Feng Wuya's hands blurred as he formed a hand seal, and a flash of purple lightning surged out from his spirit beast bag. The iron-feathered thunder eagle spread its wings and soared high into the sky, carving a graceful arc through the air as lightning crackled between its feathers.
Duan Xianxing unsheathed his long sword, and the thunder patterns on the blade lit up. "Thunder Flash!"
A blinding bolt of lightning shot straight toward the clouds, colliding head-on with the diving thunder eagle.
"Boom!"
The deafening roar of exploding thunder made the ears of everyone in the audience seats throb with pain. The thunder eagle let out a long screech, its body faltering slightly, while Duan Xianxing was forced back three steps by the counter-force.
'Such strong thunder resistance!' Duan Xianxing was inwardly startled. His thunder spiritual root had always been invincible, yet today it was actually met head-on by a spiritual bird.
A trace of blood leaked from the corner of Feng Wuya's mouth, but he wore an excited smile. "Again!"
Feng Wuya formed another hand seal, and the iron-feathered thunder eagle flapped its wings, tracing a trail of purple electric light in the sky. The eagle's wingspan was nearly ten feet wide, and every single feather shimmered with a metallic luster.
Duan Xianxing's sword was already out, its lightning patterns glowing bright. "Come!"
The thunder eagle dove down, its talons wreathed in blinding electricity. Duan Xianxing didn't dodge or evade, thrusting his sword straight forward. "Thunder Flash!"
"Clang!"
The sword tip and eagle talons collided, producing a sound like clashing metal. The thunder eagle was knocked back several yards, and Duan Xianxing also retreated three steps, his hand feeling numb.
'What hard claws!' Duan Xianxing thought to himself.
Feng Wuya's lips quirked up slightly. "The feathers of the iron-feathered thunder eagle are as tough as refined iron. Be careful, Fellow Daoist Duan."
His hand seal changed, and the thunder eagle suddenly spiraled upward, electric light condensing between its wings. "Thunder Feather Arrows!"
Dozens of bolts of electricity rained down like a storm of arrows. Duan Xianxing's sword danced, the tip precisely tapping against every incoming bolt. "Thunder Attraction!"
To everyone's surprise, the incoming lightning was actually guided by his sword tip, turning around and shooting toward Feng Wuya instead. The latter's face changed slightly, and he hurriedly formed a seal to deploy a shield!
The thunder eagle dove down, spreading its wings to block for its master. The lightning was completely absorbed, but the eagle's feathers were scorched black.
Seizing the opportunity, Duan Xianxing's body moved like a lightning bolt, closing in on Feng Wuya. His sword tip aimed directly for the throat. Feng Wuya retreated in haste as the thunder eagle pounced from the side, extending its claws to snatch Duan Xianxing and carry him into the sky!
Duan Xianxing shifted his blade, clashing with the eagle's claws once more.
With a clang and a shower of sparks, he used the momentum to leap backward, his blade lighting up again with blinding thunder light!
A burst of sword qi shot out, moving so fast it was hard to track with the naked eye. The thunder eagle couldn't dodge in time; its left wing was sliced open, and several iron feathers drifted down.
"Such precise control!" Feng Wuya praised, the battle intent in his eyes growing even stronger.
But Feng Wuya's offensive did not stop. He bit his fingertip and flicked a drop of essence blood toward the thunder eagle. "Thunderstorm!"
After swallowing the essence blood, the thunder eagle's size suddenly swelled, and the lightning around its body transformed into literal purple plasma. It let out a long cry and flapped its wings violently, sending out three thunder tornadoes.
"Triple Thunderstorm!" a knowledgeable cultivator at the sidelines cried out in surprise.
The moment the thunder tornadoes roared over, Duan Xianxing suddenly flicked five oddly shaped iron swords from his waist. The blades were long and thin, their surfaces covered in dense patterns, with some kind of silver silk wound around the hilts.
"Rise!"
The five iron swords were precisely driven into the ground. The silver silk at the hilts instantly pulled taut, forming a metal cage-like structure around Duan Xianxing.
The most shocking part was that when the violent lightning struck the cage, it was like a stream returning to the sea, guided along the silver silk and into the ground. Inside the cage, Duan Xianxing was completely unharmed!
"This... what kind of magic tool is this?!" The audience was in an uproar.
Feng Wuya's pupils constricted. He had never seen such a bizarre defensive method. That cage clearly had no spiritual energy fluctuations, yet it could completely neutralize his strongest thunder technique.
Only at the Five Elements Dao Sect's seating area did Li Nanzhu show a knowing smile.
Last night, she had explained this principle from modern physics to Duan Xianxing in detail—a metal cage could form an equipotential body, directing lightning into the earth.
Although the lightning in the cultivation world contained spiritual power, basic physical laws still applied.
"Fellow Daoist Feng," Duan Xianxing suddenly spoke from within the cage. "It's my turn."
He tapped the cage wall with his sword tip, and the five iron swords flew up in response. They formed a peculiar array in mid-air, the silver silk connecting the hilts to form a giant metal net that draped down over the thunder eagle!
Feng Wuya hurriedly commanded, "Thunder eagle, dodge quickly!"
But it was too late.
The moment the silver net covered the thunder eagle, the thunder patterns on Duan Xianxing's sword flared up.
A jaw-dropping scene occurred—the lightning around the thunder eagle's body actually flowed uncontrollably along the silver silk toward Duan Xianxing's sword tip!
"That's impossible!" Feng Wuya shouted in shock.
The spiritual energy connection between the spirit beast and its master was forcefully severed!
The thunder light on Duan Xianxing's blade grew stronger and stronger until his entire person was shrouded in blinding electricity. "Many thanks for the gift, Fellow Daoist Feng!"
He swung his sword, and all the absorbed lightning transformed into a pillar of thunder over a yard in diameter, blasting toward Feng Wuya. This strike contained all the lightning power of the thunder eagle, far exceeding Duan Xianxing's own cultivation level.
In his haste, Feng Wuya could only cross his arms to take the hit.
With a massive boom, he was sent flying dozens of feet, slamming hard against the protection array at the edge of the arena.
The thunder eagle let out a mournful cry and fell from the sky. Duan Xianxing flew forward and lightly caught the exhausted bird, gently placing it beside Feng Wuya.
Feng Wuya opened his mouth, intending to admit defeat, when a loud shout suddenly erupted from the seating area.
"Wait!"
Mu Changfeng of the Wuji Sect suddenly stood up to stop the proceedings.
With a grim face, he pointed at the five iron swords on the arena. "This boy clearly used a prohibited magic tool!"
The sidelines immediately broke into an uproar.
Duan Xianxing unhurriedly put away his iron swords, a playful smile on his face. "Elder Mu, you are mistaken. These are clearly my weapons."
"Nonsense!" Mu Changfeng slammed the table. "Who ever heard of someone refining five swords at the same time?"
Duan Xianxing slowly sheathed the iron swords one by one. Each sword emitted a clear chime as it entered its scabbard, the blade glowing with thunder light that shared the same origin as Duan Xianxing's spiritual energy.
"Elder Mu might not be aware," he said, intentionally drawing out his words. "My Five Elements Dao Sect emphasizes the unity of sword and array. I just happened to use a few extra. Besides, I was worried my sword might break during the match, which would prevent me from competing."
A white-haired elder among the referee panel suddenly spoke, "Let this old man take a look."
He took an iron sword and examined it closely, suddenly letting out a small cry of surprise. "The spiritual energy marks inside the sword are completely identical. Indeed, they are intended for use as backup weapons."
"Impossible!" Mu Changfeng snatched an iron sword. After a sweep of his divine sense, his expression turned ugly. Indeed, the spiritual energy mark flowing inside the blade was perfectly identical to Duan Xianxing's; this was something that couldn't be faked.
Duan Xianxing added with a smile, "We sword cultivators believe a sword is the person. It's only normal to prepare a few extra for self-defense, isn't it? Just like the cultivators of the Sword Heart Sect..." He looked pointedly toward the Sword Heart Sect's direction. "Don't they also carry two swords?"
The audience burst into laughter, and even Zhao Wufeng's face twitched slightly.
Mu Changfeng's face turned livid, but he was speechless.
The cultivation world indeed had no explicit regulation on the upper limit of life-bound swords, and these five swords of Duan Xianxing's truly met all the characteristics of a sword cultivator's weapon.
"After inspection, the magic tools are in compliance," the head referee finally announced. "The match result is valid!"
Feng Wuya had finished regulating his breath by now. Hearing this, he couldn't help but mock, "Elder Mu, if you can't handle losing, don't come to watch the matches!" He turned to Duan Xianxing, his eyes full of admiration. "Fellow Daoist Duan, I must certainly ask for guidance regarding this sword array technique another day!"
"Any time," Duan Xianxing cupped his hands in return. As he turned away, he winked at the Five Elements Dao Sect's seating area.
Below the stage, Li Nanzhu's shoulders were shaking as she tried to stifle her laughter.
What 'unity of sword and array' nonsense? They had simply slapped temporary marks inside the iron swords last night.
Besides, it wasn't exactly a violation. What was wrong with a sword cultivator having several 'wives'?
Who said a sword cultivator couldn't cultivate the Way of Many Passions?
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