135. Reversing Heaven and Earth

Qi Fei steadied his mind and focused his entire being. In the blink of an eye, the Soul-Chilling Saber in his hand transformed into a dazzling beam of light, thrusting fiercely toward Ma Lianliang's lower limbs.

Seeing the blade light transform into a magnificent white ribbon that wrapped around him, Ma Lianliang's long-accumulated combat experience prompted gasps of admiration from the onlookers. His body leaped into the air, executing three consecutive jumps as if pushing off against nothing, and miraculously landed directly behind Qi Fei.

In contrast, Qi Fei's saber strike had appeared entirely ordinary when first unleashed. The light transformed by the long blade seemed no different from the attacks of a common martial artist. Yet, as the blade drew closer to Ma Lianliang, the radiance flowing along its edge grew increasingly intense. Especially toward the end, amid the shock and astonishment of everyone present, that brilliance suddenly seemed endowed with spiritual intelligence, rapidly condensing at the tip of the blade and blooming ceaselessly while flickering back and forth. Such a spectacle left the surrounding crowd utterly astounded.

"It's actually inner-breath blade radiance!" Someone cried out in shock. This exclamation instantly stirred the previously calm atmosphere, prompting many others to cry out in amazement. The so-called blade radiance was not only a supreme technique dreamed of by all saber practitioners, but it also represented that the user's cultivation had reached an extraordinarily profound realm. Of course, that was not the most crucial point; the main reason was that mastering inner-breath blade radiance meant the individual possessed an attack power that was nearly irresistible.

After all, according to the legends of the Divine Continent, blade radiance could easily pierce through the vast majority of known substances, and its sharpness was far beyond what ordinary Xiantian masters could withstand. Seeing Qi Fei display such a supreme technique, Ma Lianliang was momentarily stunned, followed by a surge of immense fortune. If Qi Fei had employed this method right at the start of the battle, regardless of whether he had harbored any contempt for him, even in an all-out struggle, his body likely would have been pierced seven or eight times by this nearly indestructible force.

At this moment, Ma Lianliang, who was only at the fourth stage of the Xiantian realm, had no counter against such a heaven-defying phenomenon. As for the present situation, he found it even more agonizing. Having forcefully elevated his cultivation level to the third stage of the Xiantian realm at the cost of consuming his own life force, Ma Lianliang's actual state of mind and comprehension of the heavenly Dao had not truly reached this tier; yet, he could barely execute certain techniques exclusive to third-stage Xiantian masters.

However, the fierce blade radiance Qi Fei was currently displaying was exceedingly rare. Condensing a similarly unstable blade radiance upon his Five-Tiger Door-Breaking Saber, and seeing that Qi Fei—merely at the early Xiantian level—could wield a technique exclusive to third-stage Xiantian masters, Ma Lianliang felt a mixture of shock and profound relief as he swung his long saber, conjuring a white blade radiance nearly three feet long at the tip. At this moment, all the Xiantian masters watching the battle realized with astonishment that the duel between the two had escalated to the level of the third Xiantian stage. Inner-breath blade radiance should not be a technique accessible to early-stage Xiantian martial artists! Yet, these two martial artists, both of whom should have been in the early Xiantian realm, had forcefully unleashed such a razor-sharp technique.

From this, it was evident that Qi Fei's true inherent strength, even if incomparable to a genuine third-stage Xiantian master, could not be far off. This young teenager had deeply shocked everyone watching. They could not help asking themselves in their hearts: could this young man still be considered an early-stage Xiantian martial artist? As they pondered, a profound sense of astonishment rose from the depths of every spectator's heart.

Especially Tong He, his teacher, who in the eyes of the crowd had entirely transformed into a god-like existence. Someone capable of cultivating a disciple like Qi Fei—how could he possibly be ordinary? If Ma Lianliang's fourth-stage Xiantian cultivation allowed him to barely utilize third-stage Xiantian techniques, it was somewhat acceptable to the audience. After all, having employed the Heavenly Demon Chaotic Dance Manual, he had already reached roughly the standard of the third Xiantian stage. Therefore, when he unleashed his blade radiance, although the spectators were astonished by the power of the manual, they did not find it overly bizarre.

Yet Qi Fei, a fellow who clearly possessed only the early Xiantian realm, was capable of wielding the exact same technique, leaving everyone present doubting their own eyes. Although this youth had effortlessly defeated several Xiantian masters a few years ago, he was still not even twenty years old. Reaching the Xiantian realm at such an age already made him a once-in-a-millennia prodigy, but now he had actually displayed a technique exclusive to third-stage Xiantian masters! To describe the crowd's mood with "unbelievable" was entirely inadequate...

As they watched the blade radiance on Qi Fei's Soul-Chilling Saber flicker incessantly, everyone present felt their very souls tremble, followed by an uncontrollable, helpless wail rising from the depths of their hearts: *This is a monster!*

*Clang!*

The sound of weapons clashing at their absolute peak of sharpness left no room for them to continue trembling. After being stunned for a mere moment, everyone's attention was instantly recaptured by the mortal combat unfolding before them.

Yes, this was a collision of blade against blade, resembling the magnificent explosion of fireworks in the night sky. Not only did it capture every single gaze, but the fierce blade qi that burst forth and rampaged outward upon impact also emitted a terrifying hiss as it tore through the air.

Most terrifying of all was not this sound that seemed to rip the void apart, but the fact that these stray waves of blade qi carried a formidable degree of lethality as they overflowed into the surroundings. Taking the brunt of it were the Xiantian masters stationed behind Ma Lianliang. As the scattered shards of blade radiance shot toward them, the expressions of these Xiantian masters—who had been watching with rapt attention—instantly shifted.

Especially those who saw the trajectory of the blade radiance heading directly toward them immediately shouted loudly, madly channeling the energy of heaven and earth into their weapons and raising them high to block the fragmented Xiantian blade auras. Yet, even with such defensive measures, as the blade radiance was neutralized by their Xiantian energy, those Xiantian masters were horrified to discover that their weapons had all suffered varying degrees of damage.

A mere fragmented sliver of blade radiance was capable of achieving such destructive results! The techniques possessed by third-stage Xiantian masters were indeed far beyond the reach of ordinary Xiantian practitioners. Of course, even though their weapons were damaged, at least none of these Xiantian masters sustained physical injuries. In contrast, among the ordinary onlookers and common martial artists, a number of people were injured.

Unable to fully dodge or block the collision of these blade auras, many suffered injuries of varying severity, and seven or eight unfortunate individuals were directly killed on the spot. The mere aftermath of their kinetic clash caused chaos and even fatalities among the bystanders, which clearly demonstrated just how exceptional the individual strengths of these two martial artists—who should have only belonged to the early Xiantian realm—truly were.

Or perhaps this was no longer merely a battle between early-stage Xiantian martial artists; it was a conflict that should only occur between third-stage Xiantian masters, or even figures on the Longevity Immortality Rankings.

After the commotion subsided for a while, the spectators quickly cast their gazes back to the arena. Clearly, for the people of the Divine Continent, the death of a few ordinary mortals caused by the aftermath of experts fighting was entirely normal, and absolutely no one would pay it excessive attention. Thus, once the blade radiance dissipated and the corpses were dragged away by the Ma family's men, the attention of the onlookers reconverged upon Qi Fei and Ma Lianliang.

At this moment, having undergone such a head-on, brute-force collision, both combatants appeared somewhat disheveled.

Ma Lianliang had likely consumed too much of his life force in that single strike, so once they separated, his complexion appeared rather pale, and his somewhat hurried breathing clearly indicated that he had gained no advantage in this direct clash. As for Qi Fei opposite him, although his spirit still looked robust, the head-on impact had been so violent that the skin on both his hands and arms had ruptured, oozing threads of crimson blood. Clearly, both men had suffered varying degrees of injury in this exchange. Fortunately, these injuries did not appear severe on the surface, leaving both with room to continue fighting at full capacity.

Under such circumstances, the two should have simultaneously launched their final strike. However, the reality proved vastly unexpected. Ma Lianliang suddenly chuckled sinisterly: "Haha, there is only one last move left. Qi Fei, you've exhausted your final tricks, haven't you? Hmph, let's see what you can accomplish in this last move."

Ma Lianliang was evidently seeking to shatter Qi Fei's confidence at every turn, even hoping that once the opponent lost hope of defeating him within ten moves, he would simply turn around and leave. Right now, he was relying on the consumption of his life force to barely sustain the battle, and the amount of life force consumed had already approached the critical threshold of one-third of his entire vitality.

Yet the current situation offered Ma Lianliang little cause for optimism. If they truly had to exchange one final blow, even if Qi Fei's methods did not improve further and merely maintained the exact same power as the ninth move, Ma Lianliang would likely face the terrifying reality of his cultivation dropping by an entire tier once the battle ended.

As everyone watching knew full well, it had taken Ma Lianliang a full ten years to cultivate from the second Xiantian stage to the fourth. If this final move were truly unleashed, it would mean he had traded ten years of cultivation merely to support this final exchange.

Even if Ma Lianliang could subsequently shorten the time required to retake the journey from the second to the fourth stage due to his prior experience, spending several years just to secure a draw in this final move struck him as terribly not worth it. Ma Lianliang's heart was already wavering: was this struggle against Qi Fei truly worth it? If this fight caused his realm to drop by a tier for no reason, Ma Lianliang had to carefully weigh his options. Yet, if he refused to face the grave consequences of burning his life force, how on earth should he deal with this final move?