Chapter 673: Shock
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Zhao Wuyan waited until after Elder Fan Jing’s sword Qi surged out, almost reaching him from the opposite side. Then he made a quick move.
“Swoosh!”
Zhao Wuyan drew his sword from its sheath. It hit its target first although he had struck later. He had aimed a diagonal stab at Elder Fan Jing, breaking through her sword move. Within an instant, the Snow Mountain and the sword Qi both disintegrated. They vanished into thin air, turning into a whiff of invisible Genuine Qi.
Zhao Wuyan’s sword hit Elder Fan Jing between the eyebrows. Without batting an eye, he said, “You’ve lost!”
Elder Fan Jing shut her aging eyes. “What superb swordsmanship! I concede total defeat.”
Zhao Wuyan put away his sword. His glance was still ice cold. He turned around and walked down the Coliseum, leaving behind only a silhouette.
Another dark horse had emerged after Lin Yue’s win.
Before today, Zhao Wuyan was an anonymous figure. Very few people had heard of him. This duel alone made him famous in the Yin and Yang Sect.
“Zhao Wuyan must have mastered the fourth level of Sword One! He’s brutally strong. He defeated Elder Fan Jing with a single move. His Tao of the sword must be even more powerful than Xu Changsheng’s!”
“Yet another powerful opponent. These sword contests are getting more and more interesting. Will there be any more geniuses emerging?”
Zhao Wuyan’s performance was amazing. He made everyone remember him with a single sword move.
” He has reached the fifth level of Sword One, ” Zhang Ruochen said to himself.
Even Xu Changsheng, who had only mastered the fourth level, was already seen as a remarkable fighter among Monks of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Zhao Wuyan had mastered Sword One to the fifth level and was now a popular candidate for the top 10 spots.
People soon realized that the next duel would be between Lin Yue and Zhao Wuyan. Everyone looked forward to it.
Two dark horses—who would win in the end?
Zhang Ruochen continued watching the dueling Monks in the Coliseum. He learned from the strengths of their moves and eschewed their weaknesses. After that, he integrated them into his Tao of the sword.
The first round of the duels ended in the afternoon.
There were 97 participants in Coliseum A. Half of them had been eliminated, leaving just 46 participants to compete in the next round.
The fierce confrontations continued. The duels in the second round were even fiercer.
Xu Changsheng soon met his opponent—the No. 53 participant, Tan Qingshan.
Tan Qingshan was a very powerful Saint’s disciple. He had mastered Sword One to the third level and had become a sword practitioner.
Even with his current cultivation, Xu Changsheng took more than 100 moves to defeat Tan Qingshan.
Everyone saw that Tan Qingshan could escape a life-and-death duel between the two.
Had he not met Xu Changsheng, he would certainly be ranked in the top 100.
The duel that everyone was anticipating soon arrived. Zhang Ruochen and Zhao Wuyan walked up the Coliseum.
All of the inner disciples below were cheering. Some yelled for “Lin Yue”, while others cheered for “Zhao Wuyan.”
Even participants who were Saint’s disciples were closely watching the duel.
Dao Xuanqi of Law Enforcement Yard narrowed his aging eyes. He explained to Han Zhang beside him. “Lin Yue is a very gifted lad. In the Second-Level Mountain at Ancient Gods Mountain, he challenged three characters and managed to defeat three gatekeepers. But his cultivation is still too low. He’s greatly disadvantaged since he is facing Zhao Wuyan who is a top challenger.
Although Dao Xuanqi did not say it directly, the Saint’s disciples around him could all hear that he was not optimistic about Lin Yue’s chances.
Han Zhang smiled and said, “Zhao Wuyan is indeed very powerful. He has reached the fifth level of Sword One. If I were to face him, I can only admit defeat.”
“In another five years, Lin Yue will surely surpass Zhao Wuyan. But right now, he just isn’t Zhao Wuyan’s match.” Xu Changsheng remarked coldly.
Dao Xuanqi, Han Zhang, and Xu Changsheng had all won two straight duels. They were already among the top 100.
Their insights far surpassed any ordinary Monk’s, and all three predicted a Lin Yue loss. Lin Yue had an 80-90% chance of losing the duel.
Below Coliseum A, there was a roar of surprise. Heads turned and glanced at the door.
“Senior Sister Qi is here!”
“Is she here to cheer for Lin Yue?”
The crowd divided like a parting sea. A ravishing woman in a cyan robe entered. Her figure was very slender and her skin was as fair as alabaster. She wore her straight, ebony hair down with a blue jade knot midway along its length.
White holy light rippled around her body. Qi Feiyu was like a divine goddess on earth. Ordinary inner disciples could not make out her features due to the holy light. She exuded a hazy, enigmatic charm.
All the disciples of the Yin and Yang Sect knew that Lin Yue and Qi Feiyu were on more than friendly terms.
It was such a critical duel, and Qi Feiyu had come in person to watch and cheer for Lin Yue. It showed that she valued him greatly.
Zhao Wuyan glanced at Qi Feiyu below the Coliseum. Astonishment flashed across his calm eyes.
Even a man like him could not keep cool after seeing the goddess-like Qi Feiyu. He became quite jealous of Lin Yue who was standing opposite him.
He was originally very collected, but now he experienced waves of emotion because of Qi Feiyu’s arrival. His eyes staring at Zhang Ruochen turned intensely cold.
Zhang Ruochen knew that Qi Feiyu was standing below the Coliseum. He smiled faintly. His mood was as unaffected and calm as ever. He stared at Zhao Wuyan across him and said, “Lin Yue from Long-living Yard.”
Zhao Wuyan took a deep breath and said, “Zhao Wuyan from Tai Qing Palace.”
Zhao Wuyan turned his arm quickly. With a “swoosh”, a dazzling sword radiance soared out from his scabbard accompanied by the faint sound of wind and thunder.
“BOOM!”
Hundreds of purple thunderbolts materialized within a 100-meter radius. They gathered into a sea of electric streaks, emanating terrifying power.
If not for the Array, the discharge of these thunderbolts would have disintegrated all the Monks on Zhiyu Sacred Mountain.
The inner disciples below retreated backward, stunned.
However, all five Half-Saints sitting on the Coliseum were frowning.
Half-saint Zixia said, “Zhao Wuyan should easily win against Lin Yue, but he is too impatient. He wants to show off his powerful cultivation but instead put himself at a disadvantage.”
Half-saint Jing Lan said, “Lin Yue may not have the upper hand but he looks so calm. If he can discover Zhao Wuyan’s weakness, there’s a chance he would win.”
“Lin Yue’s own cultivation is still of the Fourth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm. The gap between them is massive. His chances of winning are minuscule.”
Even though Zhao Wuyan’s state of mind was inferior to Lin Yue’s, he could still crush the latter with his powerful cultivation.
The gap between their cultivations could not be closed by anything.
“Taixuan Thunderbolt!”
Zhao Wuyan finally took the lead. He struck out at Zhang Ruochen with his sword.
He waved his sword and hundreds of thunderbolts knotted together. They gave off crackling noises and snaked about, changing positions constantly. They struck out at Zhang Ruochen like long, thick lightning whips.
Zhao Wuyan was executing a mid-class Ghost Level sword technique, the Taixuan Sword Technique.
Taixuan Sword Technique was a technique unique to the Tai Qing Palace. If he could master it to the Perfection of Martial Arts, he could mobilize the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within a 50-kilometer radius. If he integrated the Qi into his sword techniques, they would have unrivaled power.
A Half-Saint from the Tai Qing Palace once executed the Taixuan Sword Technique and managed to cleave an entire city into halves with one sword move, leaving behind a 100-meter-wide gully.
Zhao Wuyan was currently displaying the Taixuan Sword Technique at Big Success. It caused a great commotion among the Saint’s disciples.
“Zhao Wuyan has mastered the Taixuan Sword Technique—a mid-class Ghost Level technique. I haven’t even heard of him before! He’s a really deep one.”
“His Taixuan Sword Technique gives him many advantages even against Xu Changsheng.”
“If his performance is up to scratch, Zhao Wuyan will be strong enough to get into the top 10.”
The Taixuan Sword Technique was very famous within the Yin and Yang Sect. Everyone who had mastered this technique was a top superior among Saint’s disciples. They would turn their noses up at other Monks under the Half-Saint realm.
Facing Zhao Wuyan’s powerful strike, Zhang Ruochen felt a great deal of pressure.
“Swish, swish!”
Zhang Ruochen unsheathed his Valley-water Sword and started drawing rapid circles in the air. He drew the thunderbolt whips into the inner circles and then directed them out of the Coliseum.
If he allowed Zhang Ruochen to keep doing this, Zhao Wuyan’s sword strike would be dispelled in a single move.
Zhao Wuyan naturally would not give him a chance to do that. He snorted coldly and leaped like an Earth Dragon into the air, targeting Zhang Ruochen’s front. He aimed a stab between Zhang Ruochen’s eyebrows.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen faced attacks from both the thunderbolts and a sharp, stabbing sword. He was caught in between.
Any other person would surely have lost.
Even the participants below them all thought so, predicting a swift outcome soon.
Zhang Ruochen was still very calm. He brought the Valley-water Sword back in line with his body. He had now reached the Human Sword realm.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen’s peculiar hand movement, a strange light shone from Qi Feiyu’s beautiful eyes. She said to herself, “Has he had another breakthrough in his Tao of the sword? ”
“Is this the ninth level of Sword One?”
Half-saint Zixia’s eyes burst with dazzling light. He was very shocked.
In the past 1,000 years, only a few dozen practitioners of the Fish-Dragon Realm had mastered all ten levels of Sword One to the Completion.
The vast majority of these people later became sword saints.
Now, Lin Yue had reached the ninth level of Sword One while still of the Fourth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm. He was very likely to master all ten levels to the Completion.
Half-saint Zixia was not the only one who was stunned. Everyone who saw what was happening was thoroughly shocked.