64: The Sword Testing Tournament has ended.

Next, as expected, the four favorites for the championship fought their way through the rounds to enter the final four.

The first match of the semi-finals was Lin Yan versus Jiang Yizhou.

A young Genius versus a veteran expert.

This duel made all the Disciples present feel their blood boiling with excitement.

Jiang Yizhou, who Cultivates the "Cold River Sword Technique," has a sword style that is cold and fierce, and combined with the Human-Sword Unity Realm, his strength goes without saying!

But today, the strength Lin Yan displayed was far too unfathomable.

Many Disciples believed that this battle would surely be the battle of Lin Yan's rise, and some even asserted that Lin Yan would definitely win!

"The match begins!"

As the officiating Disciple gave the order, the winds rose and clouds surged on the Sword Testing Tournament stage.

Lin Yan held the hundred refined azure steel sword, its blade gleaming with a cold light, like a pool of autumn water.

His expression was calm, his gaze like a torch; as he guided the Sword Techniques with his hand, the Sword Qi of the "Nine Yuan Sword Technique" erupted instantly!

"Hum...!"

The sword tip trembled slightly, and the surrounding air seemed to be sliced; faintly, the prototype of nine Sword Qi trails circled around the blade, though they did not truly condense.

Opposite him, Jiang Yizhou held a jet-black longsword, its blade like ink, radiating a biting chill.

He also wore a cold expression, pointing his sword toward the heavens; the Sword Qi of the "Cold River Sword Technique" surged forward like a cold, long river!

"Human-Sword Unity!"

Both knew the other's level of Sword Dao, so there was no need to probe.

They entered the Human-Sword Unity state from the very first round.

Both took a step forward almost simultaneously, their entire beings merging with their swords, as if the sword was the body, and the body was the sword!

Sword light flashed like lightning!

The power of every strike was equivalent to a full-force blow under normal circumstances!

This was Human-Sword Unity.

The black sword in Jiang Yizhou's hand surged like a cold river, the sword momentum long and continuous, carrying a bone-piercing chill, aiming straight for Lin Yan's throat!

Lin Yan's eyes narrowed, the qinggang sword flicked gently, the blade as agile as autumn water, parrying the strike with absolute precision!

"Clang!"

The two swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere, Sword Qi vibrating; the surrounding air seemed to freeze, and then seemed to be torn apart!

The watching Disciples held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on the two dueling in the arena.

Human-Sword Unity!

This was the first duel between two practitioners of Human-Sword Unity since the beginning of the Sword Testing Tournament!

Sword lights crossed; the two fought evenly, and for a time, it was hard to tell who would win.

Lin Yan's sword style was agile and elegant, every strike just right, neither appearing weak nor truly gaining the upper hand.

Jiang Yizhou's sword style was like a long-flowing cold river, continuous and unending, the sword momentum becoming increasingly fierce, the pressure growing stronger and stronger!

The battle reached a white-hot intensity!

A cold light flashed in Jiang Yizhou's eyes, the black sword suddenly accelerated, the sword momentum like a river bursting its banks, crashing down upon Lin Yan!

"Cold River Breaks the Peak!"

This strike contained all his power; wherever the blade passed, the air seemed to freeze, and the induced Sword Qi was as sharp as ice blades!

Lin Yan's gaze sank, the qinggang sword met the strike, the blade as agile as autumn water, attempting to dissolve the sharpness of this blow!

He silently recited the Sword Techniques in his heart, the sword tip trembling slightly, and nine sharp trails of Sword Qi erupted instantly.

But no one noticed that every trail of Sword Qi was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

It looked incomparably sharp, but in reality, its power was less than before.

He had deliberately suppressed the power of his Sword Techniques!

"Clang!"

The two swords clashed again; this time, Lin Yan's blade faltered slightly, forced back by the sheer power of Jiang Yizhou's sword momentum!

Half an inch!

A mere half-inch gap, the tip of the black sword brushed past Lin Yan's lapel.

While Lin Yan's blade stopped just three inches from Jiang Yizhou's throat!

Although neither said anything, it was clear that the winner had been decided!

Jiang Yizhou won by a narrow margin! He advanced to the finals!

Off the stage, the Disciples were stunned.

Lin Yan... lost?

He had clearly already achieved Human-Sword Unity, his sword style was agile, and he even seemed vaguely more composed than Jiang Yizhou!

Why... did he lose?!

Someone murmured, "Could it be... Senior Brother Lin intentionally threw the match?"

Others couldn't believe it: "That's impossible, right? Why would he do that?"

"What exactly is going on here?"

"Could it be that Senior Brother Jiang is just too strong?"

The officiating Disciple looked on with a complex expression and announced, "Jiang Yizhou wins! Advances to the finals!"

Jiang Yizhou sheathed his sword and stood there, his expression complex as he glanced at Lin Yan.

He also didn't understand how he had managed to win by that half-move.

However, winning was a good thing; Jiang Yizhou nodded slightly to Lin Yan in acknowledgement, then turned and left.

Lin Yan's acting was so good that even the person involved in the duel hadn't seen through the flaw.

"Interesting."

On the stage, several Elders exchanged smiles.

Naturally, they would not be deceived by Lin Yan's ploy.

Through the previous sword sparring, they could see that Lin Yan's Human-Sword Unity Realm was extremely stable.

Furthermore, Lin Yan's "Nine Yuan Sword Technique" was extremely proficient; he had likely reached the Transcendent level and had his own exclusive killing move.

Yet, Lin Yan hadn't shown any of it, deliberately losing to Jiang Yizhou.

"This kid, clearly having stronger strength, why did he deliberately throw the match?"

"Others are desperate to exert 120 percent of their strength, but this kid is something else, only using 80 percent."

"Could it be that he looks down on us old men?"

Several Elders were quite interested in Lin Yan's concealment of his abilities:

"It's normal for young people to be proud; perhaps his goal is to comprehend the prototype of Sword Intent and enter the inner sect."

"Interesting; with this kid's talent, he might actually be able to comprehend it!"

"We just sent a good seedling to the inner sect; we can't let this kid slip away either. I'll take him as my Disciple!"

"You old Sun is dreaming; I am the Grand Elder, so I should be the first to take a Disciple!"

...

Afterwards, Luo Haoyu defeated Gu Xianzhi and met Jiang Yizhou in the finals.

As expected, Luo Haoyu eventually won the championship.

Winning the championship was his ultimate goal.

Now that the goal had been achieved, it still felt like something was missing.

Next was the award ceremony.

The Grand Elder personally distributed the prizes to everyone.

As a finalist in the top four, Lin Yan received 1,000 merit points and a flying boat.

"This is a Tier 2 flying boat, its flight speed can reach the Foundation Establishment level, and it has an integrated Tier 2 defensive Formation; once fully activated, it can defend against attacks from a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator!" the Grand Elder said to Lin Yan with a smile.

"Thank you, Elder!" Lin Yan took the one-foot-long flying boat, feeling excited.

A while ago, because of cultivating the mutated Spirit Potato, he had not only emptied his savings but also owed a pile of debts.

Fortunately, after completing the Sword Grass cultivation mission, he had the 1,000 merit points given by Su Wan Yue to keep him going.

Adding the 1,000 merit points rewarded this time, he was finally wealthy again.