"Um?" Ruo Yu dodged her opponent's attack, but suddenly noticed something was off.

A second later, her eyes flickered, and she looked down at the sword in her hand...

"Heartbeat?" Ruo Yu thought to herself, puzzled, after she clearly heard the sound coming from the sword.

She glanced at her opponent and then at the spectators around the arena... judging by their reactions, the sound... seemed to be audible only to the sword's wielder.

"This... could it be..." Ruo Yu's mind raced, quickly realizing what the sound meant.

"Junior! Now you know fear... but it's too late!" On the other side, Yao Ni Tian saw that Ruo Yu hadn't moved and assumed she was intimidated by his technique. So, he嚣张xiāo zhāng (arrogantly) continued, "Watch as I capture you!"

With that, he spun around and unfurled the Miejie Kasaya (Extinction Kalpa Cassock) he was wearing. The cassock suddenly expanded in mid-air, covering the sky like a giant robe, and rolled toward Ruo Yu.

At that moment...

Chi Ying—

A sword cry rang out, accompanied by a dazzling golden light.

The light burst forth, and the wind and clouds shifted dramatically!

The numerous evil spirits hovering in the sky were startled by the golden light and fled in panic, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"That's!"

"Impossible!"

"Who exactly is she... and why does she possess such a thing?"

Some of the knowledgeable spectators recognized what was happening just from the light, and they were immediately shocked...

At the same time, on the arena.

"This sword..." Ruo Yu completely ignored the cassock formation in the air. She simply lowered her head and looked at the 【Feng Sheng】 (Sealed Saint), which had now been "unsealed," and murmured, "Too strong..."

The phrase "too strong" wasn't praise, but a statement of objective fact. She meant... the sword's power had already exceeded the limit she could control.

Shasha sha—

Just as Ruo Yu was in a daze, the giant cassock had already fallen to within a few meters above her head. However, just as the cassock was about to engulf her, the sword in Ruo Yu's hand... suddenly shone with golden light again.

The sky full of cassock, containing the power of evil spirits, was instantly reduced to dust and ashes when illuminated by the golden light.

"What!" Yao Ni Tian's face was filled with horror at the sight, and he instinctively took a few steps back. "You... what kind of sword is that in your hand?"

"Hmph..." Ruo Yu coldly snorted, and her icy gaze once again landed on her opponent. "Do you still need to know?"

To Yao Ni Tian, this question... sounded like a declaration of impending death.

"Ah... it seems that someone who is about to die doesn't need to know such things."

At this moment, Yao Ni Tian's expression changed. His state of mind had never been so peaceful and indifferent...

He was a seeker of the Dao who had fallen into demonic practices, a demon in monk's robes. His existence was a trampling of Buddhism. And his "Dao" was destined to be a dead end.

Now, as he reached the end of this dead end, what he saw... was a seeker of the Dao's purest original intention.

Unfortunately... everything was already too late.

A figure moved, and a sword rose.

Li Ruo Yu, no longer holding back, transformed into a streak of light along with the sword in her hand.

No need for techniques, no need for strategy, just a simple advancing slash to end the battle.

Because, the true form of 【Feng Sheng】 (Sealed Saint) was...

【Name: Xuan Yuan Sword】

【Type: Weapon】

【Quality: Legendary】

【Attack Power: ???】

【Attribute: None】

【Effect: When fighting against evil, demons, spirits, monsters, chī (魑), mèi (魅), wǎng (魍), and liǎng (魉), the player's attack power is increased to ten times their theoretical limit.】

【Equipment Requirements: Melee Specialization S, Spiritual Arts Specialization C, Level 45 or higher】

【Note: The Saintly Ancient Sword, a legendary divine weapon, one of the Ten Great Divine Artifacts of ancient times. Forged by the gods using the copper of Shouyang Mountain for the Yellow Emperor, one side of the blade is engraved with the sun, moon, and stars, and the other with mountains, rivers, and vegetation; one side of the hilt is inscribed with the art of farming and animal husbandry, and the other with strategies for unifying the four seas. It contains infinite power and is a supreme divine sword for slaying demons and exterminating evil.】

Chi—

Two figures crossed paths, the sword light flashed, and blood splattered.

Yao Ni Tian's century-old foundation and powerful evil energy were shattered and exploded by this sword.

"The martial arts demonstration is over." The roar of the arena statue followed, "The winner is Si Yu Ruo Li. The loser is Yao Ni Tian."

Hearing the announcement, Ruo Yu coldly sheathed her sword and slowly walked off the arena.

The entire audience was silent...

...

At the same time, inside the main hall of Gu Zhi City.

"The martial arts arena... seems to have... some kind of power awakened..."

The "person" who spoke these words was sitting on a huge, luxurious throne carved with the copper紋wén (markings) of the Eight-Headed Serpent.

He sat in a relaxed posture, leaning slightly to the side, head tilted, eyes half-closed, and one hand propped on his jaw.

He had white hair,淡紫色dàn zǐ sè (light purple) skin, and his entire body was covered in black python scale armor (not something he wore, but part of his body). He was tall and imposing.

He was the unique, cross-dimensional, hyper-dimensional, truly unparalleled, invincible Orochi, who existed only in this special script world.

In short... Orochi.

Commonly known as... Zhi Ye (Lord Zhi).

"Hmm... seems to be very powerful holy power..." Daji, leaning against Orochi's throne, added, "Should we send someone down to take a look?"

"Lord Orochi," Ping Qing Sheng, who was seated next to the throne, interjected, "How about this humble one..."

"No need," Orochi immediately interrupted Ping Qing Sheng. "You stay here." He paused for a moment. "We... are not finished with our conversation."

The demon king's command was not to be questioned, and Ping Qing Sheng immediately fell silent.

Two seconds later, Orochi opened his eyes and looked at a seat to his right: "Ghost god of the human realm, why don't you go..."

"Hmph..." The person sitting in that seat didn't seem to respect Orochi much. He snorted, stood up, "Understood, I'll go take a look."

This man wore a three-pronged purple-gold crown, a red cotton hundred-flower robe from Western Sichuan, beast-faced chain armor, and a leather belt with carved lions.

It is said... His appearance is majestic, a seven-foot man, with sword-like eyebrows and tiger eyes, surpassing Pan An in handsomeness. He has practiced martial arts since childhood, earning a reputation for bravery throughout the world. He is a general among thousands of troops, taking things from a bag with ease. His fine steed, Red Hare, adds wings to the tiger, and his Fangtian Halberd strikes fear into the hearts of enemies. He surveys his surroundings and laughs loudly: all the heroes in the world are worthless!

Who else could it be but Lu Bu, the peerless general of the Dynasty Warriors world?

"Lu Bu." Just as General Lu was about to leave, Orochi added, "Since you are going down, why don't you... also have some fun at the martial arts tournament?"

"Hmm?" Lu Bu turned his head. "What do you mean?"

"This king..." Orochi replied in a deep voice, "Has great expectations for you, and hopes that you will join the ranks of those who challenge me."

"Heh..." Lu Bu grinned upon hearing this. "Good... just what I wanted."

"Impudence!" Ping Qing Sheng stood up abruptly, glaring at Lu Bu. "Are you trying to rebel?"

Hu—

Before the strange monk could finish speaking, a huge scythe had already arrived with a whoosh, the blade stopping right in front of his neck.

"Sit down." Orochi, holding the scythe, said these two words in an indifferent tone.

Cold sweat dripped from Ping Qing Sheng's bald head... He took a step back nervously and slowly, and sat back in his seat.

After a moment of silence, Orochi slammed 【Mujian】 (his giant scythe's name) into the ground and said in his heavy voice, "How can there be talk of betrayal from someone who has never sincerely submitted to me?"

"Oh? You saw through me?" Lu Bu wasn't nervous at all. Even the Demon King's power couldn't frighten him.

"Of course, I did." Before Orochi could speak, Daji snatched the words, "You keep saying 'Only those who defeat me are qualified to challenge Orochi,' but in the end... you joined us just to 'get prey more conveniently,' isn't that right?"

"Since we're being so frank..." As Lu Bu spoke, he raised his halberd with one arm and pointed it at the throne. "Then let's not beat around the bush, Orochi, let's settle this here and now!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the rows of demon generals sitting in the main hall stood up one after another, drawing their swords and tightening their crossbows, surrounding Lu Bu.

"All of you, retreat." However, Orochi once again issued an inexplicable order.

The demon generals didn't dare to disobey and could only comply.

After they retreated, Orochi looked at Lu Bu and continued, "Now is not the time for you and me to fight. You should leave..." He closed his eyes again. "Don't forget to take Zhang Liao and Diao Chan out of Gu Zhi City with you... When you have no more worries and have successfully passed the trials of the martial arts tournament... then come and challenge this king..."