The Xuanqing Sect disciples held their breath, their eyes fixed on the arena without blinking.
It had been a long time since they last saw Senior Brother Bei make a move, and today was a rare opportunity they didn't want to miss even a sliver of.
Bei Xinghan raised his eyes and swept a glance at Xu Yi. Seeing she was ready, he raised his hand and clenched it in the air. An ice-blue longsword instantly appeared in his hand.
The moment this sword materialized, the already low temperature plummeted further, and a chilling aura enveloped their surroundings.
"Frost Sword!"
"Senior Brother Bei's life-bound magical treasure!"
Exclamations erupted from the disciples below.
"He truly is a renowned sword cultivator," Xu Yi thought to herself.
Xu Yi's guard rose to its highest, her eyes twinkling as if stars were in motion.
At that moment, Bei Xinghan moved.
He swung the Frost Sword forward with seemingly slow movements.
An ice-blue sword energy, moving with extreme speed, slashed fiercely towards Xu Yi!
The sword energy whistled, tearing through space and causing distortions.
It felt as if only that single sword energy remained in the entire world.
The disciples below were forced to retreat several steps by the formidable sword energy, their faces filled with awe.
Senior Brother Bei was as powerful as ever!
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the sword energy, just before reaching Xu Yi, dissipated explosively, scattering in all directions.
While fending off the bone-chilling sword energy, the disciples looked at Xu Yi in shock.
Senior Brother Bei's first strike had been blocked!
Although they had thought Xu Yi might block it, they never imagined it would be so effortless, not even taking a single step.
Could it be that Senior Sister Xu truly possessed strength comparable to Senior Brother Bei?
The disciples below were filled with doubt. They didn't know that Xu Yi was far from as relaxed as she appeared.
"Such a fast sword!" Xu Yi's gaze fell upon Bei Xinghan's sword-wielding hand.
That peculiar change had occurred in her eyes again. Bei Xinghan's sword swing was also slowed down in her vision, yet even then, she needed to be fully concentrated to block that strike.
Sword cultivators were indeed the strongest among cultivators of the same rank!
Facing Bei Xinghan, Xu Yi felt unprecedented pressure.
But wasn't it more interesting this way?
Xu Yi's lips curved slightly upwards, her spiritual energy circulating wildly, and the admonishment ruler flickered erratically.
A nearly imperceptible hint of surprise flashed in Bei Xinghan's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Second sword."
He silently uttered the words, his sword moving with his heart.
The crowd's vision blurred. Two streams of sword energy intertwined and slashed towards Xu Yi with a resounding force!
The woman in red suddenly gripped the arm of the man beside her. "Two streams of sword energy! And each one is no weaker than the previous strike!"
The man seemed oblivious to her actions, his eyes wide open, as if trying to absorb everything that was happening.
Two streams of sword energy!
Xu Yi's mind tensed, and spiritual power surged into the admonishment ruler.
A black mist swirled, and the originally one-foot-long admonishment ruler suddenly extended to three feet, resembling a blunt longsword.
Xu Yi flipped her wrist, and the three-foot admonishment ruler cleaved forward, its landing point precisely at the intersection of the two sword energies.
A sound like tearing fabric ensued.
The sword energies dissolved.
"She blocked it again!"
The woman in red looked at Xu Yi as if she were a monster, her grip tightening uncontrollably.
If she had tried to block that strike, she would have been knocked off the arena by now.
Where did this Xu Yi, this monster, come from, to be able to match Senior Brother Bei equally?
At the mountain peak.
Elder Bai beamed, as if the Medicine King Cauldron had already been secured.
True Master Qing Lian also adopted a slightly more serious expression, but still didn't believe Xu Yi could defeat Bei Xinghan.
Bei Xinghan, like his father, was a natural sword cultivator.
"Third sword!"
Bei Xinghan's handsome features suddenly seemed to come alive.
A flash of ice-blue light appeared in his eyes, and sword energy emanated from the Frost Sword.
Immediately, three ice-blue streams of sword energy burst forth, like a blue river, surging towards Xu Yi.
At that instant, an intensely chilling aura exploded, and frost rapidly formed on the arena.
Xu Yi's skin felt a subtle stinging sensation from the encroaching cold.
It was this pain that made her spirit more focused than ever before.
Her lips suddenly curved into a peculiar smile.
"Sky Splitting!"
Xu Yi shouted, leaping into the air. The admonishment ruler was swung down fiercely from above, as if intending to split the heavens and the earth.
Black energy gushed out, colliding directly with the blue river.
Rumble—
The ground trembled, and violent spiritual energy fluctuations swept wildly in all directions. The arena instantly cracked, sending flying debris everywhere.
The disciples scrambled and dodged, frantically warding off the scattered stones, their faces filled with shock.
The arena of the Xuanqing Sect was constructed from incredibly hard Black Essence Stone. For ordinary disciples, even leaving a mark on it was extremely difficult.
Yet, in the clash between Xu Yi and Bei Xinghan, the arena itself was shattered. How terrifying was that!
Even True Master Qing Lian, who had remained calm, lost his composure.
Clearly, Xu Yi's performance had exceeded his expectations.
"You lost."
Xu Yi stood on a piece of shattered arena stone and declared triumphantly to Bei Xinghan.
The rule for duels among Xuanqing Sect disciples was that whoever fell off the arena first was considered defeated. Now that the arena was gone, she still had a piece of debris under her feet, while Bei Xinghan's feet had touched the ground.
Therefore, she had won this battle.
"What? Senior Sister Xu won?"
"Heavens, Senior Brother Bei lost!"
"How can this be considered a loss for Senior Brother Bei!"
The disciples were stunned by the scene before them, murmuring amongst themselves.
Xu Yi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief; this Bei Xinghan was too powerful.
If not for this unexpected turn of events, she truly wasn't sure she could have defeated him.
As Xu Yi was about to jump off the arena, a cold voice stopped her.
"I haven't lost, continue."
Bei Xinghan's eyes held a strange look, and for the first time, Xu Yi was truly registered in his gaze.
As Xu Yi looked over in confusion, he leaped into the air and landed on another large piece of shattered stone.
Only then did the crowd notice that where he had been standing, there lay a piece of stone the size of a palm.
Because the stone was too thin, Bei Xinghan standing on it gave the impression of his feet being on the ground.
The reversal came so quickly, filling everyone with surprise and delight.
Xu Yi's face turned pale.
After a long moment, she took a deep breath, and her figure flashed as she charged towards Bei Xinghan.
Since it wasn't over yet, it was time for her to take the offensive.
Clang!
Boom!
Bang!
The two figures quickly clashed.
The sound of metal colliding, the roar of sword energy, followed one after another.
The disciples found their vision a blur, unable to discern the details of their combat.
Long Haotian clenched his fists tightly, a strong voice echoing in his heart.
Xu Yi, you must win!
Absolutely!
True Master Qing Lian also let go of his preconceptions about Xu Yi. If Xu Yi truly possessed strength far beyond her appearance, then he hoped Xu Yi would win.
The catalyst for changing Bei Xinghan might lie in this very moment.