The rest of the Fourth Round continued with exciting fights.
Though one could easily notice the disparity between the strength of most competitors and the favorites to win, the matches were still better than those that ended in under a minute.
Well—except for one. That was Chu Ziyan’s match.
Her opponent didn’t even last three moves, but since no one had much expectation to begin with, the audience wasn’t too disappointed—unlike when Bai Xueqing and Shui Lian’er’s opponents fell too quickly.
But it doesn’t matter.
The final match of the Fourth Round was about to comnce—one of the most anticipated battles of this stage.
Nie Fengzhuo Vs Jin Yuanzhan!
Would it live up to their expectations? Or would it turn into another disappointnt?
They were about to find out.
Two figures leapt onto the stage, their presences crashing together like colliding waves.
On one side—Nie Fengzhuo, his black sword sheathed in calm silence, yet his aura sharp enough to slice the very air.
On the other—Jin Yuanzhan, tall and broad-shouldered, his long spear blazing faintly with scarlet fire, as though forged from molten steel itself.
The audience held their breath.
For a heartbeat, nothing moved.
Then—
"Begin!"
The referee’s palm slashed downward, and instantly both cultivators erupted with power.
The stone tiles of the arena cracked beneath their feet.
Qi surged outward in two terrifying waves—sword light on one side, blazing flas on the other.
"Haah!!"
At once, a golden blaze roared to life behind Jin Yuanzhan, his flas surging skyward like a miniature sun.
Nie Fengzhuo moved. His sword glead with cold brilliance, a single arc slicing upward.
The sea of fire split apart, dispersing into harmless sparks that drifted down like dying embers.
Jin Yuanzhan’s expression darkened. But he did not falter.
His flas twisted violently, forming the shape of a colossal snake that coiled above him, its roar shaking the barrier around the stage.
The fiery beast dove straight for Nie Fengzhuo.
Nie Fengzhuo’s sword danced.
With precise movents, he cut through scale after scale of fla, each slash dismantling the serpent piece by piece until it vanished in a storm of sparks.
The audience roared at the exchange.
"Such control..."
"He’s making Jin Yuanzhan’s strongest techniques look like nothing!"
It gave them a sense of déjà vu. His refined technique was reminiscent of soone else—soone very familiar.
Jin Yuanzhan felt it too.
Lin Xuan!
Although, if one were to look carefully, Nie Fengzhuo’s control was still a little inferior to Lin Xuan’s.
Nonetheless, his swordsmanship was undeniably impressive.
Jin Yuanzhan’s flas wrapped tighter around his body, turning him into a figure of living fire.
His spear ignited, each strike detonating like a volcanic eruption as he hurled himself at Nie Fengzhuo.
The clash rang out—
Boom!
Sword t fla. Sparks and shockwaves tore across the stage.
Nie Fengzhuo did not budge. His blade flowed like water, neutralizing each explosive strike with frightening ease.
His pristine condition made the contrast sharper—he moved with the calm of a swordsman in complete control.
Jin’s injured core scread in protest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. But his flas only burned hotter.
He refused to yield.
With a roar, he compressed his Qi into a single devastating technique.
Behind him, a blazing sun flared into existence, radiating blinding heat and destructive force.
The arena trembled under its pressure.
The sun collapsed inward—then exploded, a storm of world-burning fire rushing straight for Nie Fengzhuo.
For the first ti, Nie Fengzhuo’s eyes sharpened with true seriousness.
His sword rose.
A single stroke fell.
The strike was so clean, so absolute, that it seed to cut through heaven and earth itself.
The fiery storm split apart, the blazing sun itself shattered into fragnts of harmless light.
When the light cleared—
Nie’s sword was poised at Jin Yuanzhan’s throat.
The arena froze.
The referee raised his hand to declare the victor—
But before his voice could fall, Jin Yuanzhan’s body flared with fla.
A violent wave of Qi burst forth from him, the flas twisting into a raging inferno.
His spear, cracked and trembling under the strain of his burning core, pulsed with scorching brilliance.
Gasps tore through the crowd.
"He’s... he’s doing it again!"
"Impossible! After the first round, he already burned his Sun Dao Stone Core once—how can he still..."
Indeed, against Lin Xuan, he had already gambled his very foundation, igniting his core to achieve victory.
To do so again was no different than courting death.
And yet—Jin Yuanzhan’s eyes burned brighter than his flas.
He snarled, his voice rough and trembling with pain, yet unyielding.
"I will not fall here!"
His flas surged skyward, coalescing into a second sun—unstable, violent, deadly.
Cracks spread across his skin, glowing faintly with fire, as if his body itself was being consud from within.
Nie Fengzhuo’s brows furrowed. His blade remained steady, but his gaze sharpened with rare urgency.
"Jin Yuanzhan! Enough! Stop this foolishness—any further, and you’ll destroy yourself."
He had already burned through his core once. By all rights, he shouldn’t have even been able to fight another round.
And yet, miraculously, he had.
But now? To burn it again? That was suicide.
Nie Fengzhuo tried to stop him.
But Jin did not listen.
He roared, thrusting his spear forward.
The second sun collapsed into a spear of pure fla, its destructive force enough to lt the arena floor.
Whoosh!
Once again, Jin Yuanzhan began his assault. Nie Fengzhuo was forced into defense.
CLANG! CLANG!
The clash resounded—sword light against sunfire, sparks of destruction scattering like teors.
Nie Fengzhuo deflected, but even he felt the strain this ti. His arm trembled slightly from the impact, his black sword ringing under the desperate force.
The audience could scarcely breathe.
"Nie Fengzhuo... is actually being pushed back?!"
"He’s injured his core, he shouldn’t even be standing—and yet...!"
"Tsk! He will kill himself."
Jin Yuanzhan coughed blood, but his expression only grew fiercer.
His spear swept in blazing arcs, every movent filled with the determination of a man who had nothing left to lose.
Nie Fengzhuo’s eyes narrowed. He could feel it—the instability, the reckless burning of life itself.
"Why go this far?"
He muttered under his breath, parrying another strike.
Was one’s life worth a competition?
Well, everyone had their own answer.
For Nie Fengzhuo, this was his chance to erase his past humiliation, to prove that his ex-fiancée had made the wrong choice back then.
For others, it might be fa and rewards.
But why Jin Yuanzhan was willing to throw away his life—Nie Fengzhuo could perhaps never know.
Still, he could not afford to lose either.
"Then forgive ."
His stance shifted. Sword light erupted—calm, sharp, absolute.
Each stroke no longer simply defended but pressed forward, clashing head-on against the raging inferno.
Steel rang against fla, power against power.
Two n, resolute and determined not to fall here.
The arena quaked under their battle.
The flas around Jin Yuanzhan roared like a sea of molten lava, his entire body glowing as though he were turning into fire itself.
Every strike of his spear now carried the weight of destruction.
Each thrust shattered the air. Each sweep left trails of burning light that lingered like scars in the void.
The spectators could barely keep their eyes open. The heat was suffocating, pressing even through the protective barrier.
"His body won’t last!"
Indeed, Jin’s skin cracked further, glowing like fissures of magma. Blood mixed with fire spilled down his arms, hissing into smoke as it touched the air.
But his grip on the spear did not loosen.
Nie Fengzhuo exhaled deeply, his sword trembling faintly—not from fear, but in resonance with his intent.
He could not allow this to drag on.
If Jin continued, he would collapse into ashes before their eyes.
The next exchange would decide everything.
Jin Yuanzhan roared, his voice tearing from his throat like a dying beast.
"Even if I burn away—I WILL NOT FALL!"
His flas compressed into a single point at the tip of his spear.
A blinding radiance burst forth, collapsing into a flaming spear thrust so sharp it seed to pierce through heaven and earth alike.
"Blazing Sun Extinguishes the Heavens!"
It was his everything—life, core, soul, and body—poured into one strike.
The crowd stood frozen, eyes wide, throats dry.
Would Nie Fengzhuo be consud?
At least, it didn’t seem like anyone under Spirit Severing Realm can defend against.
The condensed sun erupted into a burning star of annihilation, ripping through space as it bore down on Nie Fengzhuo with the weight of a collapsing world.
The audience rose to their feet.
Nie Fengzhuo exhaled. His calm eyes sharpened into blades.
"I’ll end it here."
He raised his sword. Black steel shimred faintly—then blazed with a boundless radiance.
"Absolute Severance!"
The blade fell.
One sword to end all things.
His black blade glead with a brilliance that seed to deny even the blazing sun itself.
The world fell silent.
Then—
Slash!
A single stroke.
So clean, so absolute, that even the fla spear disintegrated upon contact, breaking apart into harmless motes of light.
The stage split open with a deafening crack, a long scar carved straight through its surface.
Jin Yuanzhan stood frozen.
His spear shattered in his hands.
The flas around his body flickered once... then died.
He staggered forward, blood pouring from his lips, his body collapsing under the unbearable strain.
Nie Fengzhuo’s sword stopped just short of his chest.
The battle was decided.
The referee’s voice rang out—hoarse, as though even he had forgotten to breathe until now.
"Winner—Nie Fengzhuo!"
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