"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Fang Xuan stood beside Fang Runan, staring blankly at Fang Yuan on the platform.
And at that three-hundred-zhang-long Sword Qi...
At the beginning of the fight, he had looked carefree. Then he had grown serious. Now, his entire worldview had been shattered.
He had even resented his older brother's earlier warning.
He had thought Fang Yuan had merely caught Fang Lian off guard, and that his brother could still fight back.
But when Fang Yuan had unleashed a hundred-zhang-long Sword Qi, despair had already begun to spread through his heart.
And now, with three hundred zhang of True Essence, the gap between them needed no explaining. His pride had been utterly crushed.
Remembering how confidently he had spoken at the banquet the night before made his face sting. He wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground.
After all, the gathering had included not only the talented young men of Clear Sea City, but also outstanding disciples from their Ancestral Family.
"If you can't even handle this little setback, then get out of the Ancestral Hall right now."
The thunderous shout exploded in Fang Xuan's mind.
His thoughts cleared at once. He cautiously glanced at Fang Runan from the corner of his eye, then immediately straightened his posture.
I actually let my mind wander in the middle of a fight.
Fang Lian came to his senses, drew a deep breath, then slowly raised his palm and thrust it forward. His razor-sharp True Essence surged out in an instant.
At that moment.
A massive palm print crashed down, compressing the air around it. It was as if a gale had swept up, sending out deafening waves of sound. Its power was astonishing.
The peerless Sword Qi cleaved into the palm print, flashing with dazzling light and unleashing a thunderous boom.
The clash did not last long. The Sword Qi melted like snow, crumbling piece by piece before fading into wisps of haze.
"His True Essence is nowhere near as substantial as the Mad Blood Daoist's, and his battle experience is quite shallow."
After two or three exchanges, Fang Yuan had a rough idea of Fang Lian's strength.
The Mad Blood Daoist had been at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. Every move he made had been ruthless, leaving no room for retreat. He had been decisive to the extreme.
Fang Lian, on the other hand, was probably still at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
Perhaps his underestimation of Fang Yuan had played a part, but the pressure he exerted was not all that intense.
Of course, several days had passed.
Fang Yuan's strength had also improved, giving him the confidence to defy the heavens and challenge someone above his realm—to fight against a Foundation Builder.
"Keep going!"
After shattering the palm print, Fang Yuan swiftly drew the Spiritual Sword from his back. His arm flickered as he thrust forward.
Eighteen sword images, wrapped in boundless True Essence, appeared in an instant. They were as fast as lightning, powerful enough to pierce the flesh of a Foundation Builder!
"I didn't expect him to have cultivated the Gale Nine Swords to this level."
Below the platform, Fang Yuan'er murmured to himself, his gaze unfocused.
He had only just managed to bring the Gale Nine Swords to perfection. Even then, he could barely produce nine sword images. He had thought he'd caught up with Fang Yuan.
But Fang Yuan had long since surpassed perfection and reached heights he could scarcely imagine.
Will I never be able to catch up with you in this lifetime?
Fang Yuan'er was not Fang Xuan. His martial heart was firm, and he soon pulled himself out of his confusion.
If you can do it, then so can I.
On the platform, Fang Lian grew more and more alarmed as the battle continued.
He had completely put aside his contempt and now treated Fang Yuan as an opponent on his own level.
"What a freak. He's so strong at the Xiantian Realm, it's almost unbelievable."
Fang Lian spat and said viciously, "But the chasm between realms isn't so easily crossed!"
In a flash.
His aura surged. A ribbon of True Essence rushed forth, pale-gray light swirling around his palm.
"Desolate Palm!"
Once again, a palm print thrust forward.
But this time, it brimmed with a terrifying power that made one's heart tremble.
Everywhere the palm print passed, the green plants around it withered and turned yellow. It was as if all their vital essence had been absorbed and converted into power.
"The Fang Family's clan-guarding martial art, Desolate Palm!" a Fang clan member exclaimed.
"Fang Yuan's no simple opponent. He's actually forced the Young Master to use the clan's martial art."
"At its peak, Desolate Palm leaves not a blade of grass standing wherever it passes. It turns everything into boundless power, laying all creation to waste."
"To lose to a clan-guarding martial art is nothing to be ashamed of. Fang Yuan can be proud."
The people below murmured among themselves, their faces filled with shock.
In their eyes, Fang Yuan was all but certain to lose.
After all, the gap in realms was plain to see. Add in the explosive power of the clan-guarding martial art, and even someone of the same realm would be crushed, let alone Fang Yuan.
Even in defeat, he would have won glory!
Though they were members of the Royal City Fang Family, they had to admit that Fang Yuan's talent was formidable.
The members of the Prefecture City Fang Family, meanwhile, wore grim expressions. They clenched their hands and said nothing.
Facing the gray palm print, which radiated an aura of annihilation, Fang Yuan unleashed thirty-six sword images in one burst. The sight shocked the people around him, but they still couldn't stop the crushing palm print.
Fang Yuan's eyes shifted. True Qi poured ceaselessly out of his body, covering its surface. It seemed he had made up his mind.
Then he swung the Spiritual Sword again and again, filling the sky with sword images. At last, they all converged into the blade, and he charged forward.
"What's he trying to do?"
"He's facing Desolate Palm with his flesh and blood. He'll die!"
"Even if his Spiritual Sword can pierce Desolate Palm, his True Qi will eventually run dry. How long can he keep it up?"
Many people below looked at Fang Yuan as if he were a madman.
Driving a Spiritual Sword required a great deal of True Qi to begin with. Now he also had to protect himself. It was simply impossible.
"You're not the reckless sort."
Not far away, Fang Zhongwu stared intently at the changes on the platform and thought to himself, but True Essence flowed through his clenched fist.
"If you want to die, then I'll grant your wish."
Fang Lian's expression turned cold, and his eyes brimmed with confidence. He even poured more True Essence into Desolate Palm, revealing the first hint of murderous intent!
He had once used this clan-guarding martial art to kill a Foundation Establishment True Person!
Fang Yuan had no chance of resisting it.
"A single wisp of True Essence from a Foundation Builder can draw on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and transform into more than a dozen streams of True Qi. No wonder those below the Xiantian Realm can't stand against them."
Only Fang Yuan, caught at the center of the pressure, could truly feel Fang Lian's strength.
His Spiritual Sword pierced Desolate Palm, but the pressure around him kept eating away at his True Qi shield.
The True Qi inside him was draining at an alarming rate. The palm print was like a hydraulic press coming down to crush him.
"Come forth!"
Fang Yuan gave a soft shout. His consciousness plunged into his Dantian, where he poured all his strength into driving the Jade Cup, which he had already filled to the brim with True Qi.
In an instant.
The True Qi in the Jade Cup burst forth like a dam giving way. His Dantian, parched by a long drought, was suddenly replenished by a timely rain and filled to the brim.
"Myriad Star Fist!"
With his True Qi restored, Fang Yuan swung his sword again and again, shattering the restraints around him completely. He closed in with Phantom Step.
Starlight blazed across the knuckles of his left hand, and then he slammed it down on Fang Lian.
"Not good!"
In that split second.
Fang Lian felt as if he were facing a deadly enemy. A powerful sense of mortal danger seized him, and every hair on his body stood on end.
He waved both hands again and again, swiftly gathering True Essence to form a shield in front of him. But falling stars hammered into it one after another, shattering it in an instant.
Dozens of powerful fist strikes struck him, making him spit blood as he crashed heavily off the arena.
Fang Lian had lost!
At that moment.
The whole place fell into a deathly silence!
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