Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw, Rising from the Brink of Death!

"Several exchanges?"

Lin Yuan moved as lightly as a swallow. After a few leaps, he descended the mountain and entered the valley.

He faintly heard the excited chatter of the women from the Goddess Luo Squad and could not help but smile.

They should be in for a surprise, after all...

This past week had not been wasted on him.

Lin Yuan stood tall and composed.

His right hand rested on the hilt of the battle sword at his waist. Looking calmly at the massive creature in the distance with cold eyes, he showed not a trace of fear.

There was only soaring battle intent and icy killing intent.

"Moo—"

This Earth Desolate Bull Beast stood six meters tall. It was slightly smaller than the one Wu Junru had slain, but it was no less intelligent.

Seeing the cold gaze of the human before it, it knew a battle was unavoidable.

It roared furiously, its four hooves repeatedly crushing the ground and sending dust flying.

As a member of the noble Stellar Behemoth race, it possessed innate knowledge. The ancient information inherited through its bloodline told it that every race in the universe was but an ant, and only Stellar Behemoths would endure forever.

And now, a mere ant dared provoke a noble Stellar Behemoth?

Kill!

Cold killing intent shone from its round, bulging eyes.

Without hesitation, the Earth Desolate Bull Beast took a heavy step forward. The instinct engraved in its genes allowed it to unleash its natal talent with flawless ease, shaking the earth before it almost instantly.

Boom!

The earth churned as waves rolled forward layer upon layer.

This was the most common opening move of the Earth Desolate Bull Beast race. The one Sister Ru had slain earlier had used the same technique.

Lin Yuan leaped almost instinctively, soaring over ten meters into the air and avoiding the waves sweeping across the ground.

"Hmph!"

Unexpectedly, seeing this, the Earth Desolate Bull Beast snorted coldly, a hint of mockery hidden deep within its eyes.

Foolish mortal...

How could it be as stupid as ordinary members of its race?

Whoosh!

As Lin Yuan rose into the air, the Earth Desolate Bull Beast, which should have been weakened after unleashing its natal talent, raised its head again.

The pale blue star-pattern on its forehead erupted with dazzling golden light.

"Hoo—"

A deep Earth Tremor Force, nearly dark gold in color, condensed into a beam. Like a sharp blade, it tore through the sky and sliced directly toward Lin Yuan.

It still had enough strength to unleash a second natal talent?

Even its earlier earth-churning attack had likely been bait, meant to lure Lin Yuan into the air to evade the damage. Its true killing move was this concentrated Earth Tremor Force!

"Hmm?"

"Not good!"

"This beast!"

The sudden change made the members of the Goddess Luo Squad watching from afar pale slightly, their beautiful eyes trembling.

Gu Shuangshuang frowned faintly, her hand gripping the hilt of the blade at her waist. Yet her eyes remained fixed on Lin Yuan's movements and expression.

Even in the face of this sudden shift and a life-or-death crisis, Lin Yuan's expression did not change in the slightest. His eyes remained cold, and his steady, imposing aura made Captain Gu relax slightly as she inwardly marveled.

"..."

Facing the dark-gold Earth Tremor Force that was rapidly cutting toward him, Lin Yuan was suspended in midair and unable to dodge.

But he did not evade. Instead, he instantly drew his sword—

Clang!

A sword cry rang through the sky.

Immediately afterward, an incomparably concentrated and brilliant streak of sharp sword qi slashed out, like starlight suddenly appearing or a celestial river hanging upside down.

The sword qi was extraordinarily long and narrow, connecting heaven and earth.

Though it was only a single streak, it seemed capable of cleaving the galaxy and shattering stars. Its beauty was breathtaking, utterly stunning.

"Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw!"

"Rise from the brink of death!"

Lin Yuan's gaze was icy.

He had actually chosen to clash head-on with the Earth Desolate Bull Beast!

Whoosh—

Sword qi swept forth, cold as frost.

This incomparably dazzling sword strike caught the Goddess Luo Squad off guard, forcing them all to turn their heads slightly and avoid its edge.

When they turned back, they saw a scene that left them utterly stunned—

Crash!

A long fissure had suddenly appeared across the ground!

The cut was smooth, as though torn open by sword qi, stretching straight for over a hundred meters.

And on either side of the fissure lay the Earth Desolate Bull Beast's corpse, split cleanly in two!

Even the "Boundary" symbolizing a Star Beast's immortal vitality had been severed. It had turned dull and lifeless, with no Stellar Force fluctuations remaining.

"..."

Silence!

It was as though the entire valley had been paused.

Everyone in the Goddess Luo Squad fell silent. Their red lips were slightly parted, their beautiful eyes frozen as they stared blankly at the sword mark on the ground and Lin Yuan, who calmly sheathed his sword.

An inexplicable sense of absurdity suddenly welled up within them.

What did I just see?

What the hell did I just see?

Even the women, who had always been poised and proper, felt like swearing.

The scene before them was simply too horrifying.

Faced with the Earth Desolate Bull Beast's extremely cunning tactics, Lin Yuan, a mere newcomer—and one fighting a Stellar Behemoth for the first time—had achieved such a terrifying result?

"Ten exchanges?"

One woman muttered in disbelief.

They had gone to so much trouble guessing how many exchanges it would take Lin Yuan to win.

Well, now they had their answer—

He had killed it with a single sword strike. Could you believe that?

"Are newcomers these days all this terrifying?"

Someone gave a bitter smile, looking rather discouraged.

Back when they had fought their first battles, it had already been good enough if their legs did not go weak. Being able to win with difficulty was enough to make them proud.

They had thought they were not bad themselves, but now...

The gap was simply far too great.

"Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw..."

Compared to the others in the Goddess Luo Squad, Gu Shuangshuang, as their captain, was even more shocked.

Because she recognized the Stellar Force Secret Art Lin Yuan had used—it was none other than the Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw!

This Stellar Force Secret Art was renowned even among martial artists.

After all, it was one of the rare top-tier Stellar Force Secret Arts without Stellar Force restrictions, allowing its power to be freely adjusted.

In theory, even a newcomer who had just broken through and possessed only a wisp of Natal Stellar Force could master it.

Unlike other advanced secret arts, which could not be used at all without a sufficient amount of Natal Stellar Force.

Its threshold was low, its power immense, and when mastered to the extreme, it could even shatter a star with a single slash!

For all those reasons, countless Starry-Sky Warriors coveted it. Who knew how many sword cultivators longed to master it.

But unfortunately...

The Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw was a Sky-Grade Stellar Force Secret Art ranked second in cultivation difficulty. Its demands for Stellar Force deconstruction, application, and swordsmanship comprehension were astonishingly high.

Even among Sky-Grade Stellar Force Secret Arts, its overall difficulty was far from simple. Ordinary Starry-Sky Warriors had no chance at all.

Those who could master it were powerful martial artists with extraordinary accomplishments in swordsmanship, as well as deep experience and attainments in Stellar Force.

Lin Yuan...

Had actually mastered the Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw?

Gu Shuangshuang's mind shook.

And he seemed to have broken through not long ago, right?

According to Yiyi, it had been at most one or two weeks.

Just one week... and he had mastered a Sky-Grade Stellar Force Secret Art?

She pressed her lips together in silence.

For the first time, she truly felt how frightening a real genius could be.

"Perhaps he really does have a chance to stand out in this year's Star-Martial Prodigy Training Program and become the most dazzling true prodigy of all human civilization..."