Ling Tian Sword God

"If things go as expected, your opponent in the third round will be that boy called Ling Chen," the woman with blood-red pupils suddenly spoke.

"Oh? Such a coincidence?" The black-robed young man named Tian Sha looked surprised. Then, his eyes lit up, and he smiled at the woman with blood-red pupils. "I get it. You must have helped me secretly and tampered with the lottery box. Thanks."

"It wasn't me. They were the ones who tampered with it," the woman with blood-red pupils replied, her tone as cold as ever.

"Then I really have to thank him. That worthless fish actually swam right into the line of fire. He can't blame me for what happens next." Tian Sha grinned, licking his chapped lips and cracking his knuckles, a sinister smile on his face.

"Prepare to use your full strength. You might not be his match," Young Master Ye, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

"You think too highly of this kid!" Tian Sha's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you take me for that trash Xu Chao? Even three Xu Chaos combined wouldn't be a match for me, Tian Sha! In this fight, I'll cripple this boy. Just you watch!"

Ling Chen was definitely not among the few people in this world he considered a threat.

「After the lottery drawing concluded, the third round of battles began.」

Before the battles commenced, the venue itself started to transform. With a loud RUMBLE, the eighteen martial arts competition stages on the ground slowly began to move. They gradually merged, one after another, until only two large platforms remained.

By the third round of the Martial World Conference, only eighteen contestants were left. Thus, there was no longer a need for so many arenas; too many stages would only scatter the audience's attention, leaving them unsure where to look.

Every battle in the third round promised to be a heavyweight confrontation. Each remaining contestant was a renowned prodigy in the Martial World, possessing formidable strength.

The first battle of the third round was an eye-catching, world-shaking showdown: Young Master of Myriad Dao versus "Raging Fire Mad Saber" Fu Tian Jue.

One was the direct disciple of the Myriad Dao Sect Master and the second-ranked super-talent on the Heavenly List. The other was a super expert ranked fifty-sixth on the Young Master List. Just hearing about such a duel was enough to make one's blood boil.

On the dueling platform, the two stood twenty meters apart.

"Before I came here, my master gave me a task. He said that in this Martial World Conference, I could lose to anyone, but there was one person I absolutely could not lose to," Young Master of Myriad Dao said, his expression indifferent as he looked straight at Fu Tian Jue, who was clad in a crimson robe and carried a long knife on his back.

"Don't tell me that person is me," Fu Tian Jue sneered.

"Correct." Young Master of Myriad Dao clapped his hands together, his eyes suddenly flashing with brilliant light. "For the honor of my sect, I must defeat you. Brace yourself!"

As his voice fell, Young Master of Myriad Dao's body abruptly trembled and seemed to turn illusory. In the blink of an eye, he split from one into two, then two into four, creating three Real Qi Clones, each identical to his original body.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The three Real Qi Clones shot out, landing in different positions on the dueling platform, surrounding Fu Tian Jue.

Doppelgänger Technique! Ling Chen's eyes lit up. The Doppelgänger Technique is an extremely rare secret technique in the Jianghu. Ordinary Doppelgänger Techniques create Real Qi Clones with limited strength, usually only useful for harassment. However, the Doppelgänger Technique Young Master of Myriad Dao is using is clearly different from those martial arts; each Real Qi Clone possesses about three points of the original's strength. This is already very remarkable.

"Is this the 'Four Elephant Phantoms' realm one attains after reaching the eighth layer of the Myriad Dao Technique?" Fu Tian Jue asked, his face expressionless, still cradling his treasured saber to his chest, only flicking a glance at the other three Real Qi Clones from the corner of his eye.

"'That's correct, it is indeed the Four Elephant Phantoms," the four versions of Young Master of Myriad Dao spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping, making it impossible to discern which direction they came from. "If not for this, how could I possibly hope to defeat you, ranked fifty-sixth on the Young Master List?"

"You're too naive. Even so, there's still a huge gap between us." A mocking smile touched Fu Tian Jue's lips. He then placed his crimson scabbard at his waist with his left hand, his right hand poised to draw his blade. "Mere Real Qi Clones. Watch me shatter them with a single slash!"

The instant his words ended, the sound of a saber being unsheathed rang out. Fu Tian Jue, moving like a shooting star, appeared with divine speed behind one of Young Master of Myriad Dao's Real Qi Clones, and an overwhelmingly scorching blade aura slashed out.

"Don't even think about it!" Young Master of Myriad Dao was already alert. That Real Qi Clone immediately shot up from its spot, evading the blade aura attacking from behind. The next moment, all four versions of Young Master of Myriad Dao moved simultaneously, each launching an attack.

"Celestial Fist!"

Four streams of Fist Strength shot towards Fu Tian Jue from different directions. The immense power of the punches was like four colossal elephants stampeding forward, crushing everything in their path.

"Fire Dragon Slash!"

Facing the four incredibly ferocious streams of Fist Strength, Fu Tian Jue simply remained where he stood. His knees bent slightly as he assumed a power-gathering stance, but his saber did not immediately swing out. Only at the moment the four elephant-like Fist Strengths spread out before him did he let out a great shout. A surging blade aura coalesced into a fire dragon and ferociously swept out.

BOOM!

The Fire Dragon's blade energy collided with the largest of the elephantine Fist Strengths, instantly shattering it. Simultaneously, the tail of the Fire Dragon's blade energy swept across the other three elephantine Fist Strengths, shattering them all.

CRACK!

The Fire Dragon's blade energy tore through the air, shattering one of the "Young Master of Myriad Dao's" Real Qi Clones in a single blow.

The moment that Real Qi Clone was destroyed, Young Master of Myriad Dao's face turned deathly pale. Real Qi Clones were condensed from the user's True Qi; their destruction meant a significant loss of True Qi, placing a great strain on the body.

Incredible. He saw through the only flaw in Young Master of Myriad Dao's technique. The outcome of this battle seems to be decided already. Watching Young Master of Myriad Dao's Real Qi Clone get destroyed, Ling Chen's eyes also lit up, thoroughly impressed by Fu Tian Jue's combat skill. Fu Tian Jue's blade technique is undoubtedly powerful, but breaking through Young Master of Myriad Dao's main body and three powerful Real Qi Clones is still very difficult. He didn't use his Fire Dragon Slash the instant Young Master of Myriad Dao launched his concentrated attack. Instead, he waited a moment, waiting for Young Master of Myriad Dao's flaw: among the four Fist Strengths, if the one from the main body could be broken, the other three from the clones would easily follow. Perhaps Young Master of Myriad Dao's strength isn't much less than Fu Tian Jue's, but in terms of combat skill, he has lost by a notch.

"Is it really that exaggerated? The fight only just started, didn't it?" Ling Yin, standing nearby, found it hard to believe.

"Ling Chen is right. Fu Tian Jue has already won." Nie Wu Xiang also nodded and said, "Young Master of Myriad Dao relied on his three Real Qi Clones, and one has been destroyed. Even if he has other techniques, he won't be able to fully utilize them. Fu Tian Jue's strength was already a sliver greater than his; he's already lost this fight."

On the dueling platform, Young Master of Myriad Dao also knew he was about to lose. However, he wasn't willing to accept defeat just like that. He wouldn't give in until the very last moment.

"Celestial Ballista Fist!"

Moving like a meteor, swift as lightning, Young Master of Myriad Dao, along with his two remaining Real Qi Clones, unleashed an even fiercer boxing technique, desperate to decide the outcome.

"What a stubborn kid." A faint smile still lingered on Fu Tian Jue's lips. From beginning to end, he was brimming with confidence, exuding an overbearing quality that made everyone feel he had victory firmly in his grasp.

He relentlessly poured his crimson True Qi into the Flames Saber in his hand. The saber became as hot as a branding iron, and even the web of Fu Tian Jue's thumb and forefinger began to show scorch marks.

"Explosive Flame—Dragon Soars!"

With a heaven-shaking roar, Fu Tian Jue shot into the air. Accompanying him was an enormous fire dragon, clearly an enhanced version of the previous fire dragon blade energy. It seemed to dye the clouds above the venue crimson.

POP! POP! POP!

The three streams of Fist Strength shattered one after another. The Fire Dragon's blade energy swept out, and Young Master of Myriad Dao's two remaining Real Qi Clones were sliced in half at the waist, while he himself was sent flying backward.

Stomping a foot down and shattering the hard surface of the platform, Fu Tian Jue steadied himself. He pointed the flame-wreathed saber in his hand towards the ground and said, "Kid, you're still far too lacking to defend your sect's honor."

Young Master of Myriad Dao said, somewhat unwilling to concede, "If we fought again, I wouldn't necessarily lose to you."

"Hmph, a loss is a loss. Enough with the excuses. If we fought again, you might not even get a chance to speak." Along with Fu Tian Jue's overbearing presence, a dragon-shaped phantom suddenly erupted from his body. It shot directly towards Young Master of Myriad Dao, forcibly ripped out the Dragon Vein Qi from his body, and devoured it.

After devouring Young Master of Myriad Dao's Dragon Vein Qi, Fu Tian Jue's own Dragon Vein Qi grew noticeably denser, manifesting as a small, pale golden dragon, no longer the translucent phantom it was before.

In the VIP seats, Lu Youzhen remained silent. Due to the disparity in strength, Young Master of Myriad Dao's loss was not unfair.

Below the stage, the crowd was already in an uproar.

"Fu Tian Jue is too dominant! Even Young Master of Myriad Dao was defeated. It seems the strength of a Young Master is indeed beyond what the younger generation can match."

"Indeed! Young Master of Myriad Dao is an incredible figure, yet even after using all his techniques, he still couldn't overcome Fu Tian Jue. At this rate, Fu Tian Jue's name is sure to be inscribed on the Martial Arts Monument this time."

"Never mind just having his name on the monument; I think he'll take first place in this entire conference!"

After this one match, Fu Tian Jue instantly became the hottest favorite for first place in the Martial World Conference, overshadowing everyone else.

He truly is a formidable opponent. Xue Wu Ya, Huo Yu, and the others all wore very grave expressions. As fellow experts on the Young Master List, they were naturally familiar with Fu Tian Jue. However, his strength was clearly even greater than they had anticipated.

Only Young Master Ye remained calm and composed, his expression unchanging, his true thoughts indecipherable to others.

Shortly after, on the other dueling platform, a victor was also decided. "Shadow of the Sky Spirit" Bai Qingwei effortlessly defeated the young genius ranked seventh on the Heavenly List, advancing to the next round.

Before Bai Qingwei's Illusion Technique, even a young expert ranked seventh on the Heavenly List was reduced to her puppet. She toyed with him from beginning to end, leading to his humiliating defeat.