173: Chapter 173 The Wildfire Sword Technique!

Only then did Qin Yan slowly exhale a long-held breath of turbid air.

His highly tense nerves finally relaxed.

"Modu University of Martial Arts, Qin Yan, wins!"

Qin Yan slowly retracted his spear, the astonishing golden Spear Light also receding and vanishing.

He did not look at the various gazes of shock, uproar, and anger from below the stage.

He directly sat down cross-legged and began regulating his breathing.

The battle was not over yet.

...

Jingdu University of Martial Arts's preparation area.

The moment they saw Lin Qingyue get her arm severed, spit blood, and fall to the ground, the entire preparation area instantly fell deathly silent!

"Qingyue!"

"How is that possible?!"

"Spear Light?! A four-stage Spear Technique?!"

Lin Qingyue was carried back by the medical personnel. The gruesome state of her severed arm and her face, pale as paper, sank everyone's hearts to the depths.

The accompanying medical staff immediately stepped forward to provide emergency treatment, reattaching the severed arm.

Lin Qingyue gradually regained consciousness during the treatment, feeling a numb itch from her right arm and weakness throughout her body.

Those sapphire-blue beautiful eyes had lost their usual calm and ethereal quality, now filled with deep self-blame and unwillingness.

"Mentor... I'm sorry... I... I've let you down..."

"It's not your fault, Qingyue."

The team-leading mentor took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger and shock in his heart.

He said in a low voice, "No one expected that Modu University of Martial Arts this year... would be so deceitful!"

He almost spat out the word "deceitful" through gritted teeth.

In his view, Modu University of Martial Arts had truly perfected the art of "hiding one's strength"!

What decent person would send a prodigy of Qin Yan's caliber out repeatedly to fight in the vanguard?

Forcing him to display his strength time and again, letting opponents analyze him repeatedly, lowering their guard?

And the result? They stubbornly kept their most crucial trump card, the "four-stage Spear Technique," completely hidden.

Only delivering the fatal blow at the most critical moment!

"All we can say is, to win this year, Modu University of Martial Arts has truly... gone to great lengths, utterly sinister!"

The mentor concluded hatefully.

Lying on the stretcher, Lin Qingyue silently nodded upon hearing this, her pale face full of agreement and resentment.

That Qin Yan was not just sinister; he was cunning to the extreme!

From the very beginning, he had been acting!

Suppressing the grief and indignation in her heart, Lin Qingyue closed her sapphire-blue eyes. In her mind, she began replaying the previous battle, searching for flaws and gaps.

Failure isn't terrifying; correcting it is what matters!

Just as Lin Qingype was engaged in profound reflection, the Jingdu University of Martial Arts team-leading mentor looked towards the youth at the back of the team.

"Chen Tian, you're up for this match!

Qingyue's loss was a misjudgment on all our parts.

Now, I need you to display the true spirit of our Jingdu University of Martial Arts!

Let everyone know that the foundation of Jingdu University of Martial Arts cannot be shaken by mere tricks and schemes!"

"Don't worry, Mentor!"

Chen Tian slowly stood up. His build was not as burly as Li Li's, nor was his face particularly handsome, but his eyes were exceptionally bright and resolute.

"I will not disappoint you, nor will I let Qingyue's suffering be in vain!"

He and Lin Qingyue walked different paths.

Lin Qingyue possessed exceptional talent and a proud, aloof heart.

During this period, she had devoted most of her energy to pushing the limits of the Bone Forging Realm, hoping to crush everything with her foundational qi and blood.

However, she had still not succeeded in breaking through before the Exchange Competition, and it had instead delayed her improvements in other areas.

He, Chen Tian, was more pragmatic.

He chose to invest a great deal of time into honing the relatively "simple" but crucial Martial Arts Skill!

His efforts paid off. On the eve of the Exchange Competition, his Sword Technique Skill successfully broke through to the fourth stage!

He had condensed his own — Sword Light!

This was precisely the greatest source of confidence that allowed him to be called one of the "Kyoto Twin Stars" alongside Lin Qingyue!

However, gains come with losses.

Investing a massive amount of time and energy into breaking through his Martial Arts Skill inevitably squeezed out time for foundational tempering.

His skull was not fully tempered; he had only completed twenty-three pieces. This kept his foundational qi and blood stable at 547 cards.

Compared to Qin Yan, it was only twenty-four cards higher!

...

Qin Yan watched Chen Tian step onto the stage steadily, his expression grave.

He could sense that this opponent before him was a completely different type from Lin Qingyue.

If Lin Qingyue was a surging, turbulent tide with a hint of proud aloofness,

then Chen Tian was a silent, resolute volcano, ready to erupt with devastating power at any moment.

He knew this was likely the most difficult, most brutal battle he would face today, or even since the competition began!

Information from the school database about Chen Tian, sparse as it was, flashed rapidly through his mind: Chen Tian: Gender: Male, Strength: Unfathomable, Sword Technique: Unknown (suspected to be extremely high), Body Tempering Martial Art: Prairie Fire Sword Art.

"Match begin!"

Qin Yan did not hesitate in the slightest!

His trump cards — the four-stage Spear Technique and Layered Aura — had already been exposed in the previous match.

Now, there was no need for any further concealment. The only option was to pour everything into an all-out battle!

"Hum—!"

With a thought, the qi and blood within his body surged forth like a bursting dam!

The long spear trembled. At its tip, that heart-stopping one-foot-long golden Spear Light erupted once more, extending like a solid substance!

Immediately after, he pushed Layered Aura to its limit.

Twenty-four condensed, pale golden Spear Auras layered around the Spear Light.

Like stars surrounding the moon, they concentrated devastating power into a single point!

The entire spear seemed to transform into the Spear of Judgment from myth, radiating an extreme sharpness that could tear through and pierce anything!

Qin Yan took a step forward, cracking the stage floor!

The muscles in his arms bulged as he poured all his strength into this single thrust, launching it forth fiercely!

Where the spear passed, the air was forcibly pushed aside, emitting a piercing sonic boom!

Chen Tian, feeling the sharp spear momentum assaulting him, showed not a trace of fear in his eyes, which were as calm as deep pools. Instead, a towering fighting spirit surged within them!

"Well met!"

He too stepped forward, the 547 cards of qi and blood within his body roaring into motion!

The longsword in his hand emitted a cheerful hum.

At the tip of the sword, a one-foot-long, condensed, blood-diamond-like crimson Sword Light suddenly erupted!

It stood in equal opposition to Qin Yan's golden Spear Light!

But this was not enough!

"Prairie Fire Sword Art — Tenfold Sword Runes, open!"

Chen Tian roared. On the sword's blade, complex and profound red patterns rapidly appeared and lit up!

One, two, three... finally, a full ten crimson Sword Runes were imprinted upon the longsword!

Each sword rune contained the unique explosive power of the *Prairie Fire Sword Art*.

Each one provided him with a terrifying boost equivalent to 2 cards of qi and blood!

With all ten runes activated simultaneously, it amounted to a staggering boost of 20 cards!

In that instant, Chen Tian's comprehensive explosive power reached an unimaginable height!