Chapter 1924: Throwing the Sword

The woman also quickly lost.

The fourth match was against an arrogant youth, who likewise did not last ten moves.

Seeing that he was performing well, Zhang Xuan looked satisfied, though the participants in the open tournament were not intimidated by this.

Of course, he did not know that for others, a challenge cost only five hundred Divine Coins—such a low price for the chance to spar with an expert; why not take it?

One could say they were getting a great deal.

After all, no matter how they fought, his true body would not die, so he wouldn't lose much.

"Senior Brother, what do you think?"

Outside the crystal barrier, two figures leaned against a nearby pillar.

The speaker was a young man in blue robes, holding a longsword in his arms; as his eyes moved, they emitted a sharp sword intent.

His senior brother opposite him also held a longsword, with an even denser sword intent, clearly a master of the sword as well.

Whether in Xuanjiang City or Xingyao City, both were under the jurisdiction of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, so many practiced swordsmanship, and many participants in the open tournament used sword techniques.

"Turning emptiness into substance, the hairbreadth step... these show that his control over power has reached an extremely fine level, not much worse than me. He should be an expert!" The senior brother nodded and smiled slightly. "But compared to us disciples of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, he's still far behind!"

"Indeed, turning emptiness into substance and the hairbreadth step are basics that must be mastered. Even many menial disciples can perform them. It's only in such small places that they cause a stir!" the junior brother added.

"Junior Brother Huang Tao, go sign up and give him a lesson!" the senior brother instructed.

"Rest assured, if I don't make him concede within three moves, I'll treat you to drinks tonight! And practice the Tongxu Sword ten more times!" said the junior brother named Huang Tao, a smirk curling at his lips.

"Don't underestimate him..."

Before he finished, the senior brother chuckled: "I'm overthinking it. Finish it quickly. This time we came out with the elder to select outer disciples and menial disciples, and time is tight. Entering the Divine Hall here is like bullying; if the elder finds out, we'll surely be scolded!"

They were genius disciples from a major sect, coming to a small place to participate in a local network—like a provincial gaming expert going to an internet café to play against ordinary netizens, utterly unchallenging.

"Alright!"

Nodding, Huang Tao stepped forward.

After a moment, he registered and became Zhang Xuan's fifth opponent.

"Look! The win rate of this 'Surging Wave Swordsman'!"

"A hundred matches, only five losses? That's too strong!"

"Such a record is astonishing. That Tianya has met his match..."

"This one came on stage with a sword, so they'll definitely compete in swordsmanship... We've only seen Tianya fight barehanded; how he is with a sword remains to be seen..."

Each expert participating in the open tournament had their match results displayed. This Surging Wave Swordsman had only lost five out of a hundred matches, immediately causing a huge stir.

The previously one-sided situation was now split into two camps.

Although Tianya had been strong in close combat earlier, using a weapon and not using one were two different things.

His opponent, calling himself a swordsman and coming on stage with a sword, would surely be extremely formidable.

"Draw your sword!"

Standing in the center of the arena, Huang Tao held his longsword and said calmly.

"Alright!"

Without demur, Zhang Xuan waved his hand, and a longsword from the weapon rack nearby flew into his palm, its cold gleam sharp.

The swords in the Divine Hall had no rank; they were merely tools to demonstrate sword techniques, without any artifact spirit.

"I won't unsheathe my sword. I'll give you two chances to attack. If you can't even get close, I'll defeat you with one strike!"

Huang Tao said calmly.

As a disciple of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, he still had some bearing.

"Not unsheathing your sword?"

Zhang Xuan was startled and frowned: "If you do that, you'll die..."

"Presumptuous!"

Huang Tao's face darkened: "Make your move, or you won't have the chance!"

"Very well!"

Zhang Xuan seemed helpless. He flicked his longsword, twirling it into a flower, and without moving his body, suddenly flicked his finger.

Hum!

The sword in his palm immediately flew out.

His first move was to let go of the sword!

In combat, the most taboo thing is losing grip of your weapon. If it hits the opponent, fine, but if it fails and you're unarmed while the opponent has a weapon, the advantage and disadvantage are clear at a glance.

"Too reckless!"

"This guy is about to concede..."

The spectators were all stunned, bewildered.

Before the match even started, he threw away his sword—something they had never seen.

"Look! Tianya has turned around!"

"Indeed! What does that mean?"

"He's not really thinking of conceding, is he? Such poor sportsmanship?"

Amid exclamations, the scene became even more bizarre.

The young man named Tianya on the stage, after throwing his sword, turned around and raised his arms as if celebrating something... Could it be that before even exchanging moves, he knew the opponent was too strong and directly conceded?

But conceding was one thing—why celebrate? Was conceding something to be proud of?

Huang Tao on the stage was also dumbfounded.

This opponent threw his sword, turned around, and raised his arms—what was he doing?

Even if he wanted to concede, he should at least say something!

Just as he was puzzled, his senior brother's urgent shout rang in his ears: "Huang Tao, don't be careless, watch out..."

Huang Tao was startled. As he focused, he saw the casually thrown sword slowly approaching him.

At first it was slow, even giving the illusion of floating in the air, but when it reached about three meters away, it suddenly accelerated, like a flash of light, filling his vision.

He hurriedly released his grip to draw the sword from his arms to block, but then felt a sharp pain in his head.

Plop!

His body fell to the ground, his head pierced by the sword.

Whoosh!

The corpse turned into specks of light and vanished, leaving only the longsword that had been held, lying slantwise on the ground.

Death in the Hall of Communion with the Gods was not true death, but the jade talisman would shatter, losing its function entirely, and the spirit that had entered it would disappear.

In other words, once you died, the jade talisman was useless.

Silence!

A deathly silence.

Everyone stared at the dueling platform before them as if dumbfounded.

They had thought that the young man holding the longsword would engage in a fierce battle with this Tianya, but unexpectedly the latter casually threw the sword, instantly piercing his head...

What was going on?

Whoosh!

After a moment of silence, an explosive sound erupted.

Though they hadn't understood what just happened, it was clear that Tianya had won.

"Tianya, you're awesome! I love you! I'm your fan, I want to have your babies!"

"It must be that the Swordmaster of the Startling Waves was too careless, never expecting the other to throw the sword..."

"I thought he was impressive, but he turned out to be a poser. Getting a sword through the head—even an idiot wouldn't do that!"

"And they said he had a ninety-five percent win rate in a hundred matches... I think he's just a clown here for laughs!"

In everyone's eyes, Zhang Xuan's throw just now was unremarkable, yet the latter was killed on the spot. There was only one possibility: this guy was too weak!

"This is impossible..."

The senior brother, who had been leaning against a pillar, suddenly straightened up.

When the other threw the longsword, he sensed something amiss—there was a sword intent within it, capable of killing Huang Tao instantly... How was that done?

As he replayed the trajectory of the sword in his mind, a bead of sweat broke out on his forehead.

The other's throw was like a white horse passing through a gap, or an antelope hanging its horns—utterly traceless!

Even with his eyesight, he couldn't tell how that sword had won.

"Do I have to face him in battle to understand?"

He clenched his fist.

Many powerful sword techniques could only be appreciated through personal experience; this move had likely reached that level.

With that thought, he didn't hesitate. He walked over, quickly registered, and appeared on the dueling platform.

"Yun Feiyang?"

Looking at the information displayed on the crystal wall not far away, Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had just killed one swordsman, and now another one with a sword appeared. Had he stirred up a hornet's nest?

"I am Yun Feiyang—both my name and my alias."

With a nod, Yun Feiyang flicked his wrist, and his longsword left its sheath, a faint chill immediately appearing on the blade. "Make your move!"

Seeing that this man didn't waste time or boast like the previous one, Zhang Xuan took the longsword again and held it in his hand.

"Please use the same sword technique as before!"

Yun Feiyang nodded.

He wanted to personally experience the power of the sword technique that had instantly killed his junior brother, and also find a way to counter it.

"The same sword technique?"

"Yes."

"Well... if you insist."

Zhang Xuan was helpless.

The previous sword was just a casual throw, with no real technical skill. Even so, it had followed the trajectory of the Heavenly Dao, embodying the essence of the Heavenly Dao Sword Technique, allowing it to pierce the other's head and kill him instantly.

This guy wanted to try it too?

Did he think his head was hard enough?

But regardless of his intent, since he wanted to be stabbed, it didn't matter.

So he tossed the longsword lightly in his hand, letting it hover quietly in the air.

Whoosh!

The longsword left his hand.

"Here it comes..."

His pupils contracting, Yun Feiyang let out a loud shout and whirled his longsword into a flourish of sword blossoms.

In an instant, the wind howled, sword shadows filled the air, and his body was enveloped in a curtain of sword light so dense that not even water could penetrate, nor rain wet it.

"So strong..."

"This sword technique is too fast..."

"You can't even see it with the naked eye—how can you attack?"

The crowd below stared wide-eyed, trembling.

This Yun Feiyang's sword technique was incredibly fast, flashing coldly as if forming a sphere of light over two meters in diameter around his body.

Under such defense, it was impossible to even injure him.

Amidst their shocked gazes, the longsword hovering in the air slowly flew forward, leisurely approaching to about three meters.

Whoosh!

With a swift whistle of wind, it vanished from its spot and plunged into the spherical sword light.

"What happened?"

"Did it fail to block, or did it block?"

Seeing the sword disappear while the sphere of light continued spinning, the crowd exchanged bewildered looks.

With their eyesight, they simply couldn't tell what had happened on the stage.

Before their words faded, the sphere of sword light dissipated with a "whoosh," and then everyone saw that the young man with the extraordinary sword technique now had a longsword embedded in his forehead, piercing through his head.

He was already dead.

Thud!

The corpse fell to the ground and turned into specks of light, disappearing.

Once again, there was dead silence.