On the life and death platform, at a certain moment, both of them opened their eyes simultaneously, their gazes locked onto each other. Duan Jun's eyes flashed an undisguised forest-like killing intent, while Yang Ye remained calm and unaffected.
They both stood up, and Duan Jun waved his Qingfeng Sword with a playful smile on his face, saying, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance. I'll give you three moves!" Although Yang Ye was already a Profound Realm cultivator, he wasn't afraid. Not only was he at least two ranks higher than Duan Jun, but he also possessed weapons and sword techniques that Duan Jun didn't have. So, he was ready to play a cat-and-mouse game.
"Fool!" Yang Ye cursed inwardly as he gripped his long sword and approached Duan Jun. When he was two meters away from Duan Jun, suddenly, a ferocious expression flashed in Yang Ye's calm eyes. In the next moment, Yang Ye stomped his right foot on the ground with force, using the power transmitted from the ground. His body shot forward like a cannonball, wielding his long sword to strike at Duan Jun.
The spot where Yang Ye landed his foot, the originally solid ground, had completely collapsed. This was the full force of Yang Ye's attack!
In that split second when Yang Ye burst forward, the elder from the outer sect who had been nearly dozing off suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a trace of astonishment.
At the moment when Yang Ye rushed towards him, Duan Jun's face changed drastically, his eyes filled with horror. With such a close distance, coupled with Yang Ye's sudden burst of speed, he didn't have time to dodge or block. He could only watch as Yang Ye's long sword pierced his chest.
"Ding!"
Yang Ye's long sword stabbed into Duan Jun's chest, and a clear sound echoed through the arena. Duan Jun's body was pushed back ten steps.
Seeing that the long sword didn't penetrate, Yang Ye frowned but didn't pursue further. He looked at the silver light flashing beneath the clothes of the man in the green robe.
"He's wearing Profound Armor!" Realizing this, Yang Ye's eyes narrowed, and profound energy surged within him.
Duan Jun took a deep breath, feeling a sense of danger. He looked at his chest, where his high-grade Huang-ranked Profound Armor had already caved in!
"Such great strength! At least a thousand jin of force!" Duan Jun's expression became grave. He realized that he had underestimated Yang Ye.
"Ha!"
In a flash, Yang Ye repelled Duan Jun with a single sword strike, causing a commotion among the miscellaneous disciples below. Some of them even had excitement flickering in their eyes. Regardless, Yang Ye was still a miscellaneous disciple, and for a miscellaneous disciple to defeat an outer sect disciple, it naturally made them excited.
"This Duan Jun, he went all out, like a lion fighting a hare. He really is an idiot. Fortunately, he's wearing Profound Armor!" Jiang Qiushui's face darkened as she spoke.
Several outer sect disciples beside her nodded in agreement and breathed a sigh of relief. They had wagered several months' worth of energy stones, and some even greedily bet for one or two years. If Duan Jun had lost, they wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.
Meanwhile, Little Bao'er clenched her small fists, excitement flickering in her eyes.
"I admit, I was too careless. But now I'm telling you, you still don't stand a chance, because I'm going to
get serious!" Duan Jun stared at Yang Ye, his profound energy slowly circulating. As the profound energy flowed into his long sword, it trembled slightly.
"Sword technique?" Yang Ye whispered as he observed the faint ripples emanating from Duan Jun's sword. Immediately, a pale golden profound energy flowed into his own sword. The pale golden light shimmered on his long sword, but it was faint and hardly noticeable unless one looked closely.
"It seems Duan Jun is going to get serious!" Jiang Qiushui's gloomy expression softened slightly. "This time, victory will be determined in one move!"
"Duan Jun is going to use the Splitting Spirit Sword Technique!" a disciple from the outer sect exclaimed with a smile. "The Splitting Spirit Sword Technique is a high-level Huang-ranked sword technique. If Duan Jun dares to use it, it means he can unleash a sword qi. That miscellaneous disciple is done for this time!"
"Splitting Spirit Sword Technique? I didn't expect Duan Jun to have learned it. Hehe, that miscellaneous disciple is doomed this time!"
"Hahaha, with three hundred energy stones, I can cultivate to the Innate Realm. Hahaha..."
"Ah, if I had known that Duan Jun had already learned a sword technique, I would have bet more. Only one hundred energy stones... I've suffered a big loss this time!"
"Yeah, a big loss indeed. That Duan Jun concealed it too well!"
...
At this moment, the approximately fifty outer sect disciples seemed to have already seen the abundance of energy stones right in front of their eyes.
Seeing the excited outer sect disciples, Little Bao'er snorted disapprovingly and then looked at Yang Ye on the stage with a hint of worry in her eyes.
On the stage, at that moment, a ferocious glint appeared in Duan Jun's eyes. Gripping his long sword tightly, he swung it fiercely at Yang Ye.
"Splitting Spirit Sword Technique!"
As he spoke, a snow-white sword qi about a meter long shot out from the tip of Duan Jun's Qingfeng Sword, heading straight for Yang Ye. The sword qi was incredibly fast, producing a whistling sound as it arrived in front of Yang Ye in almost the blink of an eye.
When the sword qi was about a meter away from Yang Ye, he made his move. He stomped his right foot on the ground with force, leveraging the tremendous force transmitted from the ground. His body shot forward like a lightning bolt, and at the same time, his long sword thrust toward the snow-white sword qi.
"Chi..."
Perhaps due to the tremendous force, visible air fluctuations appeared wherever Yang Ye's long sword passed, accompanied by sharp piercing sounds.
"Strike after the fact!" the elder from the outer sect whispered softly as he saw Yang Ye withstand the attack. "Interesting, it's the first time I've seen someone achieve perfection in the Basic Sword Technique. Not bad!"
"Boom!"
The clash between the long sword and the snow-white sword qi produced a burst of energy. Immediately, the snow-white sword qi was cut open by Yang Ye's long sword as if snow met boiling oil. Without losing any speed, Yang Ye appeared in front of Duan Jun in just two breaths, and then, in the astonished gaze of Duan Jun, he swiftly swung his long sword toward Duan Jun's legs!
Duan Jun's face was filled with incredulity. He couldn't believe that his own sword qi had been easily cleaved apart by Yang Ye. It was a sword technique, and yet before he could react, Yang Ye had appeared before him again. Panic filled his heart as he instinctively blocked with his sword and quickly retreated.
"Ding, ding..."
In the arena, the clash of their swords produced a series of golden and iron-like clashes, creating a beautiful melody.
Seeing Duan Jun being suppressed and forced to retreat continuously, the disciples below the stage were completely dumbfounded. It wasn't just the miscellaneous disciples; even the dozens of outer sect disciples beside them were stunned.
Miscellaneous disciples overpowering outer sect disciples? Was this a first in history?
The dozens of outer sect disciples beside them were also shocked. They never expected that Yang Ye could pierce through the sword qi with a single strike. The power and speed required were immense. Originally, even if Duan Jun lost, it wouldn't have mattered to them. But now, if Duan Jun lost, they wouldn't be able to afford to compensate the little girl with their energy stones!
Seeing Yang Ye pierce through the sword qi, Little Bao'er's face blossomed with a smile. In her lively eyes, there sparkled a gleam of excitement.
On the stage, Yang Ye could have dealt with the man in the blue robe long ago. The reason he hadn't was because he was practicing his swordsmanship. He had mastered the Basic Sword Technique to a point where he could execute it even with his eyes closed. However, he lacked actual combat experience, so he wouldn't miss this opportunity.
The more Yang Ye fought, the more comfortable he became, while Duan Jun grew increasingly exhausted and struggled. Although Yang Ye used only a few moves, his flexible application of those moves gave Duan Jun a headache. Moreover, Yang Ye's speed and strength astonished him. He never imagined that the Basic Sword Technique could possess such power!
"It's time to end this!"
Feeling more and more proficient in the Basic Sword Technique, Yang Ye's lips curled up. Immediately, the speed of his long sword increased as he launched a fierce attack against the man in the blue robe.
Seeing Yang Ye suddenly exerting force, Duan Jun panicked, causing his sword moves to become chaotic. Yang Ye's eyes lit up, and his long sword pierced toward Duan Jun's chest. Startled, Duan Jun hurriedly blocked, but at that moment, Yang Ye's long sword suddenly changed from a thrust to a slash, striking at Duan Jun's right hand with an extremely tricky angle.
"Ah!"
As his hand was struck, a spray of blood gushed out. The sudden pain made Duan Jun let out a miserable cry. Immediately, his Qingfeng Sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground below the stage. At the same time, another long sword gleaming with a cold light pressed against his neck.
Duan Jun was defeated!
Seeing Yang Ye's long sword pressed against Duan Jun's throat, the previous clamor vanished at this moment. There was not a single sound from the audience below the stage. It was as silent as a pin drop, and everyone was completely stunned.
Witnessing this scene, Du Xiu's face turned pale, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably. The two people who had been with him had disappeared, and at this moment, he felt as if his heart had turned to ashes.
"Hahaha..." Little Bao'er burst into laughter this time, using both her hands and feet. She cast a glance at the outer sect disciples beside her, as if saying, "See, I have good judgment!"
The dozens of outer sect disciples looked utterly stunned, their faces filled with disbelief. They couldn't fathom that Duan Jun had been defeated even after displaying his sword technique. The outcome was still hard for them to accept.
On the stage, Yang Ye gazed at the man in the blue robe, whose eyes were filled with fear and disbelief. He said, "I can spare your life."
Duan Jun's face brightened with hope, and he quickly asked, "Really?" Then he added, "What are your conditions?"
"Your cultivation resources and gold coins," Yang Ye replied.
"Alright, alright!" Duan Jun nodded eagerly and took out a pouch and a silver card from his pocket. He said, "There are twenty energy stones inside this pouch. I just received them today. And this card contains around ten thousand gold coins. You can withdraw them anywhere in the Great Qin Empire!"
When Yang Ye heard the mention of ten thousand gold coins, his eyelids twitched. He swiftly collected the pouch and the card.
Seeing Yang Ye accept the pouch and card, a tinge of resentment flashed through Duan Jun's eyes. He thought to himself, "Just you wait. I'll repay this debt a hundredfold in the future."
Discovering that the pouch indeed contained twenty energy stones, Yang Ye nodded and smiled at Duan Jun. But at that moment, his eyes narrowed, and he swiftly swung his long sword toward Duan Jun's hands and feet.
"Ah!"
A piercing scream echoed throughout the stage as Duan Jun's hands and feet were severed at once. Blood gushed out like fountains, and the intense pain distorted Duan Jun's face.
"Why, why, why!" Duan Jun lay on the ground, screaming hysterically at Yang Ye.
Yang Ye sneered and said, "I said I wouldn't kill you, but I didn't say I wouldn't cripple you. I can't have a troublemaker lingering around. Now, if you'll excuse me." With that, Yang Ye sat down on the ground and began replenishing his Qi using an energy stone.
Hearing Yang Ye's words, Duan Jun vomited a mouthful of blood in anger. Then he continued to curse furiously on the ground.
The elder from the outer sect glanced at Duan Jun, who was lying on the ground, shook his head lightly, and ordered someone to take him away.
"Hey, bring me the energy stones!" Little Bao'er ran up to Jiang Qiushui and the others, extending her small hand. She said, "I calculated it. You owe me nineteen thousand energy stones. Give them to me now!"
Upon hearing this, the faces of the fifty outer sect disciples turned pale.