Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Dual Sword Aura

Following the initial exchange, the three combatants landed and steadied themselves.

Fang Chen refrained from making another rash attack, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.

Opposite him, Xu Xiao’s expression darkened slightly. The earthen-yellow glow of True Essence on his long saber became even thicker and more solid, as if the blade were encased in a layer of rock. Merely by raising his blade slightly, an aura as steady as a mountain—yet harboring a devastating, shattering intent—locked onto Fang Chen.

The blade remained still, but its oppressive momentum had already arrived.

Meanwhile, the pair of short blades in Ding Yan’s hands were now completely enveloped in a flowing, pale-blue True Essence. Her aura had grown agile and highly dangerous.

"Junior Brother Fang, to be honest, both of us have already achieved Qi Absorption. The sheer quality and volume of our True Essence are far beyond what anyone in the High Martial Realm can compare to. In a two-on-one fight, you truly have no chance of winning. Forcing this clash will inevitably lead to injuries that will only delay your own cultivation. Why bother?" Xu Xiao spoke in a deep voice.

Fang Chen’s gaze remained calm. Hearing this, he replied evenly, "Thank you for the kind reminder, Senior Xu. However, this ranking tournament—and that stream of Spiritual Qi—are of utmost importance to me. I am determined to win. Therefore, I hope both of you won’t hold back. Please fight with everything you have.

"In any sparring match, injuries are inevitable. If the two of you injure me today, or even... kill me, I can only blame my own lack of skill. I will hold no grudges."

These words were not merely a response to his opponents, but a final crystallization of his own resolve. He knew full well that the greatest taboos in martial combat were harboring hopes of a fluke or letting personal sentiments get in the way. If he had actually bought into their seemingly well-intentioned advice to surrender, he would unconsciously hold back during the fight, only ending up restricting his own movements.

It was better to completely ground his mindset and treat this match as a genuine life-and-death struggle. He needed to throw his entire being into it, stripping away any thought of showing mercy.

Hearing this, Ding Yan’s cold eyes locked onto Fang Chen as she gave a nod. "Junior Brother Fang, since you’ve put it that way, then I won’t—"

Before she could finish her sentence, the situation drastically changed!

[Extreme Speed]

Fang Chen had been waiting for the exact split second she was distracted by speaking.

The Gale Liquid he had consumed and his own True Essence surged wildly at the exact same moment. His footwork reached the absolute pinnacle of profundity. While a faint phantom seemed to linger in his original spot, his true body lunged forward like a bolt of lightning. Moving nearly twice as fast as he had before his breakthrough, he launched a fierce, direct assault right at Ding Yan!

"What?!"

Ding Yan’s pupils shrank drastically. Though shocked and furious, her reactions were incredibly swift. She hastily crossed her Dragon and Phoenix Dual Blades in front of her chest as the pale-blue True Essence surged, transforming into a flowing curtain of blades.

"Dragon and Phoenix Double Sabers - Ring Protection!"

"CLANG! CLANG CLANG CLANG!"

The ear-piercing shrieks of clashing metal erupted in a dense, rapid-fire sequence, crackling like popping beans!

At point-blank range, Fang Chen’s sword and Ding Yan’s dual blades collided frantically at speeds far too fast for the naked eye to track! The yellow Sword Aura and the blue-white glare of the blades violently intertwined and sparked. Every single collision unleashed terrifying power and explosive ripples of True Qi!

Seizing the initiative, Fang Chen pushed the techniques of the Clear Radiance Swordsmanship to the absolute limits of Great Success, unleashing an endless, torrential Sword Momentum. Coupled with his highly condensed Sword Aura, he actually managed to temporarily suppress Ding Yan, forcing her into a continuous retreat. Her arms went entirely numb from the immense shockwaves. Left with no choice but to desperately parry, she couldn’t find a single opening to mount a counterattack!

Watching from the sidelines, Fan Yutong felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, her heart pounding violently in her chest. Back on the martial exam arena, wasn’t this exactly how Fang Chen had stolen the initiative from her with a single move? She had been battered by that same unreasonable, tempestuous barrage of attacks, completely stripped of any ability to fight back until her swift defeat.

"Junior Brother Fang, you’ve... completely cast me aside, haven’t you?" Xu Xiao’s deep voice rang out, carrying a trace of anger at being so blatantly underestimated.

How could he just stand back and watch his companion be suppressed? His figure burst into motion like a charging wild bull. The heavy long saber in his hand tore through the air with a muffled howl, slashing viciously toward Fang Chen’s back!

The heavy momentum of the blade completely sealed off Fang Chen’s avenues of evasion, forcing him to turn and block!

However, Fang Chen seemed to have anticipated this all along! He had never been foolish enough to hope he could finish off Ding Yan in a single breath. A split second before Xu Xiao’s long saber could reach his body—

[Wind-Stepping Step]!

[Phantom]!

[Extreme Speed]!

His figure blurred once more, narrowly evading Xu Xiao’s incredibly heavy slash by a hair’s breadth. Drifting unpredictably like the wind, he spun around and reappeared on Ding Yan’s opposite side! Without missing a beat, the longsword in his hand unleashed another barrage of yellow Sword Aura, ruthlessly continuing to pressure Ding Yan!

"You...!" Ding Yan was infuriated. It was blatantly obvious that he had marked her as his breakthrough point. "Are you treating me like some easy prey?!"

Her anger flaring, Ding Yan let out a sharp cry. "Hah!"

An explosive wave of pale-blue True Essence—far more immense and freezing than before, carrying the crushing impact of a tidal wave—suddenly erupted outward with her at the epicenter!

[Tide Roar]!

This was an area-of-effect defensive counter-attacking Martial Skill. By projecting True Essence outward to form a shockwave, it could forcefully repel close-quarters attackers while briefly disrupting the circulation of their True Essence.

Fang Chen was far too close to evade. He was instantly slammed by an immense, freezing force that crashed into his face. The Sword Momentum of his blade stalled abruptly, and the shockwave violently blasted him two staggering steps backward. His internal Qi and Blood, as well as his True Essence, churned violently, causing his Aura to fall into a momentary state of chaos.

"Perfect!"

Xu Xiao was a highly experienced fighter; there was no way he would miss such a fleeting opportunity. Stomping the ground so hard that the stone slabs beneath his boots fractured, he launched himself forward with his weapon. His long saber transformed into an earthen-yellow streak. Radiating the devastating might to split mountains and shatter stones, it slashed horizontally right toward the waist of the unsteady Fang Chen!

This slash had been gathering momentum for quite some time. It was fast, ruthless, and deadly accurate!

Having just been blasted backward, Fang Chen’s Aura was still entirely destabilized. Faced with this incredibly powerful slash coming from such a tricky angle, it was simply too late for him to completely evade. He could only force his body into a hasty twist, raising his Cyan Blade vertically to guard his side.

"CLANG!!!"

An explosive, deafeningly heavy clash of metal erupted—far louder than any of their previous collisions! Sparks violently rained across the arena!

Fang Chen felt an irresistibly boundless force crash into him through his sword. His arm trembled violently, and an entire half of his body went entirely numb. Utterly unable to maintain his footing, he staggered backward—"STOMP, STOMP, STOMP"—retreating several steps before he barely managed to stop himself.

A metallic sweetness surged up his throat, but he forcibly swallowed the rising blood down.

The Cyan Blade in his hand let out a continuous wail, and its Sword Aura flickered dimly.

He thought, "The disparity in cultivation realms... is indeed difficult to bridge entirely. It seems I’ll have to try that..."

He wasn’t disheartened by the blow. Instead, he slowly stood up straight. With a light flick of his wrist, the Cyan Blade traced a condensed, elegant sword flourish through the air.

Across from him, Ding Yan and Xu Xiao subconsciously tensed up the moment they saw him raise his sword again.

"Sword Qi again? Then another sudden ambush?" Ding Yan let out a cold scoff, the blue radiance of her dual blades shining even brighter. "Hah, still trying to use me as your breakthrough point? I won’t fall for the same trick—"

Her words came to an abrupt halt.

Not only her, but Xu Xiao, and even every single spectator closely watching the arena—everyone held their breath at that exact moment. Their pupils shrank drastically, their faces masked in pure, unbelievable astonishment.

Upon the Cyan Blade in Fang Chen’s hand, the previously purely yellow Sword Aura was undergoing a bizarre transformation!

The yellow radiance didn’t dissipate. Instead, starting from its center, it began to ripple outward with two completely distinct—yet perfectly blended—colors and conceptual intents!

The cyan of the Sword Aura along the left edge grew increasingly pure and translucent. Meanwhile, the Sword Aura along the right edge flared with a blazing golden-yellow, its sharpness so brilliantly exposed that it was almost blinding.

One side cyan, the other side yellow!

"Dual? Dual Sword Auras?!"

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