Chapter 273: Abandoning the Sword!

Before the final had even begun, the arena was already packed to overflowing.

On the arena, Tianyu sat cross-legged, a long sword resting horizontally across his knees.

“Tsk, this is the first time I’ve seen Senior Brother Tianyu take a match so seriously—he arrived a full half-hour early!”

“No wonder. Ye Yuan’s sword intent is extremely strong; it can probably suppress Tianyu completely. Such a match is too stifling—Tianyu has no choice but to take it seriously!”

“Senior Brother Tianyu’s sword intent is already beyond our imagination. I’ve always been chasing him as my goal, but now another Ye Yuan has popped up! After seeing his sword intent, I feel I have no hope in this lifetime.”

“…Exactly! Ye Yuan’s sword intent is so strong it can make one despair!”

“I really wonder how Senior Brother Tianyu plans to deal with Ye Yuan’s sword intent. Actually, I still hope Tianyu wins, since he’s our core disciple’s senior brother!”

Tianyu, undistracted, sat on the arena for half an hour.

It wasn’t that Tianyu was being pretentious; he truly valued this match!

He had originally thought it was just a highly competitive junior, but in the blink of an eye, he had become a formidable opponent!

Especially what Ye Yuan had said before, which had greatly stirred Tianyu’s heart.

Every martial artist knows the importance of walking one’s own path, but it is an extremely rugged and difficult road, and few dare to take it!

From birth, humans begin with imitation—speaking and walking are no exception.

The path of martial arts is the same: from imitating others’ paths to forging one’s own.

But the martial path differs: walking one’s own path is too hard; a misstep can waste years and delay cultivation.

That would be too great a loss!

Yet without walking one’s own path, potential is soon exhausted, and one’s realm in this life ends there.

It is a question of trade-offs, but not every martial artist dares to make that decision.

If Tianyu chose his own path and made no progress within a few years, all his current advantages would vanish!

Of course, if he succeeded, his future would stretch farther than now!

Tianyu wanted to use this match to make his choice!

Though he had watched several of Ye Yuan’s matches, truly feeling his strength required a personal bout.

He wanted to see how far Ye Yuan had actually gone!

“Ye Yuan is here!” someone in the crowd suddenly called out.

The crowd parted automatically, making way for Ye Yuan.

Seeing Tianyu meditating on the stage, Ye Yuan was momentarily taken aback.

Tianyu opened his eyes and said calmly, “I knew you had passed the Nine Heavens Path at the Qi Origin stage and would eventually become my formidable rival. I just didn’t expect it to come so soon!”

Ye Yuan did not answer directly but asked, “Senior Brother Tianyu arrived early?”

Tianyu nodded. “Half an hour ago. This battle is very important to me; I want to find my own path!”

Ye Yuan said, “The path is in the heart! With Senior Brother Tianyu’s talent, finding your own path should not be difficult.”

Tianyu shook his head. “Easy for those who can, hard for those who can’t. It may be simple for you, but not everyone has the courage to take that step!”

Ye Yuan had been reborn for some time and had mostly adapted to life in the lower realm. But his transcendent, cross-plane perspective often clashed with the people and things around him.

For those in the Divine Realm, mastering true intent was common. But for the beings of the lower realm, true intent was unattainable.

Ye Yuan’s words sounded like someone talking glibly.

Tianyu’s talent was unmatched in the entire Youyun Sect, but it meant little in the Southern Domain. And the geniuses of the Southern Domain were nothing in the entire Boundless Realm.

How many people in the entire Boundless Realm could master true intent?

Even if Tianyu’s talent was heaven-defying, mastering true intent remained a distant dream.

But Ye Yuan had a different view. He smiled and said, “Senior Brother Tianyu is mistaken! I think for you, there is no such thing as ‘hard for those who can’t’; it’s more like being trapped in the situation! As the saying goes, the onlooker sees the game best. Without stepping out of the game, how can you know you can’t do it?”

Tianyu’s expression changed!

After talking with Ye Yuan last time, Tianyu had been reflecting on himself for the past two days. And Ye Yuan’s words just now hit the mark!

Ye Yuan continued, “Cultivation is inherently defying heaven. Without a fearless heart, you cannot go far! If you lack the courage to step out of the game, your achievements in this life will be limited to this!”

Tianyu trembled all over; the mental state he had adjusted over the past half hour was shattered by Ye Yuan’s words.

He knew Ye Yuan was right, but taking that step indeed required immense courage!

Why had Long Tang been able to comprehend the rudiments of true intent? Because he had felt Ye Yuan’s fearless courage, cast aside everything, and found his own path!

Otherwise, Long Tang would have been just a bird in a cage, never knowing what the sky outside looked like!

After a long silence, Long Tang rose with his sword and said, “Since you say so, let me see your path!”

Ye Yuan smiled. “Please enlighten me!”

Tianyu did not act immediately but spoke again, “I will only strike once! Ye Yuan, show me how strong your sword path really is!”

With that, Tianyu’s aura suddenly changed; his entire being became like a sharp sword!

Tianyu traced a full moon arc with his sword in front of his chest, then withdrew the momentum. The full moon split into four cyan sword energies, racing toward Ye Yuan!

“Bright Moon in the Sky! It’s actually Bright Moon in the Sky! Senior Brother Tianyu’s progress in the past six months is truly astonishing!”

“Hiss… Bright Moon in the Sky is an extremely powerful technique from the third layer of the Azure Firmament Purple Sun Sword Art. Even some Crystal Condensation disciples may not comprehend it, yet Tianyu, only half-step Crystal Condensation, has already mastered it!”

“Truly terrifying talent! Without Ye Yuan’s appearance, he would definitely have become a formidable rival for Senior Brother Ti Wujiu! But… will this technique work against Ye Yuan?”

By releasing the Azure Firmament Purple Sun Sword Art as four sword energies, Tianyu had reached a very high level of sword intent comprehension.

Bright Moon in the Sky was extremely difficult to comprehend; even among elite disciples who practiced swordsmanship, only a very few could master it!

That Tianyu could comprehend it at half-step Crystal Condensation showed his talent!

But this technique was still too weak for Ye Yuan!

Having mastered the true intent of the Azure Firmament Purple Sun, Ye Yuan was nearly immune to such techniques.

He casually traced a line, and four sword energies shot out, arriving after the fact but extinguishing Tianyu’s four sword energies.

Seeing this, Tianyu let out a long sigh and directly threw away the sword in his hand!