Xiao Qixiu raised his right hand above his head, signaling that the two of them could now get into position.

Xu Xiaoshou calmly returned the small bronze furnace to Mo Mo before putting a significant distance between the both of them.

​​

"Aren't you a close-range fighter?"

Mo Mo looked baffled as she watched Xu Xiaoshou retreat to the edge of the arena.

She pointed to herself. "So am I," she said, implying that they could engage in close-range combat.

Xu Xiaoshou laughed weakly. Close-range combat?

Was she joking?

He pulled out his sheath and shoved Hiding Pain into it. Then, after some thought, he unsheathed his sword. "Actually, I'm a swordsman."

Mo Mo was silent.

"You're an Innate-stage fighter, and an incredibly powerful one at that. Why don't you let me go first and have a few stabs at you?" Xu Xiaoshou asked unabashedly.

Everyone on the bleachers rolled their eyes. Just look at that. Was that what a decent human being would say?

Did he have no shame at all?

They didn't expect Mo Mo to nod.

"Of course."

"Haha, thanks a lot!" After another short pause, Xu Xiaoshou added. "Let's keep our distance!"

Xiao Qixiu couldn't take it anymore. Xu Xiaoshou was really pushing it!

He waved his hand. "The match starts now!"

Mo Mo extended her hand, inviting Xu Xiaoshou to make the first move.

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. He'd thought she was just joking...

But she'd kept her word. What an honest woman!

He had to teach her a lesson. She had to learn that in this world, honest folks didn't live long.

Xu Xiaoshou shut his eyes, and white clouds slowly started to take shape in the sky. The wind slowed to a whisper, and alongside it was the soft hiss of moving sand.

"Sword Web Style!"

He focused all his attention on that singular stroke of the blade.

The move was an enhanced version of the original Sword Web Style. The beams of light unleashed by the sword no longer cast a two-dimensional web of crisscrossing blades. Instead, these blades of light intersected from all corners to weave a three-dimensional elongated cocoon.

Even if his opponent possessed Zhao Qing-Teng's technique and could appear in another location by switching places with something else, they would still suffer the relentless assault from this web of intersecting blades as long as they didn't reappear behind him after his teleportation.

There was no hint of fear on Mo Mo's face as she gently inhaled a wisp of sandalwood incense from her bronze furnace.

Slowly, she reached out her left hand, and countless afterimages of that very hand instantly appeared.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

A series of crisp, clear, strange sounds rang out.

Every time her left hand tapped on a glowing blade, the latter would vanish into thin air. The hundreds of blades in the web were all intercepted by her!

The sight made Xu Xiaoshou cringe.

"What the hell…" he thought.

"She isn't human!

"Does she know the Glow of Sharpness too?"

Xu Xiaoshou recognized the spiritual technique that Mo Mo had unleashed. It was an ordinary spiritual technique that belonged to the Outer Yard, and was called the "Spirit Snatching Hand."

But how could someone have attained such mastery over the Spirit Snatching Hand…

How could someone's hand move so quickly that it left afterimages in its wake? In fact, how could anyone catch a blade's beam with their bare hands?

The Spirit Snatching Hand was meant to be a close-range spiritual technique!

"My turn!" Mo Mo's calves tensed momentarily before she sprung forward.

Xu Xiaoshou was weeping with fear inwardly. She had the Sealing Technique. He wasn't interested in exchanging punches with her at all!

Beams of light shot at Mo Mo, but they hardly slowed her down, and she was soon within arm's length.

He mustn't allow her to touch him!

Xu Xiaoshou cranked up Sense to the fullest and brought Hiding Pain into play, displaying for the first time the close-range swordsmanship that he had kept buried deep inside his head.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Yet another round of extraordinary clashes rang loudly in the air.

Xu Xiaoshou could sense Hiding Pain weaken with every hit that Mo Mo gave. After exchanging a dozen blows, he realized that Hiding Pain was whimpering.

Damnit!

A look of pain appeared on Xu Xiaoshou's face. If they kept this up, his sword might just end up irreparably damaged!

"I'll give you what you want! Close-range combat it is!"

He placed Hiding Pain back in his ring. With a sudden step aside, he dodged an incoming punch, locked his fingers around Mo Mo's wrist like a vice, and sent his own fist flying at Mo Mo's chest.

Thud!

An experienced fighter, Mo Mo had instantly pulled her bronze furnace in front of her chest to block the blow. Regardless, the punch from an Innate Level Physique still managed to send her flying a dozen feet away.

"He did it!" The spectators rose to their feet excitedly.

This was the first time they'd seen someone exchange punches with Mo Mo and come out on top. What was even more incredible was how Xu Xiaoshou had driven Mo Mo into fighting with her right hand!

"An Innate Level Physique is truly formidable. Keep it up, Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Keep going while you're ahead! Clinch the championship with a single shot!"

"Something's not right. Look, Xu Xiaoshou looks terrible…"

The two fighters were standing on opposite sides of the arena. They had somehow put a considerable distance between them.

Xu Xiaoshou cradled his fist, looking as if he were suffering from a terrible bout of constipation.

There was no doubt that that was the Sealing Technique…

They had barely touched. In fact, she hadn't even hit him. Xu Xiaoshou could sense that a good half of his spiritual strength had been sealed after his punch landed.

He would have been fine if that had been the end of it, but he had then realized…

…that his physical strength had been sealed as well!

In fact, he could no longer cloak his fist in the Glow of Sharpness!

Xu Xiaoshou was beginning to panic. They'd only exchanged one hit. If this match were like any other match with any other opponent and they'd exchanged hundreds or even a thousand blows...

The seals still would've rendered him as helpless as an adult-sized baby!

An utterly powerless baby!

"How terrifying! Why does such a horrible Innate Elemental Power exist in the first place?" Xu Xiaoshou was silently quaking in his boots.

Mo Mo had her head slightly lowered as she cradled her right fist with her left hand. The tear that Xu Xiaoshou's Glow of Sharpness had ripped across her hand was healing at an extraordinary rate.

"I knew it…" She frowned as she lasped deep into thought.

If Xu Xiaoshou had witnessed this sight, he would've gasped at how alike they were. In fact, he might've even concluded that the speed at which his opponent was healing surpassed his.

But he was currently consumed by fear and was cowering like a coward. He chose not to go on the offensive.

"I suppose I have no choice but to use my sword…"

Xu Xiaoshou turned his gaze inwards, feeling the dying need to level up after their first exchange of blows.

Passive Points: 28766.

He unsheathed Hiding Pain once more, and his Sword Will flooded the arena, making it shake.

"Sword Technique Expertise (Acquired Lv. 9)."

"Sword Technique Expertise (Acquired Lv. 10)."

An ocean of knowledge flooded his brain. Xu Xiaoshou felt as if he could destroy the entire world with the knowledge that he now possessed.

Yet, after scouring through it, he found that there was no way of getting out of his current predicament.

"Oh man…"

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and sheathed Hiding Pain, his hand remaining firmly clasped around the hilt of his sword.

Mo Mo had pulled her wandering mind back to the present moment. He stared at her with a serious look on his face.

"You're really powerful!"

"So are you." Mo Mo smiled softly.

"Praised, Passive Point +1."

A serious look came into Xu Xiaoshou's eyes. "I'm not going to joke around anymore."

"That makes two of us."

Xu Xiaoshou exhaled softly.

"Sword Technique Expertise (Innate Lv. 1)!"

… …

The spectators grew impatient as they watched the two fighters stop their fight once again for a chat.

It was then that sudden tremors rippled across the Chuyun Platform and its ten thousand seats. The earth shook, and the mountain swayed.

"What's going on?"

"Is it an earthquake?"

Everyone's faces turned pale as they started to panic. Xiao Qixiu looked puzzled and wary. Before he could say anything to calm everyone down, the sword on his back shot into the sky.

The man was shocked.

He wasn't the only one. Sharing in his confusion were the more than two thousand spectators in the crowd. Anyone bearing a sword found their swords humming in unison before sliding out of the sheath of their own will and dashing into the skies, only to hover in mid-air.

"Clang, clang, clang…"

Under the azure skies, thousands of swords vibrated violently. The piercing whine of their metallic keening threatened to burst everyone's eardrums.

"That's…" Everyone's eyes were filled with Incredulity, and their gazes simultaneously landed on the handsome young man in the arena.

His right hand was splayed across the hilt of his sword, and his back was slightly hunched. He was staring unblinkingly at his opponent.

The sight sent alarm bells ringing inside Mo Mo's head. She charged at Xu Xiaoshou with the ferocity of a tiger racing down a mountain.

"Boom…"

At that very instant, a terrifying power erupted from Xu Xiaoshou and flung Mo Mo aside.

His Sword Will rose with the clouds and surged heavenward. Amidst a cacophony of cracks and crackles, the barrier shattered.

The visible, snow-white Sword Will pierced the stratosphere and shot straight into the heavens.

Led by the Sword Will, thousands of spiritual swords formed a river of blades in the sky above Xu Xiaoshou, streaming in circles before shooting outwards like fireworks.

With a thunderous explosion, swords flew across the skies, crashing from the heavens, and returned to their masters.

"Heavens!"

"An Innate-stage Sword Will?"

A hot flush reddened Xiao Qixiu's face while waves of coldness coursed through his body.

He stared at the young man in the arena and the storm that his Sword Will had summoned with a look of utter disbelief. Yet, he couldn't not believe his eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou's Sword Will had thrown Mo Mo off her earlier charge, viciously tearing into her and transforming her into a bloody, bleeding mess. Mo Mo did not pay any heed to that though. Her eyes were shining brightly as she stared at Xu Xiaoshou.

"Is that an Innate-stage Sword Will?"

Xu Xiaoshou reveled in the terrifying power of his Sword Will and fought against the desire to unsheath his own sword.

After a moment of contemplative silence, he nodded slightly.

"I guess so."