The black-robed Zhou Shiyu moved like a specter. His silhouette flickered, the Judgment Sword tracing countless afterimages through the air.

Raging sword qi, swift and relentless as a storm, slashed toward Lu Xingyuan.

Steady as a mountain, Lu Xingyuan swept the Jiao Dragon Staff in wide, fierce arcs. He bore down like a tidal wave, deflecting Zhou Shiyu’s attacks one by one.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every exchange between them carried tremendous force. The shockwaves alone scraped away layer after layer of the thousand-zhang platform.

Torrents of force battered the barrier, sending fierce ripples cascading across its surface.

Dust and smoke billowed across the platform as stone tiles crumbled beneath their clash. The battle only grew more intense.

Staff shadows blanketed the sky, the sheer force leaving Zhou Shiyu nowhere to borrow momentum from. Worse, Lu Xingyuan’s strength flowed like a fine, supple current of water, his long staff clinging to the sword’s blade.

Zhou Shiyu knew full well what it meant to be pulled along by his opponent’s rhythm. Each time, he had to expend every ounce of strength to break free. As a result, he found no opportunity to make use of his greatest skill—using an opponent’s force against them. Every bit of strength he unleashed felt as though it were sinking into cotton.

On top of that, Lu Xingyuan’s power had risen by at least thirty percent. In Zhou Shiyu’s eyes, the man seemed to have grown a size larger, a nameless pressure radiating from him even at a distance.

Zhou Shiyu’s black robes snapped in the wind, his gaze cold and sharp. Across from him, Lu Xingyuan’s face was set with iron resolve, his muscles like forged steel. His every strike carried tremendous force, enough to make others think twice before approaching.

The battle had reached its most intense stage, neither man willing to retreat a single step.

Zhou Shiyu’s sword grew faster and faster; Lu Xingyuan’s staff grew fiercer and fiercer. The two streaked across the platform, their silhouettes weaving together in a dazzling blur.

Just as Zhou Shiyu strained free and swung back in a reverse slash, Lu Xingyuan seized the opening and drove his staff forward. “Jiao Dragon Leaping From The Sea!”

Roar!

A deep, resonant cry rang out as the scales along the staff bristled upward. A dragon’s phantom shot forth like a beast that had long lurked in the abyss, lunging the instant it spotted prey.

Still in midair, Zhou Shiyu felt a chill run down his spine. He sensed mortal danger before the blow even landed—the staff was aimed directly at the back of his head.

With no footing beneath him, Zhou Shiyu forcibly twisted around in midair. Gripping the sword with both hands, he brought it crashing down with a ferocious expression. “Judgment, Splitting the Sea!”

Boom!

The staff’s shadow, thick as a dragon, opened its maw wide to bite down on Zhou Shiyu.

Every muscle in Zhou Shiyu’s body tightened, and a blood mist erupted. Taut as a drawn bow, he brought the great sword down in a two-handed chop.

Terrifying sword light coalesced in midair, a crescent of it slamming down against the roaring, rearing dragon.

All the spectators held their breath. The force the two unleashed rivaled that of half-step Combined Body Realm cultivators.

Boom!

An explosion rang out, and the entire platform shuddered violently. Thick and solid as the barrier array was, it became a calm lake struck by boulders; ripples surged without end, and it looked ready to collapse.

The shockwaves spread across the platform at tremendous speed, and crumbling stone tiles went flying in all directions.

The blast sent two blood-soaked figures hurtling backward.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bang! Bang!

They crashed into the ground at terrifying speed, leaving two craters in their wake.

Every spectator stood up involuntarily, straining their necks to see the platform.

On the Lu clan’s cloud boat, many furrowed their brows, their eyes scanning for Lu Xingyuan.

Two faint silhouettes lay in the craters, barely breathing. No one could tell whether they were dead or alive.

Zhou Shiyu was covered in bruises and ragged, tooth-like gashes where the phantom had torn through him, the bones beneath shattered. He was in critical condition, with barely a bone intact. His meridians had been shattered, and Lu Xingyuan’s force was rampaging through him.

Li Guanqi clenched his fists.

Lu Xingyuan looked better off, but Li Guanqi knew better.

Suddenly, Lu Xingyuan coughed up great mouthfuls of blood. Blood gushed from the corners of his mouth. A savage wound ran from the right side of his neck down to his lower left ribs, exposing shattered bone and ruptured organs. Terrifying sword qi rampaged through Lu Xingyuan. He had never imagined he’d encounter a heavy-sword cultivator as terrifying as Zhou Shiyu.

Rustle.

Lu Xingyuan rose slowly, debris sliding off him. He staggered toward Zhou Shiyu, dragging the staff along the ground and sending up bursts of sparks, a savage grin on his face.

Zhou Shiyu’s eyelids fluttered. As he regained consciousness, he opened his eyes and jolted upright.

His pupils struggled to focus. The immense shadow of a staff already loomed before him.

He bent low, wrenching his limp, twisted arm into a reverse grip on the sword. From below, he drove it upward in a diagonal slash.

Clang!

Zhou Shiyu’s slash was utterly savage, though his strength had waned.

The blow drove Lu Xingyuan back. Ten zhang apart now, neither moved.

Zhou Shiyu’s focus returned in full. Without hesitation, he used his vital force to bind his shattered arm. He forced his vital force to circulate, coughing up mouthful after mouthful of blood, yet he dared not stop. He had to set every broken bone back in place. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Lu Xingyuan steadied himself too. He sealed his wounds and raised the staff once more.

Heavy as the Judgment Sword was, it moved like a nimble blade in Zhou Shiyu’s hands. Every swing carried mountainous force and an unbreakable will, as if to cleave apart everything before him.

Staff shadows and sword light intermingled between the two. Sword light shattered, and staff shadows scattered. The ringing clash of steel on steel never ceased.

One of the spectators gasped and said, “They’re still going, hurt that badly? This feels even more savage than the other battles!”

“Yeah. There’s this... desperation to it.”

The cultivators from the Six Territories weren’t the only ones discussing the battle. Even the Lu clan members looked troubled, whispering among themselves.

“That fellow is this strong?”

“Zhou Shiyu? I’ve never heard his name, but he can actually go toe-to-toe with Brother Yuan...”

“That man’s eyes... They’re frightening.”

“Why isn’t there a shred of fear in them? His injuries are worse than Brother Yuan’s!”

Zhou Shiyu’s gaze was unyielding, locked on his opponent’s eyes. Lu Xingyuan could afford to lose, but Zhou Shiyou could not.

If Lu Xingyuan wants to beat me, it’ll be over my dead body!