Heavenly Sword Saint
The crowd had barely settled after Jian Yuan's overwhelming victory.
Yet the excitement still lingered throughout the training ground.
The first battle had ended far too quickly.
Jian Fengyu, a Mid Seventh-Stage cultivator, had been defeated without forcing Jian Yuan, an Early Ninth Stage cultivator, to reveal his true strength.
That single battle had reminded everyone of the terrifying gap between the Ninth Stage and the Seventh Stage.
But the tournament continued.
The supervising elder stepped forward.
"Second battle."
"Jian Wei against Jian Luo."
Jian Wei calmly stepped onto the platform.
Mid Eighth Stage.
His spiritual energy was stable, and his foundation was exceptionally solid.
Across from him, Jian Luo walked forward.
Early Seventh Stage.
The difference between them was obvious.
Yet Jian Luo still drew his sword.
"I won't surrender."
Jian Wei smiled faintly.
"Good."
The supervising elder raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Jian Luo immediately rushed forward.
His sword thrust toward Jian Wei's chest.
Jian Wei didn't retreat.
His sword moved.
Clang!
The two weapons collided.
Jian Luo's arm shook violently.
The difference in strength traveled through his sword and into his body.
Before he could recover, Jian Wei stepped forward.
A palm struck Jian Luo's chest.
Bang!
Jian Luo was sent flying.
He landed heavily near the edge of the platform.
The supervising elder immediately announced,
"Jian Wei wins."
The crowd erupted.
Another quick victory.
Jian Chen watched silently from the waiting area.
His gaze remained on Jian Wei for a few breaths.
Mid Eighth Stage.
Stable spiritual energy.
Solid foundation.
Straightforward movements.
Nothing unnecessary.
Jian Chen looked away.
He closed his eyes.
The noise around him gradually faded.
Within his mind...
An iron sword appeared.
He raised it.
One strike.
Too slow.
He stopped.
Again.
This time, his wrist turned slightly earlier.
The blade followed a smoother path.
Better.
His foot shifted half a step.
The sword followed naturally.
Better.
The Flowing Cloud Sword Art.
A Profound Rank martial technique.
It was one of the reasons Jian Chen could challenge opponents above his cultivation.
But Jian Chen had only recently begun rebuilding his strength.
His cultivation was recovering.
His swordsmanship was recovering even faster.
Yet recovery wasn't enough.
He wanted refinement.
The Flowing Cloud Sword Art possessed seven stages.
Cloud Gathering.
Drifting Cloud.
Flowing Cloud.
Cloud Without Form.
Boundless Cloud.
Cloud Conceals Heaven.
And finally...
Heaven Flowing Cloud.
Jian Chen had reached the beginning of the third stage.
Flowing Cloud.
But reaching a stage wasn't the same as mastering it.
His eyes remained closed.
He repeated the movements.
Cloud Gathering.
Drifting Cloud.
Flowing Cloud.
There was a slight delay between the second and third movements.
He corrected it.
Again.
The delay disappeared.
His wrist turned.
His foot followed.
The sword flowed naturally from one movement into the next.
No hesitation.
No wasted motion.
Jian Chen's fingers tightened around the imaginary sword.
There.
That was the transition.
His understanding had deepened slightly.
Not a breakthrough.
Not a new stage.
Just a small improvement.
But Jian Chen understood better than anyone how such small improvements accumulated.
One day...
They would become overwhelming.
A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Third battle."
"Jian Han against Jian Sheng."
Jian Chen opened his eyes.
Two Early Eighth Stage cultivators stepped onto the platform.
The supervising elder raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Their swords crossed immediately.
Jian Han attacked aggressively.
Jian Sheng defended patiently.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Sword light flashed repeatedly.
Jian Chen watched for several breaths.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
Jian Sheng was deliberately giving ground.
Not because he was weaker.
He was waiting.
Jian Han didn't notice.
Jian Chen did.
He had seen this kind of fighting countless times in his previous life.
A fighter who relied on aggression would eventually create an opening.
Sure enough...
Jian Sheng suddenly changed his rhythm.
His sword slipped past Jian Han's guard.
Slash!
The blade struck Jian Han's shoulder.
Jian Han staggered.
Jian Sheng followed immediately.
Another strike.
Jian Han barely blocked.
The impact forced him backward.
One step.
Two steps.
His heels reached the edge of the platform.
Jian Han gritted his teeth.
He launched one final attack.
Their swords collided.
Jian Sheng's blade broke through.
It stopped inches from Jian Han's throat.
Silence.
The supervising elder raised his hand.
"Jian Sheng wins."
The crowd erupted.
Jian Han lowered his sword.
Jian Sheng stepped back.
Jian Chen watched him briefly.
Good control.
Good timing.
But nothing extraordinary.
At least...
Not yet.
The tournament continued.
"Fourth battle."
"Jian Ling against Jian Huang."
The atmosphere immediately became livelier.
Jian Huang stepped onto the platform.
Peak Eighth Stage.
The Eighth Elder's son carried a heavy sabre at his waist.
Across from him stood Jian Ling.
Early Eighth Stage.
She knew the difference between them.
But she still drew her weapon.
Jian Huang slowly unsheathed his sabre.
A heavy pressure spread across the platform.
The Mountain-Crushing Sabre Art.
A Mid-Tier Yellow-Rank martial technique.
Jian Huang had reached its fourth stage.
Mountain-Crushing.
The supervising elder raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Jian Huang stepped forward.
His sabre descended.
Jian Ling raised her weapon.
Boom!
The impact made her entire body tremble.
She retreated.
Jian Huang followed.
Another strike.
Then another.
Each attack carried tremendous weight.
Jian Ling tried to rely on speed.
But Jian Huang's sabre covered too much space.
He wasn't simply swinging wildly.
Every attack sealed another portion of the platform.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed.
Not bad.
For a Peak Eighth-Stage cultivator, Jian Huang's combat foundation was quite solid.
He understood his weapon.
He understood his advantage.
And most importantly...
He knew how to force his opponent into a disadvantageous position.
Suddenly, Jian Huang changed his grip.
"Mountain-Crushing!"
His sabre swept horizontally.
Jian Ling blocked with everything she had.
Boom!
The impact sent her flying.
She landed heavily near the edge of the platform.
The supervising elder immediately announced,
"Jian Huang wins."
The crowd erupted.
Jian Huang calmly sheathed his sabre and stepped down.
Jian Chen watched him for a moment.
Peak Eighth Stage.
Strong foundation.
Heavy attacks.
Good control of his weapon.
A formidable opponent.
Then his gaze shifted.
Jian Ming.
The Third Elder's son stood among the remaining disciples.
Peak Eighth Stage.
Unlike Jian Huang, Jian Ming carried a sword.
His expression was calm.
His hand rested loosely near the hilt.
The Phantom Flow Sword Art.
A High Tier Yellow-Rank martial technique.
Unlike the Mountain-Crushing Sabre Art, it emphasized speed, deception, and unpredictable changes.
Jian Ming had reached the fourth stage.
Thousand Phantom Blades.
That alone placed him among the strongest disciples of the younger generation.
Jian Chen studied him carefully.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three.
Jian Ming suddenly looked over.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
Jian Chen's gaze remained calm.
He noticed something.
The Phantom Flow Sword Art was fast.
Its changes were difficult to predict.
Its fourth stage was especially dangerous.
But...
There was a weakness.
A tiny one.
The transition between the third and fourth movements created a momentary shift in the swordsman's center of gravity.
Almost impossible to notice.
Almost.
A faint smile appeared in Jian Chen's eyes.
Interesting.
Jian Ming's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he looked away.
Jian Chen did the same.
There was no need to think about him now.
If they met...
He would deal with it then.
For now, there were other things worth improving.
Jian Chen closed his eyes.
The iron sword appeared within his mind.
Cloud Gathering.
Drifting Cloud.
Flowing Cloud.
The three movements connected.
This time...
There was no pause.
His sword flowed like water.
His breathing slowed.
His mind became completely silent.
Then
"Fifth battle."
"Jian Kai against Jian Chen."
Jian Chen opened his eyes.
The iron sword in his mind disappeared.
He turned toward the platform.
A young man was already walking toward the center.
Jian Kai.
Early Seventh Stage.
He wasn't among the strongest disciples of the younger generation.
But reaching the Seventh Stage at his age was still enough to make him respectable within the clan.
And his opponent...
Jian Chen.
Peak Sixth Stage.
Whispers immediately spread through the crowd.
"Jian Kai is at the Early Seventh Stage."
"Jian Chen is only at Peak Sixth Stage."
"Jian Kai has the cultivation advantage."
"But Jian Chen defeated Jian Luo's opponent's swordsmanship..."
"Don't underestimate him."
Jian Kai heard the voices.
His expression remained serious.
He had watched Jian Chen's earlier battles carefully.
He knew that treating Jian Chen like an ordinary Peak Sixth Stage cultivator would be a mistake.
Jian Kai stepped onto the platform.
He drew his sword.
His eyes locked onto Jian Chen.
"I won't underestimate you."
Jian Chen calmly walked onto the platform.
His iron sword rested naturally in his hand.
"I wouldn't expect you to."
The supervising elder stepped between them.
"You both know the rules."
"No killing."
"No deliberate crippling."
"Once the outcome is determined, stop immediately."
Both nodded.
The elder stepped back.
"Begin!"
Jian Kai moved.
His Early Seventh-Stage spiritual energy surged through his body.
His feet struck the ground.
His body shot forward.
His sword thrust toward Jian Chen.
Fast.
Direct.
Decisive.
Several disciples leaned forward.
Jian Chen didn't move.
Not even a step.
Jian Kai's sword continued forward.
Ten feet.
Five feet.
Three feet.
One foot.
The instant his blade entered Jian Chen's range...
Jian Chen moved.
"Flowing Cloud."
One sword.
One movement.
Clang!
His iron sword slid across Jian Kai's blade.
The angle was perfect.
Jian Kai's attack was redirected.
His balance instantly collapsed.
His pupils contracted.
What
Before he could recover...
The iron sword was already before his throat.
The blade stopped.
Less than an inch away.
The entire training ground fell silent.
Jian Kai froze.
He stared at the sword before his throat.
His mind was blank.
One moment...
He was attacking.
The next...
He had lost.
The supervising elder stared at the two figures.
Even he had needed a moment to understand what had happened.
Then he raised his hand.
"Jian Chen wins."
The silence shattered.
The crowd erupted.
"One move!"
"Jian Kai didn't even get a second attack!"
"How did he do that?"
"That sword..."
"He redirected the attack in an instant!"
Jian Kai slowly lowered his sword.
His expression was complicated.
He had possessed the cultivation advantage.
Yet Jian Chen had defeated him in a single exchange.
Not through overwhelming spiritual energy.
Not through a devastating secret technique.
Not through brute force.
Just timing.
Just control.
Just one perfectly executed sword.
Jian Chen lowered his iron sword.
He didn't look at Jian Kai again.
He simply turned and walked down from the platform.
For him...
The battle had ended before it had truly begun.
But the spectators saw something entirely different.
Sixteen years.
That was how long Jian Chen had been unable to cultivate.
Sixteen years of being treated as useless.
Sixteen years of being looked down upon.
Yet now...
A Seventh Stage cultivator had been defeated by one sword.
Jian Chen returned to the waiting area.
The whispers followed him.
Some were filled with shock.
Others with disbelief.
A few carried something new.
Caution.
Jian Chen ignored them all.
His gaze swept across the remaining disciples.
Jian Huang.
Jian Ming.
Jian Yuan.
And the others.
Eventually, his eyes settled on Jian Yuan.
Early Ninth Stage.
Jian Yuan possessed an extraordinarily talented foundation.
Twelve open meridians.
Even without knowing every detail behind such a foundation, Jian Chen could recognize its rarity.
His talent was genuine.
His cultivation was genuine.
His strength was genuine.
Jian Chen didn't underestimate him.
He understood exactly what an Early Ninth Stage cultivator represented.
Then his gaze shifted toward Jian Ming.
Peak Eighth Stage.
Mid Profound Vein.
A formidable swordsman.
Jian Chen had already noticed the subtle weakness in his technique.
But noticing a weakness didn't mean defeating the person exploiting it would be easy.
The stronger the opponent...
The more difficult it was to turn a weakness into victory.
Jian Chen understood this better than anyone around him.
He had once stood at heights they could not imagine.
He had fought geniuses.
He had seen monstrous talents whose names could shake entire regions.
He knew how wide the heavens truly were.
Therefore, he wasn't arrogant.
But neither was he afraid.
Cultivation was only one part of combat.
Swordsmanship.
Experience.
Control.
Timing.
Understanding.
And most importantly...
The ability to turn a single opening into victory.
Jian Chen slowly closed his eyes.
The iron sword appeared within his mind again.
He raised it.
One sword.
Then another.
Outside...
The tournament continued.
Another battle began.
The crowd's excitement continued to rise.
But something had changed.
The disciples who had once looked at Jian Chen with curiosity now watched him with caution.
His cultivation was still only at the Peak Sixth Stage.
Yet everyone had just witnessed something they could not easily explain.
Jian Chen had crossed a minor stage with nothing more than one sword.
And the truly difficult battles...
Were still waiting.