The Annihilation Sword was a forbidden weapon, as well as the inheritance treasure of the *Annihilation Sword Technique*. It was extremely precious. However, divine artifacts conceal their brilliance. Aside from being exceptionally hard, the Annihilation Sword looked dull and black, with no other remarkable features, resembling an ordinary sword. On the field, even Fire Yuan Zhenren, who was at the late Yuanhai stage, couldn't detect anything unusual. There was no need to worry about any issues. Plus, given its extreme sharpness and durability, it was quite suitable for use as a sword for the foreseeable future. Lin Xuan thus took it out.
Seeing this, the crowd on the scene perked up. "Before all the rumors about Lin Xuan, his swordsmanship was said to be the strongest, with fist techniques second. He's finally using a sword now!" "Zhang Yuchen, as the sole prodigy of our Chiyu Domain, has indeed made Lin Xuan take him seriously." "Now we can witness Lin Xuan's swordsmanship prowess." "Zhang Yuchen is no slouch either. Those two are about to have a big fight—we can see the combat strength of the top two geniuses in Chiyu Domain." "..."
The crowd murmured excitedly, their gazes fixed on the arena with heightened anticipation.
On the arena, Zhang Yuchen saw Lin Xuan draw his sword and narrowed his eyes, his heart trembling slightly. Was Lin Xuan about to use his swordsmanship now? His fist techniques alone were astonishingly powerful, forcing back two公子-level geniuses, Zhou Wenhao and Chen Feng. Even he, facing Lin Xuan's fist techniques, had little confidence in winning. And rumor had it that Lin Xuan's swordsmanship was even stronger. He couldn't even imagine it—his chances of victory dropped even further. The only consolation was that Lin Xuan had crushed Zhou Wenhao and Chen Feng with fist techniques alone, but against him, he was using a sword. By comparison, it highlighted his uniqueness. Yet, thinking that he used to be the one at the top, with others compared to him, and now the roles were reversed before Lin Xuan, he let out a bitter laugh, feeling a wordless sense of defeat.
Then, Zhang Yuchen cast aside these distractions and replied solemnly, "Alright! Let's settle it in one move!"
As his words fell, the aura of the second layer of the Spiritual Yuan Stage erupted fully, without any reservation. Having witnessed the previous two matches, he knew Lin Xuan's strength might surpass his own. There was no need for probing or holding back. Since it was to be decided in one move, he had to use his strongest martial art. Instantly, he revealed five-percent Sword Intent, four-percent Metal Intent, four-percent Wind Intent, and four-and-a-half-percent Fire Intent—four major intents. They immediately triggered countless phenomena around him: waves of fire surged, gales raged, and sharp energies danced within, tearing everything apart. Within a few hundred meters of the arena, it was like the end of the world, utterly terrifying. If an ordinary early-stage Spiritual Yuan cultivator were caught in it, they might be severely injured by the sheer pressure without even making a move, their strength greatly diminished. This fearsome aura was a notch above that of Zhou Wenhao and Chen Feng.
The high-ranking members of various forces on the surrounding stands, now experienced, had already spread their Spiritual Yuan auras to shield the stands at the start of the match, so they were unaffected. Yet, the collision and friction of intents let them gauge Zhang Yuchen's strength. Just this aura alone rivaled that of many mid-stage Spiritual Yuan elders. No wonder he was the sole prodigy of Chiyu Domain—truly extraordinary. The high-ranking members were inwardly shaken, their gazes fixed on the arena with even greater anticipation.
On the arena, Lin Xuan felt this aura but remained expressionless. He tilted his sword, and a sharp energy emanated from him, shooting into the sky. It was three-percent Sword Intent and three-percent Metal Intent—two intents erupted instantly, pushing back the surrounding aura ten meters. In truth, even facing Zhang Yuchen, the sole prodigy of Chiyu Domain, he could casually throw a punch without using spiritual energy, intents, or martial arts—just his physical strength—and still crush him. However, that would require using a bit more power and would be too conspicuous. Using only physical strength to leap a major realm and defeat the prodigy Zhang Yuchen would be far too heaven-defying. Even with his reputation as a top genius, it would be too dazzling and outrageous. It might even draw Fire Yuan Zhenren's attention. Then, even with his spatial talent, he'd be in trouble. After all, spatial talent was his ultimate trump card, his inner confidence. Its drawbacks were too obvious and easily exploited. If unused, fine; but once used, he'd have to silence all witnesses. It was only for deterrence and emergencies, like a nuclear bomb in his past life. So, to be safe, he'd hold back some strength and use his swordsmanship instead. As long as he defeated Zhang Yuchen, it would cause the biggest stir and yield the most energy points. The process didn't matter. As for the supposed respect for Zhang Yuchen that led him to use a sword—that was all fake. But he didn't need to spell that out.
Across from him, Zhang Yuchen saw that even after unleashing his full Spiritual Yuan aura and four strongest intents, he still hadn't affected Lin Xuan at all, and his expression turned cold. He had expected this. Auras only work on weaker opponents; against those of similar or greater strength, they have no effect. Yet, this further confirmed Lin Xuan's strength, and he dared not underestimate him in the slightest. Then, he struck.
"Yang Flame Annihilating Ninefold Slash!" he shouted, swinging his Red Sun Sword repeatedly. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... He unleashed nine sword beams. With spiritual energy surging and the boost from four intents, each at least forty percent comprehended, the nine beams materialized, each dozens of zhang in size. Around them, it was as if solar flames burned, distorting even the void. The power was terrifying. Each of these nine beams matched Chen Feng's strongest attack. When unleashed together, they formed a sword net that seemed to cover the sky, leaving no escape. Such power could likely defeat an ordinary fourth-layer Spiritual Yuan cultivator. Then, the massive sword net descended from the sky, covering Lin Xuan. From all directions, countless sword energies surged toward him, making dodging impossible.
On the other side, Lin Xuan remained calm, scanning his surroundings before saying softly, "An eighth-rank martial art, executed at the second layer of the Spiritual Yuan Stage with such power—not bad. But against me, it's useless." Then, he pointed his sword forward.