The first battle's result truly shocked everyone. But when the two for the second battle walked out, everyone forgot about those thoughts. They refocused on the battlefield. As expected, everyone who stepped out today was able to shake their hearts. It was Xu Que of the Tingxue House against Nan Hao of the Nantian House.
The heir of the Tingxue House's Fatal Sword God would battle with the descendant of the Nantian House's Silver Spear. This kind of battle was practically impossible to see in everyday life. However, every round on this stage was at this level. How could the audience not be shaken? This was probably the attraction of the Holy Zhi Palace's triennial test.
Xu Que's expression was lazy as if he didn't care at all. But as the heir of the Fatal Sword God, his focus was indisputable. If one was fooled by his appearance, the consequences would be ugly. Thus, the moment Nan Hao stepped onto the battleground, he trained his eyes on Xu Que. He was like a silver spear going directly forward.
On the battlefield, murderous intent bloomed instantly. Murderous Sword Will transformed into a windstorm of murderous aura. It fluttered Nan Hao's clothing. He stood there and felt the extremely murderous Sword Will ravage above him.
He reached out and a dazzling silver spear appeared in Nan Hao's hand. He released his life spirit and a horrible spear that pierced the sky appeared. This spear shone brilliantly and floated upward. Countless spear shadows appeared, pointed towards Xu Que.
Faced with an opponent like Xu Que, even someone like Nan Hao didn't dare to go easy. Everyone in the Barren State knew how dangerous the Fatal Sword God was.
All the murderous intent transformed into sword Spiritual Qi. Whistling, it rushed towards Nan Hao.
The silver spear behind Nan Hao shook and countless spear images exploded. Beams of silver light shot out, going straight towards Xu Que. Every beam of silver light seemed to be a true spear. Their sharpness couldn't be stopped. The air popped scarily, ripping apart the murderous sword Spiritual Qi, charging towards Xu Que.
Xu Que moved. He transformed into a blurry shadow as countless deadly Spiritual Qi gathered on his sword. A beam of sword light flew out and some silver light in the sky split apart. It had been cut apart. However, before everyone could see clearly, a sword came from another direction to continue cutting apart the silver light.
Under everyone's shocked scrutiny, the endless silver light seemed to be ripped apart at once. No one knew how many fast Xu Que's swords had been or how many swords he'd used.
They only saw that sword essence appear behind Nan Hao now. That was the sword of the Fatal Sword God. It split the sky with one strike. No one could describe how magnificent it was.
Ye Futian also stared at the sword. Most people thought that Xu Que had used many swords, but he saw clearly that Xu Que had only used one. This sword had been used flowingly like water, moving according to his body and landing directly before Nan Hao. Ye Futian thought about how he would block that kind of attack.
Silver light flashed past Nan Hao's eyes. He stabbed his spear out without any hesitation.
Ding! With a crisp sound, the shocking sword shadow finally stopped. Everyone saw that the sword had reached Nan Hao's throat, but the spear had stopped it. The spear's tip hit the sword's tip. It wasn't even a millimeter off.
Everyone looked at Nan Hao's silver eyes. It was rumored that the Nantian House trained the eye before learning the spear. One needed extremely strong observation skills. Their spear skills had to be faster, crueler, and more accurate to be cultivated to the extreme.
The moment the sword and spear clashed, horrible fatal sword Spiritual Qi flared crazily. There was also a terribly sharp spear aura. They formed two formless light shields in the middle. But just then, Nan Hao's life spirit shone brilliantly. He stepped forward and his spear continued forward. A gust of world-ending sharpness burst from the spear. There was a piercing sound. Everyone saw the spear's tip flash blindingly. The sword was crumbling.
The god-killing spear technique could destroy everything.
The moment the sword began collapsing, wind blew past. The spear seemed to stab directly into Xu Que's throat. His body shattered and scattered with the wind. It was only an afterimage. The sense of danger seized Nan Hao. His eyes shone with silver light. Without hesitation, he swept his spear horizontally. On the side, Xu Que rematerialized. He wasn't holding his sword anymore, but he seemed to be gripping beams of murderous Sword Will.
Xu Que's sword was used to kill. He never used techniques that would just clash with the other's weapon.
A horrible sword windstorm rose up around Nan Hao. It even created a murderous tornado that wrapped around him. Everyone saw Nan Hao stab his spear forward. Each thrust was shocking powerful and fast.
But the observers from the Nantian House grew even more serious. Nan Hao's techniques now were growing faster and harsher. This meant that he was under even stronger defensive pressure. Replacing defense with offense, Nan Hao was still in a dangerous environment.
Ye Futian stared at this battle. He discovered that Xu Que was using the Sword Will and spell techniques around him. He rarely used his sword, but it was extremely dangerous whenever he did. As if his every strike could kill, it really made one produce cold sweat. So even though he didn't use his sword much, Nan Hao was still forced to attack wildly in this dangerous high-pressure state.
So this is the Fatal Sword God? Ye Futian thought. Xu Que's sword was completely different from Yan Jiu and Ye Wuchen. It didn't seem as mighty or domineering as Nan Hao's spear. However, Xu Que felt more dangerous than Yan Jiu to Ye Futian.
In this kind of battle, Nan Hao will lose with the slightest misstep, unless he can defeat Xu Que, many people thought.
The battle lasted for a long time. No one knew how many times Nan Hao had thrust his spear. But in the end, when all the dust settled, Xu Que was beside him and a drop of blood fell from Nan Hao's throat. There was a streak of blood. If Xu Que had pushed his sword in a bit deeper, Nan Hao would have died on the spot.
"I've learned much," Nan Hao said. This battle had been suffocating for him. He was always fighting while being repressed and couldn't fight freely at all. However, he'd also learned a lot. He had to think about how to improve his spear techniques when he went back. Then he wouldn't be so passive while fighting against people like Xu Que.
Xu Que won this round. His sword, patience, and grasp on timing were all shocking. The Fatal Sword God of the Tingxue House was ninth on the Barren Sky Ranking and was first of the top for swordsmen. Now, people had an idea why. His sword might not be as strong as Yan Wuji's, but his danger was unmatchable.
Many people imagined what a battle between Xu Que and Yan Jiu would be like. If Yan Jiu could fight into the top ten this round, they might be able to see a fight between the heirs of the Barren State's top two swordsmen.
The battle continued. The third fight was between Yuan Zhan and Zhong Li. As before, they were both strong.
Yuan Zhan was physically huge with a burly body. This giant body seemed to be made of gold. His every step shook the battlefield, making people feel pressured. He wasn't the strongest here, but he definitely gave off the biggest pressure.
However, Zhong Li's eyes didn't change. He was the strongest cultivator from the Separation Road. He was frighteningly calm.
Boom. Dazzling golden light flared outward. Rings of golden light appeared around Zhong Li. He was also best at the domineering gold elemental power. The light curtain around him seemed to be covered in ancient characters. He activated his life spirit—a huge golden tripod. It spun in the air and more golden runes flowed out. There seemed to be walls of golden runes around him.
Thud. Yuan Zhan stepped out. The ground shook when this golden body walked. He lifted a palm and slapped this giant golden ape hand down towards the wall of runes. The sound of metal clashing spread out. The wall of runes shook and countless runes flashed. However, the wall wasn't shattered.
Such strong defense, everyone thought. Yuan Zhan was the beastly Golden Ape. He had explosive power. Probably only Chi Meng could rival his strength. Zhong Li obviously had to defend himself.
Roar. The roar spread through the sky. Yuan Zhan's body seemed to enlarge. The huge golden palm continued hitting down. Following the continuous booms, the wall of runes started cracking. However, Zhong Li's eyes were still sharp. He stared at Yuan Zhan. "Is that the extent of your power?"
As soon as he spoke, a sound came from the tripod. His life spirit tripod shone with the blinding light of the runes. It instantly protected Zhong Li. When Yuan Zhan's next palm arrived, the tripod's sound shook the world. The horrible light of runes swept outward. It crashed against Yuan Zhan's body, driving the huge body back.
Zhong Li stepped forward. All the golden Spiritual Qi in the world gathered towards him. The gold curtain of light flashed. He sped up abruptly and punched at Yuan Zhan. The other wasn't intimidated, naturally, and engaged him.
The image of a huge golden tripod appeared above Zhong Li's fist. Gold wind ravaged, actually forcing Yuan Zhan back with this terrible punch.
"The True Qi of the Nine Tripods." Everyone stared at Zhong Li. This was a technique of martial arts that was unique to the Zhong Family. It fit perfectly with the life spirit of the Zhong Family's heir.
Yuan Zhan stopped. He stretched out a hand and a golden staff appeared in his grip. Shaking his arm, he stepped out. A horrible golden windstorm gathered around his staff, creating a very domineering aura.
Was this the 81 Strikes of Heaven-traversing Staff Techniques of the Ape Clan?
Zhong Li didn't retreat at all. He activated the True Qi of the Nine Tripods to the extreme. Rings of golden light curtains swept out. He walked in the air and brought his hand down. The huge tripod pressed down immediately. But Yuan Zhan's golden staff crashed down angrily, shattering the tripod.
Zhong Li's expression didn't change. Even more terrifying martial arts True Qi was born. His life spirit flashed with endless light. He punched forward continuously. Every fist contained the image of tripods. Countless tripods pressed down from the sky.
Yuan Zhan twirled his staff. The 81 Strikes of Heaven-traversing Staff Techniques destroyed everything, pulverizing the incoming tripods. He walked forward while attacking, charging towards Zhong Li.
The tripods kept shattering. The walls of golden runes shattered too. Seeing that the opponent was approaching, Zhong Li huffed. His life spirit flew out. Instantly, nine true tripods appeared above Yuan Zhan's head. Ancient runes seemed to be carved on the bottoms. They surrounded Yuan Zhan's large body.
Yuan Zhan's staff continued twirling, but Zhong Li didn't stop while attacking with his life spirit. Thousands of tripods shot toward Yuan Zhan at once. Yuan Zhan was trapped so he could only defend himself wildly.
Can Yuan Zhen defend himself? Everyone thought. Zhong Li had cultivated his Nine Tripods to such a terrifying extent. Yuan Zhan was from the Golden Ape Clan and was naturally stronger. Zhong Li could only attack wildly. If he lost this round, Yuan Zhan could still defeat Zhong Li with his strength. But if Yuan Zhan couldn't defend himself, he would lose.
Golden light in the sky slashed down. Every tripod contained immense power. At that time, Yuan Zhan stomped down. Huge power fell on his body, making the golden light flash even more brightly. The staff shadows that filled the sky condensed into one staff that split downward.
Clang… The life spirit tripod clanged and actually flew out. The many tripod images before him crumbled too. With the horrible tide of Qi, Zhong Li's attacks fell apart.
Boom. With the huge sound, Yuan Zhan stepped forward again. His might even stronger, he attacked a second time.
Clang! The life spirit was driven back. Blood spurted from Zhong Li's mouth. The wall of runes was pulverized and the powerful might kept him from standing steadily. But Yuan Zhan kept walking forward. His might was still growing stronger. He was unshakeable like a golden ape god that had descended into the world.
"Such aggressive staff techniques." Everyone's hearts trembled. Yuan Zhan had actually fought back instead of defending himself.
"This isn't the 81 Heavenly Staff Techniques." The big figures in the Holy Zhi Palace were impressed. This seemed to be a stronger version of the 81 Heavenly Staff Techniques.
When the third strike flew out, Zhong Li used all his energy to maintain the True Qi of the Nine Tripods, but there was no suspense. He flew out and fell in the distance.
"It looks like Ye Futian's staff techniques." For those who'd seen Ye Futian fight, their eyes flashed. Many people in the Dawn Road and Divine Sky City had seen this staff technique before. How come Yuan Zhan knew it too?
In fact, this suited Yuan Zhan more as if it belonged to him. Had Ye Futian and Yuan Zhan become friends because of this?
When the Ape Clan of Mount Taixing saw Yuan Zhan use the Nine Heavenly Attacks, their huge eyes shone with gold light. He was so powerful. Yuan Zhan's father's heart trembled. This must be the staff technique that the Ape Emperor had created.
Yuan Zhan had taken one of the top ten spots!