The Opponent Is After Him!

“Die!”

Killing intent surged in Guan Wandao's eyes. His long saber, carrying a ghostly howl, crashed down toward Shen Xiuhan's head like a towering mountain pressing down!

Even before the blade arrived, the fierce wind whipped against his face like a cold blade, stinging Shen Xiuhan's skin and blowing his hair straight back.

『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』!

With lowered eyes, Shen Xiuhan's feet glided as if stepping on a slippery fish. He lightly tapped half a step backward, calmly dodging the heavy, powerful slash.

Guan Wandao was not at all surprised that his strike missed.

Leveraging the downward momentum of his saber, he gave a thunderous roar, flipped his wrist, and sent the long saber fluttering like a butterfly weaving through flowers.

The blade flashed brilliantly!

Hack, chop, slash, sweep... in an instant, he unleashed over a dozen consecutive strikes!

This 『Eighteen Paths Life-Snatching Mad Blade』 was best suited for close-quarters slaughter. Its momentum was grand and ceaseless, each strike faster and more ruthless than the last.

In addition, Guan Wandao had acquired a finger technique from the Luo family!

『Returning Yin Finger』!

This finger technique specialized in unorthodox angles.

Even as his blade slashed diagonally, he pressed the fingers of his left hand together like a blade, thrusting directly at Shen Xiuhan's eyes and throat with venomous precision.

“Decent tricks, but the user is lacking!”

Shen Xiuhan's eyes turned icy cold. He arched his back, his spine rising like a great dragon as the 『Golden Eagle Soaring Technique』 circulated within his body. His green sleeves ballooned instantly, filled with fierce wind!

What was even more terrifying was his hand!

As a torrent of blood qi surged into it, his five fingers curled into a claw. The veins on the back of his hand bulged like tiny green snakes, and his palm swelled with blood, turning a dark, eerie green like a demonic claw!

『Heavenly Eagle Wind-Tearing Hand』!

Catching sight of that green claw tearing through the air toward him, Guan Wandao's eyelids twitched violently, and his heart turned cold.

Letting out a low growl, he gripped the hilt with both hands and shifted from a slash to a push, angling the blade outward as he rammed it toward Shen Xiuhan's arms, attempting to force him back.

But in the next breath, Guan Wandao's expression filled with horror!

Shen Xiuhan's right hand bypassed the blade at a bizarre angle, and his five fingers lightly tapped the back of the blade with absolute precision!

“Clang!”

Guan Wandao felt as if he and his saber had slammed into a swampy whirlpool.

The seemingly fierce eagle claw actually harbored a soft, subtle undercurrent, completely neutralizing the immense force behind his saber.

“Hah!”

Guan Wandao glared furiously, attempting to pull his saber back for another strike.

But a cold smirk played on the corner of Shen Xiuhan's mouth.

His left arm bent and twisted as if bone-less, sliding along the flat of the blade like a slithering serpent. Ignoring the threat of the blade, it darted straight toward Guan Wandao's ribs.

“Not good!”

Guan Wandao's soul nearly leaped out of his body, his hair standing on end!

In a panic, he pulled his great saber back to block his ribs. At the same time, his left hand clenched into a fist, striking frantically toward Shen Xiuhan's Tiantu acupoint in a desperate bid to force a retreat.

A look of mockery flashed in Shen Xiuhan's eyes.

“Too late!”

Below the stage, the spectating commoners were still clueless. They only saw the flashing blade and claw shadows intertwining in a thrilling display, and they cheered in excitement.

However, many martial artists had already spotted the underlying reality, and their expressions changed.

“This is bad!”

On the high slope, Luo Wancheng's face fell drastically as he bolted to his feet.

Beside him, a man who bore a slight resemblance to him sighed and shook his head as he began walking down the slope.

On the spectator stand.

“Good! Not bad at all!”

Zhao Zheng burst into laughter and praised, then glanced at Luo Changming beside him.

The latter remained expressionless, taking a light sip of his tea, his thoughts unreadable.

In the back row, Ji Shuying sat beside Mei Shuangfeng and whispered:

“Little Six is about to win... This claw technique of his has a bit of your shadow in it...”

Mei Shuangfeng nodded slightly. No emotion could be seen on her face, but the hand tightly clenched inside her sleeve slowly relaxed.

On the stage.

Shen Xiuhan curled his five fingers into a claw.

Like a dragonfly skimming the water, he lightly tapped Guan Wandao's ribs and immediately retracted his hand.

“Crack!”

With a crisp sound, the force penetrated deep into his body.

Guan Wandao felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his entire body suddenly freezing!

A numbing, swelling pain spread through his waist and ribs, rendering half of his body completely powerless. His eyes widened, and his pupils dilated for a brief moment.

In a duel between experts, a split second decided life and death.

He had only hesitated for a single breath, but that was more than enough for Shen Xiuhan to kill him three times over.

Yet, Shen Xiuhan did not deliver a lethal blow.

Instead, he swept his left hand upward in a claw, locking onto the elbow joint of Guan Wandao's right arm, which was holding the saber!

Guan Wandao's face turned deathly pale. As if realizing what was about to happen, sheer terror flooded his eyes, and he instinctively shrieked:

“Wait, I con—”

Shen Xiuhan didn't waste any words. A fierce light flashed through his eyes, and he ruthlessly snapped the arm backward without a second thought!

“Snap!”

“Arghhh!!!”

A hair-raising crack was accompanied by a shrill, agonizing scream.

Guan Wandao's right arm was brutally snapped backward by Shen Xiuhan!

The splintered, pale bone fragments pierced through his flesh, spraying blood into the wind.

His great saber clattered onto the ground with a loud clang.

In the next breath.

The tendons in Shen Xiuhan's long legs hummed like compressed springs as he whipped his leg upward.

『Thirty-Six Paths Sky-Collapsing Kick: Thousand-Army Kick』!

Bam!

A heavy, powerful sweep kicked Guan Wandao squarely in his side.

“Crack! Crack!”

Several dull snaps of breaking ribs echoed in rapid succession, sounding like dry branches snapping.

Before Guan Wandao could even scream, he was sent flying off the stage, spewing mouthfuls of blood.

His right ribcage was visibly caved in, and bloody foam bubbled from his mouth. After his limbs twitched twice, he completely blacked out.

“Shen Xiuhan of the Mei Courtyard wins!”

Boom!

Following Wang Youjun's loud announcement, the crowd below the stage instantly erupted!

“Well fought!”

“What an exquisite claw technique!”

“Our grudge has been avenged! Truly satisfying!”

Countless commoners cheered and waved their arms.

The disciples of the Mei Courtyard, in particular, felt vindicated and proud.

On the stage, Shen Xiuhan exhaled a breath of turbid air and walked down expressionlessly. He was immediately surrounded by the disciples of the Mei Courtyard, who eagerly offered their congratulations.

First Senior Sister Jiang Qinghong had her own matches today and was too busy to make an appearance.

Zuo Guangshu had already departed for Bixia Villa yesterday and was not present.

Leading the group today was Xu Chuan.

In the previous round, he had lost to a female disciple of the Han family.

Xiang Yunting, on the other hand, had been defeated by a late-stage Mingjin martial artist from Changshui County.

Speaking of which...

Shen Xiuhan suddenly realized something.

None of the members of the Bai family, one of the Five Great Families, seemed to be participating in this martial feast.

The Bai family's three highly renowned young masters—Bai Jing, Bai Xiuan, and Bai Fufeng—were nowhere to be seen.

Thus, he asked Xiang Yunting about it, who shook his head and said:

“There have been rumors in the city for some time now that the Bai family's Third Young Master is extraordinarily gifted. He doesn't even need the martial feast to break through to the Anjin Rank...”

Extraordinarily gifted?

A cold glint flashed through Shen Xiuhan's eyes, and he sneered inwardly:

Shen Xiuhan's mind was struck by a sudden spark of inspiration, and a plan began to form.

Before he could ponder further, he felt someone staring at him.

Shen Xiuhan frowned slightly and swept his gaze around, immediately spotting a figure standing quietly a few yards away.

It was a young man in fine silk robes, looking to be in his early twenties.

His face bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Luo Wancheng, but his features were deeper and more heroic, with an innate air of arrogance between his brows.

With his hands clasped behind his back and a faint smile playing on his lips, his gaze cut through the crowd to lock onto Shen Xiuhan from afar.

Standing beside Shen Xiuhan, Xiang Yunting's gaze narrowed, and he lowered his voice, his tone laced with wariness:

“It's Luo Qiance!”

“His cultivation has reached the Great Perfection of the Mingjin Rank. With all five of his main tendons cleared, he is only half a step away from the Anjin Rank.”

“Not only is he proficient in the Luo family's ancestral techniques, but he has also joined the Raging Sea Sect, a great sect of the Southern Sea. His strength and background are unfathomably deep...”

At this point, Xiang Yunting swallowed hard and said:

“Since this martial feast began, no one has been able to survive five moves against him...”

Shen Xiuhan silently stared at the young man.

Under the pull of their respective auras, he was acutely aware—

the opponent was coming for him!