221: Breakthrough in battle

An hour later, the final round of the Sword Showcase Grand Competition officially began.

Su Mengyao and Xiao An had arrived at the Qiongyu Platform half an hour earlier, facing each other.

The two stood alone against the wind on Thousand Autumn Peak, letting the mountain winds howl, stirring their three thousand strands of hair and igniting intense Battle Intent.

"Buzz—"

The sound of a bell rang, announcing that the final Sword Champion was about to be revealed.

Su Mengyao's eyes narrowed, and the sensing of her famous blade was the first to break the tranquility.

"Mistaken Sword: Bone Gouge."

A sword strike that entered the Dao, opening the prelude to battle.

Xiao An's expression changed, and a purple glow rose from his hand. Jade Void Sword Intent instantly burst forth, meeting Su Mengyao's famous blade.

Sword lights intertwined, and gold and jade resonated.

On the Qiongyu Platform, over a thousand zhang high, dazzling sword light erupted, leaving the onlookers dumbfounded.

"Are they really just juniors who have just entered the Dao of the Sword?

"Their Sword Intent is profound; it probably surpasses most Grandmasters who have been immersed in the sword for many years."

"Who exactly is this Su Mengyao? Her prominence in this Sword Showcase Grand Competition has almost overshadowed everyone else."

"Who do you think will be the final winner, her or Xiao An?"

As the spectators discussed animatedly, the two figures on the Qiongyu Platform had already pushed their respective Sword Intents to the Peak.

The Mistaken Sword Art was fast and swift, while the Jade Void Sword was old and steady.

Fast against steady, offense and defense shifted between them several times, yet they could not break the balance of equal strength.

Seeing that her sword momentum could not break through the Jade Void Fortress, Su Mengyao made a decisive move, quickly retracting her sword and changing her technique.

"Mistaken Sword: Falling."

The sword technique changed again, accompanied by an endless barrage of Sword Qi crisscrossing, directly attacking Xiao An's vital points.

Xiao An frowned, immediately abandoning his intention to turn defense into offense, and once again fell into a strong defensive posture.

The Jade Void Sword technique transformed into a Protective Aura, completely blocking the opponent's Sword Qi.

"Mistaken Sword: Spreading Wings!"

Her offensive suffered continuous setbacks, but Su Mengyao's mindset remained very calm. As she retracted her move and took a breath, her Sword Intent transformed into wings.

In an instant, the world changed, actually drawing upon a trace of the Law to empower her sword technique, raising its power to a higher level.

Xiao An was surprised to see this: Why was he, who was only at the Core Building Peak, able to draw upon the power of nature for his own use?

Soon, Xiao An also began to change his technique.

"One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones!"

A sweep of his sword, as if the Three Pure Ones had returned.

A condensed trace of Dao Rhyme mixed with steady Sword Intent, transforming into a flashing stream of light, instantly forcing back Su Mengyao's offensive.

Her ultimate move failed, and Su Mengyao immediately retreated more than ten steps.

Her bright eyes looked at the hand holding the sword, only to see a trace of blood seeping from the tiger's mouth.

"The Foundation gap is too great."

With that last sword strike, Xiao An had purely relied on crushing her cultivation Foundation to turn the tide; otherwise, directly taking that move would have meant defeat.

But Su Mengyao was not discouraged. After adjusting her mindset, she once again prepared for an offensive stance.

However, at this moment, Xiao An, who had been steadfastly defending, suddenly changed his tactical strategy.

"Jade Void Shines in the Sky."

Xiao An thrust his sword, and immediately the sword's hum was incessant, causing the surrounding air to twist. Those with shallow Foundations on the scene immediately felt dizzy and covered their ears to resist the sound wave.

Gu Xichao couldn't help but smile: "Even if Su Mengyao has some strength, she is still too naive in front of a Xuanmen veteran like Jade Void Palace."

Xie Xiaofeng: "No matter what, even if Su Mengyao ultimately fails, I believe her future achievements will definitely surpass Xiao An's."

Gu Xichao smiled without speaking, his gaze fixed on Bai Mei in the distance.

Bai Mei sneered and secretly said, "Today's Sword Showcase final battle, no matter the process, the outcome will not change. The one recognized by the Heavenly Sword can only be Xiao An."

On the Qiongyu Platform, the battle continued.

But from now on, offense and defense completely reversed. Su Mengyao was fully on the defensive, while Xiao An continuously attacked.

Su Mengyao began to deliberately avoid Xiao An's attacks by utilizing the terrain, trying to prevent her famous blade from contacting her opponent's sword.

"Hmm?"

Shen Lian observed the situation throughout without saying a word.

But upon seeing Su Mengyao's performance, he couldn't help but frown and fall into thought.

"So that's it, this girl isn't brainless after all."

After seeing through Su Mengyao's plan, Shen Lian couldn't help but open his Folding Fan and gently fan himself.

"It just depends on how long you can hold on."

The sky gradually darkened until dusk fell, yet the sound of sword clashes on the Qiongyu Platform showed no signs of stopping.

On the other side, Bai Mei, witnessing the situation on the Qiongyu Platform, also showed a hint of doubt.

"No, why did this Su Mengyao turn from offense to defense so quickly, completely giving up the initiative? Is she preparing to give up?"

"Based on her previous performance, she shouldn't be exhausted so quickly. What exactly is she trying to do?"

"No, we can't drag this out any longer. Since she's given up the initiative, let's quickly end the battle now."

Bai Mei was perplexed and simply transmitted his words to Xiao An's ear using the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Art.

"End the battle quickly, don't hold back."

Hearing Bai Mei's transmission, Xiao An's eyes instantly became sharp.

"Defend, eh? Then I want to see how long you can defend!"

The next moment, the sword momentum in Xiao An's hand abruptly changed again.

"Grand Void Limitless Sword!"

The originally steady and moderate sword technique instantly changed to a swift, rapid sword.

A continuous chain of sword strikes, with Sword Qi overflowing.

Su Mengyao immediately felt the pressure surge, and could only rely on her movement technique and familiarity with the terrain to evade Xiao An's sword.

"Just a little more."

At this moment, Su Mengyao's heart only wished for her opponent's sword techniques to become even more turbulent.

Because only then could her Bottleneck be broken through.

Although the Mirror Array failed to help Su Mengyao break through her own Sword Dao comprehension Bottleneck, her cultivation had already reached the critical point of the Spirit Transformation Realm, just waiting for an opportunity to successfully Break through.

The Xiao An before her was the greatest opportunity for her to Break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Xiao An, at this moment, was completely unaware that he had become the target of Su Mengyao's schemes, only believing that he had seized the initiative and could easily manipulate his opponent.

After a few moves, Xiao An held his sword with one hand behind his back and coldly said to Su Mengyao, "Miss Su, why don't you become my Dao Companion?

The final winner of today's battle is destined to be me. If you become my Dao Companion, then this honor will belong to both of us."

"What a pity, I truly don't fancy you."

Su Mengyao smiled as she rejected his "good intentions," then her famous blade once again lifted, flashing with a hundred sword lights.

"Standing Alone, Reflected Moon, Deriving Tai Lou."

With another strike, the Songyue Sword Canon counterattacked.

"What?!"

Xiao An did not expect Su Mengyao to have such a follow-up move, and immediately brandished his Purple Radiance, sweeping it across.

Even he, at the Spirit Transformation Realm, was forced back three steps by this sword.

When he regained his footing and looked up again, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

The Su Mengyao standing before Xiao An now had an entirely different Aura compared to before.

"You actually broke through?"

Xiao An was all too familiar with the Aura of the Spirit Transformation Realm, but a Breakthrough during battle was extremely rare.

Su Mengyao smiled faintly: "This way it's fair, Fellow Daoist Xiao. You'd better be ready now."

Xiao An's heart panicked, and his vigilance immediately heightened.