Chapter 577 - 577: Only One

Chu Qingyun raised his sword with one hand.

Martial Soul Fire gathered on the Thunder Shock Sword, coalescing into a five-meter-long Flame Giant Sword.

This time, however, Chu Qingyun could clearly feel that the Martial Soul Fire was no longer empty as it had been the last few times.

He had successfully executed the Lightning Sword!

When Lu Yuan saw Chu Qingyun use the same move again, he couldn't help but laugh. "It's useless, Chu Qingyun! You can't even execute the Thunder Sword anymore. You might as well just surrender now!"

As he spoke, he condensed another giant gray fist, this one speckled with silver light. With a thrust of his arm, he boldly met the Flame Giant Sword head-on.

The giant fist howled through the air, creating a piercing wind.

Before it even made contact, much of the Martial Soul Fire was blown away.

At this rate, the sword would be shattered on impact, just like all the times before.

The corners of Lu Yuan's mouth turned up in a smirk. In the next instant, however, the smile froze on his face.

He had seen a flash of brilliant purple light from within the dissipating Martial Soul Fire.

An incredibly sharp aura burst from the gaps in the Martial Soul Fire, so intense that the hair on his skin involuntarily stood on end.

"What is that!?"

Lu Yuan was instantly terrified.

However, Chu Qingyun gave him no time for shock. The Flame Giant Sword slashed down upon the giant gray fist without the slightest hesitation.

The Martial Soul Fire was instantly blasted apart.

But this time, as the Martial Soul Fire dissipated, a five-meter-long, brilliant purple Sword Light was revealed!

Compared to the violent aura and overwhelming momentum of the Thunder Sword, the Lightning Sword appeared much quieter and more composed.

It was like solidified electricity and light.

All it possessed was speed and sharpness!

PFFT.

With a nearly inaudible sound.

Before the Lightning Sword, the giant gray fist offered no resistance whatsoever. Its defenses were instantly pierced, and in the blink of an eye, it was cleaved in two.

The Lightning Sword was incredibly fierce.

Before the two halves of the giant gray fist could even dissipate, it flashed past and continued its descent, hurtling straight toward Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan looked up, his vision filled with nothing but a brilliant purple light. In what felt like the blink of an eye, it had shattered his strongest punch and arrived right before his face.

'It's over!'

Lu Yuan's heart sank, and he closed his eyes in resignation.

'It's too fast, too fierce. There's no dodging it, no blocking it!'

'Faced with this sword, all I can do is wait for death!'

However, just as the Lightning Sword tore through the Primordial Power and was about to strike Lu Yuan's head, Chu Qingyun abruptly halted its descent.

The brilliant purple lightning stopped less than an inch from Lu Yuan's nose.

Lu Yuan trembled. He slowly opened his eyes, and the sight of the purple light so close caused cold sweat to instantly break out all over his body.

His life was now completely in Chu Qingyun's hands.

Just then, a thin cut appeared down the center of his nose, and a trickle of blood ran down its side.

Although the sword had not truly struck him, the fierce aura and sharp wind had already wounded the body of Lu Yuan, a Ninth-Layer Martial Spirit!

After a moment's pause, Chu Qingyun slowly raised the Thunder Shock Sword. The brilliant purple lightning on the blade gradually faded and dissipated.

'Passing the trials on the Saint Extreme Road is a very important matter, after all.'

'Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, I can't actually kill Lu Yuan. If it jeopardizes my own trial on the Saint Extreme Road, it wouldn't be worth it at all.'

Having narrowly escaped death, Lu Yuan's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed.

"Thank you for sparing my life... Thank you for sparing my life..."

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, thanked him repeatedly, then backed away a few steps before turning to walk off the Saint Extreme Road.

He knew that if Chu Qingyun hadn't held back at the critical moment, he would have been cleaved in two.

Even after walking off the Saint Extreme Road, Lu Yuan could still feel his legs were weak.

A Ninth-Layer Martial Spirit had been nearly killed in a single blow and had even surrendered on his own accord!

The surrounding area had fallen deathly silent.

Everyone had the same thought, wondering if what they had just seen was real.

It wasn't just the disciples; even the Outer Elders in the nearby pavilion were so stunned they were momentarily speechless.

"The second sword... he's reached the second sword form of the Thunder Sword Intent!"

After a moment, an Outer Elder said slowly, his voice laced with irrepressible shock.

"He's seventeen years old, at the Seventh-Layer Martial Spirit Realm, and he's already reached the second sword form. Do you all think he might comprehend true Thunder Sword Intent before breaking through to the Martial King Realm?"

Another Elder spoke, no longer even questioning whether Chu Qingyun could break through to the Martial King Realm.

"If he can really do it, that would be truly heaven-defying. In the thousands of years the Saint Extreme Sect has stood in the Northern Domain, only one person has ever managed to do it—comprehending true Sword Intent while still in the Martial Spirit Realm..."

"Heh heh, Elder Huang, it looks like you've miscalculated. Even a Ninth-Layer Martial Spirit was defeated. I'm afraid there's no one left on this Saint Extreme Road who can stop Chu Qingyun."

An Outer Elder couldn't help but tease.

As for Elder Huang, his face twitched with rage. With a CRACK, he slammed his fist down and shattered a section of the window railing.

"Hmph, a bunch of useless trash! Can't even deal with a Seventh-Layer Martial Spirit!" Elder Huang stared down with a sinister gaze at the twenty-odd senior disciples below.

They had informed Elder Huang of their plan to obstruct Chu Qingyun beforehand.

Elder Huang had been certain there would be no problem, so he had been bragging to the other Elders earlier, acting as if he had foreseen the outcome.

Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, he would be proven so wrong again.

Chu Qingyun had nearly killed a Ninth-Layer Martial Spirit!

Remembering the confident words he'd spoken earlier, Elder Huang's face burned as if it had been viciously slapped.

'That little bastard! Nothing good ever happens when he's involved!'

Elder Huang cursed inwardly, his hatred for Chu Qingyun deepening even further—even though they were the ones who had started this whole affair.

As for the twenty-odd senior disciples outside the Saint Extreme Road, they were completely out of options.

Lu Yuan, who they had brought in as their final safeguard, had been defeated—and so utterly at that. Their plan was a complete and utter failure.

More than twenty senior disciples, trying to deal with a new disciple who had just joined this month, had ended up failing completely and utterly.

Seeing the mocking gazes from all around, the twenty-odd disciples lowered their heads in shame. A few even slipped away quietly, finding it too unbearable to remain.

Seeing that no one else was coming forward, Chu Qingyun put away his Thunder Shock Sword and turned to look deeper into the Saint Extreme Road.

At this time, of the twenty-six disciples in Mu Xiaoxiao's group, only three remained on the Saint Extreme Road.

All three of them were stopped before the third stone stele.