Chapter 786: Final Ranking Matches!

Li Yun had not truly mastered Destruction Intent yet. He had only comprehended a faint trace of it from the evolution of the Five Elements, wind, thunder, collapse, and Origin.

Even so, this trace of Destruction Intent was already terrifying.

It was like the first spark of a world-ending flame.

It was weak now, but once it truly grew, it would be enough to destroy heaven and earth.

"Destruction."

Li Yun suddenly swung his sword.

This strike no longer possessed the brilliant five-colored luster of the Five Elements. It also did not carry the dazzling blue-purple light of wind and thunder.

There was only darkness.

A pitch-black Sword Qi appeared, so dark that it seemed capable of swallowing all light.

Within that darkness, the power of the Five Elements circulated. Wind and thunder roared, and the faint trace of Destruction Intent merged into the sword strike.

The moment this Sword Qi appeared, the surrounding space seemed to tremble.

It did not look especially dazzling.

It did not possess overwhelming radiance.

But the aura it released was terrifying to the extreme.

It was the aura of all things collapsing.

It was the aura of a world approaching its end.

The pitch-black Sword Qi swept outward.

The surrounding earth was instantly plowed into several deep gullies dozens of feet long. Grass, stones, soil, and trees were all annihilated beneath the destructive power of the sword. Within a radius of dozens of feet, everything was destroyed.

Only the strange tree remained untouched.

At that moment, the branches of the strange tree swayed gently.

Strands of light flowed out from the tree and covered the surrounding area like a transparent barrier, completely shielding everything inside.

At the same time, that light released a strange power.

Bathed in that power, everything that had been destroyed began to recover rapidly. The torn earth closed, the shattered stones reformed, the withered grass grew again, and the destroyed trees reappeared as though time itself had reversed.

In only a few breaths, everything returned to its original state.

It was as if the destruction from Li Yun’s sword had never happened.

Watching this scene, a look of joy appeared on Li Yun’s face.

He was not only joyful because he had created a new sword technique.

He was even more joyful because his comprehension of Five Element Intent had entered a completely new stage.

Xiantian Stage, twenty percent mastery.

This breakthrough was far more important than an ordinary improvement in combat strength.

It meant that his Five Element Intent had finally stepped beyond surface-level use and had begun to touch the true Dao of the Five Elements.

At the same time, he had also comprehended a faint trace of Destruction Intent.

Although this trace was still immature, it gave him a new direction.

The Five Elements gave birth to wind and thunder.

Wind and thunder evolved into destruction.

Destruction collapsed into Origin.

Origin returned to the Five Elements.

This was the cycle he had witnessed.

This was also the future path of his Five Element Dao.

Li Yun slowly raised his sword and looked at its blade. A faint pitch-black aura still lingered on the edge before gradually fading away.

"I have finally comprehended a trace of Destruction Intent."

Li Yun muttered softly.

He knew that the Sword Master’s Legacy required him to comprehend Slaughter Sword Intent, Immortal Sword Intent, and Destruction Sword Intent before fusing them together to create the Supreme Sword Intent.

He had already comprehended Slaughter Sword Intent and Immortal Sword Intent.

Now, he had created the seed of Destruction Sword Intent.

With this faint trace of Destruction Intent as the beginning, it was only a matter of time before he truly comprehended Destruction Sword Intent.

Li Yun slowly exhaled.

His strength had risen again.

More importantly, his path had become clearer.

"Next, I only need to wait for the final Ranking Matches to begin."

Sheathing his sword, a look of anticipation flashed in Li Yun’s eyes.

In the time that followed, Li Yun did not do much.

He simply consolidated the sword techniques he had mastered and focused mainly on adjusting his condition.

Finally, the final Ranking Matches began.

The twenty contestants, including Li Yun, were directly teleported back to Heavenly Heart Dojo.

At this time, nine of the ten arenas had already been removed, leaving only one behind.

"The final Ranking Matches will adopt a point-based system."

Elder Qing appeared above the arena and spoke. "The twenty of you will each fight one match against the other nineteen contestants. The winner receives three points. If a battle ends in a draw, both sides receive one point. The loser receives no points. After all matches are over, the rankings will be determined by the number of points."

"The order of the matches will be decided by me and the other judges."

"Now, we begin the first match."

"Huang Tianlin versus Monk Yiming."

The scene immediately erupted into commotion.

According to custom, the first match of the final Ranking Matches usually did not feature heavyweight powerhouses. But this time, the opening match was directly a duel between Huang Tianlin and Monk Yiming.

Huang Tianlin needed no introduction. He was the publicly recognized strongest expert of this Heaven’s Chosen Assembly.

As for Monk Yiming, his ability to defeat the Mo Kuang Twins and emerge from a Group of Death like the first group meant that his strength was naturally extraordinary as well.

The battle between these two was destined to be a fierce collision.

The Golden Radiance Lion beneath Huang Tianlin let out a roar.

Carrying Huang Tianlin, it took several steps forward. Each step produced golden light beneath its paws, forming a golden path in mid-air. In only a few strides, it arrived on the arena.

"Amitabha."

Monk Yiming chanted a Buddhist name, his expression solemn as he appeared on the arena.

Facing Huang Tianlin in the very first match undoubtedly brought immense pressure.

However, every genius who could break into the Ranking Matches possessed extremely strong conviction. Even if they were no match, they would still fight.

"Benefactor Huang, please make your move."

He gave a long chant, and his entire body released intense Buddhist light. He looked like a small burning sun, dazzling to the extreme.

Roar!