The potent celestial energy emanated from Zhang Qi.
Judging by the fluctuation, this was clearly a Super-grade Celestial Skill!
This situation greatly surprised Li Xingyun.
He stared with wide eyes and said, "No way, how do you know a Super-grade Celestial Skill?"
Zhang Qi's face was etched with strain. He said with difficulty, "Stop the bullshit!"
"A cheating bastard like you, I must kill you today!"
Ling Jianxiao did not intervene, merely stating in a low voice, "Zhang Qi, I advise you to stop."
"From what I see, you haven't practiced this move before, have you?"
"Your strength is not enough to support the use of a Super-grade Celestial Skill."
"If you try to condense it rashly, your body absolutely won't be able to withstand it."
Zhang Qi was completely consumed by his emotions and paid no heed to Ling Jianxiao's words.
Moreover, such words could not stop him; they only ignited his competitive spirit.
He said ferociously, "I am a genius, a true genius!"
"There is nothing in this world I cannot achieve!"
"What's a Super-grade Celestial Skill? Look, I'm succeeding now!"
As he finished speaking, Zhang Qi mustered all his celestial energy and unleashed it.
Seeing this, Ling Jianxiao merely sighed and shook his head.
At that very moment, Zhang Qi's expression froze.
His celestial energy began to churn violently.
Then, like a collapsing building, the condensed energy began to break down layer by layer!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three muffled thuds sounded from within Zhang Qi's body, and gray smoke immediately billowed out.
His expression was vacant, blood flowing from all seven orifices.
He then lost his balance and plunged to the ground.
This happened so suddenly that many were caught off guard.
Looking at Zhang Qi on the ground, Li Xingyun was also stunned, then asked:
"Sect Master, what happened to him?"
Ling Jianxiao shook his head and said, "His foundation was already unstable. Using a Super-grade Celestial Skill was akin to self-destruction."
"Although he was fortunate enough to survive, his celestial roots within his body are destroyed."
"It's likely he'll never be able to ascend to immortality again."
"What?!" Li Xingyun was startled.
However, he felt no sympathy for Zhang Qi, so he merely said:
"This is probably a case of reaping what you sow."
Ling Jianxiao instructed someone to take Zhang Qi away, then patted Li Xingyun's shoulder and smiled:
"Li Xingyun, you've truly surprised me."
"Although I've been paying attention to you, I didn't expect your talent to be this exceptional."
"It seems I'll need to pay even more attention to you from now on."
Li Xingyun also hadn't expected such praise from Ling Jianxiao, scratching the back of his head and smiling:
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I'm just quite familiar with the sword techniques within our sect."
"If I were to face opponents from outside, I wouldn't be able to discern their moves."
Ling Jianxiao smiled and said, "No, you misunderstand. I'm not talking about that."
"Even if your Super-grade Celestial Skill was released with Wu Tian's power,"
"It's not something everyone can use."
"Logically, to withstand the pressure of a Super-grade Celestial Skill, one would need to be at least at the Great Perfection stage of a Middle-grade Immortal."
"Yet, at the level of a Low-grade Immortal, you managed to forcefully endure it."
"I doubt any disciple in the Heavenly Sword Divine Sect could achieve this."
Hearing this, Li Xingyun was taken aback, and his expression turned somewhat strange:
"Sect Master, what would have happened if I hadn't managed to hold on?"
Ling Jianxiao smiled and said, "It's simple. You would have exploded on the spot, with no chance of survival."
"What?!!" Li Xingyun immediately became agitated.
At the same time, his almost murderous gaze locked onto Wu Tian.
That bastard!
He hadn't mentioned this before!
Seeing his scheme exposed, Wu Tian could only offer a sheepish smile.
His expression seemed to say:
"What's the big deal? I knew you could do it!"
Li Xingyun was on the verge of exploding.
After this match concluded, the next one quickly arrived.
The subsequent match was utterly uninteresting.
It ended in less than ten seconds.
The winner was Chen Shen, a Low-grade True Immortal. He was not only the youngest True Immortal in the Heavenly Sword Divine Sect but also a strong contender for the championship.
Everyone was speculating on how Li Xingyun would handle him tomorrow.
But while everyone was enthusiastically discussing this matter,
Elsewhere, Li Xingyun was still sulking with Wu Tian.
Wu Tian knew he had done well, so he could only appease Li Xingyun with a fawning smile:
"Oh, come on, come on. I did it to help you win, can't you understand me a little?"
Li Xingyun said angrily, "What's wrong with that? Is it okay for you to send me to my death?"
"If you had just told me about the danger beforehand, it would have been fine. You didn't say a word. What if I had failed and exploded right there?"
Wu Tian explained, "I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you wouldn't agree?"
"Besides, even if you had agreed, wouldn't you still feel nervous when releasing the skill?"
"If your heart faltered and you lost control, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?"
"So, in the end, it was all for your own good."
"As long as the outcome is good, isn't that enough?"
Although Wu Tian's explanation seemed reasonable, Li Xingyun still felt deeply unsettled.
After all, this was something that could not afford to fail.
With even a slight mistake, he would have been dead by now.
And there would have been no one to hold accountable.
Wu Tian also knew his approach was a bit too radical.
However, he truly had no other options.
To win, he had to gamble. Otherwise, how could he contend with higher-grade Immortals?
However, he wasn't trifling with Li Xingyun's life.
He had been observing Li Xingyun's condition the entire time.
If Li Xingyun showed any signs of trouble, he would have intervened immediately.
With his healing abilities, he could likely save Li Xingyun before he exploded.
At this point, he didn't want to dwell on the topic and quickly changed the subject:
"Alright, alright, let bygones be bygones."
"Let's talk about the future."
"Have you thought about what you're going to do for tomorrow's match?"
Li Xingyun casually replied, "You're so powerful, isn't it simple?"
"You're a Golden Immortal, so why don't you prepare a Saint-grade Celestial Skill for me later?"
"No matter how strong a Low-grade True Immortal is, there's no way he can block a Saint-grade Celestial Skill, right?"