Guo Xingyue steadily walked into the center of the arena, stopping ten paces away from Chen Ming. He raised his hand in greeting and said, "I am Guo Xingyue, here to learn from your esteemed skills." Chen Ming simply nodded and gestured for him to proceed without responding. The two men remained silent, each releasing their flying swords while keeping a vigilant watch on the other, carefully probing for weaknesses with their spiritual senses.
After a long period of probing, Chen Ming could not find any flaws in Guo Xingyue's stance. He decided to take the initiative and launch a powerful attack to test Guo Xingyue's depth of cultivation. With a low shout, Chen Ming executed a sword technique, and his upper-grade metal flying sword above his head transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting toward Guo Xingyue like lightning. Almost simultaneously, Guo Xingyue released his own flying sword, which soared through the air with the force of thunder to meet Chen Ming's blade.
The two golden streaks of sword light collided fiercely in midair, producing a thunderous roar. Dust and sand erupted in the desert, and both flying swords were knocked back, causing Guo Xingyue and Chen Ming to stumble and fly backward. When the dust settled, a deep pit over ten paces wide and three paces deep appeared where they had stood.
Neither side gained the upper hand in this exchange. Both were martial cultivators with comparable true essence quality. However, Guo Xingyue had only recently entered the early Dividing Spirit stage, resulting in a slightly lower volume of true essence compared to Chen Ming. Yet, Guo Xingyue wielded a higher-grade artifact than Chen Ming's upper-grade sword, leading to a stalemate in their confrontation.
Guo Xingyue thought: It seems that brute force is not the solution. The most we could achieve would be mutual injury. Although I have many pills, I can't rely on them to win in this situation. Let me test my opponent's skills first. Guo Xingyue once again released his flying sword, sending a streak of golden light toward Chen Ming.
"Come on!" Chen Ming shouted, also unleashing his flying sword to meet the attack. Just as the two sword lights were about to collide again, Guo Xingyue changed his hand technique. The golden sword, which had been flying in a straight line, suddenly spun downward, evading Chen Ming's sword, and then accelerated again with a strong rotation, hurtling toward Chen Ming. This maneuver showcased the remarkable use of Guo Xingyue's spiral true essence, changing direction in what seemed like an impossible situation.
This attack clearly caught Chen Ming off guard. Seeing Guo Xingyue's sword approach like lightning, he hurriedly used a teleport to evade the fast-approaching blade. If this were the first time Guo Xingyue had faced such teleportation in battle, he might have missed his chance. However, after his battle with Yu Hua, Guo Xingyue was no stranger to combat teleportation. With his own recent entry into the early Dividing Spirit stage, he could also teleport and had gained a deeper understanding of its nuances. Thus, when he saw Chen Ming trying to evade with a teleport, he merely smiled, dodging Chen Ming's uncontrolled flying sword while locking onto Chen Ming's form with his spiritual sense.
Chen Ming had used teleportation twice in quick succession to dodge the pursuing sword but could not escape its relentless chase. The tremendous consumption of true essence left him sweating profusely and feeling a mix of anxiety and anger. Suddenly, he shouted, releasing a shield from within to meet Guo Xingyue's flying sword. With a resounding crash, although Guo Xingyue's sword was repelled, Chen Ming was also sent staggering back by the immense force.
Having already expended considerable true essence from using teleportation, Chen Ming was further weakened after taking Guo Xingyue's blow, leading to blood spilling from his mouth as he gasped for breath. However, with his strong will, he refused to concede defeat. He summoned his flying sword back, gripping the shield with his left hand and the sword with his right, shaping the sword into a long blade as he charged toward Guo Xingyue with a loud shout.
Guo Xingyue thought: So he wants to engage in close combat! Good, let's see what skills this Sword Heart Sect has up close. He transformed his flying sword into a golden long sword and leaped to meet Chen Ming head-on. Both cultivators, being at the early Dividing Spirit stage, moved with incredible speed, exchanging dozens of blows in an instant. After a series of metallic clashing sounds, they again exchanged powerful strikes, resulting in another explosive sound as they were both sent flying apart. At this moment, Guo Xingyue's true essence had surpassed Chen Ming's, and although he was knocked back, he remained uninjured. In contrast, Chen Ming was hurt further, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he staggered and barely managed to stand upright.
At this point, the battle seemed clearly decided, with Chen Ming clearly at a disadvantage and expected to withdraw for healing. However, since Chen Ming did not verbally concede, the fight could not end. Guo Xingyue held his golden sword, revealing a victorious smile. Just then, Chen Ming's face shifted from pale to red, and then to purple. He opened his mouth and spat out a small amount of faint golden liquid. Chen Ming's already tall and robust form seemed to swell even more, appearing like a formidable deity descended from the heavens. His aura suddenly surged, and the unwilling Chen Ming activated the Sword Heart Sect's forbidden ultimate skill—Reversing Heaven Technique.
Guo Xingyue had heard the Lingxu Elder mention this ultimate technique of the Sword Heart Sect, understanding that it was similar to the Tianmo Disassembly Method in the Pangu Star martial arts—a technique that first harms the user before harming others. Those using this technique could temporarily amplify their true essence by several times, but afterwards, their vitality would be severely depleted, leading to a regression in cultivation that required extensive recovery time. Guo Xingyue, with a spiritual sense far surpassing his current cultivation level, immediately assessed that Chen Ming had now elevated his cultivation to the mid-Dividing Spirit stage, considerably surpassing his own. Knowing Chen Ming was desperate, Guo Xingyue tightened his grip on his flying sword and focused intently on Chen Ming's actions.
Although Chen Ming had activated the Reversing Heaven Technique, he had already depleted a great deal of true essence in the prolonged battle and was also injured. As a result, he could not fully unleash the technique's power (normally, a cultivator using this technique could elevate their cultivation by two levels). Moreover, although the technique could temporarily enhance one's power, it was not sustainable. Chen Ming, not willing to hesitate, shouted and poured all his remaining true essence into his flying sword, transforming it into a massive golden sword that slowly descended toward Guo Xingyue.
Though the giant sword flew slowly, its overwhelming force filled the entire arena, cutting off all paths for Guo Xingyue to evade. Unless he used teleportation to escape the battlefield—equating to conceding—there was no way to avoid it. Guo Xingyue could not afford to lose, so instead of fleeing, he poured all his energy into the spiral true essence and summoned the energy of the lightning ball, launching his flying sword to transform it into a massive sword. The golden giant sword, now crackling with white arcs of electricity, slowly met Chen Ming's descending golden sword.
Just as the two golden giant swords were about to collide, Guo Xingyue changed his hand technique, causing the golden giant sword to unleash multiple streaks of gold and white sword light that rapidly struck Chen Ming's sword. The white arcs of electricity and golden sword light intertwined, disrupting the true essence within Chen Ming's sword. Following this, Guo Xingyue's golden sword accelerated, crashing into Chen Ming's sword. This was Guo Xingyue's strongest killing move—Moonfall and Star Sinking.
Despite Chen Ming having used the Reversing Heaven Technique to forcibly raise his cultivation to the mid-Dividing Spirit stage, granting him a notable advantage in true essence, he had never encountered Guo Xingyue's extraordinary skill. Taken by surprise, the true essence within his sword was thrown into chaos. Compounding his misfortune, the energy from Guo Xingyue's lightning ball had also significantly damaged his sword. With a thunderous crash, a deep pit erupted in the ground as Chen Ming's sword shattered into two pieces, and he was sent reeling back. The broken sword was linked to Chen Ming's mind; the moment it shattered, he suffered severe injuries and coughed up blood, collapsing onto the ground, creating a large crater in the sand.
Guo Xingyue felt the impact as well. Although he had executed Moonfall and Star Sinking to disrupt Chen Ming's true essence and damaged his sword with the energy from the lightning ball, Chen Ming's true essence was still considerably stronger. In their clash, while Guo Xingyue had succeeded in severing Chen Ming's sword, the rebound force sent his own flying sword careening off, and he was thrown back, staggering several steps before he regained his footing. Guo Xingyue stood there, pale-faced; although he wasn't injured, he had exhausted all his true essence from that last blow, leaving him unable to continue fighting. He quickly retrieved a Return to Origin Pill from his storage bracelet and sat down to cultivate, hoping to restore his true essence as soon as possible. He was not naïve enough to believe that a simple literary competition could resolve the conflict.
The Dongxu Elder watched with amusement as Lin Jian's face turned ashen while Dongfang Feixing maintained his cheerful demeanor. "I suppose this round counts as a win for our side," he said.
Dongfang Feixing, though still smiling, looked increasingly uncomfortable as he forced a reply, "Let's call it that, but there are still two matches left. Who can say who will laugh last?"
In the upcoming second match, Jinshi Sect sent out Wan Bao, the Dongxu Elder's junior, whose cultivation had reached the mid-Dividing Spirit stage and was on the verge of breaking into the late Dividing Spirit stage. The Sword Heart Sect countered with Sheng He, an elder of the Kunyu Sect and Dongfang Feixing's junior, who also stood on the brink of advancing to the late Dividing Spirit stage. These two were old acquaintances and, having fought numerous times before, exchanged no pleasantries as they immediately engaged in battle.
Wan Bao truly lived up to his name, with an endless array of magical artifacts at his disposal. In just an instant, he released over ten artifacts from his body: swords, knives, hammers, and even a mirror, all dancing through the air. As Wan Bao performed hand seals, the artifacts launched attacks toward Sheng He. Although Sheng He wielded only two artifacts—a knife for offense and a shield for defense—he maintained a solid defense against Wan Bao's relentless assaults, effectively holding his ground.
The battle between Wan Bao and Sheng He was unlike the previous fierce melee; instead, it was a spectacular display of flying artifacts, accompanied by the sounds of clashing metal. Spectators from all over were drawn in by the thrilling competition, cheering enthusiastically.
Wan Bao and Sheng He knew each other well, fully aware of each other's abilities and methods, rendering any tricks ineffective. Ultimately, victory would depend on their true strength. After an intense clash of artifacts, Wan Bao shouted and executed a series of hand seals, causing all the flying artifacts to attack simultaneously like a torrential storm aimed at Sheng He. In response, Sheng He called upon both his knife and shield to meet the incoming barrage.
With a thunderous roar, the multitude of flying artifacts collided violently, creating a massive pit over thirty paces wide and ten paces deep in the sandy ground. As dust and debris filled the air, both combatants were thrown back, spitting blood as they fell. Upon landing, they appeared pale and unsteady, clearly unable to continue the fight. Both sides sent several cultivators to escort their injured back to camp.
"This match should be considered a tie," said the Dongxu Elder with a smile. Though Dongfang Feixing maintained his cheerful demeanor, his eyes were becoming less natural. "Let's call it that, but there's still one match left; we'll see who can hold the final victory," he replied with forced enthusiasm.
For the third match, the Sword Heart Sect sent out Lin Jian's junior, known as the Dominant Sword, Chen Wu. Jinshi Sect countered with the Tianshin Elder, the junior of Lin De from the Huining Sect. Chen Wu was tall and powerful, exuding an air of dominance. He ignored Tianshin Elder's greetings, waved his hand, and summoned a golden flying sword that ascended into the air, transforming into a giant sword aimed directly at Tianshin Elder.
Tianshin Elder quickly deployed his defensive artifact—a massive earth-element shield—to meet the descending giant sword. Although both Chen Wu and Tianshin Elder were at the late Dividing Spirit stage, Tianshin Elder's true essence was evidently inferior to Chen Wu's. Under the relentless assault of Chen Wu's giant sword, Tianshin Elder struggled to defend himself, merely holding his ground.
After over a dozen strikes, Tianshin Elder's complexion turned pale, and he trembled under the pressure. Yet he remained resolute, gritting his teeth and enduring. His shield had been enhanced by Guo Xingyue, equipped with four layers of defensive formations, making it quite formidable. Chen Wu found it impossible to breach Tianshin Elder's defenses in a short amount of time. Tianshin Elder had a clear goal: to defend and achieve victory through endurance.