Chapter 185: The Wind Rises
Thirty-six sword shadows circled and howled, bearing the Untethered Vessel skyward. Clang!
The great halberd and the flying sword collided violently, shockwaves erupting and surging outward in all directions.
The Untethered Vessel trembled slightly, and Li Yi was forced back several steps by the sharpness of the strike.
Song Yan felt a strange sense of relief.
Had he not drawn upon the Qilin blood essence before the final match to strengthen his physical body, his meridians would likely have collapsed under such confrontation.
However, that was not the most important thing.
From the moment Li Yi had fully revealed his aura until now, he had felt something indescribable slowly rising within his heart.
This was also why he had hesitated to draw upon his Sword Dao true essence.
The feeling was ineffable, as though some emotion long hidden within him was being gently drawn forth.
Upon the Untethered Vessel, black and white spiritual light began to surge slowly, as if sensing something and crying out in celebration.
The two continued their fierce battle.
To Li Yi’s surprise, the golden glimmer in Song Yan’s eyes slowly faded.
“Has his spiritual energy run dry?”
Sensing Song Yan’s movements grow ever slower, a trace of regret arose in Li Yi’s heart.
What a delightful opponent. What an unstoppable sword.
What a pity…
In terms of spiritual cultivation realm, he was still far inferior.
This final match would likely end here.
In the surrounding spectator seats, the disciples murmured amongst themselves.
“Senior Brother Song Yan is astonishingly talented, but he is only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining.”
“Senior Brother Li Yi is truly terrifying—he is completely dominating Senior Brother Song Yan.”
“Song Yan already shows signs of exhaustion. He will likely last no more than three or five exchanges before defeat.”
Yet on the stage, Song Yan heard nothing, his gaze unfocused, uttering not a word.
As if deaf and mute.
Sometimes, without the use of ocular techniques, what one saw was more true, more clear, closer to nature.
And the feeling would be deeper.
His movements unconsciously grew slower and slower.
Sensing Li Yi’s earth-shattering aura, he gradually entered a state where both self and other were forgotten.
In this moment, he did not employ the Void-Gazing Sword Eye.
But the world in his eyes had become entirely different. Sound had vanished, and Li Yi’s movements grew ever slower.
Until the great halberd froze completely in his view, and Li Yi’s motion ceased.
He slowly closed his eyes.
The world beyond his ears fell silent.
“…”
Only the hum of the sword remained.
Mmm…
A faint aura rose from his body, and the Untethered Vessel’s hum grew louder with each beat of his heart.
That aura, like wildfire, surged and roiled with it.
In that instant, Song Yan opened his cold, keen eyes.
…
At that same moment, at the edge of the Sword Trial Peak summit platform where none paid attention, stood a pavilion.
Though positioned high, the view was unobstructed—the entire Sword Discussion Stage lay fully visible.
Without having spent ten years at the Eastern Abyss Sect, one would never find such a hidden “spectator’s seat.”
Within sat two young men and one young woman, resting and watching the battle on the Sword Discussion Stage, chatting and laughing.
The auras of all three were solid and unfathomable—they were all Foundation Establishment cultivators!
“Ah… that one called Song Yan is going to lose.”
The slightly older of the two spoke to himself, his voice listless, making one feel the speaker was weary.
The female cultivator beside him asked, “A-Ming Shixiong, didn’t you bet all your spirit stones on Li Yi?”
“I did.”
“Then why do you sigh if Li Yi wins?”
Wang Renming raised an eyebrow. “Xi-Xi Shimei, you have no sense of romance at all.”
“A youth defeating the strong, sweeping aside all peers—that is how a legendary tale should unfold.”
“Then bet on Song Yan.”
“Do I have a grudge against spirit stones?”
Wang Renming chuckled and turned to the silent male disciple beside him. “Zhenzong, you bet on Song Yan, didn’t you?”
The thin, silent disciple who had been watching the battle lowered his gaze.
Only when his senior brother called him did he return to himself. “Ah, yes.”
“His surname is Song. People surnamed Song are always formidable. So I believe he will win.”
Song Zhenzong spoke thus.
“…” “…”
And precisely at that moment, the situation on the Sword Discussion Stage took an unexpected turn.
Li Yi actually ceased his assault, gazing at his opponent.
At this moment, a majestic aura slowly rose from Song Yan’s body. In the span of a few breaths, it rivaled Li Yi’s battle intent, neither yielding to the other.
On the elders’ platform, Daoist Lijun nodded slightly.
“Not too foolish.”
What was this?
Song Yan did not know. The Sword Planting Art had no detailed record of it.
But he did not reject this feeling—quite the opposite, he was exhilarated.
Just like the Untethered Vessel suspended at his side.
He bent his sword finger and thrust forth a single strike.
Simple and unadorned, carrying no spiritual energy.
Yet in Li Yi’s eyes, this thrust seemed to carry the overwhelming might of heaven and earth overturning.
The black and white spiritual light on the Untethered Vessel churned like dark clouds rolling with ink, raindrops leaping like pearls.
A single, unremarkable flying sword was easy enough to block or deflect.
But when mountains and seas overturned, surging forth, under that immense momentum, one was truly insignificant.
Li Yi did not dodge. He held the great halberd before his chest.
“Clang…”
The sword momentum swept him off his feet, sending him flying several zhang.
Li Yi’s feet landed at the edge of the Sword Discussion Stage. He steadied himself abruptly, halting his retreat by sheer force.
He looked down at the robes torn open across his chest by the sword qi and burst into laughter. “Hahahaha…”
In his heart, he cried out.
This is the opponent I have been seeking!
He knew that from this moment forth, Song Yan had officially risen to stand at the same height as himself.
In truth, the battle had only just begun.
And it would end swiftly.
Both sides’ auras climbed to their peak.
The black-red arc of light surged toward him. Song Yan bent his sword finger, and thirty-six sword shadows slashed ceaselessly, leaving several sword marks around Li Yi’s body.
Li Yi was puzzled.
These sword marks were extremely condensed, yet held back, circling and dancing only outside his protective spiritual energy.
And even when he channeled his spiritual power, he could not disperse them.
But he was not the type to deliberate over an opponent’s techniques.
The great halberd swept down, and the Untethered Vessel shot forth once more.
This time, Li Yi did not stand his ground. Instead, he shifted his stance and evaded the flying sword’s attack.
At the same time, black-red spiritual energy surged wildly.
Almost in the same instant the flying sword brushed past his ear, he thrust the halberd forward.
“Phoenix Through Flowers!”
Boom—
The halberd’s edge could be blocked, but the violent spiritual energy erupting from it shattered Song Yan’s protective spirit garment in an instant.
In that moment, peril was at hand.
But Song Yan did not panic. Instead, he pointed from afar.
The flying sword reversed course, streaking like lightning, slashing past Li Yi’s body at great speed.
Simultaneously, the several sword marks detonated all at once, likewise obliterating Li Yi’s protective spiritual energy.
Their gazes met from afar, and it seemed they both saw in the other’s eyes the will to fight to the last.
Black-red lightning flickered in Li Yi’s palm. His aura suddenly withdrew.
Song Yan swept his sword finger, and thirty-six white sword shadows, wreathed in roaring wind and thunder, swept in.
A halberd thrust forth, black-red lightning blazing mightily, the phantom of its edge surging forth, unstoppable!
“Break Loulan!”
“Sword in the Clouds!”
Black spiritual energy. Red lightning.
White sword shadows. Golden wind and thunder.
They erupted simultaneously across the entire Sword Discussion Stage, their brilliance and edge blinding to behold!
Boom—
When the wind stilled and clouds halted, and the Sword Discussion Stage fell silent once more, the scene within came into view.
Song Yan swayed unsteadily, his Daoist robes tattered beyond recognition. Only by leaning on the Untethered Vessel could he avoid collapsing to the ground.
Li Yi, though still standing with halberd in hand, was equally spent. His black combat garb hung in rags, and across his exposed chest crisscrossed several sword marks still gushing blood.
By all appearances, Li Yi had won.