Sword as Body, Body as Sword

"Finally done with that." For some reason, after fighting Xue Shilou, Lu Yang felt inexplicably exhausted—as if he had just battled three different people. Originally, he had wanted to wrap things up early to go watch the other matches in the second group. Now, he only wanted to sit down and rest for a bit. "By the way, Fairy, did someone in the crowd shout something about a Snow Sovereign bloodline earlier? Do you know what that is?" The Immortal Fairy shook her head. "Never heard of it. Probably wasn't anyone remarkable anyway. Didn't you already beat his descendant?" Lu Yang felt that Xue Shilou had actually been quite tough to beat. It was the first time he had encountered an opponent who could take three consecutive strikes of the Slash Formula. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. Rather, it was the first time he had encountered an opponent of the same cultivation realm who could withstand three Slash Formulas in a row. After all, his past sparring partners included the likes of Daoist Lord Wanfa, Immortal Ying Tian, and Immortal Kirin; taking three Slash Formulas was no trouble for them. Lu Yang felt too embarrassed to go ask the sword cultivators from the Far North what the Snow Sovereign bloodline was. Judging by their reactions, the Snow Sovereign bloodline was terrifyingly formidable, perhaps holding a revered status in the minds of cultivators from the Far North. He had just defeated Xue Shilou—if he went over and asked, "What's a Snow Sovereign, is he very strong?" How would that be any different from rubbing salt in their wounds? Even the Immortal Fairy wouldn't do something so tactless. "Hey, I know! Why don't you go ask the sword cultivators from the Far North? Then you'll find out what the Snow Sovereign bloodline is!" Acting as his golden finger, the Immortal Fairy brainstormed and came up with what she considered a brilliant idea. Lu Yang: "..." "Congratulations on winning the match!" Yun Mengmeng walked over, smiling brightly as she offered her congratulations. "A piece of cake." In front of a Golden Core cultivator, Lu Yang still had to keep up appearances and couldn't show any exhaustion. Seeing Lu Yang step down from the stage, the crowd parted voluntarily to make way for him. Those three strikes of the Slash Formula were merely the most basic sword stance among sword cultivators, yet in Lu Yang's hands, they seemed completely transformed. Their power was night and day compared to the Slash Formula they were familiar with. Hardly anyone could have withstood even a single strike. To hone the most rudimentary sword stance to such devastating power, one could only imagine how brutally hard Lu Yang must have trained in private. It was bad enough that his talent in the Sword Dao was supreme, but knowing they couldn't even match his diligence—how were they supposed to compete? "Senior Brother Lu Yang, you finished your match too?" Mingtai came over to find Lu Yang right after completing his own duel. "Just finished with Xue Shilou from the Far North. What about you?" "I just fought a big black dog from the Demon Domain." Recalling the battle, Mingtai fidgeted uncomfortably all over, wanting nothing more than to take a bath. "When that big black dog fought me with the sword clamped in its jaws, drool was flying everywhere, and it splashed all over me." The big black dog's attack power was mediocre, but the psychological damage was immense. The sword cultivators of the Demon Domain all knew how that dog fought, and none of them had wanted to draw him. Fortunately, Mingtai had been the unlucky soul. After the second group concluded, the third, fourth... and all the way through the thirty-second group's matches wrapped up smoothly. The rosters were thoroughly reshuffled, and another drawing took place. Next, Lu Yang faced a female cultivator dressed as a man, determined to prove that women could also become peerless sword masters. "Slash." Then he faced a daughter taking her bedridden father's place in the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony. "Slash." Then he faced a female sword cultivator seeking to challenge the strong, who believed that only a champion was worthy of becoming her husband. "Mingtai, let's swap opponents." "Ah? Oh." "Little Yangzi, Little Yangzi, let this Immortal go up and give it a try later!" The Immortal Fairy had watched Yue Chuan and his sword spirit A'lan join forces as husband and wife, cutting a swath through their opponents and standing invincible until they were finally defeated by Lu Yang. Even though Yue Chuan had lost, the Immortal Fairy thought the teamwork between a sword cultivator and a sword spirit looked exceedingly cool, and she wanted to try it herself. "Huh? Fairy, you want to fight?" Lu Yang thought to himself: *Do you need me to resurrect the Sword Tower Supreme and Zither Sword Venerable and tie them up so you can beat them?* "Aiya, this Immortal won't show my face," the Immortal Fairy said with a giggle, aware that she needed to keep a low profile and couldn't reveal herself in broad daylight before a crowd. "When the time comes, just hold tight to the Green Blade Sword." Lu Yang had no idea how the Immortal Fairy planned to fight, and his heart was full of misgivings. But since it was her request, he could only comply. "Fellow Daoist Lu Yang, I didn't expect to cross swords with you at the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony." This time, Lu Yang's opponent was Kun Qiu of the Chaos Clan. Lu Yang had watched several of Kun Qiu's matches. His style truly possessed unique strengths, emphasizing the fusion of yin and yang and blending hardness with softness. His sword transitions were so extraordinarily fluid that his opponents could hardly react in time. "I didn't expect the Chaos Clan to produce a sword master like you either. It was a pity I didn't get to spar with you when I visited the Demon Domain before." The harmony of yin and yang, combining hardness and softness, was somewhat reminiscent of Immortal Jiuchong's Dao fruit. Lu Yang figured that rather than suddenly enduring Immortal Jiuchong's yin-yang torment later, he might as well adapt to a simpler version ahead of time. As soon as the battle began, the Green Blade Sword dragged Lu Yang along and lunged straight toward Kun Qiu, startling both Lu Yang and Kun Qiu alike. Lu Yang hadn't expected the Immortal Fairy to fight like this, and Kun Qiu certainly hadn't expected Lu Yang to fight like this. Kun Qiu's fighting style was known for being erratic, unpredictable, and catching opponents off guard. Yet this time, Lu Yang had forcibly seized the initiative. *He truly is a formidable opponent—disrupting my momentum the moment he moves!* *Then again, only an opponent like this is worth the challenge!* "Lu Yang, fight me!" "Little Yangzi, charge!" Inside the Green Blade Sword, the sword spirit shouted in a voice only Lu Yang could hear, galloping forward like a wild horse let off its reins. If Lu Yang hadn't held on with all his might, he would have been hurled clean away. Tower Master Guan watched Lu Yang with a solemn expression, addressing the elders seated to either side of him. "The younger generation is truly formidable. Have you noticed? Every single time, the Green Blade Sword moves first, and only then does Lu Yang follow." "What does this signify? It means Lu Yang has already attained a legendary, alternative state of Man and Sword as One—his intent transmits to the Green Blade Sword first before reaching his body!" "'The sword is sovereign, and he is the subject.' So this is what it truly means." "Simply magnificent." One of the elders couldn't help asking, "Setting Lu Yang aside for a moment, ever since Mingtai defeated that female sword cultivator, she's been clamoring non-stop to marry him! What should we do?" Another elder grew frantic. "How can that be permitted?! We absolutely cannot allow Mingtai to do anything disloyal to the Supreme!" Up on the stage, having grasped this brand-new realm of Man and Sword as One, the Immortal Fairy swung the Green Blade Sword wildly, whipping Lu Yang back and forth and using him to slam into Kun Qiu. "Hi-yah!" Left with no choice, Lu Yang wrapped his entire body in sword qi and hurled a kick at Kun Qiu. Renowned as Kun Qiu was for his versatile swordplay, he never could have anticipated such a bizarre tactic. He was thoroughly shocked once more; every single one of Lu Yang's attacks caught him completely unprepared. *Could this be the legendary 'Sword as Body, Body as Sword'?!* "Rapid-Fire Sword Qi Kicks!" Lu Yang let out a mighty shout. His leg techniques were exceptionally formidable as well; his feet shifted at blinding speed, and every kick coated in sword qi slammed square into Kun Qiu's chest. The onslaught struck like a violent squall, granting Kun Qiu no time to react before kicking him straight off the platform!