Yan Bingling frowned and glanced sideways.
“Then why are you looking at me instead of the match? There’s no son for you to cheer for.”
“It hasn’t started yet. What’s wrong with staring at you?”
That look was inexplicably arrogant. He said nothing, yet it made Yan Bingling extremely uncomfortable, making her really want to cut someone down.
“You don’t want your tits anymore?”
“Mmph!”
Gelan immediately covered her chest and shut her mouth. For safety’s sake, it was better not to reveal anything just yet.
“Just wait until my disciple serves you tea with a big belly! Don’t cry then!”
High above, the white-robed youth stood sideways on his flying sword. His entire person was sharp and imposing, like an unsheathed blade. The previous laziness and despondency were completely gone.
The Five Peaks Elders nodded inwardly. This was the Yun Liu everyone else was familiar with—the Heavenly Spiritual Root newcomer who had made a name for himself in last year’s Sect Great Competition.
It was good that his legs were still nimble. Xiang’er is still too soft-hearted. If it were me on him last night, he wouldn’t have gotten a wink of sleep.
Gelan muttered quietly. As expected, Soul-Haunting had solved Yun Liu’s problem and even helped him successfully form his core. The phenomenon this morning was the best proof.
She couldn’t wait to see the look of surprise on Yan Bingling’s face.
Yun Liu looked down, found the expectant gazes of Qin Xiang and Jing Tan’er in the crowd, and waved.
Their expressions were different, their little faces flushed, utterly adorable.
According to Lin Shu, the victims had fled the scene of the ‘accident’ one after another, not daring to look each other in the eye.
“Junior Brother Yun still has the leisure for such things. It seems you truly don’t have my Falling Cloud Peak in your eyes.”
A cold laugh came from afar. A rough-looking, dark-faced man riding an orange-yellow flying sword flew over from the Dragon Subduing Hall, his tone unfriendly.
“Important things should be kept in the heart, not hung on the lips. But it’s true, my eyes can’t hold too many things.”
Yun Liu dug at his ear. His casual tone once again angered the Falling Cloud Peak disciples.
These words thoroughly offended all the Falling Cloud Peak disciples. The First Peak lineage’s momentum was overwhelming, their cheers resounding through heaven and earth.
“Go, Senior Brother Gao!”
“Give him a taste! Let this kid know the power of our Falling Cloud Sword Canon!”
The burly man pointed below, cracking his neck audibly.
“Hear that? You said the Sword Scripture of Celestial Phenomena counters the Falling Cloud Sword Canon. Not only are they unconvinced, I’m not convinced either.”
“Oh?”
Yun Liu spread his palm open, also wanting to test the compatibility of cultivating Heavenly Walk internally and Bright Radiance externally.
He had originally planned to just muddle through and surrender, since there was no need to go to the Sword Furnace anymore. But now he changed his mind.
“Pity.”
“Pity what?”
“Falling Cloud Peak could have had one more person advance to the quarterfinals.”
Yun Liu spoke words Gao Mingyuan couldn’t understand. As his Qi Sea surged, his sword was already unsheathed.
The spiritual energy fluctuation went from imperceptible to explosive peak in an instant.
A blur of afterimages swept past.
For a moment, sixteen spirit swords pointed at his opponent, making it hard to distinguish the true body. Dark clouds blotted out the sun.
Pale, fluorescent light suddenly descended upon the Sea of Clouds, each ray of moonlight transformed by Sword Intent.
What was even more shocking was that this vast Spirit Breath was at the early Golden Core realm! Everyone across the Five Peaks was moved.
The Celestial Phenomena Chief Disciple had indeed hidden his strength well.
“He… when did he break through?”
“Could it be…”
The Grand Elder stroked his beard with a sigh. It was unexpected, yet made sense.
That person was neither Jing Tan’er nor Ji Shiyu, but Yun Liu. With a powerful enemy before him, he finally stopped hiding.
A gentleman hides his weapon on his person, waiting for the right moment to act. The true meaning of a Sword Cultivator lies not in killing, but in hiding one’s edge. Perhaps due to past special experiences, he had comprehended this early on.
Gao Mingyuan’s expression changed slightly, looking at him with new respect, but he didn’t relax in the slightest.
He formed a sword seal, controlling his flying sword. Golden spiritual flames encircled his body, blazing like a torch.
The Sword Qi split into two in the air, then four. Four Sword Qi whirlwinds spun, sweeping across the moon shadows with blinding light.
Unexpectedly, the golden Sword Qi passed through the phantom images without even touching the corner of Yun Liu’s clothes. Instead, a strong spiritual energy backlash came.
Gao Mingyuan felt his blood and Qi churn. He saw the sixteen white-robed youths shrouded in moonlight quietly watching him. Not a single one was the true body—another Illusion Sword!
“I won’t fall for this trick!”
Gao Mingyuan was experienced. He drew two fingers across his glabella, contracting his Sea of Consciousness. His Divine Soul was not as fragile as Fang Heng’s. His Sword Heart was solid, his Divine Sense transformed into a shield, blocking the invasion of Sword Intent.
“Upper String, Six.”
The afterimage spoke faintly. The six moonlight rays on the left suddenly brightened, swinging swords in consecutive slashes, forming intersecting crosses.
The six afterimage moon blades overlapped, their Sword Momentum magnificent and awe-inspiring, seemingly fused with an esoteric formation technique. The disciples of the Academy and Master’s Sect focused intently, appreciating the intricacies.
“Hmph!”
Gao Mingyuan formed a circle with his left hand and drew a zigzag with his right, no longer holding back.
A purple light shot from his sleeve, fast as lightning. Twin swords flew together, instantly shattering the moonlight.
“Oh no! Controlling two flying swords simultaneously. Senior Brother Gao’s Sword Intent has advanced again. The Young Master has just entered the Golden Core realm; there’s still a gap in cultivation.”
Ji Shiyu heard a familiar voice and turned to see Miss Xiao leaning on a cane, commentating to herself. The price of exploding and burning her body was clearly not small.
“What are you doing standing behind me for no reason? Trying to scare someone to death?”
“You’re the one blocking my way, okay? Move aside. I still need to cheer for my brother.”
“Controlling two swords at once, is that so amazing?”
Little Yellow Hair crossed her arms.
“It’s equivalent to dividing one’s mind in two, simultaneously executing two sword techniques without interference. Even more impressive, like the Sect Master, who can command ten thousand swords at once when he strikes. What do you think?”
Xiao Ran’s expression was disdainful. As fellow Yunhai Sword Guards, she naturally knew Gao Mingyuan’s prowess. But then her eyes widened.
Because Ji Shiyu crooked her little finger. The Seven Stars Sword danced out of its sheath, while simultaneously the scabbard tumbled in another bizarre posture, as if mocking her.
“I could do this little trick back on Star Isle. Looks like I need to get a few more flying swords too. That’d be super cool.”
Miss Xiao’s face turned purplish, slapped in the face on the spot.
She had to admit, this Dead Yellow Hair, though her character was lacking, truly had astonishing talent in the Sword Way.
Above the Cloud Sword Pond, after dispelling the Upper String Moon, Gao Mingyuan didn’t stop. His main sword spiraled through the air, his secondary sword assisted in severing the cloud layers. The Yingri Sword Method broke through the Yinyun Sword Formation.
Only after all the obstructive clouds were dispersed, revealing the sun again, did the moonlight disappear, setting off a new wave of fervor.
“As expected of Senior Brother Gao!”
Their contest unfolded simultaneously in the Divine Sense realm and the real world. Sun and moon vied for brilliance, Sword Qi surged and clashed. It could be called the most spectacular duel of the day.
The Elder of the Zhuyun Lineage looked on with approval: The Illusion Sword is broken. Let’s see what other moves this kid has.
“Two Grade-Three Spiritual Weapons.”
Yun Liu’s figure slowly materialized high in the air. Seeing this, he nodded silently and put away his flying sword.
That fishbone small sword was only Second Grade quality, but it was a gift from Qin Xiang. It wouldn’t be good if it got damaged.
This Senior Brother indeed had real skill. The fifth realm of the Sword Canon was not inferior to any Chief Disciple. The disciples of the First Peak were not all useless sacks.
“Arrogant!”
Locking onto his target, the two flying swords struck—one at the knee, one at the back.
In Gao Mingyuan’s eyes, the act of putting away his sword mid-battle was nothing less than a blatant provocation.