155: Chapter 155 Sword Heart Shattered! Shadowless True Meaning

After his easy advancement, Zhou Heng didn't leave; instead, he stayed in the rest area to watch the matches with great interest.

The individual ranking matches gathered the top thirty of Donghuang's younger generation.

Every battle contained different martial arts philosophies and techniques, making it an excellent learning opportunity.

Soon, the matches began.

A spotlight battle caught Zhou Heng's attention:

Ji Cang (Donghuang First Team) VS Ghost Seven (Southwest University First Team).

Ghost Seven was just like his name; his aura was cold and gloomy, and his presence was extremely low, as if he could merge into the shadows at any moment.

He used the S-rank Divine Seal [Nether Ghost Shadow]. He didn't follow the traditional spear path, but rather an extremely eerie "Deceptive Spear" route.

His spear techniques were tricky and ruthless, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Combined with the movement technique of Nether Ghost Shadow, he was incredibly hard to defend against.

[Target: Ghost Seven]

[Realm: Peak Five-Star Spirit Nurturing]

[Status: Highly focused, ethereal aura]

[Weakness Analysis: Attack power is slightly weaker than traditional spear cultivators; extremely dependent on movement and trickery; frontal defense is a shortcoming.]

The battle began, and Ghost Seven's figure instantly became blurred.

Flickering across the arena like a specter, silent and eerie spear rays stabbed toward Ji Cang from inconceivable angles.

Ji Cang held his long saber, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

He wasn't in a hurry to attack. His White Tiger Battle Body was activated, and Gengjin baleful qi circulated around him, forming an invisible defensive field.

His saber intent locked onto Ghost Seven's flickering aura; no matter how the opponent changed, he remained as steady as a mountain.

"Found you!" The moment Ghost Seven made a rapid change of direction and his aura flickered with an imperceptible tremor, Ji Cang moved!

The White Tiger World-Slaying Saber was unsheathed with a bang!

The saber light was like a bolt of white silk—no unnecessary flourishes, only extreme speed and precision!

*Chila!*

As the saber light flashed past, Ghost Seven's figure was forced to emerge from the shadows.

A gash was cut into the clothing on his shoulder, and blood seeped out. His face looked grim; he clearly hadn't expected Ji Cang's perception to be so keen.

"Deceptive Spear? In the face of absolute strength and insight, it's nothing but a joke!"

Ji Cang didn't let up. His saber stance unfolded, the phantom of a White Tiger roared, and the domineering, sharp saber light completely enveloped Ghost Seven.

No matter how eerie Ghost Seven's movement was, under Ji Cang's wide-sweeping yet incredibly precise saber style, he appeared to be struggling.

In less than three minutes, Ghost Seven was forced into a corner of the arena by Ji Cang's saber, the edge stopping three inches from his throat.

"I lose." Ghost Seven conceded cleanly, his figure merging into the shadows again and disappearing.

Ji Cang sheathed his saber and nodded slightly toward the direction where Ghost Seven had vanished.

This battle demonstrated his powerful insight and tactical skill in using stillness to control motion.

Zhou Heng nodded inwardly: "Old Ji's saber is getting steadier and steadier. This Ghost Seven's Deceptive Spear path is quite interesting, but unfortunately, he met his natural counter."

Immediately after, another highly anticipated duel took place: Lu Chenxin (Donghuang First Team) VS Nuo Wuji (Modu University).

These two old rivals met once again.

Nuo Wuji's realm seemed to have been piled up to the peak of Six-Star Condensing Spirit Realm with pills, making his aura appear slightly unstable.

He was arrogant and vengeful, always viewing Lu Chenxin as a thorn in his side.

[Target: Nuo Wuji]

[Realm: Peak Six-Star Condensing Spirit Realm (Built with drugs, unstable foundation)]

[Status: Jealousy, anger, disordered Dao Heart]

[Weakness Analysis: Realm is superficial, sword intent is heavily influenced by emotions, obvious flaws.]

"Lu Chenxin! This time, I will definitely defeat you!" Nuo Wuji's eyes were bloodshot as soon as he stepped onto the stage.

His Shadowless Sword Heart activated, his body became blurred, and sword light like an invisible wind swept toward Lu Chenxin.

The speed was extremely fast, but the sword intent was full of hostility and instability.

Lu Chenxin's expression was calm as his Cloud-Piercing Sword Intent unfolded, achieving the state of man and sword as one.

His Sword Heart Clarity was undisturbed by external things, and his sword techniques were agile and precise.

As if taking a leisurely stroll, he neutralized Nuo Wuji's storm-like attacks one by one.

"Nuo Wuji, your sword is in chaos," Lu Chenxin spoke indifferently while handling the situation with ease.

"Shut up! What right do you have to lecture me! If it weren't for you... if it weren't for you..."

Nuo Wuji seemed to have a nerve touched; his attacks became even more frenzied, but his flaws also became more numerous.

Zhou Heng activated the [Omniscient Eye], clearly seeing the disorder of energy within Nuo Wuji's body and the violent fluctuations at the soul level. "This guy's Dao Heart is about to collapse."

Sure enough, Lu Chenxin spotted a flaw. Cloud-Piercing Sword Art: Clouds Part to Reveal the Sun!

A brilliant sword light, like sunlight piercing through dark clouds, struck precisely on the spine of Nuo Wuji's sword!

*Dang!*

Nuo Wuji's long sword flew from his hand. He felt as if he'd been struck by lightning, staggering back with a face that instantly turned as pale as paper.

He stared blankly at his trembling hands, then looked at Lu Chenxin across from him, who had a steady aura and Sword Heart Clarity.

"I... I lost again..." Nuo Wuji muttered to himself, his eyes vacant.

The pride that had supported him all along, his jealousy of Lu Chenxin, and the false strength brought by forcibly raising his realm with drugs—at this moment, with this crushing defeat, it all completely collapsed!

The energy in his body began to dissipate uncontrollably, and his realm plummeted from the peak of Six-Star Condensing Spirit to Five-Star, with a tendency to keep falling! His Dao Heart was shattered!

"Why... why is it like this..." Nuo Wuji slumped to the ground, holding his head and growling in pain.

Memories flooded back like a tide.

He remembered when they were children; he and Lu Chenxin were actually good playmates, practicing the sword together and looking forward to the future.

But Lu Chenxin's sword talent was always just a little bit higher than his; no matter how hard he worked, he could never seem to catch up.

The comparisons from those around them and the pressure from his family caused the scales in his heart to gradually tilt.

Admiration turned into jealousy, and friendship turned into resentment.

Later, the Lu Family's ancestor failed to break through his realm, the Lu Family's power waned, and Lu Chenxin was forced to leave Modu to attend Military Martial University.

At that time, Su Ningning, who had always admired Lu Chenxin, chose to stay in Modu and even... accepted his pursuit.

At that moment, his vanity was satisfied like never before; he thought he had finally "won" against Lu Chenxin in some way.

But all of this was built on a lie.

He relied on drugs to raise his realm and used hatred to numb himself, unaware that the true sword dao lies within one's original heart.

"Chen Xin... actually... actually I just wanted to be friends with you... to be brothers..." Nuo Wuji looked up.

Tears and sweat mixed together, and his eyes were full of confusion and pain. "But I didn't want... I didn't want everyone to think I wasn't as good as you... I..."

Lu Chenxin walked up to him. Seeing him like this, a flash of complexity crossed his eyes, but it was mostly a sense of relief.

He sheathed his long sword and slowly crouched down.

"Nuo Wuji," Lu Chenxin's voice was very calm, yet it carried a kind of strength.

"I never thought about comparing myself to you. The Lu Family's affairs are my own responsibility. Su Ningning's choice was her own right; it has nothing to do with you or me."

He reached out and gently patted Nuo Wuji on the shoulder.

"True strength isn't about surpassing someone else; it's about surpassing your past self. Your Shadowless Sword Heart, perhaps from the very beginning, took the wrong path."

These words were like a morning bell or evening drum, striking hard against Nuo Wuji's heart!

Took the wrong path? Shadowless Sword Heart... Shadowless... isn't it about pursuing extreme speed and concealment?

No! That's not right!

A flash of inspiration struck Nuo Wuji's mind!

Shadowless isn't about disappearing, it's about merging!

Merging into the world, merging into the original heart—untraceable, yet omnipresent!

What he had been pursuing all along was only the surface "Shadowless," while neglecting the inner "Sword Heart"!

He had been blinded by jealousy and vanity; how could he ever bring out the true power of the Shadowless Sword Heart?

"I... I understand... thank you... Chen Xin... you don't need to worry about the matters in Modu..." Nuo Wuji murmured, his vacant eyes gradually focusing.

Although his realm had dropped and his aura was weak, deep in those eyes,

it was as if some kind of shackle had been broken, and a more pure, more restrained sword intent was slowly being nurtured!

Breaking through and establishing anew! His Shadowless Sword Heart had found its true direction on the ruins of his shattered Dao Heart!

Lu Chenxin looked at the change in his eyes, smiled slightly, and reached out his hand: "Can you still stand up? The road ahead is still long."

Nuo Wuji looked at Lu Chenxin's outstretched hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally took it.

Lu Chenxin pulled him up with force.

At this moment, the years of grievances seemed to vanish into thin air with this single handshake.

While it was impossible to immediately return to their childhood, at least the knot in his heart had been untied.

Zhou Heng watched this scene from below the stage and rubbed his chin.

"Tsk, I didn't expect a heart-wrenching drama. However, for this Nuo Wuji to suddenly wake up and have his sword heart break and rebuild, he can be considered quite a character. Old Lu is actually pretty good at serving up chicken soup for the soul."

After several rounds of intense competition, the first day of the individual ranking matches concluded.

The thirty geniuses were clearly divided into the [Winners' Bracket] and the [Losers' Bracket] based on their wins and losses, with fifteen people in each group.

All five members of the Donghuang First Team—Zhou Heng, Ji Cang, Lu Chenxin, and Chen Ye—were remarkably all in the Winners' Bracket!

Bai Qianer also broke into the Winners' Bracket by relying on her eerie illusions and improved strength!

This caused many people's jaws to drop in surprise.

Meanwhile, experts like Wang Zhan, Li Chenyuan, Ghost Seven, and Nuo Wuji (whose performance was recognized despite his loss) entered the Losers' Bracket. They would need to fight through the Losers' Bracket to compete for a chance at resurrection and advancement.

The first day of the competition saw Yue Qing emerge as a dark horse and witnessed the dramatic scene of Nuo Wuji's Dao Heart shattering and then being rebuilt. It was brilliant and full of suspense!

Everyone looked forward to tomorrow's matches, which were bound to be even more intense!