Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
"Show me what you've got," Xu Taiping said emotionlessly, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.
"Thirty feet."
At that moment, Ye Xuan suddenly halted his advance, lifting the sword in his hand. He was now about thirty feet away from Xu Taiping.
"This is the Royal Tianlang Kingdom's Ten Directions Sword. Within thirty feet, all who approach shall perish."
Ye Xuan's voice was cold as ice as he pointed the sword's tip at Xu Taiping.
The moment the sword's tip was aimed at him, Xu Taiping instinctively tensed up, then without hesitation, he formed a layer of Mystic Ice Armor around his body.
"Clang!"
Almost instantly as the Mystic Ice Armor materialized, a streak of sword light, too fast for Xu Taiping to detect, thrust towards his chest.
"Bang!"
The Mystic Ice Armor shattered upon impact.
Xu Taiping was sent flying back several steps before he managed to stop.
"Clang!"
But just then, another sword cry rang out, followed by another straight thrust at his chest, giving him no chance to reform the Mystic Ice Armor.
"Slash!"
Despite Xu Taiping's swift evasion, his arm was still pierced by the sword, blood streaming from the wound.
"Clang!"
Before Xu Taiping could regain his footing, the sound of the sword rang out again.
Ye Xuan's long sword struck like lightning towards Xu Taiping's chest.
"Bang!"
Xu Taiping swung his blade at the sword light, but it was too late, and his strike hit the ground instead.
With a "rip," a deep gash was sliced across his chest.
And this was just the beginning.
"Clang!"
After several probing strikes, Ye Xuan's figure suddenly "whooshed" and vanished from the spot.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!…"
Suddenly, the arena lit up with crisscrossing sword lights around Xu Taiping, each one striking precisely at him.
"Bang, bang, bang!…"
Despite Xu Taiping's rapid succession of over a dozen blade strikes, he barely managed to protect his vital areas, while dozens of smaller wounds covered his body, some even reaching the bone.
This scene left the Inner Disciples in the Cloud Pavilion dumbstruck.
"Is this actually a martial technique?"
Zhao Linglong was in disbelief.
The power of Ye Xuan's sword was comparable to an ordinary sword cultivator's strike.
"The Ten Directions Sword is a supreme technique of the Tianlang Kingdom, capable of maximizing a martial cultivator's potential, far beyond ordinary martial skills," Qingxiao said with a furrowed brow and a heavy tone, exhaling deeply.
With the Dragon Flame Armor and the Ten Directions Sword, he couldn't see how Xu Taiping could win this match.
"Taiping, what will you do?"
Despite not seeing any chance for Xu Taiping to win, Qingxiao still harbored a sliver of hope.
***
Back on the arena.
Ye Xuan's recent move seemed to be the ultimate technique of the Ten Directions Sword, and he had entered a phase of recuperation, slowing down his sword strikes.
Xu Taiping finally had a chance to catch his breath.
"Clang!"
However, as soon as Xu Taiping tried to escape the area, Ye Xuan's sword, as if it had eyes, immediately followed.
"Bang!"
But Xu Taiping did not give up; he kept trying, looking for a flaw in Ye Xuan's sword technique.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, Xu Taiping's aura surged, and he began to execute the Shadow Wind Step.
"Whoosh!"
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from his spot, ready for his final stand.
"Clang!"
But just as he was about to leave the controlled area of the Ten Directions Sword, Ye Xuan's sword pursued him again, aiming straight for his back.
"Crack…"
A layer of Mystic Ice Armor fell from Xu Taiping's body.
The sword did not hit its mark, and Ye Xuan was not too surprised.
After all, his strike was meant to break Xu Taiping's Mystic Ice Armor.
"The Mystic Ice Armor takes at least ten breaths to form, and I have finished recuperating. My next move, Thousand Shadows, will surely leave you riddled with holes," Ye Xuan thought as he prepared to return to his original position for the second Thousand Shadows.
Despite his seemingly arrogant demeanor, he was extremely meticulous and did not let his guard down because of Xu Taiping's reputation.
"Whoosh!…"
But before he could retreat, Xu Taiping, who had been staggering, suddenly took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully.
"Boom!"
In an instant, the breath Xu Taiping exhaled turned into a thick fog that enveloped Ye Xuan.
This was the only technique Xu Taiping had exchanged for with Merit Coins—the Borrowing Mist Technique, which, after being refined by Fairy Lingyue, not only obscured vision but also masked some of the aura perception, rendering any cultivator within it blind, except for Xu Taiping himself.
"Clang!"
Almost the moment the fog covered Ye Xuan, Xu Taiping, who had already gripped his blade, slashed fiercely into the mist where Ye Xuan was.
However, Ye Xuan was indeed skilled.
Even though he could not detect Xu Taiping's position, when Xu Taiping's blade fell, his sword quickly responded.
"Clang!"
With a sword cry, layers of sword shadows wrapped around him, enveloping his body.
"Bang!"
Xu Taiping's long blade struck the sword shadows surrounding Ye Xuan.
Aside from extinguishing the sword shadows, it did not harm him, and the blade in his hand broke with a "snap."
"Zing!"
But Xu Taiping seemed to have anticipated this, and the moment his left blade broke, his right blade was already unsheathed.
"Bang!"
This time, Ye Xuan was unable to block in time, and Xu Taiping's blade struck his shoulder directly.
However, when Xu Taiping's blade struck him, an armor made of True Qi in the shape of flames appeared, not only blocking Xu Taiping's strike but also spewing a tongue of flame that enveloped Xu Taiping's arm.
Ye Xuan had not only sword Qi to protect his body but also the Dragon Flame Armor.
"Boom!"
Yet, Xu Taiping did not evade the flames from the Dragon Flame Armor.
As the flames engulfed him, his left fist, already raised, smashed fiercely towards Ye Xuan.
"Bang!"
The punch landed in the brief moment when the Dragon Flame Armor had not fully recovered, hitting Ye Xuan's shoulder hard.
And that punch was just the beginning.
After the left fist was thrown, his right fist, already prepared, followed up with incredible speed.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!—"
The Charging Bull Formation.
Xu Taiping, bathed in flames, seemed to hover in mid-air, his fists alternating to create afterimages, pummeling Ye Xuan with a frenzy of blows.