As he said this, the Blade Will that had been ravaging the surroundings was absorbed into his golden domineering blade. Zhou Tianshen loosened his grip, and the domineering blade trembled as it emitted an incandescent brilliance.

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils dilated. "This guy still has some moves up his sleeve?"

​​

He grabbed Hiding Pain, and the once unrestrained ninth-grade spiritual sword whimpered, looking incredibly indignant.

Xu Xiaoshou's expression darkened. He knew his Sword Will's current level wasn't high enough for him to be able to withstand Zhou Tianshen's attacks.

Without hesitation, he once again exchanged his Passive Points for three more Skill Points and used them all on the Sword Technique Expertise.

"Sword Technique Expertise (Acquired Lv. 6)."

In an instant, his mind was flooded with knowledge once again. He looked at the golden domineering blade Zhou Tianshen was loosely holding in his hand and seemed to understand something.

The next second, Xu Xiaoshou slowly gathered his Sword Will back into Hiding Pain, and he loosened his grip as it absorbed the boundless Sword Will into its blade.

Zhou Tianshen was confused.

The crowd was also dumbfounded when they saw the two candidates get into identical stances.

"What's going on? Xu Xiaoshou also knows Zhou Tianshen's blade technique?"

"How is that possible? Isn't the move Zhou Tianshen's using the opening strike of the Innate-stage spiritual technique 'Deity Mountain-Lifting Technique,' so how could Xu Xiaoshou know it?"

"Could he be learning the technique on the spot? My God, that's too creepy."

"Learning an Innate-stage spiritual technique on the spot? Are you kidding?"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know what blade technique Zhou Tianshen was using, and he also couldn't produce the golden incandescent light that Zhou Tianshen was releasing. However, Zhou Tianshen's form did give him a stroke of inspiration for his newest attack…

"Fleeting White Cloud, Two!"

"Deity Mountain Lifting Technique!"

The two of them raised their weapons at the same time. As Zhou Tianshen raised his blade, he released a several-meters-tall golden blade glow. It pulsed with murderous intentions and directly ripped the arena apart as it slashed toward Xu Xiaoshou. There was nowhere for Xu Xiaoshou to run.

Strangely, Xu Xiaoshou didn't release anything when he raised his sword, as if he were merely moving it through the air.

The spectators' jaws dropped, and Xiao Qixiu felt his heart miss a beat.

"You put on such an act for so long only to move your sword?" he thought.

"You're going to die!"

He instinctively wanted to charge forward, but then he saw Xu Xiaoshou move his sword slightly when faced with the golden blade glow.

He slowly pulled Hiding Pain backward, and a powerful suction transformed the air into a vortex of clouds. Xu Xiaoshou's sword had casually pulled the lethal golden light to the side.

It wasn't over. Xu Xiaoshou turned and sent the golden light flying back at his opponent.

Zhou Tianshen was dumbfounded. "What kind of sorcery is this?" he thought. "To think that he managed to send my Innate-stage spiritual technique flying back at me!

His technique had almost depleted all of his spiritual strength, so he had no choice but to forcefully release another one of those attacks again. He dispelled the terrifying onslaught of the Deity Mountain-Lifting Technique with an attack of similar power.

The two golden glows clashed and made a loud explosion as they turned into countless golden scales and fell to the ground. Amidst the beautiful scene of falling gold, a figure moved toward Zhou Tianshen with his sword in hand.

Zhou Tianshen could no longer care about the battle. Xu Xiaoshou's sword technique was poetic, and there were no openings in his attack.

Such a divine sword technique shocked him. It was just as good as the techniques used by his grandfather, who had brought him onto the path of the swordsman when young.

"A sword can be used like that?"

"What about a blade?"

He lapsed into deep thought and forgot that he was in the middle of a battle.

Xu Xiaoshou had no choice but to forcefully stop his attack. His black sword stopped right before Zhou Tianshen's forehead. Even so, he still didn't have full control over his Sword Will. It slightly pierced his opponent's forehead, causing him to bleed.

Zhou Tianshen was still lost in thought!

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. "This is a battle. Please show your opponent some respect, will you?" he thought.

He moved to put away his sword when an immense spiritual strength suddenly rose around Zhou Tianshen's body and pushed him away.

Everyone looked at the sky in shock. An infinite amount of spiritual strength was billowing into the arena and entering Zhou Tianshen's body. The sound was grand. It sounded like a deity was murmuring into their ears, and it made everyone more alert.

"Hah!"

Zhou Tianshen abruptly opened his eyes. His aura had risen from Spiritual Cultivation Level Ten to the Innate-stage, and with his shout, his Blade Will shot into the surroundings and shattered the barrier around the arena.

Xu Xiaoshou crawled on the ground, dazed. "What's going on?" he wondered. "He broke through to the Innate-stage while we were fighting?

"You cheated, didn't you?!"

But he didn't have time to think about it, and immediately stood up. Zhou Tianshen was already terrifying at Acquired-stage Level Ten. How powerful would he be now that he'd stepped into the Innate-stage?

Unexpectedly, Zhou Tianshen put away his sword after shouting and said respectfully, "Thank you for holding back, Senior Xu. I was too rash. I could tell that you were a gentleman when you pulled your sword back just now!"

Xiao Qixiu came to his senses and immediately waved his hand. "The battle is over. Xu Xiaoshou is the winner!"

Naturally, he knew that Zhou Tianshen wouldn't have survived, much less achieve a breakthrough, if Xu Xiaoshou hadn't pulled his sword back just now.

Of course, with him keeping an eye on things, that tragedy wouldn't have happened.

However, victories and defeats are just that—victories and defeats. In a real battle, there was no way an enemy would allow their opponent to achieve a breakthrough. This battle had ended the moment Xu Xiaoshou pulled his sword back.

Xu Xiaoshou held his black sword behind his back and smiled. He didn't comment on what Zhou Tianshen's said.

Zhou Tianshen's face was red. Before the battle, he'd boldly said that Xu Xiaoshou was a merciless man, and in the end, he was spared by the "merciless" Xu Xiaoshou. It was undoubtedly a great irony.

"Great!" His eyes flitted around, and he voiced the first thought that came to mind. He nodded heavily at Xu Xiaoshou and said, "I've decided. I, Zhou Tianshen, will definitely have you for a friend!"

Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand and left the arena. He didn't want to say anything more to this man with a one-track mind.

This battle was the most difficult one he'd had so far in the competition. The battle with Liu Zhen was difficult too, but this battle with Zhou Tianshen was different in the sense that he'd managed to get more out of it.

This was especially so for the cherry on top at the end that was the Fleeting White Cloud Two. Xu Xiaoshou hadn't even had the time to give the technique a name.

It had appeared just like that after his stroke of inspiration, and he'd used it like that. His becoming one with his sword, technique, and will was rather miraculous.

It was as though everything were fated. It was a comfortable feeling.

Even he himself was shocked when he'd used the technique. He had to quickly head back home to mull it over.

Zhou Tianshen had broken through to the Innate-stage and destroyed the barrier, and Xu Xiaoshou's notification panel was refreshing like crazy. However, Xu Xiaoshou didn't care about these things. All he wanted to do was go over his sword technique.

The spectators gave a thunderous applause. Some admired Xu Xiaoshou, some were shocked, however, most of them felt bad for Zhou Tianshen.

Everyone in the arena was considering the possibility that the outcome of the competition might've been completely different if Zhou Tianshen had managed to come to his senses earlier.

The only exception was chief judge Xiao Qixiu. He froze as he watched Xu Xiaoshou leave, unable to say a word.

He had announced the end of the competition a little too late just now not because he was waiting for Zhou Tianshen to admit defeat, but because he was truly startled by Xu Xiaoshou's sword technique.

It was poetic. It was the sword technique of a deity!

He had abandoned all thought of spiritual techniques and swordplay and battled purely with his Sword Will, taking his opponent's attacks with his reactions. Wasn't this form the most powerful form as described by the Eighth Sword Deity?

His eyes were filled with shock. Perhaps even Xu Xiaoshou didn't realize just how terrifying battling only with Sword Will really was.

However, he did. He saw the makings of someone who would slowly rise to become the most powerful swordsman.

He waved his arms to get the crowd to calm down and activated the screen once again.

"The competition continues!"