Chapter 295: Chapter 280 The Shocking Cultivators of Xia State (4K)_2
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Whoosh.
A buzz of astonishment swept through the crowd.
Sun Jian was truly audacious—to think that he'd use a mere twig as a treasure without even bothering about a proper magical artifact.
However, Lu Changsheng didn't believe that Sun Jian, being such a proud individual, would be so recklessly confident without any certainty of success.
It could only mean that Sun Jian's swordsmanship had reached an inconceivable level, which was why he dared to confront Murong Buyi, equipped with a superior Immortal Sword and at the seventh layer of the Unity Realm, with just a branch.
Murong Buyi didn't lose his temper because Sun Jian chose to engage him with a twig; instead, he went all out, channeling his vast True Qi into the superior Immortal Sword!
The power of the sword surged, the earth fractured, and hills crumbled!
The sword technique employed by Murong Buyi was a superior Immortal-class technique, one of the strongest sword techniques in this world!
Facing the imposing sword qi pillar unleashed by Murong Buyi, Sun Jian placed his left hand behind his back and waved the branch with his right.
As Sun Jian moved, a domain of sword qi naturally formed, with countless strands of sword qi crisscrossing and boiling tumultuously, as if he were the master of a thousand swords.
Even Sun Jian's sword intent influenced Murong Buyi's sword qi.
Murong Buyi's complexion drastically changed, as he realized his swordsmanship was being affected by Sun Jian's intent, and his True Qi-formed sword qi pillar fell into disarray, shaking violently.
"To influence another's sword qi with one's own sword intent, this is… a Supreme Sword Technique that surpasses the Immortal-class."
During his 140-year seclusion at Qingyun Peak, Lu Changsheng mastered four sets of superior Immortal-class sword techniques: the Divine Sword Thunder Commanding Art, Divine Sword Fire Commanding Art, Divine Sword Commanding Water Art, and Divine Sword Commanding Wind Art, thus he knew the limits of superior Immortal-class techniques.
The Sect-Defending Supreme Sword Skills of Thousand Swords Manor clearly surpassed the Immortal-class.
Thousand Swords Manor deservedly held the title of the foremost sword cultivator sect in Zhong Zhou, surpassing even Mount Shu in its inheritance and accumulation of sword knowledge.
At first, Sun Jian had offered to share part of their Supreme Sword Skills with Xia Ningxue for mutual enlightenment.
For ordinary practitioners at the Unity Realm, this was already an immense stroke of fortune.
Yet, Xia Ningxue completely disregarded the Supreme Sword Skills of Thousand Swords Manor.
"I never imagined that there would be sword techniques surpassing the Immortal-class in the world. Such a level of sword technique should not exist in this realm."
Situ Kong was also deeply shocked to see the Supreme Sword Skills used by Sun Jian.
The majority of sword cultivators present watched Sun Jian's technique with rapt fascination, seizing the opportunity to improve their Sword Dao Comprehension.
Even a glimpse of the swordsmanship that transcended the Immortal-class could give them unprecedented enlightenment.
Sword cultivators in the Void Refinement Realm were utterly mystified and struggled to gain insight from it.
The sword technique that surpassed the Immortal-class was far beyond their reach.
It was like a primary school student looking at an advanced mathematics textbook, with no clue whatsoever.
"The Sect-Defending technique of Thousand Swords Manor—Selfless Sword Technique—is a sword art that surpasses the Immortal-class and should not exist in this realm. Even our Star Pavilion does not possess a sword technique of such a level."
The Pavilion Master of Star Pavilion watched Sun Jian exhibiting the Supreme Sword Skills with his hands behind his back. With his own cultivation level, he likewise did not dare to casually receive the Sect-Defending technique of Thousand Swords Manor.
Sun Jian, like him, was a peak Unity Realm powerhouse. There was no difference in cultivation level between them, only in the cultivation techniques they practised and their proficiency in those techniques.
Eminent figures like the Sect Master of Dragon Tiger Sect, Zhang Qinglong, Empress Wu Yue of Great Martial, and the Sect Master of Profound Heaven Sect focused intently on Sun Jian's display of Supreme Sword Skills.
Sun Jian was very likely to be one of the last few opponents they would encounter.
"No good, my realm can't match up to those at the peak of the Unity Realm. The techniques they command are no less powerful than mine. My only advantage lies in understanding more comprehensive techniques."
Witnessing Sun Jian's action, Lu Changsheng had to admit the opponent was truly a peak Unity Realm powerhouse, the third most prominent figure in Zhong Zhou, and far above his own level.
Under such immense suppression of realm, even if Lu Changsheng used an eleventh-grade Immortal Pill and fought desperately, he might still be unable to overcome genuine cultivation.
Manor Masters of Thousand Swords Manor, the Sect Master of Dragon Tiger Sect, the Pavilion Master of Star Pavilion—these grand figures who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years—had authentic, hard-earned cultivation. The strength temporarily increased by Immortal Pill paled compared to that accumulated over years.
"Unless I can merge the essences of the four sets of superior Immortal-class sword techniques and create a sword technique that surpasses the Immortal-class, this battle is going to be tough."
Lu Changsheng fell into deep thought.
Sometime later, the Sect Master of Tianlan Sect was defeated, but accepted his defeat gracefully.
Being defeated by the Manor Master of Thousand Swords Manor and the Sect-Defending technique of the Manor was not at all disgraceful.
After defeating the Sect Master of Tianlan Sect, Sun Jian turned his gaze towards Lu Changsheng, with a provoking intent.
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Sun Jian originally didn't need to use the Supreme Sword Skills of Thousand Swords Manor to overpower his opponent with his superior cultivation level.
But to establish his dominance, he used a sword technique that surpassed the fairy rank in the first round, defeating the Sect Master of Tianlan Sect with a single move.
"Sun Jian's quite hotheaded, it seems he has some issues with Lu Changsheng," one of the spectators commented.
The Sect Master of Dragon Tiger Sect noticed that Sun Jian was evidently hostile towards Lu Changsheng and immediately found it interesting.
If Sun Jian could teach Lu Changsheng a lesson on his behalf, it would save him the trouble of doing it personally.
The competition continued, and when it was Empress of Great Martial Wu Yue's turn to take action, she defeated a practitioner of the sixth layer of the Unity Realm with just one palm strike.
The crowd fell silent.
Empress of Great Martial Wu Yue didn't use any special martial techniques, just a straightforward and unadorned palm strike.
The stir she caused was no less than that of Sun Jian from Thousand Swords Manor.
Unity Realm peak practitioners were obviously stronger than other cultivators.
The third contender for Xia State was the Nameless Elder Monk from Immeasurable Temple.
Lu Changsheng paid close attention to this person.
The Nameless Elder Monk appeared to only have a cultivation level of the Void Refinement Realm, but Lu Changsheng always felt there was something extraordinary about him.
According to Master Wuxiang, this Nameless Elder Monk held a seniority higher than his own, and his cultivation was certainly not that simple.
"Old baldy, your opponent is me," declared a sword cultivator clad in sword attire, standing in the air with the pride of a fifth-layer Unity Realm cultivator.
The Nameless Elder Monk, seemingly only of the Void Refinement Realm, was in his view merely making up the numbers.
However, what happened next was beyond belief.
The Nameless Elder Monk opened his eyes, and a ten-thousand-foot Buddha light shone brilliantly. When the light faded, the fifth-layer Unity Realm sword cultivator was already being crushed and ground against the earth by the gigantic hand of a Golden Buddha.
Dead silence ensued.
The people present were all stunned by the Nameless Elder Monk's display.
They thought Xia State only had one expert, Lu Changsheng, but to their astonishment, Immeasurable Temple had a second peerless expert!
Even the cultivators from Xia State looked at Master Wuxiang in surprise.
During the calamity of the Demon Race, the people of Xia State had never seen this Nameless Elder Monk.
If the Nameless Elder Monk had appeared at that time, how could the Demon Lord have wrought such havoc?
Yu Xuanji said, "It seems the divine monk from your Immeasurable Temple has finally finished his retreat, having discovered a new great Dao."
Master Wuxiang nodded, "His Decay and Prosperity Divine Skill is an ancient divine skill from the primordial times, requiring one to wander between life and death. Only the vast Power of Faith accumulated by our Immeasurable Temple could enable him to stay between the states of neither living nor dying and ultimately master the divine skill."
Grandmaster Chen was astonished, "Could it be that this divine monk is the Monk Wu Le from twenty-five thousand years ago? It was rumored that he had long passed away, but it turns out he has been in retreat all this time, cultivating the divine skill to Great Accomplishment. So in other words, Xia State also has a Unity Realm Great Accomplishment expert!"
Unity Realm Great Accomplishment expert!
The cultivators from Xia State found it hard to believe, their eyes reflecting their shock.
Who would have thought that Xia State had a Unity Realm Great Accomplishment expert, and one who was a significant figure from over twenty thousand years ago at that!
With the appearance of the Nameless Elder Monk, no one dared to underestimate Xia State any longer.
Xia State already had two strong contenders entering the second round!
And moreover, Xia State had a Unity Realm peak expert!
This line-up was enough to make other state's strong contenders take Xia State seriously.
Even more surprisingly, Xia Ningxue joined the battle and with her fifth-layer Unity Realm cultivation, defeated the Sect Master of Profound Saber Sect, a sixth-layer Unity Realm practitioner.
This was the third strong contender from Xia State to enter the second round.
The last to compete was Yu Xuanji.
With the Body of the Literary Sage, Yu Xuanji defeated an opponent who was also at the first layer of the Unity Realm, becoming the fourth strong contender from Xia State to enter the second round.
Of the five people from Xia State who fought, four entered the second round!