"!"

Hurled back a hundred feet, Chu Cangming wiped the streak of blood from his forehead. His expression had long since lost its previous calm and composure. His eyes were locked on the Tier Eight Divine Weapon Xu Yunfan wore: the Dragon Scale Armor.

"So that’s how it is..."

Chu Cangming’s expression was grim, all his earlier grace completely gone. He felt as if Xu Yunfan were a porcupine covered in sharp quills, leaving him with no obvious opening to attack.

His gaze shifted to Xu Yunfan’s neck and head. His eyes narrowed, and a dangerous glint appeared within them. As he contracted his muscles and Powerful Qi, his twisted fingers snapped back into place.

Although his fingers couldn’t withstand another high-intensity clash, they now looked no different from an ordinary person’s.

Chu Cangming suddenly took a deep breath, and a faint golden mist seeped from the pores all over his body.

This was the Anomaly of the ninth stage of the Golden Lock and Jade Seal Twelve Techniques.

His knuckles let out a series of sharp cracks as his fingers began to move like flowing water.

Watching from the sidelines, Bi Yuan’s pupils constricted, his expression turning serious.

"The Flowing Water Sword..."

ZZZING!

The faint golden mist seeping from Chu Cangming’s pores suddenly solidified, transforming into nine golden threads that coiled around his Longsword.

As the blade trembled, it emitted the sound of a great river surging, and its formerly fierce and unyielding Sword Momentum suddenly became fluid and continuous.

His fingers now uncoiled like nimble snakes, the Longsword moving in tandem, its trajectory leaving winding, watery marks in the air.

These watery marks were not illusions but the supreme realm of a Daoist Sect’s Secret Martial Arts: Qi Condensation and Transformation. Every single mark concealed a Sevenfold Sword Force.

The instant Xu Yunfan’s Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace touched the watery marks, the dragon engravings on it seemed to sink into a mire, and the Powerful Qi it unleashed was neutralized, layer by layer.

HISS!

With a light flick of his wrist, Chu Cangming’s sword tip suddenly split into three streams of watery Sword Qi.

One stream wrapped around the body of the mace, another locked onto his feet, and the last shot straight for the space between his eyes. It was the killing move of the Flowing Water Sword Technique: "Triple Wave."

Watching the fight, Bi Yuan’s fingers twitched unconsciously. His eyelids were lowered, completely obscuring his expression.

On the stage, Xu Yunfan shot backward. His Dragon Scale Armor let out a piercing screech as fine Blood Beads seeped from the gaps between its plates.

That seemingly gentle, watery Sword Qi was, in reality, crushingly heavy!

ROAR!!

At that critical moment, the roar of a dragon and the cry of a tiger suddenly echoed from within Xu Yunfan’s body.

The wisp of Pure Yang True Qi, condensed after he reached Perfection in his Pure Yang Qi Skill, now surged through his entire body like a blazing sun melting snow.

He proactively dropped the disguise of his Dragon and Tiger Hibernation Skill. The auras of numerous Ultimate Skills—the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill, Pure Yang True Qi, the Nine Luminaries Swallowing Qi Technique, and the Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique—erupted from him like a volcano.

The dragon engravings on the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace sprang to life, and its temperature soared to a terrifying degree, instantly vaporizing all snow within a thirty-foot radius.

Xu Yunfan hesitated for only a moment before his gaze hardened with resolve.

’I can take this. I’ll keep the Linn Character Technique hidden for as long as possible!’

’And besides...’

Just as Chu Cangming’s Sword Qi descended upon him, Xu Yunfan made a move that sent the entire crowd into an uproar.

He abandoned defense for offense, hurling his Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace like a Javelin straight into the densest point of the Sword Qi.

This seemingly suicidal move, however, concealed a clever tactic.

The Hidden Force of the Nine Profound Dragon-Defying Mace Technique, coiled around the pommel, erupted the moment it hit the vortex. Nine Dragon-shaped Qi Forces tore a fissure in the structure of the Sword Force.

Xu Yunfan seized the opportunity to charge forward, rushing toward a stunned Chu Cangming, who had never imagined his opponent could spot the weakness in his Hidden Qi at a single glance.

With his hands clasped together like a warhammer, Xu Yunfan unleashed the most fundamental opening move of the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique: "Celestial River Falling to Earth."

BOOM!

This unadorned strike slammed into Chu Cangming’s chest, but instead of flesh, it met with the sharp clang of metal on metal.

As Xu Yunfan’s knuckles shuddered from the impact, the gleam of Heavenly Silkworm Silver Silk Armor shone from beneath Chu Cangming’s Daoist robes.

He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, though he wasn’t particularly surprised.

As the Chief True Inheritor of the Daoist Sect Leader’s lineage, it was only natural for Chu Cangming to be protected by Divine Weapon Armor.

But the true killing blow of this punch was the Sword Force he had been cultivating for so long with his Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique. Although the Silver Thread Armor blocked most of the impact, a small portion of the force bypassed the armor’s protection. It penetrated Chu Cangming’s internal organs, where it exploded into thirty-six tiny Sword Auras.

PTUI!

Coughing up a spray of blood, Chu Cangming staggered backward but suddenly changed his attack. His body flickered with Shifting Form and Shadow as his Longsword shot toward the back of Xu Yunfan’s heart.

This "Earth Dragon Flipping Over" was originally a Hidden Weapon Technique. Now executed by Chu Cangming with his Lifebound Sword, the blade moved so fast it left afterimages in the air.

At this life-or-death moment, Xu Yunfan displayed terrifyingly sharp combat instincts.

Though startled, he remained calm. As his Blood Qi resonated, his Golden Marrow stirred and Strength erupted from him. He telekinetically recalled the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace from mid-air. The Great Tendons in his neck tightened like a bowstring. The Wall-Climbing and Roof-Jumping ability, gained from perfecting his Flying Leg technique, allowed him to perform an absolutely brilliant Sparrowhawk Flip in mid-air.

At the same time, while still in mid-air, Xu Yunfan harnessed the momentum of his flip to swing the Heavy Mace.

Sparks from the second collision between mace and sword scattered like fireworks from a blacksmith’s forge.

In that exchange, the two were evenly matched.

Just as Chu Cangming was about to gather his qi for another attack, Xu Yunfan let out a long cry.

The disparate Cultivation Techniques within him achieved a delicate balance. The Linn Character Technique unified his mind and body; the True Qi from his Pure Yang Qi Skill, the Blood Qi from his Nine Luminaries Swallowing Qi Technique, and the Golden Marrow Power from his Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill all culminated in the resonance of Jade Bone Jingling.

The Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace in Xu Yunfan’s hand suddenly erupted with mountain-shattering might. This improvised move—a fusion of the "Mountain-Collapse Form" from the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique and "Dragon Raising Its Head" from the Eight Desolates Dragon Fall Mace Technique—completely shattered the conventional boundaries of the Taoist Sect’s Martial Arts.

CLANG!

With one last deafening clang, the Longsword was sent spinning a hundred feet through the air, embedding itself deep in the boundary Stele of Profound Sky Peak’s Martial Arts Arena.

Chu Cangming staggered back seven steps before steadying himself. He looked down to see the Heart Protection Mirror on his chest was shattered in a spiderweb pattern. Acrid, blue smoke rose from the scorch marks left by the Pure Yang True Qi.

This piece of Divine Weapon Armor had actually been damaged by that single blow from the mace.

Meanwhile, the tip of Xu Yunfan’s mace rested steadily on Chu Cangming’s shoulder. The dragon engravings on the Heavy Mace slithered like living creatures, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

"Senior Brother Chu, thank you for the match."

Xu Yunfan’s calm voice echoed across the stage.

They had exchanged fewer than ten moves, yet each one had been an all-out attack, a hair’s breadth away from disaster.

In the dead silence that had fallen over the arena, the gentle sound of falling snow was now clearly audible.

Cui Yu’s eyes went wide.

Bi Yuan sat bolt upright in the seat of honor, the hem of his robes fluttering in a nonexistent wind. The Ninth Realm Grandmaster had unconsciously released his aura during the final moments of the duel.

The disciples from the Thirty-Six Peaks were collectively speechless. They finally understood why the Sect Leader had said this man could "carry on the legacy of the sages."

Suddenly, Chu Cangming burst into laughter, the sound shaking the accumulated snow from the pine branches.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and solemnly clasped his fists. "Junior Brother, that final blow with your mace truly deserves the name ’Ten Thousand Laws Return to the Stream.’" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

As Xu Yunfan withdrew his mace to return the salute, he realized his right arm was bent at an unnatural angle. The recoil from his fusion technique had actually fractured the bones in his arm, even though they had reached Great Success through Marrow Cleansing.

His expression remained unchanged. He flexed his muscles slightly, and with a soft POP, the bone snapped back into place.

(I’m exhausted today. I’ll do my best tomorrow. Thank you, everyone!)