I only drew my sword once.

Watching Ji Tianpeng's face turn from white to blue, then blue to purple, and finally a sickly green—looking like he was about to be broken—Qi Yuan seemed unable to bear it and said with a smile:

"Fellow Daoist Ji, since you feel there is a problem with the Formation, why don't we remove it? Let’s have a head-on clash, a truly fair fight. What do you think?"

"What did you say?!"

Ji Tianpeng’s spirits lifted instantly, but he quickly calmed down and looked at Qi Yuan with suspicion. "Are you trying to pull another scheme? I’m warning you, don't take me for a fool!"

He was truly a bit afraid. Since the duel began, this guy hadn't even made a single move, yet he had already made Ji Tianpeng suffer so miserably.

This was hardly a competition; it was more like he had come here just to be tormented.

"Suit yourself. Believe it or not, just don't waste my time." Qi Yuan shrugged. "If you don't even dare to give it your all, then what's the point of this match? Just admit defeat."

Hearing this, Ji Tianpeng's expression flickered between uncertainty and determination. Soon, he made up his mind. Veins popped on his forehead as he gritted his teeth and said:

"Fine! You said it. Have Xiao Yueni remove the Formation right now, and we will have an honorable duel!"

He knew he had lost a massive amount of face this time, and Purple Sun Holy Land’s reputation had suffered as well. If he surrendered without a fight, he would undoubtedly become the laughingstock of the entire Cultivation World.

This match had to continue, no matter what!

Without the Formation's suppression, it meant he would be using his Spirit Transformation Early Stage cultivation to deal with a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator.

Although it smacked of bullying the weak, if he could cleanly knock his opponent to the ground and humiliate him, he might be able to salvage some dignity.

As for winning unfairly...

Hmph, against such a despicable and shameless person, there was no need for morality. Winning was the only thing that mattered!

At this thought, he took a deep breath and shouted to Xiao Yueni outside the stone platform:

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, your sect's Formation is definitely malfunctioning. Just now, it erroneously suppressed my cultivation to the Qi Refining Realm. I only let him take advantage because I was caught off guard."

"Please deactivate the Formation and let me and the Dao Child of Tai Xuan have a satisfying, all-out battle!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yueni frowned slightly and instinctively looked toward Qi Yuan on the stone platform. "Fellow Daoist Qi, the Dao Child of Ziyang says he wants to deactivate the Formation. Do you agree?"

"I agree."

Qi Yuan nodded with composure. "I can see now that this guy is just a troublemaker. This Daozi doesn't have time to waste bickering here; I just want to finish the fight and be done with it."

"You, surnamed Qi! Who are you calling a troublemaker?!"

Ji Tianpeng flew into a rage and glared viciously at Qi Yuan, wanting to rush over and fight to the death, yet he still felt a trace of hesitation.

The Formation was still active; he didn't want to experience the sensation of his cultivation being on a roller coaster again.

"Very well."

Xiao Yueni nodded slightly and then took out a Formation Plate from her sleeve. With a light flick of her jade-like finger, several streaks of spiritual light immediately flew out from the plate.

Immediately after, the Formation that had originally enveloped the dueling ground vanished instantly, leaving only a few reinforcement Formations to prevent the aftershocks of the battle from spreading.

Without the suppression of the Formation, the aura on Ji Tianpeng’s body began to surge wildly, quickly returning to the level of the Spirit Transformation Early Stage.

Although he was still a bit listless compared to his peak state after the recent ordeal, the return of his power gave Ji Tianpeng a massive boost in confidence. He felt capable once again.

"Dao Child of Tai Xuan!"

Ji Tianpeng’s eyes gleamed with a murderous light as he spoke in a savage tone:

"Now that you no longer have the protection of the Formation, I want to see how you'll play your little tricks. Today, I'll beat you until you're searching for your teeth on the floor!"

Seeing Ji Tianpeng regain his vigor, many Cultivators who had bet Spirit Stones on him began to cheer.

"Hahaha! It seems we misunderstood the Dao Child of Ziyang earlier. This time, he should be able to turn the tables and win, right?"

"I see that Ji Tianpeng grows stronger with every setback. He truly is a peerless Prodigy, a role model for our generation..."

"Is it too late for me to add another ten thousand Spirit Stones to my bet?"

Qi Yuan acted as if he hadn't heard the various discussions around him. He opened his right hand, and a brilliant light blossomed in his palm, condensing into a translucent, pale-gold longsword.

The sword was slender with a silver-white body, and its edges were covered in dense golden spiritual runes that looked like Dragon scales. Besides being elegant and magnificent, it faintly emitted a cruel and cold aura that was almost demonic.

This sword was precisely the top-tier Magic Treasure personally bestowed upon Qi Yuan by the Taixuan Holy Land’s Sect Leader for his status as a Dao Child—the Profound Heaven Sword.

Holding the sword in his hand, Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said expressionlessly:

"I will only use one sword strike. If you can block it, I lose."

Holy crap?!

As soon as these words were spoken, not only was Ji Tianpeng standing before him stunned, but even the spectating Cultivators had strange expressions, looking at each other in disbelief.

One sword strike!

A Nascent Soul Mid-stage Cultivator claiming he would defeat Ji Tianpeng of the Spirit Transformation Realm with a single sword strike—this statement completely challenged the understanding of every Cultivator present.

If the speaker hadn't been the esteemed Dao Child of Tai Xuan, someone might have already burst out laughing.

"Could Brother Qi have lost his mind?" Pu Genshuo murmured. "That's not right; he was quite normal when he beat me last time."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Could it be... he plans to make a feint and then slip away while Ji Tianpeng is busy defending, playing a massive trick on his opponent?"

As his thoughts wandered, Pu Genshuo grew more excited. "That's right! Brother Qi has always been clever and sharp; his wits are almost on par with mine. That must be his plan!"

At this moment, Pu Genshuo couldn't help but look at Ji Tianpeng with a hint of pity. "This guy is strong enough, but his IQ just isn't up to par..."

"Haha, you're really killing me! One sword strike? With just you?"

Ji Tianpeng laughed from sheer anger. "Come then! Forget one strike; even if it's a hundred or a thousand strikes, This Daozi will take them all!"

As he spoke, he shook the long spear in his hand and lunged straight at Qi Yuan. Light and electricity swirled around the tip of the spear, carrying a cold and fierce momentum.

Qi Yuan gave a faint smile and, without wasting words, unhesitatingly unleashed the fourth layer of the Four Refinements of the Blood God—Blood Burn!

In the next moment, the Void Realm trembled.

Densely packed, dazzling golden inscriptions spread across his pupils. Simultaneously, a power that was majestic to the extreme suddenly erupted.

Swish!

A terrifying Sword Qi soared into the sky, shattering the clouds and tearing through the heavens and earth wherever it passed, as if everything would be crushed to powder by this sharp Sword Qi.

"What kind of monstrous sword technique is this?!"

Facing this sword edge directly, Ji Tianpeng's expression changed drastically. His hair stood on end, and his heart pounded with dread. Without a second thought, he retreated rapidly, trying to dodge this earth-shattering blow.

But it was already too late!

The incredibly sharp Sword Qi arrived in an instant, tearing through his protective spiritual power without any resistance before shattering into a storm of Sword Qi that ravaged and swallowed him.

Pfft—!

Blood sprayed everywhere!

In just a few moments, Ji Tianpeng's body was cut into a bloody mess. He crashed heavily to the ground like a tattered sack, unable to get up again.

After unleashing that one strike, Qi Yuan immediately withdrew from the extreme state of the Four Refinements of the Blood God's fourth layer and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

At this moment, he showed no signs of the exhaustion that should follow burning one's blood and Qi. Instead, his face was flushed with health, and he looked high-spirited.

Comfortable!

This feeling was great, like someone who had been constipated for days suddenly being cleared out.

During his last session of Cultivation, he had taken three heavenly apex body forging pills in a row, over-supplementing his Physical Body's blood and Qi. To avoid being blown apart, he had been forced to Seal a portion of the unabsorbable medicinal power.

He had originally planned to let this pure blood and Qi energy dissipate on its own, but he hadn't expected someone to come knocking on his door. He simply took the opportunity to vent the medicinal power of the heavenly apex body forging pill using the Four Refinements of the Blood God... Under normal circumstances, using the incredibly Heaven-Defying fourth layer of the Four Refinements of the Blood God would have cost him his life or at least a layer of skin, but now he only felt a slight sense of emptiness.

This Dao Child of Ziyang is truly a good person!

Qi Yuan thought silently as he glanced at Ji Tianpeng, who was groaning on the ground.

To establish authority, the best way was to legitimately crush the Spirit Transformation Realm Dao Child of Ziyang.

The reason he had used his Pretending to be a Pig to Eat the Tiger talent to play with his opponent earlier was purely to make Ji Tianpeng lose his emotional balance, forcing him to abandon any thought of retreat and choose to meet this strongest sword strike head-on!