Stunning the Audience with Skill

Below the stage, there was dead silence.

Everyone was watching the scene on the arena, watching the tip of Wan Guiyun's sword pressed against Chen Xuan's chest, unable to pierce even a fraction of an inch.

"What... what kind of body is this?"

"Copper skin and iron bones? Even if it were copper skin and iron bones, it shouldn't be able to block Wan Guiyun's Armor-Piercing Sword Technique, right? That is a top-tier sword technique specifically designed to counter hard-body cultivation. Even if Chen Xuan practiced a top-tier hard-body art, he shouldn't be completely unscathed unless it's an ultimate art?"

"Hard-body arts are easy in the early stages, but reaching perfection or even completion is several times harder than other arts, let alone an ultimate-level hard-body art. Looking across the world, there are only a few."

"It is said that when Chen Xuan first arrived in Qingshi Town, he saved a disciple of the Vajra Sect from the hands of the Tyrant Blade Sect and obtained the Vajra Sect's top-tier art, the Vajra Technique?"

"The Vajra Technique? That is the signature art of the Vajra Sect, but even the Vajra Technique is only a top-tier art. In the last hundred years of the Vajra Sect, only a handful of people have been able to cultivate the Vajra Technique to the completion of the Body Tempering realm. Chen Xuan has only had the Vajra Technique for half a month, right? And he's already reached completion? Unless he had a fortuitous encounter like the founder of the Vajra Sect."

"Who can say for sure when it comes to fortuitous encounters."

"The Baishui Town branch of the Blood Wolf Gang was wiped out by a mysterious expert who practiced a hard-body art. Could it be Chen Xuan?"

"Who knows? It could be him, or it could be someone else."

The discussions rose and fell, bubbling like boiling water.

Every face was filled with shock and disbelief, and the way they looked at Chen Xuan was as if they were staring at a human-shaped beast.

Below the arena.

Sun Tianxing's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, and a few drops of water splashed onto the back of his hand, but he didn't even notice.

His gaze rested on Chen Xuan, a flash of complexity crossing his eyes.

Vajra Technique...

Could this kid really have had some world-shaking fortuitous encounter? The Vajra Sect has been destroyed, yet he actually managed to cultivate the Vajra Technique?

However, he didn't dwell on it. No matter what art Chen Xuan practiced, as long as he was a disciple of the Guiyuan Sect, that was enough.

There are some disciples who perform mediocrely within the sect with nothing to show for themselves, but once they leave the sect, they experience rapid growth. This is not without precedent.

The world of martial arts is vast, and there are many fortuitous encounters; who can say for sure?

The sect does not need to know all of a disciple's secrets; it only needs to know the disciple's loyalty to the sect and the benefits the disciple can bring to the sect.

Take the founder of the Vajra Sect, for example.

Before obtaining his fortuitous encounter, he was just an ordinary wanderer, only at the sixth level of Body Tempering at the age of forty. He had drifted through the martial arts world for half his life and achieved nothing, but after obtaining his encounter, he advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the ninth level of the Zhuqi Realm in a very short time and founding the Vajra Sect.

Could Chen Xuan be the next founder of the Vajra Sect?

Sun Tianxing set down his teacup, his gaze becoming profound.

On the side of the Iron Sword Sect, the atmosphere was even heavier.

Wan Zhenshan's face was livid, and the teacup in his hand creaked as he squeezed it.

He had originally thought that Wan Guiyun's strike would be a guaranteed victory.

Wan Guiyun's talent for the sword was ranked among the best in the younger generation of the Ten Thousand Sword Villa.

He had mastered twenty-three superior sword techniques, three top-tier sword techniques, and was even practicing an ultimate sword technique.

With such strength, let alone the Body Tempering realm, even an ordinary first-level Zhuqi Realm expert might not be a match for Wan Guiyun.

But Chen Xuan stood on the arena without moving a single step, standing there and letting Wan Guiyun attack him.

"Sect Master, this Chen Xuan... he doesn't look like an outer disciple of the Guiyuan Sect. Could the Red Sun Gang be faking this?"

An elder of the Iron Sword Sect behind him spoke up.

"No, there are no traces of disguise on Chen Xuan. Before the competition, the bone-reading master examined all six of them, and Chen Xuan's bone age is indeed under twenty." Wan Zhenshan shook his head and said, "Keep watching. Guiyun still has an ultimate sword technique he hasn't used yet; he might not lose."

Although he said this, his tone no longer held its previous confidence.

Wan Shengkuang stood behind Wan Zhenshan with his head bowed, looking at his swollen and deformed right hand, remaining silent.

He had previously felt that his loss was unjust and due to carelessness.

Now he realized that Chen Xuan had held back in that palm strike. If Chen Xuan had used his full strength, his entire arm might not have been saved.

Wan Yifan's face was also pale.

Fortunately, Wan Guiyun had stepped onto the stage before him. If he had faced Chen Xuan, he feared he would be just like Wan Shengkuang, unable to withstand even a single move.

His Gale Sword Technique was only a superior sword technique; in front of Chen Xuan, it wouldn't even count as a tickle.

"How is this possible..."

Wan Guiyun withdrew his sword and stepped back, his expression grave.

His Armor-Piercing Sword Technique had once pierced through a one-inch-thick iron plate with a single strike, yet this youth named Chen Xuan had actually taken it head-on with his bare body?

A top-tier sword technique at the completion level couldn't even scratch Chen Xuan.

"Since a top-tier sword technique at the completion level of the Body Tempering realm cannot hurt you, then I have no choice but to use my ultimate sword technique."

Wan Guiyun gritted his teeth, gripped the hilt of his sword, and a flash of determination crossed his eyes.

Although he had not yet cultivated his ultimate sword technique of the Body Tempering realm to completion, he had reached the great success stage.

It was just that he hadn't reached perfection, and unleashing it would cost him dearly, causing great damage to his blood and qi, as well as injuring his meridians; even with restorative pills, it would take him ten days or half a month to recover.

"Yiyuan Sword Art!"

Wan Guiyun took a deep breath and gripped his sword with both hands.

His entire aura changed in an instant.

If the superior and top-tier sword techniques he used before were merely consumption and probing, then now, he was going all out.

The Yiyuan Sword Art was one of the three great ultimate sword techniques of Ten Thousand Sword Villa.

With Wan Guiyun's exceptional comprehension, it had still taken him over a year to cultivate the Body Tempering level of the Yiyuan Sword Art to great success.

This sword technique focused on the convergence of all methods into one, concentrating all power into a single point to break through defenses, rendering it indestructible.

"Tianyuan Sword Strike."

Wan Guiyun thrust his sword.

This strike lacked the flashy variations and the sky-filling sword shadows of before; it was just a simple, straightforward thrust.

But this thrust condensed everything he had learned in his life.

At the tip of the sword, a silver-white light gathered, appearing almost tangible.

The moment he unleashed the strike, all the internal energy in his body was instantly drained, and even a large portion of his blood and qi was pulled away to concentrate at the sword's tip.

Wan Guiyun's complexion turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The air was torn apart, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

Everyone off the stage held their breath.

This strike was Wan Guiyun's strongest.

If this strike still couldn't defeat Chen Xuan, he would have no power left to fight back.

"Good sword technique!"

Chen Xuan watched this strike, a flash of appreciation in his eyes.

The Yiyuan Sword Art was truly worthy of being an ultimate technique.

The brilliance of this strike lay in concentrating all power into a single point without wasting a shred; such control and explosive force had already surpassed the limits of the Body Tempering realm.

This strike had drained all the internal energy and most of the blood and qi from Wan Guiyun's body, and the power of the sword glow gathered at the tip was comparable to true qi, perhaps even surpassing ordinary true qi to reach the level of superior true qi.

If he hadn't broken through to the Zhuqi Realm, he truly wouldn't have been able to take this strike, but after reaching the Zhuqi Realm, his physical body had been tempered by true qi, and the toughness of his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones had increased several times over.

This strike could no longer hurt him.

Chen Xuan raised his hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and met the sword tip.

"Clang!"

The sword tip was caught between two fingers.

The silver-white light exploded between Chen Xuan's fingers, turning into countless specks of light that dissipated, while Wan Guiyun's sword body trembled violently, emitting a humming sound, yet it could not advance even a fraction of an inch.

The sword glow that had condensed all of Wan Guiyun's internal energy melted away between Chen Xuan's two fingers like snow meeting the scorching sun.