Divine Heavens Sect’s Patriarch Dong Wu’s expression darkened. Nobody else knew much about the effectiveness of the sword array apart from him. Within his sect, a few disciples managed to break through to the Soul Formation stage because of it. He was hoping against hope that the other sects would never find out about how effective the sword array was, so that he would be able to keep it away from them. Yet, a disciple from his own sect was spoiling this plan of his.

　　“Jing Qi, shut up! Stop being disrespectful.” Dong Wu attempted to stop Jing Qi from talking. Indeed, his Junior Brother Wu Xiang produced a mess of a disciple.

　　“Sect Master!” Jing Qi showed no intention to retract his challenge. He turned to fix his gaze on Yi Qing, saying, “His cultivation is similar to mine. If we do not compete, your disciple will not dare to accept the championship title.”

　　Dong Wu became furious, yet he had no reason to ask his disciple to come back down. Yi Qing, whose reaction remained stony from the beginning, stepped forward. Just when everyone expected him to accept the challenge, Yi Qing asked, “What has your inability to accept the championship title got to do with me?”

　　Jing Qi: “…”

　　Dong Wu, “…”

　　Everyone: “…”

　　That’s true – they had nothing to say in reply!

　　“You…” Jing Qi’s face became flushed with anger. All of a sudden, he felt like he was being shamed in front of everyone. “Are you looking down on me?”

　　Yi Qing paused and replied, “Why should I respect you?” Who are you? I don’t even know you.

　　Jing Qi felt the urge to vomit blood. Even the audience around him was beginning to feel pity for him. Of course, this reply from Yi Qing would cause anyone to feel frustrated.

　　Seeing that Jing Qi was about to explode from rage, Shen Ying narrowed her eyes and stopped eating her pastry. Eh?

　　Suddenly, she turned to Yi Qing. “Chef, go and try!”

　　Yi Qing paused. A moment later, he nodded. “Yes, Master!”

　　Once he finished speaking, he jumped onto the competition stage. With a wave of his hand, a snow white spirit sword appeared.

　　Jing Qi’s expression hardened. He took in a deep breath to suppress the anger, then laughed mirthlessly. He was finally here. Jing Qi guessed that Yi Qing had already formed his core as well. That was no issue, however. Today, he swore to take revenge on Yi Qing. He would make sure of it.

　　The two of them said nothing more. They began fighting immediately. There were flashes of light from their swords as they attacked each other rapidly. They were moving so fast that the audience could not make out whose figure was whose. Everyone had to activate their divine perception to see clearly what each of them were doing.

　　Their sword techniques were frighteningly good. Each of them knew thousands of different moves, but for some reason, both of their techniques looked somewhat similar. Yi Qing’s was only a bit sharper. Initially, Jing Qi could hold his own against Yi Qing. After awhile, however, he got tired. There were several times when he failed to dodge Yi Qing’s attack, thus allowing Yi Qing’s sword to brush against his body. If not for the Dharma clothing he had on, he would likely have lost the competition already.

　　Jing Qi became more and more anxious. He did not expect Yi Qing to be this skillful. Even though Jing Qi had obtained the inheritance from the Origin-Returning pearl, his skills could not beat Yi Qing’s. Was this the kind of sword technique his master had passed down to him? The more he thought about this, the angrier he felt. If not for Yi Qing, Jing Qi would have been able to learn the same amazing sword techniques. Then, he would not have ended up under an ingrate like Wu Xiang!

　　Indeed, Yi Qing was his jinx. If he did not get rid of him now, Jing Qi would meet greater obstacles in the future. With this renewed hatred in his heart, Jing Qi gritted his teeth. A huge gust of sword Qi charged toward Yi Qing as Jing Qi changed his approach. He focused all of his mind on connecting with the Origin-Returning Pearl in his heart. Suddenly, he felt recharged with formidable power. The spirit Qi around his body seemed to explode as the sword Qi that was attacking him rebounded back to Yi Qing, causing the latter to stumble backward.

　　There was a suppression greater than that belonging to a cultivator in his Soul Formation Stage. The suppressive force headed straight for Yi Qing. Hundreds of thousands of spirit swords appeared, pointing toward Yi Qing and shooting straight toward him as well. Each one of those swords seemed to have a life of its own. Each one brought different elements with it – wind, lightning, fire, light…

　　Yi Qing tried to dodge, but he was not quick enough to dodge all of them. A moment later, his body became covered with open wounds. The suppression from the pearl was restricting his movement so much so that he could hardly move his limbs anymore.

　　“Five-Elemental Lightning and Fire Array!” The stage was itself protected with an array, so that the audience could not feel the suppression. Yet, every single one of them recognized the array that Jing Qi was using. They looked on with shock. This was not the kind of array that a cultivator in his Nascent Soul stage could set up, yet here Jing Qi was, conjuring it up and having so much control over it. This kind of skill was unparalleled in the Three Azure Realms.

　　Yi Qing had no choice but to summon sword Qi as a protective shield around his body to block off the spirit swords that were coming at him from all directions. The suppressive force, however, was so strong that his chest was now beginning to tighten up. He tasted something sweet in his mouth as he fell onto one knee. Yi Qing did not expect his opponent to have this much skill, but this array…

　　Just as he was questioning Jing Qi’s skill, he heard something flying toward him from behind. Instinctively, he moved to dodge it. He heard cracks as a gray air flashed past him.

　　This was… demonic Qi?

　　Yi Qing hesitated. Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard Jing Qi’s voice. “Hmph! I did not think that you would be able to dodge that. But how long can you hang on?”

　　The next moment, Yi Qing found himself surrounded by all kinds of strange auras charging at him from all directions. Each one of those auras brought with it an unmistakable killing intent. Yi Qing’s expression hardened as he forced himself to stand back up despite the pressure. Using his sensitivity toward auras, he began to block off the invisible yet potent auras flying around him.

　　“You’re still forcing yourself to hang on!” Jing Qi’s voice was cold and filled with hatred. “Let’s see how long more you can stand there.”

　　He had been using his arm to support the array. Suddenly, he drew his sword and ran toward Yi Qing with a victorious expression. “Yi Qing, from the first time I saw you, I knew you were my greatest obstacle. Is that what you think as well?”

　　“…” What?

　　“I must get rid of all my obstacles! Nobody will know that I’m the one who killed you! Everybody will think this was an accident!” His sword reached Yi Qing’s neck. “My immortal journey will be smooth once you’re dead.”

　　“…” So who was this?

　　“After today, I will be the strongest Golden Core cultivator in the Three Azure Realms. I will then become the strongest sword cultivator.”

　　“…” Sword cultivator?

　　“As for your master, who’s gifted in sword techniques… I will take care of her.” He suddenly burst out laughing.

　　Master…

　　Yi Qing’s gaze turned cold. A burst of cold air emanated from his body. “What did you say?”

　　“I think she will be happy to take in an exceptional disciple like me.” The more he spoke, the prouder Jing Qi sounded. He pressed the sword into Yi Qing’s neck with more gusto. “As long as you’re dead-”

　　“Shut up!” Before he could finish speaking, strong sword Qi exploded around Yi Qing, who looked defeated just moments ago. It resembled a tsunami, which swallowed up the spirit swords and special aura around him, causing Jing Qi to rebound backward.