Chapter 436: Battle of Contention

Grand Elder Wang Guyuan had, of course, clearly witnessed the battle inside the Mountain and River Map and knew that Shen Daoxing had held back.

Wang Guyuan paused, then said slowly, "Alright. You have a more important competition tomorrow. Go and rest for now. Leave Muyun's matter to me."

Shen Daoxing acknowledged him, then turned and left, returning to his residence.

Back in his room, Shen Daoxing immediately sat down to meditate. With a single thought, he entered the Venerable Domain.

All around him was a vast Cloud Sea, from which a towering mountain peak rose, piercing the sky. Its summit was too high to be seen, as if it had punched a hole straight through heaven and earth.

Eagerly, Shen Daoxing flipped his palm over and summoned a cyan Treasure Sword. It was none other than the Shattering Void Sword that Wang Guyuan had gifted him.

Immediately, Shen Daoxing raised the Shattering Void Sword high and swung it forward.

"SWISH!"

A soft whistle of displaced air arose, but no flash of light appeared before Shen Daoxing's eyes. He saw nothing, as if he hadn't swung his sword at all.

But in the next instant, the roiling Cloud Sea before him suddenly split apart vertically, as if space itself had been broken. The entire expanse of clouds was severed by a single sword strike, slowly drifting apart.

This was the power to sever space.

Seeing this, Shen Daoxing was overjoyed. He looked down at the sword in his hand, growing even fonder of his Shattering Void Sword. It was truly worthy of its rank as the third Divine Artifact on the list of World Divine Soldiers.

At that moment, however, a disdainful voice suddenly rang out:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. All it has is a bit of Divine Iron forged by some past Venerable Supreme. That's the only reason it can sever space. It can't be considered a true Divine Soldier. If you ever manage to find a weapon or Magical Treasure left behind by a Venerable Supreme, *that* would be a true Divine Soldier and Divine Artifact."

Shen Daoxing turned to look and saw that the Blood Dragon, in the form of a small red snake, had appeared before him at some point.

'To think the third-ranked Divine Artifact among the World Divine Soldiers is considered nothing in the Blood Dragon's eyes!'

'Then again, it's not that surprising,' Shen Daoxing thought. 'Elder Blood Dragon and the Venerable Supremes of the past were all unparalleled existences in the Upper Realm. It's only natural they'd look down on things from this world.'

Afterward, Shen Daoxing resumed his sword practice with the Shattering Void Sword. The Annihilation of Ten Thousand Swords Technique he cultivated gave him an unparalleled advantage in comprehending any Sword Dao, so he quickly mastered the space-severing power within the sword.

Shen Daoxing was not the only one; the other Four Vein Disciples participating in tomorrow's Celestial Mirror Order competition were also cultivating in their rooms.

Meanwhile, Gu Muyun had returned from Grand Elder Wang Guyuan's residence and was now sitting on a meditation cushion. However, she had barely closed her eyes before she snapped them open again, her mind too restless to enter a meditative state.

Ouyang Cheng was alone in his room, polishing a Treasure Sword he seemed to cherish dearly.

「Cyan Nether Sword Sect. Within a grand, ornate hall on a majestic Suspended Island.」

At that moment, Elder Xu Jin of Fusang stood respectfully before a stern-faced, middle-aged man.

"Master has decreed that tomorrow's Celestial Mirror Order competition must be foolproof. The position of Island Master of Pengze Immortal Island must fall into the hands of our Fusang Island," the stern-faced middle-aged man said slowly.

Elder Xu Jin of Fusang gave a faint smile. "Rest assured, Senior Brother. With Wushuang participating, he is certain to win the Celestial Mirror Order competition and secure the position of Island Master of Pengze Immortal Island for us."

"Mm."

The stern-faced man nodded, but then suddenly asked, "I've heard a strange character has appeared in this competition. Just an outer sect disciple, yet he is highly regarded by Grand Elder Gu Yuanhua? Did Gu Yuanhua really bet his own Lifebound Magical Artifact on him?"

Hearing this, Elder Xu Jin of Fusang simply smiled, unconcerned.

"Heheheh, please rest easy, Senior Brother. That disciple is merely at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation realm. Although he showed some skill by passing the Immortal Island trial, comparing him to Jun Wushuang is like comparing the heavens to the earth. The difference is vast. There is no way that outer sect disciple could possibly be a match for our Jun Wushuang."

"Good."

The stern-faced man nodded. "Master demands that we make no mistakes this time."

After a brief pause, the stern-faced man added, "Just in case, make some extra preparations."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Elder Xu Jin of Fusang clasped his hands and bowed respectfully, then slowly retreated from the hall.

The night passed without incident.

「The next day.」

When Shen Daoxing arrived at the Pengze Hall Main Hall once more, he saw floating stones bobbing up and down amidst the sea of clouds above Pengze Immortal Island, crowded with sect disciples.

The Celestial Mirror Order competition was a grand event in the Cyan Nether Sword Sect that occurred only once a century. It brought together the strongest disciples of the Inner Sect's younger generation. Disciples from both the Inner Sect and the Four Vein Immortal Islands had all come, unwilling to miss such a rare and spectacular battle.

Shen Daoxing, Wan Hai, and Tang Yi returned to the Martial Arts Arena.

Suddenly, Shen Daoxing saw Gu Muyun walking toward him, her expression icy and hostile.

Shen Daoxing was instantly on guard. "Still want to fight?"

Just then, however, Gu Muyun stopped and said abruptly, "This time, I can cooperate with you."

"Cooperate?"

Shen Daoxing was momentarily stunned and surprised. Then he noticed the yellow-robed woman beside Gu Muyun, Liu Ying, watching him with a delicate, meaningful smile.

'So that's it,' Shen Daoxing realized instantly. 'Liu Ying must have somehow convinced Gu Muyun.'

Since this crazy woman had finally stopped trying to kill him and wanted to cooperate instead, Shen Daoxing naturally wasn't going to refuse. He promptly agreed.

Gu Muyun then added a condition: "However, you must allow me to enter Pengze Immortal Mountain afterward to comprehend the Ancient Stone Stele."

"Of course, that's not a problem."

Shen Daoxing nodded.

At that moment, however, a loud voice suddenly boomed, "Sister, I heard you were bullied by that Shen Daoxing yesterday! Hah! An outer sect disciple dares to bully my sister? He's courting death!"

A young man about the same age as Shen Daoxing then stepped forward.

The newcomer was tall and thin with sharp, chiseled features. He carried an air of arrogance he couldn't hide, and he bore a slight resemblance to Gu Muyun.

The moment he stepped forward, his eyes locked onto Shen Daoxing.

Suddenly, the tall, thin youth flew into a rage. "Hah! So you're Shen Daoxing! You still dare to show your face here?"

Then the youth froze, scrutinizing Shen Daoxing more closely as if recalling something. "Wait, you... you're the one who snuck into my sister's chambers that day, who... who defiled her...?"

But he was only halfway through his sentence.

"Shut up!"

The icy command was shouted by Gu Muyun.