Chapter 530 - 227: The Gap (Part 2)
Just as many gazes turned toward Luo Chengxuan and the others from the Mystic Sun Lineage, a faint commotion stirred from the crowd on the other side.
A woman in a simple yet elegant moon-white dress approached with slow steps. Her hair was styled in a light chignon, and her gentle disposition was imbued with a noble grace. It was none other than Ruan Lingxiu, the ninth-ranked True Disciple of the Jade Celestial Lineage.
Her arrival did not surprise the crowd.
Meng Qianxue was also from the Jade Celestial Lineage, and the two were said to be quite close. Ruan Lingxiu had come both to support her junior sister from the same lineage and out of concern for the outcome of the battle.
Her gaze swept across the entire area, pausing slightly in the direction of Shen Xiuyong and Qiao Hongyun to give a nod of acknowledgment. Then, her eyes settled on the empty Seven-Star Platform, her expression serene, betraying none of her inner thoughts.
Under the watch of countless gazes, the two main contenders finally took the stage.
Meng Qianxue was dressed in martial attire, her face cold and stunning, her eyes sharp. She was the first to leap onto the Seven-Star Platform, the long sword in her hand humming, her will to fight soaring.
Immediately after, Lu Chenming’s figure also appeared on the platform.
He looked to be around thirty, with an ordinary face that even held a hint of laziness. But as his eyes opened and closed, a flash of lightning seemed to pass through them, making it difficult for anyone to meet his gaze directly.
He wore a long saber of ancient design at his waist, its aura as deep and still as an abyss, a stark contrast to Meng Qianxue’s overt sharpness.
The three Elders responsible for arbitrating stood at the three corners of the stage. After briefly reiterating the rules of the spar—an exchange of skills that should stop before causing serious injury—they signaled for it to begin.
The two cupped their fists in salute.
"Brother Lu, please guide me!" Meng Qianxue’s voice was cool.
"Junior Sister Meng, please," Lu Chenming’s tone was flat.
The moment the words left his lips, Meng Qianxue struck!
She knew Lu Chenming’s foundation was profound and that she couldn’t afford the slightest bit of negligence, so she attacked with her full strength from the very beginning.
A flash of sword light erupted, like a startled swan taking flight, yet also like a flowing stream. Two completely different types of Sword Momentum fused in an instant, sometimes swift and explosive, other times soft and lingering. They wove together into a deadly web of swords that descended upon Lu Chenming!
"A fusion of two momentums! Senior Sister Meng is truly amazing!" A series of gasps erupted from the crowd below the stage.
However, facing this incomparably fierce assault, Lu Chenming merely lifted his eyes slightly. His long saber wasn’t even fully unsheathed; he just swung it, scabbard and all!
CLANG!
A dull impact resounded!
What seemed to be a casual block struck the web of swords at its weakest point with absolute precision. The fierce attack, which contained a Dual Sword Momentum, was actually brought to a slight halt by this simple, unadorned strike.
Lu Chenming’s feet hadn’t moved an inch. Meng Qianxue, in contrast, felt her wrist tremble and her body involuntarily drift back half a step, a look of horror appearing on her face for the first time.
"Such immense Power! Such precise control!"
An expert’s skill is obvious from a single move.
Although Lu Chenming hadn’t revealed any astonishing techniques, his grasp of Power and timing, as well as his control over his own True Astral, had already far surpassed that of an ordinary Outer Astral Realm master.
Meng Qianxue cultivated the Jade Celestial Treasure Technique, a Supreme Heart Method from the Jade Celestial Treasure Record. The True Astral she condensed was the True Astral of Jade Celestial.
Lu Chenming’s True Astral, on the other hand, came from the Supreme Heart Method of the Nine Heavens Lineage and was known as the Nine Heavens True Astral.
When their two types of True Astral collided, a deafening roar erupted.
Meng Qianxue’s Swordsmanship changed again. She pushed her Dual Sword Momentum to its absolute limit, her figure moving like a butterfly flitting through flowers, her sword light like a torrential downpour as she attacked once more.
Lu Chenming remained composed. His long saber would parry or block, redirect or dissipate, and his footwork seemed slow, yet he always managed to evade fatal attacks at the very last second.
His Saber Technique appeared simple, yet it embodied a sophisticated principle of turning complexity into simplicity. His hidden Saber Momentum exerted an even heavier pressure.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged several dozen blows.
Although Meng Qianxue’s assault was fierce, she could never break through Lu Chenming’s defense, which seemed casual but was actually watertight. Instead, her own stamina was being rapidly consumed, and her aura had begun to show signs of disorder.
"It seems Junior Sister Meng’s skills end here," Lu Chenming suddenly said, his voice faint.
A resolute gleam flashed in Meng Qianxue’s eyes. She cried out, "Not necessarily!"
BOOM!
An aura far more vast and powerful than before suddenly erupted from within her! The True Astral around her body surged violently, almost solidifying and causing the surrounding air to hum!
"Astral Force Perfection! She’s actually achieved Astral Force Perfection?!"
"She hid it so well! So this is her true strength!"
The area below the stage was instantly in an uproar. The faces of several True Successor Candidates, such as Wan Shangyi and Han Xiong, immediately turned incomparably grave.
No wonder Meng Qianxue dared to challenge Lu Chenming. It turned out she had already reached the Perfect Astral Force Realm.
’This was probably her biggest trump card.’
With her full strength unleashed, the power of Meng Qianxue’s Sword Momentum increased severalfold. Her sword light tore through the sky as she charged at Lu Chenming once more with unstoppable determination. This single strike contained the culmination of her life’s Power!
Facing this earth-shattering strike, the lazy look in Lu Chenming’s eyes finally turned serious.
He sighed softly. "Very well. I’ll let you see what a True Inheritance really means."
SHIIING!
The long saber was finally, completely, unsheathed!
The blade was like a pool of autumn water, clear and cold.
The moment the long saber left its scabbard, a terrifying and incomparably domineering Saber Momentum surged toward the heavens!
This Saber Momentum was so powerful that it far surpassed Meng Qianxue’s Dual Sword Momentum. It was even causing many disciples with lower Cultivation in the audience to have difficulty breathing!
Nine Heavens Splitting Sky!
Lu Chenming let out a low shout. His long saber transformed into a brilliant flash of lightning that tore through the void, meeting Meng Qianxue’s ultimate strike!
There were no complex variations, no tricky angles—only absolute speed, absolute Power, and a terrifying Saber Momentum that could annihilate everything!
BOOM—!!!
The saber and sword collided for a third time, but this time, they produced a completely different, thunderous sound!