181: Something more important than life

In this single strike from Huangfu Rui, he sensed the strength of one who had achieved mastery.

Feng Ming was truly shocked.

Although he had shared the Arena Stage with Huangfu Rui last time, it was merely a preliminary test, and they hadn't actually fought.

Only now did he realize how formidable Huangfu Rui's strength was.

Furthermore, he had achieved mastery in the Way of the Blade.

Who would have thought that this seemingly dim-witted Huangfu Rui would be a Cultivation Genius?

After all, Feng Ming had currently only achieved mastery in the Way of the Sword.

Of course, Feng Ming hadn't been focusing on his sword cultivation recently; otherwise, given his talent and the existence of the System.

His sword cultivation would likely have already achieved a Breakthrough to the next level, the Mastery Realm!

On the Arena Stage, Lu Qianqian also sensed the extraordinary power of Huangfu Rui's strike. Her expression changed instantly, and in a flash, she unleashed several sword strikes in succession.

There was already a gap in strength between the two, and now that Huangfu Rui had achieved mastery in the Way of the Blade, Lu Qianqian's Sword Beams were shattered almost instantly under his strike.

Yet, the Blade Radiance met with no resistance.

It headed straight for Lu Qianqian.

In her desperation, Lu Qianqian could only raise her sword to parry the strike.

However, she hadn't expected the power of Huangfu Rui's Blade Radiance to be even greater than she had imagined.

With a crisp "crack" sound.

The sword in Lu Qianqian's hand was snapped in two instantly.

She herself was also knocked back several steps by the impact.

And that Blade Radiance did not pause in the slightest, heading straight for Lu Qianqian.

But this was not the most important thing.

What was most important was that Feng Ming saw.

The moment Lu Qianqian's sword was severed, a glowing orb containing Sword Intent flew out from within the blade.

As luck would have it, it appeared right in front of the Blade Radiance. When Feng Ming saw it, he recognized the object instantly.

It was clearly the sword embryo that Lu Qianqian had been nurturing close to her body.

It was just that because her Physique had changed, the shape of the sword embryo had also changed.

At this moment, by some twist of fate, it was struck by Huangfu Rui's Blade Radiance.

Lu Qianqian clearly realized this as well and hurriedly shouted, "Huangfu Rui, I concede! Stop immediately!"

Things like a sword embryo are very rare.

Because the Woven Sword Body and Immortal Sword Body Physiques themselves are already considered quite excellent.

Furthermore, this type of Physique is primarily focused on nurturing one's own Sword Intent sword embryo.

Put simply, for a Cultivator like Lu Qianqian, this Sword Intent sword embryo is absolutely something more important than life itself.

Ordinarily, she would never show it to anyone, nor would she let others know about it.

Therefore, very few people in the Lingxiao Sect knew that Lu Qianqian possessed this Physique.

Thanks to the benefits of the immortal grade sword body, the Sword Intent, which was originally in the shape of a sword embryo, had transformed into a glowing orb.

It could be nurtured on the Cultivator's weapon at will.

And it could quickly establish a connection.

Even if the Cultivator's weapon was destroyed, as long as the glowing orb was unharmed, one only needed to replace it with a new weapon and inject the orb into it.

It could then unleash its maximum power.

But if the glowing orb was destroyed, the loss would be immense. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Lu Qianqian would be reduced to a cripple from then on.

This was why she was so anxious.

After all, that glowing orb was her Foundation now. Once the Sword Intent glowing orb was destroyed, her cultivation would suffer a massive backlash.

If she didn't die, she would be crippled; if not crippled, she would never be able to Cultivate again.

Various thoughts flashed through Lu Qianqian's mind.

She was extremely anxious.

Among the other Disciples present, there were those who were knowledgeable and recognized the origin of the glowing orb on the spot.

For a moment, the entire scene was abuzz with discussion about this matter.

"I really didn't expect Senior Sister Qianqian to have this kind of Physique."

"She hid it so well; she didn't reveal a single trace!"

"How could the City Lord's daughter be ordinary or unremarkable?"

"It's just that it's too late for everything now. It's useless to say anything. In the future, not only will she lose her brilliant light as a Genius, but I fear she will also be reduced to a cripple who cannot Cultivate."

"If she really ends up a cripple, that would be such a pity!"

The people present sighed with various emotions; many felt that Lu Qianqian was a case of heaven being jealous of a Genius.

Of course, many others felt she deserved it, thinking she should have kept a low profile before growing strong enough, instead of provoking others on the Arena Stage while knowing her strength was insufficient.

In the end, she fell into the fate of becoming a cripple.

After all, in many people's eyes, this competition was completely unnecessary.

Lu Qianqian was ranked in the top ten, and very high up at that; under normal circumstances, no one would be able to challenge her.

After this month passed, her position would be secure. By being eager to show off now, she had instead missed a golden opportunity.

The commotion here was so great that it caught the attention of Elder Pan, who was presiding over the entire scene.

However, he was a great distance away from here, and by the time he saw this scene, it was clearly already too late.

He could only desperately try to stop it: "Huangfu Rui, stop! Stop immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Rui frowned. He naturally knew the importance of this Sword Intent glowing orb, but what did that have to do with him?

Not to mention that the City Lord's Mansion and the Huangfu Family had always been in a secret rivalry.

The peace maintained on the surface for many years was simply because neither of them could do anything to the other.

Although the Huangfu Family had not involved him in these matters so that he could Cultivate with peace of mind, it did not mean that he was truly ignorant of them.

Now that the opportunity to severely injure Lu Qianqian was right before his eyes, how could he be willing to let it pass?

Although Elder Pan had already spoken, the distance was too great, and he could do nothing.

However, he could not fail to respond. If it wasn't handled well, the conflict between the Huangfu Family and the Lu Family would erupt prematurely.

A trace of coldness appeared in Huangfu Rui's eyes.

But his words were filled with anxiety and nervousness.

"Elder, what should I do? My blade has already been struck; I cannot control it to stop! Lu Qianqian, hurry and dodge!"

While he said this, and his face also showed worry, his hands did not stop in the slightest, and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

It was obvious he was prepared to destroy Lu Qianqian's sword embryo directly.

The expression on Lu Qianqian's face was very anxious, but she could not rush over. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the sword embryo that was destroyed; that Blade Radiance alone would be enough to severely injure her.

Furthermore, at this moment, she had absolutely no way to deal with it.

The Sword Intent glowing orb was suppressed by Huangfu Rui's Blade Radiance and could not move at all.

Watching the hard work she had nurtured for years being completely shredded by the opponent's Blade Radiance in just a few breaths, Lu Qianqian's eyes split with rage.

But in this situation, she was powerless to change it and could only watch all of this happen.

"No!"

Lu Qianqian screamed in despair.

Watching as the Blade Radiance was already inches away, Lu Qianqian was powerless.

At the critical moment.

A crisp "clang" sound rang out from the Arena Stage.

At the same time, everyone was shocked to see a palm appear beneath the Blade Radiance on the Arena Stage.

That palm had actually caught Huangfu Rui's Blade Radiance head-on.

When everyone looked at the owner of the hand, they were shocked to discover that the person blocking the Blade Radiance was none other than Feng Ming, who had been rising to fame within the Sect.

Lu Qianqian looked at Feng Ming, her face full of shock, both surprised and overjoyed.

She cried out involuntarily, "Brother-in-law!"