Chapter 248 - 247: End of the Preliminary Round (2)
Jin Rou did not shout. He did not boast. He simply brought his right fist over his heart and executed a deep bow, holding the posture for three full seconds—the ultimate sign of martial submission and absolute respect.
"Senior Lin," Jin Rou said softly, his voice carrying only to Lin Yuan’s ears. "I swear upon my Dao, when the time comes, my blades are yours to command."
Lin Yuan nodded once, acknowledging the silent pact. The golden immortal beast were peerless, and a powerful Lower Division province is now firmly in his corner.
Lin Yuan turned his attention away from his allies, his gaze drifting across the amphitheater to the Wan Jian Sword Sect pavilion.
He found Jiang Wan.
For the first time in the entire tournament, Jiang Wan slowly opened his eyes.
They were not normal eyes. They were devoid of standard pupils, replaced entirely by two perfectly formed, miniature phantom swords that pulsed with a terrifying, silver light. It was the physical manifestation of the Absolute Severance Sword Intent.
Jiang Wan looked at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan looked back.
Wooooom!
The physical world of the Grand Court—the screaming crowds, the imposing monolith, the Five Emperors—instantly vanished.
Through the sheer, staggering density of their respective Dao foundations, their divine senses aggressively reached out and collided in the empty air between the pavilions. The collision was so profound that it violently ripped their consciousness out of their physical bodies, dragging them into a shared, high-dimensional spiritual sea.
Lin Yuan materialized within a vast, boundless void.
The environment was instantly split down the exact center, a literal clash of absolute might.
On Jiang Wan’s side, the world was a monochromatic expanse of sharp, infinite grey. The ground was forged from millions of broken blades, and the sky was a ceiling of descending guillotines. It was a domain of pure cutting force. There was no life here, only the inevitable, absolute end.
On Lin Yuan’s side, the void was a swirling maelstrom of thunder and heavy, torrential rain. But woven seamlessly through the destruction was the terrifying, tri-colored light of the Dao of Three Rebirths—black, white, and crimson auroras that constantly shifted, creating life from the ashes of the lightning strikes, establishing a perfect, eternal cycle.
Jiang Wan stood upon the sea of broken blades, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword. He looked at the swirling, tri-colored storm of Lin Yuan’s domain.
"I have spent my entire life walking a single, straight path," Jiang Wan spoke. His voice in the spiritual sea did not echo; it cut through the air like a physical blade, sharp and completely devoid of inflection. "The sword is a straight line. It does not circle. It does not pause. It only ends. That is the ultimate, absolute truth of the universe. Everything that is born must eventually meet the edge of a blade."
Jiang Wan took a slow step forward, the broken swords beneath his boots grinding with a deafening shriek.
"But your domain, Lin Yuan, is a paradox," Jiang Wan continued, his silver, sword-pupiled eyes narrowing. "You wield thunder and rain—the forces of sudden destruction and slow nourishment. And now, you weave the path of the cycle of reincarnation into your foundation. You attempt to command life, death, and the rebirth between them. How can a sword, an instrument designed exclusively for ending, possibly carry the conceptual weight of an eternal cycle?"
Lin Yuan stood amidst the howling golden-purple storm, his robes snapping violently in the winds. He did not draw the Primordial Sovereign Sword. His very existence in this space was a weapon.
"Your understanding of the sword is flawless, Jiang Wan," Lin Yuan replied, his voice a low, rumbling thunderclap that rolled across the monochromatic divide. "But it is also tragically small."
Lin Yuan took a step forward, his boot touching the exact boundary line where the grey wasteland met the tri-colored storm.
"A sword that only ends is merely the tool of a butcher," Lin Yuan stated, his tone carrying the absolute might of the Unshaken Stage. "It is a blunt instrument meant to execute the laws laid down by the Heavens. You believe you have mastered the truth because you can cut anything the Heavens place in front of you."
Lin Yuan raised his hand, gesturing to the sprawling, shifting cycle of his own domain.
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"But a sword that dictates the cycle itself—a blade that decides what dies, what lives, and what is reborn from the ash—that is not a tool. That is the weapon of a sovereign. You seek the ultimate truth, Jiang Wan, and you use your sword to find it. I do not seek the truth."
Lin Yuan’s deep purple eyes flared, the black, white, and crimson light of the Rebirth essence momentarily eclipsing his gaze.
"I wish to dictate the truth," Lin Yuan whispered, the words striking the boundary line with the force of a hammer. "If the Heavenly Mandate states a man must die, you sever his head. If the Heavenly Mandate states my wife must suffer, I will sever the mandate itself, and I will rewrite the cycle from scratch. Your existence is bound by the laws you cut. I wish for my existence to be an anomaly that rewrites them."
Jiang Wan stood perfectly still. The silver swords in his eyes vibrated with a terrifying, manic intensity. For the first time in his life, the peerless genius of the Wan Jian Sword Sect had encountered a philosophy that did not shatter against his Absolute Severance Sword Intent.
"You are arrogant, Lin Yuan," Jiang Wan said softly, his hand tightening on his hilt. "Your philosophy, no matter how profound, cannot stop a blade that ignores reality."
"Then we shall see whose reality breaks first," Lin Yuan replied, a cold smile spreading across his flawless face. "Two days, Jiang Wan. Bring your absolute truth to the arena. I will show you how easily your truth bends when placed inside mine."
The spiritual connection violently snapped.
The void collapsed, hurling their consciousness back into their physical bodies.
In the Grand Court, less than a fraction of a second had passed. The crowds were still cheering, the adjudicators were still organizing the brackets, and the winds still howled.
Lin Yuan stood on the teleportation plates, his eyes locked onto the Wan Jian Sword Sect pavilion.
Jiang Wan slowly closed his eyes, sealing away the terrifying silver light. He turned his back on the arena and walked silently into the depths of his pavilion, his mind completely consumed by the impending clash of absolutes.
The bracket was set. The anomaly and the sword genius were destined to collide.
Lin Yuan turned away, his gaze finding Bai Qingyue in the eastern pavilion. He offered her a final, reassuring nod, his Dao Heart perfectly firmed.
The preliminary rounds were over. The main tournament was finally about to begin.