Elder Wang shot to his feet, nearly flying toward Wang Xian on the platform.
Dongfang Nishang, Dongfang Feihong, and Enforcement Elder Yan Ruobing.
Even Liu Qingyun and the others from the East Sea, all in that instant...
Turned their eyes to the spirit sword in Wang Xian's hand!
There stood Wang Xian, looking utterly bewildered, gripping a spirit sword steeped in ancient aura and the weight of years, its blade even mottled with age!
At the elders' cries of alarm, Nalan Feiyan, Nalan Feng, Chen Feifei, and the other Mystic Heaven Sect disciples in the plaza.
All turned to look at Wang Xian on the raised platform.
Dantai Xiaoxue thought for a moment, then asked, "Junior Brother, did Martial Uncle give you that sword?"
Wang Xian glanced at Ximen Tinghua in front of him and shook his head. "No."
Elder Wang Ruowang of the Mystic Heaven Sect clutched his chest.
He said quietly, "This sword is called Shocking God. It is the sword that guards Tianshan, enshrined in the Golden Hall!"
"Who could have guessed that on a dark, windy night ten years ago, a thief would steal it... We elders searched the world over, but never found a trace of it..."
As he spoke, two trails of tears quietly slipped down Elder Wang's face.
He was clearly overwhelmed with excitement and shock!
Wang Xian lowered his head and looked at the dark hilt. The two characters "Shocking God" were etched into it.
They had nearly been worn away by the marks of time.
Just as he was about to speak.
The cool, offhand voice of the woman in white rang out in his Divine Sea...
Wang Xian was startled by what he heard.
Then he gave a small nod and grinned.
Looking toward the Mystic Heaven Sect elder on the platform, he replied, "Senior, given my master's friendship with Senior Nalan, I should offer it with both hands. But this sword was gifted to me by an elder..."
Wang Ruowang waved his hand. "If Young Master is willing to part with it, the Mystic Heaven Sect will offer five thousand Spirit Stones. How about it?"
"Oh!"
As though he had expected this outcome all along, Wang Xian nodded.
He murmured to himself, as if answering the Mystic Heaven Sect elder, yet also as if speaking to the mysterious woman in his Divine Sea.
After a moment, he replied, "All right..."
Wang Ruowang was overjoyed. "Thank you!"
"Hold on!"
Wang Xian shook his head and pointed at Ximen Tinghua in front of him.
"I want to fight this fellow first. Win or lose, I'll hand over the spirit sword afterward. How about it?"
Wang Ruowang couldn't help glancing at Dongfang Nishang beside him.
Dongfang Nishang smiled faintly. "Can't the Mystic Heaven Sect's spirit sword be used in a fight?"
Wang Ruowang nodded. "It can. Please be careful, Young Master!"
"Don't worry. It won't get hurt!"
With that, Wang Xian tossed the scabbard toward the platform. Dantai Xiaoxue caught it, examined it from every angle, then handed it to Wang Ruowang behind her.
Her face was full of disdain.
What kind of sword is this, if it guards a mountain? The scabbard's a piece of junk.
Wang Ruowang accepted it with both hands and held it to his chest, repeatedly saying, "Thank you!"
Holy crap!
The thousand or so people in the plaza all stared in shock!
Wang Xian looked no more than eleven. There was no way he could have been the one who stole the Mystic Heaven Sect's spirit sword ten years ago...
No one had expected that, when he fought Sima Jue of the Academy earlier, Wang Xian had used his fists!
Then, facing the young woman from the Tang Clan, he had brought out a wooden sword and still won.
And now, against Ximen Tinghua from the northern deserts.
He had been driven to draw the sword that had guarded the Mystic Heaven Sect's mountain, missing for ten years!
Who could withstand that?
Maybe the next person to step up would find this fellow pulling out a Divine Sword!
At the thought, Liu Qingyun of the East Sea and Baili Yuhuang of Hundred Flowers Valley glanced at Shangguan Wuchen, their fellow elder. The three of them were all taken aback.
Even the Enforcement Elder of the Kunlun Sword Sect couldn't help asking Dongfang Nishang,
"Junior Sister... could it be?"
In that instant, nearly all the elders of the Four Great Sects panicked!
Dongfang Nishang, however, remained unperturbed. She smiled faintly. "What are you afraid of? At most, give him five thousand. If five thousand isn't enough, give him ten thousand. Isn't he terribly poor?"
Hearing this, First Elder Dongfang Feihong couldn't help chuckling.
He swept his sleeve. "I'll leave this matter to you, Junior Sister!"
Liu Qingyun of the East Sea and the two elders from Hundred Flowers Valley all turned to Dongfang Nishang.
Baili Yuhuang smiled softly. "If it really comes to that, I'll have to trouble you, Senior Sister."
Dongfang Nishang didn't answer right away. Instead, she called out to the two people on the raised platform, "Wang Xian, aren't you going home?"
Wang Xian nodded.
Holding the spirit sword, he said to Ximen Tinghua, "Brother Ximen, please!"
"Then let's begin!"
Clang...
A sword cry surged like a tide, and a sharp Sword Qi cleaved through the air!
A dense rain of sword strikes slashed toward Wang Xian!
Dongfang Nishang's expression tightened at the sight of that strike!
With a single sudden slash, he had sealed off every escape route, leaving Wang Xian no room to retreat!
He was forcing Wang Xian to meet him head-on!
But with the spirit sword in hand, Wang Xian advanced instead of retreating, his figure darting forward like an ape.
His sword flashed like lightning, a bolt of thunder falling from the ninth heaven, and clashed with Ximen Tinghua's rain-dense sword strikes!
The Old Daoist had taught Wang Xian: if you couldn't see your opponent's sword,
Don't look!
As long as you were fast enough, and the sword in your hand was sharp enough!
After ten years of cultivation, Wang Xian had grasped a trace of the Sword Intent of Wind in the Heavenly Book World. And that was before counting the two moves he had practiced under his martial uncle!
Clang!
The two swords collided in an instant. Ximen Tinghua cried out in shock and anger, stumbling back two steps.
Wang Xian didn't retreat. Instead, he surged forward.
During those ten years in the Heavenly Book, he had cultivated the Five Physical Realms to the minor mastery stage!
All the crowd saw was a whirlwind hurtling toward Ximen Tinghua as he reeled backward... swift as the wind, hands flashing like lightning!
This time, Wang Xian suddenly drove a punch forward.
Boom!
Even beneath Ximen Tinghua's sweeping rain of sword strikes, Wang Xian remained composed.
At the very last instant, his fist shot forward and slammed into Ximen Tinghua's chest.
Pfft!
Even Ximen Tinghua, a genuine Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, couldn't help spitting blood when Wang Xian suddenly punched him in the chest.
In an instant, blood spattered across his snow-white robes, a dazzling, glaring sight to everyone watching!
Wang Xian was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm, yet one punch had made Ximen Tinghua spit blood!
And Ximen Tinghua was a genuine Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!
Good heavens, everyone felt like they were going mad!
Could Ximen Tinghua and the young lady from the Tang Clan have been faking their cultivation all along? Or had they deliberately held back?
This was a thousand-Spirit-Stone wager!
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, Ximen Tinghua looked at Wang Xian standing within arm's reach, bitterness in his expression.
His opponent was too strong!
Even as a genuine Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, Ximen Tinghua couldn't help admiring him from the bottom of his heart. He even found him a little terrifying.
Looking at the spirit sword in his hand, Ximen Tinghua gave a bitter smile. "I challenged you to a sword fight, yet you hurt me with your fist. Doesn't that count as a sneak attack?"
"No!"
Wang Xian shook his head. "That was fair and square. I didn't use a hidden weapon. At most, I'll promise not to use my fists from now on!"
"Good!"
Before the words had even faded, the spirit sword in Ximen Tinghua's hand flashed.
He gathered the spiritual energy throughout his body, suddenly tensed his arm, and stepped forward as he raised his hand.
Whoosh!
His body shot through the air like an arrow, charging forward with the force of thunder.
He didn't rush to swing the spirit sword in his hand. He wanted to see Wang Xian's escape route before striking. With this sword, he planned to send his opponent flying off the three-zhang-high platform.
Just as Wang Xian had sent Tang Shisan flying!
But right then, Wang Xian was like a shooting star, vanishing from before his eyes...
Before you continue