Xu Wuyi nodded and strode toward the arena.

Across from him, Meng Jingyuan rose to his feet as well.

He unwrapped the cloth covering on his back, revealing a broad, heavy long saber.

The blade was nearly 1.2 meters long, with a thick spine and an edge that carried an eerie blue glint. Faint patterns of lightning seemed to course across its surface.

The legendary blade of the Thunder Blade Sect—the Thunder Shocking Saber.

The two of them took their positions in the center of the arena.

Meng Jingyuan looked at Xu Wuyi and spoke slowly, "I watched your fight with Bai Li."

"I watched yours as well," Xu Wuyi replied calmly.

Meng Jingyuan smiled. "Then let’s dispense with the pleasantries."

He tightened his grip on the hilt, and the aura around him began to intensify. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Pale blue arcs of lightning materialized across his body, CRACKLING audibly as the air filled with a scorched scent.

With a flick of his long spear, dark gold flames erupted from Xu Wuyi’s spear tip.

The presence of his Mountain Peak Great Sun Realm spread out silently, its heavy and scorching power intertwining to stand against the might of the thunder.

The referee glanced between the two, took a deep breath, and swung his hand down.

"The final match begins!"

The instant his words faded—

Meng Jingyuan moved.

The flash of his saber was like a lightning bolt, tearing through the air!

There was no probing in Meng Jingyuan’s first strike; he immediately unleashed the Thunder Blade Sect’s signature move: the Thunder Shock Slash.

The lightning arrived before the blade.

Pale blue electric arcs danced through the air with a deafening CRACKLE, making it seem as if the entire arena had been instantly enveloped in a thunderstorm.

A collective gasp rippled through the audience.

The might behind this slash was greater than anything he had shown in his previous matches.

Yet Xu Wuyi did not retreat.

He didn’t even move.

He merely tightened his grip on his Meteor Iron Long Spear. With a slight tremble of the weapon, the dark gold Undying Flame surged up its shaft.

When the saber was a mere three inches from his head, Xu Wuyi’s spear moved.

It wasn’t a block, nor was it a dodge.

It was an equally unadorned, straightforward thrust.

Spear tip against saber’s edge.

Dark gold against eerie blue.

BOOM—!

The two forces collided violently in midair.

A visible shockwave erupted from the center of the arena. The alloy floor groaned under the strain as cracks spiderwebbed out from the point of impact.

Xu Wuyi stood rooted to the spot, completely unmoved.

Meng Jingyuan, however, was sent sliding back half a meter, the webbing of his right hand, the one gripping the saber, tingling with numbness.

A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

He had put seventy percent of his strength into that last slash, and when combined with the explosive power of his Thunder True Intention, not even a Level 35 Martial Artist would dare to take it head-on.

Yet Xu Wuyi had not only met it head-on, but he had also knocked him back.

"Impressive strength," Meng Jingyuan said gravely.

"You flatter me," Xu Wuyi replied calmly.

Before his words had even faded, Meng Jingyuan struck again.

This time, his saber was even faster.

Thunder Shocking Saber Technique, Second Form: Chain Thunder!

The flash of his blade split into three afterimages—one high, two low—slashing toward Xu Wuyi’s head, shoulders, and waist.

The three slashes landed almost simultaneously, each one crackling with genuine lightning and cutting off any chance of evasion.

Once again, Xu Wuyi did not dodge.

With a twist of his wrist, he traced a circle in the air with his long spear.

The spear’s tip deflected the first slash, its shaft parried the second, and its butt swept aside the third.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The three crisp clashes of metal rang out almost as a single sound.

Each of his spear’s movements struck the weakest point of the incoming slashes, neutralizing the greatest threat with the least amount of effort.

Meng Jingyuan’s brow furrowed slightly.

His Saber Technique was renowned for its speed and ferocity. Few practitioners at his level could even follow the path of his blade, let alone parry it so precisely.

But Xu Wuyi had.

And not only that, he made it look easy.

"Again!"

Meng Jingyuan roared, and the lightning around his body flared violently.

Holding nothing back, he unleashed the full force of his Qi and Blood—at a Life Energy Level of 36.2—and transformed into a bolt of blue lightning, darting across the arena at high speed.

The flashes of his saber wove a net, and the roar of thunder beat like a war drum.

Ten strikes.

Twenty strikes.

Thirty strikes.

All that remained on the arena were two blurry figures and the constant explosions of fire and lightning.

In the stands, everyone held their breath.

Tana’s hands were clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palms.

Gu Yang stood in the waiting area, his eyes glued to the arena. "Junior Brother Xu’s Spear Technique... it’s so solid," he murmured.

He said "solid," not "brilliant" or "powerful."

Because Xu Wuyi was, in fact, using only the most fundamental spear-fighting moves.

Thrusts, sweeps, parries, turning strikes.

There were no flashy variations, no profound applications of his Mental Realm—just the simplest, most basic Spear Technique.

But in Xu Wuyi’s hands, these fundamental moves displayed astonishing power.

The force behind every thrust was perfect—not an ounce more, not an ounce less.

The angle of every strike was unerringly precise, not off by a single millimeter.

The timing of every move was exquisite—never a moment too soon, never a moment too late.

Meng Jingyuan’s saber grew faster and the lightning more intense, yet he was still unable to break past that seemingly ordinary Meteor Iron Long Spear.

After fifty strikes, Meng Jingyuan’s heart sank.

He understood.

Xu Wuyi was waiting for him to tire out.

Thunder True Intention granted explosive power, but it also consumed a great deal of energy. His saber style was aggressive and overwhelming; if a prolonged assault failed to break his opponent, his own momentum would wane, spelling his defeat.

’I can’t let this drag on.’

A look of grim determination flashed in Meng Jingyuan’s eyes.

He leaped back ten meters, gripping his saber with both hands and raising it high above his head.

The lightning around his body surged frantically into the blade, its eerie blue edge turning a blinding bright white and emitting a piercing hum.

The energy pillars around the arena began to flash violently, the strength of the protective field automatically increasing by one level.

"Thunder Blade: Celestial Punishment!"

Meng Jingyuan roared and brought his saber down.

This was the ultimate killing move of the Thunder Shocking Saber Technique, using Thunder True Intention to channel the very power of the heavens. A single slash, like celestial punishment descending upon the mortal world.

The slash transformed into a massive Thunder Pillar, more than three meters in diameter, that descended from the sky to engulf the entire arena.

There was no escape.

Many in the crowd shot to their feet.

The power behind this slash had reached the peak for a Martial Artist, approaching the threshold of the Innate realm.

Tana’s face went pale.

Gu Yang clenched his fists.

Even Flame Venerable, who had been meditating with his eyes closed the entire time, opened them slightly.

In the center of the arena, Xu Wuyi looked up at the descending Thunder Pillar.

His expression remained calm.

Then, he did something no one could have possibly expected.

He planted his long spear into the floor beside him and slowly raised his hands, settling into the most basic of all fist stances.

The Starting Form of the Basic Body Refining Technique.

"What is he doing?" someone exclaimed.

"He’s not using his spear? He’s using a Fist Technique?"

"But that’s Meng Jingyuan’s ultimate move!"

Amid the uproar, the Thunder Pillar crashed down.

Xu Wuyi moved.

His movements were slow, so slow that everyone could see every single detail.

Raise hand, drop shoulder, twist waist, throw punch.

It was still a move from the Basic Body Refining Technique—plain, unremarkable, and utterly without any distinguishing features.

And yet, as this unremarkable punch shot forward, it carried with it a low rumble, like wind and thunder.

It wasn’t the sound of thunder, but the sound of surging Qi and Blood.

It was the sound of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace operating at its absolute limit, the sound of Qi and Blood as dense as mercury, of muscles and bones as hard as iron.

Fist met Thunder Pillar.

For an instant, time seemed to stand still.

And then—

The Thunder Pillar shattered.

Like glass struck by a heavy hammer, the astonishingly powerful Thunder Pillar began to fracture from its core. Countless spiderweb-like fissures spread out before it exploded with a deafening roar, scattering into a sky full of motes of light.