Yi Tianyun stared at him coldly, proving with an iron-clad fact that his weapon was not weak.
If the weapon in his hand had been a Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact, it would have been pierced through with a single stab, or cracks would have appeared after just a few more strikes.
This was the effect of a clash between Spiritual Artifacts of different grades; the weaker one could easily be destroyed. A higher-grade artifact was naturally stronger, so when it clashed with a lower-grade one, the latter would obviously be at a disadvantage.
Yet now, not only was Yi Tianyun's weapon completely unharmed, but Ma Liangpeng's rapier had been knocked crooked. Although they weren't the same type of weapon, it was clear that Ma Liangpeng's High-Grade Spiritual Artifact was still a notch below Yi Tianyun's.
The crowd exchanged glances. Those who had previously thought Yi Tianyun's weapon was a Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact now found it unbelievable. 'Could it really be a High-Grade Spiritual Artifact? Was the Divine Forging Sect just talking nonsense and falsely accusing him?'
"You actually managed to hurt me..."
Ma Liangpeng wiped the blood from his lips, a murderous glint in his eyes. He gripped his rapier, let out a furious roar, and slashed it against the ground, carving a deep gash into the hard surface.
The full aura of his fourth-level Spirit Refining Stage cultivation erupted. The speed of his Body Technique soared once more, becoming several times faster than before. Like a bolt of lightning, he appeared at Yi Tianyun's side in the blink of an eye and thrust his rapier forward with great force.
"Gale Stab!"
The thrusting rapier seemed to transform into a tornado, twisting toward Yi Tianyun's shoulder. Its speed was significantly faster than before, and with the use of Martial Arts, its power had increased dramatically.
Layers of Qi Force materialized around the rapier, causing it to appear several times wider in an instant. This was Spiritual Power circulating within, unleashing even greater strength.
"Off!"
Yi Tianyun completely ignored the attack, swinging his greatsword down to suppress it. The veins on his arm bulged as he activated Madness Mode once more, doubling his strength!
Under this ferocious pressure, the rapier was bent down once more. Its wild power was unable to break through the greatsword's suppression, and Yi Tianyun immediately pressed down with the weight of a mountain!
"BAM!"
Ma Liangpeng was knocked back again, but it wasn't over. Yi Tianyun raised his greatsword and slammed it down once more. Despite its immense weight, the greatsword moved with a speed that was hardly any slower than the rapier.
Ma Liangpeng's expression changed, and he hastily swung his rapier to block, but the outcome was the same as before: his blade was smashed and bent by the sheer force of the greatsword.
The only difference was that this time, Ma Liangpeng was slammed heavily onto the ground, a terrifying weight pressing down on him.
With a THUD, Ma Liangpeng was crushed against the ground. The force, weighing well over a thousand pounds, shattered several of his bones. The excruciating pain nearly caused him to faint.
At this point, the fight was as good as over. The winner had been decided. Ma Liangpeng was pinned down, unable to breathe, with no chance to even struggle. He had been repeatedly beaten back until he was finally injured and paralyzed on the ground.
Liang Tiancheng's expression was grim. He had never expected Ma Liangpeng to be beaten so badly that he couldn't even fight back. This was a far cry from what he had envisioned.
He had initially assumed Yi Tianyun would be the one slammed to the ground, suffering a crushing and humiliating defeat. It seemed they had been wrong, far too naive.
The entire crowd was stunned, unable to believe their eyes. Ma Liangpeng had been defeated just like that? It had been completely one-sided. Yi Tianyun had barely even moved, relying on terrifying brute force alone to utterly crush his opponent.
Watching from the side, Zi Yuwei had a nagging feeling that Yi Tianyun still had more techniques up his sleeve. 'It feels like he's only shown a fraction of his true strength.'
Most importantly, he was so young, far younger than they could have imagined.
Typically, those skilled in Artifact Refining were never very young, especially not ones who had achieved mastery. Yi Tianyun seemed to shatter this norm. He was young, his cultivation was high, and his Forging skill was even higher. He was an absolute Demon Level genius!
On the stage, Yi Tianyun withdrew his greatsword. He looked down at Ma Liangpeng on the ground and said coldly, "You've lost. Your weapon isn't anything special. What gave you the right to say my weapon was weaker than yours?"
"I haven't lost!"
Ma Liangpeng's eyes blazed with murderous intent. Ignoring the excruciating pain, he swung his rapier in a desperate counterattack. This final effort was even stronger than before, but the greatsword was faster. It swept out horizontally, its edge glinting.
SCHLICK! Ma Liangpeng was sliced in half at the waist. The arm gripping the rapier for the sneak attack was also severed. Yi Tianyun had cut him down without a moment's hesitation!
"You..."
Ma Liangpeng's eyes went wide as his body collapsed, blood pooling across the floor in a gruesome scene. Some in the crowd who had never witnessed such a sight quickly turned their heads away and began to vomit, but Yi Tianyun remained completely unfazed.
"You lost and refused to admit it, then tried to launch a sneak attack. Too bad for you, you were never qualified to do so."
Yi Tianyun's gaze was like ice. 'Every one of his moves was aimed to kill me. How could that be called a spar? If this was a spar, what would you call a true life-or-death duel?'
'From the very beginning, Ma Liangpeng wanted to kill me to eliminate any future trouble. In that case, I couldn't possibly show mercy. When someone needs to be killed, you kill them, ruthlessly. The price for mercy would have been my own life.'
"Killed Ma Liangpeng. Gained 10,000 Experience Value, one thousand taels of Gold, Wind-Chasing Sword Technique, Celestial Cloud Step, and 400 Madness Value!"
"Ding! Congratulations on completing the mission. Reward: 5,000 Experience Value, 500 Skill Level for Forging Mastery, and five hundred taels of Gold!"
'Even with the Luck Aura active, I didn't get many good drops. Either Ma Liangpeng was dirt poor, or my own luck stat isn't high enough.'
But more than the rewards, everyone else was simply dumbfounded, including Zi Yuwei and her group. They were all stunned by what had just happened. He had killed without the slightest hesitation. So what if the opponent was a disciple of the Divine Forging Sect? If someone needed killing, he would kill them!
This was always Yi Tianyun's way. He would be merciful where he could, but if his opponent didn't know what was good for them, what else was there to say?
"Gods, he killed someone from the Divine Forging Sect! Isn't that Honored Guest Elder from the Rainy Day Tower a bit too ruthless?"
"Didn't you see that Divine Forging Sect disciple trying to kill him? It's only natural to fight back!"
"He's done for. He killed a disciple of the Divine Forging Sect; he's a dead man for sure. Now that he's provoked the Divine Forging Sect, let's just wait and see how he dies!"
Many in the crowd shook their heads. If they were in his shoes, they would have endured it, or at most, tried to escape. They certainly wouldn't have killed their opponent in retaliation. After all, killing Ma Liangpeng wasn't just about taking one life; it meant provoking the entire Divine Forging Sect that stood behind him!
The implications were completely different. This was an entire sect, a far cry from a lone individual.
Liang Tiancheng was stunned for a moment before his face contorted with rage. "You... you actually killed Ma Liangpeng! Seize him! Drag him back to the Divine Forging Sect!"
Ma Liangpeng was an Honored Guest Elder of the Celestial Phoenix Tower. Now that he had been killed, the Celestial Phoenix Tower could not escape responsibility. If they didn't capture Yi Tianyun, they would be in serious trouble!
"Capture me? I'd like to see who dares!"
Yi Tianyun swung his greatsword to bar the way, his killing intent flaring!