The dazzling sword light carried a chilling aura that made Tang Qian'er's delicate body tremble slightly.
"Unfortunately, I still can't unite body, mind, and sword as one to reach the stage of mastery."
Mu Yuan sighed and shook his head.
Tang Qian'er rolled her eyes when she heard that.
He had practiced the Sword Drawing Art to this extent in just a few days and was still dissatisfied. Even the geniuses of the Five Great Academies might not be any better.
He was truly ambitious!
At that thought, Tang Qian'er flashed a brilliant smile.
"Then our genius needs to keep working hard."
That smile was incomparably radiant, freezing the gazes of everyone around them as they stared fixedly at it, as though their hearts were about to melt.
Yet that smile was not for them. It was for Mu Yuan.
Mu Yuan blinked, then felt countless murderous gazes shooting toward him.
Every one of them seemed greatly provoked, as though they wanted to devour him alive.
How could Mu Yuan fail to understand the meaning behind Tang Qian'er's final dazzling smile? Knowing she had done it deliberately, he could not help cursing inwardly, Women and petty men are the hardest to deal with!
This woman really was petty.
Wasn't it just that he had lightly teased her and rejected her a little in the Spirit Art Room?
Was that really necessary?
Not far away, Luo Tong's face was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it.
Tang Qian'er was the belle of the East Courtyard and the goddess in the hearts of countless students. Naturally, Luo Tong liked her greatly as well.
Their fathers were both regional lords of the Northern Spiritual Territory, so they could be considered a perfect match in status.
His father had also hoped that he and Tang Qian'er could form a marriage alliance.
Unfortunately, Tang Qian'er had always been rather cold toward him.
Luo Tong had long heard the rumors about Mu Yuan and Tang Qian'er, but he had merely thought Tang Qian'er was using Mu Yuan as a shield.
Now that he saw the two acting so intimately, jealousy naturally filled his heart.
"Brother Luo, that guy is really arrogant."
Jiang Li and Teng Yong crowded around Luo Tong, staring at Mu Yuan with envy.
Envious as they were, when they saw Mu Chen leaning against a tree beside Mu Yuan and basking in the sun, their eyes were filled with wariness.
Thus, they did not dare swagger over to pick a fight.
"A newcomer who has just entered the Heaven Grade dares put on airs before me."
Luo Tong's gaze darkened. He immediately rose to his feet, strode quickly to Mu Yuan, and said with an ill-intentioned smile, "Mu Yuan, our spar last time was interrupted. You seemed rather disappointed."
"How about we continue the unfinished spar from last time?"
Afraid Mu Yuan would not dare agree, Luo Tong deliberately added another sentence.
"That way, your cultivation progress can speed up as well. As a senior, I should look after newcomers like you."
"You and I sparring? If it's only a spar, it seems rather dull."
Mu Yuan raised his head and looked at Luo Tong. "How about we add a wager?"
As soon as those words fell.
Quite a few students on the training ground were stunned.
They already knew that Mu Yuan possessed a spiritual vein. At the middle stage of the Spiritual Movement Realm, going all out, he could indeed fight someone at the late stage of the Spiritual Movement Realm. At most, they would be evenly matched.
But he could not possibly be taking the initiative to demand a wager, could he?
What?
Did he really have confidence he could win?
"Oh? What wager do you want?"
Luo Tong raised an eyebrow.
"A Spirit Nourishing Pill."
Mu Yuan spoke.
"A Spirit Nourishing Pill? Mu Yuan, you really dare ask for such an outrageous price."
Luo Tong said in a deep voice.
This medicinal pill was extremely beneficial for cultivation in the Spiritual Movement Realm. Even though his father was the lord of the Northern Spiritual Territory, he did not have many of them.
Luo Tong had gone to the Northern Spiritual Plains many times to cultivate during his time at the Northern Spiritual Academy, yet only this time had the academy been so generous as to use a Spirit Nourishing Pill as the wager.
That alone showed how precious it was.
"If you won't agree, forget it. I'm very busy."
Mu Yuan waved his hand.
Very busy?
Jiang Li and the others were speechless. Busy flirting with Tang Qian'er, perhaps?
"I'm at the late stage of the Spiritual Movement Realm, while you're only at the middle stage. It may look like a small gap, but the difference between us is not something a spiritual vein alone can make up for."
After taking a deep breath, Luo Tong nodded. "I accept."
"Please."
Mu Yuan made an inviting gesture.
Bang!
Luo Tong showed no courtesy whatsoever. With a gloomy expression, he extended two fingers and held them together like a sword.
Dark cyan Spiritual Energy surged wildly from within his body, forming a faintly visible sword tip at his fingertips. A sharp ripple spread outward.
"The Great Luo Sword Art?"
When some of the surrounding students saw the cyan sword tip appear at Luo Tong's fingers, their expressions changed, and they cried out in alarm.
"Brother Yuan, that's the Great Luo Sword Art of the Luo Region."
Mu Chen reminded him from the side.
The Great Luo Sword Art was the famous technique of the Luo Region's lord, a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Spiritual Art.
He had not expected Luo Tong to have cultivated it as well. However, judging by its appearance, Luo Tong had clearly not mastered it yet. Even so, at the Spiritual Movement Realm, it was already quite formidable.
Whoosh!
Luo Tong's gaze turned icy as he shot forward. His fingers were like a longsword, slicing through the air as they fiercely stabbed toward Mu Chen.
Where the sword edge passed, even the air itself seemed to be torn apart.
"If it had been a few days ago, dealing with this sword strike would have been rather difficult."
"I'll use you to test the Sword Drawing Art!"
Mu Yuan looked at the sword tip stabbing toward him. While its sharpness sent chills down the spines of others, his face remained calm.
He then circulated the God Elephant Suppressing Prison Force.
The Golden Spiritual Energy released by the phantom Dragon Elephants within the Void Apertures in his body surged like swimming dragons, swelling and churning. Running through his meridians like unbridled wild horses, it rampaged through his limbs, bones, and muscles.
A powerful yet restrained force of Spiritual Energy suddenly condensed, gathering in his arm. Clearly visible, Mu Yuan's arm twitched slightly within that fleeting instant.
Whoosh!
Then.
When the Spiritual Energy had built up to its peak.
Mu Yuan's eyes shifted. He abruptly raised his head, twisted the wrist holding the sheath of the Black Sheath Longsword, and a piercing sound rippled through the air.
Sword Drawing Art!
A sword shadow appeared, like a stone smashing into the surface of a still lake, sending ripples bursting outward and arcs spreading everywhere.
A cold sword intent clearly rippled through the air.
The sword shadow flashed past, swift as lightning.
The cyan sword tip suddenly halted.
"What?!!!"
In that instant, Luo Tong's cry of alarm rang across the entire training ground and reached everyone's ears.
Crack!
Then everyone heard a faint sound of something breaking.
Next, their eyes gradually widened, because cracks rapidly appeared across the cyan sword tip.
Bang!
The cyan sword tip finally shattered completely.
Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp!
As Luo Tong cried out in alarm, he staggered backward repeatedly.
Terror flooded his face.
Not only that, but he had been injured. His internal organs swelled painfully, and a sweet, bloody taste rose in his throat.
His Great Luo Sword Art had shattered the moment it collided, unable to last even a tenth of a breath before being crushed apart.
"How is that possible..."
Jiang Li, Teng Yong, and the others stared blankly at the scene. Luo Tong, at the late stage of the Spiritual Movement Realm, had actually lost to Mu Yuan, who was only at the middle stage.
And with just one sword strike!
"One Spirit Nourishing Pill. Many thanks!"
Mu Yuan smiled, but to Luo Tong, that smile looked especially glaring.
At that moment, Tang Qian'er suddenly felt that something was wrong.
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