Inner Sect Tournament Begins

Dawn broke bright, and the rising sun pierced through the morning mist between the mountains.

The Azure Cloud Sect's Grand Martial Arts Plaza was a roaring sea of voices, banners snapping fiercely in the wind.

Bluestone arenas several zhang high stood in neat rows, while the surrounding stands were packed to the brim. Inner sect disciples and some outer sect disciples who had come to observe gathered in great numbers. On the elevated platform, several sect elders sat upright, Elder Zhang among them.

Today marked the official start of the Inner Sect Tournament.

The tournament concerned not only each disciple's personal resources and True Disciple Nomination, but also the pride of their respective factions. Disciples from the two major factions, Longwind Society and Clear Jade Pavilion, occupied large sections of the stands, secretly striving against one another.

Shen Yuan stood calmly in the waiting area, dressed in a fitted azure inner sect uniform with that ordinary iron longsword hanging at his waist.

His Meridian Opening Realm Middle Stage aura was restrained and unremarkable. Yet the eyes of many inner sect disciples around him kept drifting toward him. A former menial disciple, he had passed through an out-of-control sword formation and become enemies with Xiao Wuji—one achievement after another had made him the center of attention even before the tournament began.

"That's Shen Yuan? Meridian Opening Realm Middle Stage, and I heard he plans to fight all the way to the finals and face Xiao Wuji." "A Meridian Opening cultivator challenging someone in the Profound Communion Realm? That sounds like a fantasy from the heavens. No matter how exquisite his swordsmanship is, the gulf in realms is right there." "Still, plenty of people are curious about his Revised Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords. Just how powerful can swordsmanship deduced from a fragmented scroll be?"

The scattered murmurs drifted into his ears, but Shen Yuan seemed not to hear them as his gaze swept across the plaza.

On one side of the stands, Xiao Wuji sat upright in his seat, dressed in a moon-white fitted outfit. Faint Profound Communion Realm mystic qi lingered around him. His expression was indifferent, yet his eyes would occasionally flick toward Shen Yuan in the waiting area, cold sharpness hidden in their depths.

Elsewhere, Gu Changfeng, the Longwind Society's senior brother, sat in a white robe, composed and steady. Shen Yuan had rejected his recruitment twice before. Gu Changfeng's expression was calm now, revealing neither joy nor anger, but the Longwind Society disciples around him all looked at Shen Yuan with a measure of distance.

Within the crowd, Wang Dong squeezed into the ordinary stands. His plump body was balanced on tiptoe, his eyes locked tightly on the waiting area. He even clutched a small piece of cloth in his hand, prepared to watch for any little movements from the disciples stationed beneath the arenas.

"The Inner Sect Tournament uses an elimination format! Winners advance, losers are eliminated. On the arena, stop at the proper point; deliberate killing is forbidden. Whoever loses the ability to fight or falls from the arena shall be considered defeated!"

The presiding elder's booming voice rang out from the high platform and spread across the entire plaza.

"First round, first match: Shen Yuan versus Lin Haoyu!"

The announcement rang out.

Shen Yuan drew in a deep breath, then leaped into the air and landed atop the third central bluestone arena.

Opposite him, a tall and slender inner sect disciple, Lin Haoyu, also stepped onto the arena. He was at the Late Meridian Opening Realm and cultivated the inner sect's mainstream Azure Wind Palm. He had gained some fame as a seeded contestant in this half of the bracket.

Lin Haoyu stood across the arena and cupped his hands in salute, his tone carrying a trace of disdain. "Junior Brother Shen, I've heard quite a bit about your exploits. But cultivation ultimately depends on one's realm. I advise you to surrender early if you cannot hold on, lest you suffer serious injuries."

"We'll know after we fight." Shen Yuan gripped his sword hilt and offered no needless words.

"Please!"

As the words fell, Lin Haoyu moved. Palm winds howled as layers upon layers of Azure Wind Palm swept forth, carrying the abundant true qi of the Late Meridian Opening Realm straight at Shen Yuan's face.

The fierce wind rushed toward him.

Shen Yuan's footwork shifted, and he turned aside to evade the palm strike. With a clang, his longsword left its sheath, cold light flashing.

Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords, First Form—Azure Clouds Emerge from the Mountains!

Silver-white true qi flooded into the longsword, and a fierce Sword Qi shot forward in a direct thrust.

The sword light was graceful and agile, yet killing intent lay concealed within it. It was nothing like the stiff, incomplete form recorded in the fragmented scroll.

Lin Haoyu's pupils contracted slightly, and he hurriedly changed his move to defend.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sword and palm collided repeatedly, the crisp sounds of metal crashing against true qi ringing out in succession.

The longsword flowed through Shen Yuan's hand as he unleashed the second and third forms in quick succession. The revised First Seven Forms of Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords flowed like drifting clouds and running water, offense, defense, advance, and retreat fused into a seamless whole. The sword momentum alternated between swift and slow, real and illusory, forcing Lin Haoyu into passive defense.

The stands instantly grew much quieter.

"Is that truly the incomplete Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords? The transitions between its moves are far too smooth!" "The copied fragmented scroll was clearly riddled with flaws. How did it become so powerful in his hands?"

Many inner sect disciples who had studied that incomplete manual wore shocked expressions. On the elevated platform, several elders leaned forward slightly, their eyes fixed on the arena.

The longer Lin Haoyu fought, the more alarmed he became. He was at the Late Meridian Opening Realm, and his total true qi surpassed Shen Yuan's, yet the exquisite suppression of Shen Yuan's swordsmanship left him at a disadvantage everywhere. He pushed his palm technique with all his strength, hoping to force Shen Yuan down through the sheer depth of his true qi.

Azure Wind Rolling Waves!

Lin Haoyu erupted with all his strength, layer upon layer of palm waves sweeping forth and covering the heavens and earth.

Shen Yuan's gaze sharpened, and he did not meet the true qi head-on.

The fourth and fifth forms of Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords unfolded in succession!

Layers of sword light surged like clouds and mist filling the sky, tearing through the blockade of palm waves. The sword blade pointed directly at the opening in his opponent's shoulder.

Lin Haoyu could not evade in time. Sword Qi swept across his shoulder, force qi invading his flesh. He staggered several steps backward as blood seeped through his clothes from the wound.

"I... I lost."

With his shoulder injured and his moves difficult to continue, Lin Haoyu's face turned ashen. He cupped his hands and conceded defeat.

"First match, Shen Yuan wins!" the referee loudly announced.

A wave of commotion rose beneath the arena.

Shen Yuan sheathed his sword, leaped down from the arena, and returned to the waiting area.

The moment he landed, Wang Dong squeezed over and lowered his voice. "That was beautiful! The moment that swordsmanship came out, so many people were dumbstruck! But be careful. I just saw several of Xiao Wuji's close followers whispering together. It looked like they were recording the patterns of your swordsmanship."

Shen Yuan nodded faintly. "As expected. They want to gather the flaws in my moves for Xiao Wuji to use in the finals."

The elimination rounds continued one after another.

In the second round, Shen Yuan faced an inner sect disciple at the Late Meridian Opening Realm who cultivated a heavy staff martial art. His opponent possessed immense strength and fierce staff momentum, intending to crush Shen Yuan through brute force.

Shen Yuan circled and maneuvered with Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords, constantly seeking the gaps and flaws in the staff technique. The instant his opponent's previous force had been spent after swinging the staff, Shen Yuan struck the acupoint on his wrist with a sword thrust. The heavy staff flew from his hand, and the opponent conceded defeat.

Third round, fourth round...

He cut through every obstacle in his path.

The Revised Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords displayed its full brilliance in Shen Yuan's hands. At times it drifted gracefully into surprise attacks; at others, it launched fierce assaults. Against opponents wielding different weapons and practicing different martial arts, he always found a method to counter them.

In every battle, Shen Yuan did not use his trump card, the immensely draining Fist-Sword Alternating Execution. He merely treated his swordsmanship as his conventional killing technique, conserving true qi and concealing his greatest move for stronger enemies in the future.

Victory after victory caused Shen Yuan's name to resound throughout the entire tournament plaza.

Yet danger was also quietly drawing near.

After several rounds, the remaining opponents in his half of the bracket grew increasingly powerful. Meanwhile, Xiao Wuji in the other half was likewise sweeping through his opponents like rotten wood, winning every match swiftly. His formidable Profound Communion Realm strength crushed all challengers; no one could last more than several dozen exchanges against him.

Just as Shen Yuan finished his fourth-round advancement match and returned to the waiting area to regulate his breathing,

the Martial Arts Heavenly Stele in his sea of consciousness suddenly lit up with a golden warning.

[Warning: Opponent sample data detected. Xiao Wuji has stabilized his initial Profound Communion Realm cultivation and completed extensive intelligence gathering on the First Seven Forms of Azure Cloud Thirteen Swords. If you engage him relying only on your existing swordsmanship, the probability of victory is extremely low. It is recommended that you acquire more Martial Dao Points as soon as possible to deduce higher-level sword techniques or combined combat methods.]

Shen Yuan's heart tightened.

The Heavenly Stele's warning was like a basin of cold water poured over him.

Through watching multiple battles, Xiao Wuji had already taken in every swordsmanship pattern Shen Yuan had displayed and was secretly analyzing ways to counter them.

What Shen Yuan had revealed so far was only the revised First Seven Forms. If they met in the finals, Xiao Wuji would surely have already devised methods to break them.

If he wanted to contend against Xiao Wuji of the Profound Communion Realm, he could not rely solely on his current methods.