Chapter 328: Sword Dao Ninth Stage, Li Hao's Fury! (Two-in-One Chapter)

Painting Dao, Ninth Stage!

As his Painting Dao broke through, a multitude of Painting Dao insights surged into his mind, overwhelming the joy in his heart and immersing him in a state of enlightenment.

Just now, in that ecstatic painting, using the heart of painting to peer into a Saint, depicting that ineffable Saintly charm, Li Hao's mind and spirit had been refined.

Ninth Stage meant Li Hao's painting had already entered the Dao.

Seeing through the superficial appearances of all things, he captured their charm and essence, depicting their inner essence and Dao rhythm. Painting was Dao, and Dao was painting.

"Finished painting?"

Sword Master sensed Li Hao stopping his brush. The feeling of being thoroughly scrutinized also vanished. He turned his gaze towards Li Hao's painting board.

Li Hao returned to his senses, slowly removing the painting from the board and handing it to the Sword Master with both hands.

Sword Master accepted it, looking at the artwork in his hands. The ink was not yet dry, but the divine charm within the painting already leapt off the paper.

Moreover, when he gazed at the figure's back in the painting, he felt a humming sword intent resonating within his mind. It was his own Sword Dao!

Li Hao had actually depicted three parts of his Sword Dao!

The faint smile on Sword Master's face instantly turned solemn, his eyes fixed intently on the painting in his hands.

Between the brushstrokes and ink, there seemed to be a Dao rhythm he had never encountered before.

Sword Master raised his head to look at Li Hao, seeing Li Hao's serene expression, exuding an ethereal yet grounded aura.

In just a short moment, this young man beside him seemed to have become somewhat different.

Sword Master took a deep look at Li Hao. After the ink in his hand dried, he rolled up the painting and put it away, saying:

"I'll accept this painting. Thank you for your art, I quite like it."

"Glad you like it."

Li Hao smiled faintly.

At this moment, he saw the change in his Painting Dao on the stat panel. It was advancing from Ninth Stage towards the Tenth Stage, with the required experience increasing from one million to five million!

However, just painting the Sword Master once had actually yielded thirty-seven thousand experience points, it was simply outrageous.

But even so, to fill up the Painting Dao experience bar, he would need to fleece two or three Saints clean to accumulate enough experience.

Tenth Stage, which meant entering the Saint realm!

Masterpieces could be passed down through the ages, lasting forever, they were unparalleled works of art.

However, Li Hao knew that to break through to the Tenth Stage, besides accumulating experience, he also needed to comprehend a state of mind.

The sun was setting in the west, and the evening glow painted the Saint Mountain with a layer of twilight.

Wild geese flew south, the bamboo shadows in front of Sword Cliff swayed, and the waterfall cascaded down. It was a rare and exquisite scene.

Li Hao casually painted this Saint Mountain sunset scene as well, unexpectedly gaining more than five thousand experience points.

Saying goodbye to the Sword Master, Li Hao descended the mountain and returned to the Alchemy Courtyard.

The competition before Saint Mountain had also concluded. When Li Hao returned to the Alchemy Courtyard, Lin Shan Hai asked:

"Why didn't you go to watch the battles today? What a pity, you have no idea how intense today's fights were!"

"Oh?"

Li Hao found a teapot, feeling a bit thirsty after fishing for a day. He took a couple of sips to moisten his throat: "Have the top four of the loser's bracket been decided?"

"Yes, tomorrow they will compete for two more spots to advance to the top ten, and then it will be the top ten battles!"

Lin Shan Hai said.

The entire Sword God Battle was to last for a month. After all, it was a grand event held once every hundred years, the schedule wouldn't end in just a day or two.

Li Hao nodded, glancing at Lin Qing Ying, who was sitting quietly alone in the courtyard.

As if sensing his gaze, Lin Qing Ying opened her eyes and looked towards Li Hao.

She hadn't seen Li Hao today, so she knew he had gone fishing with the Sword Master again.

They exchanged a glance, neither speaking, but there seemed to be a tacit understanding between them.

Lin Qing Ying's gaze returned to its usual calm.

She knew what Li Hao wanted to ask, whether she was confident. Her response was to adapt to circumstances, and just do her best.

Lin Shan Hai noticed the exchange of glances between the two, vaguely sensing a hint of danger. He grumbled inwardly, always feeling like he was letting a wolf into his house, and that his granddaughter would be abducted sooner or later.

He tugged at Li Hao's sleeve, diverting his attention, and began talking about the battles that had taken place today.

Li Hao listened to his vivid descriptions. There were many exaggerations, but Li Hao could still get a sense of the intensity of the battles, including the clashes between the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters.

After all, he had watched the first round of battles earlier, and he had a basic impression of the sword techniques and methods these people possessed, and could guess how they would fight each other.

After chatting for a while, Li Hao went to the kitchen to prepare some snacks, giving a portion to Lin Shan Hai, and also inviting Lin Qing Ying to come and have a taste.

Upon hearing Li Hao's invitation, Lin Qing Ying slowly stood up, walking over in her beautiful cyan robes, and sat down at the table in the alchemy room to slowly savor the snacks.

Lin Shan Hai, who was originally enjoying his snacks with relish, saw that his granddaughter had actually accepted Li Hao's invitation. Seeing the two of them quietly eating and drinking together at the table, he suddenly felt that the snacks in his mouth were a bit tasteless.

Although Li Hao and Lin Qing Ying didn't speak to each other, Lin Shan Hai could still sense that there was something beyond his understanding circulating between these two.

He smiled wryly to himself, feeling like a granddaughter who couldn't be kept at home as she grew older.

After finishing the snacks, Lin Qing Ying stood up and thanked Li Hao, then returned to the courtyard to continue comprehending the sword.

Li Hao also bid farewell to Lin Shan Hai, got up, dusted off his clothes, and returned to his own small courtyard.

Once back in his courtyard, Li Hao casually set up a barrier. With the help of his Encyclopedia, unless someone deliberately probed, it should be difficult to detect his situation.

Having done these things, Li Hao brought up his stat panel, and saw an additional state of mind in the mind state column:

Painting Dao Heart (Unused).

Li Hao had used the previous Culinary Dao Heart on Body Dao and Control Dao, causing his Sword Dao to stagnate. Although his realm had improved, his Sword Dao attack was lacking.

Now that his Body Dao was Ninth Stage, combined with Sword Dao, it would maximize his combat power in the short term.

After all, he had the strength, all that was missing was attack methods!

Without hesitation, Li Hao selected Sword Dao and embedded the mind state.

In an instant, a surge of thoughts and insights flooded in, comprehending Sword Dao through Painting Dao!

Countless sword intents and sword qi seemed to surge into Li Hao's mind. The small courtyard before his eyes vanished, and he was transported into a world of swords.

Endless sword qi, swords of all types, were all before his eyes, all in his heart.

These swords included longswords, short swords, thin swords, heavy swords, and so on.

Various swords had various most suitable offensive moves and sword techniques.

At this moment, they all appeared in Li Hao's mind, like a myriad of phenomena. When all the swords merged into one, Li Hao had a feeling of enlightenment.

Sword is sword, sword is only sword.

Longswords, short swords, heavy swords, etc., are all swords.

Flowers and grass can also be swords.

Having no sword in hand, but a sword in heart, is the Sword Dao.

At this moment, Li Hao's Sword Dao advanced to Ninth Stage, Sword Dao Understanding!

The previously condensed Self-Dominating Sword Intent, with the insights of Ninth Stage Sword Dao, gradually merged, transforming into Self-Dominating Sword Dao!

What is Self-Dominating?

When one's own Sword Dao emerges, all Daos must submit!

This is the Self-Dominating Sword Dao, the ultimate in domineering power!

Li Hao opened his eyes again, but his body didn't feel sharp or edged. Instead, he had a sense of profound tranquility, as if sitting in the river of time, peaceful and far-reaching.

But if one looked closely, the position where he sat seemed to become the center of the entire small courtyard, even the center of the surrounding tens of miles. His posture and back resembled a sword standing on the ground, its sharpness concealed, but if one could glimpse a trace, they would be cut apart.

At this moment, in terms of Sword Dao level alone, Li Hao was already at the Sword Saint level.

If he reached the Tenth Stage, he could offer his sword to the Dao and become a Saint!

That would be a true Sword Saint, the supreme of Sword Dao!

However, although Li Hao's sword techniques had reached the same level as a Sword Saint, their combat power was still far apart, just like when his Sword Dao was at the Sixth Stage, he could kill cultivators in the Dao Law Realm.

And Sixth Stage Sword Dao was considered to be at the bottom among the inner disciples of this Sword Ancestor Holy Land.

"Sword Dao, Sword Dao, sword intent follows the heart, Sword Dao is free..."

Li Hao murmured to himself.

He looked at his small courtyard. Now when he looked at this simple courtyard, his feelings were completely different from before.

The weeds, stone slabs, old jars, etc., in the courtyard, in Li Hao's eyes, all contained a certain toughness, and this toughness was also possessed by the Sword Dao.

He could find the shadow of the sword in all things.

After absorbing all this, night had deepened, and the sky was filled with brilliant stars.

Li Hao withdrew his thoughts. He didn't try to wield his sword or test the power of his Sword Dao. Reaching this level, he had an extremely clear sense of his own strength, and he knew without testing.

With a casual gesture, he grabbed a piece of wood from the courtyard. A carving knife appeared in his hand, but at this moment, the carving knife transformed into a sword edge in Li Hao's eyes. His carving became even more skillful.

Now, carving had accumulated five stages of experience.

Li Hao looked at his current stat panel.

Body Dao 9th Stage, Control Dao 7th Stage, Sword Dao 9th Stage, Movement Technique 6th Stage, Fist Dao 6th Stage.

And in terms of Arts and Skills, Chess Dao 7th Stage, Music 4th Stage, Poetry and Books 4th Stage, Carving 5th Stage, Culinary Dao 9th Stage, Painting Dao 9th Stage, Fishing 6th Stage.

Art and Skill Points Remaining: 7 points.

Both Movement Technique and Fist Dao were stuck due to the lack of a Spirit-Entering Mind State.

These two were also quite important. Li Hao currently mainly relied on the Return to Nothingness Extreme State to compensate, but if Movement Technique itself reached the Ninth Stage, and then combined with Return to Nothingness, Li Hao could hardly imagine what level it would reach. Presumably, the utilization of the Return to Nothingness Extreme State would be beyond imagination.

Fist Dao, in addition to improving fist techniques, also increased arm strength, which could also increase Sword Dao power, and was also indispensable.

"Mind State, Mind State, if Fishing and Carving can both reach the Seventh Stage, my combat power will be further enhanced."

Li Hao felt a bit of regret in his heart, time was still too short. Although he was already working very hard every day to cultivate, fish, and carve, the improvement was still too slow.

Shaking his head, Li Hao put away the stat panel and continued his carving.

This time, Li Hao used the Sword Master as his target for carving. He slowly carved the charm he had memorized in his heart into the wood. Soon, a trace of divine charm emerged.

When the carving was completed, Li Hao saw the experience he gained, it was actually more than five thousand points.

This was just carving out the other person's figure in his mind, and it actually yielded such massive experience.

If he were to carve in person, it was estimated to be hundreds of thousands.

Li Hao didn't stop and continued to carve the second piece.

Although the experience was generous, Li Hao could clearly feel that carving Saints was more difficult than carving others. If it weren't for his sword having entered the Dao, using Sword Dao to control the carving knife, he would have almost injured his hand several times while carving.

As the second carving came out, Li Hao's Carving Dao experience actually reached the Fifth Stage bottleneck, and broke through to the Sixth Stage!

Sixth Stage experience required fifty thousand to fill up.

Li Hao continued carving, four or five times in a row, each time averaging two to three thousand experience points.

When the experience gain started to decline, Li Hao thought of Elder Yao and other half-Saints, as well as the Sword Saint.

The image of Elder Yao appeared in Li Hao's mind, and he immediately began to carve. The carving knife in his hand moved like a dragon, wood shavings flying, and a figure of an exquisitely beautiful woman, like a banished immortal descending to the mortal world, appeared in his palm, it was Elder Yao.

While Li Hao was immersed in carving, in the Sword Tower, Sword Master, who was sitting on the top floor quietly gazing at the bright moon and drinking wine, suddenly moved slightly, feeling a sense of being scrutinized.

That feeling was guided by the Saintly Dao. His melancholy gaze suddenly turned sharp, and he looked towards a certain direction.

His vision seemed to penetrate thousands of miles, landing in a small courtyard somewhere.

When he saw that familiar face, he was stunned for a moment, and the sharpness in his eyes instantly disappeared, then his gaze fell on the young man's hand.

When he saw the other person seriously carving a piece of wood, he was a bit dazed, and then was left speechless.

He thought it was just that the other party was obsessed with Painting Dao, but now he was also playing with carving?

Good heavens, he doesn't even cultivate when alone, still has the mind to do these things. How did he cultivate that 97-layered Dao Domain?

He observed for a while, seeing that Li Hao's carving was quite charming, obviously not a fleeting hobby. It would be impossible to achieve this without spending effort and research.

Shaking his head, Sword Master helplessly retracted his gaze.

He had seen countless people, but a quirky guy like this was the first time he had encountered one.

The serene and profound aura on the other person was by no means a disguise, but naturally cultivated.

"I wonder which old fellow reincarnated and appeared in the Sword Ancestor Holy Land. Is it a karmic connection in the dark? Could it be one of those old guys of mine? It's been a long time since I've seen them, could it be that one of them has already undergone Nirvana?"

Sword Master muttered to himself.

He hadn't seen those old friends for a long time. Usually they communicated spiritually, and if they really met, they wouldn't have much to say. After all, everything that needed to be said had been said in the early years.

He planned to take some time to visit those old guys, in case someone had reincarnated silently without him even knowing.

On the top of Saint Mountain, in another Azure Peak Palace.

Inside the palace, Sword Saint, dressed in snow-golden robes, sat under a huge pagoda tree in the courtyard, watching the woman practicing her sword under the bright moonlight in the courtyard.

She was displaying her Ice and Snow Sword Intent, her attacks fierce, turning the area within three zhang radius into a domain of ice and snow.

"Your Ice and Snow Sword Dao has fallen into a bottleneck."

Sword Saint could see the problem at a glance. He had already seen that the other party's sword intent path had gone astray during the daytime battle.

Hearing her master's words, Bian Ru Xue withdrew her sword and lowered her eyes, saying, "Please guide me, Master."

Sword Saint smiled faintly: "You don't need to be discouraged. At your age, to be able to comprehend to this extent, although there is my teaching, your own comprehension is also not bad. The foundation you laid in your childhood is solid."

Bian Ru Xue's battle during the day, although she had won, it was quite difficult, which made her feel frustrated in her heart.

Hearing Sword Saint's words now, hearing the words "childhood," her thoughts were drawn back to that courtyard.

That child who was lying on the chessboard playing chess, just casually said a few words, and corrected the flaws in her sword practice in the training field.

Sword Master Wu Dao had also said that her sword skills were fundamentally solid.

But little did she know, that was because she had met a Sword Dao prodigy.

It was a pity that the prodigy himself had gone astray later.

Bian Ru Xue's thoughts returned, and she heard her master continue to say:

"Ice and Snow Sword Intent, is not about sharpness, but about凝結 (condensation)!"

Sword Saint said: "When you fought against that Lin Qing Ying earlier, her sword intent is the Ultimate Softness Sword Intent. The Ultimate Softness Sword Intent lies in散 (dispersion), while Ice and Snow Sword Intent lies in 凝 (condensation)!"

"Condensing to the extreme, its power will definitely surpass dispersing to the extreme."

"The two sword intents have different focuses, just like some sword techniques are inclined to defense, and some are inclined to offense. The Ultimate Softness Sword Intent's attack is its weakness, but its defense is unbreakable. However, this is also relative. The reason you lost to her earlier is also due to this, your sword intent is inferior to hers."

Bian Ru Xue nodded slightly. She understood what her master meant. If their sword intents were equally successful, her sword intent would be more fierce and powerful, and could suppress the other party.

"Lies in condensation..."

Bian Ru Xue murmured to herself, as if a flash of inspiration sparked in her mind.

Sword Saint was about to say something, when suddenly his expression moved slightly, and he let out a soft "huh".

Someone actually dared to scrutinize him?

A sharp light shot out from his eyes, and he turned his head to look, his gaze seemed to penetrate thousands of miles, and soon he saw a small courtyard.

When he saw the young man in that small courtyard, carving knife flying, carving out his upper body, he was slightly stunned.

"Master?"

Bian Ru Xue noticed Sword Saint's anomaly and couldn't help but wonder.

Sword Saint narrowed his eyes and looked for a moment, then retracted his gaze.

He could see that the other person lived behind Lin Shan Hai's Alchemy Courtyard, and their relationship should be extraordinary. The other person carving him was not considered offensive, but more likely due to respect.

Such situations were not unfamiliar to him, but the other person's thoughts when carving were actually able to discern his divine charm, which was quite surprising.

Only with extreme worship would one observe so carefully, but he could tell that the other person was not worshipping, but was extremely accomplished in carving, which led to him capturing his divine charm.

If it were worship, he would receive faith incense from the other person.

Saints could see through their believers at a glance, and Li Hao was not his believer.

"Nothing, just a little fellow, with good carving skills."

Sword Saint's expression was calm, he didn't care, nor was he angered by it.

"Carving?"

Bian Ru Xue was puzzled, but didn't think much about it. This kind of minor skill, again reminded her of that child who liked to play chess.

The other party now, should have become a Chess Saint as he wished... Bian Ru Xue's lips revealed a wry smile.

...

Li Hao didn't know that carving a Saint would be detected, he was still focused on carving.

As the experience gradually approached full for Sixth Stage, time flew by to the next day.

Lin Qing Ying and Lin Shan Hai went to watch the battles as usual, while Li Hao was not interested and stayed in the courtyard to continue his carving research.

When he felt really tired, he would go fishing with the Sword Master.

On Saint Mountain, the battles were fierce. Under intense fighting, finally two people stood out, killing their way back into the top ten from the loser's bracket.

These two were Qiu Wu Hen and Bian Ru Xue.

After another three days of rest, the top ten battles also began.

This time Lin Qing Ying would also be on stage, and Li Hao accompanied Lin Shan Hai to watch the battles.

During these three days of rest, Li Hao had also smoothly advanced his Carving Dao to Sixth Stage Completion, only lacking Spirit-Entering.

Now in his small courtyard, it was filled with various carvings, many of which were familiar people from his past life, and half of them were half-Saints like Elder Yao and Saints like Sword Saint and Sword Master.

On the floating seats, Li Hao and Lin Shan Hai and other alchemists sat together, quietly watching the battles.

The matches were still two-on-two. The atmosphere of the top ten battles was obviously even more intense. The previous battles in the loser's bracket had made many Holy Land disciples' blood boil, and they were even more looking forward to these top ten battles.

Lin Qing Ying's opponent was actually Bian Ru Xue again. When this result came out, many people exclaimed, and mourned for Bian Ru Xue.

After finally fighting their way out of the loser's bracket, they ended up facing the person who had defeated them before. They all felt despair for Bian Ru Xue.

Bian Ru Xue didn't expect to draw the other party again, her expression changed slightly.

This seemingly destined duel made her feel uncomfortable.

Although her master had given her guidance, her Ice and Snow Sword Intent had not immediately reached completion, but was still on the path of comprehension, with slight improvement compared to before.

Lin Qing Ying was also surprised, but her expression didn't change much.

Others envied Lin Qing Ying, as this was equivalent to directly advancing.

Sword Saint sighed softly when he saw this result. He could have secretly interfered, manipulating the laws, but he didn't do so, because there was no need.

The more Saintly one became, the more one believed in fate.

Because they could barely glimpse it.

Fate is irreversible!

In the Four Establishments Realm, although the Fate Reversal Realm was called Fate Reversal, when encountering a Dao Comprehension Realm obscuring the heavenly secrets, fate could not be reversed.

The so-called fate reversal was just an opportunity given by Heaven's grace to ants who had painstakingly cultivated to this point.

An opportunity to ask Heaven for a change of fate.

That was not reversing, but changing.

True fate is irreversible!

As the battle began, Holy Son of Bright Moon still won in an overwhelming manner. His Sun and Moon Divine Eyes peered into the traces of Return to Nothingness, coupled with his own Return to Nothingness teleportation and Dao Domain, making him feel invincible in the same realm, basically leaving no weaknesses for others to see.

The battle between Lin Qing Ying and Bian Ru Xue also began. This time, Bian Ru Xue erupted with even stronger sword罡 (gang - energy shield), her power even more profound, but in front of Lin Qing Ying's Ultimate Softness Sword Intent, she was still easily defeated.

Having lost twice, Bian Ru Xue felt bitter in her heart, but her Dao heart was not greatly affected. She was still too young, and had previously cultivated in the mortal realm. Although she had received excellent resource cultivation in the Divine General's Manor, and had become a disciple of Sword Master Wu Dao, receiving his guidance, compared to these monstrous geniuses, her starting point was still too low.

The other Holy Sons and Holy Daughters were basically born in the Holy Lands of the Saints, and some were even reincarnations of Saintly incarnations, so it was normal to be inferior.

Bian Ru Xue sheathed her sword and returned to the Saintly platform. Later, she would have to compete with other geniuses from the Azure Tide World. During this time, she could comprehend sword intent and cultivate her sword intent to completion.

"Qing Ying, this child, has already entered the top five, amazing!"

"But tomorrow's competition will be difficult, the others also have completed sword intents, who is stronger and who is weaker will depend on other things."

Zhao Ying Zhen and others were happy for Lin Shan Hai. Top five was already a great honor, and if she could enter the top three, she would be even more monstrously talented.

Lin Shan Hai's face was also full of smiles, but there was also some worry in his eyes.

The next day.

Top five competition.

This time the rules were not two-on-two matching, but the five people chose their own opponents!

Those who were not chosen would automatically advance to the top three.

Such a method seemed casual, but it also tested one's ability to recognize people.

After so many fierce battles before, if one still overestimated themselves and chose the wrong opponent, they would lose fairly and squarely.

Now the top five qualifiers were Holy Son of Bright Moon, Lin Qing Ying, Qiu Wu Hen, Holy Son Illusory Phantom, and Holy Daughter Crimson River.

On the Saintly platform, Lin Qing Ying and Qiu Wu Hen glanced at each other. Because of Li Hao's relationship, the two had also had some interaction in front of the Sword Tower. At this moment, they both saw each other's intentions, and did not choose each other.

Their gazes fell on the others, but all avoided Holy Son of Bright Moon.

Holy Son of Bright Moon's expression was calm, as if he had expected this, and the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.

Soon, the results of the five people's mutual selection came out.

Qiu Wu Hen chose Holy Son Illusory Phantom, and Lin Qing Ying chose Holy Daughter Crimson River.

Holy Son of Bright Moon actually chose Lin Qing Ying.

But because Holy Son Illusory Phantom and Qiu Wu Hen chose each other, and Holy Daughter Crimson River and Lin Qing Ying also chose each other, Holy Son of Bright Moon was left with a bye.

No one chose him, his choice was void, and he automatically advanced.

For this result, the watching disciples were all exclaiming, but it was also within expectations.

Since the start of the great battle, the name of Holy Son of Bright Moon had been extremely prominent. It was a pity that among the other Holy Sons and Holy Daughters this time, although there were some who usually didn't show themselves who emerged as dark horses, they were still not enough to contend with Holy Son of Bright Moon.

As the battle began, the great battle between Qiu Wu Hen and Holy Son Illusory Phantom broke out. Both were in the Five Extremes Realm. In the end, they fought until their Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspects clashed, sword intents like tides, colliding fiercely in the battlefield.

If the battlefield formation hadn't been set up by a half-Saint, this power would have been enough to affect hundreds of miles away.

Holy Son Illusory Phantom's sword intent was illusion, the sword was like real and illusory, difficult to defend against. In the fierce fight, Qiu Wu Hen's Thousand Threads Sword still lost with regret in the end.

The second match, the duel between Lin Qing Ying and Holy Daughter Crimson River, was equally intense. In the end, it was also a confrontation of Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspects. Holy Daughter Crimson River's sword intent was also complete. Her Crimson Flame Sword Intent turned the entire battlefield into a sea of fire purgatory.

But under this fierce sword intent, Lin Qing Ying still did not fall behind. They fought with all their strength, and in the end Lin Qing Ying won narrowly.

Then came the loser's competition, Qiu Wu Hen against Holy Daughter Crimson River, to decide the fourth and fifth places.

And Lin Qing Ying, Holy Son of Bright Moon, Holy Son Illusory Phantom, etc., would decide the top three rankings tomorrow.

Night.

The bright moon hung high in the sky.

Li Hao looked at the woman sitting alone in the courtyard. Today she was no longer comprehending the sword, but staring blankly at the bright moon.

Li Hao walked over with snacks, sat down beside her, and smiled, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, eat something."

Lin Qing Ying withdrew her gaze from the moon, turned to look at Li Hao, and gazed at his smiling face. She didn't understand why the other person was always so relaxed and happy.

But this feeling made her feel a little envious in her heart.

"Tomorrow I will lose to Holy Son of Bright Moon, but I still want to fight with all my strength!"

Lin Qing Ying suddenly said.

Li Hao was slightly stunned and looked at her.

Obviously, she had already seen the gap between herself and that Holy Son of Bright Moon, which could not be compensated for by just having a complete sword intent.

After all, the other party's sword intent had also reached completion.

"Either explode in the limit, or perish in the limit. I don't want to let down my sword. Before trying my best, I don't want to admit defeat."

Lin Qing Ying said.

These words seemed to be spoken to Li Hao, and also to herself.

Li Hao nodded and said, "It's just a friendly competition, just fight with all your strength."

Lin Qing Ying glanced at him, nodded slightly, then her gaze fell on the pastries he was holding, her slender hand proactively picked one up and put it in her mouth to eat, but her tone suddenly became a little relaxed:

"It tastes very good, where did you learn your skills?"

"Self-taught."

Li Hao smiled and started eating as well.

The bright moon shone, two figures facing each other.

Lin Qing Ying asked, "I've seen you haven't practiced swordsmanship these days, have you given up?"

She knew that cultivation was very hard, but Li Hao had Sword Dao talent, and she felt it was a pity to give up.

"I'm practicing secretly." Li Hao smiled.

Lin Qing Ying was a little speechless, and didn't say anything more, just gently stroked the sword in her hand, saying:

"Since my parents passed away, this sword has been with me."

Li Hao also glanced at the sword in her hand, and said softly, "Then it must be a very considerate good companion."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Lin Qing Ying's face, and she turned her head to look at Li Hao. The young man's face in the moonlight, half-bright and half-dark, had deep contours.

She glanced at him and withdrew her gaze.

There was a second half to that sentence, but she didn't say it out loud.

That was "before," and "now."

Now by her side, it was not just the sword accompanying her anymore.

After finishing the pastries, in the quiet moonlight, Li Hao and Lin Qing Ying bid farewell and went to rest.

The next day.

The final battle of the Sword God Battle arrived. This battle would decide the name of the Sword God!

Before even reaching Saint Mountain, one could already feel the fiery atmosphere above.

Li Hao arrived with Lin Shan Hai. Below, the disciples were all excitedly discussing, all guessing whether anyone could shake the position of Holy Son of Bright Moon today, and who would be second and third.

Although the previous battles were fierce, no one knew if anyone was still hiding their trump cards.

Today's battles, were still mutual selection.

But this time's selection, what was surprising was that both Holy Son Illusory Phantom and Holy Son of Bright Moon chose Lin Qing Ying.

According to the rules, this instead made Lin Qing Ying get a bye first. Holy Son of Bright Moon and Holy Son Illusory Phantom would fight first. The winner would continue to challenge Lin Qing Ying, and the loser would fight again to decide second and third place.

As the battle between Holy Son Illusory Phantom and Holy Son of Bright Moon began, what was thought to be a fierce battle, ended very quickly. Holy Son Illusory Phantom's sword intent was perfectly countered by Holy Son of Bright Moon. His Sun and Moon Divine Eyes saw through his illusory sword intent, and he quickly won.

This battle meant that Holy Son Illusory Phantom was destined to only compete for second and third place, with no chance for first place.

The black horse that was expected did not appear. The power shown by Holy Son of Bright Moon was too strong, seemingly stifling miracles.

Then came the battle between Lin Qing Ying and Holy Son of Bright Moon.

"Do you know why I would choose you again and again?"

Holy Son of Bright Moon looked at Lin Qing Ying, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes gradually turned cold.

Lin Qing Ying frowned slightly, sensing the other party's change. The other party had pursued her many times before, but she had refused each time. The other party still showed composure, but now, it seemed a little different.

"Marrying me, to let me sever affection and condense a heart of emotionless sword, was originally a win-win situation. After I become a Saint, I will also find a Saintly Dao for you, but you are too foolish."

Holy Son of Bright Moon said. These words were transmitted through sound transmission, and could not be heard outside the arena.

"If you really have the ability to become a Saint, why do you need to borrow my hand, you can become a Saint yourself."

Lin Qing Ying frowned.

Holy Son of Bright Moon sneered, "Don't talk such big words, cultivation itself is plunder. Eating pills, eating food, which one is not strengthening oneself through external objects, how can this be considered borrowing?"

Lin Qing Ying was silent, without responding.

"It doesn't matter, even if you don't agree, I have my own ways."

A smile appeared on the corner of Holy Son of Bright Moon's mouth.

Seeing the other party's smile, Lin Qing Ying felt a sense of chilling coldness, and had a bad premonition in her heart.

But she didn't choose to admit defeat immediately. She took a deep breath. Since she had stepped onto the stage, embarked on this lonely path of the sword, she was destined to fight against the odds all the way. Even if she failed, she could still gain something. If she admitted defeat, then it would be a true defeat.

As the formation solidified, this battle also broke out.

Bang!

Holy Son of Bright Moon suddenly attacked, divine light erupting from his body, teleporting to Lin Qing Ying in one step using Return to Nothingness, and his forty-nine layered Dao Domain solidified, directly crushing Lin Qing Ying's Dao Domain.

Then, his sword intent erupted, his Sun and Moon Divine Eyes focused, and he directly slashed towards Lin Qing Ying.

Lin Qing Ying's pupils shrank. The other party erupted with full force as soon as he came up. Such a posture had never been seen in previous battles.

Her Dao Domain quickly expanded, her body transformed into the Ultimate Softness Sword Intent. At the same time, her Dao Embryo rotated, merging with the Ultimate Softness Sword Intent, quickly raising her state to its peak.

But Holy Son of Bright Moon's explosive offensive was too strong. The Sun and Moon Divine Sword slashed down, seeming to contain the ultimate destructive power of Yin and Yang. This was Holy Son of Bright Moon's true sword intent!

Bang!

The Ultimate Softness Sword Intent that Lin Qing Ying had transformed into instantly shattered. In the face of the heaven and earth power condensed by the Sun and Moon Sword Intent, dispersing to the extreme was also nowhere to hide, and was directly suppressed.

With one sword, Lin Qing Ying was blasted onto the formation barrier, spitting out blood.

"Originally wanted to combine, and then sever emotion, since you are unwilling, then I can only use more drastic means to completely cripple you. Only when the injury is deep enough, can the severance be more thorough!"

Holy Son of Bright Moon's eyes were cold, and he spoke to Lin Qing Ying through sound transmission.

Lin Qing Ying's pupils shrank, and she hurriedly tried to escape, but her Dao Domain was covered, and the other party's Dao Domain far surpassed hers.

"You!"

Lin Qing Ying was shocked and angry, she didn't expect the other party to have such vicious intentions, to use crippling her to forge his own sword dao.

"I admit..."

Her words came out, but she suddenly found that they were isolated by the other party's Dao Domain.

Holy Son of Bright Moon's eyes were cold, "You have no chance. Before, when I chose you, I already intended to do this. In front of everyone, crippling my beloved, this injury is too deep for me, too painful, what I need is this!"

Hearing his words, Lin Qing Ying only felt a chill spread all over her body, and at the same time felt a burst of nausea.

Holy Son of Bright Moon strode towards her, looking at the hatred in Lin Qing Ying's eyes, a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes:

"That's right, it's this kind of hateful gaze. The more you are injured, the more my heart hurts, the more thoroughly I can sever it!"

He suddenly attacked, stabbing his sword towards Lin Qing Ying's abdomen, wanting to cripple her Dao Embryo.

Lin Qing Ying was terrified, and hurriedly parried, but a vast power emanated from Holy Son of Bright Moon's body, his Dao Domain suppressed, and the Sun and Moon Sword Intent merged into the Dao Domain, making him show power far surpassing other Holy Sons.

At this moment, Lin Qing Ying deeply realized the gap between herself and the other party.

If it were a normal competition, she would have already chosen to admit defeat at this point, losing without regret.

But now, she was completely restricted, unable to even admit defeat.

"Hmm?"

At the same time, Elder Yao and others under the stage saw some clues, and were a little surprised. The power shown by Holy Son of Bright Moon was too strong, completely suppressing Lin Qing Ying.

Unless Lin Qing Ying had other methods, she would definitely lose.

But Lin Qing Ying had not admitted defeat, and was still resisting.

Even, it looked like she was completely suppressed.

"What's going on, could it be that Bright Moon he..."

Some elders' eyes changed slightly, seeing Holy Son of Bright Moon stabbing towards Lin Qing Ying's Dao Embryo, they sensed something unusual.

Sword Saint also noticed, he frowned slightly, but his eyes flickered, and he remained silent.

And on the floating seats, Li Hao also noticed that the situation was not right. The methods shown by Holy Son of Bright Moon at this moment were close to a full-force eruption, Lin Qing Ying could not possibly win.

He had a relatively good understanding of her abilities. She knew she would lose, and had said she would try her best to fight, just wanting to see the gap between them, but in the current situation, she had obviously already seen it, and should admit defeat, it was impossible for her to continue to stubbornly hold on.

Whoosh!

Li Hao's figure swayed, appeared at the edge of the formation, arriving at the opposite side of Lin Qing Ying.

Lin Qing Ying noticed the figure that suddenly flew in outside the formation, a look of sadness appeared in her eyes.

She knew, she couldn't block it.

Bang!

Holy Son of Bright Moon's sword edge violently stabbed out, piercing through Lin Qing Ying's abdomen, shattering her Dao Embryo.

"Stop!!"

Li Hao saw Lin Qing Ying's eyes, and instantly understood what was happening. His pupils contracted, in disbelief. In a competition between disciples, how could it be so vicious!

(End of this chapter)