"Master, I'll take the second round."
Wan Zhenshan was about to speak when Wan Guiyun had already stepped forward.
His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone present. His tone was calm, without anger, contempt, or even fighting spirit, as though he were merely discussing some trivial matter.
"Then I'll trouble you, nephew."
Wan Zhenshan glanced at him and nodded.
Although he had not returned to Ten Thousand Sword Villa for a long time, he had heard of Wan Guiyun's reputation. His innate physique and talent were not outstanding, not even reaching the middle grade, yet he possessed extraordinary comprehension in swordsmanship. Through this, he had risen from a Collateral-Line Disciple to a Direct-Line Disciple, and his combat strength far surpassed others of the same realm.
Chen Xuan had crippled Wan Shengkuang with a single palm strike, which meant his cultivation had at least reached the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering, Huajin Realm. But Wan Guiyun's cultivation had also reached the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering, Huajin Realm. Within Ten Thousand Sword Villa, no one of the same realm was his match.
Wan Guiyun slowly walked toward the arena, neither hurried nor slow. His robes fluttered lightly in the morning breeze, while the tassel on the sword at his waist swayed with the wind.
He exuded an unhurried, composed air, as though he were not heading into a duel but attending a tea gathering.
On the arena, Chen Xuan watched Wan Guiyun approach with a calm expression.
Unlike Wan Shengkuang, Wan Guiyun did not deliberately release an imposing aura. His presence was restrained, to the point that he did not even seem threatening.
This man was no simple opponent.
Yet Chen Xuan was not afraid. Unless the other party had reached the Qi Casting Realm Third Layer and cultivated a Top-Tier Technique, he could not defeat him.
Wan Guiyun stepped onto the arena and stopped opposite Chen Xuan, three zhang apart. His right hand rested on the sword hilt as he calmly looked Chen Xuan over from head to toe.
"The fact that you could cripple Wan Shengkuang with one palm means your cultivation has at least reached the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering, Huajin Realm. That strength is not bad." Wan Guiyun spoke in an even voice. "But my comprehension is extraordinary. I began learning the sword at seven, and ten years have passed since then. I have mastered more than a hundred sword techniques, including twenty-three Superior Sword Techniques at perfection and three Peak Sword Techniques at perfection. I have also cultivated an Ultimate Sword Art. You are no match for me. Admit defeat!"
"Extraordinary comprehension?"
Chen Xuan's heart stirred.
Like innate physique, comprehension had ranks of high and low.
However, innate physique could be tested, so it was easier to distinguish. Comprehension, on the other hand, could not be tested through ordinary means and was simply divided into ordinary and extraordinary.
Extraordinary comprehension meant far surpassing ordinary people.
However, this Wan Guiyun's extraordinary comprehension seemed somewhat "lopsided," manifesting only in swordsmanship.
At seventeen, it was already remarkable for other martial artists to cultivate one Superior Sword Technique to perfection. Yet he had cultivated twenty-three to perfection, along with three Peak Sword Techniques.
He had even cultivated an Ultimate Sword Art.
If he was not boasting, then he truly had grounds to be proud.
However, Chen Xuan remained expressionless and said blandly, "When disciples of Ten Thousand Sword Villa duel others, do they rely not on the swords in their hands, but on their smooth tongues? Anyone can boast."
"Courting death!"
Provoked by Chen Xuan, a trace of anger flashed through Wan Guiyun's eyes. The long sword in his hand instantly left its sheath. With a flick of his wrist, the sword tip drew a circle through the air, and force gathered at its tip, forming a silver-white ring of light.
"The first technique, Meteor Sword Technique."
As his words fell, Wan Guiyun struck.
This sword strike was fast to the extreme.
The sword light was like a meteor, like lightning, like a fleeting glimpse of a startled swan.
Most of those below the arena could not even see how he had drawn his sword. They only saw a streak of silver-white light shoot from the sword tip, aimed straight at Chen Xuan's throat.
Meteor Sword Technique—Line of Heaven.
Yet this strike, which Body Tempering Realm martial artists could not see clearly with the naked eye, was merely so-so in the eyes of Chen Xuan, who was in the Zhuqi Realm.
Chen Xuan raised his hand and lightly flicked the blade, sending it off course.
Wan Guiyun's brows furrowed slightly. His sword momentum shifted, and the second strike followed close behind.
This strike was no longer a straight thrust. Instead, it was like a spirit snake emerging from its den, the sword body twisting and shifting in midair, making it impossible to determine where it would finally strike.
This was another Superior Sword Technique cultivated to perfection.
The blade trembled with a humming sound, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.
Wan Guiyun continuously turned his wrist, the sword tip tracing strange arcs through the air as it bit toward Chen Xuan's vital points from different angles—his throat, heart, dantian, and eyes.
Someone beneath the arena sucked in a breath.
The Spirit Snake Sword Technique was famed for its strange transformations. Its sword moves were tricky and impossible to guard against.
Wan Guiyun had cultivated this sword technique to perfection. Every strike carried the nimbleness of a spirit snake, dazzling the eye.
Yet Chen Xuan remained standing in place without moving.
He raised his hand, spread his five fingers, and reached into that mass of twisted sword shadows.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out.
Wan Guiyun's sword tip was caught between Chen Xuan's index and middle fingers, utterly unmoving. Those strange sword paths and tricky angles all lost their meaning before absolute strength.
Wan Guiyun's expression changed slightly, but he did not panic. With a flick of his wrist, the sword body spun violently and broke free from between Chen Xuan's fingers. At the same time, he borrowed the force to retreat three steps.
"Good." A gleam flashed in Wan Guiyun's eyes. He spoke softly, excitement flickering in his gaze. "You are qualified to make me use a Peak Sword Technique."
He took a deep breath, and his sword momentum changed again.
This time, under the infusion of force, his sword became heavy.
It was no longer swift as lightning, nor was it unpredictably strange. Each strike was upright and open, vast in force and heavy in power. When one sword descended, it carried the momentum of Mount Tai pressing down overhead.
This was a Peak Sword Technique, the Nine-Fold Mountain Sword Technique.
The Nine-Fold Mountain Sword Technique sought neither speed nor cleverness, only power. Cultivated to the extreme, a single downward slash contained nine layers of force, able to split mountains and shatter stone, irresistible in momentum.
Chen Xuan still did not move his feet and merely raised an arm to block.
Clang!
The blade struck Chen Xuan's forearm with a deafening boom like metal colliding with metal.
Wan Guiyun's pupils contracted.
That strike was enough to split a piece of Bluestone in two, yet when it landed on Chen Xuan's arm, the other man did not even furrow his brow.
"Your body..." Wan Guiyun's voice carried a trace of disbelief. "Are you cultivating a top-tier body-tempering technique?"
Chen Xuan did not answer.
Wan Guiyun gritted his teeth, and his sword momentum changed again.
He used the second Peak Sword Technique, the Falling Leaf Sword Technique.
The Falling Leaf Sword Technique was known for its lightness and agility.
The sword emerged like falling leaves drifting away, silent and soundless, impossible to guard against.
Wan Guiyun's figure drifted like an autumn leaf, flickering unpredictably across the arena. His sword became light and floaty as well, as though it had no weight, yet every thrust precisely targeted Chen Xuan's vital points.
Chen Xuan still neither dodged nor evaded.
The sword tip stabbed his chest with a crisp ding, as though it had struck an iron plate.
Wan Guiyun thrust more than ten times in succession, every strike landing in the same place, yet Chen Xuan's robe was not even torn.
The third Peak Sword Technique, the Armor-Piercing Sword Technique.
Wan Guiyun changed his move.
The Armor-Piercing Sword Technique was designed specifically to counter body-tempering arts.
This sword technique did not excel in sharpness. Instead, its key lay in the word "pierce." Sword force condensed into a single point, penetrating the opponent's defenses and attacking the internal organs directly.
Wan Guiyun thrust his sword. A thread-thin strand of silver-white force condensed at the sword tip, yet it was incomparably sharp.
This strike stabbed Chen Xuan in the chest.
Clang!
The sword tip pressed against Chen Xuan's chest with a crisp ring.
Wan Guiyun felt as though the sword tip had struck an iron mountain. That piercing force, condensed from all his strength, was unable to break through the other man's skin and flesh.
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