124: Chapter 124 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Seventy-Two)

Bing Hao frowned slightly; it was the first time he had encountered such a troublesome opponent.

Zhou Xuan's swordsmanship seemed soft, yet it was full of resilience.

No matter how fierce his ice soul sword was, Zhou Xuan could deflect it with ingenious angles, then follow up with a dense counterattack.

Dozens of exchanges.

Hundreds of exchanges.

As time passed, both of their breathing became somewhat disordered.

Their foreheads were covered in sweat, but neither retreated, continuing to fight fiercely.

Bing Hao took a deep breath, and the True Qi around him suddenly surged.

Pale blue True Qi shot into the sky, and the entire arena was covered in a layer of thick ice.

He gripped his sword with both hands, raised it high, and the ice soul sword condensed all his True Qi, emitting a bone-chilling coldness that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.

"Final form of the 'ice soul sword Canon', One Sword Frosts Fourteen Prefectures!"

Bing Hao shouted, swinging his hands downward.

A massive ice-blue sword aura tore through the air; wherever it passed, the air froze into a solid state, and time seemed to stop.

The entire arena was shrouded by this sword aura, leaving nowhere to escape.

Zhou Xuan's expression instantly became extremely solemn.

He slowly closed his eyes, gripped the spring bud sword with both hands, and poured all his True Qi into the sword body.

"Final form of the 'Spring Flower Sword Canon', Ten Thousand Trees Vie for Spring!"

As the words fell, a brilliant green light erupted from Zhou Xuan's body.

Countless pale green sword auras spewed out from his body, like thousands of new buds breaking through the soil, or like spring flowers blooming across the mountains and plains.

The endless force of vitality swept across the field, colliding with the extreme coldness of Bing Hao.

"Boom...!"

A heaven-shaking roar rang out.

The entire arena trembled violently.

Countless ice shards and green sword aura fragments flew everywhere, and the hard golden floor was blasted with deep cracks.

After a long time, the dust and smoke gradually dispersed.

Everyone followed the sound and looked, only to see Bing Hao kneeling on one knee on the arena, his ice soul sword stuck in the ground, supporting his body.

His mouth bled continuously, and a deep wound had been carved into his left shoulder by a green sword aura, with pale blue blood slowly flowing out.

Zhou Xuan stood opposite him, his breathing slightly disordered, and his clothes were stiff from the cold, but he held the spring bud sword firmly in his hand.

The superiority was immediately apparent; the winner had been decided.

"I lost," Bing Hao said in a low voice, his tone filled with a trace of fatigue and unwillingness.

Zhou Xuan cupped his hands at Bing Hao: "Brother Bing Hao, you let me win."

Bing Hao did not speak, pulled out his ice soul sword, struggled to stand up, turned, and walked off the arena.

The entire arena erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

Zhou Xuan stood in the center of the arena, panting slightly.

He sheathed the spring bud sword, raised his head, and his gaze pierced through the seething crowd, falling on Chu Shi, who had been sitting quietly off the stage.

In his eyes, a fiercely intense fighting spirit ignited.

He took a deep breath to calm his disordered breathing.

Then, his voice clearly spread across the entire trial grounds, overpowering all the clamor:

"Chu Shi, do you dare to fight!"

"The Three Prefectures Trial, the talent from the ninth layer of the Heavenly Ladder, known as the second person in the Great Sun Holy Land in three hundred years."

"Furthermore, you were personally accepted as a personal disciple by Peak Master Lieyang, the protagonist of this grand ceremony."

"Everyone, including us, has traveled thousands of miles to cheer for you."

"What a great reputation, what a grand spectacle!"

"Today, I, Zhou Xuan, Core Disciple of the Spring Flower Peak of the Four Seasons Holy Land, will challenge you to weigh your mettle!"

As the words fell, the previously noisy crowd instantly quieted down.

Everyone's gaze focused on Chu Shi.

Chu Shi sat there quietly, wearing a purple Core Disciple outfit, his posture straight, his face calm.

He looked at Zhou Xuan on the arena, the corners of his mouth rising slightly, revealing a trace of arrogant laughter.

Good, good, good, the little troublemaker has finally shown his true colors!

He knew that as the leader of a Holy Land's disciples, he was bound to cause trouble.

However, would I avoid your edge?

Before having double attributes, I was timid, but if I'm not arrogant after having such high double attributes.

Then wouldn't these double attributes have been for nothing!

His smile grew wider, and then, he walked slowly toward the arena.

One step, two steps, three steps...

His footsteps were light, yet they seemed to step on everyone's hearts.

The entire trial ground was silent, only his clear footsteps could be heard.

Walking to the edge of the arena, Chu Shi leaped lightly and landed in the center of the arena.

Then, he looked at Zhou Xuan and spoke indifferently:

"You recover first; I won't take advantage of you. I will make you lose, convinced and satisfied."

Chu Shi's voice was calm, yet carried an incomparable arrogance and confidence.

Zhou Xuan looked at Chu Shi, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

He could feel that the aura emitted by Chu Shi was even stronger and more unfathomable than Bing Hao's, like a towering volcano, vast and majestic.

He did not have absolute certainty of victory.

"Good." Zhou Xuan agreed.

Immediately, he sat cross-legged on the spot, took out several bottles of pills from the storage bag at his waist, and slowly consumed them.

It took a full stick of incense's time before Zhou Xuan slowly stood up.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand to grip the hilt of the spring bud sword, and said loudly to Chu Shi:

"Brother Chu, please enlighten me."

In an instant, the pale green True Qi around Zhou Xuan erupted again.

This time, he held nothing back, pushing all his True Qi to the limit.

The spring bud sword hummed, countless tiny green sword auras circulating on the sword body, and the surrounding heaven and earth energy frantically converged toward him.

Chu Shi nodded slightly.

"Great Sun Holy Land, Lieyang Peak, Chu Shi."

The next moment, an even more majestic crimson-gold True Qi erupted from his body.

The golden True Qi was as dazzling as the scorching sun in the high sky, carrying a hot and domineering aura that swept across the entire arena.

The surrounding heaven and earth energy frantically converged toward him, and on the arena, there was even a faint phenomenon of a miniature sun hanging in the sky.

On Chu Shi's body surface, a layer of pale golden order iron film also appeared.

This iron film was thicker and more condensed than Bing Hao's pale blue iron film, exuding an indestructible pressure.

Zhou Xuan's expression also became extremely solemn.

He had originally thought that even if Chu Shi were stronger, he would at most be a thread stronger than him.

He hadn't expected that Chu Shi had already completed one-third of the journey of the early Iron Skin Realm.

But he did not retreat; the fighting spirit in his eyes became even hotter.

"Come!"

Zhou Xuan shouted and attacked first.

The spring bud sword turned into a green stream of light, piercing directly at Chu Shi's heart.

This sword strike combined the trickiness of the New Bud style and the agility of the Spring Breeze style, fast as lightning and unstoppable.

Yet Chu Shi stood there as if frightened, unmoving.

Only the crimson-gold True Qi circulated around him, forming an indestructible barrier.

However, when the tip of Zhou Xuan's sword pierced the barrier, it was like piercing a red-hot block of iron, emitting a soft "hissing" sound, and the green sword aura was instantly extinguished.

Only the sword blade itself collided with it, emitting a crisp sound of metal clashing.

Completely unable to break through the defense!

"Is this all you've got?"