As Lin Tian fully unleashed his peak Qi Refining Level 9 cultivation, his green sword momentum surged like raging waves, and the entire arena was enveloped in terrifying pressure.
Su Yu's Gale Sword Momentum began to buckle, and the flow between his moves faltered for a moment.
Another heavy blow sent Su Yu stumbling back several steps, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
But the fighting spirit in his eyes only burned brighter. His sword momentum abruptly changed—
Cloud Vortex!
Nine Cloud Patterns, solid as if they were real, bloomed along his sword's edge. This time, they showed faint signs of merging.
Seeing this, Lin Tian attacked even more fiercely, every sword strike carrying the force to topple mountains and split peaks:
"Break!"
The Cloud Patterns shattered again and again, only to reform each time.
Su Yu was like a lone boat in a storm, seeming on the verge of capsizing at any moment, yet always managing to turn danger into safety at the very last instant.
On the arena, just as the ninth Cloud Pattern shattered once more, a sudden change took place!
Boom—
All the Cloud Pattern fragments suddenly swept back, gathering around Su Yu into a vast, ethereal sea of clouds.
The Flowing Cloud Sword Style had reached perfection, and the Flowing Cloud Sword Intent had taken shape!
This boy...
Lu Yue leaned forward unconsciously, his eyes flashing.
He'd actually broken through under pressure!
As an elder of the Yunlan Sect, he knew all too well what kind of talent a breakthrough in the midst of battle required.
A fine crack split the teacup in Su Tianheng's hand.
To perfect the Flowing Cloud Sword Style in a month? It completely overturned his understanding.
Remembering what he'd said to Su Yu before, his face burned with shame.
Another heavy blow sent Lin Tian staggering back to the edge of the arena.
His handsome face was now twisted into a savage grimace, his eyes filled with disbelief.
As the acknowledged Number One Genius among Skywind City's younger generation and the future head of the Lin Family, how could he have been driven to such a state by someone who had once been...
Impossible... This can't be happening...
Lin Tian growled under his breath, his fingernails digging deep into his palm.
Blood dripped down his wrist, then hovered strangely in midair, turning into wisps of blood mist that coiled around him.
The audience erupted into a commotion:
"Is that... the Blood Burning Technique?"
An elderly martial artist shot to his feet, his voice trembling.
"The Lin Family's secret forbidden art!"
"Rumor has it that it can briefly raise your cultivation by one realm, but it'll leave you severely weakened..."
"Isn't Lin Tian only at the Qi Refining Realm? How can he..."
Amid the murmurs, thick blood mist already surrounded Lin Tian.
His aura surged higher and higher. In the blink of an eye, he had broken through the shackles of Qi Refining and reached the Spirit Condensation Realm!
"Brother Yu..."
Su Yan, who had only just relaxed, felt his heart leap back into his throat. Blood seeped from beneath his bandages again as tension strained his wounds.
The spectators exchanged uneasy glances. The course of this duel had completely exceeded their expectations.
"Get on your knees now, and you might still make it out alive."
Lin Tian's voice was so hoarse it hardly sounded human. Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth with every word.
"Otherwise... I'll make you wish you were dead."
Su Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as the aura around him suddenly shifted.
The Flowing Cloud Sword Intent on his left side was like smoke and mist, while the Gale Sword Momentum on his right roared and surged. Under his exquisite control, the two utterly different sword forces began to weave together.
"What is that...?"
The audience burst into an uproar.
Someone cried out, "What kind of martial technique is this? Its aura is actually on par with the Spirit Condensation Realm!"
Yet no one could give an answer, for nobody had ever seen such a strange sword force.
On the high platform, the teacup in Lu Yue's hand shattered.
He stared fixedly at the blue and white energies circulating around Su Yu, his eyes flashing. "A Human-grade High-tier sword art? No... That's not right..."
Even with the insight of someone in the Essence Transformation Realm, he couldn't see where this sword art came from.
"Enough with your tricks!"
Lin Tian snarled and lunged forward. His blood-red Spirit Snake Sword Intent transformed into a ten-zhang-long giant python, terrifying Spirit Condensation Realm pressure pouring from its fangs.
The strength of this attack left every Qi Refining Realm martial artist present gasping for breath.
"Wind Sweeps the Clouds—Unite!"
Su Yu's sword tip made a light turn, and the two sword forces finally fused perfectly.
In an instant, the winds and clouds shifted over the arena. A green tornado wrapped in Cloud Patterns rose from the ground and crashed into the blood-red python!
Rumble—
The deafening blast made the Protective Formation shudder violently.
When the dust settled, the crowd stared in shock.
Su Yu hadn't taken a single step back!
"How is this possible?!"
Lin Tian's pupils contracted, all color draining from his face.
He frantically drove the Blood Burning Technique, each attack more vicious than the last.
Yet Su Yu remained composed, every block and counterattack precise to a frightening degree.
Deep within Su Yu's soul, the pale-yellow orb continued to radiate a gentle light.
Beneath that light, none of Lin Tian's openings could escape notice, and every shift in his moves was as clear as lines in the palm of Su Yu's hand.
"One hundred and eighth move..."
Su Yu suddenly murmured, his eyes flashing brilliantly.
He swung his sword once more, and the Wind-Swept Flowing Cloud Sword's momentum abruptly narrowed to a single line.
Sword Light blazed like a rainbow, piercing heaven and earth.
Lin Tian flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily beyond the arena.
He struggled to get back up, only to spit out a mouthful of blood. The blood armor covering his body shattered piece by piece.
The entire arena fell silent.
A moment later, earth-shaking cheers rang through the skies.
No one had expected the duel to end in such a stunning fashion.
Su Yu, at Qi Refining Level 8, had defeated Lin Tian, who was in the Spirit Condensation Realm!
"The winner... Su Yu!" The referee's voice trembled.
In the Su Family's section, Su Yun gazed at the proud figure standing on the arena. Rather than feeling defeated, he was filled with a fighting spirit unlike anything he'd felt before.
Su Mei clasped her hands to her chest, starlight glittering in her eyes.
As she gazed at Su Yu, he seemed like a towering mountain she could only look up to.
"Brother Yu... Brother Yu won!"
Su Yan sprang up from his wheelchair, not caring at all about the blood seeping from beneath his bandages.
Tears streamed down the face of the usually strong boy, as if he were crying out all the grievances he'd endured over the years.
He wiped at his tears haphazardly, but only made them flow faster. In the end, he simply burst out laughing. "I knew it! I knew it!"
In the Lin Family's section, Lin Xuan slumped into his chair as if he'd just lost his parents.
He stared blankly at the unconscious Lin Tian, then looked toward Su Yu, standing tall as a sword on the arena. He felt as though he'd fallen into an icy abyss.
It's over... It's all over...
He gnawed at his fingernails, nerves frayed, until his mouth filled with the taste of blood.
At that moment, he swore to himself that from now on, whenever he encountered Su Yu—no, anyone from the Su Family—he'd take the long way around...
On the high platform, Lin Zhentian's face was ashen, his withered fingers digging deep into the sandalwood armrest.
This boy... has to die!
He roared inwardly.
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