Cheating?
Amo Ling blinked, “How would you cheat?”
Ye Xuan smiled, “Why do you want me to go up and fight?”
Amo Ling sized him up, then said, “I saw you fight earlier, I know you’ve got some hidden tricks. Plus, we rarely see sword cultivators here, so I want to watch you fight!”
Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then said, “Alright, I’ll give it a go!”
Amo Ling grinned, “Great!”
With a thought, Ye Xuan rose on his sword, transforming into a streak of sword light, landing on the Divine Martial Platform.
All eyes in the arena turned to Ye Xuan. His sword-riding entrance was, admittedly, a bit flashy.
Ye Xuan scanned the crowd, clasped his fists, and smiled, “Pleased to meet you all!”
The crowd: “…”
At that moment, Amo Ling’s voice sounded in Ye Xuan’s mind, “To challenge someone, you need to offer them Cosmic Veins first.”
Cosmic Veins!
Ye Xuan was momentarily stunned, then chuckled. So, this challenge was a way to make money. It made sense, fame mattered, but without enough money, these genius prodigies might not be so eager.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ye Xuan turned to the thirty-six stone pillars, focusing on the last one. It bore two large characters: Chen Ke! Below, it read: *One challenge, 100,000 Cosmic Veins!*
100,000 Cosmic Veins per challenge!
Ye Xuan smiled faintly. Money was the least of his worries. He opened his palm, and a storage ring floated slowly towards the pillar.
Moments later, the pillar trembled slightly, and a man stepped out, the same one who had fought Qu Feng earlier.
Chen Ke!
Chen Ke glanced at the ring, confirmed it held enough Cosmic Veins, and stored it. He looked at Ye Xuan, about to speak, when Ye Xuan vanished, slashing a sword at him!
The crowd gasped in shock.
He attacked just like that?
Chen Ke was stunned too. He hadn’t expected Ye Xuan to strike so abruptly, without even an opening word, completely lacking in martial decorum!
As Chen Ke snapped back, Ye Xuan’s sword was already descending.
Though caught off guard, Chen Ke reacted swiftly, clapping his hands together, catching Ye Xuan’s sword. But then, Ye Xuan twisted the Qingxuan Sword sharply.
Chen Ke’s pupils shrank, alarmed by the sword’s exceptional sharpness. His body and strength couldn’t withstand it. He let go, but it was too late, his palms were sliced off, blood spraying!
With his hands severed, Chen Ke’s heart sank. He tapped his right foot, floating back, but Ye Xuan’s sword came again, like a thunderbolt, giving him no chance to breathe.
Facing this terrifying strike, Chen Ke knew he couldn’t meet it head-on, the sword was too sharp. But having lost the initiative, he couldn’t dodge either, forced to confront it.
A ruthless glint flashed in Chen Ke’s eyes. He stomped his right foot, and a phantom shot up from his body, crashing towards Ye Xuan’s sword!
Boom!
Ye Xuan’s sword sliced through, tearing the phantom apart. By then, Chen Ke had retreated dozens of metres. He raised his hands slowly, and the space before him trembled violently, the surrounding spacetime gradually turning illusory.
From afar, Ye Xuan frowned, feeling uneasy. He moved to strike first, to seize the advantage.
But at that moment, Chen Ke’s body vanished.
Ye Xuan’s pupils shrank. He slashed downward, but hit nothing. He realized he was no longer on the Divine Martial Platform but in an unknown, chaotic world, where sky and ground were invisible, everything hazy and unreal.
Below the platform, someone exclaimed, “True Self World!”
A true True Self Realm expert meant cultivating a True Self World, where they were the master, suppressing all aspects. Thus, True Self Realm experts had absolute dominance over those below their realm.
Clearly, Chen Ke had noticed Ye Xuan wasn’t True Self Realm and unleashed his True Self World.
Suddenly, Chen Ke appeared like a ghost before Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan swung his sword fiercely.
Swish!
Spacetime tore!
But Chen Ke vanished again. Ye Xuan’s eyes narrowed, spinning to thrust his sword, only to find, to his horror, that his sword’s power had weakened significantly!
At that moment, a fist imprint slammed into the Qingxuan Sword.
Boom!
Sword light shattered, and Ye Xuan, with his sword, was thrown thousands of metres back. As he stopped, countless shadows appeared around him!
All Chen Ke!
Seeing this, Ye Xuan closed his eyes slowly.
He knew he was in a domain-like barrier, his strength suppressed while Chen Ke’s was enhanced!
To defeat him, he had to break this barrier first!
With that thought, Ye Xuan opened his eyes, his palm spreading. The Qingxuan Sword trembled violently, then soared with countless Human Realm Sword Intents.
Sword Shatters the Firmament!
Swish!
The Qingxuan Sword shot upward, tearing through, instantly ripping a huge gash overhead. Through it, Ye Xuan saw the Divine Martial Platform outside!
The real world!
But then, countless shadows rushed towards him.
Strongest strike!
Chen Ke knew Ye Xuan’s divine sword could break his True Self World, so he unleashed his full power.
Ye Xuan looked at the Qingxuan Sword above. It was too late to recall it, and he didn’t plan to. Without the Qingxuan Sword, he was still a formidable sword cultivator!
Ye Xuan stomped his right foot, raising both hands, “Rise!”
Instantly, countless Human Realm Sword Intents formed swords, soaring upward.
Head-on clash!
Boom!
The True Self World trembled violently, explosions echoing. Soon, it began to fracture. Moments later, Ye Xuan and Chen Ke reappeared on the Divine Martial Platform.
Ye Xuan stood with his sword, clothes fluttering, looking dashing.
Chen Ke was covered in sword marks, blood at his lips, quite battered!
Ye Xuan smiled faintly, “I yield!”
I yield?
The crowd erupted in shock.
They were stunned.
Chen Ke lost?
Amo Ling was also stunned. *He lost just like that?* It didn’t make sense! She had knocked Ye Xuan away with one punch, and her strength was slightly less than Chen Ke’s.
This wasn’t right!
Opposite Ye Xuan, Chen Ke was bewildered, “I… I lost?”
He hadn’t lost, he just looked worse for wear.
Ye Xuan smiled, “Brother Chen, if we keep fighting, it’ll be life or death! I think you’re decent, so I’ll stop here today! We’ll fight another day!”
With that, he opened his palm, and a bottle of pills floated to Chen Ke, “Brother Chen, this bottle has a top-grade healing pill. You’re badly hurt, don’t push yourself, take it! Until we meet again!”
He turned, rose on his sword, and vanished in a blink.
Chen Ke stared at the pills, utterly confused.
What the hell?
The crowd looked at Chen Ke, their expressions odd.
Did Chen Ke lose or not?
Suddenly, Chen Ke mumbled, “Who is he? How can he just…”
…
Ye Xuan returned to the martial field where he first arrived, lying on the ground, closing his eyes slowly.
Reflecting on the fight!
He realized he still had many shortcomings, especially in that True Self World, where he’d been injured. But his recovery was so fast! And before leaving, he’d swapped to a fresh robe!
Chen Ke, naturally, hadn’t thought that far…
Ye Xuan looked at the Qingxuan Sword, realizing that without Erya’s battle armour, his combat strength was much weaker. He couldn’t rely on brute force anymore.
Without the Qingxuan Sword, breaking that True Self World would’ve been tough!
Ye Xuan sighed softly. He’d been too comfortable lately!
At that moment, Amo Ling appeared beside him, leaning down with a smile, “You’re pretty good at fighting!”
Ye Xuan grinned, “Can’t beat you, though!”
Amo Ling shook her head, “You’re stronger than I thought, you’re just playing weak with me!”
Ye Xuan smiled, “Amo Ling, can I ask you something?”
Amo Ling nodded, “Sure!”
Ye Xuan said gravely, “Your world’s spiritual energy is so depleted, yet why are there so many strong fighters here?”
Amo Ling shook her head, “We have many top-tier fighters, but very few mid- or low-tier ones!”
Ye Xuan understood.
The Boundless Universe concentrated all resources on the elite, leaving the rest…
Amo Ling suddenly asked, “What about your side? Still many strong fighters?”
Ye Xuan fell silent.
Compared to the Boundless Universe, the Current Universe had far fewer strong fighters. The main reason was the civilization gap after the fall of the Ten Thousand Clans.
Now, the strongest forces in the Current Universe were likely his Guanxuan Academy, the Yang Clan, and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion.
Amo Ling asked again, “What level are you at over there?”
Ye Xuan thought, then said, “Below the Three Swords, I’m invincible!”
Amo Ling frowned slightly, “So, you’re among the top four sword cultivators there?”
Ye Xuan nodded, “Yes!”
Amo Ling smiled faintly, “That’s not bad! It seems your side’s swordsmanship civilization isn’t that advanced! Haha…”
Ye Xuan: “…”
