NOVPUB"Who is Lin Yifei?" a disciple asked, looking puzzled at the golden-robed youth cradling a sword in his arms.
"Long ago, he was the most talented disciple of the Divine Sun Holy Sect," someone beside explained, "Back then, he was hailed as the most likely to become the Saint Heir of our time.
Unfortunately, later on, Xuanyuan Xuantian emerged, sweeping almost all the young generation of the Divine Sun Holy Sect. Even Lin Yifei ended up as a defeated subordinate.
Since then, he devoted himself to cultivation, and few people remembered him; Xuanyuan Xuantian’s brilliance was simply too dazzling."
On the Combat Stage, Lin Yifei slowly drew his Cloud Sky Sword. His sword’s presence was like a rainbow, and his robe billowed without any wind. He opened his mouth slowly and said, "My sword is the sword of invincibility."
Every time he uttered a word, the sword’s presence around him became even more indomitable.
"I heard you lost to Xuanyuan Xuantian?" Xu Zimei asked with a smile.
Lin Yifei’s aura faltered. He glanced at Xu Zimei indifferently and continued to speak, "The edge of my sword is revealed, refusing to break or bend, relentless and fearless."
"I heard you lost to Xuanyuan Xuantian?" Xu Zimei continued to ask.
"Though my sword may encounter obstacles, I am willing to believe in my sword. I believe that with the sword in my hand, I will forge ahead through brambles and thorns, striving straight to the Other Shore of the Sword Dao and achieving the path of a Sword God."
"I heard you lost to Xuanyuan Xuantian?" 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
"Go to hell," Lin Yifei’s forehead veins bulged as he roared and charged at Xu Zimei.
Xu Zimei shook his head and sighed, "It’s a pity. Your slogans are so loud, but your heart is in disarray, and so is your sword."
He pulled out the Tyrant Shadow, and with one chop, there was a Changhe breaking the day, Heavenly Thunder thundering with Divine Might, and amidst the clash of the raging Torrent’s waters, a Hurricane howled.
With just one strike, Lin Yifei’s complexion drastically changed. The Cloud Sky Sword in his hand flew out, and he himself fell at the edge of the platform.
Lin Yifei stared blankly at everything before him, unable to believe he couldn’t even take one move.
"Is this your Sword Dao?" a voice of disappointment sighed from beside him.
Lin Yifei hurriedly turned his head to look, and saw the Sect Master of the Divine Sun Holy Sect, Cang Songlin, standing nearby.
"Haven’t you emerged from Xuanyuan Xuantian’s nightmare yet?" Cang Songlin shook his head with a sigh, then turned and walked away.
Lin Yifei fell silent for a moment. Picking up the Cloud Sky Sword that had fallen nearby, his silhouette like a curtain closing as he left the Combat Stage.
He had forgotten many things. Why was he practicing the sword? What was his own Sword Dao?
All he remembered was that he had once been the most dazzling of his sect, the closest contender for the position of Saint Heir.
Until the emergence of a youth named Xuanyuan Xuantian shattered all his dreams, and never again could he find the glory of the past.
"Is Senior Brother Xu that strong? To think that Cloud Sky Sword could be defeated so easily," a disciple said in disbelief.
"It seems unfathomable, but it looks like Lin Yifei wasn’t in the right state today," another disciple said doubtfully.
Xu Zimei stepped down from the Combat Stage, noting to himself that the contests between the other sect heirs seemed to be one-sided affairs.
As for the fights among the other disciples, they were fiercely competitive, evenly matched.
After thirty disciples were eliminated, leaving only fifteen, they began the next round of drawing lots.
Xu Zimei looked at the number he drew, momentarily stunned. It read ’number eight’, and number eight was the bye position.
He glanced in the direction of the Three Elders and saw that their expressions were normal, as if they knew nothing.
He himself did not believe for one second that the drawing hadn’t been tampered with.
If by chance the sacred children of two Sects were drawn together in the first round, that would make things very interesting.
After all, the main events are always in the latter part.
With Xu Zimei receiving a bye, he could only stand below the stage and watch the others compete.
What caught Xu Zimei’s interest was Xian Linger from the Immortal Spirit Sect, clad in white and wielding a green soft sword.
She didn’t even use any Vein Skills, relying on only the most basic sword techniques, which seemed to have been honed for hundreds of years in her hands, appearing extremely natural and effortless.
The impenetrable shadow of her sword created layers of patterns on the stage, and her opponent was quickly defeated off the platform.
The competition was nearly over, with many having already secured their victories.
Among these winners were Xu Zimei, Xian Linger, Baili Xiao, Chu Yang, Tian Mozi, and Xuanyuan Xuantian.
Now, only two stages remained active in battle; one wasn’t very interesting as both disciples lacked strength.
However, the other stage drew everyone’s attention—it featured twins, Jiang Yu and Jiang Heng, who looked exactly alike.
They were the Holy Spring Sect’s strongest contestants this time, and if nothing unexpected happened, one of them would likely become the next Saint Heir.
Blood brother against blood brother, this sparked interest among several disciples watching below.
"I was thinking that the two Jiang brothers could make it into the top eight, but it’s unexpected that they’ve met so soon," lamented a disciple from the Holy Spring Sect.
"It’s fine, I support Jiang Yu anyway," responded a disciple nearby.
"That’s true, after competing for over ten years, Jiang Yu has always been the one suppressing Jiang Heng."
Hearing the conversation between the two disciples, other Sect’s disciples also became curious and started asking questions.
"Their story is full of drama. Jiang Yu is the older brother, Jiang Heng the younger.
It’s said that when they were young, they happened to save a strong figure by chance.
Unfortunately, the figure was so badly injured that the crude pills they had could not heal his wounds.
As he lay dying, he wanted to pass on his Martial Path to them, telling them he had cultivated two ultimate forms of martial arts.
One represented the ultimate in offense, and the other represented the ultimate in defense; he asked which they wanted to learn.
So Jiang Yu chose defense and Jiang Heng chose offense."
This story sounds a bit like the Spear and Shield paradox; the man claimed his spear was so sharp it could pierce all things.
And his shield was the ultimate, capable of withstanding any attack.
Someone asked him, "What happens when your spear strikes your shield?"
And the answer to that was being played out between the two brothers—they had been competing for more than a decade since receiving their legacies, each striving to prove that their ultimate form was the strongest.
Yet in more than ten years of rivalry, Jiang Heng’s offense never broke through Jiang Yu’s defense. He was always outmatched and had never won.
Even though they were twins and looked identical, there were significant differences in their physiques.
Jiang Heng appeared somewhat frail, whereas Jiang Yu’s muscles were prominently defined, creating a very striking impression.
"Big brother, just admit defeat. I’m not the same as I used to be," proclaimed Jiang Heng, raising his fists as golden spiritual energy transformed into bursts of force that separated the space around them.
"My foolish little brother, it’s you who should admit defeat," Jiang Yu said with a light laugh, "In these past years, you’ve never beaten me once."
