On the arena stage.
Lin Xuan's expression was solemn.
Indeed, at this moment, he had unleashed half-formed sword intent to fend off the incoming flame blade.
He had no choice—his cultivation base was a full major realm behind Chen Xiao's.
Though both wielded nascent blade intent, in Chen Xiao's hands, it was over ten times more formidable than in Chen Anran's.
Thus, Lin Xuan was forced to counter with a stronger intent.
With that, he swung his sword upward.
"Gale!"
A sword beam, swirling with biting winds, shot forth.
Enhanced by half-formed sword intent, its size and momentum surged, and in an instant, it even surpassed the massive, descending flame blade by a third in strength.
Then, it struck the flame blade heavily.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
Terrifying shockwaves scattered in all directions, causing the inner disciples in the square to suffer ringing ears, nearly deafening them.
Their hearts grew even more shaken.
Hurriedly, they used true qi to protect their ears and averted their eyes from the arena to find some relief.
The several stewards around the arena also changed expression slightly.
As they gazed at the two on stage, a tremor stirred within them.
Clearly, even these stewards, at the late Condensation Rotation realm, were not unaffected.
On the arena.
After that one strike, dust filled the air, and waves of wind and fire churned before fading away.
Both combatants were jolted backward repeatedly.
Lin Xuan retreated seven or eight meters before steadying himself.
Chen Xiao, however, stumbled back a full dozen meters.
This time, Lin Xuan had gained the upper hand.
The disciples, now snapping back to their senses and recovering somewhat, looked again at the arena.
Seeing this, a profound silence fell.
After a moment, the buzz returned.
"Whoa, Senior Brother Chen Xiao is an inner elite, and he's losing ground to Lin Xuan, a new disciple? Is that for real?"
"It's true! Senior Brother Lin Xuan is too strong! That must have been formed intent—half-formed sword intent! With half-formed sword intent unleashed, Senior Brother Lin Xuan's power skyrocketed, and even Senior Brother Chen Xiao fell behind!"
"Formed intent? Half-formed sword intent! I can't believe the rumors are true, not a bit exaggerated!"
"Just a month after joining, his cultivation advances, his strength soars, and he even masters formed intent—how terrifying is that talent?"
"Yeah, I've never seen such fearsome talent before!"
"..."
The disciples murmured among themselves, their gazes fixed on Lin Xuan, deeply shaken.
Since Lin Xuan arrived at the dueling grounds, he had fought several matches, and even Chen Anran, who had mastered nascent blade intent and was at the peak of the Qi Transformation realm, was no match for him.
They already knew that Lin Xuan's strength had surpassed the Qi Transformation realm and reached the Condensation Rotation realm!
Thus, when Chen Xiao, an inner elite, arrived and issued a challenge, they no longer dared to mock Lin Xuan or confidently predict his victory as before.
But in their hearts, they still believed Lin Xuan was more likely to lose.
Lin Xuan's talent was extraordinary, almost terrifyingly so, but his cultivation time was short, and he was a full major realm behind Chen Xiao!
Yet, unexpectedly, after the duel began, the first move ended in a draw, and the second saw Lin Xuan gaining the upper hand.
A new disciple, facing an inner elite across a major realm, could still seize the advantage.
They could hardly believe it!
This time, it shattered their imagination once again!
And upon hearing that in this fierce clash, Lin Xuan had used half-formed sword intent to achieve such a result, their hearts were even more astounded.
They never imagined that the rumors from the outer sect were true, with no exaggeration at all.
Lin Xuan, a new disciple, had truly mastered formed intent—half-formed sword intent!
The disciples grew even more incredulous.
And thinking that Lin Xuan had only been in the sect for a little over a month, not only had his cultivation advanced rapidly, but his strength had also surged by leaps and bounds.
He had even managed to comprehend formed intent, half-formed sword intent!
In such a short time, they themselves could barely break through a minor realm.
Yet Lin Xuan had achieved three things, each surpassing them by more than tenfold.
It was simply astonishing!
And since Lin Xuan had only recently joined, the sect likely hadn't yet had time to focus on him or pour resources his way.
That meant everything he accomplished relied on his own talent.
Suddenly, the disciples gained a clearer understanding of Lin Xuan's terrifying talent.
The rumors hadn't exaggerated; they had actually underestimated him.
Lin Xuan's genius far exceeded what they had imagined!
Even the sect's top prodigies seemed faintly inferior to Lin Xuan.
Because at the Qi Transformation realm, none of them had displayed such shocking feats.
Still, the disciples dared not dwell too much on those thoughts.
Those top prodigies were now at least at the Spirit Opening realm, holding high positions in the sect.
Lin Xuan, however, was just a new disciple, still in the Qi Transformation realm, far behind.
Though Lin Xuan's boundless potential earned him respect, it didn't command awe.
In this martial world, what mattered most was one's actual strength.
So-called potential was merely a glimmer of hope.
On the arena.
Chen Xiao felt his blood surging and quickly circulated his body-tempering martial art to stabilize himself. His gaze toward Lin Xuan now held a hint of shock.
He hadn't expected that after unleashing nascent blade intent and boosting his power, he wouldn't even achieve a draw but would fall behind instead.
Though he had anticipated that the outer sect rumors were likely true—that Lin Xuan had mastered half-formed sword intent, especially since true disciple Xu Anlan had vouched for him—he never imagined that Lin Xuan, at only the fourth layer of Qi Transformation, could make half-formed sword intent so terrifyingly effective.
Even many seasoned cultivators at the peak of Qi Transformation would pale in comparison to Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan's talent was far greater than he had imagined!
Chen Xiao sighed inwardly, deeply shaken.
At the same time, a trace of relief welled up in his heart.
Fortunately, he still had a hidden trump card—half-formed blade intent!
Blade intent and sword intent were on the same level.
Both were half-formed.
When he unleashed it, he would be far stronger than Lin Xuan.
This match, he could still win.
As for whether Lin Xuan had any other hidden cards, he didn't know and dared not think further.
Because for a new disciple like Lin Xuan to have his cultivation and strength skyrocket and master half-formed sword intent was already terrifying enough.
If, under such circumstances, Lin Xuan still had more hidden away, he wouldn't be a top genius—he'd be a monster!
Such monstrous beings were rare not just in Flowing Cloud Sect but across the entire Cangyuan Kingdom, countable on one hand.
If Lin Xuan truly was that kind of monster.
Then Chen Xiao would accept defeat willingly.
Losing to a monster wouldn't be too great a loss, nor would it invite mockery or ridicule.
After all, such monstrous beings were inherently terrifying.
Crossing major realms to challenge opponents was as easy as eating or drinking for them.