25: Chapter 25 Master tapped his fingers! I understand!

Under the gaze of the masses, the curtains of the final were suddenly pulled open by the sky-piercing Aura on both sides of the arena.

On one side was the Sect's veteran Prodigy, the personal Disciple of the Grand Elder, Zhao Wuji, who was at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

On the other side was the biggest dark horse to emerge in this tournament, the only Disciple of the Little Martial Ancestor Su Changge, Ye Qingyao.

The air was taut as a bowstring.

"Senior Brother Zhao will surely win! Teach that ignorant little girl a lesson!" Zhao Wuji's supporters shouted loudly.

"Martial Uncle Ye, come on! Use your Dao of the sword to crush him!" More Disciples had already defected, becoming fanatical believers of Ye Qingyao.

The presiding Elder announced in a deep voice.

"The final, begin!"

Before the words had even faded, Zhao Wuji's face instantly twisted into a savage grin.

"Little bitch, your luck has run out!"

He did not test her at all; his opening move was a killing blow.

He slammed his hand against his Storage Pouch, and a streak of crimson light shot into the sky!

It was a command flag that swelled in the wind, transforming into a three-zhang-tall banner that hung in mid-air.

On the face of the flag, flame runes flowed on their own, and the terrifying heat wave instantly distorted the surrounding air.

"A High Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Blazing Fire Flag!"

An Elder in the audience exclaimed in shock.

"Go!"

Zhao Wuji pointed his finger viciously, and the Blazing Fire Flag roared into action.

An endless sea of fire poured out from the flag. It was no longer a phantom form but actual, viscous flames resembling lava. With a "whoosh" roar, it instantly occupied half the arena, sweeping fiercely toward Ye Qingyao's position.

The bluestone slabs of the entire arena cracked inch by inch under the high temperature, emitting a groan of being overwhelmed.

The Disciples below were forced to retreat repeatedly by the heat wave, their faces filled with terror.

"Too strong... Is this Senior Brother Zhao's true strength?"

"Martial Uncle Ye is in danger! No matter how exquisite her sword technique is, she has no room to dodge against such a large-scale Spell that suppresses her with spiritual power!"

In the sea of fire, Ye Qingyao's white-clad figure appeared exceptionally small.

Her expression was grave. Her long sword danced rapidly, and streaks of pure Sword Qi broke through the air, attempting to slash open the oncoming wall of fire.

However, Zhao Wuji's spiritual cultivation was two small Realms higher than hers.

The sea of fire was endless.

Her Sword Qi shattered one section, but more flames immediately surged up, constantly compressing her footing.

As soon as sweat seeped out, it was instantly evaporated.

For the first time, she fell into a desperate battle.

Zhao Wuji, seeing this, wore a smile that became increasingly smug and cruel.

"Hahaha! See that? In the face of absolute power suppression, your ridiculous firewood-chopping sword technique is completely vulnerable!"

"Basics are just basics after all! Be defeated!"

While laughing wildly, he quietly activated a vicious forbidden technique he had obtained from the black market.

A drop of essence blood was forced from his fingertip and silently merged into the Blazing Fire Flag.

In an instant, a strange dark-red luster flashed deep within the crimson sea of fire.

It was no longer pure flame power; it was mixed with a trace of the "Bone-Eroding Fiendish Fire," which was extremely sinister and capable of eroding Meridians and burning away the Dao foundation!

This fire was extremely hidden. Once it invaded a Cultivator's body, it was like a maggot on a bone, difficult to eradicate even for a Grand Unity Golden Immortal!

He didn't want victory.

He wanted to cripple Ye Qingyao!

"Oh no! It's the Fiendish Fire!"

In the VIP seats, the Sect Head, the Sect Master, turned pale. With his profound cultivation, he instantly saw the trickery in the flames and was about to rise to intervene, but it was already too late.

That sea of fire, hiding murderous intent, had transformed into a giant mouth swallowing everything, about to completely submerge Ye Qingyao!

The hearts of everyone in the audience were in their throats.

Just at this moment.

In the VIP seats, the man who had been resting with his eyes closed from the beginning, Su Changge, finally made a slight movement.

He did not stand up, did not speak, and did not even lift his eyelids.

He just let out a cold snort, so light it was almost unheard, yet it contained endless contempt.

"Heh."

At the same time, his right index finger, resting on the armrest, tapped lightly and casually in the direction of the arena.

Dong.

A soft sound, like an evening drum or morning bell, or perhaps the sound of the Dao.

This sound did not enter the ears but resonated directly in the depths of everyone's Divine Soul.

Zhao Wuji, who was exerting all his strength to drive the Blazing Fire Flag, preparing to enjoy the miserable sight of Ye Qingyao being crippled, felt his mind go blank.

He felt the "Bone-Eroding Fiendish Fire" he had merged into the sea of fire being grasped by an invisible, massive hand out of thin air, and then... crushed.

The forbidden technique connected to his mind was broken, causing his blood to churn and the operation of his Spell to freeze for a ten-thousandth of a second.

"What's going on?!"

His mind was shaken, but the attack did not stop, though the most vicious contingency had vanished into nothingness.

And Ye Qingyao, trapped in the desperate sea of fire, was preparing to burn her essence blood for a final struggle.

It was just as that "Dong" sound rang out that the stabbing pain and burning sensation in her mind, triggered by the Fiendish Fire and originating from her Soul, abruptly vanished.

The pressure suddenly decreased!

Following that, an image appeared in her Sea of Consciousness without warning.

That was half a month ago, on the top of Changge Peak.

Revered Master was sitting on a stone stool, casually picking up a cup of the most ordinary boiled water and taking a light sip.

That action, how casual, how indifferent.

But at that time in her eyes, the water in that cup seemed to carry the birth and death of a Universe, containing the supreme Dao Rhyme that made the Dao itself rise and fall.

The Dao is simplicity itself!

Revered Master had long since taught me!

True power is not fancy Spells, not powerful Spiritual Artifacts, but that "truth" of returning to the Origin!

Why must my sword clash head-on with the sea of fire?

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.

Water is formless and shapeless; it flows around the strong and surges against the weak.

Why can't my sword be water?

At this moment, the confusion and gravity in Ye Qingyao's eyes faded away, replaced by an unprecedented clarity and transparency!

She had enlightened!

Facing the sky-filling sea of fire that was still surging toward her, she no longer swung her sword to slash, to chop, to resist head-on.

She poured all of her essence, Qi, and spirit, all of her understanding of the Dao of the sword, and all of her infinite reverence for Revered Master into the next sword strike!

She held the sword with both hands, her wrists turning gently.

The tip of the sword was no longer a sharp, aggressive attack; it was like the first drop of melting snow in early spring, gently touching the violent wall of fire.

There was no earth-shattering loud noise.

There was no explosion of spiritual power collision.

That indestructible sword tip seemed to turn into the softest stream of water, not resisting the violence of the flames, but flowing silently into the gaps between the flames, the weakest nodes of spiritual power circulation.

A drop of water merged into a great river.

The next instant, Ye Qingyao's figure moved.

She followed the sword; the sword led the person. Her whole body turned into a flickering line of water, walking as if strolling in a courtyard through the sea of fire capable of burning gold and melting iron!

All the flames slid past her sides strangely, as if she did not exist in this space at all.

"What?!"

Zhao Wuji's eyes were about to pop out.

He watched helplessly as Ye Qingyao passed through the sea of fire he was so proud of without a scratch, arriving right in front of him.

Ye Qingyao lifted her eyes, her clear pupils reflecting his face, twisted in shock.

She raised her sword.

On that ordinary steel longsword, there was no spiritual light, plain and unadorned.

Then, toward Zhao Wuji, toward the Blazing Fire Flag floating in front of him, just as Revered Master had drunk water before, she casually and naturally thrust it out gently.

"Slash."

This sword strike was very slow.

Slow enough for everyone to see the trajectory.

This sword strike was very quiet.

Quiet enough that not a single sound of breaking air could be heard.

But this sword strike landed with absolute precision on the very core point where the Blazing Fire Flag connected to Zhao Wuji's spiritual power.

"Crack."

A crisp sound.

The three-zhang-tall Blazing Fire Flag's light instantly dimmed, and the runes on the flag face shattered inch by inch.

The sky-filling sea of fire vanished like a receding tide in an instant.

Zhao Wuji was struck as if by lightning, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He flew backward, crashed heavily off the arena, and passed out.

The whole audience was dead silent.

One sword strike.

Just one sword strike.

Broke the Spell, defeated the enemy!

Everyone stared blankly at the white-clad girl standing on the stage with her sword, then subconsciously turned their gaze to the man in the VIP seats who had not even lifted his eyelids.

In their minds, only one absurd and terrifying thought remained.

That sword strike she just made...

Could it be that she learned it from the Little Martial Ancestor when he was drinking water?!