As the fire spirit Red Leaf on the Sword Dao Seed vibrated, spiritual energy surged across the blade in Ye Xiaoyao's hand, erupting in a crimson radiance that instantly overshadowed the brilliance of the Third Prince's sword.
With a single slash, a wave of sword qi surged forward, seeming to ignite the very air as it roared like a blazing inferno straight toward the Third Prince.
"Him? Sword qi? How is that possible?"
"The fire spiritual energy contained within his sword qi appears to be far stronger than the Third Prince's!"
"Could he also possess a fire spirit root? No, that can't be right—there's no aura of a fire spirit root about him at all!"
Those who had assumed the Third Prince's victory was entirely certain were left dumbstruck.
At the same time, the Third Prince's eyes filled with shock!
He could not fathom how Ye Xiaoyao, a mere practitioner at the Spirit Sea Realm Third Layer, could possess such terrifying strength.
Yet as the scorching wave closed in, the Third Prince felt a searing pain that even surpassed what he had experienced while cultivating on the mountainside.
Realizing the danger, the Third Prince abandoned all thoughts of glory and focused entirely on defense. With a swift twist of his spiritual sword, he instantly formed a crimson screen of sword energy before him, turning his offense into defense!
Faced with this sudden shift, he needed to steady his footing first before plotting his next move.
Yet this seemingly impenetrable defense was nothing more than a joke in the eyes of Ye Xiaoyao!
Boom...
The sword qi smashed into the sword screen!
Struck by a violent surge of force traveling up through his blade, the Third Prince staggered backward out of control, shock written all over his face.
Before he could regain his footing, Ye Xiaoyao's spiritual sword thrust forward, straight for his throat!
"I told you—dare to draw your sword, and you die!"
The Third Prince clutched his throat with both hands as fresh blood continuously seeped through his fingers, his eyes wide with disbelief.
The previous two times Ye Xiaoyao had spoken, he had dismissed him as arrogant. Only now did he realize that Ye Xiaoyao had every right to be.
But that realization came far too late. With no end of lingering resentment and regret, he slowly collapsed to the ground.
"This... how is this possible?" The onlookers stared in utter shock.
From their perspective, the Third Prince's previous strike had driven the power of his fire spirit root to its absolute limit; any one of them taking that blow would have been either dead or severely wounded.
Yet that fierce and ferocious attack had been instantly obliterated by Ye Xiaoyao with a single sword strike!
He hadn't even been given the chance to escape via the teleportation token.
And yet the Third Prince was a fire spirit root at the Spirit Sea Realm Seventh Layer, while Ye Xiaoyao was still merely at the Spirit Sea Realm Third Layer.
"So you've been hiding things from me all along! You were never sincere with me, were you!" Gu Qingqing's eyes were filled with displeasure.
After all, only seven days had passed since she had extracted Ye Xiaoyao's Supreme Bone. If Ye Xiaoyao hadn't been concealing his secrets all this time, how could he possibly have suddenly grown this powerful?
Looking at the woman to whom he had once willingly given everything, she was still capable of uttering such words at a time like this.
Ye Xiaoyao laughed bitterly with rage. "So, you actually believe you were entirely justified in digging out my Supreme Bone?"
Gu Qingqing's expression shifted instantly. She knew very well that the Lihuo Sect elders outside were undoubtedly watching her every move.
She hurriedly let out a cold snort. "Ye Xiaoyao, enough! What do you mean by slandering me like this? Is it because you can't have me, so you want to destroy me?"
"If I had really stolen your Supreme Bone, would you still be alive today? Could you still be cultivating?"
In truth, this had been a lingering question in Gu Qingqing's own mind, but now it served as her weapon for a counterattack.
Even so, Gu Qingqing did not dare let Ye Xiaoyao continue speaking.
If Ye Xiaoyao blurted out anything else she could not explain, how would she ever maintain her footing in the Lihuo Sect hereafter?
As her voice fell, Gu Qingqing let out a sharp cry, her spiritual energy swirling as she instantly unleashed endless sword radiance.
Yet under her full exertion, that sword radiance even flickered continuously with the profound, arcane characters of the Supreme Bone.
Though the momentum was subtle, it carried an irresistible, overwhelming pressure.
Ye Xiaoyao smiled bitterly. He was well aware of the amplification the Supreme Bone provided in combat; he simply hadn't expected that one day, his own Supreme Bone would be turned into a weapon against him.
Even so, as he raised his sword to meet the attack, he let out a cold snort. "Whether it's slander or not is easily proven!"
"Rumor has it that the Supreme Bone can only be transplanted once. If you die here and the Supreme Bone vanishes with you, that alone will prove whether everything I've said is true!"
Boom... Boom...
As Ye Xiaoyao spoke, his formidable sword qi collided with Gu Qingqing's sword radiance.
Yet amidst the successive explosions, as the characters flashed within Gu Qingqing's sword radiance, Ye Xiaoyao's sword qi vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea.
"Is this the terrifying power of the Supreme Bone?" The surrounding youths were struck with awe.
They had witnessed the strength of Ye Xiaoyao's sword qi just moments before, yet now it couldn't stir up even the slightest ripple.
Hearing the whispers around her, Gu Qingqing felt a surge of triumph, accompanied by a quiet sense of relief at her own cleverness.
When she sought out Elder Qingyang last night, Gu Qingqing had merely wanted to find a backer within the Lihuo Sect. She had never expected Elder Qingyang to actually impart a secret technique for driving the power of the Supreme Bone.
It was this that had caused her strength to skyrocket!
Ye Xiaoyao felt a jolt of secret astonishment as well. When the Supreme Bone had resided within his own body, it hadn't seemed nearly this powerful.
Yet the sweeping, torrential sword radiance gave him no time for reflection.
As Ye Xiaoyao parried and deflected with his sword, his figure retreated rapidly.
Clang... Clang... Clang...
Amidst a flurry of crisp ringing sounds, although Ye Xiaoyao relied on his profound comprehension of the Sword Dao to fend off the tide of oncoming sword radiance, the mysterious and arcane power triggered by the flashing characters shook his inner breath into a chaotic turmoil.
"Let's see how long you can hold out!" Having seized the upper hand, Gu Qingqing had no intention of giving Ye Xiaoyao any further chances.
Pursuing him like a shadow, she drove her Gu Family ultimate technique, the Myriad Illusions Cloud Slaughter Slash, to its absolute limit.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Xiaoyao appeared to be entirely enveloped by the countless arcane characters of the Supreme Bone, reduced to a desperate defense with no power to counterattack.
His defeat was already apparent; the moment his spiritual energy ran dry, he would undoubtedly die!
At that moment, a faint spatial ripple swept through the air, and Ye Xiaoyao's brow furrowed instantly.
Drawing on his understanding of the Tianji Lihuo Map, he could sense that someone had completely locked down this entire region.
Anyone trapped within this zone right now would find it utterly impossible to escape, even by shattering their tokens.
Yet was he truly so easy to kill? Instead of panicking, Ye Xiaoyao felt a surge of excitement.
For this also cut off Gu Qingqing's chance of escape!
"Elder Qingyang, you..." Outside, the group of elders also noticed Elder Qingyang's actions.
Elder Qingyang calmly replied, "The animosity between the two of them has clearly run deep for a long time. If we bring them both into the sect, given their talents, it wouldn't be a good thing for us!"
"Better to use this opportunity to let them fight it out to the end, and we can select the survivor to nurture!"
None of the elders were fools; they could naturally see that Elder Qingyang's move was intended to ensure Ye Xiaoyao's death.
Yet even though several elders were moved by Ye Xiaoyao's exceptional talent, none of them were willing to offend Elder Qingyang on his behalf. Thus, they fell silent once more and turned their attention back to the battle unfolding before them.
Gu Qingqing, however, was oblivious to these developments. Having secured the upper hand, she was actually worried that Ye Xiaoyao might somehow escape and damage her reputation.
This only made her attacks all the more relentless and airtight.
Yet for Ye Xiaoyao, although the power of the Supreme Bone runes remained difficult to resist, under this immense pressure, his comprehension of the Sword Dao was continuously deepening.
This sensation was far more profound than any insight he could have gained through solitary meditation.
Soon, the tip of his sword ceased spitting out harsh sword radiance, yet every single movement and posture possessed a natural, effortless harmony!
"Could this... could this be the comprehension of the unity of man and sword?" Many elders outside cried out in astonishment.