Wang Jingyuan took a deep breath, suppressed all his stray thoughts, and nodded solemnly.
With a tap of spiritual energy at his toes, his figure soared into the air and landed steadily on the arena.
On the arena, Ye Ling had already been standing quietly.
Her expression was cold and calm, her posture as straight and upright as a bamboo stalk.
Wang Jingyuan looked at the green-robed girl with a cold temperament opposite him, and the tight string in his heart wound even tighter.
He took a deep breath and slowly spoke using a spiritual energy voice transmission.
“Greetings, Ye Ling.”
“The five of us are several years older than you, and we were fortunate enough to step into the Xiantian Realm one step ahead.”
“But we all know in our hearts that if we gave you another two years to fully grow, even if the five of us joined forces, we would be no match for you.”
“This time, we insisted on crossing the boundary to participate in the tournament, and the world criticizes us for bullying someone younger than us.”
“But we do not want to live in your shadow forever, nor do we want to be suppressed by you on the peer rankings for the rest of our lives.”
“So even if we must bear the infamy, we will fight you today.”
“In this battle, I will do my absolute best.”
“Be careful.”
The voice transmission ended. Without waiting for Ye Ling to respond, Wang Jingyuan suddenly shook his wrist.
Clang!
A clear sword hum rang out, and his long sword flew from its sheath. Dense, silvery-white spiritual energy wrapped around the blade, casting a blinding glare.
This was the first tactic he had prepared: to rely on the external release of true qi—a unique capability of the Xiantian Realm—to end the battle quickly.
However, he did not pin too much hope on it, intending only to test Ye Ling's strength first.
The tens of thousands of spectators below the stage instantly held their breath as an oppressive pressure far exceeding that of a newcomer washed over them.
The silvery-white sword glow pierced through the air with extreme speed and immense power.
Ye Ling's eyes did not waver. She raised her fingertips slightly, and the long sword at her waist slid smoothly out of its sheath.
Her figure drifted lightly. Her steps seemed leisurely and casual, yet she avoided the fierce sword strike with absolute precision.
Boom!
The silvery-white sword strike grazed her sleeve and slashed onto the bluestone floor of the arena. The hard platform instantly cracked open to form a deep trench, sending stone fragments flying.
The strike missed.
Wang Jingyuan's pupils contracted sharply, his heart filled with astonishment.
The external release of true qi, which he had relied on for a quick victory, had been dodged so effortlessly by Ye Ling.
Since a quick battle was out of the question, he could only initiate his second plan: to rely on his own spiritual energy reserves to drag Ye Ling into a prolonged battle.
He firmly believed that his Yellow-grade peak-tier cultivation method had already been trained to Great Perfection. Coupled with the transformation of his dantian in the Xiantian Realm, his spiritual energy capacity would definitely far exceed that of Ye Ling, who was only in the Houtian Realm.
As long as they dragged the fight out, her spiritual energy would eventually deplete, and victory would naturally be his.
After the failed strike, his figure darted forward. His long sword carried the dense, majestic true spiritual energy of the Xiantian Realm, and every move he made was fierce and ruthless.
Layers of sword shadows covered the arena, each strike bearing the tyrannical pressure of spiritual energy unique to the Xiantian Realm.
But as the fierce clash went on for dozens, then over a hundred exchanges, all of Wang Jingyuan's confidence crumbled bit by bit.
The external release of Xiantian true qi was highly destructive, and under Wang Jingyuan's relentless pressure, it posed a significant threat to Ye Ling. In order to precisely predict where each of his attacks would land and avoid his fatal moves, Ye Ling had to constantly push her Divine Sense to its limits throughout the battle.
Maintaining her Divine Sense for so long and executing extreme dodges and parries took a massive toll on her mind. Fine beads of cold sweat had already soaked the hair on her forehead, slowly trickling down her jawline.
Yet, even under such intense combat, Ye Ling could clearly sense an anomaly within her body. Within her meridians, the circulation cycle of the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 spun ceaselessly, flowing harmoniously and endlessly regenerating.
Even though she was constantly consuming her Divine Sense and physical energy, the spiritual energy inside her body was increasing rather than decreasing, continuously drawing from heaven and earth, purifying and filling her meridians.
Ye Ling marveled inwardly. As expected of the orthodox guardian cultivation method of the Qinglan Sword Sect, its ability to solidify one's foundation, sustain energy, and endlessly regenerate was incredibly formidable.
Meanwhile, ten thousand feet above the martial arts grounds, amidst the swirling clouds and mist, over a dozen figures stood silently in the void, looking down at the duel below.
The person in the center was none other than Sect Master Leng Zhiwei. The Peak Masters of the various peaks stood on either side of her, completely concealing their presence, their gazes locked onto the green-robed figure on the arena.
Initially, they were just watching the match calmly, but when they clearly saw the flawless, leakless cycle of spiritual energy around Ye Ling—which grew even more abundant the more she fought—one of the Peak Masters could not help but exclaim in surprise.
“What a perfect spiritual energy cycle. It regenerates endlessly and grows stronger with combat.”
“It seems she has actually cultivated the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 to the realm of Great Perfection!”
As soon as those words were spoken, all the Peak Masters high in the sky were astonished.
“She has been in the sect for barely half a year, yet she has already cultivated the core sword canon of the sect to Great Perfection?”
“Our sect has seen countless geniuses throughout its history. Even Senior Su Qingyue, a once-in-a-century genius, took a whole year to reach Great Perfection.”
“This time, Ye Ling has shattered the fastest record since our sect's founding in one fell swoop!”
Everyone was both shocked and delighted.
Leng Zhiwei quietly watched the girl on the arena, a gratified smile silently emerging deep in her cold, indifferent eyes.
“Ye Ling, you are the future hope of our Qinglan Sword Sect.”
On the arena, the intense struggle continued.
Wang Jingyuan grew more and more alarmed as the fight went on.
He was a genuine Xiantian Realm cultivator who had mastered a Yellow-grade peak-tier cultivation method to Great Perfection. In terms of realm and spiritual energy foundation, he should have crushed Ye Ling in every aspect.
But now that they had crossed hands, he discovered to his horror that Ye Ling's spiritual energy capacity and endurance were not the slightest bit inferior to his own, despite his breakthrough into the Xiantian Realm.
He had previously heard that Ye Ling had obtained the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》. But he had assumed that in a mere half a year, she would have reached Initial Mastery at most.
Yet this endless cycle of spiritual energy before his eyes was clearly at least above Mastery.
In addition, there was another strange thing that filled him with doubt.
During their exchanges, there were several times when he had hidden fatal moves and shifted his attacks, thinking he could catch her off guard. Yet Ye Ling could always anticipate them in advance and dodge the vital points perfectly, as if she could foresee his sword's path.
The moment this thought arose, Wang Jingyuan violently shook his head to dismiss it. Impossible. Divine Sense can only be awakened by Xiantian Realm cultivators. How could a Houtian Realm girl possess it?
On the other hand, after unleashing high-intensity Xiantian true spiritual energy for so long, more than half of the spiritual energy in his body had been consumed. His aura was unstable and chaotic, his wrists felt numb and sore, and fatigue was fully showing.
The Houtian Realm cultivator, who should have been worn down to exhaustion by him, was instead fighting with increasing stability.
The Xiantian Realm genius, who should have held the advantage, was the first to run out of steam.
The balance of power had completely reversed.
Ye Ling observed everything with cold eyes. Seeing that Wang Jingyuan's spiritual energy was more than half depleted, his moves sluggish, and his defenses full of openings, she made up her mind: now, it was her turn to counterattack.
With a thought, Ye Ling instantly activated her movement technique. Her figure suddenly lunged forward as she actively rushed at Wang Jingyuan.
The two instantly engaged in close-quarters combat. Swords clashed, energy collided, and they entered a highly dangerous melee.
In the ensuing struggle, Wang Jingyuan grew increasingly terrified. He found his attacks being completely dismantled by Ye Ling.
His rhythm was completely disrupted, and he was suppressed at every turn by Ye Ling's sword moves, leaving him with no choice but to defend passively.
The battle's offense and defense had instantly switched.
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