147: Chapter 147 A Child Dances with a Sword

The noble air belonging to the imperial family between her brows had not diminished, but now, it added a sense of stern majesty reminiscent of the battlefield.

She stood quietly in the center of the Martial Arts Arena. Although her figure was slender, she was like an unsheathed, peerless divine sword with its sharpness restrained. An intangible yet Soul-severing Sword Intent permeated the air, causing everyone's spirits to tremble, and they couldn't help but hold their breath.

"Match! Purple Extreme Dynasty, Zi Wuji!" The referee's voice rang out high and loud again, attempting to reignite the atmosphere, but in the face of the majesty of that crimson figure, the voice seemed somewhat pale.

Before the words had even faded—

"Swish!"

A blinding purple stream of light, like a meteorite falling from the Nine Heavens, carrying an astonishing Aura, slammed onto the other end of the Martial Arts Arena!

As the dust slightly dispersed, the figure of Zi Wuji appeared.

He was dressed in a star-patterned purple robe. The stars of the heavens upon the robe were not ordinary embroidery; they were stitched with some kind of special spirit thread. Under the sunlight, they slowly flowed and flickered, as if he had draped a miniature, truly pulsating, vast starry sky over his body, mysterious and majestic.

His face was handsome, and between his brows, he carried the natural arrogance of a Prodigy from a noble family. However, at this moment, when his gaze touched the crimson figure standing still like fire opposite him, his pupils uncontrollably constricted, and a complex, indecipherable expression surfaced.

"I have long heard of the Eldest Princess's great name; it is like thunder in my ears." Zi Wuji spoke, his voice deliberately kept steady, yet a trace of tension could still be heard. "But I did not expect that the Eldest Princess of the dignified Shenwu Dynasty would actually lower herself to represent a... Great Xia Dynasty in battle. If this matter were to spread, I fear... it would become a bizarre tale rarely seen in the Southern Region in a thousand years."

In his words, probing, confusion, and a trace of deeply hidden wariness were mixed together, difficult to distinguish.

Upon hearing this, Jian Tanghuang's red lips curled upward almost imperceptibly, outlining a curve that was indifferent yet confident to the extreme.

This smile was very shallow, yet it seemed to carry a scorching temperature and radiance.

She did not immediately refute him, only lifting those clear eyes that seemed to contain endless Sword Intent, looking calmly at Zi Wuji.

Her voice was clear and melodious, like the first chime of a jade chime or ice spring water striking stone, carrying a natural composure and an unquestionable tone:

"Since I have entered the Xuantian Sect of the Great Xia Dynasty, I should naturally represent the Sect and the Dynasty in battle. Why is that not allowed?"

She paused slightly, her tone still calm, yet every word was like a sword, pointing straight to the core:

"Sect Legacy and the superiority of Dao techniques, how can they be judged by the breadth of territory or the strength of national power? Does Young Master Zi think that this world's Dao can only be taught by those from the top Imperial Dynasties? Or perhaps..."

Her gaze seemed to pierce through Zi Wuji, sweeping across the countless gazes on the viewing platform—some suspicious, some fanatical, some confused—and her voice clearly spread throughout the entire venue:

"Only by being in an Imperial Dynasty can one catch a glimpse of the true Peak of the Dao?"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was no less than throwing a ten-thousand-foot glacier into boiling oil!

"Boom————!!!"

The audience stands were instantly like a lit powder keg, completely exploding!

It was a hundred times more intense than any previous discussion!

"Xuantian Sect?! She... she actually joined a Sect from a borderland small country?!"

"My god! Xuantian Sect? I've never heard of it! What kind of Sect is it that could actually induce the Eldest Princess of the Shenwu Dynasty to abandon supreme resources and status, willing to join?!"

"What kind of foundation does the Shenwu Dynasty have? What kind of Cultivation Technique or secret art don't they have? Why would she abandon the near to seek the far... Could it be that within this Xuantian Sect, there really is, as rumored... a peerless figure capable of suppressing an entire Dynasty?!"

"I think it's highly likely! Otherwise, how can one explain it? This is the true Prodigy; how can their vision and choices be fathomed by ordinary people like us?"

"One person can suppress a Dynasty? If there really is such a figure, this Xuantian Sect... this Great Xia Dynasty... hiss—!"

The waves of exclamations, skepticism, fanaticism, and disbelief rose one after another, almost overturning the dome of the Martial Arts Arena!

Even the top powerhouses on the high platform, who had seen all kinds of storms and had long since learned to hide their emotions, had an unmistakable and clear look of surprise and deep thought flash across their eyes for the first time.

Second Prince Wu Yuanchen raised his brows slightly and turned his head to look at Jian Xiaotian, who was sitting beside him with a majestic demeanor, as steady as a mountain. His tone carried a hint of undisguised playfulness and probing: "Brother Jian, your precious daughter truly has... astonishing courage. This kind of choice is probably further and riskier than what you and I took back in the day."

Jian Xiaotian held a cyan jade teacup, his fingertips slowly rubbing the warm cup wall. In his eyes was undisguised gratification and pride, but his expression remained calm, as if he were just discussing a trivial matter: "The young Phoenix's voice is clearer than the old Phoenix's. She must walk her own path herself. As her father, I can only support her, without asking for the reason."

On the Martial Arts Arena, after Jian Tanghuang's words fell, Zi Wuji's face became completely heavy as iron.

The last trace of subconscious contempt he had felt because of her 'lowly' Dynasty background vanished into thin air, replaced by an extreme solemnity and pressure, as if facing the greatest enemy of his life.

He took a deep breath, as if to inhale the surrounding air along with that heaviness into his lungs. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk, locking onto Jian Tanghuang:

"Princess Jian, I admit that your strength is superb, crowning your generation. And... I admire your choice and courage."

He gripped the sword hilt in his hand tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white:

"But precisely because of this, today, I, Zi Wuji, must go all out, without any reservations! With my Purple Extreme Dynasty's town-state ultimate technique, I will experience—the peerless demeanor of the number one person of the Shenwu Dynasty's younger generation!"

As his words fell, the Aura around his body surged explosively, and his purple spiritual energy began to boil like a long-suppressed volcano!

Seeing that both sides' energy was like a bow drawn to a full moon, tense and ready to fire, the referee did not hesitate in the slightest. He infused spiritual energy into the specially made giant bronze gong in his hand and struck it fiercely!

"Clang————!!!"

The gong sound, loud enough to pierce metal and split stone, was like a horn for a battlefield charge, still vibrating and echoing violently in the air—

"Kill!"

A low, beast-like roar erupted from Zi Wuji's throat, and his figure had already transformed into a streak of purple lightning, launching a violent attack!

His Golden Core Late Stage cultivation exploded without reservation!

The purple spiritual energy was no longer just a halo, but like a bursting river, surging and roaring out, forming a dazzling, almost blinding vortex of spiritual energy around him! Within the vortex, stars could be vaguely seen flickering and fading, with Dao rhythms flowing.

The 'Purple Extreme Sword' in his hand, entirely purple and engraved with ancient star patterns, was unsheathed fiercely!

"Clang—!"

The sound of the sword rang through the clouds, and cold purple light burst forth, like the first ray of radiance that explodes when a star is born!

As the sword swung, it actually drew down countless fine starlight, like fireflies, like quicksand, drifting down, illuminating the Martial Arts Arena in a dreamlike and blurry way, yet filled with murderous intent!

"Stars of the Heavens, Suppress!"

Zi Wuji's face was solemn, purple light flared in his eyes, and he gripped the sword hilt with both hands, using the momentum of splitting Mount Hua, he slashed down fiercely in the direction of Jian Tanghuang!

"Rumble—!!!"

In an instant, the wind and clouds changed color, and the space above the Martial Arts Arena seemed to be triggered by this sword!

A hazy and vast phantom of the starry sky suddenly appeared!

Countless bright and dim stars moved and flickered within it according to mysterious trajectories, drawing upon the vast and majestic Star Power from the void, like a Nine Heavens galaxy bursting its banks and pouring down, turning into an intangible yet ten-thousand-jun heavy star mountain, crashing down toward the crimson figure in the center of the Martial Arts Arena!

The horror of the pressure caused the air around the Martial Arts Arena to emit an unbearable, teeth-aching "creak" groan, twisting and fluctuating violently, as if it would shatter completely the next moment!

In the front row of the audience, many Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators and even some who had just entered the Golden Core Stage were caught off guard. Their faces instantly turned pale as paper, their blood qi churned wildly, and they retreated repeatedly with muffled groans, their eyes filled with horror—such momentum, such pressure! An ordinary Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator under this would probably be pressed until their bones creaked in an instant, forced to kneel on the ground, with all fighting spirit gone!

Everyone subconsciously held their breath, their hearts in their throats, their gazes locked tightly onto that crimson figure—facing such a terrifying area suppression, how should Princess Jian respond? Will she use that unfathomable movement technique to instantly escape? Or will she sacrifice a protective Magic Treasure of the Shenwu Dynasty?

However—

Jian Tanghuang, who was at the very center of the star pressure and enduring the most terrifying pressure, just stood quietly in place, like a crimson rock, letting her clothes and hair flutter slightly under the invisible pressure.

Facing this monstrous Star Power, an ultimate technique sufficient to make peers of the same level change color, she only made one action that was simple to the extreme—

she lifted her slender hand lightly, and toward the blood-red sword hilt behind her, she made a light, void-drawing motion. The movement was slow and elegant, as if picking a dew-covered flower in a garden.

"Clang—!"

A sword chime, incomparably clear and seemingly able to cleanse the Soul, rose in response to her hand!

That blood-red long sword, as if possessing its own spiritual life, let out a joyful, clear hum, unsheathed itself, and drew a curve so beautiful it was heart-wrenching, landing steadily without deviation into her slender hand.

With the sword in hand, she did not move.

She didn't even lift her eyes to look at the vast, boundless Star Power falling from the Nine Heavens. She only turned her wrist slightly, holding the sword forward, and swung it lightly against the invisible star mountain crushing down.

There was no deafening roar, no blinding divine light illuminating the heavens and earth, no earth-shattering collision of spiritual energy.

There was only a crimson sword light, condensed to the extreme, pure to the extreme, and as calm as water, flowing out from the tip of the sword.

At first glance, the sword light was not dazzling, and even somewhat restrained.

But the moment it appeared, it seemed to pierce through the eternal night, bringing the first ray of dawn destined to illuminate the world.

Silently, yet unstoppably, it met the sky full of falling, brilliant and splendid starlight.

At the same time, Jian Tanghuang's cold and calm, yet absolutely confident voice, accompanied by this crimson sword light, clearly rang in everyone's ears:

"To defeat you,"

"One sword is enough."

The next instant—a scene that made hundreds of thousands of audience members, including the top powerhouses on the high platform who had seen all kinds of storms, uncontrollably constrict their pupils and feel their scalps tingle, occurred!

That majestic Star Power, capable of crushing mountains and causing Cultivators of the same rank to suffocate and perish, faced this seemingly plain, even somewhat "slow," crimson sword light—and it was as if boiling water had been poured onto snow!

It was like thin ice and remnant snow under the scorching sun!

At a speed clearly visible to the naked eye, it rapidly melted, dissipated, and disintegrated!

Wherever the sword light passed, the brilliant starlight seemed to have met its nemesis, its radiance rapidly dimming and extinguishing; that suffocating, vast Aura was wiped away as if by an invisible giant hand, unable to approach within three feet of Jian Tanghuang!

It was as if an absolute, inviolable Domain existed there!

The expression on Zi Wuji's face, originally one of gravity mixed with confidence, instantly froze, then transformed into a drastic change of disbelief!

His signature ultimate technique, with which he had suppressed countless peer Prodigies, had been broken by her with a single sword strike... so casually, so effortlessly?!

She had not even needed to move a single step?!

A flame mixed with shock, humiliation, and ruthlessness suddenly flared in his eyes!

"Impossible! Suppress—for me!!" Zi Wuji's eyes turned crimson, and he let out a roar of unwillingness, his internal Spiritual Power pouring into the Ziji Sword in his hand at an unprecedented, reckless speed!

The purple light on the sword blade surged, becoming almost blinding, emitting an unbearable hum!

"Big Dipper Immortal Execution, Seven Swords Soul Lock!"

He gripped the sword with both hands, his sword stance shifting again, changing from a downward slash to an incredibly profound guiding trajectory!

His shout boomed like a thunderclap!

Above the Martial Arts Arena, in that misty starry sky Domain that had not yet fully dissipated, the seven most dazzling purple main stars, arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, suddenly flared with intense light, as if seven small purple suns had been ignited simultaneously!

"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"

In an instant, seven purple light swords, solid as if real and formed entirely from pure Star Power and destructive Sword Intent, tore through the sky and descended, carrying a sharp, ear-piercing shriek that could puncture eardrums!

These seven swords were not attacking randomly.

They sealed off every possible space for evasion from seven kill zones—East, South, West, North, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest—forming a profound and deadly Star Sword Array.

Carrying the terrifying Aura of destroying Immortals and Buddhas, they shot violently toward Jian Tanghuang!

The ruthlessness and decisiveness of the sword stance clearly showed an intent to kill; he was holding nothing back!

In the spectator stands, countless people stood up abruptly, holding their breath, their hearts almost jumping out of their chests, their blood seeming to freeze at this moment—the power of these seven swords was such that each one could easily pierce the protective spiritual light of a Golden Core Cultivator.

With all seven swords out and the sword array combined, its power had vaguely touched the threshold of the Nascent Soul!

If hit by any one of these swords, even a Golden Core Peak stage Cultivator would likely be severely injured in an instant; if surrounded by all seven... the consequences would be unimaginable!

However—Jian Tanghuang, located at the very center of this deadly sword array and seemingly with no way to avoid it, remained composed.

She did not even look at the seven lethal star swords capable of piercing metal and stone and extinguishing life; her gaze remained calm as it rested ahead, as if they were merely seven insignificant fireflies.

She merely gave a light flick to the longsword in her hand, which looked ancient and unremarkable except for its crimson color.

"Zheng————!" Another sword hum rang out!

But this sword hum was completely different from any previous one!

It was clear, long, and carried a strange rhythm and penetrating power that struck directly at the Soul!

It seemed not to sound in the air, but to strike directly upon everyone's heart, deep within their Divine Soul, stirring up ripples that could not be calmed!

An even more scalp-numbing and terrifying thing happened—the seven star-light swords, swift as lightning, ferociously unmatched, and sealing off all paths of survival, when still a full three feet away from Jian Tanghuang's body—suddenly acted like seven moths crazily throwing themselves into flames, crashing into an invisible, intangible, yet absolutely insurmountable "Wall of Sighs"!

"Hum——!!!" The seven purple star-light swords froze in mid-air simultaneously!

The sword tips were no more than three feet from the target, yet they could not advance even a fraction of an inch!

They trembled violently, emitting a hum of unwillingness and fear, the brilliant purple light on the sword bodies flickering crazily as they tried to break through the invisible shackles, but like insects trapped in amber, it was all in vain!

"No... this is impossible!!!" Zi Wuji exclaimed, the color instantly draining from his face, which was filled with absurdity, shock, and disbelief!

He clearly felt that his mental connection with those seven natal star swords had not been severed, and the destructive power contained within the star swords had not dissipated, but somehow, they had been completely imprisoned and suppressed by an invisible and vast Sword Intent Domain that seemed to originate from a higher level!

No matter how crazily he urged his Spiritual Power, or how he burned his Divine Soul to try to communicate, it was like a mud ox entering the sea, receiving not the slightest response!

Jian Tanghuang finally raised her eyes.

Those clear eyes now seemed to have transformed into two unsheathed, peerless divine swords tempered with ice and fire.

Her gaze was like lightning, piercing through space, striking directly into the deepest part of Zi Wuji's mind, instantly piercing and freezing all his pride, struggle, and wishful thinking!

"Your sword," her voice remained cold and calm, yet every word was like ten-thousand-year black ice, slamming into Zi Wuji's heart: "is flashy but unsubstantial, full of flaws."

"The Star Power is ostentatious and scattered, mere window dressing; the connection of positions is stiff and sluggish, the loopholes visible to the naked eye.

It looks grand and atmospheric, drawing upon the heavens, but in reality..." She shook her head gently, her tone carrying a faint, almost pitiful disappointment: "you are strong on the outside but weak on the inside, unable to withstand a single blow."

Her cold voice still drifted in the air, which was almost frozen by shock—Jian Tanghuang's figure suddenly blurred!

It was not an afterimage, nor a visual deception left by high-speed movement.

It was as if her whole person had, in this instant, transformed into a pure, ultimate sword light!

The person is the sword, the sword is the person!

A crimson flash, intense as blood and brilliant as the rising morning sun, tore through space and erased distance at a terrifying speed that exceeded the visual capture limit of most people present, and even exceeded the perception of their Divine Soul!

In the spectator stands, even those Golden Core Late Stage, and even Golden Core Peak stage Cultivators, could only see a crimson afterimage sweep across the void, unable to distinguish its trajectory, let alone capture where its true body was!

Fast! Fast to the extreme! Fast to the point of defying reason!

In that instant, Zi Wuji's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints!

A fatal sense of crisis, like the most bone-chilling cold current under a ten-thousand-foot icy abyss, instantly overwhelmed him, causing his blood to freeze, his hair to stand on end, and his Soul to tremble!

He wanted to dodge, but his body felt heavy as if filled with lead; he wanted to block, but his arms could not keep up with the speed of his thoughts; he wanted to activate his Magic Treasure, but his Spiritual Power seemed to have solidified.

All his thoughts became pale and ridiculous before that speed which surpassed his understanding.

He could only watch, helplessly and despairingly, as that crimson, blood-like sword tip, in his field of vision, instantly magnified from a tiny point of light, filling his entire world of pupils!

Finally—with a touch of coldness that seemed capable of freezing the Soul, it gently tapped onto the skin in the center of his forehead.

Subtle, precise, steady.

A wisp of bright, warm blood slowly seeped out from where the sword tip touched, meandering downwards.

Time seemed to be infinitely elongated and frozen at this moment.

All movements, all sounds, all thoughts, all stopped.

On the Martial Arts Arena, there was the proud figure of the crimson-clad person standing with sword in hand, and opposite, the stiff, statue-like, deathly pale figure of Zi Wuji.

In the spectator stands, there were hundreds of thousands of open mouths, wide-eyed stares, and the extreme shock frozen on their faces.

"You have lost." Jian Tanghuang's voice was calm and waveless, as if stating that the weather was nice today, yet it carried the meaning of a final judgment that could not be doubted or disobeyed, ringing softly in Zi Wuji's ears, and also in the deathly silent arena.

Zi Wuji was stiff as iron, his forehead and back instantly drenched in cold sweat.

He could perceive with absolute clarity that on that sword tip, cold and bone-piercing at the center of his forehead, lay a wisp of terrifying Sword Qi, subtle yet pure and condensed to the extreme, capable of annihilating his Divine Soul and destroying his Dao Foundation in an instant!

This wisp of Sword Qi was like the Sword of Damocles, hanging over his thin line between life and death.

All his pride, all his struggle, all his unwillingness, before this absolute power, absolute speed, and absolute control, were all reduced to powder and vanished like smoke.

His lips moved a few times, his throat dry as if sandpaper was rubbing against it.

Finally, from the depths of his Soul, he squeezed out three dry, powerless, yet heavy as mountains words: "...I concede."

Deathly silence.

The entire arena once again fell into a silence heavier than the deep sea and more absolute than a vacuum.

One could hear a pin drop.

Everyone seemed to have been hit by a top-tier petrification spell, dumbfounded, staring out of their wits at the proud crimson figure standing on the Martial Arts Arena.

The peerless Genius nurtured by the Ziji Dynasty with the power of the entire nation, the Golden Core Late Stage powerhouse, Zi Wuji, who had once swept across his peers, was before Jian Tanghuang... like a child wielding a sword, defeated so thoroughly, so decisively, so... without suspense?!

From beginning to end, from the Star suppression to the Big Dipper Immortal Execution, the opponent had not even moved a half step, merely executed two seemingly casual sword strikes—no, strictly speaking, just one and a half swords.

As if brushing away dust, she easily crushed all of Zi Wuji's pride and offensive momentum.

Is this... the strength of the number one person of the younger generation of the Shenwu Imperial Dynasty?

Is this... the demeanor of a Prodigy who dared to abandon the glory of the Imperial Dynasty and throw herself into a Sect in a border Dynasty?

An emotion called "awe," like vines growing crazily, wrapped around the heart of every witness, and took deep root.