Chapter 576 - 576: This Strike, a Success

Faced with Lu Yuan's attack, Chu Qingyun currently lacked the Primordial Power to unleash the Thunder Sword.

With a mere thought, he commanded three Flame Vines to shoot forward and block Lu Yuan's fist.

A punch from a Level Nine Martial Spirit was incomparably fierce.

One of the three Flame Vines was instantly obliterated, while the other two were badly mangled.

However, Chu Qingyun used the opportunity to take two steps back, mobilizing the Primordial Liquid in his Qi Sea and converting it into streams of Primordial Power to replenish his meridians and Martial Soul.

Soon, the two were clashing once again.

However, even when Chu Qingyun used the Thunder Sword, augmented by the power of his Martial Soul Fire, he couldn't break through Lu Yuan's Qi Realm defense.

As a Sect Disciple, Lu Yuan's control over the gray "Fist Qi" was exceptionally versatile. He used it skillfully for both offense and defense, leaving no openings.

And while Lu Yuan was powerful, he was unable to defeat Chu Qingyun while being harried by ten Flame Vines.

The two were surprisingly unable to determine a victor, finding themselves locked in a stalemate.

They fought fiercely for several minutes in the middle of the Saint Extreme Road's first pass.

By now, Mu Xiaoxiao and the other twenty-five new disciples had all passed the stone monument marking the first trial on the Saint Extreme Road.

Passing that point meant they had earned the right to cultivate on the first floor of the Saint Extreme Tower.

Previously, outside the Saint Extreme Road, those twenty-odd disciples had boasted that they would prevent Chu Qingyun and all the other new disciples from even entering the Saint Extreme Tower.

But now, twenty-six of them had already earned the right to enter.

It was as if they had been forced to slap their own faces in front of so many Outer Disciples!

It was utterly humiliating!

But there was nothing they could do.

Lu Yuan was already the most powerful Level Nine Martial Spirit they could find who was eligible to enter the Saint Extreme Road, and they had exhausted all their connections and efforts to hire him.

The seeded disciples of the Outer Sect were certainly far more powerful.

However, they were completely beyond the reach of those they could hire.

With the Inner Sect qualification tournament drawing near, the Outer Sect's seeded disciples were all in seclusion inside the Saint Extreme Tower, working hard to improve their strength. Very few of them ever came out.

To them, compared to the tournament, almost everything else was a trivial matter.

"Damn it, this has dragged on too long! Twenty-six of them have already passed the first trial!"

"It's all because of that Chu Qingyun! Otherwise, even those four Level Eight Martial Spirits could have easily taken care of them!"

"Forget it. At this point, I just hope we can stop Chu Qingyun. At least that would let us save a little face..."

The twenty-odd disciples were all extremely frustrated.

Now, all they could do was pray that Lu Yuan wouldn't drop the ball and would hurry up and defeat Chu Qingyun.

Meanwhile, on the Saint Extreme Road, Lu Yuan grew more and more alarmed as the fight went on.

'Although we're at a stalemate now, I have to remember he's only a Level Seven Martial Spirit.'

'Fighting a Level Nine Martial Spirit to a draw as a Level Seven...'

'Once he reaches Level Eight, he could probably defeat me with a single blow, just like he did to those other Level Eights.'

'And if he reaches Level Nine...'

'...then probably no one in the entire Outer Sect would be a match for him!'

'Damn it,' Lu Yuan cursed inwardly, 'how did a monster like this pop up among the new disciples?!'

His attitude toward the battle shifted from taking it seriously to being completely and utterly focused.

He was afraid that a single moment of carelessness would lead to his defeat at Chu Qingyun's hands.

Chu Qingyun, on the other hand, was also feeling somewhat frustrated.

'A Level Nine Martial Spirit's Primordial Power is just so much greater than a Level Seven's, or even a Level Eight's.'

'If I don't use the Thunder Sword, Lu Yuan can block most of my attacks just with his Primordial Power alone.'

'But I have to use all my strength to resist every one of his attacks.'

After several more minutes of fierce fighting, they were still at an impasse.

'Continuing like this won't lead to anything,' Chu Qingyun sighed to himself. 'I guess I have to use that move...'

Chu Qingyun sighed softly, then took the initiative to change his tactics.

He once again gathered a large amount of Martial Soul Fire, concentrating it on his Thunder Shock Sword. It formed a five-meter-long greatsword, which he brought down in a straight slash toward Lu Yuan.

This time, however, he didn't unleash the Thunder Sword. Instead, relying on his memory of past successes, he attempted to execute the Lightning Sword.

"Again!"

Lu Yuan's expression shifted slightly.

He knew that whenever Chu Qingyun made this motion, he was about to unleash that devastating sword technique.

So, Lu Yuan also activated his Primordial Power and Martial Soul, unleashing the giant gray fist flecked with silver light to meet Chu Qingyun's sword.

However, to his surprise...

When the sword struck the massive fist, it instantly dissipated.

There was no Thunder Power within it.

Chu Qingyun hadn't yet fully comprehended or mastered the Lightning Sword, so he couldn't guarantee a successful execution every time.

Lu Yuan froze for a moment, then his face lit up with overwhelming delight.

'Chu Qingyun... he actually messed up!'

"Die!"

Lu Yuan roared, seizing the opportunity. A massive amount of Pure Primordial Power flooded into the gray fist as he violently smashed it toward Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun's expression changed. He instantly pushed his ten Flame Vines to their absolute limit and summoned a Fire Wall of Martial Soul Fire in front of him, barely managing to withstand the attack in a sorry state.

After catching his breath, Chu Qingyun again attempted the Lightning Sword, launching it at Lu Yuan while wreathed in Martial Soul Fire.

But once again, he failed to execute it successfully.

Each time his Lightning Sword failed, Lu Yuan would seize the opportunity to launch a ferocious assault, leaving Chu Qingyun in a battered, sorry state.

Although Lu Yuan didn't know why Chu Qingyun had suddenly grown weaker and was unable to use that incredibly powerful Intention Realm sword technique...

...he didn't hesitate in his attacks in the slightest.

He didn't want to lose, either. If a dignified Level Nine Martial Spirit lost to a Level Seven, he would bring shame upon all Level Nine Martial Spirits.

The tide of battle on the Saint Extreme Road had taken a sharp turn.

From the moment Chu Qingyun began attempting the Lightning Sword, he was immediately put on the defensive, appearing to be completely suppressed by Lu Yuan.

Seeing this, the twenty-odd disciples outside the Saint Extreme Road finally broke into smiles.

'Let the other twenty-six new disciples go,' they thought. 'As long as we stop the main culprit, Chu Qingyun, and keep him out of the Saint Extreme Tower, we can just barely save some face.'

Some of the older disciples watching nearby also shook their heads and sighed.

'A Level Seven Martial Spirit is still no match for a Level Nine in the end. Chu Qingyun could hold his own for a short while, but he couldn't sustain it for long.'

In a nearby pavilion, a smug smile appeared on Elder Huang's face. "That little bastard is about to be finished..."

Yet, before the words had even left his lips, Chu Qingyun's eyes suddenly lit up on the Saint Extreme Road.

'This time,' he thought, 'the sword is a success!'