Swords in front, swords behind, a pincer formation locking down Yun Liu.
He casually dodged the dual sword combination, then retreated half a step, bending at the waist and lifting a leg, striking a pose like a yellow dog relieving itself.
The posture was undignified, but the evasion was masterful, as if practiced a hundred times.
“Pfft!”
Ji Shiyu and Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He had such a lofty aura earlier, how did he suddenly revert to his true colors here?
The white-robed youth’s movements were strange, twisting and turning as if dancing, seeming almost fastidious, slippery as a fish.
The Falling Cloud Sword Canon possessed astonishing lethality, yet it simply couldn’t hit its target.
This was his old habit flaring up—if he could avoid taking a hit, he would.
What if there was a no-damage trophy?
A Golden Core versus Golden Core duel, originally thought to be a foregone conclusion, had actually forced Gao Mingyuan to reveal his second hidden sword.
Even with a cultivation advantage, the Falling Cloud Peak disciples had come to recognize the might of the Sword Scripture of Celestial Phenomena.
The strength Yun Liu displayed exceeded everyone’s expectations, yet for some reason, he abandoned his sword, clearly still having the ability to fight.
‘Damn it, he’s not planning to surrender, is he? You thing without a swordsman’s soul, try a little harder!’
Du Gou Ao Tian was furious and anxious, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
Watching his fully invested funds about to go down the drain, he was frantically cheering in the yellow-haired girl’s head.
Yun Liu’s practical testing was pretty much concluded here.
As for his weakest aspect, the sword way, it was only at the Golden Core Middle Stage level, a back-and-forth scrap with Old Gao, a battle of mediocrities.
His Divine Sense was still overwhelmingly superior.
Even against a Golden Core realm sword cultivator, he could foresee the flying swords’ trajectories like prophecy, perfectly evading their “projectile paths.”
Finally, it was time for his strong suit.
He needed to run a “hardware” test, to probe his own limits.
Yun Liu stood firm, no longer dodging or weaving, even dispelling his spiritual energy shield.
His gaze was provocative as he beckoned with a hand.
“You’re looking for death?!”
Gao Mingyuan’s anger flared, feeling insulted.
The Great Competition emphasized restraint, sparring without targeting vital points.
But if the other party insisted on being reckless, and everyone saw it, then he couldn’t be blamed!
What did Yun Liu want to do?
Fighting perfectly fine and then suddenly stopping to become a training dummy—no one understood.
Except for Qin Xiang—she had personally experienced her brother’s “close combat” abilities.
Even a Golden Core Peak cultivator had been doted on until they were half-dead.
He had long since transcended the category of a sword cultivator.
“He… what is he trying to do?”
Jing Tan’er’s heart tightened, and she gripped Lu’er’s hand so hard the girl’s face paled.
‘If it’s really impossible, just admit defeat. It’s already impressive to force Senior Brother Gao, who has cultivated diligently for decades and is long-famed, to go all out.’
Whoosh!
The orange-yellow flying sword aimed at Yun Liu’s shoulder, cutting through the air.
If it hit, it would surely break bones and sever tendons.
But Yun Liu didn’t use his Divine Sense to interfere with the sword intent or disrupt the resonance between the flying sword and its master.
He merely watched as that “slow-moving” flying sword in his vision drew closer and closer.
Clang!
Unexpectedly, the flying sword was deflected, emitting a metallic clang that stunned everyone.
Gao Mingyuan was stunned for a moment.
Refusing to believe it, he sent both swords out simultaneously.
Spiritual energy whistled past, merely tearing the cloud robe, but not leaving even a scratch on his skin.
Chest, thigh, waist, even his neck—only the clothing was torn, the skin beneath completely unharmed.
And Yun Liu also roughly had an estimate now, marveling at the terrifying boost from the Bright Sovereign’s Sacred Fire.
He lightly flicked a finger, repelling an attack heading for his eye socket.
Crack!
Unexpectedly, that small purple sword cracked on the spot, a fine fissure appearing on its blade.
Gelan’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, and Yan Bingling was also somewhat dumbfounded.
‘No way, does that stuff make men that ferocious when they drink it?’
Gao Mingyuan sucked in a cold breath, his heart aching for his sword while feeling somewhat crushed.
Yun Liu repeatedly dodging the dual sword onslaught could still be chalked up to luck.
But now that he wasn’t dodging, Gao couldn’t even break his defense.
The Sword Scripture of Celestial Phenomena… does it cultivate a turtle shell?
The strength of a third-grade magic treasure was comparable to the defense of a demon beast of the same realm.
Was this kid even human?
The Grand Elder’s fingers trembled slightly.
Sword cultivators were internal cultivators; they didn’t heavily temper their skin and meridians.
That slender frame was well-known, only slightly stronger than a frail spell cultivator, let alone capable of withstanding a fellow disciple’s flying sword head-on.
“Is that it? If you’re not coming over, then I’m coming over.”
Yun Liu stepped onto his sword and glided forward leisurely.
“You… don’t come over here! Aaaah!”
Gao Mingyuan was scared out of his wits, hurriedly recalling his flying swords and retreating in panic.
Just repairing that one crack would cost over ten thousand spirit stones!
‘Others spar to take lives, but your sparring is to rob money!’
Looking at Senior Brother Gao’s nervous appearance, Yun Liu couldn’t help but chuckle, reminded of Jing Tan’er last night.
Whenever the “soft persimmon” tried to escape, she would be grabbed by the ankle and mercilessly dragged back, with no one to answer her cries.
“I surrender! Can’t I just surrender?”
Gao Mingyuan had no choice but to raise his hand in surrender, leaving the arena indignantly.
Running into this freak, he was just unlucky.
“You were gracious.”
The test was complete.
This hardware… even a Nascent Soul body cultivator probably couldn’t gain the slightest advantage.
“But you didn’t defeat me with the Sword Scripture of Celestial Phenomena! I’m still not convinced! I… I’ll come back for another lesson next year!”
“It would be better if you were stronger.”
Yun Liu smiled.
This straightforward Old Gao was rather endearing.
If the opponent could be stronger, the evaluation report would be more precise.
“The victor is… Celestial Phenomena Peak… Yun Liu.”
The Grand Elder’s voice was strained as he looked toward Aunt Master.
The white-robed fairy was also baffled.
Did the Yun and Liu families have some other profound inheritance?
The entire arena fell silent.
The looks directed at the white-robed youth were as if they had seen a ghost.
An elixir cultivator?
A sword cultivator?
Not even body cultivators were this domineering!
“Hooray!”
Only Ji Shiyu, somewhat cluelessly, let out a cheer, her pleasant voice particularly grating to the Zhuyun Lineage.
Not only was her elbow pointing outward, her entire leg was swinging out too.
Xiao Ran, catching on, was unwilling to be outdone.
The two silly girls shouted and yelled as if competing to see who had the louder voice, making the Sunset Peak Head Seat cover his face and shake his head.
‘My disciple is good in every way, just a bit lovestruck. Is this the principle of extremes meeting?’
‘Before, it was others chasing you everywhere. Now it’s the opposite.’
They rushed forward first, but immediately fell silent.
Because a green light soared into the air.
Before everyone’s eyes, the Clear Mist Peak Senior Sister, wrapped in jade-green auspicious clouds, leaped above the clouds, her hands forming seals as she cast the Wood Spirit Healing Art to envelop the white-robed youth.
Qin Xiang checked him over thoroughly.
Fortunately, aside from his tattered clothes, everything was fine.
Frowning with concern, she asked, “Are you hurt? Does anywhere hurt?”
Earlier, the flying swords had targeted vital points several times; the dangerous moments had been heart-stopping to watch.
Using his flesh and blood body to catch a Golden Core flying sword barehanded—how could he even think of that!
‘How could I bear to make you a widow?’
Yun Liu shook his head and took Sister Qin’s hand.
Qin Xiang blushed.
“Still in the mood for smooth talk, seems you’re really fine. Really, your body just recovered. Next time, you’re not allowed to do such dangerous things!”
“Okay.”
Qin Xiang squeezed his hand back tightly, then remembered everyone was watching below and shyly lowered her head.
By the time she tried to pull her hand back, it was too late; she was pulled into Yun Liu’s embrace.
“Eek! Wh-what are you doing? There are so many people here. If you want to misbehave, do it when we go back.”
“Really? You said it.”
“I… I didn’t mean it like that!”
“You do now.”
Huo Tian Tian’s little mouth formed an ‘O’ shape.
Compared to raw-dogging Gao Mingyuan, this scene was even more shocking.
“Wow!”