In the distance, the usually aloof Liu Ruoxi’s eyes lit up. A smile even appeared on the corners of her mouth as she inwardly roared with laughter.
"Not bad, not bad! The Gongsun family isn’t entirely made up of trash. Die, Ye Xuan! It’s best if you die!
"No, he can’t die. Liu Ruoxi, didn’t you swear to kill him with your own hands?"
Liu Ruoxi felt conflicted again.
Nearby, Hua looked anxious. Her big eyes flickered, as if she were about to cry. Even Gongsun Yanran looked worried. Just as she couldn’t hold back and was about to rush into the battle circle, Ye Xuan’s left hand grabbed the broadsword.
Gongsun Yan tried to pull her broadsword back, but couldn’t pull it out for a moment. Right then, Ye Xuan’s right hand moved. A heaven-shaking aura erupted on the spot. A swing of his sword shocked the heavens and the earth.
This sword strike, carrying a fiery glow, descended from the sky and aimed straight for her throat. The speed of this strike was incredibly fast, but Gongsun Yan, having executed a mid-Ghost grade Body Technique Martial Technique, unexpectedly dodged it nimbly. At the critical moment, she released her grip on the broadsword and drifted one step back. Just this single step easily allowed her to dodge Ye Xuan’s attack.
However, Ye Xuan’s Swordsmanship was extremely profound. As one strike fell, another rose. The second strike was like a stream of light. It spun around him and thrust toward Gongsun Yan’s heart.
This time, Gongsun Yan couldn’t block it. She hadn’t expected Ye Xuan’s Swordsmanship to be so fluid and natural. What terrified Gongsun Yan the most was that the Sword Momentum of this second strike was stronger than the first.
SHUK!
The second strike directly pierced through the Flame Battle Body, and the tip of the sword sank into Gongsun Yan’s skin. But it only pierced her skin. At the critical moment, Gongsun Yan clapped her hands onto the blade, stopping the sword from advancing further.
"Argh!" Gongsun Yan suddenly let out a miserable scream as the sword was pulled out from her grasp. Blood was still spraying out, and streaks of sword gleams lingered all around.
"Raise the Wine, Hoist the Sword, Question the Cold Night."
The third strike of the Sixteen Sword Poem Techniques was finally executed by Ye Xuan. The true power of this strike was not born of loneliness or sorrowful indignation. Instead, it was an indomitable will to forge ahead fearlessly. Holding a jug of wine, raising the sword, daring to question the heavens!
The power of this strike was even stronger than the second. This time, Gongsun Yan didn’t even see how the sword fell; she only felt a coldness in her chest. Looking down, she saw that Ye Xuan’s thrust had pierced her heart.
"Impossible... Impossible!"
Gongsun Yan was completely astonished. Her hands were still blocking in front of her heart. Besides, didn’t Ye Xuan just pull his sword back? How did this strike still pierce her heart? Was its speed so fast that even she couldn’t react?
Or rather, she had felt it wrong just now. The bleeding in her hands wasn’t because Ye Xuan was pulling the sword back, but because he was thrusting it deeper. The surrounding sword gleams were all illusions. This third strike actually followed the Sword Momentum of the second strike, like the waves of the ocean, one wave crashing over another.
"Ah! Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Gongsun Yan roared hoarsely, wanting to continue fighting. But because her heart was pierced, she violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The Elder in charge of overseeing the battle suddenly appeared beside her and pressed down on her shoulder. "Gongsun Yan, you’ve lost."
Saying so, he pulled out the sword that had pierced Gongsun Yan’s heart.
"Eat this." A high-Ghost grade Spirit Medicine appeared in the Elder’s hand, and he handed it to Gongsun Yan.
Gongsun Yan didn’t hesitate and consumed the Spirit Medicine. The injury on her chest healed rapidly.
After Gongsun Yan’s injury recovered, the Elder looked at Ye Xuan again. "Take this herb." A low-Ghost grade Spirit Medicine appeared in the Elder’s hand. Because he knew that Ye Xuan’s cultivation base was merely at the Super Spirit Realm, a low-Ghost grade Spirit Medicine was more than enough to heal Ye Xuan’s injuries.
Ye Xuan nodded and pulled the broadsword out of his own body. Blood, mixed with bits of internal organs, dripped through the air. Without even furrowing his brows, Ye Xuan swallowed the Spirit Medicine in one gulp. The wound on his body healed at a visible rate.
"For this match, Ye Xuan is the winner," the Elder’s voice then rang out.
"This... Ye Xuan won... But, how did he do it?" Some of the younger generation were completely bewildered.
An older generation member explained, "He won because he didn’t dodge Gongsun Yan’s breathtaking slash."
"Huh? Wasn’t it because it was too fast and he couldn’t dodge it?"
"No, he deliberately chose not to dodge. His goal was to let Gongsun Yan get close to him. At such a close distance, when he suddenly drew his sword, Gongsun Yan simply couldn’t dodge. Even if she could, she would only have dodged the first strike. Ye Xuan’s Swordsmanship just now was a combo technique—three consecutive strikes. Each strike carried more momentum than the last, and each was more powerful than the previous one."
"So that’s how it is. But wasn’t Ye Xuan worried that Aunt Thirteen’s slash would just take his life? From what I saw, the position of that blade was only a fraction of a millimeter away from his heart. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have the guts to face that blade head-on."
"That is why you are destined to never defeat Aunt Thirteen. In fact, it isn’t just you. Across the entire Direct Lineage, there likely isn’t a second person with Ye Xuan’s courage."
The older generation members sighed. The Direct Lineage members held noble statuses and lived in the lap of luxury. They might possess a confidence that others lacked. But apart from this self-righteous confidence, in many aspects, the Direct Lineage was actually inferior to the Side Branches and those of lowly status—the people who clearly belonged to the bottom of the pyramid yet still strove to forge ahead. The willpower and resilience of those at the bottom of the pyramid were far beyond what the privileged, stress-free upper class could ever compare to.
...
After his injuries healed, Ye Xuan returned to Gongsun Yanran’s side.
Gongsun Yanran said with lingering fear, "Xuan’Er, you scared your mother to death just now. I understand your plan, but what if you..."
Ye Xuan chuckled, interrupting Gongsun Yanran, "Mother, there are no ’what ifs.’ At most, it would just be a blade piercing through my heart. Even if the Elder didn’t give me the Spirit Medicine immediately, I had my own preparations ready. I wouldn’t die."
"You..." Gongsun Yanran didn’t say much more, because she knew that Ye Xuan’s actions just now were the best way to break the deadlock.
"What do you plan to do next?"
"Do about what?"
"About your battle with Gongsun Po. Do you really think you can use the same method against Gongsun Po?"
Ye Xuan said calmly, "To deal with him, I will try my best to finish it in one strike."
As his words fell, Gongsun Yanran looked astounded, her eyes widening.
Just as she was about to say something, Liu Ruoxi, who was nearby, couldn’t help but interject. "Finish it in one strike? More like you’ll be finished in one strike."
In the past, when Liu Ruoxi opposed Ye Xuan, Gongsun Yanran felt that Liu Ruoxi was being ignorant. But this time, she felt that Liu Ruoxi was right. That was Gongsun Po! And yet, Ye Xuan actually wanted to end the fight in one strike.
Ye Xuan completely ignored Liu Ruoxi and calmly said, "Mother, don’t worry. I have a way. If I can’t finish him off in one strike, then I’ll just have to admit defeat."
He shrugged nonchalantly. He would do his best to fight for first place, but if he couldn’t get it, he wouldn’t regret it. The gap between them, after all, was simply too large.