The schedule for the second day of the competition was announced early in the morning.
Jiang Yun was set to face off against Lu Yuan, while Lin Feier had to confront Xiao Dong. Xiao Li had the easiest match against the seemingly weaker opponent, Ye Shu. Unfortunately, the Jiang family had been eliminated in the first round.
Jiang Yun's match against Lu Yuan was the first one, so the members of the Lin family arrived at the arena early. Jiang Yun's gaze swept over the group from the Ye family and quickly found Lu Yuan.
Yesterday, Jiang Yun had witnessed the ferocious boxing technique of Lu Yuan. It was reminiscent of the martial arts on Earth, lacking the flashy strikes pursued by other martial artists on the Spirit Martial Continent. Lu Yuan's style was more focused on pure combat effectiveness.
Jiang Yun couldn't underestimate Lu Yuan. In terms of strength, Jiang Yun was at a disadvantage and could only rely on the advantage of Earth's martial arts. Swordsmanship happened to be Jiang Yun's specialty, so he had brought the ancient sword he won from Ye Yu specifically for today's match.
On Earth, there are three stages of swordsmanship: having a sword in hand but not in mind, having a sword in mind but not in hand, and having neither a sword in hand nor in mind.
Jiang Yun used to belong to the second stage, where he had no sword in hand but one in mind, capable of inflicting harm with mere flower-picking and leaf-plucking. This didn't mean that he didn't need a sword at this stage but rather that he wouldn't readily draw it.
If it weren't for the consideration of exposing his identity through the Four Image Steps, Jiang Yun could have fought without a sword. As a precaution, he chose to use swordsmanship against his opponents.
He had no intention of using the Sword Drawing Technique or the Sunset Over the Long River Swordsmanship, which had been exposed. In fact, Jiang Yun hadn't planned to use these two sword techniques at all.
Lu Yuan's boxing technique was fierce, and Jiang Yun wouldn't easily give him an opportunity to attack. It would be difficult to control the situation if he did. The best approach against this aggressive style was to use swift sword techniques, launching wave after wave of attacks that would prevent Lu Yuan from launching his own offense, forcing him into a defensive stance.
Jiang Yun had gained some support from the audience in yesterday's match, and today, as he stepped onto the stage, some people were even calling out his name. Although the cheers couldn't compare to those for Lu Yuan, Jiang Yun was still pleased.
"The second round of the Yanjing Martial Arts Tournament, first match, begins."
With the host's announcement, the competition officially began.
"Your martial skills are peculiar. I watched your match yesterday," Lu Yuan spoke, as if telling Jiang Yun that it was his honor to have watched him.
"But today, you're using a sword. Are you also a master of swordsmanship?" Lu Yuan didn't give Jiang Yun a chance to answer. "It doesn't matter, your strength is too weak."
Jiang Yun remained silent, simply smiling as he looked at the sword in his hand.
This smile curved at the corner of Jiang Yun's mouth stirred the hearts of many women in the audience, igniting a sense of attraction.
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, furrowed his brows in response to Jiang Yun's smile, not because he found it ugly, but because he sensed a hint of sword intent. It was faint, but it forced Lu Yuan to take it seriously.
Lu Yuan had always believed that in Yanjing City, the first person to use a sword was none other than Xiao Dong. However, Lu Yuan had never sensed any sword intent from Xiao Dong.
So Lu Yuan frowned, not because of Jiang Yun's unattractive smile, but because of the pressure he felt from him, realizing that the person before him was not as weak as he had imagined.
Lu Yuan squinted his eyes as he saw Jiang Yun raise his head, and in an instant, the sword was drawn.
Swift!
From the moment Jiang Yun's sword was unsheathed, the first impression it gave was speed. Many people believed that if a sword was fast enough, you could only see its shadow.
But Jiang Yun's sword had no shadow, no trace. Even Lu Yuan on the stage couldn't see how Jiang Yun had attacked, or how the sword had pierced his right arm.
Fortunately, Lu Yuan had always focused on tempering his body, so Jiang Yun's sword merely grazed his arm, leaving only a minor wound.
Xiao Dong's pupils contracted. What kind of sword technique was this?
Not only Xiao Dong, but the entire audience was stunned by this single sword strike.
A sword as fast as lightning, they had seen before. Xiao Dong had one move that was extremely fast. However, they had never seen this shadowless sword technique before. They couldn't determine whether this sword was so fast that it was invisible, or if Jiang Yun's movements were so concealed that they couldn't be seen.
Lu Yuan had never felt so stifled before. He couldn't even defend against Jiang Yun's sword. Imagine, if you can't even see how his sword strikes, how can you defend against it?
Jiang Yun's sword had already left three wounds on his body. Although they weren't fatal, Lu Yuan felt humiliated.
His anger and momentum began to rise. Lu Yuan decided to open up his defense, allowing his spiritual energy to surge throughout his body.
Elemental Martial Realm?
Someone in the audience exclaimed in astonishment.
Four years later, Lu Yuan unexpectedly broke through to the Elemental Martial Realm. Although he was only at the first level of the Elemental Martial Realm, it was a completely different concept from the Qi Martial Realm.
After releasing his full aura, Lu Yuan, Jiang Yun, on the other hand, stopped his movements because he felt the threat from Lu Yuan. The unique aura of the Elemental Martial Realm made Jiang Yun have to hold back, otherwise, he might not be able to retract his next strike.
There were about ten steps between Jiang Yun and Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan took a step forward, closing the distance to three steps. Then, everyone could see Lu Yuan's fist, seemingly accompanied by a circle of fist shadows, crashing towards Jiang Yun.
Seeing Lu Yuan's punch, Jiang Yun helplessly smiled, "Is that all you've got?"
Heavenly Transcendent Immortal!
Jiang Yun tapped the ground with his foot, propelling himself into the air, soaring parallel to his sword. He transformed into a streak of sword radiance, flying towards Lu Yuan.
The sword radiance was like a flexible whip, like a rainbow. At this moment, the sword radiance was Jiang Yun, and Jiang Yun was the sword radiance.
This stunning and breathtaking sword strike made almost everyone in Yanjing City remember it.
After the sword radiance dispersed, the tip of Jiang Yun's sword pierced into the right shoulder from which Lu Yuan had thrown his punch. Lu Yuan's fist was only a few centimeters away from Jiang Yun, and his aura dissipated. Even if the punch had hit Jiang Yun, it would have been futile.
"Thank you for showing me this sword."
Lu Yuan retracted his fist and turned to leave the martial arts arena. As he left, there was no dismay or defeat on his face, but a greater fighting spirit.
It is said that no one in Yanjing City saw Lu Yuan again after that, until many years later when a formidable martial artist named Lu Yuan emerged in the neighboring Zhao Kingdom. He claimed that the reason he became a formidable martial artist was that he had witnessed the pinnacle of martial arts.
Jiang Yun sighed bitterly. He didn't want to unleash this strike. The splendor of this strike was too dazzling. Although it was still an unfinished move, Jiang Yun could imagine the impact it would have on all the martial artists in Yanjing City.
After Jiang Yun left the stage, the silent martial arts arena erupted into thunderous cheers.
"Sword God."
Someone took the lead in calling out this title, and the entire crowd began chanting it. Even during the peak of Xiao Dong's fame, he had never received such praise. Jiang Yun, with this single sword strike, earned the title of Sword God, although he didn't desire it at this moment.
Xiao Dong's face darkened. He admitted to himself that if he had encountered this sword strike, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it. However, he was Xiao Dong, and he couldn't admit that he was weaker than others.