Ambushed

Bai Yuan smiled slightly and said, "Of course it's me. Surprised?"

"You don't even need to ask! I've known you for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen your true strength. You've been hiding it deep! Not just me—even those teachers never noticed." Bai Guanren sighed with emotion.

How could he know that Bai Yuan had never deliberately concealed anything in the past? Every time he made a move, he wished he could exert twelve-tenths of his strength.

At this moment, Bai Yuan looked at the other person and calmly said, "Brother, do me a favor. Let's end this here. What do you say?"

The other party quickly nodded, no longer daring to entertain any thought of crossing blows with Bai Yuan.

Just then, Bai Guanren suddenly spoke up: "Wait, I have a request."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other party's expression turned grim, thinking that Bai Guanren was still holding a grudge over nearly being eliminated earlier and was determined to force him to his death.

But the next words completely dispelled his doubts.

Bai Guanren said to Bai Yuan, "I appreciate your kindness, but I haven't forgotten what we said before—to rely on my own hands and earn everything that belongs to me."

"So let me finish this fight with him. No matter the outcome, I hope you won't interfere."

Bai Yuan wasn't surprised. This kind of persistence was the Bai Guanren he knew.

Among the Universe Realm experts watching, quite a few nodded faintly, their eyes showing approval.

As for the opponent, he was stunned, never expecting Bai Guanren to make such a decision, and couldn't help but feel a trace of respect for him.

"Fine! Then let's continue this battle!"

Bai Guanren nodded, his fighting spirit blazing like fire as he swung his blade toward his opponent once more.

Boom!

From the very start of the fight, Bai Guanren was completely at a disadvantage.

After his opponent had fully comprehended the artistic conception, his strength far, far surpassed Bai Guanren's.

Yet Bai Yuan keenly noticed that Bai Guanren's strength was also improving slightly during the battle.

Though the increase was small, it was real.

"Indeed, only by repeatedly challenging opponents who surpass you can you unlock your own potential."

By now, Bai Guanren had cast aside all distractions, throwing himself entirely into every swing of his blade. His swordsmanship grew increasingly refined.

Unfortunately, the gap in strength between the two sides was too vast. After just a few dozen exchanges, Bai Guanren was clearly on the verge of collapse.

Just as everyone thought the battle was about to end, something unexpected happened...

Boom!!

Under extreme, life-or-death pressure, Bai Guanren actually broke through to the Planet Realm!

Originally, he had been only a single pane of glass away from the Planet Realm, and he had deliberately suppressed himself from breaking through.

Now, because he was fighting with his whole heart and under immense external pressure, he inadvertently shattered that pane of glass and completed the breakthrough.

In truth, even without this great battle, Bai Guanren only needed to find a place to go into seclusion, and he could have smoothly broken through to the Planet Realm.

But the results of these two breakthrough methods were vastly different.

Breaking through in seclusion was merely an ordinary advancement, while breaking through in a desperate situation could dig deeper into one's potential.

If the normally breaking through Bai Guanren's future limit might stop at Star Ninth Rank, then this breakthrough in a desperate situation earned him a sliver of a chance to impact the Universe Realm.

As Bai Guanren stepped into the Planet Realm, a white light suddenly enveloped him, instantly teleporting him out of the Blade Tomb World.

After all, breaking through to the Planet Realm was a violation, even if it happened unintentionally.

After Bai Guanren was eliminated, the other person looked at Bai Yuan with a grave expression.

Seeing that Bai Yuan's expression was as calm as ever, with no sign of making a move, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Can I leave now?" he asked tentatively.

"Of course. I have no intention of keeping you here." Bai Yuan replied, somewhat puzzled.

Did he really look that fierce? Why was the other party so wary of him?

Time ticked by, and more and more people were eliminated.

The truly top-tier experts gradually began to converge on Zone One.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Facing the siege of twenty-seven flying blades, Bai Yuan remained composed and unhurried. His figure exploded with astonishing speed, instantly deflecting all the flying blades, flashed before the opponent controlling them, and ended the battle with a single slash.

"The paths of Martial Artist and Psychic Master have no inherent superiority, but Psychic Masters do have a more obvious advantage in the early stages." Bai Yuan analyzed to himself.

Psychic Masters could be divided into two types: Controllers and Illusionists. The former mainly manipulated telekinetic weapons to attack, while the latter specialized in using various soul techniques to directly assault the opponent's soul.

Due to the different paths, it was hard to simply judge which was stronger.

In the early stages of cultivation, a Martial Artist could at most wield two blades against an enemy, while a Psychic Master could send dozens of flying blades flying in a single move.

Even if one's hands could handle it, one's eyes might not keep up with such a dense barrage.

However, as cultivation advanced, domains, fundamental laws, secret techniques, treasures—these became the core factors determining combat strength.

"Alas, my movement technique is still lacking." Bai Yuan let out a light sigh.

The Sharp Metal Thirty-Three Slash he cultivated did not include any guidance arts or movement techniques, so he could only pick relatively suitable ones to make do.

His movement advantage lay in explosive instantaneous burst, which, when combined with the Sharp Metal Thirty-Three Slash, produced astonishing power.

But the drawback was equally obvious: insufficient flexibility, with attacks that were straightforward and direct.

Once an opponent could block his blade momentum head-on, the situation would become quite troublesome.

Yet up until now, no one had been able to completely neutralize his offensive head-on.

As he walked, Bai Yuan suddenly stopped and slowly spoke: "You've been following me for so long—might I ask what business you have?"

The moment his words fell, over twenty figures no longer concealed themselves, emerging from all directions to surround him completely.

One man carrying a war blade on his back said in a deep voice: "You're too strong, too dazzling. If we let you keep fighting, you'll only drown out our brilliance. So you have to be eliminated early!"

Many around him nodded in agreement, clearly sharing the same thought.

One perfect score, one excellent.

Only if that perfect-score genius disappeared could the excellent ones have a chance to shine.

Of course, there were also some who had come purely for the chance to fight Bai Yuan.

But going at him alone would likely end in an instant defeat, so they simply joined forces to gang up on him.

The corner of Bai Yuan's mouth twitched slightly, and for a moment he was at a loss for words.

"What kind of skill is a group fight? If you've got guts, let's duel!" Bai Yuan shouted loudly.

Unexpectedly, the other side shook their heads repeatedly in response.

"If a duel could beat you, why would we bother joining forces? To put it bluntly, this is actually a recognition of your strength."

Hearing this, Bai Yuan truly didn't know how to argue.

Because there was indeed such a rule circulating in the Blade Clan.

A true strongman should fear no enemy, able to calmly handle even the encirclement of a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand.

But Bai Yuan always felt that this rule probably contained more bragging than truth.

A real man can bend and stretch—if he can win, he fights; if he can't, he runs. After improving his strength, he can come back to reclaim his ground. There's no need to be stubborn.