Chapter 516: Dragon Turtle Panda

Cluster Heavy Cannon Bombardment of Cultivators Main Text Volume Chapter 548 Dragon Turtle Panda.

Her opponent was a girl with a bun hairstyle, wielding a pair of silvery-white swords, who squinted into starry eyes the instant she saw the panda.

Then, her expression straightened, becoming cold and ruthless.

"That… that panda, surrender quickly, I won't hold back."

The bun-haired girl said solemnly.

As for pandas, everyone also has a set of methods to identify them. Generally speaking, the larger they are, the better their development and the stronger their strength; the smaller and cuter they are, the poorer their development, and their strength is generally weak.

The panda before them was much smaller than the others, looking very cute and easy to bully.

"…"

Hua Hua Xiaohua blinked, staying in place, not speaking.

"Go!"

Seeing this, the bun-haired girl no longer hesitated.

With a flick of her slender hand, her two flying swords slashed down in a cross, silvery-white radiance blooming.

The sword art carried an austere, imposing air — a textbook basic Sword Control Art slash technique — and with the two paired flying swords working in concert, its power doubled. An ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivator would be cut down in a single exchange.

"Yah yah!"

Hua Hua Xiaohua's black little nose twitched as she took a deep breath. This was her first Gaokao battle, and she was a little nervous.

But she still didn't move, letting the two crossing silvery-white flying swords slash toward her throat, not even deploying the true qi shield of an Innate martial artist.

The two silvery-white flying swords touched the white fur at her throat, the sword qi on one side of the blade highly condensed, slicing the air into a shrill whistling sound.

Jiang Ding nodded slightly.

Any casually encountered late-stage Qi Refining cultivator could already have sword control art above this level. From this, one could see that under constant internal competition, the current cold-weapon level of the Immortal Sect was more than a notch higher than nine years ago.

"Silly, cute little thing!"

Seeing this, the bun-haired girl's heart settled greatly. She seemed to already see the panda being beheaded, and said with some regret.

Clang!

The two silvery-white swords slashed at the white fur on the panda's neck, yet there was no sign of fur being severed or blood spraying.

Only a clang of metal was heard, sparks flying in all directions.

The two silvery-white flying swords were sent flying, as if struck by lightning, their spiritual light dimmed. The bun-haired girl, as their master, even vomited fresh blood, her body swaying on the verge of collapse.

"What is this?"

The bun-haired girl's face went deathly pale. She took out a mid-grade magical artifact shield to cover herself in front, saying in disbelief.

With just one touch, her silvery-white twin swords were completely destroyed. This exceeded what her teacher had taught, and was incomprehensible.

Whoosh whoosh!

In the biting wind, a giant sword wreathed in flaming spikes descended.

It was gripped in two cute little bear paws, and came chopping down. The bun-haired girl's head exploded, then her body exploded, countless chunks of flesh and blood spraying in all directions.

From beginning to end, this little creature had not said a single word.

"Qi Refining seventh layer, dead?"

"Who was that person just now? Definitely not our Hua Hua Xiaohua!"

This Gaokao livestream had decent popularity, entirely drawn by looks. The crowd now couldn't help but stare dumbfounded, doubting they were hallucinating.

"This fighting style is too bloody, it seems like it's led our Hua Hua Xiaohua astray…"

In the Wolong Nature Reserve,

A group of pandas large and small were also watching the livestream, occasionally exclaiming and cheering. Many adult pandas twitched their mouths at this moment, having an ominous premonition.

"Her Lava Thorn Sword Embryo has been refined, and successfully refined into her body."

Jiang Ding thought with slight surprise.

The long-lived should try not to form bonds or feelings with the short-lived.

A spirit-awakened panda, if unable to break through to Foundation Establishment, would die at most at a hundred years old.

The Sword Dao has always been dangerous and fierce. Even with the best conditions, one might still perish in cultivation, and her heart seemed quite timid and fragile, her temperament hardly resolute…

Therefore, over these years he had not paid attention to her.

"Not bad."

Jiang Ding felt joy in his heart, happy that the Sword Dao had welcomed a fellow traveler of outstanding talent whose temperament had been verified.

"Innate peak, same as me back then, plus the powerful physique of the Iron-Eating Beast clan, and the Lava Thorn Sword Embryo — she might become this year's cold-weapon Top Graduate… If so, the development of the Sword Dao has reached its first milestone."

Having spent some time observing Hua Hua Xiaohua, Jiang Ding continued to look at the others, wanting to make a precise assessment of the Immortal Sect's younger generation's swordsmanship level.

"Somewhat unexpected, much better than previously estimated. The highest swordsmanship level seems to be around amateur swordsman eighth dan."

"The Immortal Sect has plenty of talent."

Jiang Ding sighed.

"As long as a path is given and some assistance provided, even Sword Dao talents come in droves. In the Three Kingdoms Cultivation World, even dual spiritual root cultivators are far from comparable to them."

Jiang Ding knew this wasn't because the people of the mother star were somehow especially excellent, as if some reproductive isolation had appeared.

It was entirely due to the Immortal Sect predecessors' continuous investment in education, continuous research and development, continuous progress. As long as you have the relevant talent and a relevant path, talent will emerge in an endless stream.

This is the difference of acquired education.

"I estimate that within at most a few years, amateur ninth dan swordsmen will appear, reaching a peak of swordsmanship technique."

"As for professional swordsmen beyond that…"

"That's much harder. It doesn't just require talent, but emphasizes single-mindedness — completely, thoroughly abandoning other paths, devoting oneself entirely to the Sword Dao. Only then might Sword Intent be born, and one become a professional swordsman."

"Those with outstanding talent may not choose this path."

"Those who choose this path may not have the very top-tier talent. This is rather contradictory, and can only rely on the accumulation of time, and the inevitable coincidences that continually arise."

Jiang Ding's thoughts dispersed, recording each examinee's swordsmanship level as data support for the next phase of the sword dao cultivation plan.

Before he knew it, this year's cold-weapon examination had entered its second half.

Jiang Ding's gaze settled on Panda Hua Hua Xiaohua once more.

She had met a true opponent—a little fatty, at the peak of Qi Refining realm, who also seemed to possess a wind-attribute spirit body.

His wind-attribute spells were wielded with supreme mastery—wind blades, wind swords, windstorms—one spell after another hurled at Panda Hua Hua Xiaohua, absolutely refusing to let any solid flying-sword magic treasure touch this seemingly delicate panda.

Panda Hua Hua Xiaohua did not move at all.

The Divine Tortoise Lava Thorn Sword Canon!

Her sword embryo came from this very canon; although it was only at the peak of the Innate realm of a fledgling eagle, it already possessed a trace of the divine tortoise's steadfast endurance—let the gale winds assail from all eight directions, I alone stand unmoved, anchoring myself with my sword, heedless of the world's clamor.

"I'm not fighting anymore!"

After bombarding her wildly for over ten minutes with no effect on the panda whatsoever, Feng Feng Qingyu was panting and gasping, and simply gave up on the spot.

Wind-attribute spells were famously fast, naturally placing one in an invincible position.

"That's not allowed."

It was the first time Panda Hua Hua Xiaohua had spoken, and her voice was still babyish and soft.

Then, her body curled into a spiky round ball, let out a roar, and all the energy accumulated from being beaten senseless burst forth at once; her divine soul locked on, and her body transformed into a spiky streak of light that slammed into Feng Feng Qingyu in the sky.

"You can actually fly!"

Feng Feng Qingyu let out a shout, her figure flickering unsteadily, conjuring seven or eight shadow-figures with similar auras in succession, darting off at extreme speed in all directions—fast enough that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators would find it hard to catch up for the moment.

Boom!

The black-and-white spiky dumpling paid no heed to the other figures, only tracking one relentlessly—straight lines, turns, up and down, detours—despite its dopey, cute appearance, it was in truth extraordinarily agile.

After several breaths,

The spiky dumpling, at a speed far greater than Feng Feng Qingyu's, slammed headlong into his shadow; with a thunderous crash, flesh and blood splattered in all directions, and the seven or eight surrounding shadows dissipated—it was undoubtedly the true body.

On the spot, a black-and-white spiky dumpling spun dizzily in circles several more times before finally coming to a stop.