One Sword, Tides Broken

The next day, at noon.

The Martial Arena at Qingcang Academy was already packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.

Today's event was a rare fight to the death in the Outer Prefecture, the likes of which had seldom been seen in recent years. One side was Qin Jue, a rising dark horse who had recently made a name for himself; the other was Ning Zhiyuan, a talented scion of the Ning Family's collateral branch, with some aptitude for saber techniques and a recent breakthrough to the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer.

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

A gray-robed disciple lowered his voice and spoke to his companion. "Ning Zhiyuan lost by just one move before, but the fight was evenly matched. I heard the Ning Family sent him a pile of treasures and forced his cultivation all the way up to the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer! They even gave him a Mortal Tier Upper Grade weapon."

"Hard to say. Qin Jue's swordsmanship is exquisite, and he excels at fighting across levels. Last time, he beat Ning Zhiyuan despite being the weaker one. But if his swordsmanship hasn't improved this time, I think Qin Jue may be carried out of here on his back today."

"Alas, men die for wealth, and birds for food." His companion shook his head, a trace of pity and schadenfreude in his eyes. "A thousand Gold Notes is enough to drive any Outer Court Disciple crazy. It's just a shame that no matter how good the money is, you need to be alive to spend it."

Talk rose and fell all around them, and the vast majority didn't favor Qin Jue. After all, although he had won last time with his exquisite swordsmanship, Ning Zhiyuan had prepared thoroughly for this fight, and the gap in their cultivation levels remained. Between the Hundred Refinements Fourth and Fifth Layers lay a vast divide.

Just then, a commotion erupted in the crowd.

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

On the eastern side of the Martial Arena, Ning Zhiyuan strode forward in a blood-red martial outfit, [Frost Blade] in hand. But his current condition made everyone present draw in a sharp breath. His face was frighteningly pale, his eye sockets and cheeks sunken, and his once rather handsome features were now twisted into a ghastly expression.

"W-what kind of potent drug did he take?"

"Tsk, tsk, that aura... He really is at the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, but it feels a little unstable."

"Who cares if it's unstable? The Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer is still the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer! That kid Qin Jue is probably in for a rough time."

As they spoke, a commotion rose from the other side of the crowd.

Qin Jue had arrived.

He wore the same simple blue robe as before, the Cold Iron Sword hanging at his waist. His expression was calm, as if he had simply come out for a stroll.

On the high platform, Yun Qianyue stood quietly in a pale moon-white dress. Her gaze rested on Qin Jue, and a complicated glimmer passed through her cool eyes. The Blood Boiling Pill traded his potential for the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, but he's stronger than an ordinary practitioner at that level. Yet that's precisely why his power, though immense, is extremely unstable. How will you handle this? Will you avoid his strongest attacks and wait for his blood and energy to run dry before delivering a killing blow? That's the safest approach, but it would lack the sword cultivator's fearless advance. Qin Jue, let me see if your sword is as steadfast as your heart.

On the high platform across from her, Ning Wuque stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a faint smile on his face. His gaze lingered on Qin Jue for a moment, then shifted to Ning Zhiyuan, his eyes flickering with disdain.

"A waste is still a waste. Even breaking through to the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer won't change what he is." He sneered inwardly. "Still, as long as he can kill Qin Jue, this waste will have served his purpose."

Ma Chen, the steward presiding over this fight to the death, stood at the edge of the arena with his hands behind his back.

"Though Ning Zhiyuan is from a collateral branch, the Ning Family has spared no expense these past few days to make sure he wins."

Ma Chen rubbed the jade ring on his thumb, calculating to himself. "He's taken a Blood Boiling Pill and been equipped with a Mortal Tier Upper Grade [Frost Blade]. His combat power is nearly at the Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer. Even if Qin Jue's had a few lucky breaks, his foundations are still too shallow."

With that thought, Ma Chen cleared his throat, gathered his blood and energy, and called out in a voice that rang across the arena:

"Everyone!" Ma Chen raised his voice. "Ning Zhiyuan and Qin Jue have signed a life-and-death contract. Today, they will settle things here on this stage! A fight to the death decides both victory and life or death! Once you step onto this stage, you accept the consequences!"

"Now, both sides, take the stage!"

At Ma Chen's words, Ning Zhiyuan sprang into the air and shot onto the Martial Stage. The moment he landed, the entire stage shuddered slightly—a testament to the ferocity of the blood and energy surging within him.

Qin Jue, by contrast, walked up the steps at an unhurried pace, one step at a time.

The two stopped ten zhang apart.

Ning Zhiyuan glared at Qin Jue, venom nearly spilling from his eyes. He tightened his grip on [Frost Blade]. A thin layer of frost spread across the blade, and the air around them seemed to freeze.

"Qin—Jue!"

When enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred. A low growl rumbled from Ning Zhiyuan's throat as he drew his Mortal Tier Upper Grade [Frost Blade] in a flash of cold light, his killing intent overwhelming.

"Today, I'll smash every bone in your body, one inch at a time!"

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

"Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer? Just an empty tower built on pills."

Qin Jue shook his head to himself. Though Ning Zhiyuan's aura was astonishing, Qin Jue could see flaws all over him.

"You talk too much."

Qin Jue slowly rested his right hand on the hilt of his sword, his voice flat. "If a loud voice were enough to win, you'd already be number one under heaven. Make your move. I'm in a hurry."

"Die!"

Completely enraged by Qin Jue's contemptuous attitude, Ning Zhiyuan roared. Wisps of blood mist seeped from the pores across his body.

It was a sign that the medicine's effects had been driven to their limit, forcing his blood and energy to boil as they were pushed beyond their bounds.

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

Ning Zhiyuan gripped [Frost Blade] with both hands. The blade, bright as snow moments ago, turned an eerie crimson as his raging blood and energy surged into it.

A wave of scorching air exploded outward from him. The disciples nearby felt their faces burn, as if they were standing next to a blazing furnace.

Before the saber had even fallen, the air had begun to ripple from the heat.

The black iron rock beneath Ning Zhiyuan's feet cracked apart inch by inch. He surged forward like a vicious flood dragon riding the raging sea, his long saber trembling wildly in his hands.

One slash, two slashes, three slashes...

In a mere instant, he carved nine saber images out of thin air!

Each saber image was more solid than the last. The nine waves of saber force stacked together in midair, finally merging into a crimson blade of light ten feet long. With an aura that seemed capable of burning everything to ashes, it crashed down toward Qin Jue!

"That's... the Thousand Waves Saber! He actually forced out the third form, 'Raging Waves'!"

A disciple in the audience who recognized the technique cried out in shock. "That slash gathers nine layers of force, reinforced by his frenzied blood and energy. Even a warrior at the Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer would be gravely injured if he took it head-on!"

Yet Qin Jue's eyes didn't waver in the slightest as he faced the strike.

In his field of vision, the crimson saber wave, so terrifying in appearance, was slowing to a crawl.

The power is certainly great, but... it's too scattered.

Qin Jue thought coldly.

Ning Zhiyuan's cultivation had been piled up with pills. His [Raging Waves] technique was impressive in its spectacle, but the force behind it flowed sluggishly. The nine waves of power, stacked together, were no more than a heap of loose sand.

An ordinary opponent might have been frightened by such brute force.

But to Qin Jue, whose Void Clarity Sword Heart was active, that was exactly where the flaw lay.

Qin Jue's eyes closed halfway. The blood in his body, still and silent until now, surged to life in an instant.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

A deep, drumlike rumble sounded from within his chest. It was a sign that the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record had reached its limit!

If he'd faced Ning Zhiyuan's potential-burning strike half a month ago, just after breaking through to the Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer, Qin Jue might have needed to avoid its edge. But after being tempered by fifty years' worth of Stone Bell Milk, his internal organs had become remarkably resilient. The abundance of blood and energy within him was even thirty percent greater than that of an ordinary practitioner at the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer!

That was his confidence.

The Cold Iron Sword slid from its sheath, its blade wrapped in a faint golden aura of blood and energy.

The third form of the Tide Rising Sword Technique—Tidal Stance.

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

Compared with the stiffness he'd shown when he first grasped the move, Qin Jue's Tidal Stance had become far more fluid—and far more domineering. That faint golden force of blood and energy gave the sword technique a terrifying resilience.

Sss—!

The crimson saber energy and pale golden sword light twisted together, forming a strange image of a scarlet dragon plunging into the sea.

The saber force still roared, but it was already beyond Ning Zhiyuan's control.

Ning Zhiyuan felt his nine furious waves of saber force vanish into a deep, unfathomable sea, swallowed whole by a vast power. It enveloped them, then—

"Have it back."

Qin Jue flicked his wrist. His internal organs boomed once more, and the center of the vortex he had formed abruptly stalled for an instant.

Then, like a dam bursting, all the force that had been swallowed surged back in a deafening crash, turning into a shock wave visible to the naked eye!

The air exploded as it was compressed. Crimson and gold light intertwined and burst outward like thunder from a clear sky!

Ning Zhiyuan felt a counterforce even more terrifying than his own slash flood back through the blade and into his body! It was his own power, doubled and returned by Qin Jue's sword!

"Pfft—!"

Ning Zhiyuan's eyes bulged as blood gushed from his mouth, mixed with fragments of his internal organs.

The Raging Waves saber technique he'd prided himself on shattered instantly, scattering into a rain of fire. The Mortal Tier Upper Grade weapon [Frost Blade] let out a mournful cry as it flew from his hand, spinning through the air before embedding itself in a stone pillar ten zhang away.

One sword, the tides broken!