Defeat Jiang Yu

At this moment, the Celestial Divine Sword had only absorbed the blades of the martial artists below the stage, but gradually, swords from even farther distances came soaring through the air.

Jiang Yu’s double pupils conveyed an intense sense of foreboding as he slowly raised the Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies Seal:

"Suppress!"

The small seal hovered mid-air, causing the void to tremble with thunderous roars. In a daze, it expanded once more, its sovereign authority over the world bearing down like Mount Tai itself.

It descended slowly.

Under its crushing pressure, Li Mo felt like the Monkey King about to be pinned beneath the Five Elements Mountain—no matter how far he fled, there was no escape.

Though his body still felt the weight, Li Mo’s spirit, having just broken through a bottleneck, was less restrained.

Instead of dodging, he channeled the power of the world into his fist and struck.

"?"

Jiang Yu was struck by a sense of absurdity—who would dare clash flesh against divine weaponry?

Yet in the next instant, a translucent golden radiance shimmered into existence.

Thin as it was, it exuded an indestructible aura.

Clang—

Flesh met divine steel. The small seal, infused with a wisp of imperial fortune and seemingly invincible, trembled violently, unable to advance further.

Li Mo exhaled sharply. Even with his Eight-Nine Mystical Art reaching new heights, his arm would have surely fractured—were it not for the fact that his Diamond Indestructibility was a divine ability, defying all martial logic.

The next moment, a sword light streaked across the sky.

While controlling the Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies Seal, Jiang Yu thrust forward with his Dragon Sovereign Sword.

This strike came precisely as the golden radiance faded.

With one hand holding up the seal, Li Mo clenched the sword’s edge with the other. The secret-silver gleam released by the peculiar sword-shaped bone coiled around his palm like a persistent parasite.

Empowered by imperial fortune, Jiang Yu’s True Dragon Physique matched Li Mo’s strength blow for blow.

"Hurry... it’s not enough yet..."

Li Mo stole a glance at the sky.

Through his swordless-yet-swordbound perception, he sensed more and more resonances echoing from across the imperial capital.

......

Below the stage, Murong Xiao shouted, "I’ll aid you!"

Feeling the eager tremors of the broken sword at his waist, he hurled it without hesitation.

Many among the hesitant crowd below also loosened their grip on their weapons.

Hum... hum...

Xie Xuan leaned back slightly, clutching his ancestral wooden sword tightly as it nearly tore free from his grasp.

Divine weapons had spirits—even the sword of his sect’s founder was no exception, and it loved upholding justice.

"Li Mo is fighting the Crown Prince—does it make sense for you to intervene? No, it doesn’t! You’re far too powerful—what if you accidentally kill His Highness?"

"What? You say the Pure Edge Sword Path must lend a hand, no matter who’s fighting?"

"The Celestial Divine Sword is just a junior—why should you heed its call...?"

Xie Xuan sweated profusely as he tried to reason with the sword.

And in places even farther away...

......

Within the inner city of the imperial capital, in the Southern Suppression Prince’s residence...

A long-sealed box on a high shelf trembled faintly.

A eunuch nearby moved to investigate but suddenly felt his pores flare open, a bone-chilling cold seeping into him. He hastily retreated to the courtyard.

"Your Highness, there’s a box in your study—could it be sealing some demonic entity?"

"Leave it be."

Zhong Qin, clad in plain cloth, stood before a sand table without even lifting his eyes.

"But—"

Before the eunuch could finish, a thunderous crash came from behind him—something had shattered.

A streak of white silk shot into the heavens, its crisp, jubilant cry piercing the sky.

Only then did Zhong Qin look up, his gaze following the vanishing sword light with a trace of nostalgia.

Once upon a time...

Had that sword not carried his own youthful ambition? Later, as his family declined, he had no choice but to enlist in the military, fighting to secure a future for his vast household. When he left, he sealed the sword away, high on that shelf.

He had long since learned caution and restraint.

Yet how could he refuse the fervor of his younger self?

"The recklessness of youth..." Zhong Qin sighed silently.

.......

The gathered sword lights replaced the clouds, swirling into a breathtaking spectacle in the sky while simultaneously brewing an overwhelming aura.

Divine Monk Huaikong seemed to sense something and turned his gaze toward the depths of the imperial palace.

"With this humble monk here, no chaos shall arise. There is no need for the esteemed ones to intervene."

The unseen observers seemed to heed his words, their attention lingering on the battlefield but refraining from interference.

Led by the Celestial Divine Sword, the swords surged downward like a radiant river.

The torrent of blades was vast and unstoppable.

Jiang Yu shuddered, his body icy with dread. He could no longer afford to focus on Li Mo.

The sword river, spearheaded by the Celestial Divine Sword, was now upon him.

He poured every ounce of imperial fortune he carried into the Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies Seal, hoping its sovereign might would force the swords to retreat.

But what did youthful recklessness care for such things?

Even Li Mo, who had reclaimed the Celestial Divine Sword, could no longer control the deluge he had unleashed!

The next instant—

The tip of the Celestial Divine Sword struck the Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies Seal.

Some sword energies dissipated, while others pierced through, forcing Jiang Yu to rely on his sword bone’s mystical properties to neutralize them.

The air hummed incessantly.

Razor-sharp energies scattered wildly, shaking even the barriers formed by the Mustard Seed Embracing the Universe technique.

"Who won?"

This question burned in everyone’s minds, and they stubbornly kept their eyes open, staring at the stage.

The small seal, once unshakable and steady, dimmed after a moment of stillness. A faint, intangible energy dispersed, flowing toward an unknown destination.

The Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies Seal fell powerlessly, clattering as it rolled several times.

Both men still stood on the stage.

Li Mo could barely remain upright—prolonged use of the world’s power had pushed his body to its limits, and his spirit flickered weakly. Employing two divine techniques at once had nearly drained him dry.

Jiang Yu, however, remained standing, his face an impassive mask.

"......"

After a pause, Li Mo sighed. "Stop pretending. Do I really have to knock you off the stage?"

"...You saw through me."

Jiang Yu seemed to exhale his last stubborn breath, his pupils dilating.

"Your... hammering technique is quite impressive."

With those words, he collapsed backward, unconscious.

Li Mo: "?"

Even in defeat, he couldn’t resist a final jab!

Had all his posturing been for nothing?

But he couldn’t kick Jiang Yu now—before the latter even hit the ground, attendants rushed to support him, checking his injuries and administering rare elixirs.

The rest of the arena was eerily silent.

Atop the imperial pavilion—

Emperor Jingtai had risen to his feet at some point.

He stared deeply at Li Mo, like a man who had wandered endlessly through eternal night, finally catching sight of a faint glimmer of firelight.

Meanwhile, Tian Miao pulled out a small notebook and quietly scribbled a line:

[Li Mo’s cultivation and swordsmanship have reached new heights. By a single margin, he defeated the top-ranked Jiang Yu at the Hidden Dragon Tournament.]

[Master, should we grant him a new epithet?]