Chapter 211

Boom!

With a heart-shaking drumbeat, intense qi fluctuations and clashing weapon sounds erupted almost simultaneously across all ten platforms.

The battle had begun!

……

As the finals commenced, Chen Mu did not rush onto the platform; instead, he stood calmly below, his gaze steady as he scanned each arena, observing the cultivation methods, fighting styles, and qi characteristics of the defenders.

After watching for a while, he realized that Ye Jiuzhong on Platform One, Ma Jiantong on Platform Five, and Cao Shaozu on Platform Seven were unquestionably the strongest.

They stood like three solid reefs, repelling wave after wave of challengers within the span of a single cup of tea, each one defeated or surrendering—no one could budge them an inch.

Huang Yuanhe, however, was highly active, relying on his nimble body movement and raw momentum to challenge all ten platforms in short order.

The outcome was predictable: on the other nine platforms, including against Ye Jiuzhong, Ma Jiantong, and Cao Shaozu, he was swiftly defeated.

Only the defender on Platform Eight, a Postnatal cultivator, allowed him to barely win, replacing the opponent as the new platform master.

Yet his position as platform master had barely warmed his seat—he held it through only two challenges before being defeated by a stronger Innate Realm contestant, retreating in disgrace.

"Sigh, Brother Chen, these guys are insane!"

Huang Yuanhe sidled up to Chen Mu, wiped sweat from his brow, and sighed with lingering shock, "There are too many geniuses—I just can't handle this tiny frame of mine."

After saying that, he turned to look at Chen Mu, still calm and composed, and asked curiously, "Brother Chen, you've been watching for so long—who are you going to challenge first? Ye Jiuzhong? Or Cao Shaozu?"

Chen Mu's gaze settled on the shadowy figure on Platform Five, whose sword moved like a phantom.

"Ma Jiantong."

Ma Jiantong, also at Eighth Stage Innate, was famed for his swordplay—fast, precise, and ruthless—making him the perfect opponent to test his own sword art and hone the "Strive for Heaven Sword."

"Ma Jiantong?"

Huang Yuanhe's eyebrows lifted in excitement. "Good, good! Ma Jiantong's origins are mysterious—when you step up, you'll definitely force him to reveal his true hand!"

"Not necessarily," Chen Mu shook his head.

Due to the finals' rules, Ma Jiantong's life-or-death combat experience could not be fully utilized.

At this moment, his true combat power was at least thirty percent lower than usual.

But…

Wasn't Chen Mu the same?

……

As they spoke, another challenger was forced to yield by Ma Jiantong's swift, windlike blade.

"I'm going."

Chen Mu spoke one sentence, his figure flickered like a breeze passing—next instant, he stood firmly atop Platform Five.

Seeing Chen Mu ascend, Ma Jiantong, whose face had shown no expression until now, faintly furrowed his brows, his solemn gaze deepening.

Without a word, not even activating his qi, he flicked his ordinary iron sword, transforming it into a streak of cold lightning aimed straight at Chen Mu's chest.

The speed was astonishing!

Chen Mu also refrained from using qi, gripping the iron sword provided by the tournament, and unleashed the "Strive for Heaven Sword"—its momentum vast and mighty, as if striving to strike the heavens, utterly distinct from Ma Jiantong's pure pursuit of speed and slaughter.

"Ding ding dang dang…"

Instantly, sword shadows crisscrossed the platform; the metallic clashing rang like sudden rain on banana leaves, dense and relentless!

Ma Jiantong's sword was indeed fast, and he had nearly touched the edge of sword intent—each strike carried an unyielding, forward-thrusting resolve.

Chen Mu responded purely with sword technique; for a time, he gained no upper hand—the two were locked in fierce, evenly matched combat.

Yet in this full-throttle sword duel, Ma Jiantong's extreme speed acted like the finest whetstone, constantly stimulating and polishing Chen Mu's "Strive for Heaven Sword."

The fused sword momentum climbed again under this high-speed clash; his understanding of sword art deepened rapidly!

A stick of incense was nearly finished.

Chen Mu and Ma Jiantong seemed to share a telepathic understanding; almost simultaneously, the qi they had suppressed within their bodies erupted violently!

Around Ma Jiantong, sharp, piercing sword qi coalesced—countless silver threads slicing through the air, enveloping Chen Mu.

Chen Mu, meanwhile, unleashed the Duan Tianhe qi from his dantian, instantly transformed via the "Five Elements Spirit Transformation Scripture" into blazing fire-attribute qi—but he deliberately suppressed his qi fluctuations to the level of Sixth Stage Innate!

Crimson fire sword qi surged upward; though lesser in quantity than Ma Jiantong's, its density and intrinsic quality far surpassed the other's.

Bang!

Boom~!

Two utterly different streams of sword qi crashed head-on!

Yet the outcome surprised nearly everyone.

In just two exchanges, Chen Mu's seemingly "weak" fire sword qi shattered Ma Jiantong's massive silver qi with overwhelming force!

The scorching sword qi surged forward like a breaking dam, striking the unprepared Ma Jiantong.

"Puh—"

Ma Jiantong was As If Struck Heavily, spitting blood, his body flying uncontrollably backward, crashing heavily against the platform's edge, his iron sword clattering from his grasp.

At the very moment he hit the ground, the final wisp of ash from the timing incense drifted down.

Time's up!

Around Platform Five, silence held for an instant—then erupted into deafening shouts and clamor.

"What? Ma Jiantong lost?"

"Impossible! Chen Mu's qi fluctuation was clearly only Sixth Stage Innate!"

"Weak defeats strong! This is true genius!"

"Chen Mu is ranked seventy-seventh on the Qianlong List? What nonsense! This ranking can be updated ahead of schedule!"

"…"

Countless shocked, horrified, disbelieving gazes fixed on the young man in blue robes, standing on Platform Five, sword in hand.

The latest issue of the Qianlong List: Chen Mu is ranked seventy-seventh, Ma Jiantong is ranked fifty-sixth.

Now that Chen Mu has defeated Ma Jiantong, wouldn't he leap forward by twenty-one places?

"Brother Chen, mighty indeed!"

Huang Yuanhe clapped his hands, cheering enthusiastically.

"Senior Brother Chen Mu is truly formidable."

Behind him, Xue Xue Ranran's voice rang out; she wiped sweat from her face, caught her breath, and gazed at Chen Mu on the arena, unable to help saying, "Fatty, do you think I should challenge Senior Brother Chen Mu?"

"Admirable courage!"

Huang Yuanhe raised his thumb, then suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Arena Nine, "When did you lose?"

"Just now."

Xue Xue Ranran's breathing steadied. "Losing doesn't matter, but I want to challenge Senior Brother Chen Mu, and also Ye Jiuzhong! Oh, and Su Sister too!"

"Well said."

Huang Yuanhe nodded vigorously. "I support you—go! Senior Brother Chen will surely treat you with gentleness and won't let you lose too badly."

"Alright!"

Xue Xue Ranran took a deep breath.

Then, when a challenger was kicked off the arena by Chen Mu,

Xue Xue Ranran immediately activated her movement technique and darted onto the arena.

"Senior Brother Chen Mu, please instruct me!"

"... Very well." Chen Mu smiled lightly.

In the next instant, his form blurred, leaving a lingering afterimage where he stood.

Hu~

A gust of wind surged.

Before Xue Xue Ranran could react, her vision blurred, and her whole body was flung upward.

She flew backward!

Soaring off the arena, she crashed onto the sandy ground with a "Bang!" lying flat on her back.

Her delicate face wore a dazed, bewildered expression.