233: Chapter 233 Defeating One-Sword

Facing that golden blade shadow, which seemed capable of severing mountains and rivers, Lin Tian did not retreat even half a step.

With a flick of his wrist, his autumn water sword once again bloomed with brilliant Xiaguang. Sword light after sword light flew from the blade, slashing towards the heaven-destroying and earth-shattering blade shadow ahead.

Seeing this, the crowd below shook their heads and sighed.

"It is useless. The Xiaguang Sword Technique cannot block this move." An Elder from Chixia Peak sighed, his tone filled with regret. "Shen Haoran was just defeated by this very blade strike. Even the Thunderclap Sword Technique was obliterated; what can the Xiaguang Sword Technique possibly do?"

Sure enough, the first ray of Xiaguang collided with the golden blade shadow. Like a bubble hitting a reef, it was instantly shattered into fragments. The golden blade shadow continued to advance with unstoppable force, bearing down on Lin Tian.

The second ray of Xiaguang shattered. The third ray of Xiaguang shattered.

Yet, Lin Tian did not stop his sword. His wrist moved with fluid ease, and the autumn water sword traced beautiful arcs in the air, each arc transforming into a ray of Xiaguang Sword Qi.

His movements grew faster and faster, and the sword light became increasingly dense. By the end, one could barely see his sword strokes, only a brilliant expanse of Xiaguang blooming continuously around him.

The fourth, the fifth, the sixth.

The blade light continued to advance, but its speed seemed to have slowed by a fraction.

The seventh, the eighth, the ninth.

Nine rays of Xiaguang! Someone in the crowd exclaimed aloud. Nine rays from a single sword—this was the mark of the Major Achievement Realm!

Within the entire younger generation of Zixia Peak, those who could Cultivate the Xiaguang Sword Technique to the Major Achievement Realm were few and far between; even Qiao Yiyi was only at the seven-ray level. That Lin Tian had unleashed nine rays of Xiaguang was enough to make everyone look at him with new eyes.

But it was not over yet.

After the nine rays of Xiaguang, the momentum of Lin Tian's sword did not pause in the slightest. The autumn water sword spun a sword flower, and the tenth ray of Xiaguang flew from the tip, even more brilliant and fierce than the previous nine.

Following closely was the eleventh. Then the twelfth.

The twelve rays of Xiaguang were like twelve flowing rainbows, connected head-to-tail, weaving into an incredibly gorgeous curtain of light on the arena, crashing fiercely into the golden blade shadow ahead.

Everyone below the arena was stunned. "What? How is this possible! Twelve rays of Xiaguang!"

"Am I seeing things? Heavens, he really unleashed twelve rays of Xiaguang!"

A Chixia Peak Disciple rubbed his eyes vigorously and pinched himself hard. After confirming he hadn't misread, the expression on his face was as if he had seen a ghost. He opened his mouth wide, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "This... this damn thing is the Perfection Realm!"

The entire Martial Arts Arena exploded into chaos. Those Elders who had been shaking their heads and sighing just moments ago all sprang up from their seats, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

The Zixia Peak side was in a state of absolute frenzy. The Disciples of Zixia Peak had all cultivated the Xiaguang Sword Technique, and they knew better than anyone what twelve rays of Xiaguang meant.

Five rays of Xiaguang represented Minor Achievement, seven rays represented proficiency, and nine rays represented Major Achievement. Being able to unleash nine rays of Xiaguang with a single sword was already extremely rare among Disciples; only a few with top-tier talent could achieve it.

Let alone Disciples, even many Elders who had cultivated for decades were only at the Major Achievement Realm.

Yet, to unleash twelve rays of Xiaguang in one strike—this had already surpassed Major Achievement and stepped into the Perfection Realm.

Sword Technique Perfection. The weight of these two words combined made every Zixia Peak Disciple and Elder present feel a sense of suffocation.

Throughout the entire Zixia Peak, how many people could Cultivate the Xiaguang Sword Technique to Perfection? Perhaps Peak Master Su Hanyan could, but the Peak Master was a being at the Core Formation Realm, a genuine 6th Grade Martial Artist.

For a 6th Grade Martial Artist to Cultivate a sword technique to Perfection was only logical. But Lin Tian was merely a 5th Grade Martial Artist. A 5th Grade Martial Artist in his early twenties who had cultivated a sword technique to Perfection—this was not just a matter of talent; this was a Prodigy. A thorough and complete Prodigy.

On the arena, when Senior Brother Wang Yidao saw those twelve rays of Xiaguang, his pupils contracted sharply, and his face turned ashen in an instant.

"Impossible!" He roared, the veins on his forehead bulging. "I don't believe it!"

He did not believe that a 5th Grade Late Stage brat could Cultivate a sword technique to Perfection. He did not believe that his Golden Light Blade Technique, of which he was so proud, would lose to the mere Xiaguang Sword Technique. He did not believe it.

Senior Brother Wang Yidao gripped his blade with both hands, pushing the power in his Dantian to an unprecedented limit. The light on the golden blade shadow surged by another thirty percent. Gritting his teeth, he used all his strength to slash fiercely toward the expanse of Xiaguang ahead.

"Mountain-Cleaving Strike!"

Boom! The golden blade shadow and the twelve rays of Xiaguang collided with a thunderous roar. The first ray of Xiaguang hit the blade shadow and shattered.

The second, the third, the fourth—eight consecutive rays of Xiaguang were shattered by the golden blade shadow. But everyone below saw clearly that with every ray of Xiaguang shattered, the light on the golden blade shadow dimmed by a fraction, and its speed slowed by a fraction.

By the ninth ray of Xiaguang, the speed of the golden blade shadow had clearly slowed down. The tenth ray of Xiaguang struck, causing the blade shadow to tremble violently and golden light to scatter, yet it still struggled to hold on.

The eleventh ray of Xiaguang followed closely, slamming heavily into the blade shadow. After a deafening roar, the golden blade shadow was finally forcibly halted in mid-air, unable to advance even an inch further.

Then came the twelfth ray of Xiaguang.

It was the most brilliant and fierce of the twelve rays of Xiaguang. Like an immortal sword flying from beyond the heavens, it pierced through the afterglow of the golden blade shadow, carrying an unstoppable momentum straight toward Senior Brother Wang Yidao.

Oh no!

Senior Brother Wang Yidao's pupils constricted sharply. Almost instinctively, he pushed his Shadow Movement Technique to the limit—although his movement technique was not as good as Xu Ying's, it was still genuinely at the Major Achievement Realm.

He threw his body to the side, narrowly dodging the pursuit of the eleventh sword light. But the twelfth sword light came too fast—so fast that he had no time to make a second reaction.

The sword light grazed his right arm, slicing open a wound deep enough to see the bone. Blood splattered, and Senior Brother Wang Yidao let out a muffled grunt. His right hand instantly lost its strength, and his long blade flew from his hand, clattering onto the arena floor.

Just as the long blade hit the ground, a figure appeared before Senior Brother Wang Yidao like a ghost. Lin Tian's form suddenly magnified in his pupils, moving so fast that he didn't even have time to blink.

Perfection Realm movement technique.

The cold sword tip pressed against Senior Brother Wang Yidao's neck. The chill seeped through his skin into his veins, making his blood run cold.

Lin Tian stood holding his sword, looking down at him. His expression remained calm, and his tone was indifferent: "Do you still wish to fight?"

Senior Brother Wang Yidao was struck as if by lightning. He stood frozen, the expression on his face changing countless times in just a few breaths—shock, unwillingness, anger, humiliation—finally, all of it turned into a deep sense of powerlessness.

His long blade lay at his feet; it was the weapon he was most proud of, but now he didn't even have the courage to bend down and pick it up. If the opponent just flicked his wrist, his throat would be slit.

He was a 5th Grade Peak Martial Artist, the number one Genius of Jinxia Peak, and the biggest favorite to win this Seven Peaks Tournament. But now, his life hung on the sword tip of a 5th Grade Late Stage brat. He was unwilling to accept this, but he had no other choice.

"I... concede."

These three words were squeezed out from between his teeth, as if they had exhausted all his strength.

Lin Tian withdrew his long sword, turned, and left the arena, his gait remaining composed.

The Referee Elder took a deep breath, suppressing the shock surging in his heart, stepped forward, and announced loudly: "Zixia Peak's Lin Tian, wins!"

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence, then exploded into an uproar.

No one had expected Lin Tian to win. No one had expected Senior Brother Wang Yidao to lose.

This dark horse had not only defeated Xu Ying but also Senior Brother Wang Yidao—two geniuses who were favored by everyone before the competition, all defeated by his sword.

The people from Zixia Peak had gone completely crazy. Several young Disciples hugged each other, crying and laughing; some took off their outer robes and waved them wildly in the air, while others screamed Lin Tian's name until their throats were hoarse.

The Elders also disregarded their image, all smiling from ear to ear. One white-haired Elder even had tears of joy streaming down his face—it had been so many years since Zixia Peak had felt such pride and elation.

Qiao Yiyi and Shen Haoran stood frozen, dumbfounded. Previously, they had completely looked down on Lin Tian, thinking he was just a Disciple who raised fish in the back, possessing only slightly faster movement technique, which didn't count as real skill.

But now, Lin Tian's movement technique was at Perfection, and his sword technique was also at Perfection; even Senior Brother Wang Yidao had been defeated by his sword.

Asking themselves, if they were to face Lin Tian, they probably couldn't even take a single sword strike. The two looked at each other, both seeing deep shock and an unspeakable sense of shame in each other's eyes.

On the Jinxia Peak side, everyone looked ashen. The few Disciples who had previously been clamoring "what kind of skill is only dodging" now all shut their mouths, their faces looking even worse than if they had eaten a fly.

Their number one Genius, Senior Brother Wang Yidao, had actually lost. Defeated completely, with nothing to say.

Below the arena, Xu Ying looked at the figure standing with a sword on the stage and took a deep breath.

"This person... is truly formidable." His voice was low, his tone filled with emotion. Previously, when he lost to Lin Tian, although he didn't say anything on the surface, he was somewhat unconvinced in his heart. He felt that Lin Tian only had faster movement technique than him, and might not be better than him in other aspects.

But now, he was completely convinced. Lin Tian's movement technique was not only faster than his, but his sword technique was also strong to the point of making him feel despair. If Lin Tian had used his sword technique against him from the start, he probably wouldn't have lasted ten moves.

On the Chixia Peak side, the group of Elders also exclaimed repeatedly, their expressions grave to the extreme. The Chixia Peak Master was a burly, red-faced man. He was silent for a moment, then slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on the tall, sturdy youth beside him.

"Cao Yun." His voice was low and solemn. "Do you have confidence in defeating him?"