Outside a vast sea of lightning that stretched almost beyond sight in the Ninefold Thunder Domain, two holy sons were about to clash. After all that had been said, this battle was now unavoidable.
Ye Liuyun was already beyond fury and had no desire to waste more words. Only his opponent's blood could wash away the humiliation he had suffered.
With a raise of his hand, he unleashed one of the Azure Heaven Gate's supreme techniques. In an instant, ten thousand streams of sword qi slashed out, forming rivers and seas that bore down on Xu Sheng like a swath of the blue heavens crashing to earth.
At that moment, many hearts pounded with dread. They felt as though they were suffocating, the immense pressure leaving them unable to breathe.
"What divine ability is this? Isn't it a sword art? It should be incomparably sharp, so why does it exert such tremendous pressure, as though the firmament were overturning and an entire sky were falling?"
Unable to endure that pressure, a bewildered cultivator shouted his question.
"Heavens! This is the Azure Heaven Gate's peerless sword technique, the Ten Thousand Miles of Sky Sword, renowned throughout the Divine Continent! Ye Liuyun has actually mastered it!"
A knowledgeable cultivator cried out. This sword art had once shaken the Divine Continent for an entire era. It was a closely guarded secret of the Azure Heaven Gate, generally taught only to those of the younger generation chosen to succeed the Saint Lord.
Many were alarmed. Even a holy son should not have been granted this sword art so soon. Had Ye Liuyun already been selected as the future Saint Lord who would rule the Azure Heaven Gate?
"A powerful sword art!" A flicker of surprise appeared on Li Wangxian's face as well. This technique was extraordinary and should have been a saint-level sword art. The original novel had devoted little attention to Ziwei, but the vast territory of Ziwei Ancient Star naturally could not contain only the few factions that had appeared in it.
"Unfortunately, the person using it isn't up to the task." Li Wangxian shook his head. Though this was his first time seeing the technique, he could tell that while Ye Liuyun could execute it, he had failed to manifest many of its profound mysteries. He had merely captured its outward form.
Had those present known what he was thinking, they would surely have thought him mad. Ye Liuyun's sword art possessed tremendous power, its sword intent pressing down like the sinking blue heavens and leaving everyone struggling to breathe. Yet he actually thought Ye Liuyun was inadequate?
Did he really think he was a young Great Emperor?
Even Xu Sheng, who stood in the thick of the battle, would not dare be so arrogant!
Yet Xu Sheng really was that arrogant. Under everyone's horrified gazes, he did not unleash the Longevity Art or any other world-shaking divine technique. Instead, he charged straight into the sea of swords with his physical body.
"The sword intent in your sea of swords falls far short of the heaven-destroying, earth-annihilating heavenly punishment within the Thunder Domain."
A luminous glow spread over Xu Sheng's body, and a lightning technique bloomed in his hands. He met the sword qi shooting toward him head-on, intent on blasting through the sea of swords, while paying no attention to the sword qi at his sides.
For a time, he swept freely through the sea of swords as though no one stood in his path. The astonishingly sharp, peerless sword light beside him could not cut through his flesh. Everyone watching nearly had their eyes pop out of their heads.
The sword intent of Ye Liuyun's Ten Thousand Miles of Sky Sword was sharp and immense, its divine radiance soaring into the heavens. Every strand of sword qi posed some threat to a Four Extremes cultivator. With ten thousand strands erupting together, throwing the heavens into chaos and shaking the earth, it should have been able to slaughter swaths of Four Extremes cultivators.
At the very least, many of the Four Extremes cultivators present believed that even ten copies of themselves would have been cut down instantly, without the slightest doubt. Yet someone now treated this peerlessly terrifying sword art as though it were nothing. It was far too frightening, and far too crushing a blow to their confidence.
It should not have been possible. Many could not accept it and strained to peer into the sea of swords, hoping to discover the reason. But at that sight, several could no longer hold back their cries.
"His body shines with golden light, and he's almost impervious to all arts. Has Xu Sheng attained a golden body?"
Someone's voice trembled as he spoke. The speculation left him deeply shaken. If it were true, was the Longevity Temple about to produce another outstanding talent with hope of walking the Emperor Road?
"Attained a golden body? I don't believe it!" Ye Liuyun let out a long cry. A Saint Sword materialized, and he launched into a fierce clash with Xu Sheng, who had broken through the sea of swords.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Sword radiance cut sharply, and lightning thundered. The two holy-son-level prodigies engaged in a world-shaking clash. Sword intent and lightning crisscrossed the region as they exchanged over a hundred moves in an instant, fighting from the sky down to the ground. The aftershocks shattered the earth, leaving utter devastation.
"Is Ye Liuyun really this strong? He can fight so fiercely against Xu Sheng even after he attained a golden body?" someone asked in bewilderment.
"Wait, has Xu Sheng's golden body been broken? Is blood seeping from the corner of his mouth?"
A sharp-eyed cultivator noticed that Xu Sheng, who was using an unknown lightning technique to counter Ye Liuyun's Eternal Vast Sky Sword intent, now had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, as though the sword intent had wounded him.
The sight stunned everyone. Was Ye Liuyun truly so terrifying?
Cultivators who had attained golden bodies in the past were all said to be legends of invincibility. Had Ye Liuyun actually cut through one now?
"What golden body? He's merely mastered a minor physical divine ability. He's still a long way off."
Li Wangxian could listen no longer. His mouth twitched, and he spoke coldly.
Don't disgrace the golden body with such a pathetic performance!
At his words, everyone froze, shocked both by this revelation and by his faintly disrespectful tone.
Was this person simply extolling the power of the golden body? Or did he disdain the two holy sons?
Or was it both?
They did not know, but his words did resolve the doubts in some cultivators' hearts. After all, Xu Sheng's performance truly did not match the descriptions of golden bodies recorded in ancient texts.
"This young friend is right. This should be a physical divine ability, not a fully attained golden body."
Some came to their senses. If Ye Liuyun were so terrifying that he could break a golden body with his sword, his name should long since have resounded across Ziwei like those of Lu Ya and Yi Qingwu, rather than failing to stand out even among the holy sons.
Of course, after this battle, Ye Liuyun's reputation might rise to new heights. To wield the Ten Thousand Miles of Sky Sword to such a degree and forcefully suppress Xu Sheng, who had tempered himself for several years in the Ninefold Thunder Domain-perhaps everyone had underestimated him before.
After all, although their battle was extraordinarily fierce and seemed evenly matched, blood was trickling from Xu Sheng's mouth while Ye Liuyun remained completely unscathed. The outcome seemed clear already.
Thus, a cultivator began praising him. "Ye Liuyun possesses heaven-bestowed talent. His mastery of the Ten Thousand Miles of Sky Sword has reached divine perfection, allowing him to overpower Xu Sheng. Perhaps one day he'll have hope of walking the road to becoming a Great Emperor."
Li Wangxian's mouth twitched again. The bystanders in Shrouding the Heavens sometimes possessed frighteningly broad knowledge, yet at other times their horizons seemed terrifyingly narrow.
They dared talk about walking the Emperor Road at this level? What a joke. On the Starry Sky Ancient Road, someone like this wouldn't even deserve to announce his name.
Fortunately, this time Li Wangxian did not need to refute them himself. A respected elder spoke up. "No, Xu Sheng is about to win. Ye Liuyun is no match for him."
"How can that be? Xu Sheng has already been bleeding, while Ye Liuyun is still fighting him with overwhelming force."
Someone was puzzled. The situation clearly seemed settled, but no one dared contradict the elder, for some had recognized him. He was known for his extensive knowledge and seasoned eye, and he rarely misjudged anything.
The respected elder was puzzled by this as well. He could clearly see that although the two combatants appeared evenly matched, Ye Liuyun was already scrambling to fend off attacks, struggling to hold his own. It was only because their battle was so intense that they appeared equal.
"Wait, Xu Sheng's wounds don't look like they were caused by sword intent. There seems to be a fleeting flash of lightning in the blood flowing out!"
A sharp-eyed cultivator made a startling discovery, instantly clearing the fog from everyone's minds.
"That's it! Xu Sheng has just emerged from tempering himself in the Thunder Domain and hasn't yet recovered from the wounds inflicted by its lightning. That's why blood is trickling from his mouth."
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