After a few more exchanges, Wang Jingyuan, eager to turn the tables, forced a change in his moves.
With his old momentum spent and no new strength yet generated, he exposed a fatal opening at his shoulder.
Ye Ling's eyes narrowed. Seizing the fleeting window, her cherry lips suddenly parted.
A condensed, translucent sword-shaped true spirit burst from her mouth.
Whoosh!
The sharp sword qi instantly pierced through his Xiantian spiritual energy protective shield, accurately striking Wang Jingyuan's shoulder.
Intense pain swept through his body. He stumbled back several steps, clutching his bleeding shoulder tightly, his pupils shrinking in absolute disbelief.
External release of spiritual energy?
Had Ye Ling broken through to the Xiantian Realm?
But he could clearly sense that her cultivation was still at the Houtian Twelfth Layer, without the slightest aura of a Xiantian transformation.
In an instant, the only possible answer flashed through his mind.
It wasn't a breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm; it was the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》.
Could she have actually cultivated this supreme sect-protecting technique to the realm of Great Perfection?
Down on the martial arts grounds, tens of thousands of disciples had long been dumbfounded, reduced to a dead silence. Everyone's gaze was glued to the arena.
In the waiting area, Leng Xuerou, Zhou Ming, and the other two had completely solemn and serious expressions. The last trace of pride in their hearts was utterly shattered, replaced by an unprecedented wariness.
At this moment, they finally understood why the five of them, despite having already broken through to the Xiantian Realm, were still completely overshadowed by Ye Ling, who had only recently joined the sect.
This girl's true foundation was far more terrifying than anyone could have imagined.
An experienced outer sect disciple widened his eyes and cried out in shock, “Spitting sword qi! How can someone in the Houtian Realm manifest spiritual energy into form!”
Another person beside him nodded repeatedly, his voice trembling, “It's absolutely true. That sword qi just now was expelled from her mouth.”
“I always thought only those in the Xiantian Realm could release spiritual energy externally.”
The surrounding outer sect disciples chimed in, their faces filled with bewilderment and disbelief.
A personal disciple in the crowd was also shocked, lowering his voice to explain to everyone, “That is the mouth-expelled sword qi unique to the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》.”
“Once our Qinglan Sword Sect's core inheritance cultivation method is cultivated to Great Perfection in the Houtian Realm, one can nurture sword essence in the throat.”
“Without needing to break through to the Xiantian Realm, one can still project sword qi out of the body.”
“Just now, Ye Ling heavily injured Wang Jingyuan with that very sword qi, which is enough to prove that she has already cultivated the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 to Great Perfection.”
The outer sect disciples were dumbfounded as they listened, staring blankly at the green-robed figure on the arena, unable to recover their senses for a long time.
The personal disciple took a deep breath and dropped an even more shocking piece of news, “Our sect has been established for thousands of years, and has produced countless geniuses throughout generations.”
“Previously, the fastest to cultivate this sword canon was Senior Su Qingyue. Back then, with her talent crowning the entire nation, it still took her a whole year to reach Great Perfection.”
“Yet, counting strictly, Ye Ling has only been in the sect for half a year.”
“Such cultivation speed has already set a brand new record for our sect.”
The surrounding outer sect disciples might not understand the sheer significance of Ye Ling reaching the top of the nine thousand steps, but Su Qingyue's great name was already renowned to them like thunder.
She was the only native Wangzuo Realm powerhouse in Qingyun Kingdom for thousands of years, single-handedly suppressing all the geniuses of her generation.
She was an unreachable legend in the hearts of everyone in the entire nation.
Thinking that this fifteen-year-old girl's cultivation speed had actually surpassed that of Su Qingyue in her youth, everyone's heart was filled with nothing but utter shock.
On the arena, Wang Jingyuan clutched his bleeding shoulder tightly with one hand, his face pale, staring blankly at the calm, green-robed girl a few steps away.
His voice was dry as he murmured, “You... you really cultivated the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 to Great Perfection?”
Ye Ling's face showed no emotion, she simply nodded calmly.
This simple response completely shattered the last trace of pride and hope in Wang Jingyuan's heart.
Deep loneliness welled up in his eyes, and he smiled bitterly in his heart.
Sister Xuerou, I'm afraid we are really going to suffer a complete defeat this time.
The five of them had relied on their Xiantian Realm cultivation to cross the boundary and participate in the tournament. Looking back now, they had been conceited from the very beginning.
He did not drag it out any longer, turning around to bow to Elder Leng Yue on the high platform, his voice low and hoarse, “Elder, I concede.”
Elder Leng Yue's gaze swept lightly over the puncture wound on his shoulder, her expression calm and impartial.
She lightly raised her hand, and a lustrous, round green Healing Pill flew through the air, landing steadily in Wang Jingyuan's palm.
“Take it immediately to stabilize your injuries, and rest well,” her cold and clear voice rang out at the right moment.
Wang Jingyuan clenched the pill in his palm, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. After whispering his thanks, he raised his hand and popped the pill into his mouth.
The medicinal power dissolved instantly. A gentle and long-lasting spiritual energy slid down his throat, slowly nourishing and repairing the damaged meridians and flesh on his shoulder.
With his shoulder drooping, his steps heavy and lonely, he walked back step by step to the side of the other four geniuses in the waiting area.
The high spirits he had when he first went out to battle had completely vanished.
As soon as Wang Jingyuan walked back to the four, Leng Xuerou, Zhou Ming, and the others immediately surrounded him, anxiously asking about the injury on his shoulder.
After a long while, Wang Jingyuan barely managed to suppress the frustration in his heart. Lowering his eyes to look at Leng Xuerou, he said in a low, apologetic voice, “Sister Xuerou, I'm sorry. I failed to defeat her.”
Leng Xuerou quickly comforted him, her tone gentle, “There's no need to apologize. This is not your fault.”
“Ye Ling's talent is simply too formidable. To think she cultivated the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 to Great Perfection in just half a year.”
Wang Jingyuan heard this, but only lowered his head in silence, his heart filled with dejection.
Beside them, Su Wanqing furrowed her brows, speaking with a solemn expression, “Sister Xuerou, given the current situation, the five of us are probably going to become the laughingstock of the entire sect.”
“She has even cultivated the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 to Great Perfection. Do the remaining four of us stand any chance of winning?”
Before Leng Xuerou could answer, Zhou Ming beside her spoke up with a dark gaze, countering in a deep voice, “It's not completely hopeless. You are all overlooking a key point.”
“The mouth-expelled sword qi is condensed in the throat based on the foundation of the Great Perfection of the sword canon.”
“She has already used it once just now. To nurture a second one would take at least a day or two of rest and accumulation.”
“In other words, in today's entire tournament, Ye Ling will not be able to produce a second sword qi from her throat.”
He paused, logically analyzing the pros and cons, “While Ye Ling's swordplay, movement, and leg techniques are indeed all cultivated to Great Perfection, her transitions between offense and defense are flawless.”
“But her cultivation ultimately remains at the Houtian Twelfth Layer, and she lacks a killer move capable of severely wounding a Xiantian cultivator.”
“Aside from that single mouth-expelled sword qi, her other moves can hardly tear through the protective true qi of us Xiantian cultivators.”
Hearing this, the others suddenly saw the light, and their tense emotions relaxed slightly.
The boundary gap between the Xiantian and Houtian Realms was by no means an exaggeration.
A Xiantian cultivator's body was constantly surrounded by a thick layer of protective true qi.
When ordinary Houtian weapons struck it, the impact would only be cushioned and deflected by the true qi, making it difficult to cause any substantial damage.
Throughout the previous battle, Ye Ling had tightly suppressed Wang Jingyuan's attacks relying on her three Great Perfection martial arts.
Yet from beginning to end, she had been unable to truly injure him in the slightest.
Only that final projected sword qi managed to pierce through the protective true qi and heavily wound Wang Jingyuan's shoulder, which was the best proof of this.
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