Chapter 673: Shock
It was not until Fan Jing's sword energy had already surged to the opposite side of Zhao Wuyan that he made his move swiftly.
"Shua!"
The long sword left its sheath, striking after being released but arriving first. Zhao Wuyan thrust his sword diagonally, shattering Fan Jing's sword technique. In an instant, the "Snow Mountain" and sword energy simultaneously collapsed, dissolving into formless true qi and dissipating into the air.
Zhao Wuyan's sword pressed against Fan Jing's brow. His expression unchanged, he said, "You have lost."
Fan Jing closed her aged eyes and said, "Such an exquisite sword technique. This old woman admits defeat willingly."
Zhao Wuyan sheathed his sword, his gaze still icy cold. He turned directly and walked off the battle platform, leaving behind only a solitary and proud silhouette.
Aside from Lin Yue, another dark horse had emerged from the Jia character battle platform.
Before today, Zhao Wuyan had always been obscure, with very few people having heard his name. But this single battle was enough to make his name resound throughout the Liangyi Sect.
"Zhao Wuyan must have already cultivated Sword One to the fourth level, right? His strength is truly formidable. He defeated Elder Fan Jing with just one move. His attainment in the way of the sword is probably even more brilliant than Xu Changsheng's."
"Another powerful opponent has appeared. This Sword Dao Assembly is becoming more and more interesting. I wonder if any more prodigies will emerge?"
...
Zhao Wuyan's performance was naturally quite stunning. With just one sword strike, he made everyone present remember him.
"He has already cultivated Sword One to the fifth level," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Even Xu Changsheng had only reached the fourth level of Sword One, which was already quite remarkable among cultivators in the Fish-Dragon Realm.
That Zhao Wuyan had cultivated Sword One to the fifth level indicated that he had become one of the hot contenders for the top ten.
Of course, some also realized that the next round of competition would be a clash between Lin Yue and Zhao Wuyan. Immediately, everyone began to look forward to it.
Between these two dark horses, who would laugh last?
Next, Zhang Ruochen continued to observe the cultivators dueling on the battle platform, learning the essence of their techniques, discarding the dross, and finally integrating it into his own sword path.
In the afternoon, the first round of battles ended.
On the Jia character battle platform, there were a total of ninety-two participants, half of whom were eliminated. Only forty-six people successfully advanced to the next round of competition.
The fierce clashes continued, and the second round of battles was clearly more intense than the first.
This time, Xu Changsheng's opponent was number fifty-three, "Tan Qingshan."
Tan Qingshan was also a quite formidable Saint-Transmitted Disciple, having cultivated Sword One to the third level and becoming a sword cultivator.
Even with Xu Changsheng's cultivation, he had to exchange over a hundred moves with Tan Qingshan before defeating him.
However, everyone could see that if it were a true life-and-death battle, Tan Qingshan could have fully retreated unscathed from Xu Changsheng's hands.
If he had not encountered Xu Changsheng, he would certainly have been able to enter the top one hundred.
Gradually, the highly anticipated battle finally arrived. Zhang Ruochen and Zhao Wuyan walked toward the battle platform.
Below, all the inner disciples erupted in cheers. Some called out the name "Lin Yue," while others called out the name "Zhao Wuyan."
Even the Saint-Transmitted Disciples who were participating in the competition watched this battle closely.
Dao Xuanqi of the Enforcement Court narrowed his aged eyes and said to Han Zhang beside him, "This Lin Yue has extremely high talent. It is said that when he challenged the second mountain of Ancient God Mountain, he challenged three characters and defeated three guardians. However, in the end, his cultivation is still too low. Going up against a top-tier expert like Zhao Wuyan, he will probably suffer a great loss."
Although Dao Xuanqi did not say it explicitly, the several Saint-Transmitted Disciples around him could tell that he did not think highly of Lin Yue.
Han Zhang smiled and said, "Zhao Wuyan's strength is indeed very formidable. He should have already cultivated Sword One to the fifth level. Even if I were to face him, I would probably have to admit defeat."
"In at most another five years, Lin Yue's strength will definitely surpass Zhao Wuyan's, but for now, it is unlikely that he can be a match for Zhao Wuyan," Xu Changsheng said coldly.
Dao Xuanqi, Han Zhang, and Xu Changsheng had all won two consecutive matches and entered the top one hundred.
Their insight was naturally far beyond that of ordinary people. Since all three did not think highly of Lin Yue, it could be seen that in this competition, Lin Yue would most likely lose.
Just then, a burst of exclamations arose from below the Jia character battle platform. Everyone turned their heads and looked toward the entrance.
"Sister Qi is here!"
"Is Qi Feiyu here to cheer for Lin Yue?"
...
The crowd parted like a tide, moving to the left and right. Subsequently, a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in a green Daoist robe walked in from outside. Her figure was very slender, her skin as white as jade, and her jet-black long hair hung straight down, tied with a blue jade belt at the middle.
Qi Feiyu's entire body flowed with white sacred light, like a divine maiden descending to the mortal world. Because of the protection of the sacred light, ordinary inner disciples could not clearly see her face, creating a hazy and mysterious beauty.
Now, all the disciples of the Liangyi Sect knew that the relationship between Lin Yue and Qi Feiyu was extraordinary.
For such a crucial battle, Qi Feiyu personally came to watch and cheer, further proving her feelings for Lin Yue.
Zhao Wuyan also glanced at Qi Feiyu below the battle platform. A look of stunning admiration immediately flashed through his calm eyes.
Even a man like him could not remain calm upon seeing a beauty as ethereal as a fairy, and he could not help but feel a bit jealous of Lin Yue standing opposite him.
Originally, his emotions were very calm, but because of Qi Feiyu's arrival, they showed obvious fluctuations. His gaze toward Zhang Ruochen also became somewhat cold.
Zhang Ruochen, of course, knew that Qi Feiyu was below the battle platform, but he only smiled slightly. His state of mind remained quite calm as he stared at Zhao Wuyan opposite him and said, "Chang Sheng Courtyard, Lin Yue."
Zhao Wuyan took a deep breath and said, "Taiqing Palace, Zhao Wuyan."
Zhao Wuyan's arm quickly turned. With a "shua" sound, a bright and dazzling sword light flew out from the scabbard, accompanied by faint sounds of wind and thunder.
"Hong long!"
On the entire battle platform, within a radius of thirty zhang, over a hundred purple lightning bolts as thick as wine cups appeared, condensing into a sea of lightning and unleashing a terrifying momentum.
It could be imagined that if not for the protection of the formation, the lightning power that leaked out alone would probably be enough to blast all the cultivators on Zhiyu Ling Mountain into ashes.
The inner disciples below were all terrified and involuntarily stepped back.
However, the five Half-Saints sitting above all frowned.
Zi Xia Half-Saint said, "Zhao Wuyan should have been certain to win against Lin Yue. But now, his state of mind has become impatient, and he is very eager to display his powerful cultivation. In doing so, he has instead fallen into an inferior position."
Jing Lan Half-Saint said, "Lin Yue appears to be at a disadvantage, but he has remained unruffled from beginning to end. If he can find a flaw in Zhao Wuyan's technique, it is not impossible for him to win."
"Lin Yue's own cultivation is ultimately only at the fourth change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. The gap with Zhao Wuyan is too great, and his chances of winning are extremely slim."
Relatively speaking, even if Zhao Wuyan's state of mind was somewhat inferior to Lin Yue's, he could still use his powerful cultivation to crush Lin Yue.
The gap in realm could not be compensated for by other factors.
"Tai Xuan Thunder Movement."
Finally, Zhao Wuyan made the first move, attacking Zhang Ruochen opposite him with his sword.
As the long sword moved, over a hundred lightning bolts all twisted together, emitting a "chi chi" sound. Like a thick lightning whip, it twisted and changed, slashing toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhao Wuyan was executing a Ghost-level mid-grade sword technique, the Tai Xuan Sword Technique.
The Tai Xuan Sword Technique was a unique skill of Taiqing Palace. If one could cultivate it to the realm of transformation, they could even mobilize the heaven and earth spiritual qi within a radius of a hundred li, integrating it into the sword technique and unleashing unparalleled power.
Once, a Half-Saint of Taiqing Palace used the Tai Xuan Sword Technique. With just one sword strike, he split a city in two, leaving behind a ground fissure a hundred meters wide.
Zhao Wuyan's execution of the Great Perfection Tai Xuan Sword Technique caused great shock among the Saint-Transmitted Disciples present.
"Zhao Wuyan has actually mastered the Ghost-level mid-grade Tai Xuan Sword Technique. We had never even heard his name before. This guy is hiding his strength deeper than anyone could imagine."
"With the power of the Tai Xuan Sword Technique, even if Xu Changsheng were to face him, he probably wouldn't gain any advantage."
"Barring any accidents, Zhao Wuyan's strength will definitely allow him to break into the top ten."
The Tai Xuan Sword Technique was extremely famous in the Liangyi Sect. Any Saint-Transmitted Disciple who could successfully cultivate this sword technique was undoubtedly a first-rate expert. Below the Half-Saint realm, they were enough to look down on the masses.
Facing Zhao Wuyan's powerful strike, Zhang Ruochen also felt considerable pressure.
"Shua shua!"
Zhang Ruochen drew the Gushui Sword and quickly drew circles, sweeping the lightning whip into the interior of the circles and guiding it toward the outside of the battle platform.
If Zhang Ruochen were allowed to continue, he would likely break this technique.
Zhao Wuyan naturally would not give Zhang Ruochen the chance to break his sword technique. He snorted coldly, and his feet moved like an earth dragon leaping, flying to a position directly in front of Zhang Ruochen and thrusting his sword toward Zhang Ruochen's brow.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was not only under attack from the lightning but also had a sharp long sword bearing down on him. He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.
If it were anyone else, they would surely be defeated.
Even the participants below all thought so, believing that the outcome was about to be decided.
Zhang Ruochen, however, remained calm and composed. He retracted Sword One, aligning the Gushui Sword in a straight line with his body, as if he had reached the legendary state of unity between man and sword.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's strange hand gesture, a different light flashed in Qi Feiyu's beautiful eyes below the battle platform. She murmured to herself, "Has his sword path realm broken through again?"
"Could it be the ninth level of Sword One?"
Zi Xia Half-Saint's Half-Saint eyes burst forth with dazzling brilliance, clearly quite shocked.
It was important to know that throughout the entire Kunlun Realm, in the past thousand years, only a few dozen people in the Fish-Dragon Realm had cultivated Sword One to the tenth level of Great Perfection.
Later, the vast majority of these people became Sword Saints.
Now, Lin Yue, with only the fourth change of the Fish-Dragon Realm, had already cultivated Sword One to the ninth level. Did this mean that in the Fish-Dragon Realm, he had a great chance of cultivating to the tenth level of Great Perfection?
Not only was Zi Xia Half-Saint shocked, but everyone present who had some insight was also quite shaken.