One Against Two

"Crazy... this is absolutely crazy! How can Bai Yuan be this strong?!"

"An attack amplitude of 9.6 times! Why doesn't he just step on his left foot with his right and fly straight to the heavens?!"

"Shouldn't the main focus be on his concept? His Sharp Metal Concept has clearly reached the pinnacle—one more step and he'll comprehend a domain! Such insight is truly astonishing!"

The Universe Realm experts could no longer sit still.

Bai Luoyan's strength, they could still understand.

After all, she was a genius personally brought by Falling Rock World Lord; her exceptional talent was only to be expected.

Bai Xingyun's strength, they could also accept.

An Apprentice Realm brain domain width of thirty-seven—that was a natural gift, something one could only envy, not replicate.

But Bai Yuan... this man usually kept a low profile, never showing his hand. Now, like an utterly unexpected heavy punch, he slammed into everyone's hearts.

What was even more startling was that, had his realm been just a notch higher, Bai Yuan's strength might have even surpassed the other two.

Even as things stood, he fought Bai Luoyan and Bai Xingyun to a standstill, evenly matched.

"Old Ning! You're being far too dishonest! Even at a time like this, you won't give us a hint?" the golden-armored man said anxiously, unable to help glaring at Bai Tianning.

Bai Tianning laughed heartily, his entire face glowing with radiance, even his originally blue skin seeming to shine with a red tint.

"A hint? Do I even need to give one? Isn't this the kid's true strength?"

Having lived so long, he could say that the most exhilarating moments of his life were, first, when he broke through to Universe Realm, and second, today.

"Old Ning, control your expression—your mouth is about to twist into a grin."

"Sigh, why hasn't a genius like this been born among my descendants? Maybe I should go back and have a few more kids?"

"Speaking of which, Old Ning, you're really stingy. Couldn't you have scraped together some resources to let this kid break through to Apprentice ninth rank? If you had, we wouldn't need to argue—first place would already be decided."

The group of Universe Realm experts were now truly envious.

Given the talent Bai Yuan had displayed today, his future promotion to Domain Lord seemed highly likely, with even a slim chance of reaching World Lord.

Their imaginations ran wild—if their nephew were a Domain Lord, or even a World Lord... wouldn't their status skyrocket overnight?

On the plaza, those who had mocked Bai Yuan earlier were utterly ashamed.

Bai Guanren, meanwhile, revealed a faint smile.

As for Bai Kashan, he had already fainted from rage, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

--

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

"Impressive! When I was at Apprentice eighth rank, I didn't have combat power like this!"

After clashing heavily with Bai Yuan, Bai Luoyan used the momentum to retreat, speaking with genuine admiration.

"You flatter me. In terms of age, I'm probably the oldest of the three, yet I'm only at Apprentice eighth rank—truly embarrassing," Bai Yuan replied with a shake of his head.

Bai Xingyun laughed and said, "Not at all. For us of the Blade Clan, the speed of cultivation before Planet Realm doesn't truly mean much. The key isn't how fast you start, but whether you can maintain that momentum until you break through layer after layer of limits."

This was no lie. How many geniuses started with astonishing momentum, only to hit a bottleneck and stop there, their brilliance fading?

Conversely, others advanced steadily, step by step, eventually breaking through to higher realms.

Even Special Grade Elites and Giant Axe Martial Artists—many among them remained stuck before the Domain Lord realm for their entire lives.

Yet some geniuses from remote corners could rise against the tide, shatter the shackles of bloodline, and step into higher levels.

Clang, clang, clang...

Bai Yuan held his shield horizontally to block, heavily repelling the incoming flying blades, his expression growing more solemn.

He gradually sensed that Bai Xingyun and Bai Luoyan seemed to have reached some unspoken agreement.

Both had, as if by tacit consent, turned their main offensive toward him.

But this was only natural. Right now, his instantaneous burst power was the strongest among the three, and his defensive ability was no slouch either—offense and defense in one, leaving almost no weakness.

Though this didn't mean his overall combat strength was the highest, to the other two, such an opponent posed the greatest threat and was the hardest to deal with, so naturally, they had to handle him first.

"Breeze Sword Art!"

"Silver Dragon from Beyond!"

Bai Luoyan's long sword transformed into a blur of cyan shadow, sword light like wind, everywhere at once—seemingly gentle yet hiding lethal intent, impossible to guard against.

At the same time, the thirty-three blades flew back into the telekinetic weapon.

Then, the telekinetic weapon before Bai Xingyun blazed with silver light, thirty-three secret patterns flaring up, the entire weapon seeming to transform into a lifelike silver dragon, roaring as it charged to kill Bai Yuan!

"Damn! They really are coming for me first!"

Bai Yuan bellowed, not daring to be the least bit careless.

The war blade in his hand suddenly erupted with a surge of golden light, twelve layers of force stacking atop each other, exploding violently along the blade's edge!

Boom!!!

The golden light, the silver dragon, and the breeze clashed head-on!

The silver dragon's might was terrifying, its impact nearly matching a full-force strike from Bai Yuan.

Before Bai Yuan could shake it off, Bai Luoyan's Clear Wind Sword followed close behind, slashing down like a shadow clinging to its prey.

It wasn't until the blade edge arrived in that instant that Bai Yuan suddenly realized—this seemingly gentle sword light was advancing in rapid, barely perceptible succession, each strike faster than the last, its power climbing layer by layer!

Without the silver dragon pinning him down, he could have forcibly interrupted her momentum.

But now, all he could do was stare helplessly!

"I'll hold!"

Bai Yuan's left arm exploded with force as he shoved his shield forward, colliding with the silver dragon in a violent tremor that shook the air!

In the distance, Bai Xingyun's face went pale in an instant. The silver dragon shuddered violently, nearly dispersing, but he gritted his teeth and barely held it together.

"Such immense strength... if that female swordsman hadn't shared nearly half the pressure, my silver dragon would have been shattered by his single blow!"

It wasn't that Bai Xingyun was weak—it was that Bai Yuan's explosive power was too overwhelming.

A 9.6-fold amplification in force output, paired with the highly aggressive Sharp Metal Concept, and at its ultimate level at that.

Combined, their might was nothing to scoff at.

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

Bai Luoyan's sword strikes grew faster and faster, her focus honed to its peak.

That clash just now had genuinely startled her.

If the silver dragon had truly been shattered by Bai Yuan, her sword momentum would have collapsed along with it.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

Her sword continued to build its layered momentum.

"Not good! Bai Yuan can't hold out much longer!"

"Fighting one against two, reaching this point is already incredibly rare. The other two must have seen through that too, which is why they chose to join forces and eliminate him first."

Among the onlookers outside, many showed expressions of regret.

But this was only to be expected—the strongest was always singled out. Hadn't they themselves made the same choice in their own competitions?

As for those who, knowing they couldn't win, still chose to fight to the bitter end—those were ultimately the rare few.

Even Bai Guanren only went all out because he knew the clan competition posed no threat to his life.

If this were the outside world, unless there was no retreat or no other choice, he would have already piloted his ship and fled. Who would be foolish enough to stay and fight to the death against someone they knew they couldn't beat?