Chapter 52: Chu Xinyue Undergoes the Tribulation, The Twin Swords Unite in Harmony

Su Yu watched outside for a while. When the battle on the arena ended, he prepared to step onto the stage, but was bounced back by a layer of light screen.

Looking puzzled, a man nearby pointed at a number 17 on a sign erected at the edge of the arena and said, "Newcomers can only challenge arena masters with fewer than ten victories. If you want to challenge someone with ten or more consecutive wins, you must also have a record of at least one ten-win streak yourself."

"Why?"

"To add value to the arena master, of course. Otherwise, if anyone could just find thirty-xix people to challenge them, wouldn't that arena master easily achieve thirty-six victories?"

"Oh!"

Understanding the rule, Su Yu shifted his gaze to several other arenas. Just as the outcome was decided on a five-win arena, he leaped onto it.

The moment he entered the grand formation, a transparent light screen materialized around him, and a first-tier Azure Peak Sword flew right in front of him.

Without needing any explanation, he understood that the Sword Trial Platform focused solely on swordsmanship and technique rather than cultivation levels. All non-swordsmanship magical treasures and Daoist spells were strictly prohibited. Everyone was uniformly given a first-tier flying sword with identical attributes, and a protective shield with a fixed value of ten thousand defense points. Whoever shattered the opponent's shield first would be the winner.

Su Yu grasped the flying sword, twirled it once in his palm, and cupped his fists toward his opponent in a salute: "Please enlighten me!"

The man grinned and returned the salute.

The moment the countdown ended, the man raised his sword and struck downward, sending a white sword Qi cutting through the air.

Su Yu's Azure Peak turned, and a slender streak of sword Qi pierced through the void.

"Bang!"

The white sword Qi shattered instantly, and a flash of azure light arrived.

A trace of surprise flickered in the man's eyes. He lifted his sword and parried rapidly, producing a series of crisp, clanging sounds as the fine sword Qi disintegrated.

Before he could even catch his breath, a second streak of sword Qi came rushing at his face.

The slender sword Qi traversed the air, sweeping across in an arc like lightning. The man was sent into a flurry of flustered blocks.

When everyone was equipped with identical first-tier flying swords, the gap in their swordsmanship realms became increasingly obvious. It took him two or three sword strokes to block just one of his opponent's, so how was he supposed to fight?

"There's no way to fight!"

Supressed right from the start, he never managed to recover.

After being beaten black and blue for a short while, Su Yu's opponent directly surrendered.

Soon it was the turn of the second opponent. Their skill level was roughly similar to the previous one, and they were likewise suppressed and beaten soundly.

The third.

The fourth.

The seventh.

In less than ten minutes, he crushed his way through nine consecutive victories. It wasn't until the tenth opponent that Su Yu clearly sensed the opponent's strength had grown significantly.

However, the margin of improvement was limited, and the outcome remained unchanged.

Yet, despite the identical outcome, sparring with different sword cultivators still yielded certain insights.

Everyone had different habits, and habits influenced swordsmanship. Even the exact same move varied slightly when executed by different people.

Treating these opponents as sparring partners, Su Yu was in no rush to defeat them. Instead, he purely used technique to compete with them, polishing his swordsmanship and rectifying his own shortcomings.

Actual combat was the best way to elevate swordsmanship. After a few matches, Su Yu distinctly perceived his own progress in swordsmanship.

The progress bar for the Sword Qi Thunder Sound had actually increased by one point.

One must know that this was the Sword Qi Thunder Sound at the mastery level. At this stage, advancing further relied entirely on persistent, time-consuming grind. Gaining a single point of progress across a dozen battles was already considered exceptionally fast.

As for the newly initiated Condensed Sword into Thread, it surged forward by a large margin, gaining roughly a point with almost every single match.

"This is fantastic!"

Seeing the tangible improvements on his panel, Su Yu's spirits soared, making him even more eager for the subsequent opponents.

"Clang!"

Accompanied by a metallic hum, a flying sword was knocked flying.

Su Yu glanced at his protective shield, which was now reduced to only a third of its capacity, and cupped his fists in a salute: "You flatter me!"

This was his nineteenth opponent, whose skill level was the highest he had seen thus far. Their Sword Qi Thunder Sound had at least reached the threshold of proficiency, and they had begun comprehending the Condensed Sword into Thread technique. His own advantages were no longer pronounced by this point, and battling to the very end had shaved away two-thirds of his shield.

Having defeated this opponent, the next one was the twentieth.

However, unlike previous rounds, this time the next opponent wasn't arranged instantly. He stood alone in the center of the arena while the opposite side remained empty.

Outside the arena he occupied, players gathered in droves, all waiting with keen interest for the next challenger.

"Contenders with twenty wins or more must be challenged by opponents who also have at least twenty wins. I wonder who will step up this time."

"Which accomplished sword expert from the Crimson Firmament Sword Vein is this young man?"

"No idea, this is my first time seeing him too."

"Is he from out of town? If so—"

"Oh, Li Mingsheng has arrived."

"Ah, this young man's luck is rather poor."

On the arena, a young man clad in dark black Dharma robes suddenly appeared. He curiously sized up Su Yu and said, "I recognize all the famous young swordsmanship experts here in the Crimson Firmament Sword Vein, but you don't ring a bell. Where are you from?"

"I am not a disciple of the Crimson Firmament Sword Vein."

"No wonder."

By then, the countdown had vanished. The man grasped the long sword suspended before him and pointed it forward, unleashing a white streak of sword Qi as thin as a chopstick that surged toward Su Yu's face.

Well-prepared, Su Yu similarly slashed out with an azure sword Qi.

"Bang!"

The azure sword Qi was blasted away.

"Such intensity of sword Qi?"

He felt a slight jolt of surprise internally, but his movements were unhindered. He urged the Azure Peak Sword and the White Rainbow Sword to intertwine back and forth, carefully sensing the changes in force and technique embedded within his opponent's flying sword.

"So formidable even at rank twenty! The value of these arena masters on the Sword Trial Platform is exceptionally high!"

Su Yu could sense that this opponent's swordsmanship realm and techniques were both superior to his own, even if only by a small margin.

Far from being alarmed, he was delighted. Being slightly stronger than him made this the ultimate sparring partner.

Focusing his mind, he devoted himself entirely to the duel.

The gap in realm and technique quickly reduced him to a state of pure defense with zero offensive capability, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter as he frantically absorbed the techniques demonstrated by his opponent during the combat, slowly translating them into his own experience.

The azure and white swords crossed paths in mid-air, undergoing multiple simultaneous transformations at the very instant of intersection.

Repel, parry, intercept, prop, twist...

At that exact moment of crossing, Su Yu could simultaneously drive his flying sword to nimble execute five transformations, but his opponent could display seven changes at the same time, two more than him.

Consequently, the moment their paths crossed, the White Rainbow Sword executed a nimble turn directly aimed at his vital points.

Meanwhile, the Azure Peak Sword was directly deflected away. By the time he urged it to return and parry, his body had already been grazed by several sword strikes. With each strike carrying over a dozen subtle variations, the cumulative damage was extremely substantial.

A single blow wasn't enough to shatter his defense, but with every exchange following suit, his protective shield was steadily worn down after ten rounds.

"Bang!"

Once again, at the instant their swords crossed, the Azure-Rainbow Sword was knocked askew and swept aside, while the White Rainbow Sword looped completely around Su Yu's neck. In a split second, thirteen distinct layers of damage erupted simultaneously, shattering his remaining shield right on the spot.

"I lost!"

Su Yu halted his sword-piloting movements. There was not a trace of frustration on his face; instead, his eyes flashed with brilliant light as he pondered his opponent's variations during the clash.

Under the influence of his golden finger talent, every single increment of progress became permanent, causing his swordsmanship to continually evolve.

In just the past two minutes of combat—ranging from his flying sword being blasted away at the very beginning to simply being deflected aside later—the visible progress was staggering.

"An excellent method of tempering."

Recovering his wits, he looked up to find himself already teleported out of the arena.

"Again."

Paying ten taels of fine silver directly, he reappeared on the arena once more.

However, it wasn't the same arena as before, but rather another one featuring a twelve-win streak.

"Please!"

"Please!"

As the countdown ended, the azure and white swords soared into the sky.

Realizing the tremendous tempering effect this Sword Trial Platform had on his swordsmanship, Su Yu spent all his subsequent time immersed right here.

After recognizing that his current strength level fell somewhere between ten and twenty victories, he abandoned the ambition of becoming an arena master. Instead, he dedicated himself entirely to challenging those arena masters with over ten wins, absorbing their experiences and techniques to strengthen himself.

In just two days, having spent nearly two gold taels, his swordsmanship progressed by leaps and bounds.

His swordsmanship realm hadn't shifted drastically—it was impossible to level up in merely two days—but his practical swordsmanship techniques had improved by a massive margin.

It wasn't until the third day, when Chu Xiaoyu sent him a message requesting a meeting, that he reluctantly returned.

In the inner courtyard of the manor, upon seeing the three women again, Su Yu's gaze was instantly drawn to the changes in Chu Xinyue. Feeling a chill in his heart, he quickly stepped forward and cupped his fists: "Congratulations to the leader for successfully surviving the heavenly tribulation!"

Her appearance was entirely unchanged, still as radiant and breathtaking as ever, yet the difference lay in the faint radiance blooming around her and the subtle, lingering pressure.

The pressure stemmed from having just survived the heavenly tribulation and advanced into a major realm, leaving her temporarily unable to fully master this surge of power.

As for that layer of radiance, it was the power bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. Anyone who survived their first major heavenly tribulation would receive rewards from the Heavenly Dao.

These rewards varied greatly, encompassing bloodlines, innate talents, divine abilities, special secret arts, or celestial bones.

The transformation in Chu Xinyue was most likely a celestial bone—utilizing the Heavenly Dao's reward to convert one of her mortal bones into a celestial bone, thereby acquiring immense power. If it were a Buddhist practitioner, it would be a Buddhist bone; for a demonic practitioner, a demonic bone; for a beast, a demonic beast bone. The essence remained identical.

This phenomenon was quite similar to the celestial bone refined by Su Yu through his Nine Heavens Bone-Forging Art, though generally not as powerful as his.

The grade of the celestial bone bestowed by the Heavenly Dao correlated with the cultivation mental technique and the intensity of the heavenly tribulation; the higher the technique tier and the fiercest the tribulation, the stronger the condensed celestial bone.

The Nine Heavens Bone-Forging Art was a supreme divine ability, and all five celestial bones it forged were of the absolute highest tier. Ordinary cultivators surviving a heavenly tribulation once could hardly condense a top-tier celestial bone.

Having successfully weathered the heavenly tribulation, Chu Xinyue was in high spirits and offered a rare smile.

Chu Xiaoyu even produced an exquisite red packet and handed it to him.

Su Yu looked bewildered: "What is this?"

Chu Xiaoyu said with a cheeky grin, "Young Miss successfully passed the heavenly tribulation and ascended to become a scattered immortal. This is a red packet."

"Uh!"

This was definitely worth accepting.

After a round of congratulations, Chu Xinyue departed to stabilize her current state, leaving Xiao Qingli behind to continue guiding his swordsmanship.

Following their usual bout of sparring, Xiao Qingli looked somewhat surprised and remarked, "You've improved rapidly. Have you been going to the Sword Trial Platform?"

"I have."

"Keep tempering yourself. Once your Condensed Sword into Thread reaches the mastery level, you will be able to merge sword Qi into sword Qi-罡 (Qi blade aura), and only then can you attempt Sword Light Division."

"As for deeper levels of Sword Dao True Intent, such as 'A Single Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques', 'Sword Heart Lucid and Clear', and other such arcane secrets of the sword, they are far too distant for you. Master Sword Light Division first."

Su Yu nodded.

"There isn't much left to teach you regarding swordsmanship realms for now. Let me teach you a few special swordsmanship techniques instead."

Su Yu cupped his fists in salute: "Please instruct me, Teacher."

Xiao Qingli didn't mind his form of address. With a wave of her hand, she retrieved an Azure Peak Sword into her grip, and with a flick of her wrist, instantly conjured over twenty blossoming sword flowers.

As the sword edges converged, the sword flowers vanished in an instant.

Twisting the sword edge once more, a thread of sword Qi, seemingly no thicker than a human hair, spilled from the tip. Under her exquisite technique, it outlined the shape of a flood dragon, spinning around him with exceptional agility.

"This is..."

Su Yu stared in utter astonishment. "Is this Mind-Driven Manifestation?"

With a convergence of the sword edge, the flood dragon formed by the hair-thin sword Qi was erased, only to be replaced by a soaring falcon and swimming fish as the sword tip shifted.

Upon finishing the demonstration, she tossed the azure peak aside and casually pointed a finger. The flying sword rapidly expanded, swelling within the blink of an eye into a giant sword measuring a zhang wide and three zhang long—larger than a door panel—as it slashed downward.

The moment it slashed, the flying sword shrank back down with equal speed, reducing itself within a mere two seconds to the size of an embroidery needle.

Xiao Qingli pinched the embroidery needle with her slender fingers and inserted it into her dark hair like a hairpin.

"Incredible!"

This series of operations thoroughly opened Su Yu's horizons and filled him with immense yearning.

His eyes glowing with excitement, he looked straight at Xiao Qingli and asked earnestly, "Teacher, can you teach me this?"

She retrieved the embroidery needle once more, flicked it with her finger, and watched as it rapidly expanded back into the Azure Peak Sword. Nodding, she said, "This is precisely what I intend to teach you."

"Watch closely."

Holding the Azure Peak in her delicate hand, she gave it a gentle twist, demonstrating the transformations with extremely deliberate motions while reciting the mantra:

"Mind-Driven Manifestation is the third realm of sword-piloting techniques. It allows one to refine a flying sword so it can become large or small at will and morph into various forms. This requires exceptionally exquisite swordsmanship; the baseline standard is achieving proficiency in Condensed Sword into Thread and mastering Sword Light Division."

"Your swordsmanship realm doesn't meet the criteria yet and you cannot pull it off for now, but you can learn it beforehand, grasping the core tricks first. When your capabilities are sufficient in the future, you will naturally understand."

She slowly demonstrated it move by move, and Su Yu listened with rapt attention and total concentration.

One taught earnestly, and the other learned with equal dedication.

Over the next few days, she came over daily to instruct him in various swordsmanship techniques. In addition to Mind-Driven Manifestation, she also taught him the technique of Dual Sword Co-fusion.

As everyone knew, generally only flying swords of the same origin could be fused together, such as the Purple and Cyan Swords, the Seven-Repair Swords, and so forth.

Normal dual sword fusion involved superimposing the attributes of multiple flying swords and multiplying the result threefold, resulting in explosive might.

If two flying swords possessed different origins, fusion was normally impossible. However, the Dual Sword Co-fusion technique allowed one to forcefully fuse two mismatched flying swords, causing their lethality to surge abruptly.

Forced fusion also superimposed the attributes of multiple flying swords and multiplied them twofold, but the consumption of magical power was more than ten times greater than driving two flying swords simultaneously. The greater the disparity between the two swords, the higher the magical power consumed by the forced fusion.

It was worth noting that typically, only flying swords of the same category could be forcefully fused—meaning two profound weapons or two demonic weapons.

If one was a profound weapon while the other was a demonic weapon or a Buddhist weapon, their origins were diametrically opposed, and no matter how skilled a swordsman was, they could not forcefully fuse them.

Divine weapons had no such restrictions and were compatible with any category.

This technique had no overly harsh prerequisites, and given Su Yu's current capabilities, he was fully qualified to learn it.

Upon learning of this technique, Su Yu's desire to study it reached its peak, and he applied himself with twelve-fold focus.

His current greatest issue was a lack of direct explosive burst. While the Taibai Splitting Light Sword was ferocious, it was not an instantaneous burst; a single strand of sword Qi alone lacked overwhelming power, making it inferior to a casual sword strike when dealing with high-vitality enemies.

With this technique combined with iridescent brilliance and dual sword fusion, his burst potential would be maximized, vastly increasing his confidence in dealing with Ding Lingyu during the year-end grand examination.

With one willing to teach and the other eager to learn, he successfully mastered the technique in just two days.

As he successfully grasped this skill, this leg of his journey was drawing to its close.