Chapter 1925: A Turn of Events

Star Shine City, City Lord’s Mansion.

Two young men walked toward the courtyard ahead, chatting as they went.

“What have Yun Feiyang and Huang Tao been up to? Those two have been acting mysterious ever since they arrived, skipping every gathering. If they knew there were so many pretty girls this time, they’d probably be kicking themselves!”

The young man on the left, dressed in blue, said with a laugh.

He was tall and thin, like a bamboo pole, with unusually long arms.

“They wouldn’t regret it. As soon as they got here, they bought two Divine Connection Talismans, went by the alias ‘Shockwave Swordsman,’ and ran off to challenge people!”

The second young man, with a square face and a somewhat rough voice, said helplessly, clearly disapproving of their actions.

“Challenge?”

The bamboo-pole young man nearly laughed to death: “Outer disciples of the prestigious Cloud Sword Pavilion, coming here to challenge the locals of this backwater? Have they no shame? Even if they win, there’s no sense of achievement!”

“I really don’t know what they’re thinking… Not to mention others, even the city lord of Star Shine City wouldn’t be sure of victory if he dueled us in swordsmanship. Going to challenge ordinary people… seeking that kind of validation is just too much…”

Shaking his head helplessly, the square-faced young man and the bamboo-pole young man reached the courtyard gate, pushed it open, and walked in.

There they saw the fellow named Huang Tao sitting at a stone table, staring blankly into space.

“Did you send the Star Shine City cultivators fleeing in panic, crying for mercy?”

The bamboo-pole young man smiled slightly as he approached.

“You’re always graceful. How many moves did you yield this time?” The square-faced man also patted him on the shoulder.

Seeing the two of them, Huang Tao looked deeply embarrassed. Pointing at the table before him, he said with a helpless and mournful tone: “I… lost!”

On the stone table lay a talisman, already broken into several pieces.

“You were killed inside?” Their pupils contracted, and the two square-faced men immediately understood what had happened, utterly incredulous.

They were disciples of the Cloud Sword Pavilion, with strength that should dominate here. They had planned to swagger and show off, yet they were killed…

How could they believe it?

“Did you use your sword?” the square-faced man asked.

“I did, but the opponent pierced my head with a single sword strike before I could even execute my swordsmanship…”

Huang Tao wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

“Using the same sword, without even executing your swordsmanship, and being pierced straight through…” Both felt they must have misheard.

“Senior Brother Yun Feiyang hasn’t come out yet. He must have seen me killed and gone to duel the opponent. As soon as he comes out, we should know everything…”

Knowing they didn’t believe him, Huang Tao said.

“Feiyang went too? He’s the one among us four most likely to become an inner disciple, with extremely strong swordsmanship. If he makes a move, he should be able to handle it easily…”

After offering some comfort, the three stood up together and walked toward the adjacent courtyard. As soon as they pushed open the door and entered, they saw the swordsman they had just mentioned, just like Huang Tao earlier, staring at a broken jade talisman before him, his face full of confusion and melancholy, as if he were doubting life itself.

“You… were you killed too?”

Their mouths twitching, they hurried over.

This man was the strongest swordsman among the four of them. If even he was killed, how strong must the opponent be?

“I executed the sword technique ‘Flowing Water Without Trace,’ but… I couldn’t withstand a single strike! That sword… how beautiful!”

Thinking back to that sword strike, Yun Feiyang was still immersed in it.

“Flowing Water Without Trace?”

The others exclaimed.

This sword technique was considered top-tier defense among the outer disciples of the Cloud Sword Pavilion. Once executed, the body was enveloped as if by flowing water. No matter how one attacked, the water vapor would either block it or deflect it.

At the same level, no one could break it.

Using that move and still not surviving a single strike… was it really that terrifying?

The key point was… having been killed, he still thought the sword technique was beautiful, with an expression of rapture. How did that not seem like he’d lost his mind?

“I want to go see for myself… Feiyang, do you have any unused Divine Connection Talismans here?”

After the initial shock, the bamboo-pole and square-faced men were both filled with curiosity, eager to meet this formidable swordsman.

“After I woke up, I sent someone to buy more. They should be back soon…”

Yun Feiyang said.

Each Divine Connection Hall had its own Divine Connection Talismans. Using one allowed entry into this so-called local network.

Before long, a servant hurried over, bringing a full eight talismans.

A single Divine Connection Talisman cost tens of thousands of Divine Connection coins—a fortune for Shan Xiaotian, but nothing for these favored sons of heaven.

Whoosh!

The four quickly re-entered the Star Shine City Divine Connection Hall and returned to the open tournament arena.

“Seventh match, Tianya wins!”

“I want to compete in the eighth match!”

As soon as they arrived, they saw that this Tianya had already finished his seventh match and emerged victorious.

The opponent in the seventh match was the previously dominant Wind Shepherd, a man so fast he seemed to dance with the wind, leaving no trace on the stage. But this Tianya kicked him squarely in the groin with a sudden stomp into the void, and… that was that.

“Is there anyone else for the eighth challenge?”

No one around answered.

Although dueling an expert could improve one’s strength, being instantly defeated upon stepping onto the stage—the gap was too great—no one was willing to waste more money.

“I will!”

Stepping forward, the bamboo-pole youth quickly completed his registration and entered the competition platform.

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Having won seven consecutive matches, although he had earned quite a bit, it was still not enough to purchase the pill. If no one participated in the eighth match... the money would not be enough.

Standing on the arena, the bamboo-pole youth carefully examined the young man before him.

Utterly ordinary, nothing special—had he really defeated two fellow disciples in a row?

"Still using the sword?"

Seeing that the fellow drew a longsword as soon as he came up, Zhang Xuan asked.

The bamboo-pole youth nodded, pulled the longsword from its sheath, let out a low shout, and thrust forward.

Having heard Yun Feiyang and Huang Tao's words, he knew that the person before him was an absolute expert, so he wasted no time and attacked directly.

But before the longsword could reach him, a dazzling light appeared before his eyes, like a rainbow or the rising sun, so brilliant and captivating that it mesmerized.

Bang!

The corpse lay on the ground.

"..."

The square-faced man's mouth twitched.

Earlier, he had thought Yun Feiyang and the others might be exaggerating, but unexpectedly, not only was it not exaggerated, it was even more formidable than they said!

Yun Feiyang's defense was the strongest among the outer disciples, and the bamboo-pole youth's offense was definitely among the top, yet even so, he couldn't even touch the other's sleeve before being struck dead...

It could no longer be described as merely terrifying!

"Senior Brother, do you want to go up and try?" Huang Tao looked over.

"I..." Pausing, the square-faced man smiled bitterly: "Neither of those two could do it, so I definitely can't... Forget it!"

The Tongxuan coins were not the issue, but since even the two strongest outer disciples were no match for a single blow, going up would only lead to the same outcome.

"A sword master this powerful has appeared in Xingyao City—this must be reported to the elder!"

The square-faced man said.

"Mm!" The remaining two nodded simultaneously, and the three quickly vanished from the spot, leaving the jade talisman.

...

"Finally, eight opponents..."

Having killed the bamboo-pole youth, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought no one would dare to challenge him, causing his income to plummet, but unexpectedly, another one came at the last moment. He had to say, there were still many good people in this world!

After waiting a while longer, with no one for a ninth match, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to leave the arena with some reluctance.

Returning to the service counter, the attendant who had served him earlier had changed expression.

With such a commotion, this fellow had already learned of it.

He had thought the man was a poor weakling, but never dreamed he was such a formidable super-strong expert!

Cold sweat kept pouring from his head, his body trembling slightly, afraid the other might hold a grudge. But seeing his kind expression, seemingly not angry about what had happened, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Senior Tianya, after purchasing one Qingyang Pill, there are still 105,500 Tongxuan coins left in your card!"

Having quickly calculated the income from the matches and the cost of the pill, the attendant hurriedly said.

"One hundred thousand?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

With the match rewards doubling each time, winning eight matches should only have given him 25,500 Tongxuan coins. After buying the pill, there should only be 5,500 left. How did one hundred thousand appear?

"To report to you, Senior, the swords used by the strong experts in the fifth and sixth matches were purchased by them. After they were killed, the swords could not be recovered and were automatically depreciated and sold to the Tongxuan Hall. Each sword was worth 50,000 Tongxuan coins. Since you won them, the price was credited to you, hence the extra one hundred thousand!"

The attendant said.

"Purchased? Their swords looked no different from the ones provided on the arena..."

These swords had the same attributes and were no sharper, so why were they so expensive?

"The attributes are the same, but their swords had special patterns, and the scabbard colors were different. Just these features alone cost 50,000..." the attendant explained.

Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched.

So, they sold skins here too, and the price was not cheap.

What a rip-off.

But then again, vain people were everywhere. Those with money naturally wanted to stand out. Since cultivation and attributes couldn't be changed, clothes and weapons could always show distinction.

"I've bought the pill. How do I retrieve it?"

No longer dwelling on this, Zhang Xuan asked.

"After you leave the Tongxuan Hall, Senior, simply communicate with the Tongxuan Jade Talisman through your spirit. The teleportation array on it will activate and automatically deliver the purchased item to you!"

The attendant said.

"That's best!"

Unexpectedly simple, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

Having bought what he needed, he did not linger. With a thought, his body turned into a speck of light and left the Tongxuan Hall, reappearing in the meditation room the next moment.

Sitting cross-legged, he placed the Tongxuan Jade Talisman before him and, as the attendant had said, communicated with it through his spirit.

Hum!

With a soft sound, a jade bottle indeed appeared before him, exactly the Qingyang Pill he had seen in the Tongxuan Hall.

"Swallowing it should restore me..."

He uncorked the jade bottle, placed the pill in his palm, and was about to swallow it when suddenly his palm turned cold. A gourd abruptly appeared, opened its mouth, and swallowed the pill.

"What the..."

Zhang Xuan's face instantly turned green.