After saying this much, Ye Tang got serious and poured the true qi inside his dantian into the long sword. Sword qi started to surge on the blade of the sword.

This Second Stage True Master appeared out of nowhere, and even the school head of the Illusory Sword School, Xu Zheng, was currently at a loss. He had no idea when this disciple of his had jumped through the dragon gate, becoming a cultivator of the Second Stage, either!

After the initial shock, his expression changed into one of joy… this was a heaven-sent gift! Ye Tang managed to give him such a pleasant surprise at such a critical moment!

Due to her injuries, Chu Chu could only display the strength of someone in the First Stage Dragon Gate Realm. On the other hand, Ye Tang had the strength of a real Second Stage True Master!

The situation had suddenly reversed!

Cheers exploded in the camp of the Illusory Sword School. It felt as though they had won already!

"Ahahaha! The Illusory Sword School will obtain victory in the first category as well. It's our victory; no one can snatch it away!" Xu Zheng had a smug smile on his face. He was so excited that he couldn't help but laugh.

In the camp of the Chu Family.

The disciples of the Chu Family tightly clenched their fists, their expression one of worry.

But right at this time... Fairy Lychee, who was sitting amongst the other fellow daoists from the Nine Provinces Number One Group, raised her head and pointed her delicate hands toward the school head of the Illusory Sword School, Xu Zheng, yelling, "Transform into a pig!"

The illusory art activated and targeted Xu Zheng's body.

"Puff!" A cloud of smoke shrouded Xu Zheng's body. Soon after, the smoke disappeared, revealing Xu Zheng transformed into a humanoid pig.

The cheers of the Illusory Sword School immediately stopped!

Xu Zheng was stunned and lowered his head, looking at his palm that had now changed into pig's feet.

"Hmm, it's finally quiet again," Fairy Lychee said coolly. Soon after that 'Chu Chu' stepped onto the stage, her fellow daoists from the Nine Provinces Number One Group started to discuss strange things. The things they were talking about likely happened when she was fighting against those aboriginal deities abroad. Hence, she had no idea what they were speaking about.

As if that wasn't enough, no one was willing to tell her what was going on. They were just laughing and not saying anything.

Therefore, Fairy Lychee had been suppressing her anger for a quite while.

That smug and sudden laughter from Xu Zheng and the other people from the Illusory Sword School finally made her snap. Thus, they ended up becoming the outlet for her anger.

❄️❄️❄️

In the camp of the Illusory Sword School, all those present were looking absent-mindedly at the pig-headed Xu Zheng. They felt like laughing but didn't dare to.

On the Grievance Settling Platform, the two supervisors also felt the corners of their mouths twitch. After shooting a glance at each other, they decided to ignore this matter. When that fairy maiden made her move earlier, they felt the aura of a True Monarch come from her body.

Moreover, it was something that happened outside the platform, and hence outside their jurisdiction. After all, they were the supervisors of the platform and merely had to manage what happened on the platform, nothing else.

❄️❄️❄️

On the Grievance Settling Platform.

A Second Stage True Master? That's going to be troublesome.

Song Shuhang, who was now disguised as Chu Chu, rubbed his temples. This was a major headache. He knew from experience that there was a huge disparity between cultivators of the First and Second Stage. It was very difficult to ward off attacks imbued with true qi with qi and blood energy.

In other words, it was like fighting someone that had a real sword with a mere wooden sword! Therefore, he could only try his best!

In front of him, Ye Tang displayed the stance of a sword technique.

"Miss Chu Chu, I'm going to make my move." After saying this much, he dashed forward like an unsheathed sword.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between them quickly reduced, and Ye Tang used his sword to slash toward Chu Chu from a slanting angle.

He was worthily a Second Stage True Master. Even if he just broke through, his explosive speed surpassed Shuhang's full-powered ❮Virtuous Man's Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯ by a notch.

Luckily, that speed was still within the range Song Shuhang could handle.

While the sword was approaching, 'Chu Chu' used her right hand to grab the wrapped weapon on her back, warding off Ye Tang's sharp sword with it.

"Clang!"

The wrapped weapon and the sword clashed against each other, sending out a metallic sound.

In the next moment, the true qi on Ye Tang's sword exploded, shredding to pieces the wrapping… inside the wrapping was a one-meter-long treasured saber.

After the attack, Ye Tang stopped in his tracks.

On the other hand, Song Shuhang was forced to take three steps backward.

"A saber?" Ye Tang stared at the weapon in Chu Chu's hand and furrowed his brows… why was she holding a saber?

Chu Chu was very skilled in the art of the sword, and the might of the technique she developed after comprehending the mysterious 'sword technique' of the Chu Family was incredible. Such being the case, why was she using a saber in this match?

It wasn't only Ye Tang, the members of the Chu Family were also dumbstruck.

There was clearly something wrong with this scene! Why was Senior Sister Chu Chu using the saber instead of the sword?

The previous scene was also somewhat strange. That set of fist techniques Senior Sister Chu Chu used earlier gave one a buddhist vibe! And now, she unexpectedly took out a saber, which made even less sense! What did she experience in these past few years that her style became so twisted?

On the Grievance Settling Platform, Ye Tang took a deep breath and cast his eyes down.

"Is she looking down on me?" Ye Tang muttered to himself.

Although her strength had decreased until the First Stage Dragon Gate Realm, Chu Chu was still looking down on him who had reached the Second Stage True Master Realm? Or perhaps she thought that he wasn't worthy of her sword?

Is she just being arrogant? Or does she have absolute faith in her skills?

Ye Tang swung the sword in his hand and said gravely, "Miss Chu Chu, you better take out your sword. I used only half of my strength earlier!"

In front of him, Chu Chu calmly smiled just as before.

Take out what sword! The short sword tied to his thigh was just for show… aside from the basic stuff about swordsmanship he learned from the young man in green clothes in the illusory reality, Song Shuhang didn't know anything else about swords!

"I can only use the Flaming Saber and do my best," Song Shuhang muttered to himself.

Thereupon, while smiling, 'Chu Chu' likewise swung the saber in her hands and took several steps back, increasing the distance between the two. She wanted to gain enough time to gather the necessary qi to use the Flaming Saber Technique.

Seeing that Chu Chu seemed to have no intention of drawing her sword, Ye Tang's expression became cold. Soon after, fighting intent started to burn in his eyes. "It seems you have no intention of drawing your sword. In that case, I'll force you to draw it!"

After saying this much, Ye Tang dashed forward once more.

This time, his speed was twice as fast as before!

The distance Song Shuhang had put between them was immediately pulled closer.

"Monolith Sword Technique!" Ye Tang gravely shouted and released all his strength, slashing toward Chu Chu once more.

Even inside the Illusory Sword School, the Monolith Sword Technique was a very ordinary sword technique… in other words, it was comparable to those common and widespread techniques in the world of cultivators.

But when Ye Tang used it, its momentum was like that of a mountain.

Even if the sword had yet to arrive, the opponent felt as though a small mountain was weighing down on them!

Upon seeing this scene, Northern River's Loose Cultivator faintly smiled and said, "That guy has some skills. He is very adept at using that move. He must have practiced it at least 100,000 times to get such an overbearing momentum."

Dharma King Creation said, "It seems our little friend can't win. After all, he's still at the First Stage Dragon Gate Realm."

Cave Lord Snow Wolf nodded and continued, "The difference between cultivators of the First and Second Stage is too big. But if he can use things like talismans while on the platform, he might be able to turn the battle."

Just as the seniors were discussing amongst themselves, Song Shuhang finished gathering his qi and made his move.

He spun his wrist and used the long saber to welcome Ye Tang's blow from a weird angle.

"Swoosh~" A thin layer of flames started to burn on the blade of the saber. Even if the flame seemed weak, it gave one the impression of being scorching hot! This time, Song Shuhang didn't rely on the ancient bronze ring to execute the 'Flaming Saber Technique'.

Earlier, a strange feeling welled up in his heart… in the instant he spun his wrist, he felt as though he could use the Flaming Saber Technique even without the aid of the ancient bronze ring! He felt that he could pull it off with his strength alone!

And just like this, he was able to use what seemed to be… the Flame Tongue Saber?

The flames burning on the saber seemed very weak. It felt as if they could die out at any moment, just like small tongues of flames.

But Song Shuhang didn't have time to think right now.

"Clang!"

The Flaming Saber clashed against Ye Tang's Monolith Sword Technique.

In the next moment...

The huge momentum of Ye Tang's Monolith Sword Technique was suddenly broken.

Although the thin layer of flames burning on the saber seemed weak and ready to die out at the first blow of wind, it also felt as though it contained the power to burn the myriad things in the universe, as well as to reduce to ashes the sky, the earth, and the seas!

It was a slash capable of burning the heavens.

The saber intent was likewise formidable!

In front of this slash capable of burning the heavens, the mountain-like momentum of Ye Tang's sword collapsed at the first blow.

After the sword and the saber collided, that thin layer of flames started to climb upon Ye Tang's sword. It seemed as though it wanted to burn both Ye Tang and the sword.

Ye Tang roared and poured his true qi inside the long sword and fiercely swung it, extinguishing the flames burning on it.

At this time, Chu Chu's face was somewhat pale.

Although the momentum of the Monolith Sword Technique was broken, the strength of the sword didn't decrease at all, fully affecting her after bumping into her saber.

The arm she was holding the saber with was slightly trembling.

Ye Tang slowly exhaled a mouthful of bad air and said, "Miss Chu Chu, still not going to use that sword?"

'Chu Chu' didn't reply and faintly smiled, shaking her head. The power of the Flaming Saber Technique just now, used without the aid of the ancient bronze ring, had far surpassed Song Shuhang's expectations!

But the Flaming Saber alone wasn't enough to win the match.

"Perhaps I should try to use 'that move' even if I learned it just recently…" Song Shuhang said softly.

Next, he started to revolve the qi and blood in his five apertures. After it was stimulated through a special method, it started to churn and finally exploded with all its power—this was the Huge Whale's Technique from the ❮Thirty-Three Divine Beasts' Technique❯.

Song Shuhang had already opened his five apertures, and with the help of an experienced Venerable, it hadn't been difficult for him to learn this 'qi and blood erupting' technique.

However, he wasn't completely familiar with the technique yet.

This is a good opportunity… I can actually make use of the pressure this Second Stage True Master is exercising on me...

If I can stimulate the ❮Huge Whale's Technique❯ and condense an embryonic form of the pseudo-innate true qi inside my body…

...I can break through the Second Stage!