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Ye Xinglan let out a sharp cry as her Star God Sword unsheathed.
A brilliant burst of starlight erupted, infused with the sword intent she had mastered, and fiercely met the cunningly attacking silver chains.
The sword flashed, striking precisely at the incoming chains, producing sharp "clangs" and scattering sparks.
Ye Xinglan moved with agility, weaving through the intricate web of silver chains. Though perilous, and forced to dodge the unpredictable spearheads, she managed to hold her ground by relying on the sharpness of her Star God Sword and swift, meteor-like sword intent without immediately succumbing to defeat.
On the other side, Gu La wielded his diamond longsword made of stars, appearing completely at ease against Ling Wuxie's storm of blade attacks.
He hardly moved his feet, only lightly turning his wrist, drawing intricate patterns with the diamond longsword. There were no earth-shattering collisions of soul skills, just the pure fusion of sword intent and sword qi, unleashing deadly force.
His sword would sometimes flow like a cascading galaxy, vast and overwhelming, suppressing Ling Wuxie's blade light; other times it flickered like stars, its trajectory unpredictable, effortlessly piercing weak points in Ling Wuxie's blade techniques. Then it would condense into a single ray of starlight, razor-sharp and aimed directly at the core!
Ling Wuxie became nothing more than a target for Gu La's sword practice.
That stellar sword intent seemed alive, carrying the immense pressure of the cosmos, making Ling Wuxie feel as if he was not fighting a person but an entire starry sky.
Realizing Gu La's intention, he felt humiliated yet powerless, unable to offer any resistance.
His blade techniques were thoroughly seen through and suppressed. His pride in battle armor amplification seemed to lose much of its effect in front of that supremely condensed stellar sword intent.
Each collision between the sword and the blade drove a cold, sharp stellar force through the blade into his arm, ignoring the battle armor's protection and causing his blood to churn.
"Damn it! Fourth Soul Skill—Silver Blade Sky Splitting Slash!"
Ling Wuxie roared, and his fifth soul ring lit up in succession, "Fifth Soul Skill—Nine Rings Stacked Waves!"
He exerted all his strength, his blade light surging, layer upon layer like crashing waves, tearing through space and rolling forward with the armor's glow pushed to its peak.
Gu La's eyes remained calm. A Soul King equipped with one-word battle armor might have the power of a Soul Sage, but still couldn't match a true Soul Sage. With his well-honed physique alone, Gu La could suppress Ling Wuxie.
But to allow Ye Xinglan some insight, he chose to thrust his sword forward.
Gu La's diamond longsword casually extended, the stellar power at its tip highly concentrated into a point of extreme brilliance, accurately striking the core node where the layers of blade waves transferred their force.
"Swoosh—!"
Like a hot knife slicing through butter, the surging blade waves were instantly split open by that point of starlight, the violent blade energy dispersing to both sides.
Ling Wuxie grunted, his body and blade staggered backward by an irresistible force. His arms went numb, his eyes filled with horror.
Just relying on sword intent and basic sword qi, effortlessly breaking through his strongest combination of soul skills?!
Tuoba Feng was increasingly alarmed. He had thought that with his tricky Silver Chain Spear martial soul and battle armor, defeating this lower-level sword master shouldn't be difficult.
To his surprise, the opponent's sword intent was so resilient, and his swordsmanship exquisitely refined, always narrowly avoiding or blocking his most cunning attacks.
What added even more pressure was that every time he was about to succeed, or when Ye Xinglan showed a fatal flaw, a barely perceptible yet piercing stellar sword intent would perfectly sweep by, either forcing back his silver chains or hitting the weak spots in his attack, forcibly disrupting his rhythm.
Clearly, this was Ling Wuxie's opponent issuing warnings and interference while being distracted elsewhere. What terrifying spiritual power and sword mastery was required?!
"Damn it!" Both Ling Wuxie and Tuoba Feng cursed inwardly at the same time.
Their sects had gathered intelligence on the contestants and recognized Gu La as the terrifying presence who defeated Ba Song with just one finger yesterday.
They originally thought there might be a chance in a two-on-two match, but they hadn't expected the opponent to be so outrageously strong, and clearly not even going all out. Even though they were younger and focused on cultivation, they should at least have shown their martial souls.
But intense pride and unwillingness surged in their hearts. Ling Wuxie's defeat by Tang Wulin was already a great humiliation. Was he to be defeated by his teammate today?
Tuoba Feng understood even better that at their age, this was their last chance to participate in the Youth Soul Master Competition. For the honor of their sect and their own dreams, they couldn't give up just like that.
"To hell with it!"
The two exchanged glances, seeing the determination in each other's eyes.
Ling Wuxie's blade techniques changed again, becoming even more frenzied, even willing to trade injuries for injuries. Tuoba Feng also unleashed fully, his four silver chains dancing wildly, not only attacking Ye Xinglan but occasionally sending chain shadows towards Gu La to try disrupting his support for Ye Xinglan.
However, the gap in strength was not something willpower could bridge.
Seeing Ye Xinglan nearing her limit under the opponent's frenzied counterattack, Gu La decided not to delay further.
The diamond star longsword in his hand shone brightly, and the sword intent suddenly soared.
With a movement, he transformed into a dazzling starlight that tore through space, instantly breaking through the desperate blade net constructed by Ling Wuxie.
"Dragon Star Cluster·Sword Meteor!"
Countless condensed starlight sword beams, seemingly falling from beyond the heavens, carried destructive sharpness, targeting the core of Ling Wuxie's battle armor.
Ling Wuxie's pupils contracted sharply, sensing the threat of death. He roared, placing his silver blade horizontally across his chest, pushing his battle armor's glow to its maximum.
"Boom—!"
Blinding starlight exploded. Ling Wuxie was hit like a meteorite, flying backwards like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the protective barrier at the edge of the arena. His battle armor emitted a groaning sound, and a deep sword mark appeared on his chest, the light dimming.
Blood gushed from his mouth, rendering him completely combat incapable.
Almost simultaneously, Gu La flicked his left finger, a subtle yet lightning-fast stellar sword qi accurately predicting and hitting the control point of Tuoba Feng's four silver chains, momentarily paralyzing them.
"Clang!" A sharp sound rang out.
Tuoba Feng felt a sharp pain in his martial soul origin, his soul power instantly disordered. The four agile silver chains, deprived of their support, instantly went limp, halting the attack.
Ye Xinglan had been waiting for this moment.
With the pressure suddenly reduced, her eyes blazed with starlight. Her Star God Sword, infused with a deeper understanding of sword intent, merged with her spirit, transforming into a bolt of lightning, piercing straight into Tuoba Feng's exposed chest.
"Star God Pierce!"
Tuoba Feng barely managed to gather soul power for defense, but without the protection and restraint of the silver chains, how could he possibly block it?
"Puff!" The sword tip struck the hastily assembled soul power shield and penetrated instantly.
The powerful sword qi impact caused him to grunt, flying backward. Though not severely injured, Gu La wouldn't miss this opportunity.
Channeling the starlight through his soul core, the diamond longsword turned golden, bursting forth with blinding sword light, striking the core of the battle armor, leaving Tuoba Feng unable to continue fighting.
The referee's voice sounded just in time:
"Two-on-two competition, seventh arena, second round, Star Sword Combination wins!"
On the arena, the starlight slowly dissipated. The diamond star longsword in Gu La's hand dissolved into points of light and vanished.
Ye Xinglan sheathed her sword, slightly panting, her forehead beaded with sweat, but her eyes gleamed brightly. Under immense pressure, especially guided and protected by Gu La's vast star intent, her understanding of swordsmanship deepened further.
The feeling of fighting side by side, being protected and guided by such powerful force, warmed her heart even more.
Ye Xinglan looked at the still calm youth beside her, her lips moved, but ultimately, she earnestly said only one word: "Thank you."
Gu La glanced at her and nodded slightly in response.
The two walked off the arena, leaving behind astonished gazes and two frustrated yet helpless geniuses from the Star Luo Empire on the stage.
Ling Wuxie and Tuoba Feng knew they were utterly defeated without a doubt.
The strength Gu La displayed was unfathomable. This final tournament journey began with an insurmountable mountain, leaving them disheartened, unable to muster any resentment.
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