The power of swordsmanship

"Huh, shouldn't we be moving on to the Inner Sect Disciple level now? Have you lost so badly that you can't even count anymore?" Long Chen said with a mocking expression.

In reality, Long Chen knew full well that Luo Bing had realized they were at a disadvantage. Because the Outer Sect Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples were not their true combat strength; although they received many resources, they could not compare to the people on Long Chen's side.

After all, his people were warriors who had truly fought their way out of the battlefield. They were at too much of a disadvantage in this kind of fight, so she wanted to compare high-end combat strength to bring out her side's advantages.

After all, Core Disciples were looked after by the Branch and received many special trainings; they were the true experts.

Being asked this by Long Chen, Luo Bing couldn't help but feel her face flush, but she still stubbornly argued:

"This kind of battle isn't exciting at all; it's a complete waste of time. Only by switching directly to high-end combat strength does this exchange have any meaning for improvement."

Long Chen couldn't be bothered to argue with her, because he saw that Gu Yang and the others had blue light shining in their eyes. They were like wolves that had been starving for a long time, having finally spotted prey, and were almost unable to wait any longer.

Ever since the last great battle, Long Chen had instructed them not to spar lightly, so they had been holding it in all this time.

"Then we'll do as you say. You send someone out," Long Chen said indifferently.

"Whoosh."

A figure from the opposing side appeared on the arena. It was a medium-built man with sharp, restrained light in his eyes and an astonishing Aura.

"I am Zhao Qian. I wonder who is willing to come up and offer some pointers?"

That person was a Core Disciple, but at this moment, he had slightly reined in his previous arrogant Aura.

Because they knew that the Disciples on the opposite side had just experienced a life-and-death battle; they were warriors among warriors, and they no longer dared to take them lightly.

"I'll go."

Suddenly, a figure leaped onto the arena. The man stood tall and straight with a long sword strapped to his back, giving off a very aloof and proud feeling.

"Yue Zifeng."

Long Chen smiled slightly. Although he had briefly fought against him while competing for the Spirit Casting Fruit, Long Chen felt that this person was quite good and fit the standard of a swordsman—aloof and proud.

Later, Long Chen heard from the group of Core Disciples that besides Tang Waner and Ye Zhiqiu, Gu Yang, Yue Zifeng, and Song Mingyuan had all achieved perfect advancement.

As for the other Core Disciples, they were all flawless advancements. One had to know that a perfect advancement would make a person's Foundation even more solid, allowing them to go further in the future.

Yue Zifeng didn't like to talk much, and others didn't know much about him. Seeing him jump onto the arena, they couldn't help but be filled with anticipation.

Standing on the arena, Yue Zifeng was like a sharp blade about to be unsheathed. His entire body exuded a powerful Qi, making it difficult for others to breathe.

Luo Bing's pupils suddenly contracted slightly. She hadn't expected that the 108th Branch would actually have such a powerful figure.

With the discerning eye of an Innate expert like Luo Bing, she could tell at a glance that Yue Zifeng was a powerful Sword Cultivator.

Sword Cultivators were different from other practitioners; their life's faith was the long sword in their hands. They could resonate with their swords, producing power that no one could explain.

It had been passed down since ancient times that a Sword God existed above the Nine Heavens, and anyone who cultivated the Dao of the sword with their whole heart would receive the Sword God's blessing.

However, this claim was extremely ethereal and unconvincing, yet the strength of Sword Cultivators was universally acknowledged.

The Aura on Yue Zifeng's body already carried a trace of the Dao of the sword; clearly, he had achieved significant accomplishments in the Dao of the sword.

Before this, Yue Zifeng had been standing at the back of the crowd, indifferently watching the excitement. Luo Bing hadn't noticed him, but now seeing him, she couldn't help but inwardly cry out that it was bad.

"Are you ready?"

Yue Zifeng looked coldly at his opponent, his right hand slowly gripping the sword hilt. The moment he grasped the hilt, a sharp Qi radiated in all directions.

"Please offer your guidance."

A look of vigilance appeared on Zhao Qian's face. A long spear appeared in his hand, and at the same time, his Qi erupted, ready to engage at any moment.

"Watch out."

Yue Zifeng gave a cold shout.

"Clang!"

The long sword left its sheath like a Dragon's roar. It was as if a bolt of thunder had appeared across the entire arena; that was the radiance of the long sword.

Fast, it was simply too fast. Just as others saw Yue Zifeng draw his sword, the long sword had already slashed in front of Zhao Qian.

This strike seemed to have slashed through the shackles of time and space, causing people to have an illusion; it was extremely bizarre.

"Clang."

Zhao Qian had already been on high alert, but he still hadn't expected Yue Zifeng's sword to be so terrifying. By the time he reacted, the long sword had already reached his face, and he hurriedly blocked.

After an explosive sound, Zhao Qian was sent flying by the terrifying force. He was inwardly horrified; if not for Yue Zifeng's intentional warning earlier, he would have likely been killed by that sword strike before he could even react.

This sword strike was too terrifying. At the same time, he was secretly grateful that he had been humble when he first came up; otherwise, Yue Zifeng wouldn't have warned him.

"Watch out."

Just as Zhao Qian was retreating, a sharp attack went straight for his lower abdomen. He could even feel that a long sword had already touched his body.

"Clang."

Zhao Qian used all his strength, twisting his waist while his long spear blocked with all his might. Finally, just as the blade was about to touch his body, he parried the sword.

However, although he had parried the sword, he was sent flying sideways by the force of the sword. Just as Zhao Qian's feet landed, a sudden chill hit his neck—a long sword was resting against his throat.

"You lost."

The entire arena was deathly silent. Whether it was the Branch Disciples or the people on Luo Bing's side, everyone watched the scene in disbelief.

Yue Zifeng stood at Zhao Qian's side, the long sword in his hand pressed against Zhao Qian's neck. If he applied even the slightest bit of force, Zhao Qian would lose his head.

A trace of admiration appeared in Long Chen's eyes. He said softly to Tang Waner: "This Yue Zifeng is a genius. He has already entered the gate of the Dao of the sword; he will be an extraordinary figure in the future."

One must know that Sword Cultivators are extremely rare. Although many people use swords, most people only treat the sword as a weapon, not as their life.

Therefore, every Sword Cultivator is worthy of respect, because their Dao of the sword must be comprehended by themselves; no one else can provide assistance.

Otherwise, with Yue Zifeng's talent, Ling Yunzi would have long since taken him as a Disciple. But Sword Cultivators are different from other practitioners; there is no such thing as passing down one's mantle.

Even if there were one hundred thousand Sword Cultivators, the Dao of the sword they cultivated would all be different, because every Sword Cultivator's path is comprehended by themselves.

Tang Waner couldn't help but nod. She hadn't expected that this Yue Zifeng, who was usually low-key, would suddenly become so powerful.

However, Long Chen and Tang Waner both knew that Yue Zifeng's astonishing growth was definitely related to this Righteous-Evil war. He had attained an Epiphany of his Dao of the sword in a moment of life and death.

Defeating a Core Disciple in three moves, and doing so without a shred of anger or agitation—clearly, he still had strength to spare. Such combat prowess shocked everyone.

Zhao Qian sighed and nodded: "I lost. Thank you, Your Excellency, for showing mercy."

"Clang."

Yue Zifeng backhanded his long sword into the sheath on his back, turned, and jumped off the arena, standing in the crowd behind Long Chen.

Elder Tu Fang and the other Elders couldn't help but be overjoyed. This Yue Zifeng had actually risen quietly; he was truly too powerful. The Branch had gained another young expert, which would definitely be a great asset in future Branch ranking battles.

"Hey, hey, some people, please be self-aware. Don't always wait for others to urge you. How can you have no sense of shame? Hurry up, pay up quickly, and do it with a smile," Guo Ran, who was beside Long Chen, had already started shouting loudly.

Luo Bing had just recovered from her shock when she heard Guo Ran's arrogant shouting, which made her so angry she wanted to crush that kid to death.

"Whoosh."

Luo Bing threw her Nameplate over again. Elder Tu Fang took it with a chuckle and deducted another eighty thousand contribution points.

By now, this was the third time contribution points had been deducted. The opposing side had already lost three matches, losing a total of two hundred and forty thousand contribution points to this side.

Even though Luo Bing's family was known as the 36th Branch, and she was the number one person under the Sect Leader, with plenty of resources and a large household, she still couldn't afford such consumption.

One must know that as a Law Enforcement Elder, Tu Fang's annual contribution points were only a little over twenty thousand. These contribution points were also needed to exchange for some consumables, so he didn't have many contribution points.

This was mainly because Elder Tu Fang was upright and disdained using underhanded methods to line his own pockets. In reality, Elder Sun's wealth was much thicker than Tu Fang's, but his little fortune was all being saved for Long Chen.

Perhaps this was fate. Things obtained by using some shameful methods were ultimately used to cultivate the Branch Disciples.

Luo Bing held a high position and power, and was used to skimming off the top; taking bribes and extortion were common occurrences for her. There wasn't a single Elder in the 36th Branch who hadn't been given a hard time by her.

Therefore, her net worth was terrifyingly large, but even so, losing twenty-four thousand points made her heart ache uncontrollably. That was an amount of contribution points that some Elders couldn't earn even if they worked themselves to death.

Afterward, Luo Bing became ruthless and launched four consecutive challenges, all of which were battles between Core Disciples.

As for Long Chen's side, he didn't designate anyone. Any Core Disciple who wanted to go up could go up. Regardless, they had already won money, so losing a bit didn't matter; he tried to let those who were relatively weaker get some training.

As a result, after four battles, these guys were quite impressive. Only one had bad luck and was knocked off the arena by a single move, narrowly losing to the opponent; the others all won.

Having won six out of seven battles and earned four hundred and eighty thousand contribution points, Elder Tu Fang tried his best to appear calm, but his excited gaze deeply betrayed him.

Luo Bing's expression was extremely ugly. Clearly, her side's Realm and combat strength should have suppressed the opponent, yet they still failed. This made Luo Bing so angry she wanted to kill someone.

Watching the contribution points in her Nameplate flowing away, Luo Bing's heart was also bleeding; that was her life savings of more than half a lifetime.

If she really couldn't achieve her goal, these contribution points would truly be wasted. Taking a deep breath, a flash of malice crossed Luo Bing's eyes, and she secretly whispered a few words to a man beside her.

That man nodded, a gloomy smile appearing on his face. He flew onto the arena and coldly scanned the crowd.

"I am a Dao Derivative, here to challenge you. That pretty girl, come up here; this master has taken a fancy to you."

After hearing that person's words, Long Chen narrowed his eyes, a trace of killing intent emerging from the depths of his pupils.