Chapter 543 541: Not Bad

The Martial Arts competition continued.

Luo Tian soon faced his third match and once again won with ease.

By now, the entire audience had to admit that the matches weren't fixed. Luo Tian was just terrifyingly powerful!

The Green Skin Hall Master's chosen fighter, the unicorn-horned man, felt an invisible pressure.

Dongfang Hong, on the other hand, showed a glint of surprise in his eyes. He had become extremely interested in Luo Tian!

Luo Tian would be his only obstacle in this competition.

'I hope we meet, and I hope you can force me to use my full strength,' Dongfang Hong murmured to himself.

Up on the high platform,

The smile on Hall Master Shang's face grew wider.

Luo Tian had won another match. His performance in all three bouts had been stunning, which meant his final score would also be very high.

As for the other Hall Masters, their expressions were quite grim.

'There are only two matches left, and the chances of Luo Tian facing Dongfang Hong aren't high. If he's lucky, he might even face two opponents at the Peak of Earth Element Realm Ninth Layer and easily secure a five-win streak,' the Green Skin Hall Master thought, his face darkening.

The other Hall Masters were thinking the same thing.

They had made an agreement to have their own fighters do their best to wear Luo Tian down, but not a single one had managed to complete the task.

Only Dongfang Hong was capable of defeating Luo Tian. But there was no guarantee the two would even face each other!

"Number Three!"

It was Luo Tian's turn to draw lots again, and his opponent was Number Three!

After the referee announced the result, the Hall Masters on the high platform all revealed looks of pleasant surprise.

Number Three, the unicorn-horned man, was none other than the Green Skin Hall Master's subordinate. His strength was second only to Dongfang Hong's. He could definitely wear Luo Tian down and might even have a chance of winning.

"You damn brat, running into me is just your bad luck!" the unicorn-horned man sneered as he stepped onto the Martial Arts Arena.

"I think you're the one with the bad luck," Luo Tian replied.

"Heh!"

The unicorn-horned man scoffed disdainfully.

He was one of the best among the Half-step Celestial Pool Realm cultivators. Even if he couldn't ultimately defeat Luo Tian, he could still exhaust him significantly, perhaps even gravely injure him.

If so, Luo Tian was guaranteed to lose his final match.

"Overlord Blade Slash!"

The unicorn-horned man swung his great saber, and a domineering, golden curtain of light descended from the sky.

Luo Tian executed the Moon Shadow Step Technique and dodged with ease.

But the unicorn-horned man's attacks were relentless, coming one after another.

His combat power was extremely close to the Celestial Pool Realm. His offensive was sharp and vicious, sealing off Luo Tian's escape from all directions. It was as if Luo Tian was dancing on a tightrope, a perilous sight.

"You're worthy of me drawing my sword," Luo Tian said calmly as the Ice Nether Sword appeared in his hand.

"Quit posturing, brat!" The unicorn-horned man's expression was cold and severe.

SWISH!

A beam of sword light, as elegant as the wind, crushed the domineering saber light before it and shot toward the unicorn-horned man.

The unicorn-horned man's expression tightened.

After executing his swordsmanship, Luo Tian seemed like a different person. His technique exuded an invisible sense of crisis.

CLANG! SHIING!

The unicorn-horned man slashed out with his saber, shattering Luo Tian's Sword Technique head-on.

However, an elegant, formless gale of Sword Qi blew past him, scraping across his body and leaving behind a series of barely perceptible cuts.

Compared to before, Luo Tian's Wind Sword Intent had improved, reaching a new level.

CLANG CLANG! SWISH SWISH!

Next, the unicorn-horned man and Luo Tian exchanged several more blows, sparks flying from the clash of saber light and Sword Qi.

The unicorn-horned man was completely at a disadvantage, suppressed by Luo Tian's sharp and powerful swordsmanship. He felt as if he were in the eye of a storm, with a terrifying pressure from all directions constantly wearing him down.

Gradually, the number of tiny, invisible wounds on his body increased, and blood began to seep out.

His entire body looked as if it had been painted with a red dye that was slowly growing more vibrant!

Luo Tian, in contrast,

...had one hand behind his back, his expression calm and unruffled. He casually executed his swordsmanship, gradually forcing the unicorn-horned man into a desperate situation!

"Heaven-Dominating Slash!"

The unicorn-horned man unleashed his finishing move!

A peerlessly domineering golden blade of light, fifty to sixty meters long, descended from the sky, looking as if it would suppress and crush everything!

Wind Rises!

The sword in Luo Tian's hand erupted with a sharp Sword Qi that shot toward the heavens as a fierce gale began to swirl.

With a swing of his sword, a grayish-white, ice-cold storm of Sword Qi shot skyward, instantly colliding head-on with the golden blade of light!

PFFT!

The golden blade of light shattered into pieces and disintegrated!

The unicorn-horned man was also sent flying twenty or thirty meters by the Sword Qi storm, which left seven or eight bloody gashes on his body!

The unicorn-horned man was just about to launch a counterattack!

SPURT! SPURT! SPURT!

Blood suddenly sprayed from his shoulder, chest, and arm.

The unicorn-horned man froze, stunned.

He realized that if he made any large movements, the wounds on his body would split open and gush blood.

"If you keep fighting, you're going to turn into a human fountain," Luo Tian drifted down and said nonchalantly.

The unicorn-horned man shuddered and didn't dare to move.

Luo Tian's swordsmanship had actually reached such a level, invisibly inflicting countless imperceptible, tiny wounds on him.

When these injuries accumulated to a certain point, they became a fatal wound.

The unicorn-horned man had no doubt that if he continued to attack, he would bleed out and die in less than ten breaths.

"I... concede!" the unicorn-horned man said through gritted teeth.

"Number Ten wins," the referee announced again.

Cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd.

The audience had thoroughly enjoyed this battle.

The unicorn-horned man was extremely strong and his attacks were ferocious, yet he could do nothing against Luo Tian and had no choice but to concede.

Any lingering doubts about Luo Tian had also completely vanished.

Luo Tian walked off the stage.

In that last fight, he had used the unicorn-horned man to test and deepen his comprehension of Wind Sword Intent.

Now,

an ordinary tree branch in Luo Tian's hand could become as sharp as a sword.

The same was true for a wisp of wind.

As his Wind Sword Intent improved, even the formless, shadowless wind could become a sharp blade, silently cutting his opponents.

On the high platform,

The numerous Hall Masters looked astonished.

"This boy's comprehension of Sword Intent is not at all like a novice's!"

"To have reached such a level of comprehension in Sword Intent without even breaking through to the Celestial Pool Realm... he's truly a genius of the Sword Dao!"

The Green Skin Hall Master's expression was sullen!

His chosen fighter had been defeated so easily by Luo Tian. It was a huge loss of face for him.

Luo Tian hadn't expended much energy. As long as he didn't run into Dongfang Hong next, almost no one could defeat him.

Hall Master Shang looked delighted, waiting for Luo Tian to defeat his fifth opponent and achieve a five-win streak!

But what Hall Master Shang didn't expect was...

"Number One, versus Number Ten!" the referee suddenly shouted.

Number One, Dongfang Hong, had drawn lots and was matched directly against Luo Tian!

"Haha! When a young genius like Luo Tian meets a veteran genius like Dongfang Hong, I wonder what kind of sparks will fly!" Hua Feng Hall Master laughed.

"Hall Master Shang, what do you think Luo Tian's chances of winning are?" the Green Skin Hall Master asked again, deliberately trying to embarrass him.

Luo Tian had just finished fighting the unicorn-horned man and was immediately pitted against Dongfang Hong. His luck couldn't have been worse!

Hall Master Shang gave an awkward smile and didn't answer.

This was pretty much the worst possible outcome.

But on second thought, even if Luo Tian lost to Dongfang Hong, a record of four wins and one loss was still excellent.

「...」

"It seems my luck is quite good."

Dongfang Hong turned to stare at Luo Tian, his eyes filled with intense interest!

"Luo Tian, get up there! Dallying won't change the outcome!" the unicorn-horned man urged, eager to see Luo Tian's humiliating defeat.

Meanwhile, the entire arena erupted in an uproar.

After Luo Tian defeated the unicorn-horned man in the previous match, only he and Dongfang Hong remained undefeated among the ten competitors in the Martial Arts competition.

And now, these two top geniuses were finally meeting!

This was bound to be a spectacular battle.

Luo Tian's expression was serene as he flew onto the Martial Arts Arena.

The moment the word "Begin!" was spoken, Luo Tian and Dongfang Hong wasted no words and attacked simultaneously!

An incomparably sharp, whirling sword light, glinting with a bone-chilling cold, slammed fiercely against a grayish-white palm force that seemed to blot out the sky!

BOOM! WHOOSH!

An explosion erupted instantly, and a ferocious shockwave blasted outwards.

"Cloud Net Palm!"

Dongfang Hong struck out again with his palm. A massive, hazy gray palm force enveloped Luo Tian, as if trying to submerge everything.

Cloud Dispersing!

A continuous whirlwind surged around Luo Tian's body, filled with a deep, chilling cold. It swept out with swift and turbulent force!

For a moment, the two were evenly matched.

On the high platform,

The many Hall Masters watched the battle intently.

Dongfang Hong's cultivation had reached the absolute limit of the Half-step Celestial Pool Realm.

His other abilities had also nearly reached this standard!

As for Luo Tian, while he was indeed a Sword Dao prodigy, at this stage, he was certainly no match for Dongfang Hong.

Moreover, Luo Tian had just fought a battle with the unicorn-horned man.

The corners of Hua Feng Hall Master's mouth curled up slightly.

'Back then, I was about to punish Luo Tian, but the Grand Elder of the Tai Yuan Sect stopped me. Today, Dongfang Hong will punish Luo Tian in my stead!'

"Hall Master Shang, what do you think Luo Tian's chances of winning are?" the Green Skin Hall Master asked again, deliberately trying to embarrass him.

After a few breaths of silence, Hall Master Shang replied, "Fifty or sixty percent, I'd say!"

The other Hall Masters were stunned when they heard this. 'Hall Master Shang is really daring with his words. Why not just say Luo Tian is guaranteed to win?'

But when they looked back at the Martial Arts Arena, they couldn't help but reveal solemn expressions!

They suddenly realized that Luo Tian's strength was significantly greater than before.

In fact,

At the beginning of the fight, Luo Tian had only used sixty percent of his Sword Intent.

Now, he was using one hundred percent of his Sword Intent!

His comprehension of Sword Intent surpassed Dongfang Hong's comprehension of True Palm Skill Intent.

Furthermore, the essence of True Sword Technique Intent was inherently stronger than that of True Palm Skill Intent!

On top of that, his *Sky Wind Divine Sword* had been perfected and elevated by the Celestial Book, its tier reaching Celestial Level Upper Grade!

Therefore, the killing power of Luo Tian's swordsmanship was greater than that of Dongfang Hong's palm technique!

Wind Fang!

A long, narrow, grayish-white crescent, wreathed in layers of swirling wind and filled with a sinister chill, flashed past in an instant, grazing Dongfang Hong's side and leaving a bloody mark!

"Dongfang Hong is injured!" a spectator couldn't help but shout, finding it utterly unbelievable.

"You really are full of surprises!" Dongfang Hong's gaze deepened as his True Essence began to boil!

Luo Tian's strength seemed like a bottomless pit, and now he too had to unleash his full power!

"Sealing Absolute Shattering Clouds!"

He suddenly thrust out both palms, and a violent expanse of grayish-white rainbow light surged toward Luo Tian with overwhelming, unstoppable momentum!

Dongfang Hong had unleashed his full strength. This palm technique was completely comparable to an attack from a Celestial Pool Realm First Layer cultivator!

"Absolute Wind!"

Luo Tian's eyes were calm. Showing no weakness, he executed the Fourth Technique of the *Sky Wind Divine Sword*!

SWISH!

The Ice Nether Sword swung, and a brilliant white whirlwind of Sword Qi coalesced, resembling a hundred-meter-long, constantly dancing bolt of white light!

He slashed out with his sword, and an extremely condensed Sword Qi Wind Blade seemed to pierce through heaven and earth!

BOOM! WHOOSH!

Wherever the Sword Qi passed, a violent storm raged!

Dongfang Hong's killing move was instantly pierced by Luo Tian's sword strike, creating a hole right through it!

Immediately after, the elegant, brilliant white sword light stabbed Dongfang Hong in the chest. He was sent flying back forty to fifty meters, crashing onto the ground below the Martial Arts Arena.

Meanwhile, in mid-air, that beam of sword light continued to spin and dance, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

"Not bad," Luo Tian said lightly as he sheathed his sword.