Chapter 61: A Thousand Miles on a Single Thread

On the battlefield, Xiamang suddenly leaped high into the air.

He gripped his spear with one hand, gathering boundless might at the tip of the weapon.

Whoosh!

Like a comet trailing a long tail, he streaked across the firmament.

The two towering phantom dragons condensing behind Xiamang let out a piercing roar at that exact moment.

The majestic roar of the dragons echoed throughout the entire sky.

The bone-chilling tip of the spear wantonly tore through the air, generating sonic booms so violent that it seemed as though the very vault of heaven was about to be completely ripped apart.

The spear pointed directly at Su Xin, who stood below.

"This strike!"

Su Xin looked up, fixing his gaze tightly on the spear that descended like a falling comet, tearing the sky asunder.

Accompanied by a cold grunt, sword intent gathered around his entire body, and his Mountain-Sea Domain reached its absolute limit.

"Come on!"

With his battle intent soaring to the heavens, Su Xin sank both feet deep into the ground. The Mountain-Sea sword intent churned, completely transforming into an indestructible, colossal mountain.

No matter how furious the raging waves and surging tides might be, I remain steadfast and towering.

Bang!

That "comet" finally crashed fiercely against Su Xin's sword.

The impact, lasting merely a split second, immediately drove Su Xin's entire body downward.

Terrifying power erupted frantically, producing a deafening roar.

It was as though the heavens and earth were wailing.

The scattered stones covering the battlefield were all blasted up from the ground, suspended momentarily in mid-air, and then instantly reduced to fine powder under the shockwave of the impact.

A massive storm of dust swept across the entire arena.

This tempest surged in all directions, forcing countless spectators in the stands to raise their hands to shield their faces from being lacerated.

It was only a moment later that the violent storm slowly dissipated, allowing everyone to look back toward the battlefield.

At the center of the arena, Xiamang had retreated to one side. The two phantom dragons behind him had vanished, and he stood half-bowed, panting heavily.

Directly in front of him, right at the very center of the battlefield, a massive crater spanning dozens of meters wide and two to three meters deep had unexpectedly formed.

As for Su Xin, he stood at the very bottom of that giant pit, his lower body completely buried in the earth, leaving only his upper half exposed. He remained entirely silent.

Yet, the next moment, Su Xin suddenly raised his head, a cold smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Xiamang, that move of yours was quite good!"

Su Xin emphasized the words "quite good" heavily.

He truly acknowledged that Xiamang's ultimate technique was immensely powerful.

However, his words caused Xiamang's entire body to shudder abruptly.

The spectator stands immediately erupted into a wave of commotion.

"He blocked it!"

"Xiamang's ultimate technique, and Su Xin blocked it completely unscathed!"

"In this hunt, the collision between the top offense and the top defense—it seems Su Xin's ultimate defense has emerged superior!"

Countless spectators exclaimed in excitement.

Up in the highest viewing platform.

"This battle, Xiamang has lost," Palace Master Diyue said softly.

Qingyang Palace Master, seated beside her, frowned slightly but offered no rebuttal.

Although the battle was not yet over, it was abundantly clear that Xiamang could not pierce through Su Xin's swordsmanship defense.

Unable to even break through the defense, Su Xin had already placed himself in an undefeatable position.

From this point on, even if Su Xin simply maintained his defense without engaging Xiamang in a direct clash... based purely on spiritual energy consumption, he could wear Xiamang down to death.

After all, purely defending consumed very little spiritual energy, whereas Xiamang had unleashed consecutive spear techniques and even deployed his ultimate move, exhausting a massive amount of spiritual power.

This match was already lost for Xiamang.

"Su Xin!"

On the battlefield, Xiamang clenched his teeth tightly, staring fixedly at Su Xin.

"Use your ultimate strength and defeat me head-on!"

"Otherwise... to lose to you in this manner, I am deeply unsatisfied!"

Xiamang roared, his face somewhat distorted.

He was supposed to be the most dazzling genius of this hunt.

Born into the royal family, he had striven to be the absolute strongest since childhood.

He possessed immense pride and dignity.

To lose this battle was not terrifying; he could accept defeat.

What he could not accept was losing simply because he failed to pierce through Su Xin's defense.

To be defeated in such a fashion was something he truly found unacceptable!

"As you wish."

Su Xin had already pulled the lower half of his body out of the ground, stepping out of the giant pit to stand before Xiamang once more.

He had never intended to rely solely on defensive swordsmanship to engage in a war of attrition with Xiamang anyway.

In his view, fighting a decisive duel against such a top-tier genius by merely relying on defense to exhaust the opponent was an insult to them.

"Let's fight!"

With a low shout, Su Xin instantly executed the Thunder-Fire Scroll swordsmanship, carrying with him the momentum of thunder and fire.

The surrounding air instantly heated up, becoming scorching hot, and the entire battlefield felt as though it had plunged into a blazing ocean.

Once again, a phantom dragon materialized behind Xiamang.

A mere single phantom—the power of one dragon.

There was no other choice; he could only command the power of one dragon at present. As for the previous power of two dragons, he had expended a vast amount of spiritual energy just to barely invoke it, and that was only for a split second to unleash his ultimate technique. Given his current state, he was completely incapable of summoning the power of two dragons again.

Yet, even with only the power of one dragon, his combat prowess remained fiercely formidable.

Su Xin's Thunder-Fire Scroll erupted fully.

That sword intent was like a violent, furious thunderbolt cleaving downward.

It felt like a volcano that had slumbered for hundreds of millions of years suddenly erupting.

Its might came in wave after continuous wave, endless and unceasing.

Meanwhile, Xiamang drove his own domineering and fierce spear technique to its ultimate limit.

"This..."

"A head-on clash?"

In the stands, countless spectators were utterly thrilled.

This battle was simply too exhilarating.

From the very beginning, the rapid flashing in and out of sight and the frantic contest of speed.

Followed by one side launching desperate attacks while the other defended desperately—a fierce collision akin to the hunt's premier offense clashing with its premier defense.

And now, these two individuals were unleashing their full might, engaging in a crazed, head-on, full-throttle battle!

They found the spectacle immensely satisfying.

"The third level!"

"Whether it's Xiamang or Su Xin, there is no doubt they both possess the strength to clear the third level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower! Normally, the Tianyan Dynasty might produce a peerless genius capable of clearing the third level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower only once every few decades, yet this time, two have appeared at once."

Elder Mo of the Tianye Sect, standing in a corner of the high platform, sighed inwardly with emotion.

Regrettably, whether it was Su Xin or Xiamang, both were bound to enter the Tianyan Palace for cultivation, making it impossible for him to recruit them to the Tianye Sect right now. Perhaps in the future, once the two broke through to the Void Realm, attained a certain level of strength, and left the Tianyan Palace, a possibility might arise.

"These two little fellows are truly astonishing. Although our Tianyan Palace gathers the absolute pinnacle of geniuses throughout the Tianyan Dynasty, over the decades, those comparable to these two can still be counted on one hand," Palace Master Diyue praised from the side.

"Naturally, in terms of talent, Su Xin is undoubtedly stronger."

Purely speaking of strength, Su Xin and Xiamang appeared roughly matched.

However, Xiamang was already thirty-four years old this year, whereas Su Xin was merely nineteen, and had even been delayed for three years previously in the Demon-Sealing Prison.

In terms of cultivation level, Xiamang had long reached the absolute peak of the Sea-Transforming Realm, while Su Xin had only just broken through to the completion of the Sea-Transforming Realm, placing him a full realm lower than Xiamang.

Furthermore, Su Xin was a bloodline awakener.

Without a doubt, Su Xin's innate talent and potential far surpassed Xiamang's.

On the battlefield, the head-on clash between Su Xin and Xiamang had reached a fever pitch.

"Thunder-Fire Profound Skill!"

"Divine Thunder Descends, Swordsmanship—Qilin!"

Swish!

His longsword slashed furiously, carrying endless thunderous radiance, resembling divine lightning descending upon the world.

Having brought the Thunder-Fire Scroll to the grand completion stage, Su Xin had mastered this second-tier profound skill.

"Blood-Dropping... Crimson Dragon Slaughter!"

Xiamang once again unleashed his ultimate technique, though it was still executed using only the power of a single dragon.

Bang!

A earth-shattering explosion rang out.

Su Xin and Xiamang were both simultaneously blasted backward.

"Haha! Exhilarating! Exhilarating! This is the duel I wanted!" A light of unprecedented excitement flickered in Xiamang's eyes.

If Su Xin had purely relied on defense to entangle him and drain his spiritual energy, his defeat would have felt extremely stifling and unsatisfactory.

But now, Su Xin had engaged him in a head-on clash relying on absolute strength. Such a battle left him without the slightest bit of resentment, even in defeat.

"Xiamang, I have one more sword strike."

Su Xin's gaze suddenly shifted toward Xiamang. "If you can block this strike, I will consider myself defeated!"

"There's still an ultimate move?" Xiamang could not help but be shocked.

Su Xin had already fought him to such a stage, yet he was still holding back an ultimate technique?

Up on the high platform, the two Palace Masters of Tianyan Palace also looked over in astonishment.

"He has already unleashed the second-tier profound skill of the Thunder-Fire Scroll; what other ultimate move could this Su Xin possibly have? Could it be that he can execute the third-tier profound skill?" Qingyang Palace Master frowned.

"That should be impossible. Given his comprehension of artistic conception, being able to display the second-tier profound skill is already the limit. As for the third-tier profound skill, it requires fully comprehending at least three sword intent essences to execute. He is still quite far from that step," Palace Master Diyue noted.

"Then what could it be?"

Both Palaces Masters of Tianyan Palace were filled with curiosity.

Down on the battlefield, Su Xin held his sword in his right hand, the blade pointing backward.

Under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of spectators in the arena, he slowly closed his eyes.

After a brief moment of tranquility, Su Xin's eyes snapped open, and his figure moved.

It was a very simple forward charge. His speed was not fast—it even felt rather slow, resembling someone foolishly running toward you.

Yet, after merely a few steps, swish!

Like a teleportation, Su Xin suddenly appeared right in front of Xiamang, and a chilling sword gleam swept silently forward.

"How is this possible?"

Xiamang's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

He hadn't even seen Su Xin draw his sword, yet that sword gleam had already arrived before him.

"I must block it!"

Xiamang roared frantically in his heart, desperately trying to swing his spear to parry the sword gleam.

Yet this sword gleam was... too fast!

Too fast!

It was so fast that it completely exceeded Xiamang's imagination.

Swish!

The sword gleam brushed past Xiamang's neck, allowing him to feel the biting cold contained within it at the very first instant.

That bone-chilling cold caused every hair on Xiamang's body to stand on end.

Su Xin had stopped less than three meters away right in front of Xiamang.

"You lost." Su Xin raised his head and spoke softly.

Shock still lingered on Xiamang's face. Hearing Su Xin's words, he gave him a somewhat dazed look before offering a bitter smile.

As for the arena, it had already descended into absolute madness!

It was too fast.

The scene just moments ago had happened far too quickly.

They hadn't even clearly seen what had transpired, yet Xiamang had already lost.

Only on the high platform did the two Palace Masters of Tianyan Palace, who had been seated the entire time, stand up abruptly the moment Su Xin swung his sword.

"A Thousand Miles in a Single Line!! It's A Thousand Miles in a Single Line!!"

"He actually managed to execute the third form of the Phantom Scroll!"

The two Palace Masters of Tianyan Palace were so shocked they were momentarily left speechless.