"What sword art was that?"
Having witnessed the entire battle between Lu Yang and Kun Qiu, the gathered sword cultivators were thoroughly shocked and crowded around to ask.
People wielding swords were a common sight, but a sword wielding a person was a first.
As Lu Yang's sword intent dissipated, his true body coughed twice. The Immortal Fairy had really put him through the wringer just now. "It's a sword art I just created on the spot. I haven't settled on a name yet."
These words caused an even greater stir.
"He actually created a new sword art right then? How formidable!"
"No wonder Fellow Daoist Lu Yang's sword art seemed a bit unrefined earlier, as though it still needed polishing. It was brand-new!"
"To possess such power from a sword art comprehended on the fly..."
"Fellow Daoist Lu Yang, give this sword art a name!"
Lu Yang was momentarily taken aback. Being suddenly asked to name it out of the blue, what should he call it?
"Then let's call it the Dou Emperor Sword Art."
After all, this sword art wasn't truly his; the Immortal Fairy had used it, so it was better to name it after her—the Bean Emperor Sword Art. Lu Yang was good at putting himself in others' shoes; if the Immortal Fairy were the one naming it, she definitely would have chosen that.
"Dou Emperor Sword Art? As in the Battle Emperor? What a domineering name!"
"Er, dou as in tofu beans," Lu Yang explained further.
Everyone was slightly taken aback. Though Fellow Daoist Lu Yang possessed superb sword arts, his naming ability left something to be desired.
"Little Yangzi's naming ability is awful! Wouldn't 'Immortal Sword Art' be so much better?" The Immortal Fairy shook her head. When it came to naming, one had to rely on her; Little Yangzi was completely hopeless.
The cultural gap between an emperor and a minister showed itself in small details like this.
Lu Yang: "..."
Fairy, since when did your naming skills become so refined?
The name was already spoken, and it was too late to change it now.
Lu Yang's clash with Kun Qiu was a semifinal match. Having defeated Kun Qiu, he naturally advanced to the finals, which were the center of everyone's attention.
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, in the end, it really is the two of us standing here." Mingtai stood on the arena stage holding the Hanguang Sword, radiating the poise of a sword dao grandmaster. One could not tell in the slightest how disheveled he had looked earlier before a certain female sword cultivator.
The Hanguang Sword was Mingtai's true body as well as an immortal treasure personally forged by the Sword Tower Supreme. It was only half a step away from being an immortal artifact, fully worthy of being hailed as an immortal sword.
In terms of quality, only Lu Yang's Green Blade Sword could reliably outmatch it; even the Seven Stars Sword Set could not compare to the Hanguang Sword.
"I figured as much," Lu Yang said with a smile, not at all surprised that Mingtai had made it to the end.
He was the sword spirit of the Sword Tower Supreme. What kind of person was the Sword Tower Supreme? The strongest sword cultivator in history. His personal sword had accompanied him through countless battles and massacres; a sword spirit nurtured by such a weapon was naturally terrifyingly strong.
Mingtai looked at Lu Yang and felt an inexplicable pang of guilt, as though Lu Yang had seen right through his origins.
Both the sword cultivators beneath the stage and the Sword Tower higher-ups above watched the two without blinking, eager to see who was stronger.
On the stage, the two prodigies raised their immortal swords. Their gleaming tips pointed directly at one another, and their smiles gradually faded.
The sword cultivators below held their breath to observe this duel with complete focus. Before their eyes could even adjust, a sharp clang rang out, and both prodigies vanished from their original spots, reappearing at the very center of the arena.
No one could tell who had made the first move, or whether the two had acted in perfect unison at the exact same instant.
"Slash!"
Discarding his previous habit of probing, Lu Yang decisively unleashed the Slash Formula.
Previously, he only used the Slash Formula at the very end to decide the match, but Mingtai was clearly unlike any past opponent.
"Canglan Sword Art!"
Towering waves formed of sword qi surged behind Mingtai, filling the stage with sea spray and ocean winds. The Hanguang Sword swept through the air, trailing countless afterimages.
The sword was blazingly fast—so fast that the afterimages looked completely real.
"That is a sword art created by the Sword Tower Supreme!" Kun Qiu said solemnly. It was rumored that the Canglan Sword Art had long been lost, and that the Sword Tower only possessed fragmentary techniques.
Yet judging from Mingtai's unbroken, continuous onslaught, it was nothing like a fragmented technique.
This was the complete Canglan Sword Art!
"They say Mingtai obtained the Sword Tower Supreme's legacy, and it seems the rumors are true."
In the ten thousand years following the Sword Tower Supreme's fall, countless sword dao prodigies had arisen in the Sword Tower, yet none had passed his trials to receive the legacy. Ever since Mingtai emerged into the world, rumors had spread that he had inherited it.
Even so, those had merely been rumors; Mingtai had never previously displayed the Sword Tower Supreme's lost sword arts.
Now, fighting against Lu Yang, the claim that he possessed the Sword Tower Supreme's legacy was fully confirmed.
"Slash!"
"Break!"
"Point!"
Lu Yang executed basic sword stances. There was nothing he could do; he wanted to perform flashy, magnificent sword arts too, but the problem was that no one had ever taught him!
Yet basic though they were, Mingtai did not dare underestimate them. In Lu Yang's hands, these fundamental stances had long transformed, shifting fluidly with his will in endless variations.
Perhaps not even Senior Brother Lu Yang realized that his basic sword stances had already shed their mortal form and stepped into the realm of self-created sword arts.
The Green Blade Sword cleaved high into the sky, carving through the boundless sea of sword qi. Brilliant sword radiance erupted in a thick pillar of light, like a volcanic explosion.
Mingtai flicked his wrist and shifted stances, resembling a roc, a phoenix, and a true dragon. For a fleeting moment, countless phantoms of ancient, savage demon beasts manifested across the stage.
"That is the Demon Sword Art, created by the Sword Tower Supreme based on mortal martial arts' Imitation Fist!" Kun Qiu said solemnly. Even standing below the stage, he could feel the horror of the Demon Sword Art.
The Demon Sword Art, also known as the Demon Slaying Sword Art, was developed by the Sword Tower Supreme during his fierce battles against the various ancestors of the demon race. Countless demon ancestors had perished under that blade.
Mingtai tossed the Hanguang Sword upward. The sword vanished abruptly; neither the naked eye nor divine sense could detect its existence.
Yet as his opponent, Lu Yang knew that the Hanguang Sword was merely invisible. It remained on the arena, still under Mingtai's control.
"That is the Hanguang Sword—invisible to sight, unfelt in motion!"
The sword cultivators gasped in astonishment. They had only heard of the Hanguang Sword as the personal weapon of the Sword Tower Supreme, but none of them had ever seen what it looked like.
Only now, as Mingtai unleashed its true power, did they realize that the sword in his hand was the Hanguang Sword!
Pfft! Sensing impending danger, Lu Yang shifted his body, narrowly evading a strike from the vanished Hanguang Sword.
Several sword cuts had already appeared across his body, all inflicted by the Hanguang Sword. None were fatal, but if this continued, he would certainly be the one to lose.
The Hanguang Sword was invisible and undetectable; Lu Yang had been dodging solely by relying on his acute sensitivity to sword qi. But this method was not foolproof, and lapses were inevitable.
Moreover, he now had to contend with the various demons manifested from the Hanguang Sword's sword qi, making the situation exceptionally tricky.
"Then it's time for me to get serious. One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords!"
Lu Yang planted the Green Blade Sword onto the arena. Countless Green Blade Swords spread outward from his feet, while the sky darkened heavily as countless inverted Green Blade Swords appeared overhead.
"Is this... a Sword Dao domain?!" The Sword Tower higher-ups were deeply moved, their eyes widening in utter disbelief. They all knew Lu Yang had mastered One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords, but they never imagined he had pushed it a step further, evolving it into a Sword Dao domain.
"No, it is still only in its rudimentary stage," Tower Master Guan said calmly.
Even an embryonic Sword Dao domain was extraordinary. This was something late Soul Formation cultivators had only a slim chance of comprehending, and only under the guidance of a master.
Looking at Lu Yang's style, Tower Master Guan suspected that Old Ancestor Buyu had barely taught Lu Yang any sword techniques at all, and that Lu Yang had trained them all on his own.
This rudimentary Sword Dao domain had likely been figured out entirely by Lu Yang himself.
"Was Old Scoundrel Buyu simply too lazy to teach Lu Yang, or did he feel incapable of teaching him, fearing he might lead him astray, and thought letting Lu Yang comprehend things on his own would yield better results?" Tower Master Guan looked suspiciously at Lu Yang standing within the embryonic domain. He felt that even Daoist Buyu would only have dared to point Lu Yang in a vague general direction, terrified of ruining his potential.
Lu Yang's talent in the Sword Dao made even Tower Master Guan's heart palpitate. To call such talent the greatest throughout history would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.
Chapter 987