Chapter 323: Only This One Sword

The few people in this small group here had their own worries, while the geniuses over there also had acquaintances, whispering to each other from a distance, not daring to speak their minds openly.

"Fellow Daoist, who do you think will win?"

"Look at how you ask that; it should be who can survive, right?"

"Indeed, that No Regrets Sword Canon is exceptionally fierce among all sword canons, the kind that is exceptionally reckless!"

"Who told it to be a derivative branch of the Only I Sword Canon?"

"Yes, only me, only one, only one sword; this sword is resolute, if not victorious, then death!"

"Damn it, these sword maniacs!"

"Brother Daoist, it seems you are also a sword cultivator?"

"Don't compare us to them; it makes us seem unworthy."

The intensity of the geniuses' conversation was actually far beyond what it had been before, and their attitudes were highly consistent.

Du En, it's precarious!

Being able to keep his life would be considered the result of Counselor Meng's protection!

Moreover, it's actually unknown if it can be done; after all, True Monarch Regret-Heart clearly intends to kill him, and if he dies on the field, even a Venerable would be powerless to save him!

Then, the whispering stopped abruptly.

Because those two had already stepped into the dueling arena.

The crowd outside the arena held their breath and focused.

The two inside the arena appeared casual.

There was no overwhelming sword intent or sword momentum, or any other messy things.

Because Ye Buhui had already polished and restrained his sword to the extreme.

He walked on the ground seemingly ordinarily, so Du En also landed on the ground.

Both sides walked toward each other in a wasteland.

It was like two martial arts heroes, having agreed to meet here to decide the outcome.

Very calm, very ordinary, and very close.

They stopped at a distance of ten zhang.

"I know you came to kill me, but why did you have to fight that match first? Weren't you afraid of encountering some unforeseen circumstance?"

Du En asked calmly.

"I originally intended to release that sword in that match, and then come to fight you; only then would it barely count as fair."

Ye Buhui's voice was very ordinary, slightly low, with a sense of lament.

The reason he decided to release the sword he had been accumulating and nurturing since the preparations for the Grand Competition was because he was moved by Du En's spirit during the fight with Wang Gu, so he intended to have a fair fight.

So, now he seemed very regretful.

"It's a pity, now only this one sword remains; once the sword passes, the person dies, it is fated to be so!"

As Ye Buhui said this, he no longer held the sword in his arms, but began to adjust its position.

Time seemed to have frozen.

It looked incomparably ordinary, full of flaws, but, there were no flaws at all!

To deal with it, there was only the front!

A head-on collision with that sword, which gathered everything of a No Regrets sword cultivator!

It was as if there was light in Du En's hands; one by one, Dharma treasures were driven out, and heavy spells were brewing.

He had to collide head-on.

He could only do so.

"It's useless; your Dharma treasures cannot block my sword, your Dharma artifacts also cannot block my sword, not to mention those spells of yours that seem mediocre and can only be strengthened by forcibly pouring in mana."

Ye Buhui said this, stating a reality.

"You talk a lot."

"Yes, compared to the past, it is quite a bit more; after all, I really have some regrets."

"I see."

Du En also seemed to have some lament.

As soon as the words fell, everything froze.

Clang~

A mediocre sound of a sword being drawn, and then, everything began to flow again.

The sword moved forward.

Cold and without regrets.

Simple and unadorned.

Killing! Killing!

In an instant, all the geniuses watching felt their eyes sting, and some even cracked directly, spraying blood.

Too strong, this sword!

Body, mind, will, Dao cultivation, and mana were all polished into it, even vaguely exceeding the control of this sword Dao prodigy, which was why it injured the onlookers outside the arena.

Facing this sword directly, what was Du En's situation now, how miserable was it?

They asked themselves, and some had pale faces.

Then.

Tip to tip, end to end, needle point against wheat awn!

"Screech!!!!!"

A more terrifying, more insane, more horrific screech erupted; the crowd only saw a claw of crimson flame, and with a single reach and grab, the sword shattered and the swordsman was sent flying.

He spat blood, dazed, with a hint of agony; the lingering hatred scorched his spirit, and the phoenix fire burned his body.

He was smashed a hundred zhang away, looking at his own hands in a daze.

The sword was shattered, or rather, melted; anyway, it was just gone!

"How could this be..."

"You are very strong, truly."

Du En stood calmly amidst the phoenix fire, as the phoenix's lingering hatred manifested into a ferocious and terrifying fire phoenix, screeching madly as it sought to incinerate its surroundings, making the small world seem as if it were beginning to tremble.

Its source and host, that Phoenix Blood Spear, had its black outer shell completely shattered, leaving only the spear body, which looked like flowing magma, or perhaps a scorching radiance compressed from crimson flames.

"So, this is not your fault, because even a True Person would die when facing it while it possesses a carrier of the same rank."

Du En said only this, also stating a fact, leaving the people who had finally seen the scene clearly speechless for a moment.

Main Pivot Hall.

"It is actually Phoenix Lingering Hatred!"

Cheng Ru True Monarch looked up to gaze at the light, revealing some of his own features within it; natural and transcendent, he squinted his eyes and sighed deeply: "I never expected it could be used this way, and that he would dare to use it this way. This is truly beyond expectations; the firmness of his will makes one look at him with new eyes. No wonder Junior Sister Huiqing targets him repeatedly."

Huiqing True Monarch was silent at first, feeling only that everything had descended into chaos.

Then she looked at Meng Changqing: "The spear you helped him refine?"

When she asked this, she was somewhat suspicious and incredulous.

Because Meng Changqing's actions during this period clearly proved he did not know about this matter; he was not faking it, he was running about for the result of Du En's defeat!

Which is to say!

"No, no, no, I also didn't know he could actually refine that tree heart into a spear; I only thought he was relying on the tree heart to cultivate the Phoenix Crimson True Flame!"

Since the Phoenix Blood Spear was exposed, the Phoenix Crimson True Flame was naturally linked to it and impossible to conceal, which is why Meng Changqing spoke of it directly.

Huiqing True Monarch still could not believe it and looked toward Zhuding True Monarch.

He only said: "An extraordinary person does extraordinary things..."

"Don't talk nonsense! Even if he could luckily refine it, it would be hard for him to hold on for long. Look, he is currently struggling to press the Phoenix Lingering Hatred back!"

Zhuding True Monarch's words were interrupted by Meng Changqing halfway through.

He had to quickly and tactfully show weakness, otherwise, if one or two people raised their level of attention to the maximum, there would be endless trouble later!

However, the True Monarchs only remained temporarily silent, quietly watching Du En contain the Phoenix Blood Spear.

There was no need for others to say anything; they had their own judgments.

Thus, Buyi True Monarch, as always, sighed directly: "To have the sky collapse before one and yet remain as calm as a tranquil lake—this is something I was inferior to in the past. This child is truly one of my Dao!"

In fact, the True Monarchs had all tried to erase the Phoenix Lingering Hatred, but the results were all failures!

Choosing to accommodate and carry it—naturally, some had tried this too.

It was none other than Buyi True Monarch!

But he had failed at that time!

At the same time, do not look at the current actual performance of the Phoenix Lingering Hatred, which is still limited to the Fourth Rank; that is only restricted by the carrier's interface.

If the True Monarchs chose to incorporate and bear it at this moment, it would only cause their carriers to collapse directly, making the Dao of Nirvana surface to the exterior, at which point the insane Phoenix Lingering Hatred would surge out!

An ordinary True Person would die upon contact, and even they, these heaven-gifted True Monarchs, would feel a massive headache and suffer severe destruction.

Therefore, previously, even Buyi True Monarch had not thought about trying it again.

And since Du En had delved to this extent, he must have perceived the hidden danger of that lingering hatred, yet he remained completely fearless, using it in a way that could be described as wanton yet calm, not fearing the collapse of the carrier that would cause the Dao of Nirvana to surface and the main body of the lingering hatred to surge out.

This was the point they admired and praised the most!

It also made Huiqing True Monarch silently clench her hands, visibly wanting to eradicate him at any cost.

Meng Changqing felt his head grow large and his head ache as he listened and watched.

Buyi True Monarch, like Zhuding True Monarch, was also moved by a love for talent; it seemed like there was another one trying to poach him!

As for Huiqing, forget it; anyway, as long as Du En didn't die, she would keep targeting him, so there was no new problem, just the same old routine.

After all, even a lion hunting a rabbit uses its full strength; once her targeting reached a certain line, she would spare no effort, so there was no substantial difference.

Therefore, the key actually lay with Cheng Ru True Monarch!

As he retreated back to that previously unobservable state, Meng Changqing, in a fleeting glance, seemed to see his gaze wandering—was he plotting something devious?

In any case, it wouldn't be anything good!

Among this upper echelon of Luoyu, apart from that old immortal Supreme, only this mysterious and unfathomable Senior Brother made Meng Changqing feel the most concerned and vigilant!

"Du En, you really know how to find trouble for me!"

Meng Changqing thought this with distress, yet the corners of his mouth could not help but lift.

At the same time, the crowd outside the fighting arena finally came back to their senses.

"Holy crap!"

"What was that just now?!"

"A Dharma Treasure? Or a Dharma Artifact?"

"How many more shocks can he give us?!"

The geniuses could not help but lose their composure; the scene before their eyes was simply too unexpected, causing them to be visibly shocked!

—Du En was unharmed and turned to leave; Ye Buhui was defeated, his Dao path completely lost!

He spared his life and left him hope, because his previous regrets were from the heart.

Anyway, Du En still had trump cards and hadn't used his full strength; moreover, as long as he continued to grind and accumulate, the distance between them would only grow wider and wider.

"What a solid Artifact Master! Truly displaying the exquisite combat techniques of an artifact refiner!"

When Du En stepped out of the small world, someone spoke up, clapping and sighing, completely unafraid, feeling only amazement.

It has been a long time since there was a figure who so prominently displayed the path of Artifact Refining!

Just like Alchemists and Talisman Cultivators, it is a type dominated by the hundred arts; its manifestation is just as Du En showed before, where the magical treasure is related to artifact refining, and one can also extravagantly wield magical tools.

However, this is only for ordinary artifact masters; they can only be called Grandmasters of Artifact Refining, and are not yet worth marveling over.

A truly outstanding genius artifact master is one who can perform heaven-defying feats, collecting all kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to refine extraordinary magical tools that are hard to match at the same rank!

Like Du En's Phoenix Blood Spear, it is exactly this!

"Tsk tsk tsk! With that spear, isn't he standing in an invincible position?"

Another genius spoke in a light tone, their eyes flashing with eagerness, thinking of meeting force with force, full of fighting spirit, which made the others gasp, yet they did not have a shred of doubt.

The reason is simple: this person is very strong!

And the one who just spoke is as well.

There are two others, silent, but they have all approached and appeared, their gazes fixed on Du En's side.

Nascent Soul perfection, the peak of Dharma cultivation, top-tier geniuses who have nowhere left to advance at the Nascent Soul stage, coming specifically to seize the championship—they are the trusted direct subordinates of those four True Lords in the upper echelons!

They can be called the seeded players, and to avoid a situation of sweeping and crushing, they will only officially participate in the duels starting from the round of the top twenty.

Previously, they had always sat firmly on the fishing platform and never appeared, at most casting their gazes, but now, they have all appeared, directly observing and spying on this dark horse, Du En!

Facing these focused gazes, Du En did not pay them any mind.

If one has that idle time, it is better to go back and grind cultivation.

Therefore, he returned directly to the floating pillar.

"That's quite arrogant!"

"I can understand it, though."

At this, the remaining two also spoke up, each voice crisp, each showing a soft charm.

Immediately, the four of them did not linger either, all turning to return, intending to rehearse and simulate, looking for a way to break Du En's "turtle shell," appearing exceptionally solemn.

However, Ying Dongqing and the others did not pay much attention to this right now; seeing Du En return, they immediately greeted him, beaming with joy, their dejection completely dissipated.

"Yingcai is truly divine; this concubine cannot find any other words to describe it!"

"Hahaha! I knew it, you would definitely be able to win, my Lord!"

"Hey! I was full of confidence, I unleashed a sword, and I was instantly insta-killed!"

"Yingcai, you are truly amazing! *Cough! * But, why did you let him off? Also, seeing his unbearable pain when he was burning with fire, and the lack of pain when it was extinguished, is it possible that you also feel pain when you are burning?"

The madness of Phoenix Remnant Hate is obvious to all, and Du En was burning just like a torch earlier, which is why Su Wanhe asked this.

The others had just been preoccupied with joy, but now they reacted as well, immediately suppressing their happiness, feeling somewhat worried, fearing there might be some evil consequences of backlash.

"No problem."

Although wielding the Phoenix Blood Spear is more dangerous than a child swinging a giant hammer—it is practically a child holding the button to a nearby nuclear bomb, and one careless move would leave nothing of oneself left—Du En felt no fear; when it needed to be used, he would use it!

After all, the inner quality of the Phoenix Blood Spear is too high and too good; it is practically a divine ability and principle forged into a spear, invincible among the same rank, and as long as the carrier interface problem is solved, it can remain invincible up to the sixth rank, the level of True Lords!

Of course, he was not conceited, remaining calm; seeing their excitement beginning to fade, he immediately nodded and said: "Since your mental states have recovered, then, the amount owed from last night will be finished together by working overtime today."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was speechless.

No, you are just obsessed with us working for free, aren't you!

"Helping you work for free is no problem, but aren't you training a bit too hard?"

Su Wanhe spoke up again at this time.

"I only feel that time is not enough."

Du En spoke the truth, which left them even more speechless.

However, because of the influence from above, they had already completely submitted, so they were accustomed to his attitude and were willing to work for him.

Because that proved they were fighting side by side, struggling together!

Putting aside this external pretense, in reality, they vaguely sensed that although they were still in the same great realm, in fact, they could no longer catch up and could no longer truly fight side by side.

Under Du En's lead, the group moved into the wilderness space.

Merging into another floating pillar, this place was already overgrown with tall trees, covered by a forest.

It was generally set up according to Du En's method: first a desert wilderness, then green grass growing, then the vegetation becoming a forest, green covering yellow, wood growing on soil.

Naturally, the cultivation benefits for him became prominent; now, even without cooking meals, he could maintain his original state.

However, he would still cook; even though it is very difficult to stack materials to the fifth-rank middle grade, and fifth-rank low-grade spiritual food is starting to show insufficient amplification for cultivation, it can be used to focus on spells!

Now, in terms of cultivation, there is no big problem with his realm accumulation and technique proficiency, but his spells are very lagging, and time is severely insufficient!

Fortunately, because Meng Changqing had previously made a bunch of demands as the employer, he did not need to worry about the problem of materials, so he took the opportunity to tinker and also figured out a type that could be used for practicing spells.

At this very moment, relying on the toughness of his own spiritual body and the resilience of his soul—these two major foundations—plus this kind of spiritual food, he could directly practice two things at once, doubling the output!

Once started, it cannot stop.

Meng Changqing, having finished his secret argument with True Lord Zhuding, basically continued the various matters agreed upon earlier in a different form, not wasting the previous haggling and tug-of-war, and basically reclaimed various concessions.

Thus, he finally had a gap to cast his gaze over.

He had originally thought about complaining to Du En about why he didn't explain the matter of the Phoenix Blood Spear clearly earlier, but as a result, he saw that they had already split into two groups, once again working in a scene of heated activity.

Hiss!

Gone astray! Gone astray!

My perfectly good backbone subordinates have all been led astray by you!

Meng Changqing was heartbroken, but he silently withdrew his gaze.

As for the matter that wasn't explained.

Hey, at that time, they were still arguing about contradictions and discussing common ground, so it was normal to overlook it.

Now, rather than thinking about this, it is better to take the opportunity to think of more demands, reduce the spiritual food, and add more magical tools.

Cannot let him continue to make up the numbers!

Clearly, he is capable of refining Dharma treasures like the Phoenix Blood Spear, yet look at what he refined before—ordinary Tier 4 High-grade, ordinary Tier 4 Peak-grade—it was all just to fulfill the quota, just going through the motions!

This must be corrected; I must properly increase production and stockpile goods, keeping the high-quality ones for later, and taking the shoddily made ones to earn the price difference, using them to supplement my remaining supplies!

So, the question arises: whose money should I earn?

"Hmph! Those four guys, not one of them is any good, and they occupy the first-mover advantage, having fenced off all the good land that should have been fenced; it is simply outrageous. Now that there is a way to make money, I must spread the rain and dew equally and squeeze them all dry!"

Especially that guy, True Monarch Huiqing, who is extremely targeted; I imagine he wouldn't mind paying three or four times the price to collect goods produced by Du En.

They are indeed produced by Du En, but others also help out, and they are all finished products made by going through the motions. Anyway, he likes to self-destruct his Dharma treasures the most; they are all a series of self-use and self-destruct models, so dismantling and scrutinizing those shoddily made ones is completely meaningless.

Pure profit, no loss!

I have to say, Meng Changqing's thinking in this regard has indeed been influenced by Du En.

The person involved doesn't know, and even if he did, it wouldn't cause a ripple.

He continues his "liver-grinding" practice, and the Thousand-Day Grand Competition is still ongoing.

The geniuses quickly realized that they actually don't need to consider his existence at all, because their current opponents alone are evenly matched, existing as people who require them to exhaust all their means.

The wheel of fortune turns; now it is their turn to experience the cruelty of this Grand Competition!

If the first three rounds were a chronicle of suffering for the outstanding talents, then in the third round, after all the outstanding talents were eliminated, the subsequent rounds would be a chronicle of suffering for the geniuses.

Moreover, due to the decrease in the number of participants, the overall interval between duels has also shortened, which further highlights this point.

The fourth round had a total of three hundred and sixty-six participants; theoretically, one hundred and eighty-three would be decided, then through the fifth round, ninety-odd people would be decided, and then the sixth round, the seventh round...

Thus, one can clearly see that the number of matches in each round is shrinking rapidly; in other words, the gap left for the geniuses to heal their wounds is naturally becoming increasingly short.

Take Jia Yao, whom Su Wanhe faced before; this genius of the weak stream was still quite relaxed during the third round, after all, his lightning techniques appeared extraordinary, and he was able to defeat a genius at the early Nascent Soul stage in the end.

But even so, he still carried wounds; that opponent was not as polite as Su Wanhe, and the residue left behind was truly like maggots on the bone.

Consequently, when Du En looked at the records, he could see that when he took the stage in the fourth round, he still had old wounds, and his strength was only about seventy or eighty percent of its peak.

At the same time, the opponent in this round was even stronger, and he had to use all his means, bringing out his trump card, self-damaging his natal Dharma treasure, the Thunder-Commanding Seal, to create a realm of lightning, only then managing to win by a hair's breadth by exploiting the opponent's carelessness to defeat a stronger foe with a weaker one.

But even after winning, he lay in the small world for most of the day before barely catching his breath and dragging his battered body back.

In the next match, he will inevitably lose, and might not even have a next match, because he might suddenly fall ill while healing after the battle and be eliminated on the spot.

So in fact, when the fourth round ended, only one hundred and forty people were decided.

The number of people decreased faster than the theory, there won't be that many rounds, and basically everyone is wounded and injured; if one is unlucky and is scheduled first in the next round, then one can only say the opponent is too lucky, which can be called a free pass to the next round.

"Looking at it this way, I'm afraid the top twenty will be decided by the sixth round."

Du En thought silently.

His own goal is actually just to secure the minimum, but even so, the follow-up won't be easy; after all, it's hard to say whether there will be more targeting in the future.

Although Meng Changqing said that True Monarch Huiqing seems to have stopped and is not manipulating his next round of duels, who can say for sure what will happen?

In case there is some last-minute operation, that is also a possibility!

Therefore, one cannot be careless and needs to be cautious.

Du En thought calmly.

Then, on the second day, the first day of the fifth round, it was his turn, the only "early Nascent Soul" stage cultivator, to take the stage.

This time, his luck can be described as "after the extreme of adversity comes prosperity," and as such, his opponent this time was actually Jia Yao.

Haha, after thinking about it, I feel it's a pity to break the record of ten thousand words a day that has been kept for so long. Anyway, I still have some drafts, so I'll post them. Next, I will return to one chapter of ten thousand words per day. When I reach five hundred average subscriptions, I will split them up.

(End of this chapter)