The battle between Sima Xiaoyao and Gui Tianchou was also extremely fierce.

Although Sima Xiaoyao had a slight advantage in strength and reputation, Gui Tianchou was by no means ordinary. Moreover, Gui Tianchou had previously defeated Ling Yuxuan, so no one dared to underestimate him.

As the other three battles came to an end, the duel between these two geniuses, Sima Xiaoyao and Gui Tianchou, also approached its conclusion.

Gui Tianchou had three knife wounds on his body, while Sima Xiaoyao had a faint fist mark on his back, clearly having been punched by Gui Tianchou.

"Fall for me!"

Sima Xiaoyao grasped his knife with both hands, and his overwhelming blade intent poured into the blade light like a flood, unleashing an unprecedentedly powerful strike.

"Blade Spirit Embryo!"

Many swordsmen in the stands felt Sima Xiaoyao's blade intent, sensing a powerful call that made their treasured swords tremble vigorously.

This astonishing summoning power was impossible even for a Third-Order blade intent, achievable only by the Blade Spirit Embryo.

Under this strike, Gui Tianchou's fist force collapsed, sending him flying out of the arena.

"One has condensed a Blade Spirit Embryo, another a Sword Spirit Embryo. The young generation these days is becoming truly terrifying!"

An experienced Sky Apex Realm Martial Artist could not help but exclaim.

"Indeed, I am now very much looking forward to the match between Sima Xiaoyao and Ling Yu."

Another seasoned warrior nodded.

The Blade Spirit Embryo versus the Sword Spirit Embryo—this is bound to be an exciting showdown just thinking about it.

After four competitions, amidst the chatter of the crowd, the final battle of the first round of the top ten battles commenced, pitting Kong Wenju of the Literature Saint Family against Xing Youfa of the Xing Saint Family.

The battle between the two ended with Kong Wenju's victory.

Thus, the first round of the duels concluded with definitive results.

Ling Chen, Peerless Sword, Liu Mengru, Sima Xiaoyao, and Kong Wenju each secured a victory.

On the prestigious ranking list, as it trembled, the names of these five individuals shifted to the top five positions, with each name followed by a "1", indicating their number of wins.

After a brief rest, Ling Chen faced his second battle, this time against Xing Youfa of the Xing Saint Family.

Xing Youfa was lean, with eyes like a hawk, and an aura that was slightly sinister. When he saw Ling Chen, his gaze became even sharper.

"Ling Yu, son of the Ling Family, I will do everything possible to defeat you."

Xing Youfa said, his voice somewhat hoarse.

In general, during the ranking battles among the top ten, everyone used their full strength against their opponents, but seldom did they go all out to defeat someone specifically, unless there was animosity, since everyone's goal was to achieve more victories for a higher rank. For someone like Xing Youfa, who was unlikely to win all matches, he should be focusing more on a long-term strategy.

However, Xing Youfa displayed a stance of wanting to defeat Ling Chen at all costs, even if it would require paying a hefty price.

"Suit yourself."

Ling Chen merely smiled faintly. He naturally understood that the Xing Family harbored deep hostility towards the Ling Family, particularly over the elopement years ago between Ling Tianyu and Liu Xiling; this time, Xing Youfa seemed to have placed all that animosity on him.

Seeing Ling Chen's indifferent attitude, Xing Youfa's eyes suddenly darkened, deciding not to waste any words and immediately stepping forward to launch an aggressive palm strike at Ling Chen.

A turbulent and overwhelming aura surged outward, like fog and ink, swirling in vortex patterns. At the center of this energy swirl, Xing Youfa fervently gathered True Qi, casting a palm seal whose power transformed into a cataclysmic tsunami, crashing toward Ling Chen with overwhelming force.

If Xing Youfa's palm force was an ocean, then Ling Chen was a lone leaf boat on it. However, this leaf boat harbored a peerless swordsman, making the boat steady and unyielding even amidst the vast ocean. In Ling Chen's Golden True Eyes, the speed of the sweeping palm force slowed tenfold, and no trajectory or flaw escaped his watchful eyes.

Clang!

Ling Chen drew his sword, executing an unfathomable number of strikes in an instant. Thin as hair, the sword qi moved in reverse against the invisible wave trajectories, dispersing outward.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…

A staggering scene unfolded!

Countless strands of sword qi surged back through the fragile gaps within Xing Youfa's palm force. Unable to defend, several strands pierced through his defenses, leaving bloody marks on his body. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"What is this?"

Liu Mengru, Sima Xiaoyao, and others saw clearly that Ling Chen's sword trajectory exploited these flaws in Xing Youfa's palm force—a chaotic wave containing countless different forms of power, with the sole weakness being the minuscule gaps between them. Although they could see the gaps, accurately counterattacking through them required precise control over sword strength and angle, among other factors.

The usually indifferent Peerless Sword also displayed a moment of surprise, clearly intrigued by Ling Chen's swordsmanship.

"Interesting."

The astonishment in his eyes turned into a spark of interest; Peerless Sword evidently began to look forward to a duel with Ling Chen.

This was the anticipation from one peerless swordsman to another.

"How is this possible!"

An expression of disbelief flashed in Xing Youfa's eyes—not because Ling Chen had broken his palm technique, but because he had done it solely through exceptional eyesight and sword technique.

"Heaven and Earth!"

Having taken a significant loss, Xing Youfa shouted, rallying his majestic palm force together to leave Ling Chen no gaps or flaws to exploit. His majestic True Qi quickly coalesced into an ancient giant elephant, roaring thunderously.

Boom!

Like a mountain torrent outburst, earth's crust cracking, a catastrophic doomsday—with limitless power erupting from Xing Youfa toward Ling Chen, as the ancient giant elephant charged forth with earth-shattering force, crushing down upon Ling Chen.

"Ling Yu is going to lose!"

The crowd gasped; Xing Youfa's move was exceptionally powerful, containing terrifying strength. Once the giant elephant appeared, aside from a few individuals, no one could withstand it—it was unstoppable.

"Truly overwhelming, but it won't change the outcome!"

Ling Chen took a step forward, golden light shining in his pupils. With the enhancement of the Gold Sword Pupil, devastating sword qi swept out in all directions, eradicating any incoming energy fluctuations. He raised the Red Sky Sword high with his right hand.

And slashed down!

At the moment of the cut, currents surged through the void, fire dragons danced, and two energies rampaged uncontrollably.

Splitting!

The giant elephant was torn apart directly, divided into two; Xing Youfa's True Qi abruptly fractured and collapsed, causing him to spew blood and send his body flying back, crashing into the protective shield surrounding the arena with a booming sound.

PS: These days I've been working overtime until 10 PM, which has indeed affected the update frequency. I apologize for this, and I'll ensure more updates over the weekend as I take rest. Please bear with me for a bit longer.