"What a terrifying sword, this has already surpassed the level of the second tier!"

"Ling Yu is going to lose!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Losing to this sword is not shameful."

On the stage, no one supported Ling Chen, even though Ling Chen had occupied a subtle advantage from the beginning and maintained it until now. However, in a duel between swordsmen, victory or defeat can be decided in a moment. What does it matter if you have the upper hand or if the scene looks impressive? One sword can render all your previous efforts null and void.

It's harsh, but also very real.

At this moment, even Ling Xue and Lan Xingling were worried about Ling Chen, and Ling Tong was unable to control his emotions, anxiously pacing back and forth.

Facing the sword stroke from Gui Tianjian that exceeded his own limits, a faint smile emerged on Ling Chen's lips. His brow trembled, and deep within his mind, a translucent light sword suddenly burst forth with an astonishing brilliance. At the same time, light sword patterns appeared on the surface of Ling Chen's body. His entire body's meridians and bones transformed into a sword shape, extending all the way to his brow.

The Sword Spirit Body and the Sword Spirit Embryo resonated, causing Ling Chen to appear as if transformed into an unrivaled divine sword, releasing an immensely sharp aura.

Roar!

The Red Sky Sword slashed through the void, accompanied by a loud roar. The sword qi countered upward, the fire dragon-shaped sword light recoiled and instantly enveloped the eerie black sword light of Gui Tianjian that resembled a waterfall.

The fire dragon surged upward, the black waterfall crumbled inch by inch, and wherever it passed, it was evaporated completely!

"What!"

A look of terror just appeared on Gui Tianjian's face, his chest immediately hurt, and the splattering blood stained his eyes, hot and numbing.

Time seemed to freeze, but in the next moment, it suddenly accelerated. Gui Tianjian's whole body shot backward like a cannonball.

Blood scattered all over, Gui Tianjian collided backward into the energy shields surrounding the arena, and as his back became the center point, a circular shockwave exploded outward.

Among the spectators, many stood up, while those who didn't trembled slightly. Regardless of whether they stood or not, each was shocked beyond measure.

"Incredible. Not only did he break Gui Tianjian's killer move, but he also counterattacked. What immense determination and swordsmanship would it take to accomplish this?"

"It cannot be denied that his cultivation in the Sword Way has already surpassed Gui Tianjian."

"As expected of the Swordsaint Family, his aura just now actually invoked my Sword Intent. It can be determined that his achievements in the Sword Way must be extremely high!"

If the shocked expressions of others contained some confusion or lack of understanding, then the expressions of those cultivating the Sword Way were fully aware and understood. They knew why Ling Chen was terrifying, and what made him terrifying.

Gui Tianjian is indeed formidable, but Ling Chen is more formidable. He actually condensed the Sword Spirit Embryo at the mere Five-fold realm of Sky Apex, while ordinary people require reaching the Half-Saint level to have the capability to condense a Sword Spirit Embryo. Ling Chen did this several realms earlier, which is unbelievable.

Ling Lie and Ling Zhen also looked serious. Others only knew Ling Chen had condensed the Sword Spirit Embryo, but they didn't know Ling Chen also possessed a Perfect Sword Spirit Physique. Combined, these two allowed him to overpower Gui Tianjian; otherwise, it would still be difficult to accomplish.

However, they initially did not expect Ling Chen's full-powered state to reach such an extent, far surpassing their expectations.

"This kid."

Ling Yuxuan's expression was very serious. He had seen Gui Tianjian's strength; although the latter was not yet his opponent, the gap between them was not significant. Yet now, Gui Tianjian was defeated by Ling Chen, claiming this did not bring him a gigantic pressure would be false.

This time during the Heavenly Sword Tournament, he must personally restrain Ling Chen and suppress the latter. Otherwise, if this kid soars, it will become increasingly unmanageable.

At this time, Gui Tianjian was kneeling on one knee, spitting out a large mouthful of blood, his face extremely pale.

"You actually managed to counterattack my offensive?"

His shock was understandable; Ling Chen not only needed great strength to shatter his ultimate move but also to counterattack his sword qi, which was a fact he couldn't accept.

Ling Chen glanced at the Red Sky Sword in his left hand and said, "What's so difficult? You should know, there are only a handful of people here capable of reaching this level."

Gui Tianjian frowned, "Those you speak of, they are all first-tier prodigies. And you..."

"And I belong to the second tier?"

Ling Chen coldly chuckled and retorted, "Who told you I'm necessarily a second-tier person?"

Leaving a mocking remark, Ling Chen turned and walked off the stage.

"Could it be..."

Gui Tianjian's pupils suddenly contracted. This guy had been hiding his strength from the beginning; was he already a first-tier level genius from the start?

Thinking of this, Gui Tianjian felt much better. Being defeated by a first-tier genius, he could reluctantly accept it, although he was still very unwilling.

In fact, Ling Chen was forced to use the power of the Sword Spirit Embryo and Sword Spirit Physique to defeat Gui Tianjian due to some constraints, as Ling Chen didn't have many available moves at his disposal. Many techniques in the Green Lotus Sword Song couldn't be used, and some trump cards were not yet time to be revealed.

Gui Tianjian returned to the Gui Family's area, where Gui Tianchou only glanced at him, saying nothing more, yet many of the Gui Family's talents expressed their criticisms, their eyes inevitably carrying a hint of mockery.

Initially, Gui Tianjian had boasted to humiliate the Ling Family and defeat Ling Yuxuan, but now he couldn't even handle a mere Ling Chen, ending in a crushing defeat and becoming a laughingstock.

"A bunch of fools, you're ignorant of this person's power and mock me? Soon you'll see how shortsighted you were."

Gui Tianjian endured silently, merely sneering. He dared to bet that Ling Chen had not yet used his full strength. The latter's final ranking certainly wouldn't be low, and the possibility of entering the top five was very high. Then, let's see how this group will continue to mock him.

"Made it to the top ten!"

Ling Lie's face displayed an exceptionally bright smile. Defeating Gui Tianjian also meant Ling Chen had entered the final round of the competition, securing a spot in the top ten of this Heavenly Sword Tournament.

"Now you can set your mind at ease."

Ling Zhen also smiled, looking at Ling Lie. Now they could be relieved, as Ling Chen finally did not disappoint their expectations, becoming the first to break into the top ten.

If Ling Yuxuan could also make it into the top ten, then this time the Ling Family would have two prodigies in the top ten, which is an excellent result. In the future, no one would dare to speak ill of the Ling Family, nor challenge their status again.