Chapter 800: Wang Qingshan Versus Haixinnan

The young woman in green smiled faintly and said, "Fellow Daoist Du, how about we make a bet? Can Junior Nephew Wang make it into the top ten?"

Fifty-three Core Formation stage sword cultivators participated in the second round. Wang Qingshan only needed to advance to the fourth round to secure a spot in the top ten. According to the rules of the Sword Fighting Tournament, Core Formation cultivators participating could not have a cultivation level higher than the sixth layer. Higher cultivation levels would allow them to control more flying swords, which would be unfair to lower-level Core Formation cultivators.

Du Yunlong's young disciple, one of the newly appointed Seven Swords of Ten Thousand Swords Sect, had a cultivation base of the fifth layer of Core Formation and was a key training target for the sect. Du Yunlong could tell that the beautiful woman in purple was no match for Wang Qingshan. This meant Wang Qingshan would have no trouble advancing to the third round; he just needed to win one more match to enter the top ten.

"Since he is Fellow Daoist Ye's disciple, there's no doubt he can make it into the top ten. How about we let him compete against my disciple to see who wins?"

"Your disciple is at the fifth layer of Core Formation, while Junior Nephew Wang is only at the third layer. Furthermore, Junior Nephew Wang hasn't officially joined the sect, and he has fewer flying swords. That wouldn't be fair to him."

Du Yunlong smiled calmly and said, "Alright then! If my disciple Rui can defeat young friend Wang within a quarter of an hour, and he only uses one flying sword, I'll wager this piece of Ganggale Silver. What do you say?"

He flipped his hand, and an egg-sized silver ore appeared in his palm, its surface speckled with gold.

"Fine, it's a deal. I'll wager a piece of fourth-tier Wind-Snow Python hide," the young woman in green replied, taking out a snow-white beast hide, looking completely confident.

Wang Qingshan formed a sword incantation, and the green flying swords around him swiftly converged, transforming into a massive green flood dragon that lunged fiercely at his opponent. The beautiful woman in purple likewise incanted a sword art, and her eight purple flying swords coalesced into a thick-waisted purple flood dragon, meeting the green flood dragon head-on. The two flood dragons clashed. The purple flood dragon, being larger, gained an advantage, putting the green flood dragon on the defensive.

Wang Qingshan frowned. With a slight opening of his mouth, a green streak of light shot out, merging into the green flood dragon. The green flood dragon's body expanded dramatically, its radiance intensifying, enveloped by a layer of green hurricane. The situation instantly reversed. The green flood dragon now firmly dominated the purple one, which retreated steadily, proving to be no match for the green flood dragon.

"Break!" The purple flood dragon's body suddenly burst apart, releasing countless purple sword qi that overwhelmingly struck towards the green flood dragon. The green flood dragon opened its gaping maw, and a powerful current of air materialized, swallowing all the incoming purple sword qi. With a shake of its head and tail, it plunged into her purple flying swords, devouring them all.

The beautiful woman in purple frowned deeply, continuously forming sword incantations, as a 'clanging' sound of metal striking metal emanated from within the green flood dragon's body. The green flood dragon continued to circle above the arena, completely unaffected. No matter how the beautiful woman in purple tried to reconnect with her flying swords, the green flood dragon remained completely unperturbed. Her face grew grim. After trying for a quarter of an hour, the green flood dragon was still unharmed, forcing her to concede defeat.

"Wang Qingshan wins."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Sword Lord Xiaoyao had instructed him in sword manipulation techniques, especially in controlling flying swords. With guidance from a renowned master, combined with his own innate sword talent and diligent practice, Wang Qingshan was naturally more formidable than ordinary sword cultivators.

The beautiful woman in purple sighed deeply, cupped her hand in greeting towards Wang Qingshan, and said, "Fellow Daoist Wang's sword arts are exceptional; I am truly impressed."

"Madam Liu, you were too kind," Wang Qingshan replied humbly, retracting his flying swords before leaping off the arena to watch the other sword duels.

Cheng Zhenyu, Nangong Fu, Li Rui, and Hai Xinnian all successively defeated their opponents. Cheng Zhenyu, whose cultivation level was not high, took nearly half an hour to defeat his opponent. Li Rui and Nangong Fu won easily; their sword manipulation techniques were superb, and they both possessed complete sets of high-quality flying swords. As the saying goes, 'To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools.' For a sword cultivator, a good flying sword can significantly enhance their strength.

At the end of the second round, twenty-seven sword cultivators advanced to the next. This time, Wang Qingshan was lucky and drew a bye.

Cheng Zhenyu's opponent was a hulking man in yellow robes, a fifth-layer Core Formation cultivator who wielded six yellow flying swords capable of unleashing furious sandstorms to harm enemies. Cheng Zhenyu's number of flying swords and cultivation level were inferior to the yellow-robed man's, leading to his defeat.

Hai Xinnian manipulated her flying swords, transforming them into various beast forms, fiercely assaulting her opponent's flying swords. Under her relentless assault, she achieved victory swiftly. Li Rui and Nangong Fu's performances remained striking; they also defeated their opponents without much delay.

"Junior Nephew Wang, I am your Martial Aunt Liu. Later, Fellow Daoist Du's young disciple, Li Rui, will compete against you. Don't worry, the match format will be to your advantage. If you win, I will reward you handsomely, do you understand?" a gentle female voice transmitted into Wang Qingshan's ear.

Wang Qingshan looked towards the main platform, his gaze meeting that of the young woman in green.

"Yes, this disciple obeys," Wang Qingshan replied promptly via sound transmission, not daring to be negligent.

A quarter of an hour later, the third round of matches concluded, and fourteen sword cultivators advanced to the fourth round. This time, Wang Qingshan's opponent was Hai Xinnian. As the match began, they both attacked almost simultaneously, holding nothing back.

Hai Xinnian released nine red flying swords, transforming them into nine thick-waisted crimson pythons that lunged forward. Hai Xinnian's cultivation level was higher than Wang Qingshan's, and she also had more flying swords. Wang Qingshan decided to finish the battle quickly. He summoned his Azure Glass Sword, which transformed into a streak of green light several zhang long, slashing towards the nine crimson pythons.

Hai Xinnian formed a sword incantation, and the nine crimson pythons converged into a single massive crimson flood dragon. It opened its gaping maw and swallowed the green streak of light in one gulp. Wang Qingshan incanted a sword art, and the crimson flood dragon showed signs of pain, its body splitting into two as a green streak of light shot out. Hai Xinnian frowned slightly, and with a slight opening of her lips, a red streak of light shot out, meeting the green streak head-on.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of dull clangs of metal striking metal echoed, as green and red glows intertwined fiercely. Hai Xinnian formed a sword incantation, and the red streak of light flared intensely, manifesting a large area of crimson flames. The green flying sword appeared to be slightly at a disadvantage. Wang Qingshan's brows furrowed. He incanted a sword art, and the green streak of light flew back, stopping before him.

He gently caressed the Azure Glass Sword, as if stroking a beloved. A startling sword intent erupted from him, and the Azure Glass Sword's light surged, emitting a piercing sword cry as its blade twisted. At the same time, most of the sword cultivators' flying swords in the arena began to tremble, emitting resonant sword cries.

A flicker of surprise crossed Li Rui's eyes. He uttered, "Sword Intent!"

Sword intent is a sword cultivator's manifestation of their will through their sword, such as an indomitable forward charge or an invincible presence. Sword Lord Xiaoyao's comprehension was the Xiaoyao Sword Intent, which involved no fixed moves or forms, allowing the sword to follow the heart's desire, unpredictable and unrestrained. There are many types of sword intent; what kind one can comprehend depends entirely on the individual sword cultivator's understanding of the Way of the Sword.