One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Golden light moved at will around him, instantly condensing and compressing in front of him, transforming into a golden light sword about three feet long, solid as a substance, with flowing runes, which stood horizontally in front of him, precisely meeting the silver light that was tearing everything apart!

"clang--!!!!!"

Swords clashed!

This time, the collision was no longer a dull thud, but a sharp, high-pitched metallic clang that could pierce eardrums! A visible ring of air exploded outwards from the point of impact! Wherever the air blast passed, the frost and snow on the ground vanished, stone slabs shattered and flew everywhere, and dozens of thick, green bamboos were uprooted or cut in half, falling to the ground with a crackling sound! The entire bamboo forest seemed to have been brutally plowed by an invisible giant plow!

Nie Lingfeng felt an unparalleled force coming from the blade, his tiger's mouth went numb, and his chest heaved with blood and qi. Using this recoil, he lightly touched the air with his toes, and his body, like a weightless snowflake, glided backward more than three zhang before landing lightly.

The Snow Drinking Blade drew a graceful silver arc in mid-air. Where the blade passed, bamboo leaves, dust, and even the dissipated residual energy in the air were frozen into crystal-clear ice particles, which floated in mid-air and shimmered with starlight under the moonlight.

"Ice three feet thick!"

The sword's momentum abruptly shifted! No longer pursuing ultimate speed, it instead coalesced into a powerful, chilling force akin to a collapsing mountain or a surging glacier! Nie Lingfeng gripped the sword with both hands, slashing upwards at an angle! As the blade passed, the air crackled and froze under its weight, and a visible white torrent of ice crystals and snowflakes, like a vengeful glacial serpent awakening, roared and swept towards the pavilion! Even before the chill reached the ground, a thick layer of ice rapidly formed, spreading wildly towards the Old Celestial Master's feet! Even the protective golden aura began to condense fine frost on its surface!

The old master finally got serious.

He didn't take the blow head-on. Instead, his body swayed slightly, as if teleporting, and in the instant before the icy current hit his body, he left the stone bench and appeared in a corner of the pavilion. The terrifying icy sword energy grazed past where he had been, instantly freezing the stone table, bench, and even half of the pavilion! The sword energy, still powerful, surged out of the pavilion, carving a terrifying trench in the ground that was tens of feet long and a foot deep, with thick layers of ice on both sides!

"Excellent swordsmanship!" The old master stood at the corner of the frozen pavilion, his robes fluttering, his eyes filled with even greater admiration. "Its power contains extreme cold, its speed conceals profound strength, its changes are unpredictable, and its killing intent is chilling. What's even more remarkable is that the sword intent, the technique, and the sword itself are perfectly integrated... Little Nie, your swordsmanship can be considered first-rate in this world!"

At this moment, Nie Lingfeng felt his blood boiling! Not out of fear, but out of excitement! It was the ultimate exhilaration of meeting a worthy opponent and a worthy strategist! With a towering mountain like the Old Master before him, serving as a whetstone, it was an opportunity that was incredibly rare and precious! He no longer held back, unleashing the essence of all the sword techniques he had painstakingly honed over the past few days!

Creation Blade - A Panoramic View of Heaven and Earth! The blade's movements are expansive and powerful, like a rainbow piercing the sun, or a celestial river hanging upside down, combining unparalleled ferocity with agile and ever-changing movements!

Creation Blade - Blade Empty! The Snow Drinking Blade flew from his hand, not out of control, but controlled by his leg! Nie Lingfeng leaped into the air, his right toe precisely touching the end of the hilt. The entire blade transformed into a silver, dazzling rainbow, man and blade becoming one, tearing through the air with an unpredictable trajectory to strike! Leg techniques were sword techniques, and sword techniques were leg techniques—unpredictable, fierce, and impossible to defend against!

Furthermore, there are variations in sword techniques derived from the Ten Directions Invincible technique, sometimes like a raging storm, with sword light as dense as a net; sometimes like ice covering a thousand miles, with cold air freezing all directions; sometimes like thunder and lightning, each strike faster than the last, forcefully splitting Mount Hua!

In an instant, the bamboo forest was filled with flashing swords like dancing silver dragons, and the chilling air was like the arrival of winter! Nie Lingfeng's figure appeared and disappeared amidst the flashing swords and icy snowflakes, his swordsmanship ever-changing, bringing out the full extent of the sword's characteristics of strength, softness, speed, slowness, deception, and justice!

The old Celestial Master remained on the defensive, constantly dodging. The golden light surrounding him moved with his thoughts, transforming into a golden longsword to parry, a light shield to resist, a golden bell to envelop him, and even flexible light bands to wrap around and deflect the force... dissolving Nie Lingfeng's storm-like, yet extremely cold and corrosive, attacks one by one. The admiration in his eyes grew stronger and stronger, as if he were admiring a work of art that was gradually taking shape.

"This kid..." The old master thought to himself, "His swordsmanship is so broad, so refined, and so unpredictable that it's truly ever-changing. Among the younger generation, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he has the best swordsmanship. What's even more remarkable is his solid foundation. His cultivation of both body and spirit is top-notch among young people, even surpassing that little Wang next to him who's spitting blood... Especially his physical body, which is honed to the point of being like refined iron, full of qi and blood, and with strong muscles and bones. Nowadays, few young people are willing to put in this kind of painstaking effort to temper their bodies. Not bad, truly not bad."

After several dozen more moves, the old master seemed to feel that he had "warmed up" enough. He suddenly raised his right hand, palm up, fingers slightly curled.

There was no thunder or lightning, no change in the weather. Only a point of pure golden, warm, and bright lightning quietly appeared in the palm of his hand. It wasn't Zhang Chulan's supremely yang white Yang Five Thunder, nor Zhang Lingyu's supremely yin black Water-Dirty Thunder, but a purer, more restrained kind of lightning, seemingly containing the most primordial power of heaven and earth—golden lightning!

"Little Nie, try taking this move from the old Taoist priest."

The old celestial master spoke calmly, and gently released a wisp of golden lightning from his palm.

There was no earth-shattering force, no lightning bolt tearing through the sky. Only a thin, perfectly condensed golden lightning bolt, as fine as a hair, silently shot towards Nie Lingfeng. The lightning bolt streaked across the air, barely even making a sound as it cut through the air.

However, the instant the golden lightning appeared, every hair on Nie Lingfeng's body stood on end! His heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand! An unprecedented, pure, and extreme sense of death threat completely overwhelmed him!

You can't catch it head-on! You can't handle it!

Almost instinctively, he made the most correct reaction! The Snow Drinking Blade was instantly retracted, held horizontally in front of his chest, the blade pressed tightly against his vital heart! The internal energy of the Xuanwu True Scripture circulated wildly at an unprecedented speed, forming layers upon layers of defense within his body! All the defensive, force-dissipating, and deflecting techniques from the Ten Directions Invincible Scripture simultaneously surfaced in his mind and empowered his body!

"boom--!!!"

Golden lightning threads gently touched the blade of the Snow Drinking Blade.

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

Nie Lingfeng felt an indescribable, gentle yet extremely domineering power coming through the blade! That power was not a simple impact or destruction, but more like a most primal and vast force of "generation" and "driving," which was about to "drive" all the balance and structure in his body to the brink of collapse!

"puff!"

He felt as if he had been struck by an invisible giant hammer, his feet leaving the ground as he flew backward! Completely unable to control his body in mid-air, he tumbled seven or eight times, his blood surging wildly, his internal organs trembling! Finally, his feet touched the ground, but he couldn't stand steadily, stumbling backward more than ten steps! Each step left a deep, spiderweb-cracked footprint on the hard, cold bluestone ground!

After retreating nearly twenty steps, Nie Lingfeng barely managed to steady himself, using his Snow Drinking Blade for support, his knee slightly bent to avoid falling. He was breathing heavily, his face pale, his arm gripping the blade trembling uncontrollably, the web between his thumb and forefinger already split open, blood dripping down the hilt, blooming like red plum blossoms on the frosty snow. His chest heaved, a mouthful of metallic taste rising to his throat, which he forcibly swallowed.

"So...so strong..." Nie Lingfeng was utterly shocked. "Is this the power of the highest order? A casual strike, without any fancy moves, just the most primal power of lightning...I defended with all my might, and I was still struggling to receive it...If he were to get serious..."

He dared not think any further. The gap was as vast as an insurmountable chasm.

The old Celestial Master had long since dissipated the lightning in his palm and the golden phantom behind him, transforming back into the ordinary, kind-faced, centenarian Taoist priest. He stroked his long, snow-white beard, looked at Nie Lingfeng, who was leaning on his sword and panting not far away, nodded slightly, and spoke gently:

"Little Nie, I've seen through your skills. Your swordsmanship is ever-changing, truly the best in the world. Your life cultivation is top-notch among the younger generation, even better than that Wudang kid next to you who's spitting blood—especially your physical foundation, which is solid. There aren't many young people these days willing to put in this kind of hard work to strengthen their bodies. Not bad, not bad."

He paused, his gaze seemingly able to see through every ounce of true qi circulating within Nie Lingfeng's body, every inch of his bones, and slowly said, "However, this old Daoist senses... you're still suppressing something. With that final strike, 'Three Feet of Ice,' you held back at least thirty percent of your power, not using your full strength. And your blade... though its chilling aura was intense, it wasn't fully unleashed. There seems to be a hidden spirit within the blade, which you also held back, not fully awakening. Is it because you're afraid of losing control? Or... is there another limitation?"

Nie Lingfeng was startled and remained silent.

The old master's insight was indeed astounding! He had indeed held back, not only refraining from using his full strength in his swordsmanship, but also daring not to fully unleash the ferocity of the Snow Drinking Saber or the restless, mad blood within him. During the fierce battle just now, his mad blood had already shown signs of boiling; if he were to push it further, it might go berserk out of control…

Seeing that he didn't answer, the old master didn't press the matter. He waved his hand and laughed, "Alright, you've had enough exercise tonight, and your muscles and bones feel refreshed. You two, go back now. There's the main competition tomorrow, so take good care of yourselves and don't miss it."

Nie Lingfeng suppressed his surging blood and qi, put the Snow Drinking Blade back into his Qiankun Bag, bowed deeply to the Old Celestial Master, and said sincerely, "Junior Nie Lingfeng, thank you for your guidance tonight. I have benefited greatly and am deeply grateful."

Wang Ye struggled to stand up straight, bowed, and said, "This junior takes his leave."

The two of them left the bamboo forest, which had been almost completely leveled and was full of frost and ravines, one after the other.

After walking quite a distance, until the pavilion's outline was no longer visible, Wang Ye lowered his voice and asked with lingering fear, "Brother Nie, just now... how much of your strength did you use?"

Nie Lingfeng carefully sensed the still somewhat disordered energy within his body and the faint pain in his internal organs, and said with a wry smile, "About... 75%. I used 70% of my swordsmanship and full strength of my body-protecting techniques."

Wang Ye gasped, his eyes widening in shock: "Seven and a half percent... and that's enough to force the Celestial Master to use his Golden Light Dharma Form, and even... use that golden lightning?! That's a manifestation of the Celestial Master's Mansion's Golden Light Mantra and Thunder Magic combined to an extremely profound level!"

"That was just the old master showing mercy, just playing around." Nie Lingfeng shook his head, his expression serious. "If he had really been angry, or had attacked seriously, I wouldn't have been able to withstand even one move. If he had used even a fraction more force with that golden lightning bolt just now, I would have been seriously injured at the very least."

Wang Ye remained silent for a long while, his usual languid expression completely vanishing, replaced by a complex look, which finally culminated in a long sigh: "You monsters... each one more monstrous than the last, are you trying to kill us all?"

"What you're saying, Master Wang," Nie Lingfeng glanced at him, a smirk playing on his lips, "aren't you a monster too? Feng Hou Qi Men, Luan Jin Tuo, time manipulation... aren't these methods monstrous?"

"So what?" Wang Ye's bitter smile deepened. "In front of the Old Celestial Master, wasn't it still easily broken, causing him to vomit blood from the backlash?"

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing in each other a deep awe for the extraordinary old man, and a kind of... helpless smile of mutual respect as fellow "monsters".

The cold moonlight cast long shadows of the two people on the winding mountain path.

Tomorrow, the second round of the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, the single-elimination tournament where the top 32 teams will advance to the top 16, will begin.

The real battle for supremacy, the struggle for supremacy among heroes, has only just begun.