What Is True Strength

The entire place fell into dead silence.

After a full three breaths, the training grounds exploded into an

Still the third stance of the Thousand Waves Saber—[Raging Waves].

But this was the final strike, burning his life away. The saber's momentum was no longer bound by any technique, only pure destruction. The black and red saber energy instantly expanded to thirty feet, its light sweeping over like a true tsunami, causing the entire training stage to tremble violently.

"He's crazy! He's lost his mind!"

"He's going to take them both down!"

The disciples below the stage retreated in terror.

Qin Jue watched the bloody saber light, his eyes turning cold.

"Qi and Blood boosted by external means is ultimately a castle in the air. Let me show you what true power is."

Qin Jue took a deep breath, fully activating the fourth rotation of the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record. The great dragon of his spine trembled, and a supremely pure power instantly transmitted to his arm.

The Cold Iron Sword in his hand suddenly emitted an extremely faint, yet incredibly sharp hum.

Zzztzzztzzzt--

Though the sound wasn't loud, it caused everyone's eardrums to ache as if countless cicadas were buzzing in their ears simultaneously.

Cicada Wing Thousand Layers second stance—[Thousand Threads].

Unlike the awkwardness he felt before at Silver Moon Bay, the [Thousand Threads] now incorporated high-frequency vibrations, making it more than twice as strong as when he first comprehended it!

The air around the sword instantly shattered, transforming into countless tiny currents. The faint golden Qi and Blood seeped into the sword, giving this ordinary Cold Iron Sword an eerie luster.

Facing Ning Zhiyuan's decaying and ferocious black and red saber energy, Qin Jue moved like lightning, charging directly forward.

This time, he used no technique, just a simple—cut!

Then, an astonishing scene unfolded.

Ning Zhiyuan's seemingly world-destroying black and red saber energy, the moment it touched Qin Jue's sword edge, dissolved instantly like ice meeting boiling oil!

No, it wasn't dissolving.

It was being sliced apart!

It was cut countless times in an instant by the thousands of minute sword threads attached to the blade!

The sword light flashed.

Qin Jue's figure was already behind Ning Zhiyuan.

He slowly sheathed his sword.

Crack.

A crisp sound.

The superior mortal-grade weapon [Frost Blade] in Ning Zhiyuan's hand suddenly snapped in the middle, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.

Following that, Ning Zhiyuan's shriveled, skeletal body stood stiffly in place.

A gust of wind blew past.

Countless fine blood lines suddenly erupted from his body.

The exhaustion of his life force and the side effects of the pills had turned him into a dried-up corpse, drained of all moisture.

He laboriously turned his bony neck, his clouded eyes scanning past the crowd, as if searching for something.

Finally, his gaze settled on a certain corner below the stage, on the young girl in the pale pink dress.

It was Su Jin.

At that moment, Su Jin was covering her mouth, her face filled with terror as she looked at him, her eyes holding only fear, not a trace of pity.

Ning Zhiyuan's cracked lips trembled slightly, his withered hand reaching out tremblingly in that direction, grasping for a final sliver of hope.

"Su... Su... Jin..."

"I... am not... a failure..."

His voice was weak, filled with unwillingness. He wanted to tell her that everything he had done was to escape his status as a side branch family member, to be able to stand proudly by her side. He wanted to tell her that he was unwilling, unwilling to lose to her childhood sweetheart like this.

He opened his mouth, but his life force had been completely drained, and he could no longer utter a sound.

His withered hand fell powerlessly.

With a thump, Ning Zhiyuan's body crashed heavily to the ground. His skin was shriveled, his flesh withered, turning him into a desiccated corpse.

His death was utterly tragic.

A side branch disciple who once had a promising future, for the sake of illusory dignity and unrequited love, ultimately met a tragic end, his body and bones scattered without a trace.

Only Qin Jue stood coldly to the side, looking at the corpse on the ground with a calm expression.

"On the path of martial arts, if the heart is not righteous, it will ultimately be but a reflection in the water or a flower in the mirror."