Li Zhexian stepped onto the stage.
The arena fell utterly silent—no one dared make a mocking remark.
After Feng Xiaotian had displayed such overwhelming strength, anyone still willing to step forward could not possibly be ordinary.
There was no pre–fight pleasantry.
Feng Xiaotian struck without warning.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple—his four Spirit Rings flashed in sequence as his second and fourth rings lit up one after the other.
"Second Spirit Ability—Twin Wolf Possession!"
"Fourth Spirit Ability—Demon Wolf Storm!"
Clearly, he had no intention of dragging this out—his opening was a thunderous killing move.
Behind him, the phantom of a Stormwind Doubleheaded Wolf roared, his Spirit Power pressure surging.
He shot forward like lightning, his arms sweeping, sending six azure wind blades slashing out, sealing off all space for Li Zhexian to evade.
Where the wind blades passed, the air shrieked sharply, and deep gouges were carved into the stage floor.
Under countless tense gazes—
No one could even see how Li Zhexian moved.
Suddenly, sword qi surged across the arena!
His white figure flickered, and a cool, clear wave of sword light rippled outward!
Feng Xiaotian's fierce, peerless wind blades melted away like ice and snow, crumbling inch by inch.
When the dust settled—
The white–robed youth stood exactly where he had been, the strands of hair tied loosely at his temple not even stirred.
The students in the stands were stunned.
White robes, a long sword, and such a terrifying sword strike… a single name leapt into everyone's mind.
"Sword Wine! It's Sword Wine!"
"Heavens! He's actually here!"
"His Highness's friend is really that Sword Wine!"
The seven from Blazing Academy were equally dumbfounded.
A flush of shame and irritation rose on Huo Wu's beautiful face; her hands nearly crushed the railing she gripped.
"Yesterday I asked him if Sword Wine was really as strong as the storytellers claim, and he nodded so happily!"
"So it turns out… he was praising himself!"
Huo Wushuang could only smile wryly.
"And yet what he said…"
"…was the truth."
"The Sword Wine in the storytellers' tales might not even match him in person."
"What a razor–sharp sword!"
Huyan Li gasped in shock and turned toward the Emperor Team.
"Captain Yu Tianheng, is this the Sword Wine who pinned you to the wall with a single strike?"
Yu Tianheng's face was dark as the bottom of a pot. He gave a cold snort.
"If your Diamond Mammoth went up, the result wouldn't look any prettier."
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of puzzlement in the other's eyes.
From what they knew of Li Zhexian—
Today, he was behaving a little… strangely.
He wasn't pressing the attack—
It was as if… he was deliberately waiting for something.
Sure enough—
Li Zhexian spoke evenly:
"Use your Thirty Six Successive Chops."
"Otherwise, you won't get another chance to strike."
The lingering chill of that sword qi had already stung Feng Xiaotian's skin raw, and his heart was heavy.
Strong!
Too strong!
This white–robed youth gave him an unprecedented sense of pressure!
A burning fighting spirit ignited in Feng Xiaotian's eyes.
He stamped down, cracking the floor beneath his foot.
His second and third Spirit Rings blazed brightly.
A pair of enormous wings woven from fierce wind unfurled from his back.
"Third Spirit Ability—Stormwind Wings!"
"Second Spirit Ability—Twin Wolf Possession!"
Under countless shocked gazes, Feng Xiaotian's wings flapped furiously—
Violent currents swept up clouds of dust, trailing long azure tail flames as he surged toward Li Zhexian at terrifying speed.
Raising the wolf–claw blades on his forearms high overhead, he slashed straight down toward Li Zhexian.
"Thirty Six Successive Chops!"
Li Zhexian lifted his wrist, blocking casually with the Qinglian Sword.
CLANG—!!!
The metallic crash exploded like thunder.
A shockwave visible to the naked eye spread outward from the point of impact.
With the Molten Frost Spirit Vein Body, even as a Spirit Grandmaster his body had already rivaled that of a Spirit Elder.
Thus, even such a fierce, unmatched slash was met as lightly as lifting a feather.
Feng Xiaotian, on the other hand—
Felt a strange, piercing sword qi laced with intertwined frost and flame surge up through his wolf claws.
A tearing pain shot through his right arm!
What startled him even more was the opponent's unbelievable physical resilience.
The recoil flung him into the air, spinning several times before he landed, staggering back a few steps to steady himself—
While the other had only swayed slightly.
This sight—
Plunged the stands into deathly silence.
The seven members of the Blazing Academy swallowed hard.
The burly Elephant Armored Team gaped wide–eyed.
Even Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling were struck dumb.
They had known Li Zhexian's sword was sharp—
But they hadn't realized his body was this formidable as well.
On the VIP Section—
Dugu Bo's pale eyes narrowed.
"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"
"Zhexian is using the swift wind blade attacks of his opponent to hone his own sword!"
A strange light shone in Xue Qinghe's eyes as he quickly focused his attention on the arena.
Feng Xiaotian, instead of faltering after his setback—
Only pressed his assault harder.
The Thirty Six Successive Chops became a raging azure hurricane sweeping the arena—
Each slash piling onto the last like crashing waves, each stronger than the one before.
Li Zhexian was like a lone boat in the middle of a storm–tossed sea—
Yet—
Every time he swung his sword—
He cleanly intercepted that fierce blade force.
His gaze would grow distant at times, then flash with sharp light.
The Qinglian Sword in his hand constantly shifted through different forms.
"No… not quite…"
"Blade force like the wind… like the tide's surge…"
Single–handedly parrying, Li Zhexian muttered like a man possessed, his free hand pulling out a wine gourd to drink deeply.
Wine splashed down, the sword light tracing the arc of the wind blades, his presence growing even freer and wilder.
In this state, it was easy for Li Zhexian to lose himself.
His eyes grew hazy; his sword strikes followed instinct alone—
The sword followed the body, the body followed the wind, drawing lines that felt perfectly natural.
"Still not right!"
"The wind isn't resistance… the sword should rise with it…"
Watching the white–robed youth drink freely amid the raging blade storm—
Feng Xiaotian's heart was in turmoil.
This man was using his Thirty Six Successive Chops to temper his own sword technique!
Fury and alarm tangled within him; he tried to pull back from the clash—
Only to find that every gale he had struck was now woven into the rhythm of his opponent's sword.
And at that moment—
A drunken murmur reached his ears, filled with excitement:
"Fierce winds wear through iron armor, gentle winds open the blossoms of February… this kind of sword path is nothing but a spring breeze trimming leaves!!"
As the words fell—
When Li Zhexian next parried—
Feng Xiaotian felt a thread of impossibly soft yet unyielding wind entwine around the tip of his opponent's sword.
A terrifying light burst in Li Zhexian's eyes.
Ignoring Feng Xiaotian entirely, his white robes billowed as his figure flashed—
Shooting toward the edge of the arena at full speed.
He had grasped the sword!
He had to seize this fleeting flash of insight!
"Sword Wine! Where are you going?!"
Yu Tianheng shouted sharply:
"Feng Xiaotian hasn't lost yet! If you leave the stage, you'll be the loser!"
Li Zhexian didn't even look back.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Sword qi burst skyward from his spine!
Two Qinglian Swords, each carrying a completely different sword intent, shot forth!
In the instant before his figure vanished from the arena—
The twin swords pierced through the fabric beneath Feng Xiaotian's arms—
Driving him with immense force into the high wall at the edge of the arena.
With that—
Victory was decided.
The arena fell silent enough to hear a pin drop, all eyes fixed on the direction the white figure had disappeared.
Only Yu Tianheng, looking at Feng Xiaotian pinned to the wall, tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth that were curving up uncontrollably.
Good! Good! Everyone should be pinned by Sword Wine!
This was only fair!