Lei Dong gazed from afar, his eyes filled with dawning realization. His expression was extraordinarily complex.
When he had first seen that little girl, he had only thought her a simple, incredibly cute, innocent, and utterly loyal young member of the Tiger-Cat Clan. Beyond that, he had felt nothing else.
Who could have imagined back then that this very girl would now shock everyone present with her sword?
One Spirit-Martial Union, a Battle-Martial Body. It would likely take less than a day for every major sect and lineage to engrave this name into their memory.
Su Chen’s gaze held a hint of astonishment as well: “The Cang Sheng Dao truly produces exceptional talents generation after generation. To withstand the thirty swords of Jue Yu and seize the advantage—that places her among the absolute top powerhouses within the Cloud Realm.”
One must remember that the Sword Prince could even defeat some Ninth-Tier cultivators!
Lei Dong was speechless, thinking that the Sword Sect had made a truly unprofitable exchange this time.
Zong Shou, Chuxue—wasn't this a buy-one-get-one-free situation?
Then he remembered Zong Yuan; no, it should be buy-one-get-two. He could only hope that his junior brother, currently cultivating in the Myriad Sword Firmament, would not disappoint.
The sound of sword light echoed again from the distance, snapping Lei Dong from his thoughts.
He saw the situation in the arena shift dramatically. Jue Yu had just managed to block one of Chuxue’s advances.
The crimson flames blazed across the sky, but this time Jue Yu only retreated twelve zhang!
As the two shadows of the swords continued to interweave and transform, Jue Yu retreated less and less ground.
Twelve zhang, eleven zhang, ten zhang!
Su Chen’s brow twitched slightly: “It seems he has finally stabilized his stance.”
Lei Dong nodded too. The man in the distance must have realized it. No matter how ethereal and unpredictable his swordsmanship, it was completely ineffective against Chuxue’s intuition.
He simply abandoned his previous style! He became direct, launching wide, sweeping attacks. The speed of his swordplay nearly doubled, and while he was still desperately defending, he could now handle the onslaught with more composure. His footing became steadier, and the tide of black mist swords began to expand once more.
However, after reaching the ten-zhang mark, Jue Yu could not force her to retreat even a single step further.
Chuxue’s swordsmanship was now ascending. The ethereal agility reminiscent of a celestial being descending from the heavens during that first sword strike seemed to have merged into her current technique.
It was impossibly light and nimble; her stances were no longer rigid but flowed with unrestrained ease. Nearly every strike released carried a spiritual resonance that vibrated the heartstrings. Her sword paths became increasingly difficult to predict, making her trajectory nearly untraceable.
What was even more startling was that this sword intent did not conflict in the slightest with the four Divine Beast intents she had mastered, aside from the Qilin.
Gazing at the supremely light yet dazzling sword light, a phrase inexplicably surfaced in Lei Dong’s mind.
“One who attacks well moves from the Ninth Heaven above! Leaving no trace to seek, no mark to find!”
“What a magnificent Spiritual Illusory Sword Intent, a match made in heaven for this Snow First!”
Glancing around, he saw that the expressions of the many onlookers were varied.
The majority looked exceedingly grim.
The mortal enemies of the Cang Sheng Dao were spread throughout the Cloud Realm. For most, every genius like Shui Lingbo or Fang Wen emerging from the Cang Sheng Dao was terrible news—the worse the better.
It meant that this heretical ‘Cang Sheng Demonic Sect’ would have an unshakeable, mountain-like status for millennia to come.
“Heh! This girl’s luck is freakishly good!”
Suddenly, an exclamation from nearby caught their ears. Alerted by the sound, both Su Chen and Lei Dong stirred internally and turned their gaze back to the arena with renewed focus. Astonishment then flickered in their eyes.
Indeed, just as the person had said, Chuxue’s luck was unexpectedly phenomenal.
Whenever their twin swords clashed, the resulting spatial rifts invariably avoided her side. It was as if they possessed their own consciousness, always striving to steer clear of Chuxue’s body, never interfering with her sword path or advance.
Furthermore, in every instance she drew her sword, the ratio of spiritual essence in the surrounding heaven and earth was always exactly right.
This allowed Chuxue to control it easily, always gathering sufficient Five-Element Spirits, ensuring every strike reached its optimal state—ten-tenths of sword power manifesting with twelve-tenths of might!
If it were merely luck, so be it. One could only say this girl’s fortune was exceptionally good.
But if she were manipulating it deliberately, that was almost terrifying!
Chuxue herself seemed to have entered an unfathomably profound state. It was as if she were simultaneously experiencing enlightenment and soaring.
Her eyes were vacant, unfocused. Yet, with every thrust of her sword, the spiritual resonance increased, and the angles became more perverse.
After the mid-fight transformations, her movements became even harder to predict, striking directly at vital weaknesses with increasing venom.
Each sword strike was stronger than the last, rendering resistance impossible!
Su Chen felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. It was fortunate that Chuxue’s opponent at this moment was the Sword Prince Jue Yu.
If it were him, he suspected he could withstand this girl’s sword for perhaps ten strikes at most.
He gradually became engrossed, finding the brilliance of this battle genuinely surprising. The gains he was experiencing surpassed the combined total from watching Jue Yu challenge the previous five Holy Lands.
If he could return and meditate on this experience, his swordsmanship would surely advance by leaps and bounds.
He counted silently in his mind. Just as he reached the one hundred and forty-fifth count, Su Chen suddenly snapped back to attention.
He heard the sound of the swords change, becoming sharper and more piercing than before. Both the Five-Element Spirit Swords and the black broadsword in Jue Yu’s hand were crying out in agony.
“One hundred and forty-five strikes, retreating one thousand six hundred zhang!” A cultivator who had barely entered the Seventh Tier had forced the Sword Prince, renowned and virtually invincible in the Cloud Realm, to fall back nearly ten li!
At this moment, everyone was silent. Apart from the sound of the clashing blades, there was no other noise—a silence where a falling needle could be heard.
Even the lowest-cultivated person in the venue realized that the most crucial moment had arrived.
Jue Yu inexplicably halted his steps, standing perfectly still. The black sword light suddenly erupted, a thousand shadows like a surging tide, driving the black current, nearly forcing the stable space within a hundred-zhang radius to cleave apart. Giant python-like black fissures roamed everywhere.
The black tide rolled back, sword shadows layered a thousand deep, threatening to utterly engulf Chuxue, who was only a few zhang away!
This barrage of sword shadows stimulated Chuxue, and the focus in her pupils gradually returned, as if she were waking from that state akin to enlightenment.
However, in the next instant, her pupils elongated vertically, just like they had during the very first strike.
The five spirit beasts protecting her flanks instantly changed their aura. They slightly retracted, returning precisely to a balanced state, and then seemed to fuse into one body. Runes and golden lines flickered between the five beasts.
This enveloped Chuxue in a clear radiance. The wings formed behind her manifested the five elemental colors—green, red, white, black, and yellow—in a rich, layered display of spiritual light.
And Chuxue’s sword struck out again at this moment!
“The Union of Five Spiritual Beasts!”
The most difficult move to execute in the Five Spirit Sword Art taught by Zong Shou, one Chuxue had never truly mastered—yet she unleashed it now with effortless grace!
As this strike descended, it was like the collapse of the Silver River, carrying the vast, five-colored radiance that was dazzlingly bright, seemingly splitting the entire heaven and earth apart!
The oncoming tidal wave of swords was split into two sections without the slightest suspense.
Then, with a dull chantuan sound, the previously stable temporal barrier disintegrated.
Jue Yu staggered back. This time, however, it seemed as if his strength had entirely failed, and he could not stop his momentum.
He only managed to stop again after reaching a hundred zhang away. His expression was gloomy and unsightly, and a chip had been taken out of the black broadsword in his hand. Moreover, his entire body was covered in dozens of cuts. Yet, Chuxue surprisingly did not press the attack.
When the temporal storm subsided, and the crowd turned their gaze, they saw Chuxue standing in place, breathing shallowly, her pretty face pale.
The five spirit beasts behind her also looked listless and exhausted.
Ah, so she had finally exhausted her strength! This girl had ultimately lost.
As this thought arose, everyone finally realized: counting that final strike, Chuxue and Jue Yu had fought for one hundred and forty-six rounds!
She had held an overwhelming advantage, forcing Jue Yu back one thousand seven hundred zhang across one hundred and forty-six exchanges. When she delivered the final sword strike, she had pushed Jue Yu into a disadvantaged position he had never known before.
But in the end, due to exhaustion, she could no longer sustain the battle and was defeated!
But if Chuxue’s cultivation had been slightly higher—if both were at the Eighth Tier—what would have happened then?
Could she have defeated the Sword Prince Jue Yu?
Of the tens of thousands present, most had their hearts surging. Even some of the stronger experts were meticulously replaying that final sword strike in their minds.
“So powerful! Without the ethereal flow of the first strike, she nearly unified the five Divine Beast Sword Intents.”
This single attack’s might had scaled to the Ninth Tier realm to split Jue Yu’s Grand Extinction Sword and force its retreat!
In this battle, the maiden was truly glorious even in defeat!
Relying solely on the first and final sword techniques, she had earned her place under this starry sky!
Beyond the Six Ultimate Swords, perhaps one more name would be added! A new star was certain to rise within the Cloud Realm.
Chuxue, however, looked vacant, struggling intensely against the deep sense of fatigue within her body.
Looking at Jue Yu, covered in bloody marks opposite her, her expression remained distant. After a long pause, piecing together the fragmented memories from moments ago, she finally understood what had transpired.
She had actually done it. Not only did she withstand Jue Yu’s first sword, but she counter-attacked and forced him into a position where he could not retaliate.
Defeated on the one hundred and forty-sixth strike! More than ten times stronger than the combined total of Yuan Fei and the others!
Was this really her? Could she be dreaming?
She discreetly pinched her own thigh and immediately felt a sharp sting of pain. The sensation was real, meaning it had likely happened.
First came regret and disappointment—she hadn't quite managed to seize the chance to utterly defeat Jue Yu in the end.
Then followed a rush of powerful emotion: This was Jue Yu, the Sword Prince, one of the Three Ultimate Swords famous throughout the Cloud Realm.
Could her current strength be compared to his?
She felt her nose sting and nearly burst into tears. She didn't know what she was feeling right now. Was it tears of joy, or excitement, emotion, and disbelief all mixed together?