Zhang Ruochen looked at Lin Ningshan calmly and said, "The top four are just as important to me. Let's do this: I will fight you without using a sword."
"Really?"
Lin Ningshan's heart filled with joy. "Since you're being so considerate, cousin, I thank you."
She believed that Zhang Ruochen was too softhearted to defeat her and was offering to fight barehanded because he couldn't bear to win against her. However, she had no idea that Zhang Ruochen thought he didn't even need a sword to defeat her.
The sword Lin Ningshan wielded was a Grade Two True Martial treasure called the Starshine Sword.
As she drew the blade, it immediately emitted a starlight-like glow, with tiny specks of light flowing across the sword's surface.
Her eyes turned sharp as she channeled her internal energy, infusing it continuously into the sword and activating its two engraved runes—one enhancing force and the other light.
"Swish!"
Lin Ningshan stepped forward three times, each step covering three meters, and lunged, aiming her sword at Zhang Ruochen's chest. A blue sword flower bloomed in the air.
In an instant, the cold sword tip was right before Zhang Ruochen.
Previously, the Ninth Princess had been defeated by this exact move, which demonstrated its formidable power.
Zhang Ruochen pushed off the ground with his feet, swiftly dodging to the right.
"Swoosh!"
Lin Ningshan quickly changed her stance, twisting her arm and making the Starshine Sword rotate in mid-air before thrusting at Zhang Ruochen's neck.
The Starshine Sword moved as if it was part of her own body, under her complete control. Her technique was refined and precise.
"Like clouds flowing through the sky!"
Lin Ningshan unleashed a mid-grade human-level sword technique, thrusting nine consecutive strikes seamlessly.
The swordplay was graceful, and the sword light densely filled the air.
"Wind Sweeps the Clouds!"
"Rain Stops, Clouds Rest!"
...
Lin Ningshan executed thirteen moves in quick succession, each strike aimed at Zhang Ruochen. However, none of them managed to touch even the hem of his clothes.
Despite her mastery of sword intent having reached the Sword Follows the Heart level, she couldn't land a blow on a warrior whose cultivation was supposedly weaker.
"Clearing Clouds, Scattering Mist!"
She unleashed the final move of her sword technique, with wide, sweeping movements and overwhelming force, pushing Zhang Ruochen to the edge of the arena.
Zhang Ruochen appeared to be retreating out of the arena.
"It's time."
His eyes flashed as he suddenly halted. Staring at the incoming flurry of sword light, he formed a finger sword with his index and middle fingers.
With a swift motion, he thrust his fingers forward!
"Swoosh!"
His finger sword shattered the sword energy in the air, landing directly on Lin Ningshan's chest.
"Boom!"
True Qi surged from his fingertip, impacting Lin Ningshan and sending her flying three meters before she crashed onto the ground.
Zhang Ruochen gazed at Lin Ningshan, who lay on the ground, and said calmly, "You've lost."
Clutching her chest, Lin Ningshan bit down on her lip, glaring at Zhang Ruochen. She grabbed the Starshine Sword from the ground, her eyes filled with humiliated rage. "I haven't lost! Zhang Ruochen, we will continue!"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly, unwilling to argue further with a defeated opponent. He turned to walk out of the arena.
"Heaven's Heart Guides the Way!"
With a cold glint in her eyes and resentment in her heart, Lin Ningshan infused all her True Qi into the Starshine Sword, activating her low-grade spiritual-level technique, Heaven's Heart Sword Technique.
The Starshine Sword emitted a sword light a meter high, radiating a powerful aura.
With a swing of her arm, she unleashed a seven-meter-long sword energy slash aimed at Zhang Ruochen's back.
When Lin Ningshan executed this move, the expressions of all the warriors outside the arena changed.
Zhang Ruochen was walking away, and Lin Ningshan attacked from behind with a powerful spiritual-level sword technique. If it struck him, Zhang Ruochen would be doomed.
"Ningshan, stop!" Lin Fengxian's face turned pale as he shouted.
If Zhang Ruochen died by Lin Ningshan's sword, the Lin family would be in serious trouble!
No one expected Lin Ningshan to attack again after her defeat.
But it was too late to intervene.
As the spectators believed Zhang Ruochen would fall to Lin Ningshan's sword, Zhang Ruochen leaped into the air, dodging the incoming strike.
"Flying Dragon in the Sky!"
In the air, seven meters high, Zhang Ruochen twisted his body, letting out a fierce roar as he struck down with his palm, hitting Lin Ningshan's shoulder.
"Boom!"
Her entire body shook, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her legs weakened as she collapsed to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen cast a cold glance at her as she lay in a pool of blood, shaking his head in disappointment.
Lin Fengxian rushed into the arena, glancing at Zhang Ruochen before turning to the stern-faced Yunwu Commandery Prince. He reluctantly said, "Thank you, Ninth Prince, for sparing her life."
After speaking, Lin Fengxian helped Lin Ningshan up.
He placed his hand on her back, channeling his powerful True Qi to heal her injuries.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had indeed shown mercy.
Had his palm struck her head instead of her shoulder, Lin Ningshan would have died.
Regaining consciousness, Lin Ningshan's eyes burned with resentment as she glared at Zhang Ruochen. She swore to herself, "Zhang Ruochen, the humiliation you inflicted on me today, I will return a hundredfold in the future."
But Zhang Ruochen had already left the arena.
After Lin Fengxian helped her out, the matches continued.
The next three matches were: Situ Linjiang vs. Lin Tianwu, the Fifth Prince vs. the Sixth Prince, and Xue Kai vs. Luo Cheng.
Lin Tianwu, another young talent from the Lin family, was nineteen and had reached the intermediate stage of the Yellow Realm. However, Situ Linjiang, who was at the large extremity stage of the Yellow Realm, defeated him with a single palm strike, sending him out of the arena.
The Fifth Prince's match against the Sixth Prince ended with the Sixth Prince forfeiting.
The match between Xue Kai and Luo Cheng was highly engaging.
Though Luo Cheng was only at the intermediate stage of the Yellow Realm, his martial skills were formidable, allowing him to hold his own against Xue Kai.
However, the gap in their cultivation levels eventually led to Luo Cheng's defeat.
Thus, the top four contenders for this year's year-end assessment were decided: Zhang Ruochen, the Fifth Prince, Xue Kai, and Situ Linjiang.
Lin Ningshan, Luo Cheng, Lin Tianwu, and the Sixth Prince would compete for fifth place.
The battles would become even more intense. The Fifth Prince, Xue Kai, and Situ Linjiang were all at the large extremity stage of the Yellow Realm, while only Zhang Ruochen remained at the small extremity stage.
"Ninth Brother, I never expected you to reach the top four. It seems I underestimated you before. However, this is as far as you'll go. The gap between the small and large extremity stages is far greater than you think," the Fifth Prince sneered.
Zhang Ruochen ignored him, closing his eyes to focus on quickly recovering his True Qi.
"The next match: Ninth Prince Zhang Ruochen versus Xue Kai of the National Preceptor's Mansion."
Zhang Ruochen and Xue Kai entered the arena simultaneously.
Xue Kai eyed Zhang Ruochen and smiled. "Ninth Prince, is your weapon of choice a sword?"
"I suppose so," Zhang Ruochen replied.
"Very well! Let's have a sword match!" Xue Kai extended his arm, and a young warrior from the National Preceptor's Mansion handed him a longsword.
Having observed Zhang Ruochen's previous two matches, Xue Kai believed Zhang Ruochen's claim of being a sword master was merely a bluff. In truth, Zhang Ruochen seemed much more proficient in palm techniques.
After all, Zhang Ruochen's mastery of palm strikes in previous matches was impressive and didn't resemble that of a sword specialist.
Palm techniques emphasize power.
Sword techniques emphasize agility and precision.
It's rare to combine the two effectively.
This was why Xue Kai proposed a sword match. He was confident that Zhang Ruochen's sword skills were far inferior to his.
"Ninth Brother, take the sword!" The Ninth Princess tossed her sword, the Blue Water Sword, to Zhang Ruochen.
Catching the sword, Zhang Ruochen felt a chill emanate from the blade as he gripped its hilt.
"A Grade Three True Martial treasure sword, engraved with three ice-element runes and three power runes," he assessed, simply by holding the sword.