"Why would Senior Brother Huo go up?"
"Although Senior Brother Huo is currently at the mid-stage of the Zifu Realm, he is an existence capable of slaying peak Zifu experts."
"Huo Qingming? What is he doing up there?"
Not far away, the Elder of the Martial Hall frowned slightly and said, "Isn't this bullying the weak with the strong?"
He knew Huo Qingming's strength very well.
In his view, the current Ye Qiubai stood absolutely no chance of winning against Huo Qingming.
Lu Changsheng, on the other hand, looked completely unconcerned.
After all, there was someone nearby ready to rescue him.
Besides, Ye Qiubai would definitely lose?
That wasn't necessarily true...
Huo Qingming looked at Ye Qiubai and said in a deep voice, "I originally didn't want to bully the weak, but I owe someone a favor. I hope you can understand."
Ye Qiubai was slightly stunned. Someone wanted to harm him?
"Who?"
Huo Qingming shook his head. "You'll find out after you beat me. If you lose, knowing would be meaningless anyway."
After all, Ye Yan's request was to cripple Ye Qiubai.
Crippled, he would have no ability to seek revenge.
Upon hearing this, Ye Qiubai didn't say anything further. He lightly lifted the wooden sword in his hand, took a step forward, and charged at Huo Qingming with astonishing Sword Qi!
Huo Qingming stood in place without moving, thrusting both palms out violently.
In his palms, a heaven-shaking wave of air surged out, compressing space. Burst after burst of sonic booms swept toward Ye Qiubai!
Ye Qiubai didn't dare to be careless; the opponent was, after all, a figure capable of slaying a peak Zifu expert.
Dark demonic qi instantly began to boil on the wooden sword!
An aura of dominance that demanded the submission of all things erupted!
Spreading wildly in all directions!
"Oh? This is the Nine Heavenly Demon Swords? Truly extraordinary."
Even he felt a trace of pressure.
"First Sword!"
The wooden sword in his hand slashed out violently!
Black Sword Qi collided with that wave of air pressure.
They separated upon contact!
The air pressure dissipated, and at the same time, Ye Qiubai retreated violently.
"Not bad. To keep the wooden sword intact under one punch of mine."
Huo Qingming looked at the perfectly intact wooden sword, his heart sinking slightly.
He asked himself; even at the peak of the Golden Core stage, he wouldn't have been able to achieve this.
Now, even the people on the other high platforms looked over this way.
"Oh? He actually took a punch from Huo Qingming? This kid is pretty good."
"Hmm, even I would find it a bit difficult to take that punch. But this guy really is bullying the weak with the strong, shameless?"
"Must be some grudge. Huo Qingming isn't that kind of person."
As for Ye Qiubai, he didn't stay in place long. He stomped his foot and shot out again.
"Second Sword."
This sword carried even denser demonic qi!
Huo Qingming let out a cold snort, moved his feet, and instead of dodging, crashed straight toward Ye Qiubai.
A terrifying momentum!
Boom!
The wooden sword slashed squarely onto Huo Qingming's shoulder!
However, Huo Qingming's body was like forged steel, tempered a hundred times, incredibly hard and indestructible!
But under this sword, Huo Qingming directly retreated five steps!
"The power of the Second Sword is countless times greater than the First. If there's a Third Sword, even I would have to treat it with caution.
However... you've probably only comprehended the Second Sword, right?"
In such a short time, comprehending the Second Sword was already the mark of a heaven-defying genius.
"But that's as far as it goes."
As he finished speaking, Huo Qingming's body suddenly began to swell.
His skin actually turned the color of refined iron at this moment.
An extremely oppressive aura began to radiate out, causing even the disciples below the platform to feel a sense of pressure!
"Senior Brother Huo's body has been tempered countless times. Now, his physical body alone is comparable to a peak Zifu expert."
"If he has no other means, Ye Qiubai stops here."
"Still, Ye Qiubai has enough to be proud of."
Ye Yan watched this scene, grinning viciously.
"Right, just like that. Crush Ye Qiubai directly. Then no one in the Ye family will compete with me!"
Obviously, no one was optimistic about Ye Qiubai.
On the other side, Ye Qiubai held the wooden sword, his expression still calm as water, showing no fear despite the opponent's imposing manner.
Seeing this, Huo Qingming's face turned ruthless. "Still putting on an act at a time like this..."
As his words fell, his body, like a small mountain, sprinted wildly toward Ye Qiubai.
The momentum was utterly terrifying!
Ye Qiubai remained unperturbed, but strands of demonic qi began to infect the wooden sword, turning it pitch-black in this instant.
The Elder of the Sword Hall suddenly stood up at this moment, his face full of disbelief.
Huo Qingming was also stunned. Those strands of substantial demonic qi gave him a tremendous sense of threat!
His mind began to tremble!
Even his speed slowed down!
Immediately after, a towering demonic qi soared into the sky!
Everyone on the surrounding high platforms changed expression, instinctively circulating their cultivation techniques to block the demonic qi!
But the disciples below weren't so lucky. Those closest to the platform with insufficient cultivation even fell directly to their knees on the ground!
"Third Sword."
Ye Qiubai lightly uttered three words. He raised the wooden sword high, and the soaring demonic qi began to gather on the blade.
That ordinary wooden sword turned into a heaven-shocking demonic sword at this moment!
Then, plainly and simply, he swung it down at Huo Qingming!
A massive black Sword Qi tore through space, slashing toward Huo Qingming!
Huo Qingming's face changed drastically. His charging posture instantly froze.
He roared, stomping his feet heavily on the ground, driving his feet directly into the earth!
His arms crossed, blocking before his chest.
Simultaneously, that refined iron color began to cover every part of his body!
The surrounding space began to compress!
Clearly, this sword forced Huo Qingming to defend with all his might!
On the other side, Qin Tianshan, the Elder of the Martial Hall, and the others tensed their nerves, ready to save someone at any moment.
After all, life and death were unpredictable in a spar.
Moreover, both sides had now used high-grade martial techniques. If they couldn't control them, casualties would occur!
Both were elite disciples of the Academy; the elders couldn't let anything happen to them!
Even Lu Changsheng beside them put away his breezy expression, his gaze sharpening slightly, ready to strike.
The black Sword Qi slammed onto the constantly compressing space before Huo Qingming!
But without the slightest hindrance, it tore through directly, continuing toward Huo Qingming!
Huo Qingming's face changed. He roared, and golden chains appeared on his arms!
A Profound-grade Treasure!
The Sword Qi arrived in an instant, slashing onto the chains with a deafening clang!
Crack! Crack!
But in just a moment, cracks began to appear on the golden chains!
Then they shattered directly!
Huo Qingming was stunned. Even a Profound-grade Treasure couldn't block it?
The Sword Qi, now unobstructed, slashed directly onto Huo Qingming's arms!
Pfft!
That refined-iron-like body split open, spurting blood at this moment!
And at this moment, the Elder of the Martial Hall appeared directly on the field. He flipped his palm, and that black Sword Qi dissipated.
Ye Qiubai's face was also somewhat pale. Obviously, the Third Sword of the Nine Heavenly Demon Swords was quite a burden for him.
Looking at the blood-covered Huo Qingming, Ye Qiubai said, "Can you tell me now?"
(End of Chapter)