The Outer City’s city walls, Daoist Tianjian standing on the giant white sword, motionless, the autumn wind causing his robe, white hair, and beard to flutter, giving him the appearance of a transcendent being, capable of ascending to immortality at any moment.
Every eave of the city was crowded with the silhouettes of disciples, not only from the Supreme Sect but also cultivators from other sects and noble families, all eager to witness who would be the number one swordsman in the world!
Rolling dark clouds surged from the horizon, swiftly enveloping the entire city, making the atmosphere even tenser; no one dared to speak loudly, only whispering among themselves.
Wu Jue stood atop a roof ridge, facing the wind as it grew stronger.
The wind became so fierce that he had to cultivate energy in order to prevent his hair from covering his eyes.
“What a powerful presence, truly worthy of an Immortal.”
“Why hasn’t Sword Venerable Fudao appeared yet?”
“We can’t avoid this battle, the Prince of Tianwei has gone too far!”
“Don’t worry, the Sword Venerable will surely come. Even the Mad Swordsman of Great Yu had to wait a while when he came to challenge him.”
“What’s the rush? A good show needs time to brew!”
Listening to the discussions around him, Wu Jue’s eyes were full of yearning, wondering when he might possess such a commanding presence.
One day, he too would have such a momentous duel under the watchful eyes of the top fighters of the era!
He hoped his opponent would be Sword Venerable Fudao.
Boom—
The thunderclouds changed abruptly, with the sound of thunder erupting, and a vast heavenly might descended, shrouding the Outer City.
“He’s here.” Xuan Quan the Elder said softly, prompting those around him to look up, with An Hao in particular becoming excited, his fists clenched tightly.
The Daoist Tianjian on the giant white sword also opened his eyes and looked up at the boundless thunderclouds.
The thunderclouds covered the entire sky, and the lightning within them surged like dragons, causing many cultivators to feel oppressed as if a terrible natural disaster was about to strike.
The roaring thunder continued, and big winds ravaged the land.
Daoist Tianjian stood on the hilt of the sword, his white robes billowing violently, like roaring white flames.
“Sword Venerable Fudao, why do you not show yourself? Is this the hospitality of the Supreme Sect?” Daoist Tianjian’s voice rang out, cold and detached.
Han Ming on the Heavenly Repair Platform scoffed. I didn’t get to see Sword Venerable Fudao myself, so what makes you think you can?
Just wait for your defeat!
Shen Zhen had captured the figure of Daoist Tianjian in her sketch and now took out a new sheet of paper to continue her drawing. She first depicted the oppressive scene of the thunderclouds in the sky.
“Welcome your downfall with your strongest Sword Dao.”
A vast and hoarse voice sounded, stirring up immense excitement in both Li Ya and An Hao.
It was the voice of the Primordial Ancestor!
It was their master’s voice!
All the cultivators in the city held their breath and listened, hearing the voice of Sword Venerable Fudao for the first time, shockingly overwhelmed by his commanding presence.
Absolute confidence, absolute dominance, this was the Supreme Sect’s Sword Venerable Fudao!
Daoist Tianjian’s eyes sharpened, and a tremendous Sword Intent burst forth from within him, sweeping across the sky above the Outer City, forming a vast sea of swords. The sword light was brilliant, with countless star-like sword specks floating within, illuminating the faces of all present.
At first glance, it was as if a galaxy stretched across the sky above the Outer City, leaving everyone in awe.
What kind of Sword Intent was this?
Was this a state that cultivation could achieve?
Within the galaxy formed by Sword Intent, numerous sword shadows began to coalesce, all with their tips pointing upwards, displaying their sharpness.
Meanwhile.
The thunderclouds in the sky began to surge more violently, rapidly forming a huge face amidst the clouds, showing only the features without a clear visage, as if an Immortal was manifesting, looking down upon the entire Outer City.
In front of this immense face, everyone seemed insignificant, including Daoist Tianjian’s galaxy of Sword Intent.
Everyone’s heartbeat quickened, as they gazed upon this face occupying much of the sky, an inexplicable sense of awe arising in their hearts.
Daoist Tianjian frowned, lifting his right hand to his mouth and started to cultivate energy; Sword Intent condensed around him into a white blaze, winds encircling his body. His aura peaked, disturbing the Outer City’s City Protection Array, which formed a massive light barrier around the city. He floated above the city gates, right at the edge of the barrier.
The ground trembled, and mountains swayed.
Mystic Valley in the distance was disturbed, and all the Servant Disciples turned their heads to look.
Chu Jingfeng quickly reached the peak of the mountain. He looked towards the horizon where thunderclouds roiled, as if a cataclysm was upon them.
It wasn’t just Mystic Valley; even Tianya Valley far away was stirred.
Yi Liuyun sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, squinting toward the distance. His hands, hidden within his sleeves, were clenched tight. In this moment, he, a seeker of the Sword Dao, felt his own insignificance.
On the Heavenly Repair Platform, Prince Si Zhe of Tianwei began to feel anxious. Though Sword Venerable Fudao had not appeared, the face in the sky was so terrifying that even he could not imagine what force was needed to overcome that oppressive presence.
“Heavenly Sword, appear!”
In the silent and oppressive world, Daoist Tianjian’s voice suddenly rang out, like the first ray of light cutting through chaos, jolting everyone’s spirits.
Daoist Tianjian’s right hand thrust skyward and the myriad sword shadows floating in the galaxy of Sword Intent rose together, converging in the air into a tremendous and spectacular flood.
Just then, the immense face in the sky abruptly opened its third eye on the forehead, from which a ray of sword light shot forth, like the light of the Heavenly Dao, bringing with it supreme heavenly might!
Boom!
The two terrifying forces of Sword Intent collided in mid-air, shaking heaven and earth, trembling the senses of countless cultivators. Their vision blurred, an array of noises flooded their ears, and their Divine Sense felt searing heat, instinctively retreating into their bodies.
“Mystic Heart…”
Lv Baitian looked up at this world-changing duel and muttered to himself.
His face was illuminated by two kinds of strong light. The lower half glowed with silver-white light, while the upper half bore a dimmer radiance, which was steadily consuming the silver-white light below.
“`
Daoist Tianjian’s complexion changed drastically, the sword intent of his opponent far surpassed his imagination.
“Impossible… Could it be he is not at the Mystic Heart Realm?”
Daoist Tianjian found it unbelievable.
At that moment, the third eye of the colossal face’s emitted sword light suddenly intensified, shattering his sword intent with a force far greater than lightning and plunged down, striking him with ferocious speed.
His white hair and robe billowed out, his eyes bulging, his body becoming rigid.
In his pupils, one could vaguely make out a figure, looking down upon him from high above, like an Immortal gazing down at an ant on the ground.
And in the eyes of all the spectators, Daoist Tianjian’s sword intent lasted but two breaths before it was instantly crushed.
The vast sword light galaxy was shattered, turning into countless silver fragments that floated both inside and outside the city, a sight so stunning it moved all onlookers, no matter how high their realm.
Xuan Quan was wide-eyed, his heart too was swept by a storm of shock.
His realm was the highest, so he saw the clearest.
The gap between Sword Venerable Fudao and Daoist Tianjian was immensely vast, with Daoist Tianjian not standing any chance at all.
He could even be certain that Sword Venerable Fudao had deliberately held back at the beginning; otherwise, he could have killed Daoist Tianjian in an instant!
It was Daoist Tianjian who first demonstrated his powerful sword intent, only to highlight just how terrifying the sword of Sword Venerable Fudao was.
At least Xuan Quan was scared; even he couldn’t fathom just how strong Sword Venerable Fudao could be.
Si Zhe looked at Daoist Tianjian’s body, his pupils dilated, his face filled with incredulity.
Before Sword Venerable Fudao made a move, Daoist Tianjian was the undisputed number one in his eyes.
Yet this ‘number one’ was defeated without the slightest ability to resist…
The Mad Swordsman of Great Yu, Han Ming, was in a daze.
The strength displayed by Sword Venerable Fudao made him feel ashamed, realizing how overconfident he had been in the past.
An Hao’s face was all smiles, struggling to contain his urge to cheer.
Li Ya stood on the eaves, utterly dumbfounded.
Shen Zhen recovered quickly, with rushing strokes, he captured the dismal figure of Daoist Tianjian in his defeat.
A gale blew past, and Daoist Tianjian fell backward, his Mystic Heart had shattered, his Primordial Spirit was breaking apart, with no power left to turn the tide, not even able to utter a word.
Yet his face bore a contented smile.
“The world’s number one… sword… I have witnessed…”
Daoist Tianjian’s eyelids grew heavier, his gaze fixed on the giant face in the sky until the very end, and even as his eyes closed, the corners of his mouth still turned upward involuntarily.
With a thud!
Daoist Tianjian’s corpse fell before the South City Gate, stirring up a cloud of dust.
The oppressive force that had enveloped heaven and earth dissipated, and the colossal face formed from thunderclouds in the sky faded away.
Boom!
The whole city shook, and a cacophony of noises erupted, like thunder on a clear day!
Everyone became excited, their cheers, shouts, and exclamations merged into a deafening roar.
“My God! It ended with just one move?”
“Hahaha, I always said that Sword Venerable Fudao could never lose!”
“Isn’t this disparity a bit too much…”
“To be honest, Daoist Tianjian truly was strong. Before Sword Venerable Fudao made his move, I really thought he was the best in the world…”
“Yes, that vast sword intent made even my own sword want to unsheathe…”
Wu Jue listened to the voices from all directions, equally excited, but alas, without Gu An there, he did not want to express his emotions alone.
Just then, he saw Gu An leaping up from the street, rushing towards him. Seeing this, an excited smile immediately bloomed on his face.
“My heavens, did you see that just now? It was unbelievable!”
Gu An came up to Wu Jue, exclaiming excitedly.
Wu Jue responded enthusiastically, “I saw it! I saw it!”
He grabbed Gu An, and they began to marvel, as excited as everyone else in the city.
Upon the Heavenly Repair Platform.
Lv Baitian looked towards Gu Zong, instructing, “Intensify the promotion for the Golden List tournament, the champion will receive a Divine Skills scroll from the Supreme Sect!”
Gu Zong nodded, his smile hardly containable.
Lv Baitian turned to another Elder, “The plan for the World’s First Sword Society begins. Release the news first, the top ten of the world may glimpse Sword Venerable Fudao’s Sword Intent and even inherit his Sword Dao legacy.”
The Elder nodded but suddenly seemed to remember something and hesitated to speak.
There were too many people around to ask certain questions openly!
The entire Outer City was bustling, more than during the New Year’s, or rather, it had never been so lively.
Xuan Quan looked around, stroking his beard and sighing, “The Supreme Sect is destined to prosper.”
An Hao closed his eyes, carefully savoring the sword strike from Sword Venerable Fudao just moments before.
As if grasping something profound, he became immersed in that sensation.
Xuan Quan seemed to sense something, turning abruptly to look at An Hao, and so did others. When they saw An Hao’s state, they were all deeply moved.
This youngster…
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