At the summit of a lone peak, clouds and mist curled around the air, while fierce astral winds howled.
Two figures stood against the raging winds, overlooking the shifting tides upon the arena below.
"What a pity."
The Golden-Masked Man suddenly spoke, his voice low and magnetic, carrying a faint trace of regret.
"Once upon a time, Azure Province's Martial Dao flourished. Geniuses emerged in endless succession, and even masters and Grandmasters were not uncommon. Yet now, a mere Xiantian Realm cultivator could dominate a region and draw ten thousand people into the streets."
His tone was calm, as though he were recounting an ancient history long buried beneath the dust.
"You see clearly, my lord," the Grey-robed Elder replied respectfully.
A trace of emotion also appeared on his aged face. "Ever since the great change in heaven and earth, Great Gan's dragon vein was damaged. Though the dynasty had fortunately broken the thousand-year curse of inevitable destruction, its vitality was gravely wounded. Countless astonishing talents fell in that catastrophe."
"The dynasty's fortune declined from prosperity, and it no longer had the strength to suppress the four corners of the realm. The Outer Domain Demonic Sect seized the chance to infiltrate Azure Province and set up that Sky Locking Array, using the fortune of an entire province's living beings as a sacrifice to seal off inside from outside."
"Once the array was completed, martial artists above the Xiantian Realm could no longer enter Azure Province, while Xiantian martial artists within Azure Province could not leave. At the same time, all hope of advancing further was severed. After two hundred years, Azure Province's Martial Dao naturally declined to this state."
If the secret revealed by the Grey-robed Elder spread through the martial world, it would be enough to stir up towering waves. Azure Province's decline in Martial Dao had actually been man-made—a conspiracy from beginning to end.
The Golden-Masked Man gazed into the distance, his eyes seeming to pierce through the invisible Sky Locking Array and see a far broader world beyond.
"The Demonic Sect calculated well, but unfortunately, they underestimated the dynasty's determination to reclaim its lost lands."
"Azure Province was something Great Gan could not afford to lose, and would never abandon."
"The imperial court had already begun to act."
At his words, a flash of joy appeared in the Grey-robed Elder's clouded old eyes.
"The dynasty was going to make its move?"
Then the delight on his face turned into deep concern.
He knew what that meant.
The Golden-Masked Man did not answer. He merely turned his gaze back to the arena atop Soul Severing Cliff.
To him, the flames of war across an entire province might not have been as interesting as the battle before his eyes, which was about to determine victory and defeat.
On the arena, killing intent froze the air.
True Man Songyue's sword was like the man himself, carrying a detached and chilly aloofness.
"Gentle Breeze Arrives Slowly" looked soft and gentle, yet the sword net was formless, and its sword intent seeped through every opening. Like mercury spilling across the ground, it sealed every possible retreat for Lu Shaoyou.
That sharp sword intent was no longer something ordinary Xiantian experts could withstand.
This was the true strength of the Qingcheng Sword Sect's leader, the bearing of a powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of Azure Province's martial world.
Yet Lu Shaoyou's response was simple, brutal, and filled with unreasonable tyranny.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Golden cudgel shadows and moon-white sword light collided madly, each clash erupting with a deafening roar.
The scattered force was like sharp blades, carving deep, bone-revealing gashes into the arena floor, which was harder than refined iron.
The spectators below had long since been shaken to the core, barely able to breathe.
In their eyes, True Man Songyue was already a figure like an immortal.
Yet that young man—that demon—could actually use an utterly ordinary iron cudgel to clash head-on with the sect-defending divine weapon, the Songyue Sword, without falling even slightly behind!
This was simply a fantasy from the heavens!
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
An elder from one sect muttered in shock, his eyes filled with horror and confusion. "True Man Songyue's true qi is so pure, and his sword intent so sharp. How could that brat possibly block him?"
Was his body forged from iron?
Within the arena, True Man Songyue's shock was greater than anyone else's.
Only he knew how terrifying the force transmitted from that iron cudgel was with every sword-cudgel collision.
That power was pure, fierce, and tyrannical, as if it were not human strength at all, but the roar of an ancient ferocious beast.
The web between his thumb and forefinger had long since split open, blood streaming down. Even the arm holding his sword trembled faintly.
The other man's true qi quality might have been inferior to his, but that power completely made up for it—and even surpassed it!
"So this was your sword?"
Amid the fierce battle, Lu Shaoyou suddenly spoke, obvious disappointment in his voice. "Hesitant and limp, weak as cotton. Just like those useless disciples of yours, cut from the same cloth."
"You only knew how to rely on a broken sword and put on flashy, flowery displays. In truth, you couldn't withstand a single blow."
If you couldn't find the book title, try searching for the author. It might simply have been renamed!
With a flick of his wrist, golden light surged from the Qi Mei Cudgel.
"Let me show you what true power is!"
"Dragon-Elephant Demon Suppressing Cudgel—Sweeping Through a Thousand Armies!"
With one sweep of the cudgel, there were no complicated transformations, only power and speed pushed to their absolute limits.
The air was instantly crushed apart with a dull boom. A visible golden shockwave swept outward in a fan-shaped arc.
True Man Songyue's pupils contracted. He felt an irresistible tyrannical will rush straight at him, making his mind tremble.
He poured the power of his entire life into the Songyue Sword. The blade let out a strained hum, transforming into a brilliant streak of moonlight as it met the attack.
Boom—!
A heaven-shattering sound that split stone and startled the sky.
Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, the brilliant sword light upon which True Man Songyue had placed all his hopes melted away the instant it touched the golden cudgel shadow, like ice and snow beneath the blazing sun.
Then, that incomparably tyrannical cudgel shadow smashed viciously into the Songyue Sword's blade.
Crack!
A crisp cry of sorrow rang out.
This sect-defending treasure of the Qingcheng Sword Sect, passed down for centuries, was actually smashed by that single strike, a savage crack forcibly appearing across its blade! The spiritual light upon it instantly dimmed.
True Man Songyue was struck as if by lightning. His entire body shook violently, and he could no longer suppress the blood in his throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering backward more than ten steps before barely steadying himself.
One cudgel strike had broken every sword move and cracked a divine weapon!
Lu Shaoyou withdrew his cudgel and stood still, too lazy even to pursue.
He looked at True Man Songyue, whose face was deathly pale and whose lips were stained with blood, then shook his head. The contempt in his eyes was utterly undisguised.
"Your sword was too slow. Your strength was too weak."
"I killed your four disciples because they were foolish and deserved to die. Now it seemed you were even more foolish than they were. For a stage built by an outsider, you wagered your life—and the Qingcheng Sword Sect's reputation as well."
"Was it worth it?"
Lu Shaoyou's voice was calm, yet each word was like a razor-sharp dagger stabbing viciously into True Man Songyue's heart.
Words that condemned the heart!
Pfft—!
True Man Songyue's mind had already been in turmoil, and he had suffered grave injuries. Provoked further by those words, he felt his blood and qi churn violently. His vision went black, and he spat out another great mouthful of blood, staining the Daoist robe over his chest a shocking crimson.
He had cultivated the Dao his entire life, seeking a heart as still as water. Yet at that moment, all his cultivation and all his Dao heart collapsed with a thunderous crash beneath that ultimate humiliation and grief.
"Ahhh—demon! Demon!!"
True Man Songyue's eyes turned bloodshot. He looked utterly mad, with none of his former immortal poise remaining.
He threw back his head and released an incomparably shrill roar. A terrifying aura far exceeding his previous one erupted explosively from within him.
"You deserved death! You deserved death! Today, even if I must stake this life of mine, I will grind your bones to ash!!"
A flash of resolve and madness crossed his eyes as his hands rapidly formed a strange seal before his chest.
"Blood Burning Essence Return!"
With his furious shout, his already pale face instantly became bloodless. Yet the aura around him began to rise wildly at an unbelievable speed.
Xiantian Mid-stage peak... Half-step Innate late stage...
In the end, he forcibly broke through the bottleneck and reached the true late stage of the Xiantian Realm!
This was the Qingcheng Sword Sect's forbidden Secret Technique. At the cost of burning more than half of one's blood essence, it granted several times one's cultivation for a short period.
But once this technique was used, regardless of victory or defeat, its user would be spent like a lamp drained of oil, beyond even immortals' ability to save.
"Qingcheng Ultimate Art—Moonfall Star-sink!"
True Man Songyue spoke each word separately, his hoarse voice like the wail of ghosts. He poured all the strength gained from burning his blood essence into the Songyue Sword in his hand, already covered in cracks.
In an instant, heaven and earth changed color.
It was as though all light atop Soul Severing Cliff had been drained away.
A bleak, beautiful blood-red crescent moon radiating the aura of death slowly emerged above True Man Songyue's head.
Before the sword had even been unleashed, that tragic sword intent of mutual destruction had already filled everyone present with terror.
Upon the high platform, Xue Yutang's eyes finally revealed a satisfied smile.
This was the effect he wanted. This was the most brilliant flower of death he wanted.
Because the great array that had slumbered at the bottom of the cliff for so long had already smelled the sweetest scent of blood.
It had begun to awaken.
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