Sword Force Revealed

Most disciples like Fang Wuji had no backing, no resources, and relied on nothing but a heart full of hot blood. In the end, they were nothing more than a joke.

The first round ended quickly, without causing much of a stir.

Shen Qingzhou, Lu Chen, Zhao Heng, and Zhong Yuan, the artifact-crafting genius from Heavenly Craft Peak, all advanced without suspense.

The steward's voice soon rang out again, announcing the matchups for the second round.

"Sword-Coming Peak's Lu Chen versus Heavenly Craft Peak's Zhong Yuan!"

"Sword-Coming Peak's Shen Qingzhou versus Blackwater Peak's Zhao Heng!"

The instant those matchups were announced, the entire venue fell silent. Then, discussion erupted with a boom, thoroughly igniting the atmosphere.

Lu Chen and Zhong Yuan's battle began first.

Zhong Yuan knew full well that close combat was not his strength. The moment the match began, he flung out several metal spheres, which transformed into puppets wielding blades and shields around him.

At the same time, the array disk in his hand flashed repeatedly as he swiftly set up a defensive formation beneath his feet, surrounding himself like an iron barrel.

But his opponent was Lu Chen.

Lu Chen did not even look at those puppets. He merely took a simple step forward.

Buzz...

An invisible crushing pressure spread outward from him.

The movements of those refined-iron puppets immediately became sluggish and stiff, their joints creaking under unbearable strain.

The spiritual light of the formation beneath Zhong Yuan's feet also began to flicker violently, wavering between brightness and darkness.

Before absolute "momentum," all ingenious mechanisms appeared pale and powerless.

Lu Chen took another step forward.

Crack!

One puppet's leg joint shattered on the spot, and it dropped stiffly to its knees.

The color drained from Zhong Yuan's face. He discovered that even activating his array disk had become incomparably difficult, as though an invisible mountain were pressing down upon him.

"I... concede."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he bitterly forced out those three words.

Lu Chen had won with ease without even drawing his sword.

Everyone's gazes instantly converged on the final fighting platform.

Shen Qingzhou and Zhao Heng stood facing each other.

"Shen Qingzhou!" Zhao Heng's voice was hoarse, his bloodshot eyes red from exhaustion. "At Wind-Listening Hall, I lost to you in Dao arts. Today, on this Sword-Inquiry Platform, I will use my Zhao Family's Sea-Overturning Sword Art to defeat you openly and honorably!"

Water vapor rose around him, so dense it nearly became tangible mist, shrouding his body.

"Please." Shen Qingzhou still wore that calm expression and uttered only one word.

"Kill!"

Zhao Heng roared. Man and sword moved as one, transforming into a towering wave that swept toward Shen Qingzhou.

Everyone below the platform changed expression. This sword's momentum far surpassed what Zhao Heng had displayed against Fang Wuji.

Yet facing that heaven-shaking strike, Shen Qingzhou made a move no one had expected.

He neither retreated nor blocked. Instead, he also stepped forward, lightly extending the Ripple-Pattern Sword in his hand.

The sword tip pointed directly at the center of that raging torrent.

Abyssal Descent Momentum!

An invisible, intangible force of attraction suddenly erupted from the Ripple-Pattern Sword's tip.

When the towering wave drew within three feet of Shen Qingzhou, it seemed to crash into a bottomless vortex.

The violent Sword Qi was madly dragged and twisted, before ultimately sinking beyond resistance.

Zhao Heng felt his Sword Force stall. That unstoppable momentum was forcibly cut short.

The spiritual power he had poured into his sword was flowing uncontrollably toward that bizarre sword tip!

"That's impossible!" Zhao Heng's eyes nearly split open. He frantically drove his spiritual power, trying to break free from that strange pulling force.

But the more he struggled, the faster his spiritual power drained away.

His already unstable cultivation now collapsed like a dam bursting its banks.

Shen Qingzhou turned his wrist.

The Ripple-Pattern Sword traced an arc of profound mystery, gently guiding along the flaw in Zhao Heng's sword momentum.

Zhao Heng felt an enormous force strike him. His body pitched forward against his will, and he actually brushed past Shen Qingzhou's robe before viciously slashing empty air.

Boom!

The hard obsidian platform was carved with a deep trench.

Zhao Heng had already exhausted his strength and fallen to his knees, gasping heavily, his eyes filled with bewildered disbelief.

He had lost.

He had lost without understanding why, without even the power to fight back.

On the viewing platform, the Blackwater Peak elder's face turned livid.

Cloudveil True Person's perpetually closed eyes had somehow opened to a sliver. The corner of his mouth seemed to curve upward, before returning to normal.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

If his instant defeat of Zhou Huan in the first match had been a surprise attack—

Then this frontal crushing defeat of Zhao Heng, who had burned everything he had, truly proved Shen Qingzhou's terrifying strength to everyone.

"What method did he use, exactly?"

"I can't understand it at all. I really can't. Why aren't the elders explaining?"

Shen Qingzhou ignored the surrounding gazes and merely looked calmly toward Lu Chen, whose battle had just ended on the other side.

Their eyes met.

The final battle of the minor tournament had begun.

The clamor around the Sword-Inquiry Platform strangely subsided the instant Shen Qingzhou and Lu Chen stepped onto the stage.

It was not that no one spoke. Rather, everyone instinctively lowered their voices, which gathered into a humming background murmur.

It was as though an invisible aura had enveloped the entire venue, completely separating this final battle from every other match.

On the viewing platform, the Blackwater Peak elder wore a gloomy expression. Zhao Heng's crushing defeat had caused Blackwater Peak to lose all face.

Elder Li sat motionless, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingers, his emotions unreadable.

Su Yu, however, sat up straight. Even she, usually so relaxed, rarely showed a trace of tension.

"Heh heh..."

Cloudveil True Person beside her glanced at her, then continued resting with his eyes closed, as though he turned a deaf ear to everything outside.

"Senior Brother Lu, please."

Shen Qingzhou held the Ripple-Pattern Sword, its tip angled toward the ground. His long robe stirred despite the absence of wind.

Dao Strife... unseen, a current of fate and spirit had gathered around him. Since the momentum had carried him this far, there was no reason to grow timid and shrink back.

Keeping a low profile was certainly a good path, but striving was the main melody of the immortal Dao!

Lu Chen's expression grew solemn, and battle intent surged in his eyes.

During those days of secluded cultivation before the Mountain-Suppressing Stele, Turtle Elder had pushed open a brand-new door for him, greatly bolstering his confidence.

So what if your talent is higher? With Turtle Elder's help, I am destined to leave you far behind!

He thought to himself.

Buzz...

"Be careful."

Lu Chen moved. Rather than charging forward, he took one step ahead, and the obsidian platform beneath his feet gave a dull boom.

A ripple spread from beneath Lu Chen's feet.

The disciples below the platform felt their chests tighten, making it difficult to breathe.

Shen Qingzhou, standing on the platform, felt it most clearly. The pressure around him had become incomparably heavy.

"This is... Sword Force! He comprehended Sword Force while still at the Mid Qi Refining Stage? This child's future is boundless!"

At last, an elder recognized it, full of admiration.

Interesting.

Shen Qingzhou thought. Among those of his generation, only Lu Chen could place some pressure on him.

He did not forcibly resist it either. He too took a step forward.

The Ripple-Pattern Sword drew a circle from below to above.

Abyssal Descent Momentum!

Lu Chen's Sword Force pressed outward, while Shen Qingzhou's Abyssal Descent Momentum drew inward.

The moment Lu Chen's crushing pressure approached within three feet of Shen Qingzhou, it was like crashing into a whirlpool and being dragged away into nothingness.

The two different forces collided between them, twisting even the air.

"What? Shen Qingzhou comprehended Sword Force too? What kind of monsters are these?"

"No wonder Zhao Heng was no match for him. So that's how it is!" The disciples suddenly understood.

"So you were hiding something."

Lu Chen's gaze sharpened, and his battle intent intensified.

Only an opponent like this was worth his full strength!

The clash of Sword Forces lasted only an instant. Lu Chen stopped probing, and the sword in his hand buzzed as it shot straight toward Shen Qingzhou with the pressure of the Heavy Domain.

Before the sword arrived, that pressure alone already made breathing difficult.

Shen Qingzhou neither dodged nor retreated. The Ripple-Pattern Sword met Lu Chen's blade as it thrust out at blinding speed.

Clang!

The two swords collided, producing a piercing ring of metal.

A circle of airwaves exploded from the point of impact, blowing the front-row disciples below the platform into a stagger.

Shen Qingzhou's body swayed as he retreated half a step. In that direct clash, he had clearly come out worse.

"Kan Water Remnant Dao is, after all, water without a source."

Lu Chen finally stopped concealing his arrogance. "Sorry. No matter how exquisite your Dao arts may be, before strength, they are merely crooked side paths."

Before he had even finished speaking, his second sword strike arrived!

This strike was faster and heavier than the last!

Lu Chen drove the pressure of the Heavy Domain to its limit, attacking sword after sword without giving Shen Qingzhou any chance to catch his breath.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Dense metallic clashes merged into one, sparks scattering everywhere.

Shen Qingzhou was forced back step by step by those successive heavy sword strikes.

Each time the Ripple-Pattern Sword in his hand blocked, it buzzed under the enormous force. Yet the rippling water patterns along the blade always dispersed the impact, leaving him completely unharmed.

"What a pity. Senior Brother Shen is going to lose! Senior Brother Lu is too strong!"

"What kind of Sword Force is that? I feel like I'm about to stop breathing!"

"Is this the strength of this tournament's number one?"

The disciples below the platform were all dumbfounded.

"Serves him right. A good defeat!"

Zhou Huan clutched his chest. Seeing Shen Qingzhou being suppressed, a hint of delight appeared on his face.

"I wasn't even his opponent..."

Zhao Heng clenched his teeth. Only now did he understand just how vast the gap between himself and Lu Chen was.

"Damn it, that brat must have Foundation Establishment guidance behind him... Junior Brother, you..."

The smile vanished from Su Yu's face, and she frowned.

Just as Shen Qingzhou appeared about to lose, his face, despite having been passively battered all this time, grew ever calmer. That gave Lu Chen a faint sense of unease.

"Strength?"

He spoke softly, but his voice reached Lu Chen's ears with perfect clarity.

If I hadn't hidden one more card, this brat really might have turned the tables on me.

"How much do you understand about strength?"

The moment his words fell, spiritual power several times stronger burst from Shen Qingzhou's body!

The previously faint water-element spiritual energy around him suddenly thickened, turning into several streams of black water that revolved around him.

The aura of the Qi Refining Third Layer began to surge wildly!

"If this is all you have, Junior Brother Lu, then this is where you stop!"