Soon, the square fell silent. Only the whistling wind and the crackling sound of flames burning through the void echoed from the arena. All eyes converged on it.
On the arena, after Chen Yu unleashed his three artistic conceptions, his momentum surged several times over. Across from him, Lin Xuan remained calm and unmoved, as if the scene before him was trivial and unworthy of a second glance. The imposing force of the Spirit Opening Realm, combined with the sweeping power of the three artistic conceptions, failed to affect Lin Xuan in the slightest. Not even a strand of his hair was disturbed.
The disciples watching from afar were deeply shaken, awed by Lin Xuan’s formidable strength. At the same time, their anticipation for the duel grew even stronger.
On the other side, Chen Yu also noticed this. Instantly, the ominous premonition in his heart intensified. But at this point, he had no other choice. He could only grit his teeth and continue the fight.
“Lin Xuan, this is my strongest power! Let’s fight!”
With a loud shout, Chen Yu gripped his Red Abyss Blade tightly and swung it out. Violent, thunderous force erupted, tearing through the air with a deafening roar.
“Golden Edge Splitting Clouds!”
A golden blade light instantly condensed. It was the same blade technique as before— Chen Yu’s most powerful move. But this time, with the boost from the three artistic conceptions, especially his blade intent elevated to twenty percent, its momentum surged once more. It was several times stronger than before. Even the surrounding Spirit Origin Realm force was pushed back over ten meters. Such was its terrifying power.
Gales swirled around, flames surged, adding another layer of might. The onlookers, witnessing this, couldn’t help but tremble inwardly, retreating step by step. Even though the Spirit Origin Realm force shielded them from harm, just watching from afar stirred a sense of fear within them, draining their will to fight entirely. They felt utterly powerless.
Their hearts pounded with shock, almost losing control. Was this Chen Yu’s full strength? No wonder he was the top of the strong list, a Spirit Opening Realm cultivator. Too powerful! So formidable that they couldn’t even muster the thought of resistance.
All were stunned, utterly horrified. Then, their gazes shifted to Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, like them, was at the Condensation Vortex Realm— And not even at its peak. Faced with such a terrifying strike from Chen Yu, could he withstand it? Their hearts wavered, uncertainty flooding in.
On the arena. The golden blade light, radiating dreadful power, shot toward Lin Xuan as if tearing through space. Its might was overwhelming, its speed blinding. In an instant, it descended above Lin Xuan and crashed down with a thunderous impact. Where it passed, a long black scar was left behind, as if the void itself had been ripped open. It was horrifying to the extreme.
Yet Lin Xuan stood still, unmoving, as if frozen in shock. The surrounding crowd, watching this, felt their scalps tingle and fear flash in their eyes. Gasps escaped their lips.
Was Lin Xuan about to lose? He wasn’t even defending! This was dangerous for him!
Boom! A thunderous explosion. The entire arena was shrouded in dust, obscuring the scene within. Everyone couldn’t help but worry about Lin Xuan’s fate.
But the next moment— Clang! A piercing metallic ring echoed from within. A terrifying sharpness erupted, shooting straight into the sky. The surrounding Spirit Origin Realm force was instantly sliced into countless gashes. Though completely different from Chen Yu’s twenty-percent blade intent, its sharpness was in no way inferior. It was unmistakably twenty-percent sword intent!
On the high platform. The inner sect elders were also watching the duel closely. Among them, the lowest were at the mid Spirit Opening Realm, and several had reached the Spirit Origin Realm. All had comprehended artistic conceptions. They immediately recognized this intent as twenty-percent sword intent.
Chen Yu had only comprehended blade intent. For someone who had just broken through to the Spirit Opening Realm to grasp twenty-percent blade intent was already impressive among the core disciples. But blade intent and sword intent were fundamentally different artistic conceptions. It was impossible for him to also comprehend sword intent, let alone reach twenty percent. That meant the one radiating twenty-percent blade intent couldn’t be Chen Yu. So, it had to be the other person— Lin Xuan!
Realizing this, the inner sect elders’ expressions shifted, disbelief flooding their eyes. Exclamations burst out.
“Twenty-percent sword intent? How is that possible?!” “In just two months, he’s comprehended twenty-percent sword intent? That’s too monstrous!” “There’s never been such a precedent in the sect!”
The elders gasped, their hearts trembling violently. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Artistic conceptions were the initial manifestation of the world’s laws. Their difficulty of comprehension was unimaginable. Generally, even Spirit Opening Realm cultivators struggled to reach twenty-percent artistic conception. Some inner sect elders present hadn’t even achieved it yet. And Lin Xuan, a new disciple who had joined less than two months ago— Not only had his cultivation and strength advanced rapidly, reaching the eighth layer of the Condensation Vortex Realm and rivaling Spirit Opening Realm cultivators— But now, he had also comprehended twenty-percent sword intent. Such insight and talent were terrifying.
The elders instinctively wanted to deny it. But it was happening right before their eyes, witnessed by so many of them. It couldn’t be an illusion. They had no choice but to believe. Thus, they fell into deep shock, unable to snap out of it.
Among them, the few Spirit Origin Realm elders were also greatly shaken. But as high-ranking members of the sect, with broader experience, they quickly recovered. A gleam of brilliance flashed in their eyes. Their expressions grew even more delighted.
Lin Xuan had even comprehended twenty-percent sword intent—his performance had once again exceeded their expectations. It was a pleasant surprise. At the same time, they realized that Lin Xuan’s talent was far beyond their imagination. Their resolve to promote him directly to core disciple grew even stronger. Such a top-tier genius deserved the sect’s focused cultivation.
As for this challenge, the outcome was already decided. The moment Lin Xuan revealed his twenty-percent sword intent, it was sealed.
The elders’ gazes returned to the arena. The disciples below also focused, eager to see what had changed.
Then, a gale swept through, clearing the dust. On the arena— Lin Xuan’s sword pointed forward, halting the golden blade light—forged from spiritual power and enhanced by three artistic conceptions—midair, unable to advance an inch.
Witnessing this, the crowd was utterly stunned, eyes wide, frozen in place.
On the arena. Across from him, Chen Yu was also taken aback. Then, realization struck, and his expression shifted drastically. He leaped backward in retreat. But it was too late.
Whoosh! A cold gleam shot from the sword in Lin Xuan’s hand.
Crack! Crack! Instantly, brittle sounds emerged from the golden blade light. A fissure appeared on its surface. Then, it spread in all directions. In a single breath, it covered the entire golden blade light.
Boom! Another explosion, and the golden blade light shattered completely. The residual sharpness swept across the surroundings. But as it neared Lin Xuan, it dissipated instantly.