When that streak of silver-white sword light slashed out, this entire expanse of black void seemed to be cleaved in two.

This caused the onlookers nearby, including Ruoshui and the others, to hold their breath entirely.

Instant Void Dragon Sword! Thunder Dragon Sword! Blazing Dragon Vast Cut!

Zong Shou layered these true dragon sword stances one upon the other without a second thought.

And when the dragon shadow clashed with the two serpentine sword glows, there was another sharp, ringing ding.

First, the spiraling sword glow was completely shattered. Then, with another swing, Yuan Wushang’s left-handed snake sword was instantly severed!

It was directly split into two pieces by that platinum-white sword shadow!

Yuan Wushang’s expression instantly darkened, his eyes filled with astonishment and bewilderment, as if he still couldn't believe it.

The opponent before him could also achieve the unity of spirit and martial arts.

It was only when another sword light rose from Zong Shou’s hand, seeming to transform into a seven-clawed giant dragon, that Yuan Wushang snapped back to reality with a shudder, his face turning ashen. He discarded the broken sword with a clench of his jaw, facing the enemy with only one sword remaining.

Meanwhile, in the even more distant void, Ling Xueyun was utterly speechless. Her expression was vacant, almost failing to maintain the momentum of the Ba Ye spirit tool beneath her feet.

It wasn't until Xu Zhengyuan beside her frowned and asked with confusion that she was jolted awake.

"Senior Ling, what is the situation in that battle? Yuan Wushang’s sword just seemed to... falter? It looks like our Sovereign has gained the upper hand?" He could only vaguely glimpse the situation over there, unclear and hazy. He only knew that when Yuan Wushang unleashed his strike, his aura had increased several times in an instant, nearly stopping his heart. But mere moments later, the snake sword was shattered, making him doubt his own eyes.

Ling Xueyun remained lost in thought, only letting out a bitter laugh after a moment.

"You didn't misread it; that's precisely what happened! Your Sovereign has also mastered the unity of spirit and martial arts. His swordsmanship was already a cut above Yuan Wushang's, and now the gap in strength has been largely closed. In this fight, your Sovereign might actually win?" Uttering this last sentence, Ling Xueyun was still filled with doubt and uncertainty in her heart.

This turn of events was simply too preposterous. The foremost of the Six Peerless Swords of the Cloud Realm, Yuan Wushang, was about to be defeated just like this?

Several more sword strikes exchanged in the void. However, every time a blade collided, Yuan Wushang would retreat rapidly with a darkened face. He would invariably acquire several new wounds; some due to his physical body being unable to bear the 'Soul' grade sword intent, and others inflicted directly by Zong Shou’s sword light. Several times, these wounds were nearly fatal, slicing into vital points. The more intensely the battle raged, the deeper the shock in Yuan Wushang’s eyes grew. Finally, he could no longer restrain himself and spoke again.

"How is this possible? Zong Shou, how can your degree of synchronization in spirit-martial unity surpass mine? Three percent? How could it possibly be three percent?" As his voice echoed out, Ye Feishuang on the massive ship gasped in renewed astonishment. He knew that Zong Shou currently held a completely overwhelming, almost crushing, advantage, pressing down upon Yuan Wushang.

The reason Spirit-Martial Unity was better achieved sooner was due to the degree of integration between Soul Force and Internal Qi. The resulting boost in combat power was merely a side effect. If one could only achieve this integration upon reaching the Immortal or even Divine Realms, they would struggle their entire lives to surpass a six-percent synchronization rate. Unless they possessed great fortune and immense willpower, they could never reach the ultimate True Realm. But a three-percent synchronization? How could that be? The fellow was only at the Seventh Tier realm now. Could he have achieved Spirit-Martial Unity back in the Second or Third Tier? Impossible!

Zong Shou’s mind was still. After unleashing the previous strike, he had maintained a state of absolute stillness, without thought. Within his consciousness, he was solely calculating and deducing both sides' sword paths. Only in this way could he better fuse his Soul Force and True Qi!

However, hearing Yuan Wushang's words now caused a ripple in his core. He could clearly perceive that the synchronization between his Internal Qi and Soul Consciousness far surpassed Yuan Wushang's! At least three percent were tightly interwoven, and combined with the Sword Intent Soul, it made the might of every strike nearly triple that of a peak Ninth Tier expert!

But why? Had he faintly glimpsed something before? Zong Shou didn't dwell on it. As his aura climbed to its zenith, the Nine True Dragons behind him roared once more!

Platinum Dragon Sword! Void Dragon Sword! Thunder Dragon Sword! Blazing Dragon Vast Sword! Frozen Extreme Chi Sword!

When this beam of sword light slashed forth, the dragon shadow manifested upon Zong Shou’s blade now possessed seven claws! The superposition of the fifth true dragon sword intent made the sword light's dragon form increasingly solid and lifelike.

"Break!" In the next instant, a resounding crack echoed, piercing the eardrums, far louder than all previous blade clashes. Yuan Wushang instantly retreated, and the last snake sword in his hand was cleanly severed at the base. His figure was utterly disgraced, and his eyes showed a look of stunned helplessness.

A sharp glint flickered in Zong Shou's eyes. The next strike would decide the victor!

As the thought arose, the nine true dragons behind him completely vanished. With a swing of his sword, the already pitch-black void seemed to darken further, completely shrouding the spiritual senses and five faculties of everyone around him. Only Zong Shou could sense the black speck on his sword tip—a point capable of devouring all creation—which was the Yuan Yi Black Sword!

As the sword struck, Zong Shou immediately felt the difference. The Black Hole manifestation was not only absorbing his Soul Force but was also ravenously draining every Yin-attributed True Qi within his body, causing this Black Hole manifestation to inflate wildly! The might of this single strike was several times greater than any previous Yuan Yi Black Sword attack!

Yuan Wushang also felt a chill run through his heart, his consciousness nearly frozen. It wasn't until his spiritual sense was distorted and sucked away, making him unable to sense his surroundings, that he finally reacted. When he had previously witnessed this world-swallowing sword technique, he had been ecstatic. But now, he felt only powerlessness!

Gritting his teeth fiercely, Yuan Wushang suddenly hurled an object forth. It expanded in mid-air, transforming into a silver shield ten zhang wide, positioning itself before him. When the sword struck the shield, there was no sound, and Yuan Wushang could perceive nothing. Only when the darkness dissipated and his spiritual sense expanded again did he feel the result: the high-grade Fifth Tier silver shield artifact was dimmed and tossed far to the side.

And opposite him, Zong Shou's next strike was already descending. This time, the sword light was blindingly bright, illuminating the chaotic void in searing white! It was the Yuan Yi White Sword!

Yuan Wushang let out a muffled groan, forcing down the rising tide of despair in his heart. With a flick of his voluminous sleeve, he immediately deployed over a dozen talisman-grade spirit charms before him, activating them one by one to manifest layers upon layers of protective spiritual arts. In his hands, he summoned two more Eighth Tier spirit swords, weaving a dense web of light shields before him, layer upon layer, igniting countless spiritual explosions as if they were inexhaustible.

Peng!

In an instant, the searing white sword light finally arrived. It broke through the barriers like a hot knife through butter, shattering the layers of spiritual arts one by one! Then, the dense layers of sword light were instantly disintegrated. Finally, a streak of blood light shot out, only to be instantly vaporized by the intense heat!

When the dazzling white light finally receded, Ye Feishuang let out a breath of relief, his entire body going limp and collapsing onto the deck of the ship. His expression was utterly dazed, unable to recover for a long time.

And the distant Ling Xueyun also let out a soft sigh, unsure whether she was praising Zong Shou’s peerless swordsmanship or lamenting Yuan Wushang’s crushing defeat! Where her gaze landed, she saw that nearly half of Yuan Wushang’s body had been cleanly sliced away by Zong Shou’s sword, and the remaining part was mostly scorched. Yet, protected by a stream of spiritual light, he was rapidly fleeing into the distance. His aura was dim, his injuries clearly reaching the extreme limit, not far from death.

But just as the escaping light was about to vanish, Yuan Wushang’s booming laughter suddenly echoed again.

“I understand now, hah! So that’s how it is! Zong Shou, your Great Dao is Immeasurable Light and Endless Darkness! The heavenly omen a month ago was because of you! It truly is the primal Dao that even Buddhism pursues! Yuan Wushang has been enlightened! I, who have been victorious in a hundred battles in my life, have finally been defeated by you! Zong Shou, you are an even better whetstone for my blade than Jue Yu was! I imagine my life will not be lonely now!”

The voice traveled from afar, as if spoken right beside his ear. Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, then let out a light snort. He suddenly took out an Eighth Tier spirit sword, gathered his True Force and Spirit Energy, and flung it out violently, piercing the void, aiming toward the source of the sound. Sure enough, a moment later, the voice abruptly ceased. Whether Yuan Wushang lived or died remained unknown.

His True Qi and Soul Power were nearly exhausted. Even with spiritual pills for recovery, they couldn't arrive in time. Having no desire to linger, he beckoned with his sleeve, summoning the spirit shield artifact from the distance into his hand. Then, he tore open the void once more, returning to the Cloud Realm.

Stepping back, he felt an intense emptiness within his body. However, the tightly wound tension in his nerves finally eased. The peril of this battle far exceeded his sword duel with Jue Yu. The pressure Yuan Wushang exerted surpassed that of Jue Yu; in both swordsmanship and cultivation, he was superior to the latter. If he hadn't employed Spirit-Martial Unity at the critical moment, achieving that inexplicable three-percent synchronization, he would have had absolutely no chance of winning this fight!

Though Yuan Wushang had retreated, Zong Shou’s fighting spirit still surged violently, refusing to subside. Gazing into the distance, he noticed spatial fluctuations. An elder in his seventies, riding a Ba Ye artifact, appeared with Xu Zhengyuan, emerging from the void.

Zong Shou’s gaze narrowed slightly, and he strode forward. Though the distance was a hundred li, his pace was unhurried. But where his sword intent pointed, the old man could only frown, daring not to make any move. He seemed unwilling to resist, standing quietly in the air.

In less than half an hour, Zong Shou reached the two of them. He bypassed the Ninth Tier Spirit-Martial Venerable expert and directly questioned Xu Zhengyuan: "City Lord Xu, who is this person? Why is he here?"

Xu Zhengyuan smiled, not rushing to answer, but first looking Zong Shou up and down. He had known about this long ago! Even back when this youth was merely a young lord, he had foreseen that this future Sovereign of the Vast Heaven Devil might one day suppress the Cloud Realm. Now, it was indeed so!