The youth named 'Fei Bai' gazed toward the main hall in the distance, indeed seeing Liang Miaozhi with a face so unsightly, so intensely grim that it seemed ready to drip water.

He couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, then immediately straightened his expression: "Liang Miaozhi is, after all, our senior brother. How can we be so disrespectful?" The girl paid him no mind, merely curving her lips before her gaze focused intently on the Bright Sword Platform. "It's already the ninety-fifth breath!" The youth's expression instantly became solemn. Ninety-five breaths—that was precisely when the Small Heavenly Sword Formation shifted! Only after this moment would the true killing swords arrive! At this instant, almost everyone could perceive the change in the eighteen puppets. The frigid sword light suddenly sharpened severalfold. The speed of every sword puppet also increased by at least fifty percent. A dense aura of murderous intent permeated the Bright Sword Platform. The sword light cascaded relentlessly, sharp blade shadows threatening to reduce the slender, tall figure of Zong Shou to mere pulp at any moment. Yet, Zong Shou, standing on the platform, did not look surprised; instead, he smiled, completely at ease, a genuine smile of happiness. For a full ninety-five breaths, he had finally discerned what was wrong. It turned out that the Small Heavenly Sword Formation from the 'God Emperor' game in his previous life was indeed superior to the one implemented here on the actual Bright Sword Platform of Dan Ling Mountain. The developers of the God Emperor, who always boasted excessively, had, unusually, spoken the truth this time. He had been truly foolish; how could eighteen puppets operating independently compare to a sword formation commanded by a central super-brain? He had originally expected to need to drag things out past three hundred and forty breaths before having the slightest chance to break the formation. Unexpectedly, this opportunity had arrived so much sooner.

Stepping back one pace, his foot settled on the Kun position. Three sword puppets immediately surged forward. Behind him, four more streaks of sword light pierced swiftly toward his back. Zong Shou remained unmoved, shifting rapidly to the left, his steps moving continuously. With extreme peril, he scraped past the flying, cold gleam, landing seven paces away. However, before his eyes now, there were fully fourteen sword shadows arriving sequentially through the air! Dense and suffocating, they sealed off his front, back, left, and right. Fourteen puppets had locked down virtually all available space. In this moment, Zong Shou could almost clearly hear the jeers rising from beneath the stone platform, faintly mixed with a few sighs of regret. Lin Fei, watching the battle from the side, also sighed and closed his eyes again: "Ninety-nine breaths, walking willingly into death—" The anxious cry of Chu Xue rang out by his ear. He could even see Liang Miaozhi, now completely relaxed on the opposite steps, sporting a subtly upturned, cold, sneering smile.

Walking willingly into death? Zong Shou’s smile only grew wider. Did he not know that the vulnerability he just exploited was, in fact, a trap? But if he didn't intentionally step into this trap, how could he break the formation? For such a peak-level sword formation, one must be put in a deathly situation before life can be born!

He first took a deep breath, and then the long-accumulated power within Zong Shou surged into his limbs like a nuclear explosion. Then, his entire body suddenly charged forward. The Song Wen Wind Sword, which he had held inverted in his hand since stepping onto the Bright Sword Platform, finally flashed with a brilliant sword light. —Basic Swordsmanship Four: Stepping Thrust!

A lightning-fast azure sword shadow drove straight into the sword screen that the opposing puppets had just deployed. It pierced inward from the most inconceivable angle. With a muffled thud, the sword in Zong Shou’s hand hesitated only slightly. Then, it cut through like a broken bamboo, spearing into the chest of that sword puppet. The immense force, after completely shredding the embedded crystalline rune array, sent the puppet flying off the Bright Sword Platform. Its body smashed apart, fragments scattering everywhere. This previously seamless sword curtain suddenly revealed a massive gap.

In an instant, the entire Dao Palace fell into a profound silence again. Everyone stared blankly at the scene. The disciples of the Lingyun Sect standing before the Dao Palace gate had completely forgotten about the assessment, instinctively crowding closer toward the Bright Sword Platform. And the younger group scattered their neat ranks, wishing they could jump onto the platform to see more clearly. "How is that possible? He actually broke it—" "That flaw was hidden within the killing move! I wondered how a truly flawless sword formation could exist in this world?" Lin Fei’s eyes were wide open, all sleepiness gone, as if a peerless beauty were before him; his gaze was fixed unmoving. Liang Miaozhi, who had been preparing to stride away in disdain, froze abruptly, his face a mask of astonished disbelief. This Small Heavenly Sword Formation, which no one could break and which posed a challenge even to Heaven Rank experts, was broken just like that? In ninety-nine breaths, broken by the hands of a youth not yet thirteen, still wet behind the ears? How could it be?

Yin Yang, crouched low like a leopard, was equally stunned into immobility. He had never expected Zong Shou to avenge him; the majesty of the Cloud Realm’s foremost sect could not tolerate such an insult! Even having suffered such deep humiliation, they could only choose to swallow their anger and silence. He had initially thought Zong Shou might last past one hundred breaths, possibly securing entry into the inner sect of the Lingyun Sect. Moments ago, he had despaired and was even prepared to disregard everything, risking his life to save the boy. But unexpectedly, in the very next blink, this miraculous turning point occurred, making him doubt his own eyes. At this moment, only Chu Xue felt pure, unadulterated ecstasy. Three months ago, her young master had performed just like this today. Unbelievably, he had slain several people in succession, slaying Zong Yu with his sword. And with an unbelievable willow-leaf talisman knife, he had gouged out the right eye of the Fierce Sword Uwei!

Zong Shou on the platform was also slightly dazed. The moment his sword pierced the puppet's 'heart,' he suddenly felt an icy current flow from the tip of the blade into his body. Before he could even react, it had rushed into his Sea of Qi. Fortunately, although the chilling current entered his body, it caused no discomfort. Instead, the severely depleted stamina recovered slightly. A thought flashed through his mind with dizzying speed. "Could that guess actually be true?"

Not daring to divert his attention to check his body now, Zong Shou merely paused for a moment before refocusing all his attention. Driven by the momentum of his charge, he rushed out of the puppet sword formation. The Lingyun Sect’s Small Heavenly Sword Formation required a minimum of three people and a maximum of eighteen. This battle was far from over. Breaking one puppet was nowhere near breaking the entire formation! And every subsequent step, every swing of the sword, would require precision upon precision, allowing for no margin of error!

Shifting diagonally left, his foot landing on the Zhen position, Zong Shou’s sword light flashed again, slicing diagonally behind him. —Basic Swordsmanship Seventeen: Right Reverse Turn Sword! "The second one, broken!" Another muffled thud. The heavy, powerful sword light smashed the head off the puppet behind Zong Shou, which hadn't even managed to turn around! Wood chips flew everywhere. Zong Shou’s figure flashed again, using this now immobile sword puppet—which was just a body—as cover, stepping right toward the Kan position. —Basic Swordsmanship Nineteen: Sideways Rush Sword! "The third one, broken!" The fierce, unparalleled sword light struck almost instantly, completely piercing the neck of a sword puppet that had been maneuvering from the right flank. The intense thrust even caused the wooden figure's head to break clean off.

By now, the entire training field was truly silent. Almost everyone, young and old, had surrounded the base of the platform. Even more disciples of the Lingyun Sect rushed out from the depths of the Dao Palace. Unable to approach close enough to see clearly, they could only gaze from afar at the graceful figure on the distant Bright Sword Platform, wielding that utterly ordinary Song Wen Sword, manifesting streaks of coldly brilliant sword light that were exquisitely breathtaking. PS: Regarding updates, I have been extremely busy recently, and the style of this book is slightly different from the previous three, so Kai Huang is still adapting, making the writing speed very slow and my stored drafts minimal. Kai Huang truly cannot update much faster; please bear with me. Also, someone in the comment section mentioned inconsistencies. I wonder if you all noticed: all of Liang Miaozhi's actions have remained within the scope of his authority; he is simply utilizing the rules legally. Even if he prevents Zong Shou from entering, there is a certain justification for it. As for assassinating him after entry, the situation at Qian Tian Mountain must also be taken into account. The grudges between the protagonist and the Lingyun Sect extend beyond the game. Explaining this requires a lot of effort, and Kai Huang doesn't want to focus heavily on it at the beginning, which might cause some confusion—my apologies. Furthermore, thanks to the book friend 'Good Person'; a good person won't be too much of a downer, hehe. One last thing: forum management. Kai Huang has become completely lax lately. There's an error on the management page right now, preventing the appointment of sub-moderators; I’ll have to wait until things settle down. It’s not strictly necessary to have a lot of online hours, but they should be online often and be patient. Like the friends Yao Xing Qing Yun and Please Treat Me Like a Human from the Jun Lin series, several readers have been a great help to Kai Huang.