Chapter 429: Nine Swords Return to One, Half-Moon Slash!

On a turret at the far end of the square, two slightly aged figures were watching the fierce battle on the arena.

One was elegant and noble, exuding the aura of a king, and was actually a peak Spirit Travel realm martial artist!

The other was slightly inferior in strength, but still had the strength of a mid-stage Spirit Travel realm!

Such figures naturally held a very high status in the royal city.

If someone like Xiao Changfeng were here, he would surely recognize them—the two most influential figures in the royal city: Shangguan Wenrui, head of the Shangguan family, and Xue Hongfei, head of the Xue family!

"Hongfei, what do you think?" Shangguan Wenrui asked, his gaze deep as he looked at the distant spear shadows and sword lights.

"Zhao Chengqian's strength is growing day by day; he's already far stronger than the last time he fought publicly!" Xue Hongfei said.

"That's not what I'm asking. Ji Qing possesses the 'Nine Transformations of Yuan Spirit'; don't you have any thoughts on that?" Shangguan Wenrui said indifferently.

Xue Hongfei sighed softly, "I was startled when I first saw it too, but... this probably wasn't stolen from the Xue family. Ji Qing's mastery of the 'Nine Transformations of Yuan Spirit' surpasses even mine! This disciple taken by Xing Yuan is so strong it's despairing!"

Shangguan Wenrui glanced at Xue Hongfei and said, "I heard that a youth from the Borderless Realm infiltrated the royal city, and this youth once killed a mid-stage Huahai realm martial artist from the Blue Tribe in a fifth-level gale zone with the strength of the first level of Condensation Crystal!"

Xue Hongfei's expression stiffened slightly: "You mean... Ji Qing is that youth? Impossible! I once suspected that too, but according to news from the Xiao family, Xiao Changfeng tested Ji Qing's soul, and he is indeed from the Hurricane Realm!"

"I know that, but don't you find this youth very suspicious? Besides the Wind Emperor, who in our Hurricane Realm could have trained such a monstrous genius?" Shangguan Wenrui said indifferently.

"This..." Xue Hongfei thought carefully and indeed found it somewhat suspicious.

Xue Hongfei pondered for a moment, as if he had thought of something, then suddenly woke up with a start and looked at Shangguan Wenrui in disbelief.

Shangguan Wenrui smiled slightly, knowing that Xue Hongfei understood his meaning.

"Brother Wenrui has far-reaching vision, far beyond what Hongfei can match!"

Shangguan Wenrui laughed, "Zhao Tianyin has been on the throne for many years, and it won't be long before he ascends to the Divine Domain. The struggle for the next Wind Emperor has gradually surfaced. There is bound to be a fierce contest between Yun'er and Zhao Chengqian. But this suddenly appearing Ji Qing has completely broken the original stalemate! If he today..."

Xue Hongfei glanced at the distant fierce battle; Ye Yuan's situation was already precarious.

"But... under these circumstances, Ji Qing probably has little chance of winning, right?"

"Heh, not necessarily!"

...

The overwhelming spear shadows pressed Ye Yuan's nine figures into a very small area.

At this moment, Ye Yuan was like a small boat swaying precariously in the ocean, about to be capsized by the wind and waves at any moment.

But Ye Yuan's sword light was still not slow!

Sword light against spear shadows was inherently at a disadvantage.

The sword emphasizes lightness and agility, while the spear emphasizes overwhelming force.

Coupled with Ye Yuan's realm being far inferior to Zhao Chengqian's, his suppression was only natural.

"Haha, let's see how you dodge now, go die!" Zhao Chengqian was extremely excited at this moment.

As long as he broke Ye Yuan's sword light, he would surely die!

As he spoke, Zhao Chengqian recklessly drove his yuan power, and the spear shadows became even more frenzied!

Just a little more, and Ye Yuan's sword light would be broken, but Ye Yuan remained expressionless, as if completely unaware of the danger.

The defensive circle grew smaller and smaller, smaller and smaller.

Finally, the countless spear shadows broke through the limit and fiercely stabbed toward Ye Yuan's nine figures!

"Ah!"

Many people exclaimed in unison, as if they had already seen Ye Yuan's blood splattering on the arena.

At this critical moment, a dazzling light suddenly burst forth from within the spear shadows!

"Nine Swords Return to One, Crescent Slash!" Ye Yuan's voice rang out faintly, as if lending immense power to that light.

The countless spear shadows could no longer advance an inch!

Those heavy and forceful spear shadows gradually faded away under this light!

"Swoosh..." A crescent-shaped sword glow, carrying tremendous energy, scattered the myriad spear shadows.

And the momentum of the sword glow did not diminish; instead, it grew faster and faster!

Seeing this, Zhao Chengqian's expression changed drastically.

If struck by this massive crescent-shaped sword glow, how could he survive?

In panic, Zhao Chengqian no longer cared about executing the Spear Shadow Kill; he hastily withdrew his spear and sidestepped!

The sword glow whizzed past him, its piercing sword qi cutting Zhao Chengqian's protective primal power to shreds.

It was only because Zhao Chengqian reacted quickly enough that he wasn't split in two!

Looking at the ground, the arena had been carved with a deep trench by the massive crescent-shaped sword glow, rubble scattered everywhere, a shocking sight.

Beneath the arena, it was deathly silent, as if frozen in time.

Zhao Chengqian's body burned with pain; though the sword qi couldn't harm his vital organs, it had left him with many wounds.

Each wound reminded him that he had just brushed past death.

Zhao Chengqian stared blankly at Ye Yuan, unable to make sense of the situation.

He had been on the verge of victory, so how had the situation suddenly taken a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, plunging him from heaven into hell?

"Hey, did you see what just happened?"

"No... I didn't see clearly, my eyes were blinded!"

"Is this... a skill released by a Condensing Crystal realm martial artist? I think even a Soul Sea realm powerhouse standing opposite would be split in two by this move, right?"

After a long while, exclamations of astonishment rose from below the arena.

This strike had brought them too intense a shock!

"Hehe, to find life in the face of death, this counterattack from a desperate situation is truly brilliant!" Shangguan Wenrui praised.

"Building momentum with a sword, reaching its peak after decline—this kid is truly monstrous! This art of momentum-building has always been the domain of spear users, yet Ji Qing has used it! This slap is truly resounding!" Xue Hongfei remarked with emotion.

"If this kid truly has no boundaries, he will be a major threat to our Madwind Realm! In any case, this kid cannot be allowed to live!" Shangguan Wenrui suddenly said.

Ye Yuan looked at the still-shaken Zhao Chengqian and said with a faint smile, "You run pretty fast. Consider this move a free lesson today. Go back and ponder it well!"

Even with his thick skin, Zhao Chengqian's face was now red with embarrassment.

He naturally understood what Ye Yuan meant. As Xue Hongfei had said, this slap was truly resounding!

Ye Yuan's move, the Half-Moon Slash, was actually derived from the final strike in his earlier bout with Tianyu, which he had integrated into the Nine Sword Style.

But if he had launched this strike from the start, its power would have been far less than it was now.

The process of exchanging sword light and spear shadows earlier had actually been Ye Yuan's process of building momentum.

Only when the sword light was broken did Ye Yuan release all the accumulated sword intent, resulting in such a supremely powerful strike!