A sword like a roaming dragon

The moment the Qinggang Sword entered his hand, Wei Yi's entire presence changed dramatically.

His cultivation remained the same.

He was still the same person.

Yet the impression he gave suddenly became completely different!

If Wei Yi had previously seemed as gentle as jade, as serene as light clouds and a soft breeze,

then at this moment, he seemed incomparably sharp, his edge fully bared.

He resembled an utterly proud, solitary wolf king. His dark eyes held nothing but indifference, neither sorrow nor joy, seemingly devoid of any emotion.

A swordsman!

Only a true swordsman possessed such a bearing.

The sword was in his hand, and also in his heart.

At a time like this, no distracting thoughts remained in Wei Yi's mind.

"Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords!"

Wei Yi struck in an instant.

Gone was his earlier appearance of dodging in desperation.

Neither the Heart-Crushing Palm nor the Seven Kills Fist was Wei Yi's strongest technique. He had learned them only to broaden his means of fighting enemies.

From beginning to end, Wei Yi had only ever had one strongest weapon: the sword in his hand.

The Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords, a middle-grade Mystic-tier martial skill.

Moreover, it was a middle-grade Mystic-tier martial skill that had reached LV12.

This sword strike came faster than lightning, dazzling light flashing. Facing him, Huo Tianlu could not help paling dramatically.

His Great Strength Steel Claw Art also followed the path of speed and ferocity, emphasizing two words: "swift" and "fierce." Put plainly, it was about speed and strength.

Yet at this very moment, he could clearly sense that the speed and strength contained in Wei Yi's strike far surpassed his Great Strength Steel Claw Art.

What frightened him even more was that, faced with this inspired sword strike, as untraceable as an antelope hanging by its horns, he actually had no idea how to dodge.

It seemed that no matter how he dodged, he could not escape this unfathomable strike.

"Damn it!"

"How is this possible..."

"Break!"

Huo Tianlu was a ruthless man himself.

Facing such a critical moment, he neither ducked nor dodged. Instead, he unleashed his cultivation without hesitation, pouring surging True Qi into his palms before striking with all his might.

He unleashed his Great Strength Steel Claw Art, which was nearly at major mastery, to clash with Wei Yi's Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords.

Two great Mystic-tier martial skills.

Surging True Qi and brilliant light enveloped the surrounding area in a stunning wave of might.

Every spectator involuntarily widened their eyes.

Their faces were filled with incredulous shock.

Boom!

Violent power erupted.

Sword light flared.

Immediately afterward, Huo Tianlu reeled backward.

Thud, thud, thud, thud...

Amid dull, rapid footfalls, he retreated seven or eight steps in succession, reaching the edge of the arena before barely managing to steady himself.

Raising his head to look at Wei Yi, Huo Tianlu's expression changed again and again.

He had never imagined that he would be completely at a disadvantage in their exchange.

"How is this possible? How is this possible..."

"This is impossible!"

At that thought, his eyes suddenly widened, filling with savage malice.

"Brat, die!"

Clearly unwilling to admit defeat just like that, Huo Tianlu immediately launched a frenzied assault on Wei Yi as his furious roar rang out.

He unleashed every move of the Great Strength Steel Claw Art, holding back none of his trump-card martial skills.

Countless claw shadows materialized.

Terrifying currents of air swirled.

As he unleashed his full strength, Huo Tianlu's presence reached an unprecedented peak.

"Well met!"

A keen light shone in Wei Yi's eyes, and he immediately swung his sword to meet him.

Huo Tianlu's strength was indeed considerable, and it stirred Wei Yi's desire for battle.

In the blink of an eye, the two were locked in combat once more.

Huo Tianlu's steel claws moved like the wind.

Wei Yi's sword moved like a roaming dragon.

Both were martial artists who used offense as defense. With both attacking at full force, their fight was spectacular.

Everyone below the arena watched, utterly transfixed.

At this point, no one cared whether Wei Yi was a newcomer, nor did anyone think he would be beaten half-crippled. The two fought on equal footing, and everyone was captivated by their spectacular contest.

"Ding! Player Wei Yi gained an insight during combat. Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords EXP +200."

"Ding! Player Wei Yi gained an insight during combat. Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords EXP +150."

"Ding! Player Wei Yi gained an insight during combat. Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords EXP +220."

Notifications kept ringing out.

Wei Yi had not expected to reap such rewards, either.

"Ding! Player Wei Yi's Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords LV12 EXP is full. Automatically advanced to LV13."

Hearing this notification, Wei Yi could not help feeling invigorated.

However, after the Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords advanced to LV13, the notifications stopped. Clearly, the experience he could gain from this battle had reached a bottleneck.

Having the Thirteen Life-Seizing Swords rise by one level was already an unexpected delight for Wei Yi, and he did not greedily seek more.

Since that's the case, this match can end now.

In fact, Wei Yi could have ended the battle long ago, but he had kept it going to farm experience.

Now that he could no longer farm experience, there was naturally no need to continue fighting.

Looking at Huo Tianlu, who had nearly descended into madness across from him, Wei Yi's lips curved into a cold smile.

Huo Tianlu had originally planned to use the match as an opportunity to seriously injure him, even robbing him of his chance to take the inner sect assessment. Yet he had never expected Wei Yi's strength to exceed his expectations completely. In doing so, Huo Tianlu had undoubtedly spun a cocoon around himself. Not only could he do nothing to Wei Yi, but he had fallen into a trap himself.

It was easy to imagine that, after he lost to a newcomer like Wei Yi in full public view, word would probably spread throughout the outer sect within days.

When that happened, Wei Yi's fame was bound to soar.

Huo Tianlu, meanwhile, would become a laughingstock, and the popularity he had painstakingly accumulated would plummet to rock bottom.

In other words, Wei Yi would rise by stepping on Huo Tianlu, while Huo Tianlu would become his stepping stone.

"You brought all of this upon yourself. You have no one else to blame."

"Admit defeat."

Wei Yi spoke coldly.

"No, I can't lose... You want me to admit defeat? Dream on!"

Huo Tianlu roared savagely. However, after attacking so frantically for so long, he had already consumed most of the True Qi in his dantian, and his momentum was far weaker than before.

Wei Yi sneered, mockery in his eyes.

He had no sympathy for someone like Huo Tianlu.

Not bothering to waste more words, he struck instantly.

The Qinggang Sword seemed to come alive, thrusting out diagonally as Wei Yi moved and slicing through the air at an exceptionally tricky angle.

Sword Qi erupted, and in his panic, Huo Tianlu could not defend against it at all.

Like a dragonfly skimming the water, the sword tip touched Huo Tianlu's body seven times in succession.

Blood sprayed in thin streaks!

Huo Tianlu screamed as he flew backward, then dropped to his knees in the arena, unable to get up for a long time. Only thin trickles of blood flowed down, staining the ground red and making him look utterly wretched.

"Still want to fight?"

Wei Yi asked indifferently.

"If we keep fighting, I can't guarantee I'll hold back again."

Hearing this, Huo Tianlu's formerly defiant expression immediately changed.

Gritting his teeth, he lowered his head.

In the end, he did not dare truly gamble with his life.

"Hiss..."

Seeing this, the spectators could not help sucking in cold breaths.

The way they looked at Wei Yi also underwent an involuntary, earth-shaking change.

A newcomer had actually defeated the Black Tiger Society's Steel Claw Tiger, Huo Tianlu.

"He's an absolute monster!"

Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they truly would not have believed it.

"You can't leave!"

Just then, seeing Wei Yi step down from the arena, the hook-nosed youth from the Black Tiger Society shouted, unwilling to accept the outcome.

Wei Yi turned to look at him.

His gaze was cold.

A chill struck the hook-nosed youth's heart. He involuntarily swallowed, cold sweat running down his forehead, and forcibly stopped the words at his lips. "I, I... Um, I wasn't talking to you..."

By the time he finally managed to finish that sentence, even his legs were trembling.

His heart was filled with regret.

Even Huo Tianlu was no match for him. What good would charging forward do? Would he just be serving himself up on a platter?

Although the other Black Tiger Society members wanted to stop Wei Yi, they were clearly too afraid to step forward. The sight of Wei Yi sending Huo Tianlu flying with one sword strike had left far too powerful an impression on them.

Wei Yi swept his gaze over them and spoke calmly.

"If you still want to make trouble for me, I'm ready anytime."

"And remember, I'm not called 'newcomer.' My name is... Wei Yi."