The look in Fang Xing’s eyes began to change as things finally started going according to plan.

　　Xiao Jianming returned to pressuring Fang Xing without any pause, his expression as cold as ice and his sword light akin to frost. The iron sword within his hand endlessly transformed into all kinds of astonishing forms, and the powerful force pressed on towards Fang Xing like a tidal wave. He felt that Fang Xing was nearly finished, as though it would only take a second to kill the boy with his blade; he only needed to add in a little bit more power, only needed to make one more strike….

　　“You’re such a pitiful person. Your schemes and trickery might have worked once or twice, but in the end, you’re still going to lose!”

　　Xiao Jianming utilized Protective Frost during his speech, and Fang Xing’s face paled in the frosted atmosphere as he staggered backwards and nearly fell over….

　　“You are like a small ant on the tip of my finger. You may be extremely sly, but you’ll never escape your fate of being crushed by me!”

　　While Xiao Jianming spoke such derision-filled words, he began to use the Light of Dawn.

　　BOOM BOOM BOOM ….

　　To defend himself, Fang Xing used four Guardian Talismans at once while activating Closed Aegis, yet it was all destroyed by Xiao Jianming’s sword. Fang Xing received the blow, and he was so disadvantaged that it seemed he would die immediately after, yet he continued to live while hopping around….

　　Xiao Jianming began to grow impatient and yelled, “Today, I will make you understand the gap that exists between us!”

　　Xiao Jianming’s sword became like lightning as he used Qing-Yun Nine Swords: Into the Ninth Heaven. The sword light swept towards Fang Xing like a blanket to try to engulf him.

　　This was the most powerful and most Qi-demanding technique of the Qing-Yun Nine Swords. When Xiao Jianming had been suppressing Fang Xing before, he hadn’t used this technique as he’d felt he didn’t need to waste too much Qi. Now, however, he finally began to feel that something was wrong, so he decided to use this in the hopes of overwhelming him.

　　Fang Xing began to hysterically laugh at that exact same moment. Facing the blindingly bright light coming from Xiao Jianming, the grimness in Fang Xing’s expression vanished, replaced instead with nonchalance. He waved his arms and the Saber of Azure Dragon was activated once again, the weapon filled with vigorous power just strong enough to block Xiao Jianming’s attack. Fang Xing’s robes fluttered as the two blades collided, but he himself did not take even a single step back.

　　The strike from Xiao Jianming’s sword looked as though it was able to cut anything, yet it was stopped like this….

　　A glimmer of pride appeared on Xiao Jianming’s arrogant and furious expression, but he suddenly felt as though his opponent had changed.

　　Fang Xing appeared calm and didn’t seem worried about this strike at all. His gaze was cold and he looked towards Xiao Jianming with a half smile as he muttered, “Are you upset? Angry? All I did was kill that livestock of yours; why are you so hurt? Do you now know what I felt…? Five years ago, when you, your eagle, and that sword of yours murdered hundreds of people in the Guiyan Valley?”

　　“Nn?” Xiao Jianming suddenly paused before flying back thirty feet, his voice trembling as he spoke, “You’re…”

　　Fang Xing stomped his saber into the ground, standing it upright between two stone boards. His hands began to form a seal while he softly answered, “That’s right, I am that tenth bandit who fled, and I came searching for my revenge. Are you ready, Xiao Jianming?”

　　—

　　Xiao Jianming was surprised when he saw such deep hatred in Fang Xing’s eyes, and many things suddenly clicked into place within his mind. He understood now why the brat hadn’t appreciated his acts of kindness when he’d tried to be nice towards him at Mount Desolation, and why the brat had showed such a strong sense of hostility instead. It furthermore explained why he always felt a peculiar sense of danger coming from Fang Xing despite the brat’s cultivation level clearly not being as high as his….

　　That explained it! No wonder he hadn’t been able to find the tenth bandit who’d fled from the Guiyan Valley no matter how hard he tried to search for him; it turned out that this tenth bandit wasn’t a loathsome adult as he’d imagined, but a ten-year-old child! It turned out that not only had the tenth bandit not remained in west Chufung, but he had actually made his way to the Qing-Yun Sect in secret to become Xiao Jianming’s own little shidi….

　　“… Where is the treasure?” A million thoughts had flashed through Xiao Jianming’s mind, but this was what he finally blurted out in the end. His uncle had mentioned a rare treasure originating from the nine coffins, and it had been on his mind ever since.

　　A treasure crafted from the memories of a powerful cultivator from the upper realm.

　　He’d remained in west Chufung for four years, worked together with those disgusting martial artists from the mortal realm, killed no fewer than a thousand people, considered all possible methods, and even delayed his cultivation practice, yet he’d still not been able to find any traces of this treasure….

　　“That treasure is with me. Do you want it?” Fang Xing suddenly laughed. His hands completed the seal and a large pair of golden wings spread open with a sword force that was dazzling and majestic. “Come and get it!”

　　Woosh ….

　　With this, Fang Xing took the initiative to begin his attacks. The golden wings covered his body as he leapt into the air and transformed into a golden ray.

　　Woosh woosh woosh ….

　　A dozen golden sword lights had already formed before Fang Xing had even jumped. Some even seemed to be real, and they collided against each other with loud clanging noises. The sound was crisp and clear, tearing the atmosphere apart with a solemn killing intent.

　　“Qing-Yun Sword: Wide River Lock….” Surprised by this sudden turn, Xiao Jianming immediately retreated and flourished his sword, pushed to the defensive for the first time in this entire tournament. He felt a strange sense of danger….

　　SWISH ….

　　With this swing, a large river of intertwining locks and chains appeared in front of Xiao Jianming. The sun shined high above, and the locks and chains formed a river to cover the area below. Any sword force—or even hostility—would be locked away by the giant river and blocked out completely. It was the defensive form of the Qing-Yun Nine Swords—the Wide River Lock! Once this technique was performed, a river of heavy metal chains and locks would form to keep out any enemies.

　　Ting ting ting ….

　　The sword lights flew towards Xiao Jianming, but they all landed against the metal chains and were completely shattered. Fang Xing’s glare grew colder when he saw this, and he pushed himself to form even more sword lights to rush out.

　　Woosh woosh woosh ….

　　Golden rays shimmered as the entire sky was filled with the feather-like sword shapes. Thirty-six sword lights—the largest number Fang Xing could form from the Hundred and Eight Thousand Swords.

　　BOOM

　　The peculiar river of chains and locks was destroyed!

　　Faced with the sword lights that could cut giant stones falling from a thousand-foot waterfall, Xiao Jianming’s technique was destroyed in a mere instant. The locked chains shattered, the river began to flow away, and the strange sight soon vanished completely. Even after this, there were still seven or eight sword lights remaining and they flew forward to pierce the astonished Xiao Jianming. Xiao Jianming flourished his sword with all his might and managed to block a few for his efforts, but four or five of them still managed to pierce into his body.

　　Tzin tzin tzin ….

　　Xiao Jianming’s white robe split open and fresh blood seeped through, while Xiao Jianming himself fell down like a kite that had lost its string. Although he’d activated his protective shields the moment these sword lights closed in, he still ended up heavily injured. This wasn’t just any ordinary technique, after all; this was a secret technique of the Giant Peng Clan, an Ancient technique of a beast tribe.

　　“Who do you think I am? I am the person who will trample over the Fuyao Palace; do you really think you can steal things from me?” Fang Xing yelled in anger. Although he held the upper hand, he didn’t show any mercy at all, and the two golden wings behind him spread open as he flew into the air to rain down sword lights upon his foe.

　　In the beginning, it had been Xiao Jianming who was attacking him from the air while riding atop his steel eagle, yet now it was Fang Xing who was able to take to the air and use the Hundred and Eight Thousand Swords to suppress Xiao Jianming.

　　Woosh woosh woosh ….

　　The feather-like sword lights dropped one after another. It was like pouring rain, but it was also beautiful like that of a falling blossom that covered an entire ten-foot radius. The only thing Xiao Jianming was able to do was raise his iron sword and swing it from left to right in an attempt to block as many sword lights as possible with his Qing-Yun Nine Swords.

　　But it was useless. Although Xiao Jianming managed to block any attacks that were headed towards his vital organs, seven or eight more fresh wounds still appeared. He was filled with fear and looked on in disbelief as Fang Xing continued to suppress him, unable to believe how strong Fang Xing had become; it was like seeing a sly fox transform into a vicious tiger.

　　A fox might give someone a headache, but a vicious tiger was something to be feared!

　　At this time, the area outside the Thousand Cliff was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. All the dumbfounded Qing-Yun disciples had their eyes wide and mouth open.

　　“This… this kid is actually suppressing Shixiong Xiao….”

　　“Is he going to win?”

　　“What is this skill? There is clearly no sword in his hands, so why is there such powerful sword intent?”

　　On the spectators’ stage, Xiao Shanhe stood up as well with a stern glare. “This is not any skill from our Qing-Yun Sect!”

　　Chen Xuanhua was also watching on in surprise. “Why is this so similar to the skills used by that beast king who caused trouble at our Qing-Yun Sect three hundred years ago? Could it be… when Shishu Bai subdued the beast king three hundred years ago, he’d managed to force this technique from it? And then he passed it on to this boy? No wonder, no wonder…. No wonder this boy dared to challenge Jianming; he had this as a precaution….”

　　“What a vile brat. So he’d misled me back then and actually had such a technique from the beast tribe…” Elder Qin’nyao coldly spoke, expressing her hatred.

　　Tie Rukuang, on the other hand, muttered, “The boy hid it so well…. He didn’t show even a single hint of it at all….”

　　Everyone believed they had guessed Fang Xing’s true secret and were all feeling complicated emotions. Although this Ancient technique of the beast tribe wasn’t as powerful as the main discipline and techniques Bai Qianzhang had studied, it was still extremely helpful in battle. To be honest, the Qing-Yun Nine Swords didn’t even compare in regards to power. Although Xiao Jianming was able to still keep himself alive under such powerful force, this was only because the boy’s cultivation level was too low and he couldn’t make use of its full power. All this despite all the effort Xiao Jianming had truly put into the Qing-Yun Nine Swords!

　　Regardless, based on the current situation, it was certain that Xiao Jianming was going to lose, and all of the elders—consciously or not—looked towards Xiao Shanhe. They didn’t believe Xiao Shanhe would actually allow the last of his Xiao bloodline to be killed on this stage—it was certain he’d intervene to rescue his nephew.

　　But Xiao Shanhe showed no intention of trying to stop this match and instead smiled. “How foolish! Did this brat really think such a beast tribe technique—that he hasn’t even mastered yet—could best Jianming?” His voice chilled as he yelled towards the Thousand Cliff, “Jianming, what are you waiting for? When are you going to use that if not now?”

　　Xiao Jianming who’d been bitterly fighting within the Thousand Cliff suddenly remembered something. “That’s right! How did I forget about that?” As the thought flashed through his mind, he gave out an angered yell, “Brat, do you really think you’re guaranteed of this victory?” before biting his tongue and spitting a mouthful of blood onto his iron sword.

　　Vmmmm ….

　　The iron sword began to vibrate louder and louder as the blood dissolved against it. An ancient-looking symbol appeared on its black body, and an incredibly strong essence began to release from the sword. This essence was so condensed it was as though it hid the sky and earth—as though it covered the entire realm of the Thousand Cliff. This was a force that far surpassed the power of someone from Spirit Stage.

　　“The power of a Foundation Stage cultivator!” Tie Rukuang exclaimed, standing up in shock. “This is against the rules! This is not his own power!”

　　Sect Master Chen Xuanhua’s brows tightened as he looked towards Xiao Shanhe.

　　Being so experienced and knowledgeable, they could naturally tell that the power Xiao Jianming released from his iron sword didn’t belong to him. Instead, this was a power sealed by a Foundation Stage cultivator and could only be released with Xiao Jianming’s own blood. This was an attack prepared by a Foundation Stage cultivator—an external power—and there was no doubt that it was naturally Xiao Shanhe who had sealed such a power within the sword.

　　“Hmph, when that brat used talismans and spirit tools to take down Hua Yuanye, was that not borrowing external power? Xiao Jianming has only released the seal on the iron sword and released the power I put in it for his protection; this is exactly the same thing the brat did before, and now Jianming is going to return the favor!”

　　“Fine, we admit our defeat!” Tie Rukuang hastily responded and stood up. He knew that although Xiao Shanhe’s words weren’t completely correct, there was no time to argue. If it wasn’t for the fact the Thousand Cliff required all of their combined power to open up, he would have gone and opened it himself. No matter how strong Fang Xing’s battle prowess was, he wouldn’t be able to survive a full-fledged strike of a Foundation Stage cultivator, and Tie Rukuang would rather immediately forfeit than see that happen.

　　Yet Xiao Shanhe unexpectedly just showed a cold smile. “Their fight isn’t finished yet; what’s the rush?” he slowly replied.