Battle Experience Soared

Shen Yun had long been expected to reach the third floor, but no one had anticipated such speed.

"He cleared the Second Round in less than a cup of tea. Doesn't that mean he killed all the Qi Refinement cultivators in the time it takes to burn an incense stick? That's far too terrifying."

"He's a true monster. Perhaps he can stand shoulder to shoulder with Jue Wushen."

"I'd scoff if it were anyone else, but this man has the right to be compared."

"..."

Everyone present was astonishingly unanimous in their assessment of Shen Yun. Those who could enter the Lone Swan Sword Sect clearly had no lack of intelligence, and they quickly saw the situation for what it was.

However, whenever the name "Jue Wushen" was mentioned, their tones involuntarily grew solemn.

Who stood at the forefront of the younger generation had long been settled within the Sword Sect—none other than the First True Disciple, Jue Wushen.

There was no need to say more about his talent. One sentence summed it up: the Lone Swan Sword Venerable regarded him as her sole successor.

Jue Wushen was like an immortal monument within the Sword Sect. Comparing Shen Yun to him showed the respect they held for Shen Yun.

Just then, an unexpected visitor arrived. Murong Xue came drifting over with light steps, her white robes and white hair fluttering in the wind like a fleeting swan's shadow.

Why are there so many people at the Seven Xuan Tower today?

Murong Xue's brows slightly furrowed. After returning from the Dragon Blood Pool, she had entered seclusion to cultivate. Having now made a tremendous breakthrough, she had come to test herself at the Seven Xuan Tower.

Seeing her puzzled expression, someone immediately stepped forward to explain.

Murong Xue was slightly startled and immediately looked towards Fang Tianyi, but all she saw was a hazy pure light.

"I didn't even notice his presence. Could this be the legendary Unity of Heaven and Man?"

Fang Tianyi was like a clear breeze over the river, like a bright moon among the mountains, harmonized as one with nature.

While Murong Xue was still pondering, a Sword Sect Disciple asked, "Senior Sister, could you tell us about the third floor?"

Ever since Shangguan Dongjun had become an Inner Disciple, the title of Number One Person in the Outer Sect had fallen to Murong Xue.

No one had more authority than her when it came to what one would encounter on the third floor.

Murong Xue gathered her thoughts and returned to her usual icy beauty's demeanor. At those words, she said coolly, "To reach the Fourth Floor, you must defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator across realms."

Everyone's hearts jolted. Lasting an incense stick under a Foundation Establishment cultivator and defeating a Foundation Establishment expert were entirely different concepts.

The former only required the ability to fend off attacks. One could even flee and evade throughout, taking shortcuts where possible.

The latter required genuine substance. One had to defeat the opponent head-on, crossing an entire major realm.

"No wonder even Senior Sister Murong was defeated. The third floor is truly far too difficult."

"The last person to clear the third floor was Shangguan Dongjun. I was fortunate enough to witness that grand feat with my own eyes."

"He broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm at thirty. The rumors that he possesses a Heavenly Spirit Root are certainly not without foundation. It's not hard to understand how he could fight across realms."

"..."

A saying had long circulated within the Sword Sect: "Those who reach the fourth floor possess the makings of a True Disciple."

As the overlord of Tianlan Prefecture, the Sword Sect was a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons abounded. Among its three thousand Outer Sect disciples, not one was weak.

To become an Inner Disciple, one had to rise above brutal competition. They were all figures of true gold unafraid of the furnace's fire.

As for True Disciples, there were only a handful. They existed above the clouds, representing Tianlan Prefecture's strongest geniuses as they looked down upon the countless masses.

With Murong Xue's aptitude, she could have broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm long ago. Yet she had chosen to continue tempering her foundation because she wanted to leap into dragonhood in a single bound and advance to become a True Disciple.

With the Dragon Blood Pool's help, the Purple Haze Sword Body has finally reached the realm of Minor Achievement after five years. This time, I will definitely reach the fourth floor.

Purple Haze Sword Body was the Lone Swan Sword Sect's supreme sect-defending art, reputed to be one of Tianlan Prefecture's strongest body-tempering cultivation methods. Only a few exceptionally gifted disciples were qualified to cultivate it.

At the previous Outer Sect Grand Competition, Murong Xue had placed second and received the Qi Refinement Chapter of the Purple Haze Sword Body.

To obtain the Foundation Establishment Chapter, one either had to render great contributions to the sect or reach the Fourth Floor of Seven Xuan Tower and prove that one's talent was worthy of the Sword Sect's full support.

"With my current strength, I have a seventy percent chance of defeating the third floor's Gatekeeper."

Murong Xue's gaze was deep, her resolve as hard as iron. She vowed to break through her limits in one stroke.

Just as the crowd was still engaged in fervent discussion—

Ding-dong!

The sound of wind chimes swaying echoed across the plaza, and the fourth floor blazed with light.

In an instant, countless astonished gazes turned toward it. Exclamations rose and fell, lingering without end.

"It was even easier than the second floor. Just how was this Seven Xuan Tower designed?"

Shen Yun had effortlessly reached the fourth floor and found it somewhat strange.

He had assumed he needed to defeat his opponents to clear the second floor. Yet he had done the same thing again, with complete familiarity.

The fourth floor was a vast, boundless ocean. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but azure sea and rolling waves.

The salty, fishy sea breeze blew over him. Shen Yun's hair flew wildly in the wind, while his white robes snapped loudly.

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He took out a green jade hairpin and gathered up his hair, revealing his handsome, refined features.

After two years of cultivation, Shen Yun had gradually shed the immaturity of youth. His brows and eyes were exquisite without losing their masculine edge, carrying the calm composure of one whose expression would not change even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

He stepped toward the sea. Water Spiritual Power moved as easily as his own limbs, freezing the seawater beneath his feet and allowing him to walk upon the surface as though on level ground.

A brown Tiger Shark leaped from the water, its enormous body completely blocking out the sunlight. When it crashed back into the sea, it stirred up towering waves.

It circled Shen Yun beneath the surface. With the slightest sway of its streamlined body, it shot dozens of meters away, so fast that the naked eye could barely follow.

"A Second-order Tiger Shark!"

Shen Yun's eyes sharpened, and his body involuntarily tensed.

A second-order demonic beast's intelligence underwent a tremendous leap. Coupled with a demonic body comparable to a Magic Tool, it was far stronger than cultivators of the same realm.

Marine demonic beasts in particular possessed the advantage of time and terrain, making them even fiercer.

"It's coming!"

Alarm bells blared in Shen Yun's heart. The seawater beneath his feet grew darker and darker, while layer upon layer of waves began to ripple across the sea.

Beneath the water, the Tiger Whale opened its bloody maw, and a terrifying suction force erupted.

The seawater flowed backward as the suction swept forth, as if it would devour everything.

Shen Yun's figure abruptly retreated. The Roaming Cloud Steps erupted with extreme speed, and like an eagle skimming over the earth, he slipped through the narrowest of gaps to evade the fatal attack.

"Stone Spear Technique!"

As his words fell, an enormous stone spear descended from the sky and smashed viciously into the Tiger Whale's head.

Shen Yun moved like lightning, his grasp of battle opportunities becoming ever more exquisite. In the moment when the enemy's old strength had faded and its new strength had yet to arise, he unleashed one Stone Spear after another.

Boom! Boom!...

Like cannons bombarding a city wall, the stone spears hammered the Tiger Whale down onto the water's surface, throwing up waves several fathoms high.

Yet once it returned to the sea, it began swimming at extreme speed again, seemingly completely unaffected. Its defenses far surpassed those of the Brown Bear Demon.

"What a powerful demonic body. It may even surpass the Five Elements Primordial Chaos Body. What a troublesome fellow."

After a brief test, Shen Yun estimated the Tiger Shark's strength. Even the two Foundation Establishment cultivators from before, combined, had been far inferior to it.

"I can't rashly get close. If I'm hit, I'll probably be seriously injured."

The Five Elements Primordial Chaos Body at the Qi Refinement Realm clearly could not contend head-on with this ruler of the sea. The best choice was to keep a safe distance.

Shen Yun's mind was clear as still water. The Roaming Cloud Steps carried him in swift turns and shifts, while he used spells from time to time to interfere with the Tiger Shark, gradually accumulating combat experience.

The stronger the opponent, the more it could instead draw out his potential.

Unable to take Shen Yun down after prolonged attacks, the Tiger Shark grew increasingly frenzied. Deep-blue Demonic Qi shot straight into the sky.

The seawater revolved around the Demonic Qi, transforming into four rapidly spinning Water Tornadoes.

With a wild roar like thunder bursting from the heavens, the Water Tornadoes attacked simultaneously from four directions, sealing off Shen Yun's retreat as though a heavenly calamity had descended.

The Tiger Whale burst from the water once more and spat out a Water Bullet several meters wide, forming an encirclement together with the Water Tornadoes.

Shen Yun's eyes remained clear, reflecting the Water Tornadoes as he took every change into the bottom of his eyes.

In a flash of lightning and spark of flint, instead of retreating, he advanced, charging at the Tiger Whale's enormous demonic body as though rushing to his death.

Fire-Wood Spiritual Power converged within his Sea of Qi. Under the suffocating, terrifying pressure, the Spiritual Power that had originally fused to fifty percent underwent another transformation, taking a great step forward.

"Li Fire Sword Qi."

Shen Yun struck out with his sword, carrying the resolve to live only after placing himself in death. With peerless will, he controlled the Fire-Wood Spiritual Energy and unleashed twice his combat strength.

At the same time, Shen Yun precisely seized the opportunity. His Divine Sense burst forth, turning into a spiritual assault that stabbed into the Tiger Whale's mind.

The enormous demonic body swayed. Caught off guard, its sea of consciousness was shaken, and the Water Bullet it spat out veered off course, brushing past Shen Yun.

The Li Fire Sword Qi followed close behind, flying into the Tiger Whale's bloody maw and raging endlessly within its body, burning all its internal organs into black charcoal.

The Tiger Whale let out a pained wail. Its brown demonic body was like a great ship that had struck a reef, sinking beneath the sea.

Without its caster, the Water Tornadoes also lost control. They churned up Thousand Layer Waves before gradually dispersing into nothingness.

"It's over."

Shen Yun stood upon the sea, reflecting on every detail of the battle.

A moment later, golden light descended from the clear sky spanning ten thousand miles. Shen Yun slowly rose into the air and was guided into the fifth floor.