Chapter 217: Complete Victory

Xiao Nan's sword cut through Yun Che's surging power and then struck his shoulder, a slight smirk playing on Xiao Nan's lips. He was absolutely certain that the sharpness of this sword, enough to pierce through refined steel, would completely impale Yun Che's shoulder.

He felt the Wind Spirit Sword slice through the power Yun Che unleashed, through his protective profound energy and outer clothing, and then into his body. The smirk on his face widened slowly, but the very next instant, his expression froze completely.

As the Wind Spirit Sword pierced his flesh, blood splattered from Yun Che's left shoulder. However, the sword instantly halted, unable to advance even half an inch. Beneath that half-finger-thick layer of flesh and skin lay the utterly impenetrable Ten Thousand Year Profound Steel!

"Wh-what!?" Xiao Nan was aghast, barely trusting his senses.

Yun Che's counterattack arrived with a roar. As his heavy sword moved, the air within a ten-zhang radius was violently churned. The raging currents of air rushing towards Xiao Nan made the hair on his body stand on end. Without thinking, he withdrew his sword at the last second, flipped backward with all his might, retreating a full ten zhang away. He then stood panting, staring at Yun Che's shoulder with wide-eyed astonishment.

On the clothing over Yun Che's left shoulder, a small blossom of blood slowly spread, but it stopped after only a few breaths. From the bloodstain, it was clear the wound was not severe and had already completely stopped bleeding. Xiao Nan's eye twitched repeatedly. That had been an almost full-force strike, coupled with the incomparably sharp Wind Spirit Sword, a Spirit Profound artifact. Such a direct hit could slice through boulders and refined steel as easily as tofu, yet it hadn't pierced Yun Che's body; it hadn't even seemed to touch his bone—merely a superficial wound.

It wasn't just him; everyone outside the arena, including Ling Wugou, who had the clearest view, was filled with disbelief. They had all witnessed Xiao Nan's full-force sword strike land on Yun Che. A blow of such ferocity could potentially pierce even someone with peak Spirit Profound Realm profound energy protection, yet on Yun Che, who was only at the True Profound Realm, it had clearly only injured the skin.

"What's going on?" Xiao Kuangyu's smile vanished, and he frowned deeply.

"...He must be wearing some kind of protective armor! That's the only explanation!" Xiao Kuanglei asserted.

Yun Che, of course, wore no protective armor, only a thin outer garment. Although his protective profound energy was only at the True Profound Realm, he not only had the protection of the Great Way of the Buddha at the second stage but had also just had his body tempered by the Dragon God's blood—not ordinary dragon blood, but the blood of a Dragon God! Currently, Yun Che's bloodline and physical strength, particularly in relation to "dragons," were no less than that of a true dragon. Could a Spirit Profound Realm profound sword, even a Profound Earth weapon, pierce the body of a true dragon?

Certainly not!

Not only did Yun Che possess True Profound Realm profound energy protection, but even without this protective layer, if he simply stood there undefended and allowed Xiao Nan to stab him, Xiao Nan would still be unable to pierce Yun Che's body with the Wind Spirit Sword.

"A very good sword strike," Yun Che commented, glancing indifferently at the wound on his shoulder with an appreciative tone. This strike also served as a warning to him: the Four Major Sects were powerful, and the strength of their profound arts and skills was a primary reason. Although Xiao Nan was considered one of the weaker disciples among the Four Major Sects, Yun Che absolutely could not be careless. If his body hadn't been exceptionally tough, anyone else would have suffered a severe loss just now.

Yun Che stopped talking nonsense. He took a step forward and unleashed a sword strike.

Following the trajectory of the heavy sword, a tangible wave of air, accompanied by a slight distortion of space, surged directly towards Xiao Nan. Xiao Nan quickly regained his composure from his shock, his eyes widening. He unleashed a barrage of slashes with the Wind Spirit Sword, creating a torrential downpour of attacks that rapidly dispersed the incoming force. However, the fact that Xiao Nan had to swing his sword more than twenty times to fully counter Yun Che's single, simple strike caused his heart to tighten once more.

In the previous two rounds of group matches, he had also paid attention to Yun Che's fights and had completely scorned the sect disciples who were easily defeated by Yun Che.

Now, engaging him in person, he clearly understood why those people had been defeated so quickly: he finally comprehended the terrifying power contained within Yun Che's deceptively simple sword strikes.

He had only exchanged a few blows with Yun Che, yet the continuous shocks had already pushed his psychological defenses to the brink of collapse. Staring at Yun Che and the massive black sword in his hand, a terrifying feeling of "utter impossibility of victory" rapidly grew within him.

"Storm Hawk!!"

Xiao Nan took a deep breath, sword energy surging from the Wind Spirit Sword, each wisp as sharp and piercing as a steel needle. He let out a long cry, leaped into the air, and thrust his sword towards Yun Che's crown. Yun Che, however, did not dodge or evade; he swung his own sword to meet the Wind Spirit Sword...

The heavy sword struck the air, producing a dull roar. Though Xiao Nan had personally experienced the terrifying air current, he was still greatly startled. Green light flickered around his body as he rapidly twisted, abruptly changing his attack angle to target Yun Che's lower body. But Yun Che's heavy sword followed like a shadow, swiftly cutting downwards, forcing Xiao Nan to retreat with all his might, narrowly escaping danger repeatedly.

He was certain that if he were caught by the opponent's heavy sword storm, severe injury would be the least of his worries!

From the terrifying impact of the heavy sword, Xiao Nan could imagine just how heavy it was. Wielding such a large sword should naturally result in relatively slow movements, significant openings, and high energy consumption. Therefore, the most suitable tactic would be to use speed to restrain and find openings for a decisive kill strike.

The profound energy attributes of the Xiao Sect were "Wind" and "Thunder," with "Wind" being the most common. The "Sky Eagle Art" was also a miraculous profound art that could significantly enhance bodily agility. Xiao Nan began to circle Yun Che with swift movements and light, rapid sword techniques. However, he quickly discovered that despite wielding such a heavy sword, Yun Che's agility was in no way inferior to his own. Not only that, but even his sword-swinging speed was completely on par. Although Yun Che couldn't unleash multiple strikes in an instant, his heavy sword moved from stillness to full swing and back again in mere flashes, giving no impression of its immense weight.

Xiao Nan attacked more than a dozen times, each time forced back by Yun Che's understated sword strikes. His attacks were ineffective, and he was repeatedly forced to retreat awkwardly, constantly facing danger.

While the heavy sword's power was immense, shouldn't it also have significant weaknesses!? Why did this user of a heavy sword seem to have no flaws at all... Xiao Nan's forehead was slick with sweat as he bit his lip, inwardly laughing bitterly.

"Limitless Sky Eagle Sword!"

Xiao Nan leaped high into the air, the silhouette of an eagle reappearing behind him, and thrust his sword mid-air towards Yun Che's chest. This was the same strike he had used earlier to slice through Yun Che's power. He knew very well that its effectiveness the first time was due to surprise, and it would be difficult for it to work as well a second time. However, the longer he faced Yun Che, the deeper his sense of powerlessness became, and this one sword technique was all he could rely on.

The Wind Spirit Sword sliced through the air and space, descending with a harsh tearing sound. This was a strike capable of cleaving through even raw power. Given what had happened before, Yun Che should have immediately dodged and counterattacked from the side. But Yun Che remained rooted to the spot, unmoving. The Overlord Sword surged upwards, and Yun Che murmured calmly, "Try to cleave through *this* strike of mine!!"

Yun Che put sixty percent of his power into this strike. If his previous sword strike was a strong wind, then this one was an undeniable hurricane. Xiao Nan's power might be able to cut through a strong wind, but facing a hurricane, he would only be shredded.

The sword energy and momentum of the Wind Spirit Sword were instantly obliterated. The sword itself vibrated with a trembling hum. Xiao Nan's face turned pale with shock, and his diving body abruptly flipped. His profound energy surged wildly throughout his body, yet he still couldn't fully withstand the impact of Yun Che's sword. His profound energy defense was weakened layer by layer, eventually collapsing completely. A residual force, not fully negated, surged into his body, causing his entire frame to shake violently.

Xiao Nan landed ten zhang away, his face utterly pale. A mouthful of blood surged up, slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The surroundings instantly fell silent. All six members of the Xiao Sect stood up, their faces filled with horror.

Yun Che did not seize the opportunity to pursue; he remained standing still. It was only then that people realized, to their astonishment, that throughout the entire exchange, his feet had not moved from their original position at all!

Xiao Nan's face was frightful, and he gasped for breath like an ox. In contrast, Yun Che's breathing was steady, his expression calm and unwavering, showing no signs of exertion. Xiao Nan's lips moved, and his arm finally dropped...

"You're much stronger than I imagined... I concede," Xiao Nan stated dejectedly.

"You as well, you're a bit stronger than I expected," Yun Che said with a slight smile, glancing at the wound on his shoulder.

Hearing Yun Che's words, Xiao Nan suddenly felt a faint sense of satisfaction, and even the sting of his crushing defeat lessened considerably. He looked up and gave Yun Che a smile.

"Xiao Nan concedes! Yun Che of the Azure Wind Imperial Family wins... advancing to tomorrow's round of sixteen elimination matches!"

As soon as this result was announced, the Sword Discourse Arena, which had been quiet for a while, erupted in cheers once more. Watching Yun Che calmly walk off the stage, pairs of eyes were utterly wide with astonishment. That's right! The individual considered the weakest among all disciples, having already reached the top thirty-two, had now defeated a Xiao Sect disciple and made it into the top sixteen!

"Brother Nan, don't be discouraged. If he hadn't been wearing high-grade protective armor, you would have won with your second strike. It's a shame I'm in the second group; otherwise, I might have been able to avenge you," Xiao Kuanglei said, patting Xiao Nan's shoulder in comfort.

"No," Xiao Nan shook his head, "he wasn't wearing any armor at all. He blocked that sword strike entirely with his bare body. His body is simply as tough as iron!"

"What!?" Xiao Kuanglei's brows furrowed, and he exchanged a look with Xiao Kuangyu, both their faces showing shock.

"Junior Brother Yun, are you alright? Are you badly hurt?" The moment Yun Che descended, Cang Yue rushed up to him, full of worry, clutching a handful of healing medicines and profound recovery pills she had prepared.

"I'm fine," Yun Che replied with an unconcerned smile. "It's just a superficial wound. It's already stopped bleeding, and there's no need for medicine. It'll be completely healed before sunset."

Yun Che's statement was absolutely not an exaggeration. With his Great Way of the Buddha profound art now at the second stage, such minor injuries could recover by seventy to eighty percent in a matter of minutes.

However, Cang Yue, of course, wouldn't be reassured so easily. Yun Che was ultimately pulled aside by her, where she meticulously and carefully applied medicine to his wound and wrapped a bandage around it.

On the Sword Discourse Arena, the second match had already begun.

The combatants were Ling Jie of Heavenly Sword Villa and Mu Xiongyi of Sky Spear Lightning Flame Fortress. Ling Jie was at Level Six of the Spirit Profound Realm, while Mu Xiongyi was at Level Eight, placing him highest among those outside the Four Major Sects in terms of profound energy level.