The clash between Su Yang and Liu Ruyan had already reached a level far beyond what ordinary martial artists could comprehend, sword light continuously flashing across the arena as the two figures exchanged blows, every collision producing a thunderous clang that reverberated through the central district, while the terrifying pressure released by their Martial Intent caused the surrounding spectators to instinctively retreat several steps.
Among the experts watching from the elevated platforms were several Martial Hall leaders, their expressions becoming increasingly serious as they observed the battle.
One of them stroked his beard while staring at the sword intent surrounding Liu Ruyan.
"That should be the Jade-Piercing Sword Technique of the Jade Sword Palace."
Another Hall Master nodded slowly.
"The technique is indeed famous, especially for its ability to condense sword intent into an extremely penetrative force, but compared to Su Yang's Four Seasons Sword Intent, it seems somewhat inferior."
The first Hall Master narrowed his eyes.
"That's what makes this interesting, who would have thought that the Su Family could produce a genius capable of comprehending such a profound concept?"
Another expert looked toward Su Yang's body.
"Frankly, I'm more surprised by his external cultivation, Marrow Cleansing in only five years is no small achievement, and when you combine that foundation with his comprehension of Four Seasons Sword Intent, his potential is worthy of admiration."
The Mountain River Martial Hall Leader remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"As for me, I'm more inclined to believe that Liu Ruyan still has several trump cards hidden."
His expression became complicated.
"We all know the lengths the Jade Sword Palace is willing to go to preserve its reputation."
Several experts exchanged glances.
That statement contained considerably more meaning than it appeared to.
Everyone knew that the Jade Sword Palace had existed for many years, and although the younger generation was permitted to fight freely, there were certain outcomes the sect would never willingly accept.
If Liu Ruyan were defeated publicly after possessing such a massive advantage in cultivation, the consequences would not merely concern her personal reputation.
The reputation of the entire Jade Sword Palace would suffer.
The Mountain River Martial Hall Leader turned toward the Yamen Constable.
"What do you think, Constable?"
The Constable's expression immediately became bitter.
"I think they should settle their problems somewhere else."
The surrounding experts looked at him.
The Constable sighed.
"This gathering has already caused enough trouble."
He pointed toward the streets surrounding the arena.
"Do you know how many conflicts have broken out since all these martial artists entered the city?"
His expression became increasingly irritated.
"Everywhere I look, someone is fighting over something, someone insults someone else, someone sees a treasure they want, someone wants to challenge a genius, and before long I'm forced to send people over there to stop them."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Martial artists gathering in large numbers really do breed conflict."
The Hall Masters couldn't help laughing.
But their attention soon returned to the arena.
Because the battle had changed.
Su Yang's sword flashed.
CLANG!
Liu Ruyan's Ice Gang collided with his Four Seasons Sword Intent, frost exploding outward as Su Yang's sword was pushed aside, the cold Gang Qi immediately flowing along his blade and attempting to penetrate his arm.
Su Yang's expression remained calm.
He could feel the cold.
It wasn't ordinary cold.
Liu Ruyan's Gang Qi possessed an extremely strange penetrative property, rather than simply freezing the surface of his body, the cold energy continuously seeped inward, passing through his muscles and attempting to reach his bones, and once it penetrated deeply enough, it could paralyze his limbs or severely weaken his strength.
For an ordinary Xuan Gang martial artist, even resisting this much cold would already be difficult.
Su Yang, however, wasn't ordinary.
His Arhat Body erupted.
BOOM!
Powerful Qi-Blood surged through his body, burning like a furnace as it drove the invading cold away, his muscles tightening while his bones released a faint golden radiance, and every time the Ice Gang attempted to penetrate deeper, his immense Qi-Blood surged through the affected region and forcefully expelled it.
Liu Ruyan's eyes narrowed.
"So your external cultivation has reached this level."
Su Yang didn't answer.
His breathing was becoming heavier.
He knew the problem.
His Arhat Body could resist the Ice Gang, but maintaining such an intense expenditure of Qi-Blood wasn't sustainable.
Qi-Blood was to external martial artists what True Qi was to internal martial artists.
Once the reserves were exhausted, the combat strength of the practitioner would fall sharply.
He couldn't allow himself to be dragged into a battle of attrition.
Su Yang's gaze hardened.
The Wind-Riding Boots activated.
WHOOSH!
His figure disappeared.
Liu Ruyan's pupils contracted.
"Behind!"
She turned rapidly.
Too late.
Su Yang had already appeared behind her.
His Four Seasons Sword Intent suddenly transformed.
The gentle aura of Spring disappeared.
The sharp coldness of Winter vanished.
Autumn's killing intent receded.
What remained was Summer.
Explosive, violent and overwhelming.
The sword in Su Yang's hand erupted with scorching sword light.
"Summer!"
BOOM!
His sword struck Liu Ruyan's back.
"AH!"
Liu Ruyan's body was blasted forward like a broken kite, her feet leaving the ground as blood sprayed from her mouth, and she flew straight toward the edge of the arena before crashing heavily into the protective barrier.
BOOOOOOM!
The barrier trembled.
The surrounding spectators gasped.
"She was sent flying!"
"Su Yang actually suppressed her!"
Liu Ruyan's body slowly slid down the barrier.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips.
For several breaths, she remained motionless.
Then she laughed.
"Heh..."
The sound was quiet at first.
Then it became louder.
"Hahahaha!"
She pushed herself upright.
Her long hair had become slightly disordered, her robes were stained with dust, and blood still flowed from the corner of her mouth, yet her eyes were brighter than before.
She wiped the blood away with her finger.
Then she smiled at Su Yang.
It was a beautiful smile.
It was also an unsettling one.
Su Yang's expression immediately became serious.
His sword rose.
His senses expanded.
Something was wrong.
Liu Ruyan wouldn't smile like that after taking such a heavy blow unless she had gained something from it.
"What did you do?"
Liu Ruyan didn't answer.
She merely smiled.
The two stood facing each other.
Ten breaths passed.
Nothing happened.
Twenty breaths.
Still nothing.
Thirty breaths.
Su Yang's eyes narrowed.
A minute passed.
His opponent still hadn't moved.
Then Su Yang suddenly felt something strange.
His vision blurred.
He blinked.
The arena seemed to sway slightly.
"What..."
He steadied himself.
His breathing became heavier.
His fingers tightened around his sword.
Something was wrong.
He looked down at his hand.
His palm was trembling.
Not from exhaustion.
His entire body suddenly felt strangely weak.
Su Yang's pupils contracted.
He immediately circulated his True Essence, attempting to determine what had entered his body, but the moment his True Essence moved through his meridians, a strange numbness spread outward.
His face changed.
He looked toward Liu Ruyan.
She was still smiling.
Su Yang stared at her for several breaths before his expression became cold.
"Poison."
The word fell from his mouth.
The entire arena went silent.
"Poison?"
The single word immediately caused the surrounding crowd to erupt into an uproar, countless martial artists staring at Su Yang's increasingly pale face as he struggled to remain standing, his sword planted against the ground while his body swayed slightly from side to side, and the sight was completely different from the domineering figure who had blasted Liu Ruyan across the arena moments earlier.
A member of the Wei Family sneered from the spectator area, his arms folded across his chest as he watched Su Yang stumble.
"Such tactics, truly worthy of being a disciple of the Jade Sword Palace."
The words were deliberately loud enough for the Su Family to hear.
"That's cheating!"
A Su Family member immediately roared, his face flushed with anger as he pointed toward the arena, "Su Yang was clearly winning, yet she secretly poisoned him!"
The surrounding crowd became even noisier, some people condemning Liu Ruyan while others argued that anything capable of defeating an opponent was acceptable during a life-and-death battle, especially when the Five-Year Appointment had never explicitly prohibited the use of poison.
Liu Ruyan remained silent.
She simply stared at Su Yang.
The smile on her face had disappeared.
She had expected the poison to take effect much earlier, yet Su Yang was still standing, and even now, although his complexion had changed, his aura had not completely collapsed.
That was abnormal.
Extremely abnormal.
Inside the arena, Su Yang clenched his teeth as another wave of dizziness struck him, his vision briefly turning black before recovering, and he could feel something strange spreading through his blood, moving along his meridians like countless invisible insects crawling through his body.
His Qi-Blood surged instinctively.
BOOM!
The powerful force immediately swept through his body, burning away part of the foreign energy and temporarily stabilizing his condition.
Su Yang exhaled heavily.
"So that's how it is."
His eyes became cold.
The poison had already entered his body during their earlier exchanges, but his powerful physique had suppressed it.
His Arhat Body was simply too strong.
His marrow had already undergone transformation, his blood was far purer than that of an ordinary Marrow Cleansing practitioner, and his enormous Qi-Blood reserves had acted as a natural barrier against the poison, preventing it from immediately reaching his organs.
But there was a problem.
His Qi-Blood had been continuously consumed while fighting Liu Ruyan's Ice Gang.
Every clash had forced him to burn through his reserves, and the more his Qi-Blood declined, the weaker the suppression became.
Now the poison had finally found an opening.
Su Yang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Across the arena, Liu Ruyan slowly raised her sword.
"Your body is stronger than I expected."
Su Yang's gaze sharpened.
"You poisoned your sword?"
"No."
Liu Ruyan shook her head.
"My Gang Qi."
Her Ice Gang slowly gathered around her blade, and a faint green-black thread could be seen hidden within the cold aura.
"It only needed a single opening."
Su Yang's expression became grim.
He finally understood.
The poison hadn't been delivered through a single obvious attack, it had been carried within Liu Ruyan's Ice Gang and introduced into his body through their repeated exchanges, allowing it to accumulate gradually while his own body suppressed its effects.
It was a clever method.
And extremely dangerous.
From above, Lin Sheng quietly watched the battle.
His expression remained calm, but his eyes had become sharper.
He had already understood what happened.
Su Yang's body foundation had delayed the poison's eruption, but his declining Qi-Blood had caused the suppression to weaken, allowing the accumulated poison to finally spread.
It was not a simple poison that could be expelled through brute force.
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes.
"But he still has a chance."
Inside the arena, Su Yang slowly straightened his back.
His body was trembling.
His vision remained slightly blurred.
His Qi-Blood had already been consumed considerably, and the poison was continuing to spread, yet the Four Seasons Sword Intent within his Baihui Acupoint remained steady.
The endless cycle continued.
Su Yang slowly raised his sword.
Liu Ruyan's eyes narrowed.
"You can still fight?"
Su Yang laughed despite the pain.
"Of course."
His fingers tightened around the hilt.
"I haven't lost yet."
BOOM!
His Four Seasons Sword Intent erupted once more, sweeping across the arena like the changing seasons, and for the first time since the poison appeared, the spectators realized that Su Yang's aura hadn't collapsed.
It had become even sharper.
The battle was far from over.