Chapter 193: Feng Qingyao's Scheme

Xu Yang remained completely unfazed, as if he had anticipated that the opposing side would use special tactics to suppress the Yuanyang Empire.

However, Yuan Haotian was not so composed. Unable to contain his anger, he crushed the Nine Dragons Cup in his hand on the spot.

"You bastard, Tuoba Yun," he fumed, "I'd like to see if your arrogance will allow you to have the last laugh!"

The match began.

Although the five representatives from the Yuanyang Empire were merely filling spots, they were nonetheless elite cultivators from the Elder Hall. Being so publicly humiliated on such a grand stage, none of them could afford to lose face. In a fit of rage, their captain roared, "All together now! Cripple him!"

A piercing sword chime rang out. An incredibly brilliant aquamarine light shot skyward, and amidst a powerful roar of sword energy, a sword firmly embedded itself in the center of the arena.

"What?!" a voice exclaimed. "That's... the legendary divine sword of Northern Jin, the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal! How did it end up in his hands? Who is he?!"

The academy faction from the five great sects across the arena was noticeably more agitated than the cultivators from the empire's side. Clearly, they were more aware of the sword's power and renown.

Little did they know, this sword ranked among the most formidable in all Three Thousand Dao Provinces. Its previous master was Feng Xiu's own mentor, the Nine Frost Sword Demon, Feng Beikuang.

When Feng Xiu inherited his master's position and became the new leader of the Northern Jin Sword Alliance, Feng Beikuang's era ended, and the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal also retired from the martial world. Unexpectedly, it had reappeared at this martial arts tournament, and the wielder was none other than Feng Qingyao.

In a sense, the moment this sword appeared, there was no longer any point for the Yuanyang Empire's mixed team on the field to continue fighting.

The five opponents each unleashed incredibly ferocious auras, simultaneously attacking the divine sword firmly embedded in the center of the platform.

Feng Qingyao, his long hair fluttering, gave a cold, disdainful smile. With a slight flick of his finger, the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal's blade began to spin without warning. The blade released an immensely fierce torrent of sword energy outwards; each ice shard contained a bone-chilling cold. However, directly in front of the five Yuanyang Empire cultivators, no icy gleam or light blade appeared.

"Captain," one of his teammates said, "it seems this guy is all talk, and his cultivation isn't up to par. He's actually left such a huge opening! If we can just make this sword budge, we'll be the victors!"

Indeed, the captain's heart was stirred by his subordinate's words. Given the situation on the field, no one believed they had a chance of winning; since their opponent had brought out such a divine artifact, he surely possessed absolute confidence. Most people were even waiting to laugh at the Yuanyang Empire's second team. If they could genuinely seize this opportunity, knock this divine artifact away, and land a heavy blow to their opponent's reputation, wouldn't it be an astonishing upset? Recalling how Long Kun from the first team had previously gained fame by fighting five opponents alone, the Yuanyang Empire's second team captain's thoughts instinctively became active, and a sinister grin crept onto his lips.

"Listen," he instructed, "to prevent this guy from having any tricks up his sleeve, all five of us will combine our efforts. The four of you will help me unleash our strongest attack, ensuring an absolute victory and catching him by surprise!"

The captain's idea quickly received unanimous support from the other four team members. Little did they know, this was precisely the beginning of their descent into the abyss.

"Hey!" Feng Qingyao called out. "I suggest you all forfeit the match. My sword is terrifying; once its power is unleashed, even I can't control it. The tournament rules state that intentionally harming an opponent's life is forbidden. I want to declare to the elders of the Thousand Cloud Sect first that I have no intention of killing, but this divine sword's power is truly too immense. If my opponents insist on continuing to fight, I won't be responsible for any accidents."

Feng Qingyao's tactic was truly venomous, drawing cold smiles from the high-ranking officials of other factions.

"What a clever young man! He's used this chain of schemes masterfully!" observed the mustached strategist. "First, he deliberately humiliates his opponents with an arrogant stance, then sets a trap to force them into compliance, intentionally disclaiming responsibility to push them into a dilemma! If the Yuanyang Empire's second team forfeits now, they will undoubtedly become the laughingstock of all Three Thousand Dao Provinces, unable to establish themselves in the cultivation world ever again! But if they don't forfeit, what awaits them will surely be a deadly tribulation!"

In the Xuanyuan Empire's camp, the mustached strategist saw through everything. As he spoke, a chill ran down the spines of the students in his own faction.

"It seems Northern Jin genuinely intends to clash with the Yuanyang Empire to the very end. What a pity for these second team members..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the five members of the second team on the field proved their resolve with their actions. Facing a single sword, they would never surrender without a fight, no matter the cost.

"It's too late..."

Xu Yang sighed softly, feeling helpless for these individuals. Once a match began, outsiders were forbidden from giving advice to contestants on the field; doing so would result in the immediate disqualification of all participants from that faction. Thus, the five second-team members on the field had completely fallen into their opponent's trap.

"Sacred Soul Spirit Control Extreme Realm — Soul and Dao Unification!"

With a fierce roar from the captain, powerful spiritual energy instantly erupted outwards. After absorbing the spiritual energy unleashed by his four teammates behind him, he shot forward like a human sword, directly locking onto the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal's position.

At that very moment, Feng Qingyao calmly raised the corner of his mouth. The Northern Jin faction members also did the same.

A sharp clang!!

In an instant, a powerful sword intent hummed, almost immediately suppressing all spiritual fluctuations from the Yuanyang Empire's second team captain, plunging his mind into a dazed blankness.

This was because Feng Qingyao's cultivation realm and foundation were too formidable; with just a single sword chime, he completely shattered all of his opponent's mental defense barriers.

In a flash, a seemingly tangible sword gleam, faint yet distinct, silently flew into the center of the captain's vision. The light of this sword gleam was tiny, no bigger than half a finger, yet it flew straight into the second team captain's glabella!

A tiny, ice-blue sword light entered through his glabella and then shot out from the back of his head, turning red.

Before the captain could even get close to the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal, his life had already been taken.

However, this was only the beginning.

The tiny sword gleam freely moved through the air, and, concealed by the captain's bloodline aura, it silently burrowed into the foreheads of the four individuals behind him. In the same manner, in an instant, it ended this insidious slaughter.

The entire process was so fluid and traceless that over ninety-nine percent of the spectators present didn't even grasp what had happened before the five individuals in front of them stiffened and collapsed, becoming five lifeless corpses.

"What?!"

"This... what just happened? My heavens, I didn't even see how that guy attacked."

"What a vicious tactic... Northern Jin using such a method to kill off the Yuanyang Empire's participants is truly excessive."