On the arena, Leng Xuerou was the first to strike.
With a gentle shake of her longsword, her Xiantian true spirit enveloped the sword light as she thrust straight forward.
She deliberately held back her overwhelming Sword Force, choosing instead to engage in a head-on clash using only her Great Perfection-level sword technique and Xiantian spiritual energy.
Ye Ling immediately raised her sword to meet her. Alternating between the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, the Swift Thunder Movement Technique, and the Lost Track Leg Technique, her moves were seamless and flawless. In an instant, the two were locked in a fierce struggle.
Dozens of intense exchanges flashed by in the blink of an eye. As Leng Xuerou executed her moves, she grew increasingly shocked.
The spiritual energy within Ye Ling's body was incredibly rich and abundant, not lagging behind her own newly broken-through Xiantian Realm strength in the slightest.
Despite battling for so long, her opponent's aura remained perfectly steady, showing no signs of spiritual energy depletion whatsoever.
Looking at her seamless transition between offense and defense, all three of her martial arts techniques had been cultivated to Great Perfection, leaving absolutely no openings in her advances or retreats.
If this stalemate continued, she would eventually be the one forced into a disadvantage.
With her mind made up, Leng Xuerou tapped her toes against the ground and swiftly retreated to put some distance between them.
Her plain white dress fluttered in the wind, and her cold eyes took on a touch of grim determination.
“Ye Ling, do not blame me for taking an unfair advantage.”
Before her voice could even fade, a low hum vibrated and rippled outward from her body.
An ethereal yet incredibly sharp, invisible concept slowly unfurled. This was the trace of Sword Force she had obtained through bitter cultivation.
The invisible sword intent enveloped the entire arena like a biting, freezing wind. Even the stray spiritual energy floating in the air was completely suppressed and frozen by this conceptual force.
Upon the longsword in Leng Xuerou's hand, every inch of sword light was coated in a faint layer of frost, and its sharpness suddenly multiplied several times over.
The surrounding air was sliced by the sword intent, producing faint whistling sounds of breaking air. The pressure bore down on the audience, causing many low-level disciples below the stage to choke on their breath.
The crowd below immediately erupted into a clamor.
“Just a moment ago, they were evenly matched, but now that the Sword Force is out, the difference is clear as day!”
“The Xiantian Realm paired with the Sword Force concept—this double suppression is likely too much for Ye Ling to handle.”
In the waiting area, Wang Jingyuan, Zhou Ming, and the others relaxed slightly. In their eyes, the Sword Force was the ultimate trump card to counter Ye Ling.
Only Su Qinghan, Su Qinghe, and Nalan Yanli felt their hearts leap into their throats, staring anxiously at the green-clothed figure on the stage.
High above amidst the clouds and mist, the sect elders and leaders watched intently, their eyes all falling upon the unperturbed Ye Ling. It seemed that this time, she would finally have to reveal her half-step Sword Force.
On the arena, the biting pressure of the Sword Force swept toward Ye Ling like an overwhelming wave.
Leng Xuerou stood holding her sword, having already revealed her greatest trump card.
Faced with this, not a single ripple of emotion appeared in the depths of Ye Ling's eyes.
“Sword Force? I have it too. And mine is stronger than yours!”
The instant her voice fell, a grand Sword Force—far more profound, majestic, and several times sharper than Leng Xuerou's—burst forth from within Ye Ling's body.
The invisible sword intent swept across the entire arena. Below the stage, the swords hanging at the waists of all the Houtian Realm cultivators began to hum and vibrate uncontrollably, their blades trembling within their scabbards as if eager to break free.
It was as if they were summoned by a supreme sword intent, ready at any moment to break their bonds and bow in worship to the green-clothed girl on the stage.
The entire venue instantly erupted in shocked cries.
“How does Ye Ling also possess Sword Force? And why is it so terrifying?”
“When Leng Xuerou released her Sword Force earlier, it didn't trigger such a terrifying phenomenon!”
Even the inner sect and personal disciples gasped in disbelief.
At the same time, several True Disciples of the sect who were hiding in the crowd to watch could no longer suppress the shock in their hearts, blurting out in astonishment.
“It's a half-step Sword Force!”
Across the arena, Leng Xuerou's entire body stiffened, and the longsword in her hand trembled slightly.
The trace of Sword Force she relied on for victory was like a firefly compared to the bright moon in the face of this majestic and profound half-step Sword Force. It collapsed layer by layer, losing all of its suppressing power.
High above amidst the clouds and mist, Leng Zhiwei and the various Peak Masters remained calm, showing no surprise whatsoever.
Only the disciples below, completely in the dark, would be so utterly shocked.
Below the stage, the hearts of Su Qinghan, Su Qinghe, and Nalan Yanli suddenly relaxed.
Meanwhile, the faces of Wang Jingyuan, Zhou Ming, and Zhou Ruoxuan turned completely solemn, the last traces of their confidence vanishing into thin air.
Leng Xuerou gently brushed her fingers over her trembling longsword, using her remaining trace of Sword Force to forcibly steady the blade.
She stared intently at the green-clothed girl enveloped in the majestic half-step Sword Force before her, her heart filled with ultimate shock.
So this was a true peerless genius.
Yet, her innate pride would not allow her to back down and concede. Things had already reached this point; there was no way she would stop halfway.
Grit her teeth, Leng Xuerou charged forward with her sword. She pushed her Xiantian true spirit to its absolute limit, channeling her single trace of Sword Force entirely into the edge of her blade.
Even if this battle was destined to end in defeat, she would fight with all her might until the very last moment.
Ye Ling's eyes narrowed as she also raised her sword and advanced.
Two vastly different levels of sword intent clashed violently, whipping up a fierce gale on the arena as the intense battle resumed.
This clash was completely different from the previous one. Earlier, Ye Ling had only attacked with pure techniques, without any sword intent.
Every strike had been deflected by Leng Xuerou's dense Xiantian protective true qi, failing to inflict even a scratch.
But now, with the half-step Sword Force wrapping around her blade, every slash and thrust carried a sword path concept that crushed everything in its way. The Xiantian true qi could no longer fully block her attacks.
In just over a dozen exchanges, Leng Xuerou's plain white dress was shredded with dozens of cuts of varying depths. Drops of blood seeped out continuously, staining large patches of her white clothes a shocking red.
Although Leng Xuerou's trace of Sword Force was far less powerful than the half-step Sword Force, it was still a genuine sword path concept, and its lethality was not to be underestimated.
This was also the first time Ye Ling had been injured since the tournament began. Over a dozen crisscrossing bloody gashes appeared on her shoulders and arms, the flesh turning raw and sending waves of stinging pain.
Both of them abandoned all defense, trading blow for blow. Sword light flashed wildly across the arena as the scent of blood slowly drifted through the air. The entire audience held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Under the brutal exchange of attacks, both girls were covered in wounds, but the difference in their strength gradually became apparent.
Ye Ling's profound sword path foundation, honed over years of practice, was fully displayed at this moment.
She had practiced her sword daily since the age of twelve, spending at least eight to ten hours in bitter cultivation every day, regardless of the searing heat or freezing cold, never missing a single day.
Basic sword moves like hacking, thrusting, parrying, and slashing had long been etched into her very instincts.
The precision, timing, and force of every single move were handled flawlessly.
Her transitions between offense and defense flowed like water, without the slightest hesitation.
On the other hand, although Leng Xuerou was in the Xiantian Realm and possessed a trace of Sword Force, her foundational training was far less solid than Ye Ling's.
Faced with the airtight suppression of Ye Ling's sword paths, she gradually found herself unable to cope, forced to retreat repeatedly as her breathing grew increasingly erratic.
After being forced back several times, Leng Xuerou's footwork faltered, exposing a fatal opening.
With a flick of her wrist, Ye Ling's longsword shot forward like lightning, precisely piercing through Leng Xuerou's shoulder.
Before her opponent could react, she lightly twisted her wrist, turning the blade flat.
The cold blade stopped steadily right in front of Leng Xuerou's neck, just a hair's breadth from her skin.
Leng Xuerou froze, her grip loosening as her longsword fell limply from her hand, clattering onto the bluestone floor.
Elder Leng Yue immediately announced in a clear, loud voice:
“Ye Ling wins this match.”
“First place of this year's new disciple tournament:”
“Ye Ling!”
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