Chapter 218 - 204: One with the Sword

Chapter 218: Chapter 204: One with the Sword

On the Martial Arts Arena, the long, bloody streak was particularly glaring under the sun.

Off to the side, the several Liuyun Sword Sect Elders who had been sitting calmly shot up from their seats.

Disbelief and shock were written all over their faces, their eyes locked on the standing, green-robed figure inside the arena.

Bei Sujian and Ding Yuli exchanged a look, seeing the same emotions in each other’s eyes: shock and confusion.

’Guan Duhai lost?’

The same Guan Duhai whose Sword Intent had just reached Great Success in the Sword Grinding Pool, a man with enough power to vie for the top five of the Sword Heart Ranking, had been sent flying by a single slash in a head-on clash? His sternum shattered by a palm strike, leaving him severely injured and vomiting blood?

Ding Yuli’s brow furrowed. Her gaze swept back and forth over Chen Yue, trying to find any trace that he had used some forbidden secret medicine.

But with her perception as an Innate Realm master, it was obvious at a glance whether or not he had used such a medicine.

Although Chen Yue’s aura fluctuated slightly from his recent outburst, it was the normal surge of Qi Blood after an all-out attack, not the unstable, chaotic state that followed the use of a secret medicine.

’But if he didn’t use a secret medicine, how could this Chen Yue be so powerful?’

’How long has it been since he broke through to the Refining Organ Realm? Not even a month!’

Bei Sujian slowly sank back into his seat, his expression as dark as a thundercloud.

He remembered the words they had spoken before the sect gate: "Relying on someone who broke through to the Refining Organ Realm less than a month ago?"

Now, those words felt like a resounding slap across his own face.

In stark contrast to the grim faces of the Liuyun Sword Sect Elders was the reaction from the Panshi Sect’s viewing platform.

Feng Hansheng, whose face had been as placid as still water, now wore an unconcealed smile, his eyes filled with approval and gratification.

He already knew Chen Yue’s strength was nothing to scoff at; after all, his match with Lu Jingxing two days ago had already proven that.

But he never expected that when Chen Yue truly went all out, his power would be so outrageous.

He had seen the power of Guan Duhai’s slash. Even the top three on Panshi Sect’s Cyan Cloud Ranking would have had to take it seriously.

Yet Chen Yue not only took it, he completely crushed Guan Duhai in an even more direct fashion!

Song Mingke nodded slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy eyes. He said nothing, but the slight upturn of his lips revealed his current mood.

Zheng Tongchen, on the other hand, slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. "Good! Good, kid! That slash had some power! That palm strike was satisfying! Hahaha!"

Meanwhile, Lu Jingxing, standing at the edge of the platform, had a complex look in his eyes.

First, he felt a sincere rush of excitement and exhilaration. Chen Yue was a disciple of the Panshi Sect. Chen Yue had won; he had no reason not to be happy.

But immediately after, a strange, belated realization crept up his spine.

He thought back to his spar with Chen Yue two days ago, in that courtyard on Celestial Pillar Peak.

At the time, Chen Yue had said he wasn’t using his full strength.

Lu Jingxing had originally thought that "not using his full strength" meant Chen Yue was holding back a little power at most.

But now, seeing Guan Duhai’s miserable state, he suddenly realized something. If Chen Yue hadn’t held back and had used his full strength against him during their spar two days ago...

’...would I be the one lying there stiffly, just like Guan Duhai?’

A deeply unsettling feeling washed over Lu Jingxing.

Meng Yu Jin had been standing the whole time. When she saw Chen Yue send Guan Duhai flying with a slash and make him cough up blood with a palm strike, the tension in her body instantly vanished.

Immediately after, a wave of immense joy washed over her. She grabbed the wrist of Mo Ciqiu beside her, squeezing so hard that Mo Ciqiu couldn’t help but grimace slightly.

But Mo Ciqiu didn’t pull away or complain. Her own face was also wreathed in smiles.

The strength Chen Yue had just displayed far exceeded their most optimistic expectations.

They had originally thought it would be a bitter fight, that even if Chen Yue could win, he would likely have to pay a heavy price.

They never imagined Chen Yue would win so decisively, with such crushing force.

And just then, a clear, resonant voice exploded over the Martial Arts Arena.

"Junior Brother is incredible!!!"

It was Liu Wenying.

She didn’t have to follow the rules of decorum like the Innate Realm experts. She was just a minor disciple at the Marrow Refining Realm; no one would care how loudly she yelled.

She jumped up and down, pumping her fists, her face flushed red with excitement as she cheered loudly for Chen Yue.

Her voice echoed across the deathly silent Martial Arts Arena.

As if awakened by Liu Wenying’s cry, the thousands of Liuyun Sword Sect disciples surrounding the arena finally snapped out of their stupor.

Their eyes went wide as they stared in disbelief at the green-robed figure on the arena floor. Then, they mechanically turned their heads to look at Guan Duhai, lying in a pool of blood in the distance.

They had considered many possibilities.

They had thought that Chen Yue might have some real strength, enough to trade blows with Guan Duhai and maybe even cause him some trouble.

But that was the absolute peak of what they could imagine Chen Yue achieving.

After all, Guan Duhai was eighth on the Sword Heart Ranking. He had just emerged from the Sword Grinding Pool with his Sword Intent at Great Success, his power rivaling the top five.

And Chen Yue? He was just someone who had broken through to the Refining Organ Realm less than a month ago.

But now, the one lying on the ground was Guan Duhai.

The one sent flying by a slash, his sternum shattered by a palm, who had been dragged across the arena leaving a long trail of blood, was their Liuyun Sword Sect’s eighth-ranked on the Sword Heart Ranking: Guan Duhai.

They had originally expected such a scene to befall Chen Yue.

"This... How is this possible?"

"Senior Brother Guan... lost?"

"That kid... is he really a Martial Artist who just broke through to the Refining Organ Realm less than a month ago?"

What kind of Martial Artist could possess such power less than a month after breaking through to the Refining Organ Realm?

Whispers spread through the crowd like a rising tide.

The Liuyun Sword Sect disciples, who had been wearing excited smiles while waiting to see Chen Yue slain by Guan Duhai, now wore expressions of shock, bewilderment, and disbelief. There was also the stinging anger of having been utterly humiliated.

Back on the Martial Arts Arena, Guan Duhai’s mind went blank for a moment as he lay on the ground.

He had never thought the duel would turn out like this.

He had imagined countless possibilities, but not once had he imagined that he would lose.

And to lose so completely, so pathetically.

With just a single slash and a single palm strike, he had been beaten by a junior who had broken into the Refining Organ Realm less than a month ago, his sternum shattered as he was sent flying and vomiting blood.

The shame was like a red-hot brand seared onto his heart.

But in the next instant, the threat of death washed over him like an icy tide.

The searing pain in his chest told him that if he didn’t act immediately, he would really die here. He would die under Chen Yue’s saber, on the Liuyun Sword Sect’s own Martial Arts Arena, under the watchful eyes of thousands of his fellow disciples.

No!

’I can’t die!’

The instinct for survival ignited within him like a primal flame!

Guan Duhai’s eyes flew wide open. Without any hesitation, he instantly activated the Secret Sword Waterfall.

The Sword Waterfall was one of the Liuyun Sword Sect’s ultimate Life-or-Death Secret Techniques.

This Secret Technique was of an extremely high grade; even Innate Realm experts could use it.

The difference was that for Martial Artists below the Innate Realm, the side effects of using the Sword Waterfall were incredibly severe.

Once activated, the Secret Technique would ignite the Sword Intent in one’s Sea of Consciousness while frantically drawing upon the Primordial Power in the body, and even the Life Origin from the internal organs, marrow, and flesh, converting it all into a brief but violent burst of power.

If used for too long, the side effects could even be comparable to the depletion of one’s Origin after failing to break through to the Innate Realm.

In other words, using this Secret Technique could very well permanently damage one’s foundation, forfeiting any chance of breaking through to the Innate Realm.

Even more seriously, if one used the Sword Waterfall Secret Technique continuously without restraint, it was possible to die on the spot from exhaustion.

Once at the Innate Realm, however, one could draw upon the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to replenish themselves, so the side effects of the Sword Waterfall were much smaller. Of course, the power boost it provided to Innate Realm experts was also correspondingly reduced.

But right now, Guan Duhai couldn’t afford to worry about any of that.

’What’s the point of a foundation, a future, or a chance to break through to the Innate Realm? If I can’t even get past this, if I can’t even save my own life, what meaning does any of that have?’

"ARGHHHHH!"

In a flash, Guan Duhai let out a beast-like roar!

His aura, which had been weak from his severe injuries, was forcibly detonated by a violent power in that instant.

He slammed his right hand on the ground. With a dull THUD, a shockwave spread out, and he used the rebound force to leap up, flip over, and land on his feet.

Guan Duhai’s eyes were bloodshot. Veins bulged like writhing earthworms on his forehead, neck, and even his cheeks.

His entire aura became violent and powerful, like a cornered beast exuding a fearsome, baleful energy that made one’s heart palpitate.

Guan Duhai whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Chen Yue.

He slowly raised the Azure Sky Sword. Although the webbing between his thumb and forefinger was split open and a bloody mess, his hand, now strengthened by the violent Primordial Power of the Sword Waterfall Secret Technique, was as steady as a rock.

A layer of blood-red Sword Aura began to flicker on the edge of the Azure Sky Sword, wavering like a viper’s tongue.

Watching Guan Duhai’s aura surge, Chen Yue slowly angled his Jinghong Saber toward the ground. Then, he began to walk toward Guan Duhai, one step at a time.

His pace wasn’t fast, but with every step he took, an invisible momentum began to build and rise around him.

The air around Chen Yue began to warp under the dual effect of his Saber Intent and Primordial Power. Within that distorted air, the faint phantom of a white tiger, formed from Saber Intent and the Power of Heart and Spirit, gradually appeared behind him.

The white tiger phantom was blurry at first, but it grew clearer and more distinct with each step Chen Yue took.

Its eyes were wide, its fangs bared, and its body was wreathed in Gang Qi. It exuded a terrifying aura that seemed capable of suppressing all living things.

Guan Duhai’s Sword Intent, which had grown wild from activating the Sword Waterfall, was actually suppressed by this overwhelming momentum.

This was the Mental Vision created by the perfect fusion of the Furious Wave Saber Intent and the Heart Tiger condensed from the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell!

This fusion allowed Chen Yue’s momentum to penetrate deeper, to the level of the mind and spirit, creating a dual-layered pressure on his opponent.

Guan Duhai’s heart skipped a beat. He could clearly feel his own Sword Intent being stifled before Chen Yue’s mountain-like, majestic momentum.

’I can’t let this continue!’

Guan Duhai knew that if he allowed Chen Yue to keep advancing step by step, letting his momentum build to its peak, he would lose any chance of turning the tables.

"Kill!"

Guan Duhai let out a hoarse, sharp roar, pouring all his resentment, rage, and will to survive into the Azure Sky Sword in his hand.

He stomped his feet, and the ground beneath him exploded. It was as if he had become one with the Azure Sky Sword, transforming into a streak of blood-red sword light that shot ferociously toward Chen Yue!

In that instant, everyone on the Martial Arts Arena had the same illusion: Guan Duhai had vanished.

All that remained on the arena floor was a single, world-shaking sword shimmering with blood-red light.