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“Who’s Lin Yifei?” a disciple asked, staring at the golden-robed youth with a sword in his arms.

“A long time ago, he was the most talented disciple of the Divine Sun Sacred Ground,” someone beside him explained. “Back then, he was considered the most likely candidate to become their Holy Son.

But then Xuanyuan Xuantian appeared and swept through the younger generation of the Divine Sun Sacred Ground, Lin Yifei was defeated just like the rest.

After that, Lin Yifei devoted himself to training in seclusion, and not many remember him anymore. Xuanyuan Xuantian's brilliance was just too overwhelming.”

On the arena platform, Lin Yifei slowly drew his Cloudsky Sword. A powerful sword aura surged around him, his robes fluttering despite no wind. He began to speak slowly: “My sword, is an invincible sword.”

With each word he spoke, the force of his sword aura grew even stronger.

“I heard you lost to Xuanyuan Xuantian?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.

Lin Yifei’s aura paused for a second. He glanced at Xu Zimo, then continued: “The edge of my sword is sharp and unyielding, it breaks rather than bends. It fears nothing and never surrenders.”

“I heard you lost to Xuanyuan Xuantian?” Xu Zimo repeated.

“Though my sword may be blocked, I believe in it. With this sword in my hand, I will carve a path through all obstacles, walk forward fearlessly, and reach the ultimate path of the sword, to become a Sword God.”

“I heard you lost to Xuanyuan Xuantian?” Xu Zimo said again.

“Die, you piece of shit!” Lin Yifei roared, veins bulging on his forehead, and charged at Xu Zimo in fury.

Xu Zimo shook his head and sighed. “Such loud slogans… but your mind is scattered. And so is your sword.”

He drew Shadow Tyrant, and with one slash...

The river split, thunder rolled, divine might descended, and blazing flames clashed with the roaring torrents of water. Gales howled through the storm of power.

With just one strike, Lin Yifei’s expression changed dramatically. His Cloudsky Sword was flung from his grip, and he himself was thrown to the edge of the arena.

Stunned, Lin Yifei looked around in disbelief. He couldn’t accept it, he hadn’t even survived a single move.

“Is this what you call swordsmanship?” came a disappointed voice nearby.

Lin Yifei turned his head and saw Cangsong Lin, Sect Master of the Divine Sun Sacred Ground, standing on the side.

“You still haven’t gotten over the nightmare that is Xuanyuan Xuantian?” Cangsong Lin sighed and turned to leave.

Lin Yifei stood there in silence for a long moment, then quietly picked up his fallen Cloudsky Sword and left the arena, his figure heavy with defeat.

He had forgotten so much, why did he start learning the sword in the first place? What did the sword path mean to him?

All he remembered was that he had once been the brightest talent in his sect, the closest contender for the Holy Son title.

Until one day, a youth named Xuanyuan Xuantian appeared out of nowhere and shattered all his dreams. Since then, he had never reclaimed his former glory.

“Is Senior Brother Xu really that strong? Even Cloudsky Sword got defeated so easily,” a disciple said in disbelief.

“He’s deep and unreadable,” another muttered. “But it feels like Lin Yifei wasn’t quite himself today.”

After stepping down from the arena, Xu Zimo noticed that all the matches involving Holy Sons or Daughters were one-sided.

The real fights were happening between the non-elite disciples, where battles were fierce and evenly matched.

When the thirty became fifteen, a new round of lot-drawing began.

Xu Zimo looked at his draw and paused, he had drawn Number 8, the bye.

He glanced over at the Third Grand Elder, who looked calm and indifferent, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Xu Zimo didn’t believe there hadn’t been any manipulation.

After all, what if two Sacred Ground’s Holy Sons ended up fighting in the first round? That would ruin the show. The real drama was meant for later.

Since he had drawn a bye, Xu Zimo could only stand on the sidelines and watch the others fight.

What caught his interest was Fairy Ling’er of the Fairy Spirit Sect.

She wore pure white robes and wielded a soft, pale green sword.

She didn’t use any special techniques, just a few basic sword forms, but in her hands, they looked like they'd been honed over centuries. Each move flowed naturally, gracefully.

Her sword shadows wove an impenetrable net over the arena, and her opponent was swiftly forced off the stage.

As the round narrowed from fifteen to eight, several competitors had already advanced, Xu Zimo, Fairy Ling’er, Bai Li Xiao, Chu Yang, Heavenly Demon Child, and Xuanyuan Xuantian.

Only two arenas remained in battle.

One match was rather unremarkable, with two fairly average disciples.

But the other match drew everyone's attention.

Two youths stood on the platform, identical twins.

One was Jiang Yu, the other Jiang Heng, the two strongest disciples of the Sacred Spring Sect. It was widely believed that the next Holy Son of the sect would be chosen from between them.

Now, the crowd was eager. A battle between brothers always piqued interest.

“I really thought both Jiang brothers would make the top eight,” a Sacred Spring Sect disciple sighed.

“It’s a shame, but I’m rooting for Senior Brother Jiang Yu,” another replied.

“True. They’ve competed for over a decade, and Jiang Yu has always been stronger.”

Their conversation caught the attention of disciples from other sects, who asked for more details.

“Their story is dramatic,” someone explained. “Jiang Yu is the older brother, Jiang Heng the younger.

“When they were young, they accidentally saved a severely injured expert.

“Unfortunately, their healing pills were too weak to help, and the expert was beyond saving. Before he died, he offered to pass on his martial arts to them.

“He told them he had mastered two ultimate paths: one of extreme offense, and one of unbreakable defense. He asked which each wanted to learn.

“Jiang Yu chose defense. Jiang Heng chose offense.”

It’s a bit like the classic “spear and shield” paradox, the spear pierces everything, the shield blocks all.

So someone asked: what happens when your spear hits your shield?

This very question played out between the brothers. They had been locked in rivalry ever since, each trying to prove that their chosen path was superior.

But after over a decade of competition, Jiang Heng’s offense had never broken through Jiang Yu’s defense. He’d always been on the losing end.

Though the twins looked alike, their builds were quite different.

Jiang Heng was lean and wiry.

Jiang Yu was muscular and imposing, with a physique that left a strong visual impression.

“Brother, you should surrender,” Jiang Heng said, raising his fists. Golden spiritforce surged around them, forming shockwaves that fractured the space around them.

“My foolish little brother,” Jiang Yu said with a laugh. “You should be the one to give up. After all, you’ve never beaten me, not even once, in all these years.”