The referee raised a hand—then sliced it down like a blade.
“Begin!”
As soon as the signal was given, a golden sun blossomed behind Jin Yuanzhan’s back—his flames surged forth, bathing the stage in intense heat.
“Die!”
Flames erupted instantly as Jin Yuanzhan surged forward, palm extended. A tidal wave of fire roared toward Lin Xuan, threatening to swallow the platform whole.
“Looks like Jin Yuanzhan isn’t going to hold back.”
“He is trying to end everything in one go!”
“Even his senior disciple in Soul Formation Realm couldn’t defend against this move of his. Looks like Lin Xuan is done for.”
…
With how serious and full-power Jin Yuanzhan was going from the start, many felt that the match was already decided.
It was a terrifying attack—meant to end things in one move.
But just before it landed—
Shiing!
A flash of silver light cut upward.
The flames split in half.
And Lin Xuan stepped forward, sword in hand, his robe fluttering in the scorched wind.
The crowd fell silent.
Jin’s smile vanished.
(What?)
Their first exchange… and Jin hadn’t even left a mark.
Lin Xuan’s sword wasn’t just fast—it was precise. Clean. Controlled. His footwork, subtle and unshakable.
Jin Yuanzhan didn’t wait despite still being in a state of shock.
His aura flared again, and three blazing spears of flame materialized in the air above him, spiraling down like falling stars.
This time, Lin Xuan moved.
He weaved through the spears with barely an inch to spare, his sword flashing as he closed the distance in a blink.
Clang!
Jin blocked with a suddenly conjured shield of flame, but the force of Lin Xuan’s blade sent him skidding back several paces.
Jin stared at his trembling arm.
(He’s… keeping up with me?)
It didn’t make sense.
He was a full realm higher. He had trained in the Azure Sun Sect’s elite techniques. He had absorbed the Sun Dao Stone!
But somehow, Lin Xuan wasn’t just surviving—
He was matching him, move for move.
Kong Zhanghong clenched his fists in excitement.
“That’s it, Lin Xuan… Show them!”
The battle was only just beginning.
CLANG! SLASH! CLANG!
The arena rang with the sound of clashing forces—fire and sword, overwhelming spiritual pressure and refined footwork.
The longer the match dragged on, the more confused the crowd became.
It wasn’t that Lin Xuan was overpowering Jin Yuanzhan—he wasn’t.
It was that he wasn’t losing.
Despite being one full realm lower, he dodged with hairbreadth precision, blocked with fluid ease, and countered only when necessary.
Each movement he made was honed—razor-sharp and minimal, like a sword refined a thousand times in a furnace.
Jin Yuanzhan’s flame surged once more, scorching the air as he launched a new barrage of attacks.
Fire serpents danced around the battlefield, scorching the platform. Flame spikes erupted from the ground like volcanic bursts.
And yet—
Lin Xuan flowed through it like water.
One step forward, two sideways. A twist of the wrist, a narrow parry. He never wasted movement. Never flinched.
“Lin Xuan’s not winning… but he’s not losing either.”
“Is he going to defend the entire time?”
“Look closely—his footwork, his sword angle. It’s near perfect…”
A few old elders’ eyes narrowed.
They could tell that while Jin Yuanzhan had a huge advantage with his higher cultivation realm, Lin Xuan also seemed to have his own talent to deal with that disadvantage.
It was his mastery over the techniques which far surpassed that of Jin Yuanzhan.
Jin’s mastery of his technique was also quite good, but that paled in the face of Lin Xuan, who had nearly perfected them and could use them whenever the situation called for it.
By using footwork when dodging, using defensive techniques when he couldn’t dodge, and also counterattacking when Jin Yuanzhan let down his guard, he was doing everything perfectly.
Lin Xuan could have easily won, however, his opponent had superior strength, and although crude, his technique made sure that Lin Xuan couldn’t land any hit on him.
And although Jin Yuanzhan was seemingly winning, he—the person himself—couldn’t help but get angrier and frustrated.
The one he thought was just an ant that he could squash at any time was giving him a tough time.
Moreover, he couldn’t accept the fact that he was only stronger than Lin Xuan due to his sueprior Cutlviation Realm.
He, who thought that he would win the Dragon and Phoenix Competition easily, was now struggling against a former handyman. His ego couldn’t accept it.
“This can’t be!”
He wasn’t holding back, but still it wasn’t enough to end the fight.
“Enough hiding!”
He threw his arms wide, forming a burning wheel behind him, like a miniature sun.
“You think you can win by turtling up and dodging forever?”
His sneer deepened.
“No matter how refined your sword looks, you’re just a bug resisting fate!”
Lin Xuan didn’t answer. He neither bristled nor reacted to the taunt.
He simply waited.
Another flurry of fire.
More pressure.
Jin Yuanzhan had shifted tactics—each attack now faster, heavier, trying to crack Lin Xuan’s defense.
“FIGHT BACK!”
He roared, slamming his foot into the stage and sending out a wave of sunfire.
“You want to be a hero? Want to prove you’re not just Bai Zihan’s dog?”
He gathered flame into his palm, condensing it into a burning spear, hotter than molten metal.
“Then TAKE THIS!”
Once again, a powerful attack which seemed to be even stronger than his first one.
But Lin Xuan didn’t flinch.
He stood still, breathing slow and deep.
(Now!)
And then, at the exact moment the spear reached him—
He moved.
SHIING!
The air split.
Not the flame. Not just the spear. But space itself.
A blinding flash of sword light erupted, tearing through everything in its path.
The attack that came was not ordinary.
A single, unassuming horizontal slash but it left a shining arc in the sky.
And Jin Yuanzhan’s eyes widened in horror.
(That technique—!)
Jin Yuanzhan barely had time to react.
The shining arc cleaved through everything—fire, sky, even the aura surrounding his body.
His flaming spear shattered mid-flight, incinerated by the sword light. His protective qi barrier cracked like brittle glass.
A thin red line appeared across his chest.
“Urgh—!”
Jin staggered, coughing blood.
The entire arena fell silent.
Even the most hardened cultivators watching from the VIP stands narrowed their eyes.
“That was…”
“The Ten Thousand Sword Nirvana Slash…!”
“Impossible. That’s a forbidden-level technique from the Heaven Sword Sect! Only sect leaders and sword grandmasters can comprehend even a trace of it!”
“He’s… just a Nascent Soul junior! How can he wield something like that?!”
Amid the murmurs and stunned awe, Lin Xuan slowly exhaled.
“Hah… Hah… ”
His sword lowered. His breathing was heavier, a faint sheen of sweat on his brow.
That technique—though powerful—had taxed his qi reserves immensely.
He wasn’t at his limit…
But he was close.
If Jin Yuanzhan had taken that hit cleanly, the battle would’ve ended. Lin Xuan would’ve won.
But he didn’t.
He was wounded… but not defeated.
And he was furious.
“…You… insect!”
Jin’s eyes burned—no longer just with fire, but with madness.
“I gave you a chance to die cleanly.”
He extended a trembling hand to his chest—right over his dantian—and shoved it in.
Gasps erupted.
“No… no, he wouldn’t!”
“He’s burning his core of Sun Dao Stone!”
“That’s insane! If he fails, his foundation will collapse!”
Inside his core, the legendary Sun Dao Stone pulsed like a heartbeat.
Burning through his Sun Dao Stone would mean that after this fight, he would be severely injured and perhaps couldn’t advance to the next round.
But Jin Yuanzhan didn’t care.
He couldn’t afford to lose.
Not to him.
Not to a former handyman.
“RRRRAAAHHHH!!!”
His body convulsed, flames bursting from every pore. His golden aura ignited with unprecedented brilliance, becoming a blazing inferno that towered into the sky.
The arena’s barrier groaned, shimmering violently under the pressure.
“His Qi is increasing!”
“He’s pushing his Soul Formation power to the peak—possibly beyond!”
“But at what cost… This is madness!”
“Perhaps it isn’t. Lin Xuan is that strong of an opponent. To be able to push Jin Yuanzhan to such a state, who would have thought—and he is only at Nascent Soul realm.”
Jin Yuanzhan’s feet hit the ground with explosive force.
And then—
He vanished.
Lin Xuan’s eyes snapped open. His body moved on instinct, sword rising—
BOOM!
A fist wreathed in sunfire slammed into his blade, sending him flying.
“No, you don’t!”
Before he could recover, Jin appeared above him and delivered a brutal kick that cratered the stage beneath them.
Lin Xuan coughed blood. He tried to parry, but Jin’s strikes were now heavier—wild but unstoppable.
This wasn’t swordplay.
This was brute-force brawling backed by raw strength.
Flames tore across the platform. Each strike sent shockwaves rippling through the barrier.
Lin Xuan was fast—but not fast enough. His qi was nearly depleted. His muscles ached. His body burned.
Still—he fought.
Parry. Dodge. Counter.
But each defense grew sloppier.
Each step—heavier.
And Jin wasn’t stopping.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
“You don’t get to humiliate me!”
A burning punch to the ribs.
“You don’t get to stand above me!”
A brutal elbow to the back.
“You don’t get to look down on me!!”
One final strike—a full-powered flame-enchanted palm—slammed into Lin Xuan’s chest, blasting him across the arena.
He hit the ground hard.
This time, he didn’t rise.
The entire stage was silent.
Even the flames had stopped roaring—flickering low now that Jin Yuanzhan’s rage was spent.
Smoke curled from Lin Xuan’s robes. Blood dripped from his lips. He tried to move…
But the referee stepped forward, hand raised.
“…Winner—Jin Yuanzhan!”