Sword Technique!

Li Quan smiled faintly, looking as though he intended to teach Jiang Yuan a lesson.

"Alright."

Jiang Yuan brushed a hand behind his back, and the Chen Saber sprang forth.

Its pitch-black blade swallowed all light, making Li Quan's pupils constrict slightly.

He was a saber user as well and could clearly tell the quality of the Chen Saber in Jiang Yuan's hand.

He, too, drew a long saber.

The two sabers were of the same style.

"Come!" Li Quan's expression was calm, revealing little tension as he assumed the opening stance of the Tiger Roar Saber Technique.

The moment Li Quan finished speaking, a streak of black saber light appeared before his forehead.

A strand of black hair was severed and drifted down through the air.

The smile on Li Quan's face instantly froze, while cold sweat continuously slid down his forehead.

What... what had just happened?

"Thank you for letting me win." Jiang Yuan sheathed his saber and no longer looked at Li Quan. His Tiger Roar Saber Technique had already reached minor mastery; Li Quan's saber technique was nothing special.

Besides, Jiang Yuan's saber skills could not be judged by the Tiger Roar Saber Technique alone.

Li Quan struggled to maintain his expression, but his legs went weak. Feng Yao, beneath the stage, changed expression in alarm and hurriedly went up to support him.

"Sorry." Li Quan murmured listlessly, while Feng Yao shook her head, her eyes filled with concern as she helped him down.

On the stage, Jiang Yuan stood tall and jade-like alone, looking toward Feng Xiaoyao beneath the stage.

Only then did the crowd below react.

"Hiss! Jiang Yuan's saber skills are this terrifying?"

"Wait! Didn't I hear that he practiced swordsmanship? How did his saber technique become so fierce?"

"Could his swordsmanship be even more astonishing?"

"Impossible. He must have switched paths. The instructor told us long ago that we could only cultivate one of the escort agency's Three Absolute Martial Arts, otherwise we would never make progress. Unless... he is a genius? Could Jiang Yuan be a genius?"

"No, no, no. Didn't you notice? Jiang Yuan never even used the Tiger Roar Saber Technique. Perhaps Li Quan was careless. Otherwise, Li Quan's saber technique was close to minor mastery—how could he possibly lose to Jiang Yuan?"

"That's true. Still, Jiang Yuan's swift saber strike was impressive. I just wonder how far he has cultivated the Tiger Roar Saber Technique."

Everyone beneath the stage was somewhat amazed by Jiang Yuan's saber technique.

Feng Xiaoyao felt a measure of pressure at this moment.

Because of his younger female cousin, Feng Xiaoyao knew of Li Quan from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency and understood his strength.

Li Quan had already escorted a shipment once. Though still young and unable to compare with those veteran Escort Hands, he was not weak among Late Qi and Blood Stage Escort Hands. He could even exchange more than a dozen moves with Feng Xiaoyao.

Yet now, Jiang Yuan had defeated Li Quan with a single strike.

If this had been real combat rather than an exchange match, Li Quan would already be dead.

Wenzhao slightly lifted his eyelids. His expression remained unchanged, but a contemplative look appeared in his eyes. An imperceptible glint flashed through them as he swept Jiang Yuan a glance, then the light vanished and he made no further movement. No one knew what Wenzhao was thinking.

The reactions below the stage varied, while the battle between the two onstage was about to erupt at any moment.

The two stood facing each other from afar. Feng Xiaoyao had sword-like brows and starry eyes, with an extraordinary carefree bearing, while Jiang Yuan was exceedingly handsome, carrying a faintly cold and stern aura.

Their battle was quite pleasing to the eye.

"Brother Jiang, take this!"

Feng Xiaoyao moved first. His longsword left its sheath and transformed into a gentle breeze blowing toward Jiang Yuan. He struck with his full strength from the outset, holding nothing back.

Had Li Quan not tested the waters first, Feng Xiaoyao would not have acted so seriously.

Jiang Yuan watched Feng Xiaoyao's longsword, and a glint suddenly appeared in his eyes.

As the light faded, it was the Martial Emperor's Sword Talisman awarded when he cleared the First Life.

A phantom little sword rose and fell in Jiang Yuan's eyes, and a message suddenly appeared in his mind.

[Would you like to dismantle the sword technique before you?]

What was this?

Yes.

He confirmed it instinctively.

Suddenly, every move Feng Xiaoyao made was broken down frame by frame before his eyes, transforming into one image after another.

The mysteries of the Flowing Wind Sword Technique were analyzed by the Sword Talisman.

Jiang Yuan was not shocked by the sudden appearance of the Sword Talisman. His gaze flickered, and the Chen Saber in his hand became a bolt of lightning, blocking several of Feng Xiaoyao's attacks.

Then the edge of the Chen Saber in his hand trembled.

A tiger's roar abruptly rang out, like a ferocious tiger descending the mountain.

"Tiger Roar!" The most practical move in the Tiger Roar Saber Technique.

It was exceptionally refined in Jiang Yuan's hands. With a tremble of the blade, it collided with Feng Xiaoyao's longsword and actually knocked it flying in a single blow.

A look of astonishment appeared on Feng Xiaoyao's face.

"Minor mastery of the Tiger Roar Saber Technique! And he directly broke through Feng Xiaoyao's minor mastery Flowing Wind Sword Technique. That means Jiang Yuan's attainments in the Tiger Roar Saber Technique are absolutely more than merely minor mastery!"

"With minor mastery in one of the Three Absolute Martial Arts, Jiang Yuan's name should have spread throughout the escort agency long ago!"

A wave of astonished exclamations rose from below. Onstage, Feng Xiaoyao revealed an unwilling expression as fist wind surged from his hand.

He had actually used a fist technique from the Fengxing Family's Qi and Blood Foundation Establishment cultivation art, and his attainments were not low—close to minor mastery!

Everyone's assessment of Feng Xiaoyao rose another level. Yet Jiang Yuan before him had mastered the Tiger Roar Saber Technique to minor mastery. How could Feng Xiaoyao possibly be a match for Jiang Yuan's saber technique?

The Sword Talisman drifted in Jiang Yuan's eyes. It was no longer analyzing Feng Xiaoyao's sword technique; instead, information on another sword technique appeared.

[Would you like to seek enlightenment in swordsmanship?]

This sword technique was none other than the Phoenix Cry Sword Technique mastered by the original owner of this body.

Yes.

Jiang Yuan confirmed once again.

Jiang Yuan's hand itched, and his attainments in swordsmanship advanced by leaps and bounds. His formerly half-baked swordsmanship instantly evolved.

All kinds of information about swordsmanship appeared in Jiang Yuan's mind. In his memories, he had wielded a sword and trained frantically, and the sword technique was clearly the Phoenix Cry Sword Technique.

Traces of sword training suddenly and inexplicably appeared upon Jiang Yuan's body. His muscles changed slightly, as though he had practiced the Phoenix Cry Sword Technique for a long time.

This feeling.

Jiang Yuan reached out with his hand and naturally performed the sword technique that had arisen in his mind.

To the outsiders, Jiang Yuan merely reached out, and Feng Xiaoyao's longsword on the ground flew into his hand. He then displayed a set of skilled sword techniques that was actually no weaker than the Tiger Roar Saber Technique from before.

It was the Phoenix Cry Sword Technique, and it had already reached minor mastery!

At the Late Qi and Blood Stage, there were only a handful in the Zhenyuan Escort Agency whose attainments in the Three Absolute Martial Arts had reached minor mastery. Every one of them was a promising seed valued by the upper ranks.

And Jiang Yuan—he actually had two.

Jiang Yuan had actually cultivated two of the Three Absolute Martial Arts at the same time, and both had reached a certain level of attainment.

By the time Jiang Yuan came back to his senses, his sword tip was already pointed at Feng Xiaoyao's throat.

An apologetic smile appeared on Jiang Yuan's face as he said, "My apologies."

Feng Xiaoyao stood there blankly, then looked at Jiang Yuan with a complicated expression. He wanted to say something, yet could not bring himself to speak.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why the family elders had organized this exchange match.

Now, he understood what it meant that beyond the heavens were other heavens, and beyond people were greater people.

The entire arena fell silent.