Fierce Battle

"Clang!"

A sword chime, clearer than Tianya's, rang out.

The Autumn Water Sword sprang forth at the sound.

Its light was clear as a pool of autumn water, untouched by worldly dust.

Unlike the domineering, icy aura of the Tianya Divine Sword, the Autumn Water Sword gave off a pure, restrained sharpness.

Li Xiaoyu didn't use any flashy sword techniques.

He simply thrust his sword forward, and ripples of blue spread outward in rings from its tip.

It was the most basic defensive sword form of the Green Cloud Sect, designed to overcome hardness with softness and dissipate an opponent's force.

Yet in Li Xiaoyu's hands, this simplest of techniques revealed an entirely different realm.

The blue ripples seemed not to be made of spiritual energy, but of actual water.

They looked soft and yielding, yet held a resilience as vast as the sea.

The snowflakes of ice filling the sky melted into spring water the moment they touched the blue ripples. Their sharp sword energy was dispelled, and their biting chill dissolved.

"Clink, clink, clank..."

After a flurry of light ringing sounds, every last icy snowflake had vanished.

Li Xiaoyu still stood quietly where he was, his robe hem not so much as fluttering.

It seemed an ordinary move, but in truth, it displayed his mastery over spiritual energy and his understanding of the Dao to the fullest.

The disciples below might not have seen the subtleties, but the branch leaders on the viewing platform all saw their pupils contract.

"Such pure spiritual energy! Such a clever way of dissipating force!"

Zeng Shuchang, Chief Seat of Wind Return Peak, stroked his beard and praised him.

"To break Small Bamboo Peak's killing move with the most basic sword form—this boy has a solid foundation!"

Shang Zhengliang was already grinning from ear to ear, his pride nearly spilling over.

Master Shuiyue's brow furrowed even more deeply.

She knew that her disciple had met a true opponent.

On the arena, astonishment flickered in Lu Xueqi's eyes.

She hadn't expected her seemingly certain strike to be dispelled so effortlessly.

But Lu Xueqi wasn't discouraged. If anything, her fighting spirit burned brighter.

"Again!"

She cried out, darted forward, and followed her sword, becoming a streak of white light as she launched herself at Li Xiaoyu.

The Tianya Divine Sword seemed to come alive in her hands.

At times it struck like a spirit serpent emerging from its hole, its angles treacherous; at others, it surged like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, its momentum immense;

Then it would sweep like an immortal crane spreading its wings, light and graceful.

Every move was a superb sword art of Small Bamboo Peak, exquisite beyond compare.

Facing Lu Xueqi's storm of attacks, Li Xiaoyu remained composed.

His steps seemed to follow some strange rhythm. Within a tiny space, he always dodged the fiercest attacks with the smallest movements.

The Autumn Water Sword in his hand was like an extension of his arm. Every block and counter came at just the right moment.

Their figures darted back and forth across the arena.

Sword light flashed, and sword energy crisscrossed.

One blue and one green streak of light collided again and again, ringing with the clear chime of clashing metal.

The disciples below were already utterly captivated.

This was no longer a simple contest of magic, but a feast for the eyes—a contest of swordsmanship.

Lu Xueqi's swordsmanship was beauty, cold elegance, an immortal scattering the ice and snow of the nine heavens.

Li Xiaoyu's swordsmanship was rhythm, nature, the Great Dao woven into the world. Every gesture returned to simplicity.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over a hundred moves.

The longer Lu Xueqi fought, the more alarmed she became.

She realized that no matter how fiercely she attacked or how she changed her sword forms, her opponent was like a deep sea, easily absorbing and dissolving all her strength.

And she still couldn't fathom how deep he went.

The feeling left her powerless.

This won't do. I can't let this go on!

Lu Xueqi steeled herself. After clashing with Li Xiaoyu, she borrowed the force to retreat and opened some distance.

Her pretty face turned grave. She held the Tianya Divine Sword upright before her chest and formed an intricate seal with both hands.

"Tianya, rise!"

At her command, the Tianya Divine Sword rang out in a piercing chime, shot into the sky, and hovered above her head.

A chill several times stronger than before erupted from the sword.

A thin layer of frost began to form across the arena floor.

"That's... controlling a sword with the spirit!"

A knowledgeable disciple below cried out in shock.

This was beyond the Object-Driving Realm of the Jade Purity Realm. It was a profound art that could only be performed with sufficiently powerful spiritual sense and an exceptionally high level of control over a magical treasure!

Li Xiaoyu's gaze finally turned grave as well.

He knew Lu Xueqi was about to get serious.

"Go!"

Lu Xueqi extended two fingers like a sword and pointed at Li Xiaoyu from afar.

The Tianya Divine Sword suspended in the air instantly became a dazzling blue rainbow. With a shriek that seemed to tear through the air, it shot toward Li Xiaoyu.

The sword's speed was at its absolute limit!

Its power was enough to pierce a mountain!

Facing this earth-shattering strike, Li Xiaoyu knew ordinary moves would no longer be enough to stop it.

The spiritual energy in his body poured without reserve into the Autumn Water Sword.

At the same time, Li Xiaoyu sank his awareness into his dantian and communed with the drab Wine Gourd.

"Lend me your edge!"

Hum!

Inside the gourd's inner space, the suspended strand of Innate Geng Metal Sword Qi quivered slightly.

A thread of golden energy, fine beyond compare, traveled through Li Xiaoyu's meridians and flowed into the Autumn Water Sword in his hand.

In an instant, a streak of golden light flared along the blade of the Autumn Water Sword, whose brilliance had previously been so restrained.

An indestructible sharpness flashed from the sword.

Li Xiaoyu's gaze sharpened as well.

He didn't retreat. He didn't dodge.

He met it head-on!

Gripping the Autumn Water Sword in both hands, Li Xiaoyu brought it down in a slash at the blue rainbow hurtling toward him!

"Clang!"

A shrill clash of metal rang across Heaven-Reaching Peak!

Green sword light and the blue rainbow crashed together at the center of the arena!

Everyone expected the Autumn Water Sword to shatter and Li Xiaoyu to spit blood as he was sent flying.

After all, that was the full-force strike of the Nine Heavens Divine Weapon, the Tianya Sword!

But what happened next overturned everything they thought they knew.

A dazzling light burst from the point where the two swords met.

The shock wave spread in every direction like a tsunami.

The arena floor caved in with a crash, spiderweb cracks racing outward in all directions.

And at the very heart of the light—

The Autumn Water Sword had not shattered!

Not only had it remained intact, it was holding fast against the tip of the Tianya Divine Sword, stopping it from advancing another inch!

"How is this possible!"

Master Shuiyue sprang to her feet on the viewing platform, her face full of shock.

She knew the sharpness of the Tianya Divine Sword better than anyone.

Forget a high-grade magical sword—even an ordinary divine weapon would have been cut in two by Tianya's full-force strike!

And yet a mere Autumn Water Sword had blocked it head-on?

Shang Zhengliang looked just as stunned. He knew the Autumn Water Sword he had forged was a fine weapon, but it should never have possessed such power!

What on earth was going on?

On the arena, no one felt it more keenly than Lu Xueqi.

The instant the two swords met, she felt an aura that made her soul tremble, coming from the tip of her opponent's sword.

That aura was pure and domineering!

As if it had been born for the sole purpose of severing everything in the world!

How could this be?

The Tianya Divine Sword had been forged from strange iron from the nine heavens and imbued with the righteous energy of Heaven and Earth. How could it...?

Lu Xueqi looked up through the dazzling light, her eyes fixed on Li Xiaoyu across from her.

He, too, looked strained.

Clearly, meeting her attack head-on had been no easy feat for him.

But his eyes shone with startling brightness, brimming with confidence and fighting spirit.

Their gazes met once more in midair.

In each other's eyes, they saw the thrill of finding a worthy opponent!

"Again!"

They shouted almost in unison.

Both urged their spiritual energy onward, and the two swords flared with even more dazzling light. Neither was willing to yield!