At these words, the black-clothed elder’s forehead immediately corded with blue veins, the killing intent in his eyes nearly solidifying. But just as he was about to draw his sword and slay Zong Shou on the spot, his expression instantly sobered. The look of disdain slowly receded.

The two-finger sword in his hand refused to swing!

Wei Xu’s expression also shifted. The aura that had surged to his fingertips was suddenly reined in. With a soft "Hmm," he looked up toward the sky again.

He saw several sharp torrents of Gang Jin erupting from around Zong Shou’s body, accompanied by sprays of bloody mist. Zong Shou had forcibly expelled the demonic Kui Sword Intent lodged deep within him, purely by his own power!

The wisps of Zhenqi and soul power Zong Shou had deliberately dispersed around himself were being drawn away again; the degree of "borrowing" was even greater than before.

What astonished Wei Xu most was that Zong Shou’s body, which should have been on the verge of collapse, had inexplicably recovered significantly in that instant.

"Thunder Luan essence? Interesting," Wei Xu shook his head, letting out a short, incredulous laugh. Zong Shou’s current aura was clearly several points stronger than just moments ago.

However, the gap between him and that Martial Venerable expert remained too vast to bridge. Still, at this point, he had a rough understanding of Zong Shou’s approximate limits.

Truly a prodigious talent, his mastery of the Way of the Sword is unparalleled!

Then, Zong Shou raised the sword in his hand again, pointing it toward his opponent. A sinister smile played on the corner of his lips.

The sword in his hand remained scorching hot, shimmering with golden light and dancing with thunderous serpents, but after only a brief moment, something changed.

A massive, profound intent, heavy as a multitude of mountains pressing down, suddenly descended upon the mountain peak, covering an area of ten thousand Zhang.

"What is this? The Mountain and River Sword Intent!"

Wei Xu’s beard and hair instantly trembled, almost standing on end. The Confucian gaze on his head tilted again, and he hurriedly reached up to steady it.

Grasping sword intent was one thing; mastering multiple intents was merely a sign of early brilliance in his eyes, just a step ahead of others.

But merging two utterly different sword intents into one—that was something extraordinary.

It was far more than simply comprehending several intents.

And at this moment, Zong Shou seemed to have fused three sword intents into a single crucible?

Even though he knew Zong Shou’s cultivation technique aimed directly at the origin of the Sword Dao—the singular source of the Heavenly Dao—allowing him to display all schools of sword intent at the extreme—he still found it hard to accept this reality!

Such aptitude could not be merely described as spiritual connection to the sword, nor simply "extraordinary"!

Compared to someone who achieved unity of spirit and martial arts (Lingwu Heyi), he might still fall short, but he absolutely towered above the gathered talents of the Cloud Realm.

The people standing before the Iron Gang Hall also finally sensed something was amiss. They felt the sudden pressure threatening to crush Mount Xuan itself.

The entire Iron Gang Hall repeatedly emitted cracking sounds. If Xuan Yuan Tong hadn't been protecting them, it would have shattered long ago. Even so, some individuals couldn't bear it, blood seeping from their nostrils, forcing them to retreat temporarily into the hall.

As for those like Zhu Junhou and Luo Yan, they simply stared, dumbfounded, at Zong Shou’s figure, which was now bordering on a frenzied state.

So, last time drinking led to Lingwu Heyi. This time, it’s merging several sword intents into one crucible? The Great Sun Sword Intent, the Mountain and River Sword Intent... no! There seems to be the Mad Thunder Sword Intent too. Three of them!

How on earth did this Young City Lord manage this?

Is it that he achieves this state only when drunk? While their condition when drunk was functionally no different from Zong Shou’s current madness.

As the sword intent pressed down, even the black-clothed elder’s expression turned grim. He held his two-finger sword aloft, and two black sword shadows circled restlessly around him.

Then, everyone watched as a vast sword radiance erupted from the tip of Zong Shou’s Thunder Wing Sword, stretching over six hundred Zhang. There was no fixed form, no complex sword technique—just a direct cleave, splitting the very sky, aimed straight down at the black-clothed elder’s head!

What followed was a barrage of crisscrossing sword energy, flashes like light and electricity, rapid and fierce strikes, continuous as a torrential storm.

The entire space began to shake violently again. The scattered sword qi was several times more ferocious than before. Wei Xu sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of regret. Zong Shou’s strength was indeed more than ten percent greater than before, but his swordsmanship now seemed crude, lacking the precision of his previous style.

He must be drunk to the point of losing consciousness, acting purely on instinct. Even his decided talent for swordsmanship couldn't manifest when his mind was muddled.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have let Zong Shou drink! This battle would have been infinitely more spectacular!

Sensing that if this sword energy continued, the Martial Venerable expert would likely remain unharmed, but the mountain itself was on the verge of collapse, Wei Xu channeled a wave of Zhenqi toward his feet. Instantly, the already loosened Mount Xuan was silently solidified once more.

Xuan Yuan Tong, who had been straining hard to maintain his protective efforts, glanced at Wei Xu in surprise. A flicker of shock crossed his face, followed by a measure of relief. This person, who called Zong Shou "junior brother" and had arrived with him, was clearly no ordinary figure!

Stabilizing the mountain in an instant was more difficult than destroying it; his power must be formidable.

Connecting this to his earlier close observation of Zong Shou appearing to borrow external power, this person's cultivation realm likely far exceeded his imagination.

With this person here, they would surely survive today!

Yet, what concerned him more deeply was Zong Shou himself, and Xuan Yuan Tong felt a surge of remorse.

He should have realized the previous Lingwu Heyi after drinking was a fluke. Why had he been so certain that Zong Shou would achieve Lingwu Heyi again after drinking this time?

Dozens of swords clashed in the air, and the black-clothed elder sneered, "You're angry? So what if you’re angry? With only this much skill, what can you do to me? It’s a pity you were born ten years too late; otherwise, I would surely have seen you crushed. If you hadn't been drunk, I would have found things a bit tricky. Killing those few incompetent disciples of mine wasn't a major issue. But since Kui Qi died by your hand, today I will tear your body into ten thousand pieces!"

With one sweep, he dispersed the myriad beams of sword light. Zong Shou on the opposite side remained relentless, sending another vast sword radiance straight toward him!

The black-clothed elder inwardly sneered, cold light flickering at the tip of his sword, his gaze fixed on Zong Shou’s throat.

However, the external radiance he had initially dismissed suddenly began to "swell" madly as it neared him, instantly filling his entire field of vision.

Without warning, the sword light shot up to nine hundred Zhang high. Not only had the sword speed accelerated wildly, but the destructive power contained within had also increased severalfold!

The elder could no longer focus on Zong Shou’s vital point at the throat and hastily held his two-finger sword horizontally in front of him.

"Clang! Boom!"

A metallic resonance like forged iron, accompanied by the sound of thunder, struck. The peak of Mount Xuan seemed to erupt in a tornado storm, the energy violently shaking the area.

The massive Iron Gang Hall was violently crushed into dust! The sharp ringing pierced the ears of everyone below the Heaven Rank, causing them to bleed.

When the smoke cleared, the black-clothed elder had been forcibly "smashed" into the earth by that single strike.

Even with Wei Xu's reinforcement, a deep pit nearly a thousand Zhang wide was gouged out.

The elder’s condition was utterly wretched. In the void, only Zong Shou’s slurred, incoherent cackle could be heard:

"I told you to be arrogant! Losing your balls only got you this little bit of strength? What are you arrogant about? Oh right, you don't have any balls. Watch me smash you to bits!"

Indeed, another sword swung down. Like sunlight piercing through dense clouds, a golden sword qi entwined with thunder suddenly broke through the pervasive smoke. Its sharpness was subdued, but its weight was like a hammer, smashing down again into the concave pit!

"Clang!"

The black-clothed elder, not even given time to spring up, was forced to parry again with his sword.

The overwhelming, irresistible force slammed his body deep into the pit once more.

The elder's mind felt a wave of confusion. He couldn't fathom how Zong Shou’s strength had suddenly exploded, increasing severalfold consecutively?

Had he hidden his strength before? Impossible! Then had he consumed an elixir? If such an elixir that multiplied strength several times truly existed, he wanted one too.

Then, in the next instant, he noticed something else was wrong with Zong Shou’s state. The Zhenqi and soul power were exhibiting an uncanny coordination and harmony, seemingly merging into one entity.

Then, in the next instant, Zong Shou unleashed a third sword! A fourth! A fifth! A sixth! No flourish, no technical complexity—just a brutal smash with each blow, each faster and heavier than the last. So fast he couldn't react! So heavy he couldn't resist!

The pit where the black-clothed elder lay continued to expand, his body being repeatedly "smashed" deeper into the ground by the heavy sword strikes. In his spiritual perception, the soul power and Zhenqi had completely fused, becoming one seamless whole! The elder’s heart turned icy cold, sinking to the very bottom. This was... Lingwu Heyi!

On the ruins of the Iron Gang Hall, the dozen or so Sixth Rank experts stared blankly, watching Zong Shou wield the immense nine-hundred-Zhang Great Sun Mad Thunder sword energy, dominatingly driving the black-clothed elder’s body deeper into the pit, blow after blow.

Xuan Yuan Tong, despite having to exert his utmost strength to shield the people behind him, burst into hearty laughter, filled with immense elation and pride beyond words.

Lingwu Heyi! Lingwu Heyi! He finally did it. Drinking really does help Zong Shou; the fellow finally accomplished it!

Feeling triumphant, Xuan Yuan Tong lifted his chin high, looking down on the crowd.

The person forcing the Martial Venerable expert into such a sorry state with a single sword was his son-in-law!

Zhu Junhou and Luo Yan also laughed. Although they had witnessed this phenomenon once before, seeing someone else being beaten was an entirely different experience from being beaten oneself.

Wei Xu, watching from a distance, had his eyes wide open, frozen in place, the wine bottle slipping from his grasp. Before it could hit the ground, the fierce wind crushed it into dust (To be continued).