Chapter 222: The Third Sword   Liu Shaoqiu nodded. “I also hope that we can battle in reality some day. Let’s make an agreement. If you can block my Third Sword, then after we eventually break through and become Limiteers, we will challenge the Top 100 Rankings together. Sound good?”

Lu Yin laughed happily. “Sure. The hundred strongest in the universe’s younger generation—I’ve long wanted to experience them. It will be very liberating to challenge them together with the Sword Sect’s genius.”

Liu Shaoqiu smiled in response. “The prerequisite to that is you can block my Third Sword.” He then turned completely calm as a strange radiance appeared in his eyes. Star energy billowed away from his body like ocean waves, but his star energy was colorless. It was as if a pure sword qi had directly manifested in the sky; its power pressed down upon the entire arena and caused the very earth to tremble. Countless tiny dust particles floated into the air before disintegrating into nothingness.

Outside the plains, many students looked down at the field below them, but they could only see a dust cloud whirling about as it rose into the skies. At this moment, everyone had a dangerous premonition that not even the mentors’ energy barrier could block Liu Shaoqiu’s killing blade. This was the Third Sword.

In the Astral Combat Academy, many mentors were shocked by what they were seeing. “I haven’t seen the Third Sword in a while. This is the end for that student.”

“It’s a pity, but the Third Sword is a domain that nearly none of these students can comprehend. Normal students won’t even be able to withstand it. Of those present, perhaps only Starsibyl might be able to.”

“There’s Nightqueen Yanqing as well. Don’t forget that the Daynight clan has many battle techniques that have more or less integrated that kind of power.”

“That’s not enough—this is the Sword Sect’s Thirteen Swords that we’re talking about. Just having comprehended the Third Sword proves that this child has a rare talent, or else he would not be able to exhibit the Third Sword. The Nightking clan is powerful, true, but that girl would still fall to this Third Sword.”

…

Liu Shaoqiu’s sword fell once more, just like how the First Sword had. This time, however, no one knew what was happening. Only Lu Yin knew, as he was the one who had been struck by a viciously, formless attack. The attack contained a very familiar aspect: spiritual force oppression. The Daynight clan’s battle techniques and the second layer of the Sand Ocean had the same type of oppressive force, but there was a large disparity when they were compared to the Third Sword.

Whether it was the Daynight clan’s battle technique or the second layer of the Sand Ocean, while they were both able to suppress something as formless as spiritual force, neither of them had reached a deadly threshold. Liu Shaoqiu’s Third Sword, on the other hand, had utilized that same concept and formed it into an invisible attack that directly attacked a person’s spiritual force, though Lu Yin was not completely sure if the attack was spiritual force itself. That elder on Driftcharge Planet had said that humans could be seen as a fusion of their physical bodies and their spirit. Lu Yin did not know if that was true, but regardless of whether a human was at rest or in motion, there was always an ethereal energy supporting the body. That energy should be spiritual force, and it was this same energy that the Third Sword targeted.

Liu Shaoqiu sheathed his blade, as in his mind, the match had already ended. Even a peak Limiteer or an Explorer might not be able to withstand this strike of his, let alone a mere Melder. He had relied on this Third Sword once to severely injure an Explorer. Starsibyl was quite possibly the only student in the entire Astral Combat Academy who he thought could withstand this attack. As Liu Shaoqiu’s thoughts drifted towards her, he looked outside the arena plains and exchanged glances with Starsibyl.

Suddenly, Liu Shaoqiu’s body trembled, and his head snapped back. He saw a calm pair of eyes looking back at him, shocking him to the core. “You- you’re fine?”

Lu Yin feigned ignorance. “Did you attack yet?”

Liu Shaoqiu’s pupils shrank to pinpoints as he gazed at Lu Yin in astonishment. This was the first time since he had inherited the Thirteen Swords that he had ever been so flabbergasted.

It wasn’t just Liu Shaoqiu; even the academy mentors were astonished, and so were the ancestors of the Sword Sect who were watching through the screens. Also, there was the old maid standing under the “Yōu” flag. Many stared in amazement at Lu Yin. They were all elite who understood the terror of the Third Sword, and it was this understanding that caused them to be so shocked. What about Lu Yin allowed him to withstand the Third Sword?!

If this was before he overcame his near-death experience on Driftcharge Planet, then Lu Yin definitely would not have been able to resist Luo Shaoqiu’s Third Sword—he would have dropped dead long ago. But on Driftcharge Planet, he had spent his days memorizing those strange, ancient stone scriptures. Compared to when he had only been able to recite those scriptures for twenty minutes, he was now able to recite them for an hour before fainting. Although he was still far from being able to recite the Stonewall Scriptures in its entirety, his spirit had already become much more durable compared to before. The elder had even said that, if he could ever recite the Stonewall Scriptures in its entirety from memory, then no one beneath the Hunter realm would be able to harm his spirit.

Lu Yin had not believed his words and had just taken those words as encouragement, but now, he fully believed that elder as the Third Sword had only nudged him slightly and was far from being able to harm him. This sword of Liu Shaoqiu’s was completely ineffective against Lu Yin.

Liu Shaoqiu stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. “How is this possible? You’re immune to the Third Sword!?”

Lu Yin squinted before duly saying, “Your attack’s ended, so it’s my turn now.” He then used Flash to appear before Liu Shaoqiu, pressed down with a palm, and immediately used a Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm. This was a terrifying attack that rivaled the Second Sword. Liu Shaoqiu had no choice but to raise his sword and directly display his Second Sword to parry it. The endless blade radiance filled the sky above the arena plains as the terrifying attack ruptured the void; the scene from before had reappeared once again.

Countless audience members stared at the stage, but they were only able to see Lu Yin using Flash to move around at extreme speed while Liu Shaoqiu followed Lu Yin’s actions with his rusty sword. The two constantly collided in midair, accompanied by brilliant flashes and giant spatial cracks that reached far into the distance.

Suddenly, during one of their exchanges, two black shadows appeared before quickly charging into the distance. They were war spirits.

War spirits were created when powerhouses battled within the trial zones. Lu Yin never expected that he would one day personally witness a war spirit of himself being birthed.

Many students felt numb when they realized what had just happened. “Hurry! Take out those two war spirits, or else, anyone who meets them will die.”

Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu’s war spirit were far too terrifying for the other Astral Combat Academy students to handle. Not even the other Realm Masters were confident of defeating them. No, there was no possibility of them defeating those war spirits; only Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Nightqueen Yanqing had a chance of standing up to them.

But unfortunately, the war spirits were too fast for anyone to catch, and they both vanished into the distance.

Bang!

The two fighters in the arena collided and then separated, their movements synchronized. Liu Shaoqiu no longer seemed as confident as before, and he was panting heavily now. Even the hand gripping the hilt of his rusty sword was trembling, as Lu Yin’s attacks were not easy to block.

Lu Yin was not faring much better, and traces of blood had appeared all around his body. Liu Shaoqiu had harmonized the first two swords into a singular strike against Lu Yin, which made his attacks much more difficult to defend against. Each of the two swords by themselves was already enough to kill an academy leader like Kuang Wang. Together, they were so dangerous that Lu Yin had nearly suffered severe injuries multiple times.

Nearly all of the observers throughout the universe were glued to their screens in nervous excitement. This battle was definitely this season’s Astral Combat Tournament’s highlight match, but they could not understand it no matter how many times or how intently they watched. Still, the viewers’ lack of understanding did not stop them from appreciating the terror of this battle. Even the peak that the student leaders had been sitting upon had been destroyed, to say nothing of the first energy barrier set in place by the mentors.

The four-lined battle force on Lu Yin’s body gradually dimmed, but Liu Shaoqiu was also starting to feel the aftereffects of using the Third Sword; both fighters’ deterioration was evident from their pale faces and labored breathing.

However, Liu Shaoqiu smiled, and it was an exceptionally joyful one. He was a Melder who had never met a worthy opponent within the same realm as him. This was something that few would ever experience, and it was the very reason why Liu Shaoqiu had joined the Astral Combat Tournament: to find a worthy opponent. He had thought that it would be someone like Starsibyl, Han Chong, or Nightqueen Yanqing, but Lu Yin had inexplicably appeared out of nowhere, and he was even immune to the Third Sword! He was truly an opponent who was worthy of his interest.

Lu Yin, on the other hand, had a headache. He wanted to end this battle, but Liu Shaoqiu was not an easy opponent.

“It looks like I won't be able to beat you that easily. I’ll have to use the Fourth Sword,” Liu Shaoqiu calmly said while still smiling.

This sentence caused everyone’s hearts to skip a beat. The Fourth Sword? He’s already comprehended the Fourth Sword?!

Liu Xiaoyun’s face turned deathly white when she heard this. Impossible! How could a Melder possibly comprehend the Fourth Sword?

Starsibyl and the other student leaders’ faces also changed drastically.

Silver’s eyes popped wide open. Impossible!

Xia Luo’s smile vanished.

Coco covered her mouth.

Everyone was struck speechless by the terror of Liu Shaoqiu’s words.

Lu Yin raised his brows questioningly. “You’ve comprehended the Fourth Sword?”

Liu Shaoqiu looked down at his sword. “Not yet, but I can try.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, and his face grew abnormally solemn. Through just the first three swords, he had been able to feel the potential of the Thirteen Swords. The Sword Sect had dominated the universe with just this Thirteen Swords technique and become emperors of the sword. Each sword was invincible, and if Liu Shaoqiu really comprehended the fourth, then Lu Yin would be finished.

A fresh gust of wind blew through the arena, swirling up the dust on the ground and obscuring the scarred plains.

Liu Shaoqiu raised his sword and slowly turned in midair, leaving behind a series of profound afterimages.

Lu Yin watched this happen in shock. These afterimages had not been created by extreme speed; rather, it was more like each image was locked to its original position and bound to that space. Lu Yin did not wait for Liu Shaoqiu to make a move and immediately appeared at Liu Shaoqiu’s side with a Flash. He then raised his palm and slapped down.

Liu Shaoqiu’s sword shifted to one side, and one of the phantom sword afterimages unleashed the First Sword. As Lu Yin’s palm descended, he suddenly changed directions to Liu Shaoqiu’s right side by turning his body and sweeping his leg out. Liu Shaoqiu had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly change his stance after exchanging more than ten moves. His sudden shift in tempo caught Liu Shaoqiu unawares, and his move was a beat blower, allowing Lu Yin’s kick to squarely land in his abdomen and viciously stamp him into the ground.

Lu Yin rushed to the ground right behind Liu Shaoqiu, his two palms striking out simultaneously as he endured the intense pain in both arms. He used the Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm again, causing the arena floor to sink even lower. A giant fissure snaked along the ground and outside the plains. An explosive strength broiled within the spreading cracks, powered by four-lined battle force.

Below the ground’s surface, Liu Shaoqiu was kneeling down on one knee as a thin stream of blood flowed from the corner of his lips. He had used the multiple sword images to block Lu Yin’s attack. Then, as his sword spun around, his eyes brightened the moment the tip pointed upwards. At that instant, an indescribable sense of terror descended upon the plains. This was it—the Fourth Sword.

Everyone saw the image of a sword flying over from the west that was enough to make them all tremble in fear.

Starsibyl and the rest observed at the arena very closely, as this sword would decide the outcome of this battle.

But then, there was a sudden bang, and Liu Shaoqiu’s sword of star energy shattered. His pupils constricted one last time as Lu Yin pressed down upon the Sword Sect’s genius’s head. The ground rumbled as Liu Shaoqiu vanished from the Lifeseek Realm.

Lu Yin had won the battle.

Everyone remained silent, as no one had ever expected that Lu Yin would actually emerge victorious from this battle. He had beaten Liu Shaoqiu, the Sword Sect’s monstrous genius.

Everyone stared at Lu Yin in a daze, their minds completely empty.

In front of the giant screens on Earth, everyone was cheering wildly as Lu Yin had entered the round of the final eight.

Countless others were celebrating in a similar manner in the Great Yu Empire. Only a sparse few had been able to understand this battle in the entire Great Yu Empire, such as those powerhouses who had traveled to the Innerverse like Undying Yushan or Huo Qingshan. Only they could understand the depth of this battle and how remarkable Lu Yin’s victory had been. From this day on, Lu Yin’s name would shake the heavens.

Xueshan Auna was trembling with excitement as he looked at Jenny Auna as if she was a treasure. He could already see Lu Yin’s future glory; it was clear to him that Lu Yin would not remain in the Outerverse. After all, he had just beaten one of the Innerverse’s top geniuses.

In San Dios, the city in the sky, Wendy Yushan’s lips imperceptibly curved upwards before she turned to leave the room.

Puyu remained in the same spot with both fists clenched tightly together. He stared at the screen and at the man still standing in it. This person was fated to be a thorn in his side.