Chapter 43: Tang Xuan

Inside the hunting ground.

“Found someone—just one.”

“Hm? They’ve spotted us too, and realizing they can’t win, they’re starting to flee.”

“Ha! Give chase!”

A squad of four prodigies, connected through their tokens, sensed the fleeing figure ahead and immediately gave pursuit.

Soon, they caught up.

“Just a single peak Hua Hai cultivator?”

The four prodigies exchanged surprised glances, but the Hua Hai cultivator they had caught up to had already stopped running and turned to face them with a playful smile.

“Something’s off!”

They all felt it instantly. At the same time, another figure appeared nearby, rushing swiftly into view.

“It’s Duan Yunfeng!”

“This Duan Yunfeng, definitely a top-ten contender in this hunt!”

“A trap—this is a trap!”

Their expressions changed sharply.

They weren’t fools; they could see the Hua Hai cultivator was simply bait, luring them in.

Though their lineup was strong, with two having cleared the second floor of the Dragon-Seeking Tower, they had no confidence against Duan Yunfeng.

“Run!” The four immediately bolted.

To their shock, the so-called bait Hua Hai cultivator instead charged directly at them.

“Seeking death?!”

“Forget Duan Yunfeng—just a mere Hua Hai cultivator dares stand in our way!”

“Kill him!”

They all struck simultaneously, unleashing their deadly moves.

But Su Xin faced them with ease and composure, his longsword flashing.

His stance was like an immovable mountain, the sword intent sweeping forth in waves of surging energy.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Four consecutive clashes rang out as all their attacks were effortlessly parried by Su Xin. He never stepped back, continuing his assault, the overwhelming sword intent crashing over them, forcing them onto the defensive.

“How is this possible?”

The four were stunned.

They had gone all out with their ultimate moves, and even the intel suggested these prodigies ranked within the top fifty hunters—a force not easily held back. Yet, this Hua Hai cultivator not only blocked them with ease but his casual swordsmanship drove them into a panic.

With Su Xin blocking their escape, Duan Yunfeng swiftly closed in.

Within moments, the four prodigies lay dead, eliminated by the combined might of Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng.

“Now that’s satisfying!” Duan Yunfeng laughed, counting the tokens they left behind.

“If it were just me alone, those four would have fled at the sight of me. Even if I chased them to the ends of the earth, they would scatter and I might only kill one. But with you as bait, and able to block them instantly, none would escape.”

Su Xin nodded with a smile.

Without Duan Yunfeng… alone, Su Xin could at best take down one or two of them. Holding all four was nearly impossible.

Quickly, they divided the tokens evenly.

Using the same tactic, Su Xin continued as bait, drawing other prodigy teams into attack, after which Duan Yunfeng joined him to finish them off.

“A trap!”

“Duan Yunfeng, using a mere Hua Hai cultivator as bait?”

“One Duan Yunfeng would be bad enough, but this Hua Hai cultivator is strong too, and they fight together? This is just bullying!”

The prodigies drawn in and eliminated by Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng were frustrated but powerless.

They ignored the complaints.

Several rounds passed smoothly; few escaped their grasp.

Together, they had already collected over a hundred tokens—meaning that unless killed midway, they would surely pass the first phase of the hunt.

Of course, neither of them cared much for the tokens or the first phase.

What they truly sought was to encounter worthy top-tier opponents during this phase and find a way to eliminate them early.

---

“Su Xin, why do you always use your defensive sword technique when you strike?” Duan Yunfeng suddenly asked.

He noticed Su Xin consistently employed the Mountain-Sea Scroll technique to block fleeing prodigy teams.

But Duan Yunfeng had fought Su Xin before and knew Su Xin was far more skilled with the Thunderfire Scroll, which could have easily dispatched those prodigies at the start.

“I won’t hide it from you,” Su Xin said. “My defensive sword art, the Mountain-Sea Scroll, has reached a bottleneck. A breakthrough is near. I feel that if I fight a few truly top-tier opponents, this sword art might finally advance.”

“I see,” Duan Yunfeng nodded in understanding.

When a sword technique hits a bottleneck, the way forward is through battle experience.

…

The duo of Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng continued to roam the hunting ground unchecked.

On the afternoon of the third day of the first phase, they finally encountered a genuine top prodigy.

“Tang Xuan!”

“This hunt’s contender for the top ten, close in strength even to Duan Yunfeng,” Su Xin observed gravely, eyeing the tall, stern man wielding a long spear.

According to intel, Tang Xuan was indeed a top-ten hopeful. In truth, nearly twenty prodigies were considered top-ten contenders, but who would ultimately make the cut was uncertain. The intel only provided rough estimates of their skill.

Among those contenders, Duan Yunfeng and Tu San from the Qi Prince’s Mansion were the most formidable and credible.

Overall, Duan Yunfeng was slightly stronger than Tang Xuan.

“Tang Xuan, didn’t expect to see you in this first phase. Your luck’s not great,” Duan Yunfeng grinned.

Tang Xuan stared coldly at Duan Yunfeng.

As for Su Xin, a mere Hua Hai cultivator not mentioned in the intel, Tang Xuan completely ignored him.

“Duan Yunfeng, you want to fight me?” Tang Xuan snorted.

Though Duan Yunfeng was a bit stronger, their gap was narrow. Tang Xuan wasn’t afraid to fight him one-on-one.

“But I’m not here just to fight you—I’m going to kill you and eliminate you,” Duan Yunfeng said.

“Kill me? You think you can?” Tang Xuan scoffed.

“Alone, I can’t. But…” Duan Yunfeng’s words trailed off as he lunged forward.

Whoosh!

A brilliant flash of blade light slashed forth.

“You think I’m scared of you?”

Tang Xuan met the attack fearlessly, wielding his spear like a massive hammer, smashing out attack after attack with terrifying force.

Duan Yunfeng’s spiritual power surged, his strength reaching the threshold of the Void-Breaking Realm. His blade glowed with exceptional brilliance and finesse.

The two clashed fiercely; Tang Xuan was slightly on the defensive.

Then—

A sword light silently appeared.

“What?”

Tang Xuan was shocked.

The sword light came too suddenly, and its speed was astonishing.

Its profound realm was unfathomable.

Even confronting it head-on would require his utmost effort to block.

But he was already fully engaged with Duan Yunfeng; this unexpected sword strike—

Swish!

Tang Xuan unleashed a terrifying burst of power, activating a secret move to fend off Duan Yunfeng’s blade while barely twisting his body to dodge the silent sword light.

Though evaded, Tang Xuan remained shaken.

“That’s him!”

“Was that sword strike from him?”

Tang Xuan finally noticed the attacker: the Hua Hai cultivator he had previously ignored.

“Hmph, you’re fast,” Su Xin sneered coldly.

“Tang Xuan really underestimated you,” Duan Yunfeng chuckled. “Su Xin, let’s strike together and eliminate this top-ten contender.”

“Agreed.” Su Xin nodded.

Simultaneously, they launched their attack.

---

Tang Xuan could no longer keep calm, pouring all his effort into battling Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng.

But the more he fought, the more anxious he became.

He wasn’t afraid of Duan Yunfeng—he knew Duan Yunfeng’s strength well and wasn’t daunted by a one-on-one fight.

But now, with Su Xin—a mere Hua Hai cultivator—

“What terrifying swordsmanship!”

“This realm… his understanding of sword intent has definitely reached the first level, far surpassing me!”

“Though only at Hua Hai level, his power surges rival any peak Hua Hai cultivator. He must be a bloodline awakened!”

“These two—against either one, I have no chance. Together, I can’t even escape.”

Tang Xuan was panicked.

He hadn’t expected that with his own strength, he would be pushed to such a dire situation in just the first phase of the Imperial City hunt.

He was about to be eliminated.

“Duan Yunfeng, and this swordsman—you both have the power to challenge the top ten alone and dominate this hunting ground, yet you still team up…”

“Shameless! You’re utterly shameless!!”

Tang Xuan could only roar in fury.

Beyond shouting, he had no recourse.

“Shameless?” Duan Yunfeng laughed scornfully. “So what if we are?”

He was eccentric and capricious, indifferent to others’ opinions.

At that moment, Su Xin suddenly stopped.

“Tang Xuan, I’ll give you a chance,” Su Xin said.

“I have a defensive sword technique; if you can break through it head-on, I’ll let you go.”

“Hm?” Tang Xuan looked at Su Xin in surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Of course,” Su Xin nodded.

Tang Xuan glanced at Duan Yunfeng.

“Don’t look at me. Since he said it, I won’t object.” Duan Yunfeng shrugged.

He already knew Su Xin’s defensive sword technique was bottlenecked and wanted to use Tang Xuan to help advance it. He fully supported Su Xin.

Honestly, Tang Xuan wasn’t much of a threat to him, and letting him go now wouldn’t matter in later phases.

“Begin,” Su Xin motioned with his longsword.

“I want to see how strong your defensive sword technique really is!”

Tang Xuan’s gaze turned icy. With a stomp, his spear surged like a dragon.

Boom!

A chill gleamed as terrifying momentum exploded forth.

Tang Xuan’s greatest strength was his relentless offense, and he was supremely confident in his spear technique.

Though Su Xin’s swordsmanship and understanding of intent were advanced, Tang Xuan did not believe his defense could withstand his spear assaults.

Yet the truth was—

No matter how wild or fierce his spear attacks, no matter how overwhelming his momentum, he could not break through Su Xin’s sword defense.

Su Xin’s sword technique was like a towering mountain.

Even at his strongest strike, Tang Xuan could not move it an inch.

After half an incense stick of time passed—

“That’s enough.”

Su Xin stared coldly at Tang Xuan, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

Tang Xuan’s strength was weaker than expected. Though his spear technique was brutal, his grasp of intent was lacking and offered little pressure.

Without sufficient pressure, no breakthrough was possible; Su Xin’s sword technique remained unadvanced.

Tang Xuan was stunned.

Soon, Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng struck simultaneously, eliminating the prodigy who was supposed to be top-ten caliber according to the intel.

…