Without any other choice, Lu Zhenhuan could only retreat as fast as he could. Hua Yue had the upper hand, so of course she wouldn't let him go, and chased after him like a shadow.
On the other side, Tang Bufan also met Pei Qiuyi. Although his strength was the weakest among the few people, his fighting spirit was the strongest.
His eyes had turned blood red, like a wounded beast that had lost its mind and was left with only the desire to kill.
The sword in his hand attacked Pei Qiuyi frantically again and again, without defense or retreat. Every sword strike was a sword technique that would lead to mutual destruction, a sword technique that would put the opponent in a desperate situation with no chance of survival.
Among the people around Jing Jianjue, Pei Qiuyi has the strongest defense. With the powerful defense of the Qingshuang Sword and Shield, he will not show any signs of defeat even when facing Liang Qian and Lu Zhenhuan, except for Jing Jianjue and Qin Ba whose strength has been improved. However, facing the madman Tang Bufan, he is helpless.
Yes, his defense was strong, and even if Tang Bufan risked his life, it would be difficult for him to gain an advantage. However, his weak offensive power was his greatest weakness. At this moment, Tang Bufan was completely vulnerable. If he wanted to kill Tang Bufan, he could do it with a single strike, but it would be impossible without paying any price, because every strike of Tang Bufan was determined by the intention of mutual destruction.
Although he was much stronger than his opponent, he still left several bloody wounds on Tang Bufan's body. However, in order to avoid being hurt by Tang Bufan, the angle and strength of these swords were unsatisfactory and failed to cause him fatal damage.
The injured Tang Bufan seemed to feel no pain at all. He roared angrily like a madman, and his attacks became more fierce and he was even more desperate.
For a moment, Pei Qiuyi, an eighth-level swordsman, was fighting with Tang Bufan, a second-level swordsman, to a standstill.
Everyone in the audience was speechless with shock. Who could have imagined that the encumbrance, despised and even ignored by everyone, would unleash such terrifying power.
Looking at Hua Yue and the others again, everyone's expressions changed. They realized how wise it was for Lu Junran, Yi Xingtian, and the others not to attack them during the competition two days ago. If they had really prioritized Hua Yue and the others, they would have been defeated faster and more miserably!
Jing Jianjue's expression also changed slightly. He also didn't expect that although Hua Yue and others' cultivation was not high, their true strength was so terrifying.
Looking at Jing Jianjue charging towards her, Mu Hanyan let out a faint smile. Hua Yue and the others had already successfully contained Qin Ba and the others. Now it was her turn.
"I admit that your followers are indeed very powerful, and I underestimated them. But unfortunately, your strength is still far inferior to mine." Jing Jianjue took a breath and said.
"You mean you relied on the temple's magic tools to improve your strength? Unfortunately, you not only underestimated them, but also underestimated me!" Mu Hanyan smiled proudly.
"God damn it, the sword!"
"Stars fall, the world is in ruins!" Two long swords slashed out at the same time with the power to break the sky.
The sword light shot into the sky, the wind and clouds surged, and gusts of wind swept past, as if the end of the world was coming.
"Boom!" With the loud noise, the entire competition stage was shaking violently.
The two figures separated as soon as they touched each other, and were shocked back by the powerful energy.
One step, two steps, three steps... nine steps. Each of them took nine steps back and then stopped.
In their first fight, the two were evenly matched.
Looking at the two figures standing proudly, everyone was shocked again.
Although this sword fight did not determine the winner, but ended in a draw, everyone could see that Mu Hanyan was only a sixth-level swordsman, while Jing Jianjue's strength after the upgrade was that of a great swordsman.
Just like there's a world of difference between a Great Swordsman and a Ninth-Rank Swordsman, there's also a qualitative difference between a Great Swordsman and a Ninth-Rank Swordsman. Mu Hanyan was only a Sixth-Rank Swordsman. Even if she was more capable of challenging opponents of higher ranks, she couldn't possibly contend with a Great Swordsman, and she didn't suffer a single loss.
You know, for the vast majority of practitioners in this world, even the gap between a ninth-rank swordsman and a great swordsman is an insurmountable chasm.
Mu Hanyan, how did she do it?
Not to mention others, even Jing Jianjue himself was shocked, with the word "impossible" almost written on his face.
Without giving him time to think, Mu Hanyan attacked again.
"Nine Heavens, Starfall!" The first fight was evenly matched, which greatly boosted Mu Hanyan's confidence, so she no longer used the Starfall Sword. Although the memory inheritance of the Aolai beast was awakened in part during the previous fight with Yi Xingtian, her understanding of the Starfall Sword was deeper, and she could already exert 60% of its power, but the energy consumption had not changed at all, and she could still only use three swords. She didn't want to exhaust her physical strength too early.
"Damn it, Jue Jian!" Jing Jianjue had not yet figured out the secret of Mu Hanyan's sudden increase in strength. Seeing Mu Hanyan's sword coming again, he could only put aside all distractions and face the attack again.
The two swords clashed, a crisp, golden sound echoed. Jing Jianjue was once again knocked back six or seven steps, while Mu Hanyan retreated eight or nine steps. After all, the power of Nine Heavens Starfall was still significantly weaker than Starfall Mortal Earth.
Without waiting to stop, Mu Hanyan twisted her waist and shook her wrist, flying up again.
"Clang, clang, clang..." He attacked with seven swords in succession. With each sword, Jing Jianjue was pushed back six or seven steps, while Mu Hanyan retreated eight or nine steps.
After seven sword fights, both of them retreated to the edge of the competition stage.
Although Mu Hanyan was slightly at a disadvantage in every sword attack, she was obviously not injured. She leisurely smoothed her hair in front of her forehead, and her expression was still so calm.
Everyone in the audience, including Jing Jianjue on the stage, had faces full of disbelief.
"How did you do it?" Jing Jianjue asked, slowly exhaling.
His face no longer had the arrogance it had before, but had become extremely solemn.
He originally thought that with the blessing of the temple's magic weapon, his strength would be improved to the level of a great swordsman. Even without the help of Qin Ba and the other four, it would be easy to suppress Mu Hanyan. However, he did not expect that the first confrontation would be evenly matched. He did not gain any advantage at all. In the following six consecutive sword strikes, Mu Hanyan obviously conserved her strength, and he still could not hurt her at all.
At this moment, Jing Jianjue no longer dared to look down on Mu Hanyan at all, and regarded her as an opponent of the same level.
"Do you think you are the only one who has a magic weapon and I don't have one?" Mu Hanyan smiled indifferently.
Only then did Jing Jianjue notice that on Mu Hanyan's wrist, a crystal clear bracelet was emitting a magical light. The rich and condensed power of heaven and earth was centered on the bracelet, enveloping Mu Hanyan's body.
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