Chapter 1274: 1274
While the other candidates were busy avoiding being eliminated or eliminating others, this fellow actually sat right in front of the stone wall to cultivate . Furthermore, from the looks of it, it seemed like he had already been there for quite a while . Such a bizarre decision left Zhang Xuan slightly bewildered .
Soon, Zhang Xuan came to a realization .
He's a genius from the Qianchong Empire, and he specializes in swordsmanship . I had to capture the Dusk Cloud Sword in order to find out where this is, but there's a good chance that he realized that we are in the Sword Lagoon as soon as he opened his eyes!
As a sword practitioner of the Qianchong Empire, it was likely that Ma Minghai had been there before . Given so, it would not have been too surprising for him to know his way around the area .
Hong long long!
At this moment, boundless Sword Intent and sword qi suddenly converged on Ma Minghai, and in an instant, his aura surged swiftly .
Weng!
Unable to control it any longer, the Dusk Cloud Sword lowered itself onto the ground, trembling non-stop . It could feel the absolute authority that the wielder of that powerful aura had over it, and it dared not oppose him .
Looking at the sky filled with sword qi, as well as the sword in his hand that was submitting to the young man before him, the elder was overwhelmed with agitation . "That's… Sword Quintessence! It has been a whole seven hundred years! I never thought that I would see such a sight once more!"
"No, it isn't Sword Quintessence," an elder beside him refuted . "Those who have truly achieved the level of Sword Quintessence would be able to induce the Servility of the Myriad Swords, but that young man has only received the deference of the swords . If I'm not mistaken, that should be… Half-Quintessence!"
"Indeed, it's Half-Quintessence! Most cultivators are only aware that swordsmanship can be divided into Sword Intent and Sword Heart, oblivious to the fact that there's Sword Quintessence above them . Upon mastering this realm, as long as the strength of a sword is beneath one, the sword will obey one's commands unconditionally . "
"The young man is only able to get the swords to submit to him, but he hasn't reached the level of having them obey his commands unconditionally . Given so, he should only be at Half-Quintessence!"
"Even if it's just Half-Quintessence, isn't that the breakthrough that we have all been working hard for?"
"Indeed!"
"Seven hundred years ago, when Sword of Faint Whispers, Ji Lingzhen, achieved a breakthrough to this realm, I happened to be around and witnessed the miraculous event with my own eyes . Who could have known that I would have the luck to encounter another Half-Quintessence breakthrough just before my life comes to an end?"
"Ji Lingzhen… If I recall correctly, he has not left the Sword Lagoon ever since he made the breakthrough to Half-Quintessence, right?"
"He has not . He chose to venture deeper into the Sword Lagoon in hopes of obtaining the Old Sword Maestro's heritage . It's just a pity that he hasn't succeeded yet . I wonder if he's still alive after all these years . "
Such discussions could be heard amid the crowd .
Half-Quintessence? Hearing the words of the crowd, Zhang Xuan nodded slowly .
With a slight stroke of his hand, the crouching Dusk Cloud Sword suddenly felt the pressure crushing his soul vanish without a trace, and it quickly struggled back into the air . Its slight shivering every now and then seemed to indicate its deep fear and apprehension over what had just happened .
A Sword Quintessence expert wielded a natural dominance over all sword spirits, forcing all sword spirits to bow before them . For Ma Minghai to achieve this level at such a young age, his aptitude for swordsmanship was truly astounding . It was no wonder he had been chosen as a candidate to enter the Sanctum of Sages .
Compared to Ma Minghai, Zhang Jiuxiao was truly lacking .
Hu hu!
After absorbing all of the sword qi into his body, Ma Minghai eyes gradually opened .
Huala!
His eyes were extremely sharp, and it felt as if one could be sliced in two under his gaze .
Even though his cultivation was still only at Quasi Leaving Aperture realm, yet to undergo the lightning tribulation, his zhenqi felt much more condensed than before . It seemed like even if the lightning tribulation fell upon him at that very moment, he would have been able to slice it in two with a flick of his blade .
Ma Minghai slowly stood up and stretched his stiff muscles with a delighted look on his face . At this moment, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure standing not too far away, and his eyes narrowed . "Zhang Xuan?"
A day ago, he had exchanged blows with the other party . He had executed one of his trump cards, Sea of a Thousand Blades, which the other party had simply swallowed in a single mouthful, even returning to him right after . Without a doubt, the other party was the strongest rival he had ever come across .
Back then, he had even resolved himself to use his ultimate technique to defeat the other party, but due to Pavilion Master Yue's intervention, he had been left with no choice but to drop the matter .
After which, the other party had challenged Pavilion Master Yue with his puppets . While the other party did manage to achieve victory in the end, it was only through the vast number of puppets he had in his possession . That did not represent the other party's true strength .
If he were to pair his Quasi Leaving Aperture realm cultivation together with his newfound strength as a Half-Quintessence expert, putting aside defeating Zhang Xuan, even killing him should not pose much of a problem at all!
Thus, a sharp glint flashed through Ma Minghai's eyes as he stepped forward . "You have really come at an untimely moment . You just had to appear here right after I achieved my breakthrough . It seems like even the heavens are asking me to eliminate you…"
Hu!
With a swift maneuver, he stepped up to Zhang Xuan and said, "Zhang shi, we meet again . "
"Yeah, we meet again," Zhang Xuan replied casually .
"While I am in awe of your strength, it's a pity that we are in a selection match at the moment . The slots to the Sanctum of Sages are on the line, so… will you take out the jade token yourself, or do you need me to make a move?"
Gazing at Zhang Xuan coldly, Ma Minghai spoke in a domineering voice that allowed for no opposition . "Take it out yourself, and you can at least spare yourself some pain . Otherwise… even if I'm not allowed to kill you, I have plenty of ways to temporarily incapacitate . And if you get killed by saint beasts while you are immobilized, I'm afraid that you will only have your own bad luck to blame then!"
"Are you threatening me?" Zhang Xuan looked at Ma Minghai with narrowed eyes .
"Threat? This isn't a threat . I'm just stating a fact . It's just the natural order of the world . The weak have to bow to the strong!" Ma Minghai sneered coldly .
Staring at Ma Minghai intently, Zhang Xuan asked, "Do you mean to say that the strong can do as they please?"
"Indeed, the strong can do as they please!" Ma Minghai replied with a smirk .
He had felt deeply humiliated by the crushing defeat he had suffered against Zhang Xuan . It would have been one thing if it had been a close match with one another, but the vast disparity in strength between them was truly completely unacceptable to him . This had left frustration and anger boiling within him .
Furthermore, shortly after that, the young man dared insult Pavilion Master Yue . As a member of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, he could not swallow seeing an outsider treating their pavilion head with such disrespect .
It was not easy for him to turn the tables around, so naturally, he wanted to make use of this chance to get even with the other party for those two matters!
"Very well then . " Seeing how confident Ma Minghai was, Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed . "Since you have already said so much… pardon me then!"
After saying those words, Zhang Xuan channeled his zhenqi into his palm and thrust it toward Ma Minghai .
Seeing how the young man had chosen to struggle against him instead of surrendering, Ma Minghai scoffed in disdain . "Do you think that you stand a chance against me in your current state?"
With a flick of his finger, he sent a surge of sword qi toward Zhang Xuan .
His comprehension of swordsmanship had already reached Half-Quintessence . Even without just using a sword, he could easily defeat an opponent of the same power level as him with the sword qi in his body .
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