Chapter 328 - 211: A Succession of Challengers

Chapter 328: Chapter 211: A Succession of Challengers

"What?"

"Huh?"

The spectating Inner Sect Disciples cried out in astonishment.

In their eyes, the match had just begun. Many of them were still whispering to their neighbors, guessing at the outcome, when everything was already over.

Xie Yuan had only used two sword strikes—or perhaps, one and a half.

He parried his opponent’s strike with one sword, and in a fluid motion, his blades crossed and came to rest directly on his opponent’s neck. The movements flowed like water, and before his opponent could even react, the spar was decided.

It all happened so impossibly fast, it was almost like a joke.

However, the Inner Sect Disciples knew that Hou Zhen never joked around.

A few short gasps broke out from the crowd, followed by complete silence.

The disciples’ mouths slowly fell open, their faces frozen in a daze.

Hou Zhen, said to be invincible among the Inner Sect’s External Training realm disciples, had lost in a single exchange?

Most of the Inner Sect Disciples were in the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm; there weren’t actually many in External Training. But any who made it this far were Sword Cultivator seedlings of exceptional talent.

And this "exceptional talent" was by the standards of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect. If they were sent down the mountain, they would be considered geniuses among geniuses.

And among all the outstanding External Training disciples in the Inner Sect, this Hou Zhen was the undisputed number one.

He seemed to have eyes only for cultivation and swordsmanship. He was a loner, not one for conversation. But it was precisely this focus that allowed his swordsmanship to progress at an astonishing rate, and he soon had almost no rivals within his realm.

The Inner Sect Disciples didn’t have much of a relationship with Hou Zhen, but that didn’t stop them from secretly admiring him. They believed that in terms of both talent and strength, he was indeed a cut above the rest.

And yet, a man like Hou Zhen had been defeated in the blink of an eye by a junior brother who had just joined the sect and just broken through?

The disciples were all stunned, finding it hard to believe. They couldn’t help but rub their eyes, wondering if they had seen wrong.

But there was no mistake. Xie Yuan stood there perfectly fine, having just sheathed his sword. The slender Hou Zhen, however, was trembling all over, his eyes vacant, as if lost in a state of profound shock.

’This Instructor Lv has a sharp eye,’ Xie Yuan thought with a touch of resignation. ’He saw right away that I was holding back a lot in the first match.’

’He’s also so strict. His words made it difficult for me to keep holding back. Plus, this opponent came at me with his full strength from the very beginning, not reserving anything. So I decided to show about seventy or eighty percent of my true mastery of the Cloud Mountain Sword Form... and the result was still over in an instant.’

’Even though I still didn’t use a cultivation level higher than the Fourth Training, with my understanding of the Sword Dao, my techniques alone are enough to dominate the External Training realm. I have no opponent here.’

’It still feels a bit like a strong man bullying the weak,’ Xie Yuan felt a little guilty, telling himself that the situation had forced his hand and it wasn’t his true intention.

Lv Liangdong’s gaze lingered on Xie Yuan, and he too was silent.

He had originally wanted one of the outstanding Inner Sect Disciples to put Xie Yuan in his place, lest his youth lead to arrogance, causing him to look down on others and slack off in his training.

But now, not only had Xie Yuan not been put in his place, he had instead left a very deep impression on the other disciples.

And on him as well.

Only after these two spars did Lv Liangdong finally understand the level of Xie Yuan’s Cloud Mountain Sword Form.

Perfection. Flawless. Not a single opening could be seen. Every move and every action was in perfect accordance with the principles of the sword, without the slightest deviation.

To display such a performance in combat could only mean one thing: he had already practiced the Cloud Mountain Sword Form to the point of Perfection.

Lv Liangdong was speechless for a long time.

The Perfection realm was something one could only stumble upon, not actively seek. Even achieving Perfection in a basic swordsmanship meant a Swordsman had gained a profound understanding of the way of the sword and had touched upon the rhythm of the Sword Dao.

When such a Swordsman swung their sword, its power was far greater than others’. Even if two cultivators with the same cultivation level used the exact same technique, the former would always be stronger than the latter.

But in all these years, very few disciples had ever managed to practice the Cloud Mountain Sword Form to the Perfection realm while still in the Inner Sect.

’Let alone someone who is only in the External Training realm! How long has he even been practicing this swordsmanship?!’

Lv Liangdong was deeply shaken and remained quiet for a long while. His original goal of teaching Xie Yuan a lesson had completely failed; instead, he himself was lost in contemplation.

Only when the murmurs from the surrounding crowd grew louder did Lv Liangdong snap back to his senses. His gaze was profound as he spoke:

"Zhang Mountain, this Perfection of your Cloud Mountain Sword Form... was it a gain from Sword Peak?"

Xie Yuan had already stepped to the side, but it was no use. He was still the focus of everyone’s attention.

Hearing Lv Liangdong’s question, he cupped his fist in a salute and replied:

"Yes. This was my main gain from Sword Peak this time."

Lv Liangdong nodded, his suspicion confirmed. Hearing this, the surrounding disciples once again fell deathly silent.

Perfection?

’So his swordsmanship realm was actually Perfection.’

No wonder Hou Zhen was defeated in a single move. And even though Liu Tong had been crushed cleanly, Instructor Lv still thought he was holding back.

Facing Liu Tong with swordsmanship at the Perfection realm, Xie Yuan had actually fought him on seemingly even ground for a while. He had definitely been holding back immensely. With his level of perception, he probably saw Liu Tong’s openings from the very beginning.

But for an External Training disciple to possess swordsmanship at the Perfection realm...

For a moment, the crowd was filled with a mix of admiration and envy, their eyes burning with it.

Having been in the Inner Sect for a long time, they understood better than anyone what Perfection-level swordsmanship meant. If they could practice their swordsmanship to Perfection, not only would their strength be unmatched among their peers and they would gain the sect’s attention, but they would probably be taken as a personal disciple by an elder within a few days.

Hearing this, the Lin family siblings’ jaws dropped, and they couldn’t recover for a long time.

’So when he said he’d gained ’some’ understanding of the Cloud Mountain Sword Form on Sword Peak, this is what he meant... He reached Perfection directly. What a "some" that is.’