Chapter 230: Mandarin Ducks Join Forces

A piercing sound ripped through the air. Ling Jie's Heaven-Swallow Sword swept horizontally with its sword energy, tearing through space. The hard surface of the Sword Discourse Arena was cut in a straight line as if it were tofu. A hundred zhang away, a formidable aura, permeating from their very beings straight to their hearts, sent chills down almost everyone's spines. The chilling orange sword light and sword intent felt as if they were pressed directly against their backs.

As Ling Jie made his move, it was clear he was using his full power. Facing the sweeping sword energy, Yun Che held his sword horizontally with both hands. The Supreme Arts of the Heavenly Wolf Hell God circulated, and his entire profound energy erupted. With a low boom, the Overlord's Colossal Sword slammed forward, meeting the Heaven-Swallow Sword's energy.

Boom!! The sharp and formidable powers violently collided. A terrifying profound energy storm raged, and the profound energy barrier shook violently. The stone beneath their feet instantly developed spiderweb-like cracks.

The pale orange sword energy was constantly shattered, and the colossal sword's power storm was also rapidly torn apart. Through the wildly entangled powers, their gazes met: one as sharp and unyielding as a blade, the other as calm and majestic as a mountain.

Both were inwardly startled by this sword collision. The spectators at the edge of the Sword Discourse Arena all widened their eyes in inexplicable horror.

"So... so strong! Even from this far, I can feel a terrifying sword energy!" a sect disciple ranked among the top hundred said with a trembling voice.

"I felt it too! Ling Jie is actually this strong. In previous matches, he never used his full power. No! He didn't even use half his strength. If that sword strike were against me, I wouldn't have the slightest ability to resist. Is he... is he really only at the sixth level of the Spirit Profound Realm?"

"The people from Heavenly Sword Villa are indeed a bunch of monsters! But... but Yun Che actually managed to block such a sword strike!!"

The sword momentum and sword intent Ling Jie released with all his might, coupled with the Heaven-Swallow Sword's Heaven Profound power, made the splendor of this sword strike surpass all eight battles from yesterday! Not just the young profound practitioners, but even the elders watching this scene were deeply moved.

"Not only has he conquered the Heaven-Swallow Sword, but he has also unleashed at least sixty percent of its power," Xiao Juechen said, his voice revealing deep shock. "This child's future achievements will only surpass Ling Yun's."

Xiao Juechen's gaze turned to Yun Che. Ling Jie's sword strike had astonished even him, but Yun Che, who had completely parried Ling Jie's Heaven Profound Sword strike with an Earth Profound Sword, made him unsure how to praise him.

Bang!! The two powers exploded simultaneously, propelling both combatants backward. Ling Jie tapped his back foot on the ground, and his entire body suddenly shot forward, moving as fast as a fleeting phantom. The Heaven-Swallow Sword in his hand even vanished from sight, moving so fast it seemed to disappear into thin air.

"So fast!" Yun Che was slightly startled. Ling Jie's movement speed and sword speed both far exceeded his expectations, to the extent that his eyes couldn't even track them.

Yun Che simply stopped trying to track Ling Jie's sword shadow. Profound energy surged, and the Overlord's Colossal Sword was swung wildly forward. Following the arc of the colossal sword's swing, streaks of sword light were continuously shattered. The colossal sword swept through Ling Jie's figure, but only touched a disappearing afterimage. At the same time, a cold sensation came from the back of his neck.

Whoosh!! The orange-yellow sword energy pierced down like lightning, slicing a black mark through space and cutting Yun Che's afterimage in half. Yun Che's true body appeared three zhang away, and his counterattack arrived with a roar. The furious storm of the colossal sword densely collided with Ling Jie's sword energy.

There are numerous disadvantages to using a colossal sword as a weapon. The most significant are its difficulty to wield and how its excessive weight drastically hinders movement speed. However, the Heavenly Wolf Hell God Arts allowed Yun Che to wield the colossal sword with near-perfect mastery; even with the Dragon Fault, a Heaven Profound colossal sword, Yun Che only took a few days to fully master it. As for the drag on movement speed caused by the colossal sword, it was compensated by the unpredictable instant movement profound skill, "Star God's Broken Shadow."

The simultaneous existence of the Heavenly Wolf Hell God Arts and Star God's Broken Shadow perfectly compensated for the two biggest flaws of colossal sword weapons, making Yun Che almost the most suitable person to use one. In comparison, the powerful arm strength granted by the Great Way of the Buddha was secondary, because as long as one's profound energy level was sufficient, any colossal sword, no matter how heavy, could be lifted. However, the mastery of the colossal sword and the drag of its weight on mobility could absolutely not be overcome by profound energy intensity alone.

And when these two major flaws no longer existed, the power unleashed by the colossal sword would be something other weapons could never achieve—a force so ferocious it could make even gods and demons tremble.

The colossal sword, without an edge, moved in wide, sweeping arcs. Each strike would shatter several, or even over a dozen, different wild and dazzling sword lights. The profound energy barrier shook violently, and the storm stirred up by the colossal sword created a persistent maelstrom in the center of the Sword Discourse Arena. Grooves and cracks grew more numerous beneath their feet, and broken fragments of the arena surface were swept up by the storm, scattering like arrows and darts.

The colossal sword had been swung countless times, and the orange-yellow sword lights had been shattered just as often. Yet, under Ling Jie's astonishing speed, Yun Che never managed to touch even a corner of his clothes.

The two seemed to be in a stalemate, with Ling Jie appearing to be on the offensive. But in reality, he was secretly suffering. The speed of Yun Che's colossal sword wasn't fast in his eyes; the time it took Yun Che to swing one sword was enough for Ling Jie to thrust a dozen times. Yet, Yun Che could deflect all dozen thrusts with a single swing. And to offset the astonishing power of Yun Che's sweeping strike, he needed to make a dozen counter-thrusts, and that was only if he quickly retreated a sufficient distance. If he were ever too close during one of his counterattacks, he absolutely couldn't guarantee he'd block it head-on, even with the Heaven-Swallow Sword in his hand.

He absolutely dared not engage Yun Che head-on. If they went head-to-head, although he was confident he could pierce a transparent hole through Yun Che's body, if he took one of Yun Che's sword strikes, losing half his life would be getting off lightly.

Previously, once Ling Jie closed in on an opponent, his sword could easily trap them in a deathlock. But now, Yun Che was like an unapproachable demon god, making Ling Jie's attacks seem fluid and dazzling, yet in reality, he was constrained and every move was perilous.

This unprecedented feeling made Ling Jie incredibly uncomfortable, as he had never encountered an opponent who used a colossal sword before Yun Che.

Clang! The Heaven-Swallow Sword briefly touched the Overlord's Colossal Sword. Using the colossal sword's impact, Ling Jie leaped far back. As he landed, the Heaven-Swallow Sword pointed skyward, and a loud cry erupted from Ling Jie's mouth: "Heavenly Might Sword Formation - Heavenly Star Disorder!"

The Heaven-Swallow Sword shot forth, its light greatly intensifying as it flew. Subsequently, the light rapidly dispersed like a dream, splitting into a dozen identical Heaven-Swallow Swords, then dozens, until a hundred. These hundreds of Heaven-Swallow Swords were like chaotic meteors, flying towards Yun Che along different trajectories and directions. These were not mere illusions; each one carried incredibly fierce sword energy.

This incredible and bizarre sword formation made many young profound practitioners turn pale on the spot. Yun Che's brows furrowed slightly, yet he showed no fear. He swept his colossal sword upward, and his entire profound energy erupted madly upon it, like a volcano breaking its seals.

"Falling Moon Sinking Star!"

The pitch-black colossal sword carved out a giant black moon, like a bottomless black hole, devouring the chaotic meteors flying towards it. Cling-cling-cling-cling-cling-cling-cling-cling... Each indestructible sword shadow, imbued with Heaven Profound Sword might, under the power storm stirred up by the colossal sword, was like fragile ice shards, easily shattered piece by piece, then pulverized into dust by the spreading power storm. In but a blink of an eye, the originally terrifying Disorderly Sword Formation was utterly annihilated before even touching a single strand of Yun Che's hair. All the sword shadows disappeared in less than two breaths, leaving only the Heaven-Swallow Sword, which was flung far away and flew back into Ling Jie's hand.

"Wh-what!!" Ling Yun's brow furrowed sharply, his face filled with shock. "Heavenly Star Disorder was actually broken so easily!?"

"Because it's a colossal sword!" Ling Kun, who had barely spoken in the past ten-plus days, suddenly spoke. His eyes like an eagle's, he silently stared at Yun Che and said faintly, "The might of a colossal sword is fully displayed on him, while its disadvantages are compressed to the extreme. This child's master must be an unparalleled genius."

"The Heavenly Might Sword Formation possesses heaven-destroying power, feared by all. In this world, only a colossal sword can counter the Heavenly Might Sword Formation to such an extent!"

Everyone around was dumbfounded. That terrifying-looking sword formation was just like that... completely broken!?

On the Sword Discourse Arena, Ling Jie had already leaped high, catching the falling Heaven-Swallow Sword. In mid-air, he twisted his body, and sword light flashed. His entire being seemed to completely merge with the sword light, instantly appearing before Yun Che.

Heavenly Sword Villa's ultimate instant sword skill—Sword Light Thunder Extreme!

The Heavenly Star Disorder just now was merely a feint; this was Ling Jie's true killing blow, poised and ready!

Ling Jie's instantaneous speed exceeded Yun Che's reaction range. In a flash of sword light, the Heaven-Swallow Sword had already pierced towards Yun Che, leaving him no time to swing his sword to block, nor to activate Star God's Broken Shadow.

In a flash, Yun Che directly discarded all thoughts of evasion or defense. The colossal sword in his hand showed no instinctive retreat; instead, he unhesitatingly slammed it forward.

Ssshh! With a soft sound, the Heaven-Swallow Sword easily broke through Yun Che's protective profound energy, piercing into his left chest, and a jet of blood spurted out. Ling Jie had successfully executed his killing blow and should have been delighted, but his expression suddenly changed. His Heaven-Swallow Sword pierced through the protective profound energy, through flesh and blood, and into bone... then struck incredibly hard ten-thousand-year profound iron, unable to advance another inch.

Not only did it fail to pierce a transparent hole through Yun Che's body, but it only penetrated less than half an inch.

This wasn't just a random sword strike from anyone. It came from Ling Jie, filled with surging sword intent, and was delivered by the Heaven Profound artifact, the Heaven-Swallow Sword. Even solid rock and profound iron could be easily pierced through like tofu, yet it couldn't crack Yun Che's bones!

Ling Jie's shock was immense. Meanwhile, Yun Che's colossal sword had already swung towards him, and air currents exploded wildly wherever it passed. Ling Jie quickly retracted his sword and retreated with all his might, simultaneously unleashing several streaks of sword energy to defend. But even so, he was still swept by the colossal sword's power storm. The violent force made him choke, and his internal organs trembled violently.

Ling Jie stumbled upon landing and only managed to steady himself after retreating several steps. A trace of blood slowly oozed from the corner of his mouth. In the Heavenly Sword Villa's seating area, Ling Yun's brow furrowed deeply, and he suddenly stood up, roaring, "Little Jie, catch the sword!!"

Amidst Ling Yun's roar, a slender sword, glowing with a strange blue light, shot from his hand. Traversing a hundred zhang in an instant like a meteor, it penetrated the profound energy barrier without any hindrance and was caught by the somewhat bewildered Ling Jie.

As the blue sword came into his hand, the two swords seemed to suddenly gain sentience, simultaneously emitting excited sword cries. Orange and blue lights grew increasingly intense as they intertwined. Also growing in intensity were two currents of sword energy, surging outward and then merging in their agitation.

"This is... Big Brother's Heaven-Mandarin Sword!" Ling Jie held the blue sword in one hand and the orange sword in the other. Both swords, at this moment, seemed to shed all their arrogance, giving him a feeling of bloodline connection.

Holding both swords, Ling Jie slowly raised his head. There was no childishness in his eyes, which a sixteen-year-old should possess, nor any excitement. Even his previous sharpness was completely hidden.

"Hm?" Yun Che frowned slightly, a sudden wariness rising in his heart. The aura of Ling Jie before him had suddenly undergone a massive change. This change didn't come from Ling Jie himself, but from... the two swords in his hands!