Divine King of Honour

Zhao Yan's lungs were almost bursting with rage, as Xu Nian had actually called him a "salted fish," which was undeniably the greatest insult he had ever received in his life.

"I want to see just how arrogant you can be," Zhao Yan snorted coldly, as the spiritual energy inside his body suddenly erupted, breaking through the bottleneck of the Silver Moon Martial Sect and officially advancing to the Battle Sect Level of One-star Silver Moon.

Spiritual energy danced wildly and fierce winds stirred, enveloping the entire Giant Sword Square in a hurricane, their robes rustling loudly in the storm of spiritual energy.

"He really broke through; I didn't expect Zhao Yan to choose this moment during the academy tournament to break through."

"Yes, there have always been students who choose to break through during the academy tournaments, but those usually occur before or after the competitions. It's rare to see someone choose to break through right on the battlefield."

"This Xu Nian is really arrogant, letting Zhao Yan break through just like that. Doesn't he realize that when talents like this break through, their strength increases significantly?"

...

The crowd on the field was abuzz with discussions, all surprised by Zhao Yan's breakthrough.

The breakthroughs of talents like Zhao Yan vastly differed from those of ordinary Star Warriors. Zhao Yan and his kind had already reached the Peak of Star Realm and had been suppressing their advancements, making their foundations far stronger than those of average peak powerhouses.

Furthermore, as talents, their skills would also enhance along with their cultivation, so Zhao Yan's breakthrough wasn't just quantitative, but qualitative.

"Haha, Xu Nian, you were ultimately too arrogant, letting me break through until the moment I did, only then did I realize how vast the gap between the Silver Moon Realm and the Star Realm is, so this time, you are definitely losing," Zhao Yan laughed heartily, his black hair flying wildly, his spirit soaring.

"Oh? How big is this gap?" Xu Nian asked with a dismissive smile.

"Hmph, it seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Then let me show you," Zhao Yan coldly huffed, and with a single gesture, a terrifying flame erupted from his body.

The flames soared high into the sky, this time not just a fireball but a three-meter-long Fire Dragon, and most importantly, the color of the fire was no longer red but blue, its temperature triple that of the previous flames.

"Blue flames?" Xu Nian's eyes flickered with surprise.

The audience on the field gasped in amazement, watching Zhao Yan enshrouded by the blue Fire Dragon, all immensely impressed.

"Haha, this is the special aspect of the 'Divine Flame Demon Technique' I practice. Every time I ascend a major realm, the quality of my flame surges explosively. I want to see how you try to block my demonic flame attack now," Zhao Yan laughed heartily.

Having said that, he immediately propelled the blue Fire Dragon towards Xu Nian, the terrifying dragon unbearably hot.

Xu Nian found that his spiritual sense could not control this blue flame, which somewhat surprised him.

"It seems Zhao Yan does have some skills." Xu Nian gave a slight smile as the Xuan Iron Sword appeared in his hand, and his Sword Intent was released in an instant.

"Haha, finally decided to use your sword, but it's useless. Before my blue flame dragon, your swordsmanship has no effect whatsoever," Zhao Yan laughed heartily, controlling the Fire Dragon to attack Xu Nian.

Xu Nian's eyes sharpened, and he immediately executed the Ling Feng Thirteen Swords.

The Ninth Sword of Ling Feng Thirteen Swords, Wind Fury!

The Sword Radiance was fierce, and a violent wind surged up, slashing fiercely at the blue Fire Dragon.

"Buzz!"

The Fire Dragon was instantly severed, the flames scattering and falling to the floor, melting the floor along with it.

"Hmph!" Zhao Yan snorted coldly and then made another move, summoning terrifying blue flames around his body again. This time, a long whip appeared in his hand, covered in blue flames, making the whip utterly terrifying.

The whip lashed out, striking ferociously towards Xu Nian.

Xu Nian immediately used Sword Slash to defend himself, but the flames on the long whip were truly fierce and overbearing. Xu Nian, along with his sword, was actually knocked back.

"Ha ha, you said your swordsmanship was powerful, but I see it's nothing special. If this is all the power your swordsmanship has, then you are definitely going to lose today," Zhao Yan laughed heartily, feeling extremely proud as he saw Xu Nian knocked back by his whip.

The audience at the scene also felt pity for Xu Nian. They thought he could have won this battle, but they had not expected him to figuratively capsize in the gutter at the last moment.

However, at this moment, Xu Nian started to smile and said to Zhao Yan, "I thought of playing with you a little longer, but since you are looking to die so soon, well, I will grant your wish."

After speaking, the aura emanating from Xu Nian changed, and an incredibly sharp aura emerged from his hands.

A powerful gust of wind suddenly arose, sweeping across the entire venue. The terrifying wind felt like countless blades slicing across people's skin, causing great pain.

Looking at Xu Nian now, around his body, it seemed as though numerous invisible blades had appeared from thin air. These blades were exceptionally sharp, swirling around him like stars surrounding the moon.

The audience all widened their eyes at such a strange sight. It was their first time seeing something like this, and even though Xu Nian hadn't yet made his move, they could already feel the terrifying power of his sword.

"What strong Sword Intent! This Sword Intent even incorporates the understanding of wind, something many Battle Generals can't achieve. This young man is truly a Sword Dao genius," the Prefectural Governor also couldn't help but show a surprised expression from the high platform.

This contestant was the only one who had truly surprised him in the competition thus far, because he knew how difficult it was to achieve this.

In the Chengfeng Academy's preparation area, Feng Rain was dazedly watching Xu Nian on stage.

Initially, she was somewhat skeptical of Dugu Jingcheng's words, but now she realized that this young man's comprehension of the Sword Dao had indeed reached a level far beyond her reach.

At this moment, Dugu Jingcheng also had a profound look in his eyes, visibly surprised by Xu Nian's understanding of the sword, which had clearly surpassed his own.

Of course, the most surprised person at this moment was Zhao Yan, who could clearly feel the terrifying Sword Radiance swirling around Xu Nian.

"Stop playing tricks, break it for me, Fiery Flame Slaying God Whip!" Zhao Yan's eyes flashed with intense unwillingness, and with a roar, he swung the long whip in his hand viciously towards Xu Nian.

The blue-flamed whip, like a swinging fire dragon, roared as it lunged to swallow Xu Nian.

At this moment, Xu Nian also made his move. He lifted his arm, a movement that seemed slow yet was extremely fast.

As his arm was lifted, the Sword Radiance swirling around him gathered onto his Xuan Iron Sword.

As the Sword Radiance merged into the sword, the aura of the Xuan Iron Sword became more terrifying with each moment, eventually reaching an indescribably powerful state.

"Gale Sword Technique, the most perfect sword slash!"

Xu Nian gave a low shout, and the sword light chopped out.

A cyan Sword Radiance shot forth, directly slashing towards the fire dragon whip.
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The fire dragon whip was instantly cut, and its blue flames were dissipated in a flash.

Yet the cyan Sword Radiance did not stop and flew directly towards Zhao Yan, tearing through the floor of the battle platform as it went.

Zhao Yan was also sent flying by this slash, blood spraying wildly.

If it weren't for Song Heng's timely intervention, Zhao Yan would likely have been cut in half by this slash.

Even so, the battle platform was left with a long trench, twenty-some meters in length and three inches deep.

The audience was petrified on the spot, looking at the long trench, too shocked to speak.