23: Chapter 23: One sword strike and he's dead! What else is there to say!

On the arena, the air tightened.

The smile at the corners of Zhang Yuan's mouth froze.

He sensed danger from Ye Qingyao.

But this thought flashed by for only a moment before he forcibly extinguished it.

"Playing god and acting like a ghost!" Zhang Yuan coldly snorted in his heart. "A little girl who just entered the sect, what kind of waves can she make? I am a genuine Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator!"

He needed to establish his prestige, and even more so, win beautifully in front of the Junior Sister he admired.

He had to finish this quickly!

"Fire Snake Spell!" Zhang Yuan formed hand seals with both hands and let out a low shout.

A three-foot fire snake condensed out of thin air before him, its mouth wide open, rushing straight at Ye Qingyao with scorching heat waves.

He didn't stop, changing his hand seals again.

"Earth Spike Spell!" "Wind Blade Spell!"

In an instant, the arena was filled with soaring flames, bursting earth and stone, and wind whistling like knives.

Several Spells intertwined, creating a terrifying momentum.

The Disciples below the stage gasped.

"Senior Brother Zhang can actually cast three Spells instantly!"

"That Ye Qingyao is finished! Why isn't she moving? Is she scared silly?"

On the VIP seats, several Elders nodded slightly, and the Elder of the Danding Peak even stroked his beard, a look of smugness on his face.

Only Su Changge remained with his eyes closed, as if he had already fallen asleep.

Yet in his heart, he was screaming wildly.

"Holy crap, the special effects are great! Fire and wind everywhere, can my Disciple handle this? Why is she still not moving? Is she really scared silly? It's over, I'm going to lose face completely!"

Just as Su Changge was preparing to rush up and save her at any moment, Ye Qingyao on the arena moved.

Facing the torrent of Spells sweeping towards her, she did not dodge, avoid, or retreat.

There wasn't even a ripple on her face.

She only performed the simplest action of the entire match.

She drew her sword.

Then, she slashed down.

"Clang—!"

A sword cry rang out, clear and piercing the air.

A streak of extreme white light tore through everyone's vision, flashing and vanishing.

That sword light had no frills.

No fire, no thunder, and one couldn't even perceive a trace of Spiritual Qi attached to it.

But when it appeared, the roaring fire snake, the sharp earth spikes, and the whistling wind blades—everything slowed down.

Where the sword light passed, the fire snake was cleaved down the middle; it didn't even emit a cry before dissipating into sparks.

The hard earth spikes were cleanly severed, the cut surfaces smooth as a mirror.

The wind blades that sliced through the air were twisted into nothingness by that invisible sharp Qi before they even touched the sword light.

One sword. Just one sword.

The sky full of Spells vanished into thin air!

"Pfft!"

An irresistible, terrifying Sword Intent pressure pierced through the shattered Spells and slammed heavily onto Zhang Yuan's protective Spiritual Qi.

That layer of Spiritual Qi shield, thin as a cicada's wing, shattered upon impact.

Zhang Yuan was sent flying by a massive force, his scream stuck in his throat.

His body drew an arc in mid-air before landing with a thud outside the arena.

His eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Everyone stood frozen in place, mouths agape wide enough to fit an egg, their gazes fixed intently on the girl in white on the stage who was sheathing her sword.

Everyone's mind was left completely blank.

What happened? Is it over? It just… ended?

The silence lasted for three breaths.

Then, a roar of astonishment, like a landslide or tsunami, exploded!

"Heavens! What did I just see?! One sword! Just one damn sword!"

"What kind of sword technique is that? My eyes couldn't keep up at all!"

"Too fast! That's not a speed a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator should have! Senior Brother Zhang didn't even have a chance to react!"

"This… is this the 'Wood-Chopping Sword Technique' she practiced for a month? You call this wood-chopping? This is clearly a Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens!"

The Disciples who had mocked Ye Qingyao earlier now felt their faces burning, as if they had been slapped hard by an invisible hand.

On the VIP seats, it was even more chaotic.

The smile on the Danding Peak Elder's face froze, and his hand holding the wine cup trembled so much that the wine spilled out.

The other Elders stood up from their seats in unison, their eyes filled with shock, their gazes shifting back and forth between the arena and Su Changge, who was resting with his eyes closed nearby.

"This… is this a basic sword technique?"

"No! In that sword strike, there was 'Intent'! It is Sword Intent!"

An Elder who specialized in the Dao of the Sword said with a trembling voice, incoherent.

Sect Head Sect Master's pupils constricted, his heart shaking violently, which then transformed into boundless ecstasy: "Good! A good Ye Qingyao! A good Disciple of a famous Revered Master!"

The look he cast towards Su Changge now contained, besides awe, ten parts out of ten of worship.

Meanwhile, Su Changge's inner world was in total upheaval.

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! This girl is this fierce? One-shotted him? I had the script all written out: she gets beaten until she cries, and I come on stage to save the day, but she ends up one-shotting him herself?"

"Is a basic sword technique really this terrifying? If I had known, I would have practiced it too!"

He forcibly suppressed the raging waves in his heart, slowly opened his eyes, and swept his gaze indifferently across the arena.

On the arena, Ye Qingyao stood with her sword sheathed, her posture like a pine tree, her white clothes spotless.

Sensing her Revered Master's gaze, she bowed slightly towards the VIP seats.

The meaning was self-evident: Revered Master, this Disciple has not disgraced you.

This scene was clearly seen by everyone.

The eyes of the entire audience focused once again on Su Changge.

They finally understood. They completely understood.

Why the Little Martial Ancestor had been so calm from beginning to end.

Why he had only said one word. —Watch.

Indeed, for a match that could be concluded in one sword strike, what was there to say?