This time, the conversation between the Grand Elder and Xu Anlan also spread out, heard by the disciples on the square. Instantly, the disciples who had retreated hundreds of meters away and were no longer affected fell into silence. Then, it erupted into chaos.
"Whoa, Senior Brother Lin Xuan has also comprehended an artistic conception?" "And it's a fully formed one?!" "How is that possible? Senior Brother Lin Xuan is at most at the Qi Gathering stage, right?" "Yeah, hasn't our Cloud Flow Sect never had a precedent of someone comprehending an artistic conception at the Qi Gathering stage?" "..."
The disciples buzzed with discussion, cries of surprise overlapping, their gazes fixed on Lin Xuan on the arena, filled with disbelief. Earlier, Chen Yuze, who had broken through to the Qi Transformation stage and revealed his artistic conception, was already remarkable. Even among the inner disciples, he was considered a genius level. But now, Lin Xuan, a new disciple, had also comprehended an artistic conception? Not the kind of nascent sword intent like Chen Yuze's, but a true, fully formed artistic conception—half-formed sword intent! It was truly hard for them to believe. Yet, this came from the conversation between the Grand Elder and the true disciple Xu Anlan; given their high status in the sect, it couldn't be fabricated. That meant it was real? Thinking this, the disciples were even more stunned. They were utterly shocked by Lin Xuan's talent. Such talent was beyond their imagination—too terrifying!
On the arena, Chen Yuze looked at Lin Xuan across from him, who radiated a piercing sharpness, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Artistic conception, fully formed, half-formed sword intent... Indeed, I'm still going to lose!" At this moment, seeing Lin Xuan also reveal his artistic conception, one surpassing his own half-formed sword intent, Chen Yuze's fighting spirit greatly diminished, and a sense of dejection crept in. To comprehend a fully formed artistic conception at the Qi Gathering stage—this wasn't just a genius or a top genius; it was monstrous! Facing such a monstrous existence, how could he possibly be a match? But at this point, he couldn't admit defeat either.
"Lin Xuan, your talent has exceeded my expectations once again! However, since we've both revealed our trump cards, let's settle this in one move?!" Chen Yuze shouted loudly. Even if he lost, he wanted to lose honorably, not cowardly surrender.
"Fine!" Lin Xuan replied coldly.
"Wind Cleave!" Chen Yuze bellowed, his true qi surging as he swung his sword. This strike was his full effort, holding nothing back, channeling all his true qi and sword intent. He only hoped not to lose too badly. A breeze-like sword light flew out, riding the wind, extremely fast, its power far surpassing before, pressing down toward Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan was still at the Qi Gathering stage; though he had true qi, he couldn't release it from his body to form a sword light. But with the boost of half-formed sword intent, his attack was still formidable. He swung his sword, not even using a sword technique, just a pure slash. Yet, enhanced by the sword intent, its power was terrifying. The next instant, it precisely struck the breeze-like sword light.
Crack! A crisp sound. Lin Xuan's ordinary slash actually split the breeze-like sword light in two, dissipating it into spiritual energy. The slash's power diminished slightly but continued downward, its force passing through the air toward Chen Yuze. This wasn't a true qi sword light but an air force amplified by sword intent and immense strength. Still, its power was considerable. It was also extremely fast, reaching Chen Yuze in an instant. Sensing its might, Chen Yuze's expression changed drastically, but it came too quickly; he could only block horizontally with his sword.
Clang! With a metallic clash, Chen Yuze was sent flying, landing on the square below the arena. The treasured sword in his hand vibrated incessantly. On Chen Yuze's chest, a long bloody gash appeared, staining his clothes red. This was the injury caused by that force. Fortunately, for Chen Yuze, it was just a minor wound. But since he had fallen off the arena, it counted as a loss.
Swish! The scene fell into silence again. The disciples stared wide-eyed, frozen in place. After a few breaths, they gradually came to their senses. Immediately, a loud sound of gasps echoed. The arena buzzed with noise.
"Unexpectedly, Senior Brother Lin Xuan still won!" "And with a slash that wasn't even a sword technique, he defeated Senior Brother Chen, who's at the Qi Transformation stage!" "There's no helping it; the power of half-formed sword intent is far stronger than nascent sword intent!" "Senior Brother Lin Xuan, as a new disciple, becoming the top of the outer sect—this is breaking precedent!" "..."
The disciples chattered, their eyes fixed on Lin Xuan, utterly shocked. No one had expected that in this competition, Lin Xuan, a new disciple, would take first place. Not only had the former second and third-ranked outer sect experts, Zhou Lei and Guan Yuanshuang, been instantly defeated by Lin Xuan, but even Chen Yuze, who had broken through to the Qi Transformation stage and comprehended nascent sword intent as the top outer sect disciple, was defeated by Lin Xuan, knocked down with a single sword strike. This scene was hard for them to believe. But since it happened before their eyes, they had no choice but to accept it. Thus, they were even more stunned, almost losing composure.
Below the arena, Chen Yuze looked at Lin Xuan, the center of attention, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Indeed, I still lost." Feeling the pain in his chest, Chen Yuze snapped out of his shock. Although he knew he would lose when Lin Xuan revealed half-formed sword intent, he still wanted to settle it in one move, hoping to lose less disgracefully. Yet, he didn't expect Lin Xuan to not even use a sword technique, just a casual slash that destroyed his full-powered strike and sent him flying. It was as if Lin Xuan were the one at the Qi Transformation stage, and he at the Qi Gathering stage, not the other way around. The gap was too vast. He couldn't even withstand Lin Xuan's casual attack. Chen Yuze shook his head, feeling dejected. Before such a monstrous talent, he seemed utterly ordinary, unable to even muster the thought of resistance.
"Forget it, forget it." Chen Yuze sighed, smiled bitterly, and turned to walk into the crowd. Among the crowd, the older disciples were all dejected, their heads hanging low. Meanwhile, the new disciples cheered joyfully. Zhou Lei and Guan Yuanshuang were also dazed for a long time, exchanged a glance, smiled bitterly, and let out a sigh. Looking at Chen Yuze approaching, they had lost their former enthusiasm. In the face of this monstrous new disciple, what did their competition with Chen Yuze amount to? Whether it was the two of them or Chen Yuze, they all seemed insignificant now.
On the arena, the referee, Steward Zhang, was also utterly shocked. He never imagined that the final victor of this match would be Lin Xuan, a new disciple. Even Chen Yuze, who had broken through to the Qi Transformation stage and possessed an artistic conception, was defeated. It wasn't until the arena grew noisy that he barely snapped out of it. Yet, the shock in his heart didn't diminish. Looking at Lin Xuan, he knew that the outer sect—no, the entire Cloud Flow Sect—might be witnessing the rise of an extraordinary figure. Then, he announced: "This match, Lin Xuan wins, advancing to first place!"