Fellow Daoist, I gladly accept this heaven-defying opportunity.

Xu Mofeng, sitting in the audience, listened to the surrounding discussions and pondered to himself.

He clearly saw the imagery of dawn in that sword strike just now; it was extraordinary and mysterious.

Is this the essence of martial arts?

Did he grasp the essence of the sword when he came up with that decisive strike? He wasn't sure himself.

Mu Qianzhong was defeated, and the final battle ensued, with Xu Mofeng facing off against Liu Piaopiao.

In an instant, all eyes in the room fell on Xu Mofeng, some with pity, some with sympathy, some with amusement... but not a single person had any confidence in him.

After all, a Qi Refining Level 10 opponent is a whole major realm plus two minor realms behind a Foundation Establishment Level 2 opponent, making the probability of winning even smaller than ascending to heaven.

Not to mention that Liu Piaopiao has also comprehended sword intent, and even Mu Qianzhong, who is of the same level, was defeated by a single sword. How can Xu Mofeng win?

There's absolutely no chance of winning!

"What's the point of fighting? Xu Mofeng should just admit defeat; it's a complete waste of time."

"He's already a genius for being able to defeat Wen Yuqing despite being of a higher level, but it's a pity he ran into Liu Piaopiao, a top genius. He's just unlucky."

"Liu Piaopiao is definitely going to be number one in this selection, there's no doubt about it."

Despite the whispers and gossip that drifted into his ears, Xu Mofeng ignored them and steadily stepped onto the dueling platform.

"You're like rotten wood that can't be warmed up, yet you refuse to admit defeat?"

Liu Piaopiao frowned as she looked at him, her tone disdainful.

Xu Mofeng slowly drew his long sword, his tone calm: "We'll only know the outcome after we fight. Surrendering without a fight is not my style."

Liu Piaopiao scoffed and shook her head: "Senior Brother Xu, everyone knows you work very hard. But confronting me is a real waste of time."

She lightly raised her longsword and said calmly, "If you want to fight, then come on."

Xu Mofeng took a deep breath, and his longsword was fully drawn. He poured over 50,000 jin of force into the blade, and with a whooshing sound, he unleashed a domineering and unparalleled slash!

The blade swept across, carving a deep gash directly into the tabletop.

To achieve this level solely through physical strength is already quite astonishing.

Liu Piaopiao merely sneered and casually swung her sword, unleashing a burst of condensed sword energy.

The force of the blade clashed with the light of the sword, and the blade was easily torn apart like a piece of paper.

The audience members shook their heads upon seeing this.

The gap between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment is too great. Qi Refining Realm cultivators only have brute strength, while Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators can release indestructible sword energy. It's like an egg hitting a rock.

Xu Mofeng dodged the remaining sword energy in a sorry state, his hand holding the knife tingling with numbness, and he sighed inwardly.

He was ultimately only at the tenth level of Qi Refining, and without the support of internal energy, he couldn't even unleash one-tenth of the power of the Great Completion Moon-Slaying Blade Technique.

If he had the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment Level 1, he was confident that he could easily win over Liu Piaopiao.

Unfortunately… Xu Mofeng’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

It seems that we have no other choice but to use that method.

The next second, an aura mixed with determination, resentment and hatred suddenly erupted from him!

His eyes instantly turned pure black. Even though he was standing in the sunlight, everyone seemed to see wisps of black mist spreading from his body, which was so eerie that it made their scalps tingle.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Mofeng drew his sword.

The moment Xu Mofeng swung his sword, the air in the entire dueling arena froze.

hatred!hatred!hatred!

I hate the injustice of Heaven!

A century of arduous cultivation has all been in vain, leaving only a handful of withered bones...

The disciples watching only felt a blur before their eyes, and in a daze, they saw a figure with disheveled hair and a crazed appearance...

That was the utter isolation of burning one's boats and closing oneself off to the death, the despair of having no way forward and watching death knock at the door.

That unwavering resolve, etched into their very bones, gripped everyone's throats like an invisible iron hand, silencing the entire arena to the point where even breathing became difficult.

Wen Yuqing and Mu Qianzhong, both at the Foundation Establishment stage, were the first to be hit. Their faces turned as white as paper in an instant, and their blood and qi were disrupted by the sword intent.

The outer disciples with shallow cultivation were in an even worse state; their legs trembled so badly they could barely stand and almost collapsed to the ground.

Even the black-robed elder sitting on the high platform suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, sprang up from his seat, and exclaimed in a low voice, "This is... the intent of absolute resolve?! How is this possible?!"

Previously, Liu Piaopiao had been glancing sideways at Xu Mofeng the whole time, her contempt practically reaching her ears, assuming that this Qigong kid was just there to make up the numbers.

But now, facing this knife head-on, her expression changed drastically. A strong sense of impending death gripped her heart, and the resolute intent to kill was like a leech, chilling her to the bone.

I can't catch it!

She will surely die if she takes that blow head-on!

Terrified, Liu Piaopiao drew her sword with all her might without thinking and roared, "The rising sun!"

The dazzling sword light, as brilliant as the dawn, suddenly spread out, but before the rising sun on the horizon could even peek out, it was swallowed whole by the boundless shadow of despair.

"In the next life, I will pick up my sword again... and ascend the path of martial arts once more, to conquer the pinnacle!"

boom!

Xu Mofeng's strike was unstoppable, shattering Liu Piaopiao's sword light into pieces. Its remaining power was undiminished as it slashed straight down towards her face!

Liu Piaopiao retreated frantically, but the blade flashed like a shadow, never missing a step.

In just a few steps, his back was already pressed against the edge of the dueling platform, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

The blade hovered three inches in front of her chest, its sharp aura causing her skin to sting painfully.

Liu Piaopiao's face was deathly pale, her eyes surging with overwhelming resentment and humiliation. She squeezed out three words through gritted teeth: "I...lost."

The sword strike abruptly stopped.

click-

The longsword could not withstand the backlash of the artistic conception and shattered into pieces, scattering broken iron fragments all over the ground.

Xu Mofeng casually tossed away the knife hilt, the dark madness in his eyes quickly fading, and said in a calm tone, "Thank you for the concession."

Liu Piaopiao stared at him as if she had seen a ghost. Her lips trembled twice, but she couldn't utter a single word. With a flick of her sleeve, she turned and rushed off the dueling platform without looking back.

The field was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned, their minds buzzing, unable to process what was happening for a long time.

Liu Piaopiao...lost?

Liu Piaopiao, a genius girl from a sect who had reached the second level of Foundation Establishment and comprehended sword intent, was actually defeated?

Defeated by Xu Mofeng, who is only at the tenth level of Qi Refining?

Everyone felt like they were dreaming; it was so absurd that his mother opened the door for him, it was ridiculously absurd.

The deathly silence lasted for three full breaths, followed by a chorus of gasps.

"Holy crap! Xu Mofeng really beat Liu Piaopiao?!"

"What was that knife just now? My heart almost stopped!"

"With that kind of sword intent, what's the difference between cutting me and cutting a chicken?"

"A mere level ten Qi Refining expert can unleash such a powerful strike? Are you kidding me!"

"This is insane! This world has gone mad!"

Wen Yuqing and Mu Qianzhong exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and complex emotions in each other's eyes.

Winning by surpassing one major realm and two minor realms means that Xu Mofeng's sword intent is of a much higher grade than Liu Piaopiao's half-baked Chaoyang sword intent!

If Liu Piaopiao only touched the threshold of artistic conception, then Xu Mofeng can be said to have truly entered the door!

But he's only at the Qi Refining Realm!

At that moment, everyone in the audience was stunned.

Who would have thought that in this inner sect selection with three Foundation Establishment Realm experts participating, the top spot would actually be taken by a mere Qi Refining Level 10 kid?

Liu Piaopiao's comprehension of sword intent already makes her a prodigy among outer sect disciples. So what about Xu Mofeng, who comprehends saber intent at the Qi Refining Realm and can even defeat prodigies of higher levels?

A prodigy among prodigies?

A complete monster!

It's obvious that after today, the name Xu Mofeng will definitely spread throughout the entire outer sect of the Biyou Sect.

In another ten or eight years, this will be a legend in the sect.

Xu Mofeng had absolutely no interest in the competition between Mu Qianzhong and Wen Yuqing for third place.

With first place already in his pocket, the rewards would naturally come knocking. All he could think about now was getting back to digest the gains from this battle.

As soon as I returned to my little courtyard, the system notification sounded in my mind right on time.

[Congratulations, host, on successfully converting your destiny! You have received the following reward: Martial Arts Comprehension Pill (10%) x1]

Martial Arts Comprehension Pill: Assists in comprehending any martial arts intent, increasing the maximum level by 10%.

Xu Mofeng's eyes lit up.

He had only known that his absolute sword intent was stronger than Liu Piaopiao's, but he had never thought that the understanding of intent was divided into levels.

Now that I think about it, Liu Piaopiao's so-called "Rising Sun Sword Intent" didn't even grasp the essence of "the rising sun." At best, it only scratched the surface. My own "Decisive Blade Intent," on the other hand, was clearly much more profound.

"The ultimate sword intent is my biggest trump card right now, and this pill has come at just the right time."

He immediately accepted the reward, and a transparent, colorless pill appeared in his palm.

According to the system instructions, grasping the elixir and activating the artistic conception can assist in comprehension.

Xu Mofeng tightened his five fingers and released his ultimate sword intent at the same time.

In an instant, his eyes turned deep black, and the pill in his palm transformed into a ball of pitch-black light.

The next second, the scene before my eyes spun around me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a cave.

The cave walls were covered with knife marks of varying depths, and the pool of water shimmered with a cold light. This was clearly the place where he had obtained the Moon-Slaying Golden Blade!

Looking down at the reflection on the water, Xu Mofeng was slightly taken aback: the person in the reflection had disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, looking exactly like a madman.