The third match was about to begin. The two sides about to duel were Ximen Huxiao of the Ximen Family and the Sword Madman, Jian Qingchen.

Ximen Huxiao was one of the top experts of the Ximen Family. It was said that he had fed on tiger meat and tiger blood since childhood, carrying the aura of a Tiger King on him. Back in the day, he had once fought three experts of the same Realm head-on and ended up tearing all three to pieces, making his name in a single battle.

After his rise to fame, Ximen Huxiao had always played the role of a Hunter in the Ximen Family, mainly taking care of the Ximen Family’s enemies in the shadows. This time, Ximen Tian brought Ximen Huxiao into the open, clearly declaring that he was determined to take the championship!

Above the spectator stands, Ximen Tian’s figure appeared. Though he was very confident in Ximen Huxiao, he also understood that anyone who had made it this far was no weakling. More importantly, he wanted to find Ling Feng among the crowd, because he had a feeling Ling Feng had definitely arrived, just hadn’t shown himself yet.

"Head of Ximen Family, are you saying you don’t trust Ximen Huxiao?" At this moment, the voice of the Storm Sect’s Sect Master came from behind Ximen Tian.

Ximen Tian smiled and said, "How could that be? Among these people, I’m afraid only your Storm Sect’s Nan Yidao can make me feel any concern. The others aren’t worth fearing!"

"You can’t put it that way. Our Nan Yidao may be powerful, but he’s still not a match for Ximen Huxiao!" The Storm Sect’s Sect Master said with narrowed, smiling eyes. "I heard that Ximen Huxiao once cultivated an extremely formidable Cultivation Technique. I wonder if we’ll have the chance to see it today!"

"I wonder where Sect Master of Storm Sect heard that rumor?" Ximen Tian smiled and said, "Ximen Huxiao merely has a body full of Brute Force, that’s all. However... Sect Master of Storm Sect, do you think this Sword Madman Jian Qingchen might be a man of Heaven’s Gate?"

The Sect Master of Storm Sect shook his head and said, "That I can’t be sure of. Jian Qingchen made his name a long time ago, but I’ve always heard he’s a Carefree Hermit, an individual cultivator who serves no power. Our Storm Sect once tried to win him over but was rejected! I don’t think Heaven’s Gate is quite capable enough yet to rope him in, right?"

Ximen Tian nodded slightly. He had also heard of the name Sword Madman. Jian Qingchen was said to be a successor of Sword Valley. Back then, a Super Sect had tried to occupy Sword Valley, but was stopped by the successors of Sword Valley. That sect flew into a rage and almost slaughtered all the Sword Valley successors. Only the then barely twenty-year-old Jian Qingchen escaped! 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A thousand years later, Jian Qingchen’s Sword Dao reached great completion. With just one man and one sword, he annihilated an entire sect, blood-washing that Super Sect which had destroyed the Sword Valley successors, leaving not even chickens or dogs alive!

After wiping out that sect, Jian Qingchen swept his sword across Sword Valley and completely razed it to the ground. From then on, he called himself the Sword Madman and roamed the world as a carefree wanderer.

When Ling Feng heard of the Sword Madman Jian Qingchen’s deeds, he couldn’t help but feel a trace of yearning in his heart. A life of bold vengeance and straightforward grudges was exactly what Ling Feng longed for. He was just a bit curious: judging by the Sword Madman Jian Qingchen’s temperament, he had no reason to join this bustle. Could it be that he too had set his sights on the Painter’s legacy?

"Jian Qingchen?" With a boom, Ximen Huxiao was the first to charge in, landing heavily on the Practice Field. He licked his lips and said, "They say no one can see your sword, because everyone who sees you draw dies! Today I want to see just how much of a ’madman’ you, the Sword Madman, really are!"

Jian Qingchen drifted down as lightly as a wisp of willow fluff. He held his sword in his arms, a long lock of hair falling over his face. After hearing Ximen Huxiao’s words, his expression remained as calm as ever. He merely cast a faint glance at Ximen Huxiao!

Seeing Jian Qingchen ignore him, Ximen Huxiao felt he’d put on a show for nothing. He snorted coldly. "What the hell are you? Today I’ll snap your broken sword in half and see how arrogant you can still be!"

The two stepped onto the Practice Field, and the third match officially began.

Ximen Huxiao wasted no words and charged straight at Jian Qingchen. His aura soared in an instant, truly like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

In Ximen Huxiao’s eyes, Jian Qingchen was nothing but an overrated poser. What bullshit Sword Madman? Just self-praise and empty boasting!

He, Ximen Huxiao, was going to rip off this hypocrite’s mask today and make him kowtow at his feet! He had watched the first match and greatly appreciated Yun Bufan’s approach. If he could make this ever-calm, breeze-and-cloud-faced Jian Qingchen kneel before him, that feeling...

How could the word "爽" even begin to describe it?

"Die!" Ximen Huxiao roared. A faint tiger’s roar echoed from within his body, and a tiger stripe emerged on his forehead.

With a boom, Ximen Huxiao’s attack smashed heavily into the spot where Jian Qingchen had been standing. A loud crash rang out and shattered stones flew, but Jian Qingchen stepped on the flying rubble and lightly slipped past Ximen Huxiao’s strike.

"Oh? You’ve got some skill!" Ximen Huxiao licked his lips. "But if you think you can keep dodging my attacks, you’re making a huge mistake! Tiger Shadow Kill!"

With a bellow, Ximen Huxiao once again charged Jian Qingchen. But this time, the trajectory of his attack was extremely bizarre, constantly switching between extreme speed and extreme slowness, giving people a very uncomfortable feeling.

Ling Feng’s eyes couldn’t help but light up. This Ximen Huxiao looked extremely rough and wild, yet his comprehension of the Power of Space was actually quite impressive. His attack trajectory was completely stepping on the nodes of space itself, which was why it felt so strange!

His level of comprehension of space was already no weaker than Yun Bufan’s earlier.

"I don’t know how strong Jian Qingchen truly is, but if he wants to keep relying on footwork to dodge Ximen Huxiao’s attacks now, that’s no longer possible!" A gleam flashed through Ling Feng’s eyes. "Sword Madman? Let me see just how mad your sword really is!"

Jian Qingchen had also realized this. His brows furrowed slightly. This Ximen Huxiao’s momentum was a bit too fierce! If he kept dodging, his own aura would be suppressed step by step, and then he’d fall into a disadvantage.

Clang! Jian Qingchen’s Longsword swept horizontally, blocking in front of Ximen Huxiao. Ximen Huxiao’s Long Fist slammed heavily onto the Sword Sheath, producing a crisp sound of metal striking stone.

Step, step, step—Ximen Huxiao staggered back dozens of steps. His right arm trembled slightly. In that brief clash just now, a strand of Jian Qingchen’s Sword Qi had flowed through the Sword Sheath into his right arm. If not for his incredibly tough fleshly body, his right arm might already be crippled.

"What a sharp Sword Qi. Seems the name Sword Madman isn’t entirely undeserved. Interesting, this just got interesting!" A look of excitement flashed through Ximen Huxiao’s eyes.

But things weren’t pleasant for Jian Qingchen either. Ximen Huxiao’s Long Fist had stacked several dozen layers of force. His own Sword Qi had indeed blasted the opponent back, but the Vibrational Force from the other side had also transmitted into his body.