Chapter 507: Love Yet Unattainable

Yuan Yao exhausted the sword techniques she had learned all her life to oppose it!

The two clashed for over a hundred rounds!

Sikong Banxue's condition seemed even worse, yet her attack power did not drop with it.

Now, Yuan Yao was nearly covered in wounds, and blood welled up at the corner of her mouth.

Seeing Yuan Yao in such a state, no one summoned the Ying Long, and they couldn't help feeling anxious for her.

Sikong Banxue stared at the blue‑clad girl before her, who was even more badly injured, and felt a surge of respect.

【Target: Sikong Banxue, Awakening Value reached 30.】

Yuan Yao was slightly surprised to suddenly hear that broadcast.

Immediately—

"Tian Xue!" Yuan Yao shouted sharply.

Before her words finished, a terrifying pressure from a Seventh‑Tier Early‑Stage spirit beast swept the arena like a tsunami, and the entire arena shuddered violently under the beast's force!

In mid‑air, a snow‑white beast suddenly materialized, its golden eyes blazing, twin horns towering, surrounded by biting cold, its beauty breathtaking.

"That is... a Snow Beast?!"

The wave of exclamations instantly ignited the arena, and the Immortal Lords on the platform also couldn't help their expressions changing.

A Seventh‑Tier Early‑Stage Snow Beast has combat power comparable to a human Cultivator in the early Body Integration Realm!

The Snow Beast, upon appearing, turned into a flash of white light, bearing a piercing screech that tore the air as it lunged at Sikong Banxue.

Sikong Banxue's complexion changed instantly!

She swiftly drew her sword to meet it and tried to bind the foe with Word Spirit Technique.

But at that moment, Yuan Yao did not stay aside to watch; she and Tian Xue advanced together against Sikong Banxue.

Under the combined assault of a person and a beast, Sikong Banxue was quickly defeated.

Sikong Banxue fell to the ground, spitting out a gush of blood, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

At that moment, a pair of cloud‑patterned boots hovered before her.

Sikong Banxue struggled to lift her head and saw Yuan Yao holding the Phantom Spirit Sword behind her, reaching out: "Comrade Sikong."

"Cough... cough cough..." A violent cough blackened Sikong Banxue's vision; her face turned ashen, almost tinged with bluish‑gray.

She breathed weakly, her voice as thin as a mosquito's: "I concede."

As the words fell, amid the hissing gasp of the crowd, she trembled and raised her hand toward the one suspended in midair.

Yuan Yao slowly clasped her hand and helped her to her feet.

Sikong Banxue lowered her lashes and whispered, "Thank you."

The referee had just announced the result when the Ninth Province's seat erupted into chaos!

The Cultivators were ecstatic, their eyes blood‑red as they raised their arms and shouted: "Yuan Yao! Yuan Yao!"

The roar rolled like thunder, nearly overturning the platform's top beam.

"Yuan Yao will win!"

"Yuan Yao, Yuan Yao, claim the champion!"

The fervent waves of shouts piled upon each other, as if even the heavens and earth resonated.

Even cultivators from other continents or islands were shocked by Yuan Yao's strength!

No one expected Yuan Yao to have won all the way to this point!

And she even contracted a Seventh‑Tier Early‑Stage Snow Beast!

How can anyone still win?!

Unless Xie Zixu can also produce a beast of the same tier, otherwise…

The crowd stared at the blue‑clad figure on the arena, their eyes filled with despair.

On the stands, Qian Yunzhou idly stroked his jade flute with his fingertip, watching the composed blue figure in the arena, a smile deepening at the corner of his mouth.

He lazily raised an eyebrow, his eyes swirling with unabashed admiration: "Indeed, you haven't disappointed me."

Opposite them, the First Continent's seat felt like falling into an ice cavern. The cultivators' faces turned ashen, fists clenched tightly, knuckles whitening.

—The Seventh‑Tier Snow Beast is a whole realm above Xie Zixu—

—an entire higher realm!

With such overwhelming force, how could anyone win?!

The Immortal Lords of the First Continent also lost their smiles.

Before Xie Zixu stepped onto the arena, he received a message from the Wushuang Sect Sect Master: "This match determines the First Continent's ranking, Zixu, you must give it your all."

Xie Zixu slowly lifted his head and saw the Wushuang Sect Sect Master seated on the stands, staring at him as if conveying an attitude of 'no room for error.'

He pressed his lips together.

Immediately, amid the clamor of the crowd, he stepped onto the arena.

At this moment, Yuan Yao gazed at the white‑clad youth before her, a strange feeling stirring within; she hadn't expected the final match of the Immortal Gate Grand Contest to be against Xie Zixu.

And Xie Zixu was also staring at her.

Their eyes met.

The referee glanced at the two and immediately announced loudly: "First Continent's Xie Zixu versus Ninth Province's Yuan Yao, the match officially—begins!"

As the words fell, both Yuan Yao and Xie Zixu summoned long swords.

"Comrade Xie, make your move," Yuan Yao said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

Xie Zixu's expression remained calm, and the instant Yuan Yao's words ended, he moved!

His form turned into a vague white blur, leaving a fleeting afterimage, and in an instant he leapt several zhang, his long sword becoming a flash of lightning that thrust straight at Yuan Yao's face!

Clang!

The two swords crossed!

In an instant, an incomparably strong sword qi erupted, stirring the airflow of the entire arena, sharp as wind blades.

Their figures crossed; at the moment the long swords met, a fierce wind rose, blowing Yuan Yao's hair strands and the loose bangs on Xie Zixu's forehead to flutter together, almost entwining.

But in just a breath, they suddenly sprang apart as if shocked, each retreating by borrowing force.

On the arena, a blue and a white figure flickered at high speed, collided, then separated again.

Each clash of sword techniques burst out dazzling sparks; the powerful impact made the entire sturdy arena tremble slightly, as if it could be overturned by this force at any moment.

Boom!

Yuan Yao's body was shaken, forcing her back several dozen steps; her brows furrowed, a trace of bright red blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, staining her collar red.

Yet she showed no hesitation, suddenly lifting her eyes, the fighting spirit in her gaze blazing even fiercer.

At that very moment, the white-clad figure closed in like a shadow; the youth had already approached again, his sword momentum even sharper than before.

She raised her sword to block.

The two almost simultaneously thrust their swords at each other, yet at a hair's breadth they both sidestepped to avoid the opponent's blade.

As they passed each other, their gazes briefly met in midair.

This scene fell into Feng Xuanji's eyes; she pressed her lips together. Perhaps to others it revealed nothing, but in her view, the instant Xie Zixu and Yuan Yao locked gazes gave one a feeling of being unable to intrude.

Although she had long stopped wanting to like Xie Zixu, seeing him and Yuan Yao in such tacit understanding still made her heart feel sour and aching.

She knew she shouldn't feel this way, yet her heart felt uneasy nonetheless.

Is this because she loves but cannot obtain?

Feng Xuanji lowered her eyelashes, took a deep breath, trying to dispel such emotion.

On the arena.

Yuan Yao could barely hold on, because after fighting in so many matches consecutively, her stamina and spiritual power were no longer as abundant as at the start; moreover, continual sensations of pain and weakness from her body slowed her reactions.

"Tian Xue!"

She summoned Tian Xue again.

Upon seeing Xie Zixu, Tian Xue immediately launched a fierce attack toward him.

Xie Zixu instantly shifted from offense to defense; he naturally could see that Tian Xue sought to avenge their previous battle in the Tian Xue Mountain Range.