On the tournament platform, the battle changed in an instant.
When Yuwen Jie saw Su Yu get back up, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he shot forward like lightning.
His right fist gathered the vast spiritual power of the Spirit Condensation Realm. Wherever his fist wind passed, the air rang with a piercing crack.
The punch went straight for Su Yu's heart, intent on crushing him completely.
Facing this strike of Thunderous Might, Su Yu neither dodged nor retreated.
He stood firm, slowly drawing his right fist back to his waist as the aura around him abruptly drew inward.
The instant Yuwen Jie's fist was about to hit him, Su Yu suddenly punched!
Gathering Thunderclouds and Thunder Shakes the Sky flowed together seamlessly, his punch exploding like a thunderclap.
"What!" Yuwen Jie's pupils contracted.
He had never imagined that a sword cultivator, after losing his sword, would dare to meet him with a fist.
What shocked him even more was that the punch held far greater power than he had expected.
Caught off guard, he hadn't had time to gather his strength, and Su Yu's punch threw his breath into disarray.
In the blink of an eye, amid lightning and Fire Intent, Su Yu's figure retreated like a specter. Fleeting Light Shadow unfolded, leaving several afterimages across the tournament platform.
Yuwen Jie quickly steadied himself. Fury burned even brighter in his eyes, and his attacks grew more and more vicious.
Su Yu fought as he retreated, and the situation looked perilous.
At this critical moment, the mysterious orb of light in Su Yu's Sea of Consciousness suddenly glimmered.
In an instant, his mind grew perfectly clear, and countless insights from his past cultivation of Thunderclap Fist surged forth like a tide.
The figure throwing punches in the pouring rain; the Fist Intent seized amid rolling thunder and flashing lightning; the truth grasped through tens of thousands of rounds of tempering.
Thunder meant pressing forward without looking back!
Lightning flashed in Su Yu's eyes, and his fist stance suddenly changed.
He no longer dodged or defended. Instead, he turned offense into defense, his fists shooting out like racing thunder.
Every punch came with a faint rumble of thunder, and the air trembled wherever his fist wind passed.
"This is... Thunderclap Fist at Great Accomplishment!" Elder Li Xun cried out from the stands.
The spectators below erupted in an uproar.
Though Thunderclap Fist was a popular martial technique in the outer sect, few could cultivate it to Great Accomplishment.
Even more astonishing was that Su Yu, who was clearly known for his swordsmanship, had reached such heights in fist techniques as well.
"For a Qi Refining Realm warrior, specializing in even one path is already rare..." a senior disciple murmured.
"To be peerless in both sword and fist—what kind of talent is that?"
On the tournament platform, two figures flashed back and forth, their fist winds and Sword Qi clashing without pause.
Su Yu's punches were as fierce and domineering as racing thunder. Every strike carried Thunderous Might, and he actually held his own against Yuwen Jie of the Spirit Condensation Realm.
Yet anyone with a discerning eye could see that as time passed, the situation was quietly shifting.
After another head-on clash, Su Yu staggered back three steps, his chest heaving.
He was secretly alarmed. Yuwen Jie truly deserved his reputation as the outer sect's top disciple; his Mad Demon Fist had long since reached the Great Accomplishment realm.
Even more frightening, his opponent was gradually adapting to Su Yu's style. Every move was becoming harder to withstand.
He had to change his strategy.
Su Yu's thoughts raced as his gaze swept toward the Azure Edge Sword lying quietly at the side of the platform.
Just as Yuwen Jie launched another Mad Demon Break, Su Yu's figure suddenly blurred.
He unleashed Fleeting Light Shadow with all his might, darting across the platform like a specter. His right hand snatched out, and the Azure Edge Sword was in his grasp.
Wind Sweeps!
The blade trembled, and fierce Sword Qi burst forth like a gale, instantly disrupting Yuwen Jie's attack.
The opening move seemed light and nimble, but it concealed a deadly threat.
Yuwen Jie's pupils narrowed, and he had no choice but to avoid its edge.
Clouds Surge!
Su Yu's sword stance shifted. The fierce sword wind abruptly became a dense web of blades, surging like a sea of clouds and closing in on Yuwen Jie layer by layer.
Every sword strike blocked Yuwen Jie's retreat with perfect precision, forcing him to meet the attack head-on.
"What exquisite swordsmanship!" Elder Lu Yue couldn't help exclaiming from the stands.
He recognized it as the Wind-Swept Flowing Cloud Sword Su Yu had used in Skywind City, but its power today had multiplied several times over.
Yuwen Jie crossed his arms and forcibly took the wave of attacks.
Blood seeped from his sleeves, but instead of retreating, the battle fervor in his eyes burned even hotter.
Mad Demon Rage!
With a low growl, Yuwen Jie's blood energy surged, and an eerie red light shone from his fists.
At that moment, he seemed to have truly become a mad demon, every punch carrying the force to sweep all before it.
Su Yu couldn't dodge in time. The punch landed squarely on his chest, sending him flying like a kite with its strings cut.
He forced a breath into his lungs and steadied himself just before he could fall off the platform. A trace of blood had appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Admit defeat." Yuwen Jie's voice was cold as ice.
"For someone in the Qi Refining Realm, making it this far is already something to be proud of."
Below the platform, Su Mei's eyes were already brimming with tears, her slender fingers clutching the hem of her clothes.
Su Yan's eyes were bloodshot; he could barely stop himself from rushing onto the platform.
Everyone understood that the duel had entered its final stage.
"Impossible."
"Admit defeat!"
Su Yu used his sword to prop himself up and slowly rose to his feet.
His clothes were torn, and wounds covered his body, but his gaze was brighter than ever.
At this critical juncture, a wondrous feeling welled up inside him.
The profound state of enlightenment he had experienced that day in the Su Family's courtyard appeared once more.
The spiritual power within him circulated of its own accord, resonating with the Azure Edge Sword in his hand.
An unprecedented sword aura burst from him, as if his whole body had become a drawn blade.
"This is... Nascent Sword Intent!"
Grand Elder Mo Yuan shot to his feet, his eyes full of shock.
Yuwen Jie's expression changed drastically, and he didn't dare hesitate for an instant.
"Mad Demon Annihilation!" He channeled all his spiritual power and unleashed the strongest move of Mad Demon Fist.
A blood-red fist shadow fell like a meteor, hurtling toward Su Yu with the force to destroy everything.
Facing this deadly attack, Su Yu instead closed his eyes.
He fully infused his newly awakened Sword Intent into the sword technique, letting a single move flow from his heart.
The strike seemed casual, yet it held the power to split heaven and earth.
Rumble!
The moment the two overwhelming forces collided, the entire tournament platform shook.
After the blinding light faded, everyone saw Yuwen Jie fly off the platform like a rag doll and crash heavily to the ground.
Su Yu, meanwhile, knelt on one knee, the Azure Edge Sword buried deep in the ground as he used it to hold himself up.
The entire arena fell silent. Everyone was too stunned by this earth-shaking reversal to speak.
After a long while, the referee finally came to his senses and announced, "The winner of this match is Su Yu!"
Su Yu struggled to take several pills from his Storage Bag. Without even looking closely, he swallowed them all at once.
He smiled bitterly to himself. This time, he really had fought until he was utterly spent.
If he hadn't been on the tournament platform, being in this state out in the open would have left him in grave danger.
It seemed he would have to keep something in reserve from now on.
He reminded himself silently.
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