One Sword, Breaking the Tide

The next day, at noon.

The training grounds of Qingcang Academy were already packed, with spectators forming an impenetrable crowd.

Today marked a rare life-or-death duel in the Outer Prefecture, a spectacle not seen in years. One side was Qin Jue, a dark horse who had recently gained fame. The other was a genius from a collateral branch of the Ning Family, Ning Zhiyuan, who possessed some talent in saber techniques and had just broken through to the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer.

"Do you think Qin Jue can defeat Ning Zhiyuan?"

A disciple dressed in grey lowered his voice to his companion. "Although Ning Zhiyuan lost by a single move before, it was still an evenly matched fight. I heard the Ning Family sent him a lot of good stuff, forcing his realm up to Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer! They even gave him a Mortal Tier Upper Grade weapon."

"It's hard to say. Qin Jue's swordplay is exquisite and he excels at fighting opponents of higher realms. He won against Ning Zhiyuan by a lower-than-higher strategy before. But if he hasn't improved his swordplay this time, I'm afraid Qin Jue will be carried out of here today."

"Alas, people die for wealth, just as birds die for food." The companion beside him shook his head, his eyes holding a mix of pity and schadenfreude. "A thousand gold notes are enough to drive any Outer Court Disciple mad. It's a shame, though, that even with good money, you need to be alive to spend it."

Discussions rose and fell, with the vast majority not optimistic about Qin Jue's chances. After all, although Qin Jue had won before with his exquisite swordplay, Ning Zhiyuan was well-prepared this time, and the gap in realms remained. The difference between Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer and Fifth Layer was a vast chasm.

Just then, a commotion erupted from the crowd.

"He's here! Ning Zhiyuan is here!"

On the east side of the training grounds, Ning Zhiyuan strode forward in blood-red combat attire, wielding the Frost Blade. However, his current state made everyone present gasp. His face was frighteningly pale, his eye sockets and cheeks sunken. His once handsome features were now twisted into a terrifying visage.

"What… what kind of potent medicine did he take?"

"Tsk, tsk, this aura… it's indeed Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, but it feels a bit unstable."

"Who cares if it's unstable? Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer is Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer! Qin Jue is likely in grave danger this time."

As they were speaking, another commotion arose from the other side of the crowd.

Qin Jue had arrived.

He was still in his simple blue robe, the Cold Iron Sword hanging at his waist, his expression calm, as if he were out for a stroll.

On the high platform above, Yun Qianyue stood quietly in a moon-white long dress. Her gaze fell upon Qin Jue, and a complex emotion flickered in her clear, cold eyes. She thought, "The Blood Boiling Pill has boosted his realm to Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer by sacrificing his potential, but it's stronger than an ordinary Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer. Precisely because of this, his power is immense but extremely unstable. Facing this situation, what will you do? Will you temporarily avoid his sharp edge and strike a fatal blow when his Qi and Blood weakens? This is the most stable approach, but if you do, it would lack the unyielding spirit of a sword cultivator. Qin Jue, let me see if your sword is as firm as your heart."

On another high platform, Ning Wuque stood with his hands behind his back, a faint smile on his face. His gaze lingered on Qin Jue for a moment before shifting to Ning Zhiyuan, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

He thought with a cold sneer, "A trash is trash. Even breaking through to Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer won't change his essence. However, as long as he can kill Qin Jue, this trash will have served his purpose."

The steward responsible for presiding over this life-or-death battle, Ma Chen, stood with his hands behind his back at the edge of the arena.

He thought, "This Ning Zhiyuan kid, although from a collateral branch, the Ning Family really spared no expense to ensure he won these past few days."

Ma Chen rubbed the jade ring on his thumb, calculating. "He even took the Blood Boiling Pill and was equipped with a Mortal Tier Upper Grade Frost Blade. His combat power is now close to Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer. Even if Qin Jue has some fortuitous encounters, his foundation is ultimately too shallow."

With that thought, Ma Chen cleared his throat, gathered his Qi and Blood, and his voice boomed across the entire venue:

"Everyone!" Ma Chen announced loudly, "Today, Ning Zhiyuan and Qin Jue have signed the life-and-death agreement and will duel to the death on this stage! This is a life-or-death battle, deciding both victory and demise! Once on stage, life and death are irrelevant!"

"Now, both sides, take the stage!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiyuan leaped abruptly, his body surging forward as he charged onto the training stage. The moment he landed, the entire stage vibrated slightly, demonstrating the ferocity of the Qi and Blood within him.

Qin Jue, on the other hand, slowly ascended the steps, one by one, unhurriedly.

The two stood firm, ten feet apart.

Ning Zhiyuan stared intently at Qin Jue, his eyes filled with venom that seemed about to spill over. He gripped the Frost Blade in his hand tightly, a faint layer of frost appearing on the blade, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

"Qin… Jue…!"

When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred. Ning Zhiyuan let out a low growl from his throat. The Mortal Tier Upper Grade Frost Blade in his hand was drawn with a sharp hiss, its cold light radiating outwards, exuding a menacing aura.

"Today, I will break every bone in your body, inch by inch!"

Qin Jue's gaze swept over Ning Zhiyuan, his expression calm.

He thought, "Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer? It's just a castle in the air built with pills."

Qin Jue shook his head inwardly. In his eyes, despite Ning Zhiyuan's imposing aura at the moment, his entire body was riddled with flaws.

"Your nonsense is too much."

Qin Jue slowly placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, his voice flat. "If shouting loudly could win, you would already be the number one under heaven. Make your move, I'm in a hurry."

"You court death!"

Completely enraged by Qin Jue's dismissive attitude, Ning Zhiyuan roared. wisps of bloody mist seeped from the pores of his body.

This was a sign of his Qi and Blood boiling to the limit, his potential being overdrawn by the medicinal power.

"Thousand Waves Saber—Third Stance, Raging Waves!"

Ning Zhiyuan gripped the Frost Blade with both hands. The originally bright blade was now stained a bizarre crimson by his violent Qi and Blood.

A scorching wave of heat erupted outwards from him. Nearby disciples felt their faces flush, as if standing beside a furnace.

Even before this saber strike was unleashed, the air was already distorting slightly due to the intense heat.

The black iron rock ground beneath Ning Zhiyuan's feet cracked and shattered inch by inch. He himself was like a ferocious dragon controlling the raging waves, using his momentum to charge forward, his long saber trembling wildly.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes…

In the span of a single breath, he had conjured nine saber shadows out of thin air!

Each saber shadow was more solid than the last. The nine saber energies layered upon each other in the air, finally converging into a crimson saber glow, about ten feet long, pressing down upon Qin Jue with the momentum to incinerate everything!

"This is… Thousand Waves Saber! He actually forced the activation of the third stance, 'Raging Waves'!"

Some disciples in the crowd with discerning eyes shouted in shock, "That strike gathered nine layers of force, amplified by ferocious Qi and Blood. Even a martial artist at the Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer would be heavily injured if they took it head-on!"

However, Qin Jue, facing this strike, showed no flicker of emotion in his eyes.

In his vision, the terrifying, crimson blade wave was slowing down infinitely.

"The power is indeed great, but unfortunately... too scattered."

Qin Jue thought coldly.

Ning Zhiyuan's realm was built up with pills. Although this move, [Raging Waves], had immense momentum, the circulation of its force was clearly sluggish. The nine layers of force stacked together were nothing more than a heap of loose sand.

If it were anyone else, they might have been intimidated by this brute force.

But in the eyes of Qin Jue, who had activated his Void Clarity Sword Heart, this was precisely where the opening lay.

Qin Jue closed his eyes slightly, and the dormant blood within his body surged instantly.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

A muffled sound, like war drums, emanated from his chest. This was a characteristic of the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record being circulated to its extreme!

If it were half a month ago, just after breaking through to the Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer, Qin Jue might have had to evade the brunt of Ning Zhiyuan's strike, which burned his potential. But now, after being tempered by fifty-year-old Stone Bell Milk, his internal organs were extremely resilient, and his Qi and Blood were even thirty percent more abundant than that of an ordinary Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer cultivator!

This was his confidence.

The Cold Iron Sword was drawn, its blade wrapped in a faint layer of golden blood qi.

Tide Rising Sword Technique, third form—Tidal Stance.

The sword tip drew an irregular semicircle in the air. It seemed like a casual stir, yet it drew Ning Zhiyuan's crimson blade energy into an invisible vortex!

Compared to the clumsiness when he first comprehended this move, Qin Jue's current Tidal Stance was much more fluid and even more dominant. The faint golden qi and blood power imbued the sword technique with terrifying tenacity.

Hiss—!

The crimson blade energy and the faint golden sword light intertwined, truly forming a bizarre picture of a red dragon entering the sea.

The blade force was still roaring, but it was already out of control.

Ning Zhiyuan felt as if his ferocious nine-layered blade force was like a mud ox entering the sea, instantly swallowed, enveloped, and then—

"Here you go."

Qin Jue flicked his wrist. The organs within his body rumbled again, and the center of the formed vortex suddenly paused for a moment.

Then, like a dam bursting, all the force that had been swallowed erupted in a deafening roar, transforming into a visible shockwave that madly counterattacked!

The air exploded instantly, crimson and golden light intertwined and burst forth, like thunder from a clear sky!

Ning Zhiyuan felt a repelling force even more terrifying than his own strike surging back into his body along the blade! It was his own power, returned to him twofold by Qin Jue's sword!

"Pfft—!"

Ning Zhiyuan's eyeballs bulged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Mixed within the blood were even fragments of his internal organs.

His proud [Raging Waves] blade momentum instantly shattered into scattered embers, and the top-grade mortal weapon in his hand, [Frost Blade], let out a mournful cry before flying out of his grasp, spinning and embedding itself into a stone pillar ten feet away.

One sword, breaking the tide!

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