The sheer expanse of Yunhai Square on Tongtian Peak was a breathtaking sight, a testament to the unmatched prestige of the Qingyun Sect.
Looking down from the viewing platform, the space was less a square and more a sea of humanity—a dense, undulating carpet of disciples, elders, and excited observers, shoulder-to-shoulder, stretching to the mountain's edges. The air vibrated with anticipation for the Semi-Finals of the Seven-Pulse Martial Arts Competition.
Only two battle arenas remained standing in the vast square, shimmering with defensive formations, ready for the day's most crucial duels.
In the midst of the elite assembly, Lord Pig was positioned for optimal viewing comfort. He was perched majestically on the lap of Dabai, who, despite the restrictive nature of her high-fashion skirt and heels, radiated an aura of perfect, sublime calm. The pig watched as Lu Xueqi prepared to enter the first ring.
"Xueqi, my dear! Remember all the brilliant insights Lord Pig has shared with you on the nature of compressed spiritual energy and proper porcine posture! Now go forth and utterly dominate!" Lord Pig cheered, clenching his small, golden-hoofed paws in encouragement.
Lu Xueqi, her icy composure slightly softened by the encouragement, offered a brief, respectful nod to her self-appointed cheerleader and his beautiful companion. Her expression immediately hardened into the frost-like determination of the Heavenly Maiden as she stepped onto the platform.
Lord Pig settled back against Dabai's warmth. He had graciously surrendered his prime seating position next to Daoxuan—a throne-like chair draped in silk—to Dabai, deeming her more visually appealing and, crucially, a far more comfortable cushion.
"This view is superior, Dabai," he murmured, patting her thigh. "Now, watch this spectacle. It's about to get incredibly violent and very educational for the plebeians."
Everything was in place. On the opposing side of the arena stood Lu Xueqi's opponent: Zhang Xiaofan, a disciple of Dazhu Peak.
The early morning sun, warm and benevolent, shone on Zhang Xiaofan's figure as he stood exposed on the high stone stage. Yet, the warmth of the light failed to penetrate the core of anxiety in his chest. He stood stiffly, facing the radiant, ethereal figure of Lu Xueqi.
The unspoken sentiment radiating from the thousands of spectators—including his own peers and masters—was a wave of barely concealed pity and profound contempt. Everyone knew his journey to the Top Four was less a display of skill and more a statistical anomaly of extraordinary, mind-bending luck.
In the first round, he had drawn the blessed Number One, granting him a miraculous bye. The second and third rounds were won through a confused series of unexpected circumstances and the sheer surprise factor of his strange, unknown magic weapon.
The final Quarter-Final match, the one that should have crushed him, resulted in a victory by default when his formidable opponent was too severely injured from a previous bout to participate. The gods of fortune had practically carried him into the Semi-Finals on a silk pillow.
CLANG!
The sound of the massive ceremonial bell and tripod echoed across the peak, instantly silencing the sprawling crowd.
Lu Xueqi straightened her spine, drawing a sharp, measured breath. Two more victories. Only two more victories stood between her and the realization of her lifelong ambition and the fervent expectation of her beloved Shizun, Shuiyue.
Behind her, the divine sword Tianya began to glow with a deep, pulsing azure light.
"Lu Xueqi, disciple of Xiaozhu Peak, requests instruction from my esteemed junior brother."
"I am Zhang Xiaofan, disciple of Dazhu Peak. Please, Senior Sister, show this unworthy junior mercy," Zhang Xiaofan replied, his bow deep and respectful, though his face remained utterly neutral.
The formality concluded. Lu Xueqi wasted no breath on pleasantries. Her right hand pointed skyward, and Tianya rose slowly behind her, its light growing into a blinding, majestic beacon of righteous power.
Zhang Xiaofan followed suit, drawing his own implement: an object so profoundly black and hideous it defied description—a gnarled, rough staff that looked suspiciously like a piece of burned firewood. The infamous "Fire Stick".
A ripple of condescending, barely suppressed laughter swept through the square. Comparing that grotesque thing to the noble, magnificent grace of Tianya was like comparing an ugly, broken pebble to the light of the moon.
Lord Pig, however, shifted in anticipation. Ah, the legendary hybrid, he thought. The fusion of the Soul-Snatching Rod and the Bloodthirsty Pearl. An ugly, messy amalgamation, yes, but its potential for chaos is immense. No less potent than Tianya.
On the ring, Lu Xueqi's expression turned severe. She formed the Mountain-Holding Magic Formula with flawless precision. Tianya, now a bolt of lightning, spun around and tore toward Zhang Xiaofan with the force of a tsunami splitting a mountain range.
The fire stick, emitting a dull, sickly green sheen, shot forward to meet the divine sword. Against all conventional wisdom, it did not shy away.
The first clash was brief but absolute.
To the crowd's astonishment—but precisely as expected by the narrative of his luck—Zhang Xiaofan was instantly overwhelmed. He cried out, flying backward as if struck by a celestial hammer. He slammed into the stone support pillar of the arena and crumpled. The fire stick, its light extinguished, spun confusedly before returning to his side.
Panic erupted among the small contingent of Dazhu Peak disciples. Du Bishu, always the most excitable, screamed in distress.
A sweet, metallic taste filled Zhang Xiaofan's mouth. He coughed, a heavy mouthful of blood spraying onto the floor and, critically, onto his returning fire stick. In that single, chaotic moment, unnoticed by the gasping crowds, the weapon drank the fresh blood. A rapid, internal tremor of pure, chaotic energy passed through the stick.
Tianya's power was overwhelming, leaving the crowds stunned into silence.
Lu Xueqi's face, cold as the ice of the Crystal Hall, betrayed no hesitation. Another flash of cerulean light, and Tianya sliced mercilessly through the air, aimed directly at the fallen boy.
But the fire stick reacted. A sudden, virulent black mist billowed from the hideous staff, concentrating into a point of unnerving emerald green at its tip. Zhang Xiaofan staggered to his feet, blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth, his face deathly pale, but his eyes were now terrifyingly bloodshot and feral.
With a speed born of desperation and the weapon's terrifying power, the fire stick rushed forward again, meeting the descending Tianya.
BONG!
This time, the two artifacts collided and recoiled with equal, bone-shaking force, rocking both masters with the sheer violence of the impact.
In the mid-air above the fractured arena, a devastating ballet of power began. Blue light and emerald-green radiance intertwined, flashing, striking, and separating with blinding speed. The original, immensely durable stone surface of the arena and the heavy wooden props were shredded like wet paper by the collateral energy. The resulting roars were a continuous, deafening thunder, shaking the very foundations of Tongtian Peak.
The nearly thousand Qingyun members—masters and disciples alike—retreated further, their expressions shifting from contempt to profound alarm. No match in the competition's history had displayed such raw, uncontrollable ferocity. The grand stage was being reduced to ruins in mere seconds.
Both Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan hovered, controlling their weapons. Lu Xueqi's posture was flawless, elegant, yet strained, her hands precisely forming the complex magical seals necessary to guide the divine sword.
Zhang Xiaofan, however, was unsettlingly different. He did not seem to use complex formulas. His movement was a weird, almost frenzied dance, his hands simply gesturing in the air. The fire stick followed his will with the speed of lightning, engaging Tianya with a demonic enthusiasm that shocked all the elders.
"That child… he doesn't look right," Daoxuan murmured, his hand tightening on the armrest of his shattered throne.
"Indeed. The power of that artifact is corrupting his spirit!" Tian Buyi growled, his face pale with a mixture of fear for his disciple and fury at the bizarre display.
Despite the spectacle, both fighters were in immense pain. Each catastrophic collision sent a shockwave through their meridians. Zhang Xiaofan, the weaker cultivator and the one still recovering from his initial trauma, was bleeding internally, his pallor deepening with every passing second.
CRASH!
A particularly violent strike forced Tianya to fly backward. Lu Xueqi swiftly extended her jade-like palm and caught the sword. The moment her skin touched the hilt, thousands of blue lights exploded, enveloping her in a brief, blinding flash. Tianya roared like a waking dragon, soaring high. Lu Xueqi, seemingly merging with the sword's spirit, followed, ascending into the churning air.
Below, Zhang Xiaofan had entirely transcended his surroundings. The constant flow of energy and the intoxicating, blood-link connection with the fire stick had completely consumed him. An inexplicable, savage killing aura rushed through his mind, overriding all fear and reason.
He threw his head back and let out a primal, terrifying roar that tore through the mountain air.
The sky above them, previously just overcast, darkened instantly. A deep, noxious black aura shot from the fire stick, reaching toward the zenith. Violent winds whipped the square as the clouds began to boil in response to the chaos.
In the skies, the thousands of blue sword lights coalesced into a single, colossal Pillar of Light, aimed with unfeeling precision at Zhang Xiaofan's head. The momentum was so great it seemed capable of cleaving Tongtian Peak itself.
His face contorted, but his eyes were now devoid of fear, filled only with a savage mania. Zhang Xiaofan reached out and seized the fire stick. In an instant, the demonic black air and virulent green light of the artifact converged into a single, terrifying mass held in his hands. He launched himself skyward, charging straight into the descending Pillar of Light.
The periphery of Yunhai Square was completely silent. No one dared to breathe. The elders of the older generation, including Cangsong who briefly forgot his hatred, watched in horrified fascination.
BOOM! KA-THOOOM!
The resulting concussion was pure elemental fury. The entire Tongtian Peak visibly shuddered.
The blue light column shattered, flying backward, landing in Lu Xueqi's hand. Her delicate body trembled uncontrollably, and a thin, crimson line of blood traced its way from the corner of her mouth. Yet, her eyes remained brilliant, unyielding, a core of cold determination that refused to break.
"Xueqi!" Shuiyue, her face ashen with panic, shot to her feet, her hands clasped in desperate worry.
Zhang Xiaofan was thrown violently from the collision, his clothes now shredded, his body visibly slick with blood. The disciples of Dazhu Peak cried out in anguish.
Su Ru's face was drained of all color. She turned to Tian Buyi, her voice a choked, desperate whisper. "Bu Yi, it's over! Tell the child to surrender! Tell him to admit defeat now!"
Tian Buyi stared at the bloody, deranged figure of his chief disciple suspended in the air. He swallowed hard, then slowly, agonizingly, shook his head. He knew the boy's pride, and the weapon's demonic will, would not allow it.
CLANG!
Lu Xueqi, in a final, decisive movement, raised Tianya and pulled it back, unsheathing the legendary Nine Heavens Divine Sword completely. The moment was absolute. The thousand-year-old Tianya, seen by only a select few, was finally revealed.
Tongtian Peak fell into a state of total, reverent silence.
With the unearthly sword held high, Lu Xueqi's face regained its vitality. She began to chant the most powerful mantra of the Qingyun Sect, moving through the air with the grace of the Seven Stars.
"Nine Heavens Mysterious Blade,
Transformed into Divine Thunder!
The Magnificent Power of Heaven,
Guided by the Sword's Will!"
The atmosphere obeyed. The clear, blue sky instantaneously curdled into a turbulent, churning mass of obsidian dark clouds. Thunder began to growl, a sound of primordial anger, and bright, wicked lightning flashed continuously along the edges of the newly formed abyss. A solemn, overwhelming aura of destruction and fierce wind descended upon the entire peak.
"The Secret of Divine Sword Controlling Thunder!" the assembled elders shouted in unison, their voices filled with terror. Lu Xueqi's cultivation was simply not high enough to unleash such a terrifying technique without suffering catastrophic consequences.
Shuiyue's worry intensified to panic. Cangsong watched with rapt attention, realizing he was witnessing the true potential of the technique he had only ever seen utilized by Daoxuan.
Zhang Xiaofan lunged forward, still clutching the fire stick, but an invisible, colossal barrier of protective energy held him back, keeping him suspended just out of striking distance as the celestial storm intensified.
The first bolt of divine thunder descended, striking Tianya. Lu Xueqi's delicate frame convulsed, nearly losing her balance as she absorbed the raw, pure power of the heavens. With a desperate effort, she subdued the energy, pointed the sword toward her adversary, and directed the lightning.
BOOM! ZZZZAAAP!
A dazzling, white-hot pillar of divine thunder engulfed Zhang Xiaofan's figure.
The dark clouds immediately dispersed, the storm gone as quickly as it had arrived.
Zhang Xiaofan, a bloody, broken ruin of a man, fell from the sky like a stone.
"Xiao Fan!" "Xueqi!"
Tian Buyi, Shuiyue, and the other Peak Masters rushed forward simultaneously, their concerns for the disciples overriding all martial competition rules.
They converged on the ruined arena, a cluster of powerful cultivators surrounding the two unconscious bodies.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY! LET LORD PIG COME!"
A tiny, golden blur shot out from the spectator area with the speed of a comet. All the revered Peak Masters, including the mighty Daoxuan, instinctively flinched and jumped aside as Lord Pig, radiating a demanding, irresistible golden glow, streaked past them.
He arrived first at the ravaged earth that had been the arena, landing dramatically between the two fallen bodies. He ignored the panicked elders and disciples, his golden snout twitching as he assessed the scene with clinical, absolute authority.
"Move aside, you clumsy, incompetent lot!" he shouted, planting his four tiny hooves firmly on the ground.
"This level of structural damage and acute mystical trauma requires the intervention of a true medical genius! The two most promising disciples of this peak are bleeding all over the place! Do not crowd the scene! Lord Pig is commencing emergency medical procedures! Dabai, secure the perimeter and fetch Lord Pig's most powerful spiritual ointments from the space ring—the ones labeled 'Emergency Immortal Restoration Balm!' And someone fetch Lord Pig a clean handkerchief!"
The entire Qingyun Sect, from the Sect Master to the lowest disciple, was frozen in place, watching the tiny, angry pig assume absolute command of the chaotic battlefield. Lord Pig had returned not just as a symbol of power, but as the only authority in the crisis.