Onlookers only saw Fang Heng spinning in place.
Though the sky was high and the clouds were vast, he seemed to be hitting invisible walls.
His body was physically unharmed, but his face was contorted in a mask of pain as he wailed continuously.
Only he knew how terrifying the scene before his eyes truly was.
Sword qi showered down with the moonlight, following him like a shadow, omnipresent.
Blood blurred his vision.
From the moment Fang Heng had spoken his first word, he had already been struck.
Deep within the Moon in the Well Illusion, his entire body was bathed in moonlight, riddled with 1,000 holes.
‘What kind of cultivation could swap the day for the night, turning the radiant sun into a full moon?’
‘Is it a Golden Core expert’s intent where every blade of grass is a sword, or a Nascent Soul expert’s Spirit Sea and the Heavenly Phenomena Sword Domain?’
‘It’s impossible!’
‘Last year, this kid was just a Qi Refinement brat who lost to other fellow disciples. Not following his father to join the First Peak was the greatest mistake of his life. Just because he luckily comprehended the Heavenly Way Alchemy, he dares to speak so arrogantly.’
‘It must be some sort of unorthodox evil art, or perhaps I’ve been poisoned. This is foul play!’
Only a small number of cultivators could peer in with their Divine Sense, immersing themselves in the lunar phases and feeling the profound mysteries of the Sword Scripture of Celestial Phenomena.
“How strange. He has the cultivation of the peak Foundation Establishment, yet his clear Sword Intent is not inferior to a Golden Core Sword Cultivator. He will soon be able to reach the fifth stage of the Sword Canon, the Sword Domain. Many Academy instructors cannot even achieve this.”
In other words, Yun Liu’s Sword Intent had pierced through Fang Heng’s Sea of Consciousness from the very beginning, carving an image within it.
Jing Tan’er mused for a moment and inquired,
“What are you talking about? Why can’t I see anything?”
“Because his sword isn’t aimed at you,” the Mist-Hidden Peak First Seat said with a smile.
He swiped two fingers across the Princess’s brow, unveiling the mystery of the phantom sword.
The undulating Sea of Clouds before the young girl’s eyes vanished, replaced by a dark, eerie night.
The Spiritual Pressure of the splashing moonlight was intense and the cold was biting.
Jing Tan’er couldn’t help but shiver, feeling as if she were trapped in the well herself.
A full moon, large and white, seemed to represent Yun Liu’s Divine Soul, while Fang Heng’s golden candle flame flickered on the verge of extinguishing.
He looked so minuscule before the Heavenly Phenomena Sword Momentum; the Sword Intent of the two was simply not on the same dimension.
The Grand Elder cleared his throat, already prepared to announce the result, while Fang Heng continued his death struggle.
He subconsciously felt he had been caught in a trap, yet he could find no flaws, whether with his naked eyes or his Divine Sense.
The burns caused by the sword qi felt incredibly real.
Suddenly, Fang Heng saw the grinning white-robed youth behind a patch of dark clouds, and fury erupted in his eyes.
“Found you!”
The flying sword darting around shared a connection with its master’s heart.
It whipped up a golden storm as the Four Styles of Falling Cloud tore through the wind and space.
However, the sword tip was not pointed in Yun Liu’s direction.
The vast sword qi actually surged toward Fang Heng himself.
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“Stop!”
The Grand Elder slapped his forehead, but it was already too late to intervene.
The sharp flying sword struck with precision, displaying the metallic sharpness of the Sword Scripture of Zhuiyun.
Fang Heng gave a cold smile, but the following piercing pain almost made him pass away on the spot.
His smile froze instantly.
Beneath the clear, boundless sky, the now-conscious Fang Heng returned to the clouds, escaping the shackles of the phantom sword.
At the same time, his Protective Spiritual Energy shattered, and blood continuously sprayed from his mouth.
He lowered his head with difficulty, looking in disbelief at the sharp sword impaled in his abdomen.
It was his own sword!
“How… could this be?”
Not far away, Yun Liu sucked in a breath of cold air and said admiringly,
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re really ruthless. Once you go crazy, you don’t even spare yourself.”
“You!”
Fang Heng pointed at Yun Liu, wanting to roar that he had cheated, but he could no longer speak.
His Qi Sea was wounded, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
The residual sword qi continued to rampage through his body, severing both large and small Spiritual Veins.
‘The lethality of the Sword Scripture of Zhuiyun is indeed the most formidable. I have now confirmed this personally…’
“Remember this. This is the weakness of the Sword Scripture of Zhuiyun.
Blindly pursuing the power of techniques while neglecting introspection leads to a mess of a Divine Soul realm.
If you cannot govern yourself, how can you govern the sword?”
Overwhelmed by shock and fury, Fang Heng fainted on the spot.
The Grand Elder flew into the arena, supporting Fang Heng and tapping several acupoints to seal his meridians.
Although the female hooligans of Qingxia Peak didn’t know exactly what had happened, it was clear that their First Senior Brother-in-law had won.
They cheered one by one, but as they cheered, they realized something was off.
Other fellow disciples had mixed expressions.
The disciples of the Zhuyun Lineage looked particularly grim, and the controversy outside Dragon Subduing Hall was not small.
Why would Senior Brother Fang suddenly injure himself for no reason?
In the end, it was Yun Liu who had used bizarre methods to deal the blow.
Could this even be considered a sword duel?
The Qi Sea was a vital point for cultivators.
Fang Heng’s life might not be in danger, but his Innate Spiritual Foundation was bound to be damaged.
This battle was already the bloodiest confrontation of this year’s Great Competition, a serious violation of the Rules.
Several First Peak elders looked somber and immediately surrounded Yun Liu, who was preparing to turn and leave.
“Did you do that on purpose!?”
Ordinary disciples didn’t know the truth, but the elders certainly saw it clearly.
Fang Heng had obviously already lost, yet Yun Liu had still induced him to wound himself, which could very well result in the crippling of an outstanding Falling Cloud Peak disciple.
Yun Liu laughed and said,
“I’m in a hurry. I didn’t have time to wait for him to surrender, so I gave him a way out. It’s not embarrassing to lose to oneself. Who knew he would be like those Demonic Sect Fiends and specifically aim for someone’s Qi Sea? Is that my fault?”
“You injured someone and still try to talk your way out of it? This is too much!”
The Elder surnamed Fang, who had met him once during the Five-Phase Trial, was beyond furious.
He was about to step forward to argue when his vision blurred.
The Peak Chief of Celestial Phenomena had returned.
In an instant, she arrived at the Cloud Top and blocked the path of her wicked disciple.
The surrounding air temperature plummeted to the freezing point.
The white-robed fairy carried a Sword Case on her back.
Her voice was crystal clear and exquisitely ethereal, though her Silver Moon Cloud Robe was slightly singed.
“So what if it was on purpose?”
Yan Bingling’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she flicked her sleeve.
The beards of several old men immediately froze into icicles, scaring them into hiding behind the Grand Elder.
When the Aunt Master opened her eyes, the Sea of Clouds froze, and not a single blade of grass could grow.
“Who was it just now that said the Celestial Phenomena Lineage should be left to fend for itself? Don’t think I didn’t hear you!”
“Uh…”
The Falling Cloud Peak elders all looked at the unconscious Fang Heng, making it clear that it had nothing to do with them.
They didn’t dare to make a sound.
Yan Bingling’s eyebrows arched slightly.
“The First Peak disciples have such big mouths. Why don’t you call Shen Zhong out and see whether Celestial Phenomena Peak disappears first today, or Falling Cloud Peak disappears first!?”
The Grand Elder swallowed hard.
Even though it was freezing, he began to sweat.
He pinched his voice and put on a fawning smile.
“Sigh, it was just a child’s nonsense spoken during a spat. Why would an esteemed person like you take it seriously? Aunt Master is right to lecture them. I’ll make sure to discipline them properly when we get back!”
“Is that so? Then what about the ‘talking his way out of it’ part?”
“This is self-mutilation, plain for all to see!”
The Great Baldy’s serious way of backing down made Tu Gou and Gelan burst into laughter.
When it came to being overprotective, it had to be Aunt Master.
Given the seniority of these ‘young’ elders, they weren’t even qualified to talk back to her.
Yan Bingling finally nodded in satisfaction.
She urged in a cold voice,
“Then what are you standing around for? Announce it. Can the First Peak disciples not afford to lose?”
“Oh, right!”
The Grand Elder slapped his forehead, weighed his words carefully, and announced loudly,
“The Falling Cloud Peak disciple Fang Heng spoke rudely and disrupted the friendly and harmonious atmosphere of the Divine Radiance Sect. He should have been given a major demerit!”
“However, considering his timely repentance and his use of self-mutilation as a form of reflection, we will not hold it against him. The winner is Yun Liu of Celestial Phenomena Peak.”