"Hmph! Sword Intent? You’re a dead man!"

’Since I can’t be the only Sword Cultivator this year, I’ll just have to be the strongest!’

Zhang Xunyi’s heart surged with fighting spirit, but then he remembered his pitifully low score. According to the competition rules, it would take forever for his turn to come up.

’Damn that Yu Fei!’

Among all conceptual-type skills, Sword Intent was in a league of its own. Perhaps it was due to the unique expectations people had placed on the Sword Dao over millennia of martial history, but Sword Cultivators’ attacks grew ever stronger, their traits ever more abnormal, all geared toward killing. The personalities of Sword Cultivators also became more extreme, putting them on a completely different path from other conceptual Martial Artists.

Among the top-tier conceptual skills, only Martial Artists with profound Fist Intent could hope to contend with Sword Cultivators.

SHING...

The longsword in Zhu Yue’s hand let out a mournful cry and flew from her grasp, its blade snapping in two mid-air.

Empowered by his immense strength and his durable and Sharp Sword Intent, the longsword in Yu Fei’s hand shattered a blade of identical quality before continuing on toward Zhu Yue.

With his seven-fold enhanced reaction speed, he saw the bewilderment, helplessness, and fear on Zhu Yue’s face.

’This... doesn’t seem like an act... She’s this bad and she still challenged me?’ Yu Fei was a bit confused and hurriedly pulled back his longsword.

Zhong Xu appeared by Zhu Yue’s side at some unknown moment. He grabbed Yu Fei’s hand to control the longsword. He hadn’t tried to block the blade directly; although his cultivation level would have prevented any serious injury, experience told him that getting hit by Sword Intent would hurt. A lot.

Even though he had pulled his sword back in time, a lock of hair still fluttered in the air. It was a Qi Blade formed spontaneously as the sword cut through the air—it had no real attack power, but only an extremely sharp and fast strike could produce such an effect.

Of the three characteristics of Yu Fei’s Sword Intent, two—Sharpness and durability—were already far beyond the entry level. Tempered through countless clashes while practicing the Green Lotus Sword Nourishing Skill, his Sword Intent had progressed by leaps and bounds.

Zhu Yue stared blankly at the broken sword on the ground. The terror of feeling the blade against her body a moment ago suddenly washed over her, and tears began to stream down her face.

"Did you have to go that far? I just accidentally clicked ’challenge,’ okay? Were you trying to kill me? Sob, sob..."

Zhu Yue turned and ran, not looking back, feeling utterly wronged.

"Ah... But... isn’t there a Grandmaster as the referee? This..."

Yu Fei was a little stunned. ’Is her mental fortitude really that weak? If you don’t want to fight, you can just surrender.’ He didn’t regret his decision; he would have done the same thing again. One must never be careless in battle.

Zhong Xu chuckled and clapped Yu Fei on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry about it, young man. You fought well. You all may be called prodigies, but you’re still very green. You need more training and experience."

In Zhong Xu’s eyes, these prodigy Martial Artists were all unpolished jade. They possessed first-class talent, but they had been cultivating for too short a time and had experienced too little. Their long, peaceful, and comfortable school lives had protected them, but also limited them. They had yet to develop the mentality of a true expert.

Some reach enlightenment early, some later, but that’s alright. The path of the Martial Dao is not a sprint. Young people have limitless potential and a boundless future.

After three matches, Yu Fei earned immunity from challenges for the day. His S-rank placement rose by one spot, to 31st. As for Zhu Yue, he didn’t give her a second thought. The struggles of the Martial Dao weren’t a game; every choice came with a corresponding price.

He walked up the steps one by one, his demeanor as calm and composed as before. This time, however, no one thought he was just putting on an act. They saw it as the bearing he had rightfully earned.

Winning three consecutive matches in an instant—against two Inner Qi Martial Artists and one Third Realm Martial Artist—all while he himself was still in the Second Realm, showed that Yu Fei possessed both strength and potential. His future was limitless.

The young man, a sword on his back, passed through the crowd, and people unconsciously made way for him. This was respect for the strong. Their expressions were complicated as they watched Yu Fei now. They had thought he was just a clown seeking attention, but he had turned out to be a powerful dark horse.

Many of the girls secretly committed his handsome face to memory. Strong, good-looking, with a dangerous and mysterious air—he was far more attractive than any celebrity.

Yu Fei watched the competition for a while longer before leaving. Besides his own victory against a higher-realm opponent, there were also upsets where Inner Qi Martial Artists were defeated by their Third Realm opponents. In the other eight matches, it was almost all Inner Qi Martial Artists challenging Third Realm opponents who held S-rank positions. However, three of those challenges failed.

This was a relatively high failure rate. For prodigy Martial Artists, realm was important, but it wasn’t everything.

For these prodigies, a realm was just a realm. If their actual combat strength wasn’t up to par, they could be overturned at any moment.

They simply hadn’t been cultivating long enough for their corresponding abilities to mature. In high school, most people prioritized fundamental Cultivation Techniques, which were the only ones provided for free without merit points. As a result, many had the realm but lacked the martial skills to back it up.

Moreover, there were significant differences in their sensory abilities. Martial Artists who hadn’t practiced the Taiwei Profound Origin Pillar had much duller senses. Take hearing, for example: even if you couldn’t see an opponent’s attack, being able to hear the whisper of a weapon cutting through the air and react instinctively was its own form of strength.

Yu Fei returned to the Tianxing Dojo to cultivate. Having just obtained a silver-tier talent, his interest in training was at an all-time high.

For others, daily cultivation was a monotonous routine with little change without external resources. But for Yu Fei, who had just acquired the Xuanxiao Spirit Body, the change in his aptitude was immense. The progress he made with each session was utterly addicting.

Because he was the first to be challenged three times, Yu Fei was allowed to leave the grounds. The others had to remain and wait.

「In the afternoon」

The challenge qualification finally reached the B-rank prodigies.

Zhang Xunyi eagerly chose to challenge the person ranked first in A-rank. According to the rules, he couldn’t challenge S-rank directly.

The top spot in A-rank changed hands rapidly, as that position was guaranteed to either gain a challenge right or be challenged.

Taking the stage, Zhang Xunyi went all out, immediately unleashing his ultimate Sword Intent moves. He defeated three consecutive A-rank number ones, smoothly raising his own ranking to A-52. It couldn’t be helped; his initial score was just too low.

The appearance of another Sword Cultivator instantly ignited the atmosphere. Among the many prodigies, few had mastered any form of conceptual intent, and Sword Intent was a naturally hot topic—a reputation earned through the bloody history carved out by Sword Cultivators of the past.

Zhang Xunyi got his wish and showed off in front of the crowd, dispelling much of his pent-up frustration.

’Yu Fei, is it? Lucky bastard. How dare you show off such pathetic little tricks. Tomorrow, I’ll show you what real Sword Intent is! Hmph!’

The first day of the point-based challenge matches finally came to a close. With nine matches running simultaneously, at least half of the S-rank positions had changed hands. The top 50 of A-rank was even more brutal, having been turned over at least three times.

Many who had strength but lacked luck or the right temperament had been unexpectedly eliminated in the first two rounds. After the first day of fierce battles, many had reached a ranking that reflected the limit of their current abilities.

Over ninety percent of the S-rank positions were occupied by Inner Qi prodigies. Besides Yu Fei, only four other Third Realm prodigies were barely holding on.

The point-based challenge was different from a traditional tournament. The prodigies challenged for their desired ranks based on their own strength. The powerful could smash their way through the entire placement competition, while the slightly weaker had to rely on strategy.

But no matter what, after five days, there would be no weaklings left in S-rank.

It wasn’t just Yu Fei; experts like Ren Feng and Li Jueyin were also challenged more than once.

No one was willing to admit defeat. The only way to know who was stronger was to fight.

The most fiercely contested spots were at the bottom of S-rank and A-rank. The Inner Qi Martial Artists were hell-bent on breaking into S-rank, while the Second Realm cultivators were pushing for A-rank. Everyone wanted to advance.

The battles between Second Realm cultivators were particularly intense. With little difference in their power levels, most relied on the Six Harmonies Killing Fist or poorly mastered weapon techniques. Often, the fights would devolve, with contestants tossing aside their swords and blades to trade bare-knuckle blows.

This resulted in less serious injuries, but often left the fighters more bruised and swollen. In the end, it became a battle of pure willpower, and even the referees were hesitant to intervene.

Fortunately, Base 105 was equipped with extremely advanced medical facilities, as well as Grandmaster-level Martial Artists skilled in healing. Minor flesh wounds were treated by soaking in a vat; a Grandmaster would accelerate the healing, and upon emerging, the fighter would down a bottle of "Spring Sprout" and be back in perfect health in the blink of an eye.

「The next day」

The second day of the point-based challenge matches began as scheduled. Many of the prodigies were nursing a grudge and had their own targets set for the day.