin and weak stumbling figure. It seemed to be almost losing all its strength. It stumbled slowly, but determinedly towards the Sword-cleansing Pond.

Only when it got closer could one see clearly that it was a thin and weak young man who was about 14.

His rough cloth clothing was already in tatters, torn in strips by thorns. His exposed skin was filled with dirt and was bleeding. His black hair was tangled together messily like straw. His thin and weak arms and calves were exposed, and on the surface of his tanned skin, were various types of injuries.

The mysterious young man carried a bamboo basket on his back.

There was a torn piece of cloth covering the basket. No one knew what was it and it looked slightly heavy.

His stumbled barefooted, seeming to be a little dizzy as he swayed forward, stepping on the burning hot sand step by step as if he was carrying a large mountain on his back. There was a pair of eyes under his messy hair those were as bright as the stars in the night sky. They held an indescribable charm as if they would make one’s heart shatter and feel intoxicated when they saw them.

“Water…water…”

When he saw the Sword-cleansing Pond, the tanned young man was startled. He moved faster, stumbling and rushing towards it.

When he finally reached the pond, he had evidently used up all the strength in his body. He carefully put down the basket by the pond, wanting to kneel and scoop up the clear water with both hands. However, there was a plop and he accidentally fell into the shallow waters and reeds. He did not even bother to climb up. He just laid in the water and gulped down the water greedily.