Deep inside him, spiritual energy boiled like water at a rolling boil. The Dragonslayer Sword in his grip answered with a hungry thrumming, eager for ruin.
“Come on now!” shouted, each syllable tearing clean through the roar of rushing power. He abandoned his defensive stance and gathered all of his sword intent, pouring it into the waiting edge of Dragonslayer Sword.
A radiant burst of gold blazed along the blade, as though a newborn sun had chosen that steel as its cradle.
“Dragonslayer!” cried, the word ringing like a verdict. A simple roar, yet it carried a majesty that looked ready to humble mountains.
From the sword’s tip, a narrow beam of golden light shot forth. It was not broad, yet within it lay an absolute, cleaving might, an edge forged for the dawn of worlds. It arrowed straight for the towering blue sword shadow.
Boom!
The collision rattled every rib and stone.
Gold met sapphire in a clash that seemed to split the heavens. Light sheared outward, sound thundered behind it. A violent shockwave rippled from the platform, but the waiting Spiritual Barricade Array drank it in, sparing the spectators from the storm.
When the glare finally dimmed, the scene on the stage froze every witness In speechless disbelief.
Hendrix’s Moon Destruction sword shadow lay in tatters. Three of the Seven-Star Sword’s gemstones had shattered outright. He staggered backward dozens of steps, face bloodless, and a thin line of red slipping past his lip.
Jared still stood where had begun, Dragonslayer Sword held steady. He was a lone pine after a raging tempest, upright, though his breath was visibly heavy.
Silence fell, complete and absolute.
Then, as if the hush had merely been a coiling spring, the arena erupted in thunderous cheers, louder than at any earlier moment.
“He did it! Jared won!” voices howled in joyful disbelief.
“A Wandering Immortal Realm Level Eight cultivator has defeated an Earthly Immortal Realm Level Five cultivator. It’s a miracle!” somebody bellowed above the din.
“Crown champion of the Sword Championship!” another demanded, fists raised to the darkening sky.
On the supporters’ terrace, Lyra and the others clung to one another, tears streaking their smiles.
Flaxseed leaped high, screaming, “Jared, that’s how you do it!”
Down below, Corin’s eyes shimmered. He whispered to himself, “The Sword Sect still has hope…”
High on the VIP dais, the steward of Swordmaster City lurched to his feet.
“Excellent! What an amazing move Dragonslayer is!” shouted. “By my authority, this bout goes to Jared!”
Hendrix turned toward Jared, a pale, resigned smile etching his face. “I have lost… And I have no excuses…”
Still pressing a trembling hand to his chest, staggered down from the platform, each footfall leaving a faint smear of blood across the pale stone.
Jared watched Hendrix’s retreating silhouette.
Strangely, victory tasted flat, in its place swelled a flicker of respect. Hendrix’s sword technique had been exquisite.
Without the Dragonslayer Sword and the newly awakened sword intent shield, Jared doubted could have prevailed.
From the VIP balcony, Jayson vaulted onto the arena in a blur of silver light. His gaze slashed toward Jared. “Brat, luck carried you this far. But now, it has run dry.”
Impatience crackled around him; refused to wait for the official bracket to bring them together. Gasps rippled through the crowd, swelling into a storm of urgent whispers.
“What‘s Jayson doing? It’s not even their turn yet!”
“He’s scared the newcomer will keep winning and steal the championship!”
“Shameless bully-throwing rank at a rookie!”
On the judges’ dais, the Swordmaster City’s steward frowned, ready to intervene.
“This is good…” Jared said, stepping forward. “Sooner or later, we’ll fight. Might as well be now.”
He had always known a clash with Jayson was inevitable, now the hour had simply arrived sooner.
A savage grin split Jayson’s face. “Bold words! Today, I’ll teach you what real swordmanship means!”
He raised his longsword, and power billowed out, Earthly Immortal Realm Level Six, enough to make the air itself wail.
“Dying beneath my Sky Havoc Sword Art will be the highest honor of your short life!” He slashed once, and the sky itself seemed to tear.
The stroke arrived fiercer than Hendrix’s Moon Destruction, a tyrant of steel and wind. Spatial rifts split the very air, thin black scars threatening to unzip the heavens and the arena alike.
“Sky Havoc Sword Art-first form, Rock Explosion!”
Lightning-bright sword light reached Jared’s chest before the echoes of that name had died. Every spectator cried out, neither speed nor force like this had yet graced the tournament sands.
