The same whisper echoed a hundred li away. Ling Xueyun stared blankly toward the distant sky.

Sensing the strangeness emanating from this direction, he had rushed here from a thousand miles away with Xu Zhengyuan.

First, he witnessed with his own eyes the death of Miduoluo, and then the black-and-white sword light, which struck deep fear into his heart, utterly shattering Luo Ming of the Primordial Demonic Sect with a single strike.

This Demon King of Qiantian Mountain was unexpectedly powerful. Only then did he see the arrival of the Sword Maniac, Yuan Wushang. Initially, he had presumed Zong Shou would surely perish this time, but he hadn't expected the duel between the two to be so incredibly spectacular, far exceeding his wildest anticipation. In fact, it surpassed the very level at which he, Ling Xueyun, stood!

And in that brief moment just now, he had personally witnessed the clash of a 'Sword Soul' level confrontation!

"Sword Intent Soul Realm? The sword has already birthed a soul? How is that possible?" Xu Zhengyuan was startled, then shook his head slightly. His cultivation was still short of the Seventh Rank.

He could only observe events beyond a hundred qū by borrowing the power of spirit techniques.

At this moment, his heart sank to the very bottom. If Yuan Wushang had already reached the Sword Soul level, wouldn't his Lord be doomed to lose?

Sword intent confrontations were not merely a contest of two wills. They involved the mastery of the powers of heaven and earth, as well as internal energy.

All true power and internal qi strength depended entirely on the might of one's Martial Dao intention.

Therefore, at the same level of cultivation, the difference in power between the Sword Intent and Sword Soul stages was immeasurable!

Ling Xueyun, however, let out a cold snort of dissatisfaction: "Why is it impossible? Although I haven't seen the Sword Soul level before, I can judge it. Both of these men have achieved spiritual communion in their swords, thus birthing a soul! They have truly entered the Sword Soul realm. They are genuinely strong, supremely strong! To think such peerless experts, wielding such tyrannical swords, exist within the Cloud Realm! I, Ling Xueyun, have truly been living in a well!"

Hearing this, Xu Zhengyuan was stunned again: "There are two? You mean my Lord he—"

"Precisely! Your Lord is truly unfathomable! His mastery of the Sword Dao seems even superior to Yuan Wushang's. There are probably no greater young prodigies in this world than him!"

Casting a complex look at Xu Zhengyuan, Ling Xueyun shook his head slightly: "Now I finally understand why the Kongqi Sect chose him over the Lingyun Sect. His potential is indeed boundless. The Six Peerless Swords of the Cloud Realm, truly none are weak! Some said that the recent battle between Tan Qiu and Jueyu in the Cang Sheng Dome Realm was the pinnacle sword fight in the Cloud Realm, but looking at these two now, they still fall quite short. It’s a pity that besides you and me, no one else in the Cloud Realm is fated to witness this..."

Staring blankly, Ling Xueyun had no inclination to call up friends. He was naturally solitary; the number of people he considered true confidants in his entire life could be counted on a few fingers. Those few were not currently in the Cloud Realm. At this moment, he was content to watch from afar.

An uneasy flutter stirred in his heart, an inexplicable excitement and thrill. Though he did not cultivate the sword, such a battle between peak martial artists was still immensely beneficial to him.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something he had dreamed of.

He could only muse inwardly, wondering if Zong Shou could escape this battle with Yuan Wushang unscathed. If he could survive Yuan Wushang, he would surely soar to the heavens. On that island, Ye Feishuang still held a hand over her lips, muffling her gasp.

Sword Soul—Zong Shou could actually wield the Sword Intent Soul Realm! Slaying Luo Ming and Miduoluo was apparently not even the limit of this fellow's true strength. This youth now seemed like an unfathomable abyss. Sometimes she thought she had seen to the bottom, but upon testing, she realized she was nowhere near gauging his true depth.

Several consecutive sword clashes filled the sky with vast, surging gang energy. The lingering currents of scattered sword winds spread outward, thoroughly churning the winds and clouds within a hundred-li radius.

Zong Shou and Yuan Wushang separated again. This time, even the latter dared not act carelessly, retreating a thousand zhang away to take a stand.

Both men bore fresh bloodstains on their bodies. However, these were not wounds inflicted by the opponent. The seven preceding strikes were an even match.

The reason they were injured was that their physical bodies could not fully sustain the Sword Intent Soul Realm.

When Sword Souls collided, the first thing to suffer was their flesh.

Yuan Wushang had fewer wounds, but the difference was marginal. Zong Shou also felt a degree of relief; being of the Dual Meridian body did confer some benefits.

A physical body at the early stage of the Seventh Rank could almost match one at the peak of the Eighth Rank!

Yuan Wushang glanced at the injuries on his body, then chuckled again, a sound brimming with neurotic energy.

"You actually understand Sword Intent too? Impressive, impressive. In my life, I, Yuan Wushang, have engaged in over three hundred battles and have never been wounded. Not even Jueyu could manage it. But now, this name 'Wushang' can hardly be kept..."

He added, "I heard that a month ago, the battle between Tan Qiu and Jueyu involved nineteen thousand, four hundred and fifty sword strikes, becoming a celebrated tale in the Cloud Realm for deciding a victor. Unfortunately for us, I fear only a few more strikes will decide life or death between you and me. What a shame!" Zong Shou remained unmoved, merely knitting his brows and glancing downward.

When the two sides were evenly matched, battles could last tens of thousands of strikes before a victor emerged. But if there was even the slightest gap between them, victory or defeat could be decided in just a few moves.

In the recent exchange, Yuan Wushang had held the upper hand.

However, Zong Shou’s greater concern at this moment was beneath his feet.

Although their fierce battle was taking place dozens of zhang above the ground, it was starting to affect the area below. The island shook everywhere; houses began to collapse. Innumerable sharp edges blasted in all directions.

There were no casualties yet, but if it continued, this small island in the Cloud Sea would surely suffer devastating losses. Of the millions of people, perhaps fewer than one in ten would survive.

After careful consideration, Zong Shou looked back at Yuan Wushang: "Let us change locations first, and fight beyond the Cloud Realm..." Yuan Wushang paused, then the playful look in his eyes intensified: "I didn't expect Your Highness to be such a benevolent ruler. Actually, I don't mind, but fighting in the void, are you truly certain, Zong Shou?" Before the words were even fully uttered, Zong Shou had already used his Sword Soul level martial intention to forcibly tear a rift in the space before him, stepping through and walking out.

If one considered all worlds as bubbles, then where he was now was the layer between the bubbles.

This place was not like the stable temporal gaps found in the general Cang Sheng Dome Realm. Instead, it was a space filled with the chaotic and disordered energy of the void.

Only by fiercely resisting with his Martial Dao intention could his body barely avoid being torn apart by the brutal energy here.

Yuan Wushang followed closely, stepping into this space saturated with 'darkness' and 'nothingness.' Neither could see the other, but they could sense each other. Yuan Wushang continued to cackle loudly.

"I think you are truly foolish! Being here, I am like a fish in water! Winning shouldn't take five strikes for me! All for the sake of a million lives, you throw yourself into a deadly situation!" Two snake-like swords struck again. He was indeed like a fish in water, still carrying endless spiritual explosion power, but when the void's spiritual energy detonated, its might was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than within the Cloud Realm!

Zong Shou's eyes did not blink; he similarly cleaved out into the void.

"One Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow - Instant Dragon Sword!"

Centered on the Space-Shifting Dragon, layered with the Thunder, Wind, and Fire Dragon Swords, when the sword was released, Zong Shou's figure shifted position as well.

The Space-Shifting Dragon was inherently capable of spatial displacement. Here, it could also traverse freely! With the Zhou Character within his soul, his entire being was almost equivalent to a giant shifting dragon!

On Yuan Wushang's side, there was a slight hint of surprise, followed by a cold sneer; his figure shifted slightly as well, moving out of alignment.

Sword lights crisscrossed, clashing several times in an instant. Their figures flickered continuously within the void.

Meanwhile, back within the Cloud Realm, Ye Feishuang's expression was shifting rapidly. After a brief thought, she casually shook her hand, summoning the giant ship again, pulling Ye Feihan aboard, and moving onto it.

Zong Shou’s brow arched; he did not hesitate, flashing with Ruoshui into the confines of the massive vessel.

Ye Feishuang made no move to drive them away, allowing the Ice Jiao to maneuver the entire ship, shrinking it to about ten zhang. It slammed fiercely into the void wall, then breached the barrier, arriving outside the Cloud Realm.

Ling Xueyun, a hundred li away, did the same. He had no ship, but he possessed several protective spirit artifacts.

He reached out and retrieved a leaf made of palm material, stepping onto it. After a moment of hesitation, he nonetheless grabbed Xu Zhengyuan and charged into the void as well.

The moment he stepped in, he heard Yuan Wushang's laughter.

"Interesting! Very interesting! I didn't expect your mastery of spatial arts to be inferior to mine. This is getting exciting!"

Sound could not normally travel through the void, but Yuan Wushang manipulated his internal breath, managing to make his voice audible from a great distance.

"Jueyu a few years ago was similar, giving me many pleasant surprises! Unfortunately, Jueyu at that time could only barely escape under my sword! You, Zong Shou, won't have that chance!" He sliced forward with another strike. The momentum of the two snake swords suddenly changed, becoming immensely solid and eerily unpredictable.

In an instant, the spiritual power that had been scattering in all directions was violently concentrated within the sword bodies.

This caused the sword light of the two serpentine sword beams to erupt suddenly, increasing their speed by a thousand or a hundred times!

Not far away, Ye Feishuang, aboard the giant ship, gasped sharply once more.

And Ling Xueyun, maintaining a cautious distance, had his pupils contract violently.

"This is... Spiritual Martial Unity!"

Zong Shou’s brow furrowed tightly. He could feel Yuan Wushang's sword intent, his aura, climbing another tenfold, then another hundredfold!

The sword intent locked onto him, rendering him almost unable to move, stripping him of any sense of power to resist.

So, he was destined to lose this battle?

His state of mind was paradoxically calm. He inexplicably recalled his father-in-law always urging him to drink, and later Wei Xu saying the same: if you face an unbeatable opponent, drinking some wine will probably let you win—a truly baffling piece of advice.

However, his cultivation technique had now changed to the Yin-Yang Two Qi, patching some defects. Unless it was high-grade immortal brew, getting drunk now was extremely difficult. The sword light was already upon him; Zong Shou felt his flesh and blood beginning to burst open. Then, his eyes snapped open, and he instinctively retaliated with a single sword strike.

"Platinum Dragon Sword, Slash!"

Even if he were to lose, Zong Shou would never surrender without a fight.

The moment his sword left him, his true force and spiritual energy fused into one.

It was Spiritual Martial Unity!