The two brewed their aura and Sword Will to the peak. They observed each other closely, monitoring every aspect of their opponents–including breathing, eye movement, and muscle contraction.
Then, once their momentum peaked, Wang Tian and Ji Lanfang moved. In an instant, they met in the air and fought.
Twink! Twink! Twink!
Their swords clashed, creating brilliant silver light in the air. Whether it was Wang Tian or Ji Lanfang, none used the energy inside their bodies or the laws they cultivated. Their clash was pure swordsmanship, relying on the fundamentals of the sword, like cutting, stabbing, parrying, and other moves.
Their battle was like two mortal swordsmen battling without relying on cultivation or supernatural powers.
The sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the sky. These two swordsmen reached the pinnacle of their craft. However, like every person who dares call themselves as ‘swordsman,” they started by learning and practicing the basic of the sword when they were nothing but children.
With their talent, it only took a few days to master the basics and learn more advanced swordsmanship that involved more variations and application of power. However, these geniuses never stopped practicing the basic.
Whenever they had time, when they encountered a bottleneck in their swordsmanship, when they felt sad, happy, or myriad of emotions–they would always return to the basic.
And today, they displayed that solid foundation. Wang Tian and Ji Lanfang only used the most basic of swordsmanship that children first learn once they begin their journey with the sword. However, every one of their attacks contained Dao Rhymes, showing how they resonate with Heaven and Earth. Many swordsmen watching this battle entered a state of enlightenment just by watching these people’s display of basic swordsmanship.
After fighting for nearly two hours with no victor, the two suddenly separated. And without saying anything, they attacked each other from afar with sword slashes.
They began with the first level of sword slash, which simply involved converting the energy inside their bodies into a sharp attribute and transferring them out through their weapons.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Wang Tian and Ji Lanfang slashed nine times, canceling each other’s attacks. Their eyes brightened before they decided to elevate the skills of this battle. So, they used second-level sword slashes.
They waved their swords and created moon-shaped slashes to defeat each other; they attacked 18 times and were still equal. The second-level sword slashes did not come from the energy from their bodies; they came from pure skill.
The slash resulted from them controlling the airflow of the surroundings to control the wind and generating wind slashes; this level of sword slash required extreme control and understanding of the sword.
After the tie, the two did not hesitate or waste time; they tested the third level of sword slash. This level involved using the sword to resonate and control the Spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Wang Tian and Ji Lanfang used 27 third-level sword slashes, but each attack canceled the other out. Nevertheless, their aura ab momentum continued to rise as they pushed themselves to the limit of their skills.
Four-level slash: when the sword skill is so refined and superb, the swordsman can use the very fabric of space to cut the opponent.
Wang Tian and Ji Lanfang held their swords and slashed each other. The two seemed connected to their swords as if they were an extension of it, the fabric of space bending to their will as they slashed their opponents. No energy, soul, or law fluctuations emanated from their bodies.
After 36 attacks, the two stops since the result was the same as the previous contests. However, they knew the battle had just begun. Wang Tian suddenly stopped using his swords and used his index and middle finger together as a sword before making a slashing motion. Ji Lanfang followed his example and did the same.
Numerous sword slashes and energy manifested in the sky. And this time, they were not only moon-shaped but took multiple forms. There were wave-shaped sword slashes, tornado-shaped, and spiral-shaped.
The two made 45 attacks before stopping this confrontation, changing to another category: Sword of the Soul. Each attack directly targeted the other’s Primordial Spirit or True Spirit.
Before cultivating, the soul is both a real and non-existent thing; it exists in a spiritual plane where reality and fantasy meet. However, these two swordsmen–using only their skills and no cultivation–can touch this place of existence and non-existence with their swords.
After 54 attacks and still being equal, they elevated their skills to another level, focusing on using the Power of Heaven and Earth.
On Wang Tian’s swords, 63 massive blue swords appeared between Heaven and Earth. Ji Lanfang was not intimidated nor backed down. He mobilized the Power of Heaven and Earth and created the same quantity of black swords.
Bang!
A maelstrom of sword energy devastated everything in the surrounding billion of kilometers, damaging the already deserted Domain beyond repair. The sky separated into two, appearing as if two supreme swords were confronting each other.
Wang Tian and Ji Lanfang looked at each other with excitement while ignoring the devastation of the surrounding environment. Their momentum kept rising as their understanding of swordsmanship increased at a noticeable rate.
And they were not the only ones. Any swordsmen or sword users watching this battle learned a thing or two. However, the two did not care about these other people as they focused on each other.
Wang Tian waved his sword to create 1.269 trillion Sword Qi. No, these were Sword Essences, condensed from cultivating different sword techniques, taking their core, and creating Sword Qi. The Sword Qi fused to form 72 different swords floating before Wang Tian.
Ji Lanfang squinted his eyes after seeing this before sighing. He followed the same and created 1.269 trillion Sword Qi too. Unfortunately, only 300 billion were unique, while he condensed the remaining ones with Speed Essence.
Boom!
The 72 swords clashed, generating a terrifying power that could easily wipe a Quasi Emperor into oblivion. The two floated in the sky, intact and untouched, their aura not diminishing in the slightest. Nevertheless, Ji Lanfang secretly shook his head as he knew he had lost despite the equal outcome of the 72 swords.
In this stage of their Sword Realms, his opponent went deeper than him and had a more profound foundation. Regardless, it was not over since the battle had just begun.
Ji Lanfang regained his composure and focused on this battle; he gathered and condensed his Sword Will. As the name implies, Sword Wills are the manifestations of a Swordsman’s Path; it is both a prototype of their Daos and a representation of their Will, a condensed representation of all their swordsmanship skills and abilities.
Only once a swordsman reaches a higher realm could they acquire their Sword Will, which is one of the things used to distinguish between a swordsman and a sword user since the latter does usually not have a Sword Will.
Ji Lanfang created 81 swords formed from his Sword Will, which embodied unexplainable speed. His Sword Will involved the concept that only absolute speed equals absolute power. With speed, there is no obstacle the sword cannot overcome–whether it is myriad laws, the soul, the Dao, or any concepts between Heaven and Earth.
Wang Tian’s eyes brightened, unable to contain his excitement; he could not remember the last time he met a worthy challenger in the Way of the Sword. Without hesitation, he also gathered his Sword Will and created 81 swords.
His Sword Will was also an extreme one, like Ji Lanfang’s. However, instead of focusing on speed, he focused on cutting. Wang Tian’s Sword Will manifested his desire to cut everything between Heaven and Earth–time, space, matter, energy, soul, living and nonliving, everything existing and nonexistent concept, and all truths and falseness.
Boom!
The 162 Swords clashed, shaking the fabric of space-time in this Domain. The clash destroyed everything in the surroundings; however, the very fabric of this domain was embedded with the sword intent of these two peerless swordsmen.
In the future, this domain will become a paradise for all swordsmen all over the Myriad Emperor World.
“Another tie,” commented Ji Lanfang as his first words since the battle began.
“Indeed,” agreed Wang Tian, who felt refreshed and free after this short confrontation. He could foresee his swordsmanship taking great strides after this battle, and it should be the same for his opponent.
“We still have two realms to test out,” added Ji Lanfang. “Let’s see if we can decide a victor.”
Wang Tian nodded, but he had an unknown and mysterious smile. Ji Lanfanf did not know the meaning of that smile and thought the opponent was confident. So, his competitive nature stirred up as he, too, was confident in his victory.