For cultivators, touching the threshold of space required at least the Golden Core Stage.
With only the True Qi reserves of the Qi Cultivation or Foundation Establishment stages, one couldn't even influence space, let alone manipulate it.
That was why, aside from mastering the Primordial Inheritance of the Void Sword Technique, Leng Qingqiu possessed something even more crucial: the weapon of the ancient sword cultivator known as the Void Sword Immortal—the Void Sword Casket.
This sword casket not only allowed cultivators to connect with the void more easily, it could also suppress any Flying Sword of a lower grade.
As the Void Sword Immortal who once pointed his blade at the void itself, his Void Sword Casket was naturally no ordinary item. It was a peerless divine weapon, a mid-grade Dao Artifact.
Unfortunately, washed away by the long river of time, the Void Sword Immortal who once suppressed all sword cultivators had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a legend among sword practitioners. His Void Sword Casket had also suffered heavy damage. Now shattered and worn, its true strength had fallen to merely that of a mid-grade magical artifact.
Even so, suppressing Ye Ling's high-grade Spirit Artifact, the Small Formless Sword, was still well within its capabilities.
Leng Qingqiu formed a seal with her right hand and shouted,
"Seal!"
A magnificent sword casket covered in countless scars appeared behind her, radiating a heavy, epic sense of history. Just looking at those scars was enough to imagine the tragic and brutal battles it had once endured.
Ye Ling had no time to admire it. Although his Heavenly Fate Eye caught everything, under the pressure of hundreds of Void Swords, he had no way to stop Leng Qingqiu. He could only watch as the Small Formless Sword was forcibly torn from his grasp and drawn into the Void Sword Casket.
Damn it!
You dare do this right in front of me?
You forced my hand!
Even after losing the Small Formless Sword, Ye Ling didn't panic in the slightest. Instead, a fierce light flared in his eyes.
To be honest, he had always believed in true equality. He never thought women were weaker than men, nor did he believe men should automatically give way to women.
So even after confirming that Leng Qingqiu was a woman, he felt no psychological burden about fighting her.
But what had happened earlier was indeed his fault. He had done something despicable. He hadn't kept his hands in check. He could dress it up with lofty words to fool Leng Qingqiu, but he couldn't fool himself.
It wasn't that he couldn't have relied on the Small Formless Sword to push through the rain of Void Swords and charge straight at Leng Qingqiu.
He had simply felt guilty toward her. He wanted to drag things out, exhaust her True Qi, and let her vent some of her anger.
But venting anger was one thing. He wasn't magnanimous enough to let her truly injure him. Now that things had reached this point, he could only go all out.
"Leng Qingqiu, I apologize for what I did earlier."
After suppressing Ye Ling's Small Formless Sword, Leng Qingqiu didn't immediately attack again, giving Ye Ling another chance to apologize.
This time, Ye Ling didn't try to joke his way through it. His expression was sincere as he lowered his head slightly toward her.
"Hmph. Now you know fear?"
After pressing Ye Ling for a while, Leng Qingqiu had calmed down somewhat. Though her anger hadn't fully faded, she had no intention of truly killing him. From beginning to end, she had never released any killing intent toward Ye Ling.
It was precisely because he sensed that lack of killing intent that Ye Ling was willing to honestly admit his mistake.
But—
"It's not fear."
Ye Ling dropped into a horse stance, assuming the opening posture of Mighty Strength Fist.
"It's simply that I was wrong. A mistake is a mistake. I won't pretend otherwise."
"Is that how you apologize?"
"Yes," Ye Ling replied calmly, "but who says apologizing means letting myself be beaten without fighting back?"
"You!"
Faced with Ye Ling's stubborn, shameless attitude, Leng Qingqiu felt both angry and helpless. Still, seeing his stance, she couldn't help but warn him,
"You still want to fight? Don't say I didn't warn you. The sharpness of the Void Sword isn't something a Foundation Establishment cultivator's body can withstand. If you die, don't blame me!"
"Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
Ye Ling laughed, amused.
"Aren't you also a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
Everyone's at Foundation Establishment. No need to look down on each other like that.
"Hmph! Foundation Establishment cultivators aren't all the same!"
Leng Qingqiu's pride was evident.
Her physique was a miracle born from her clan's expenditure of countless rare treasures.
Her Cultivation Method came from an ancient reforging art.
Her sword technique was inherited from a peerless sword immortal of the Primordial Era.
Her weapon was the divine armament of that very sword immortal.
Any one of these alone would be enough to send an ordinary cultivator soaring. The only reason she hadn't directly ascended was because of her gender.
Otherwise… how could she possibly be here, being mocked by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator?
"Aren't all the same?"
A faint smile curled at the corner of Ye Ling's mouth. His pitch-black eyes met Leng Qingqiu's head-on as he replied calmly,
"That's right."
"Y-you… what do you mean by that?"
Seeing Ye Ling's expression, Leng Qingqiu was so furious her teeth nearly ground together.
"Surrender now and let me beat you up. We'll end it there. Otherwise, don't blame me for being merciless!"
Even so, Leng Qingqiu was still willing to give Ye Ling one last chance.
She truly thought highly of him. In her eyes, if Ye Ling came under her command, he would soar like a dragon.
She still hadn't figured out how he had advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage overnight, but the fight itself had already proven that his foundation was solid, not something forcibly cobbled together.
The reason no longer mattered.
Right now, she just wanted to beat Ye Ling senseless. This man was infuriating beyond words.
"A duel is a duel. I'm not going to hold back just because of personal feelings. How about a bit of competitive spirit?"
Ye Ling was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Leng Qingqiu to simply want to beat him up. Since she was being relatively straightforward about it, his tone naturally slipped back into its usual glib smoothness.
"Let you off? Hah!"
Leng Qingqiu laughed in anger. She finally understood. This man wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin.
"Don't worry. I won't aim for your vital points. But—"
She raised her hand, and the many Void Swords hanging in the sky slowly began to merge into one.
This time, she decided to go all out. She was going to make Ye Ling submit completely.
"Better watch your backside!"
Void Sword Technique · Unity!
"Thanks for the warning."
Ye Ling didn't take her threat to heart. He simply smiled faintly.
In the next moment, the aura around his body vanished entirely, and he looked no different from an ordinary person.
"What, giving up already?"
Seeing Ye Ling act as if he had abandoned all resistance, Leng Qingqiu had no intention of sparing him.
"I won't go easy on you. Go!"
Even as she said that, the power behind the unified Void Sword was still restrained considerably.
Yet at the instant the Void Sword shot toward Ye Ling, those deep, dark eyes of his slowly began to light up.