bottleneck

周子越's face turned unpleasant, as Jiang Yun's words felt like a resounding slap across his face, instantly flushing it crimson. He, who had always been full of pride, had never experienced such humiliation.

"Jiang Yun, the outcome is still uncertain. Don't be too arrogant," gritted his teeth, barely escaping his lips.

"But I feel like the outcome is quite clear. You're just too weak."

Jiang Yun's voice had barely faded when he struck preemptively. Tossing the Qingping Sword into the air, he drew a sword from its scabbard with his right hand, releasing an invisible sword aura that burst forth from the blade. The aura was formless and colorless, yet it exuded a palpable pressure that Zhou Ziyue could feel.

Zhou Ziyue's complexion changed, raising his sword to defend. His spiritual energy enveloped the blade, emitting a radiant sword aura that shone brilliantly, almost in a dazzling gold color, evoking astonished gasps from the onlookers.

"The Great Sunlight Sword! This is Zhou Ziyue's hidden ace, and it's truly extraordinary. Judging from the aura of his sword, its power might be enough to overwhelm even a peer-level warrior."

Jiang Yun's invisible sword aura was imperceptible to the naked eye, only Zhou Ziyue, facing it directly, could grasp its pressure. Others, however, couldn't sense the force behind Jiang Yun's invisible sword aura. This was one of Jiang Yun's remarkable abilities—never wasting even a trace of energy.

"Maybe it's not as straightforward as you think. Haven't you noticed how nervous Zhou Ziyue is? He's using a sure-kill technique as his opening move. It's difficult for anyone to counter this move, even someone of the same level as Zhou Ziyue. However, I don't see any significant movements from Jiang Yun. It's puzzling."

"Perhaps Jiang Yun is too overconfident, or maybe not. We haven't seen him in action for two months. Who knows whether he's improving or regressing."

Some questioned Zhou Ziyue, while others couldn't accept Jiang Yun's dominance. Yet, soon enough, the situation on the field would reveal the truth.

Jiang Yun's lips curled up into a smile. Swiftly shifting his form to the side, he swung the Qingping Sword again, releasing another sword aura. Coincidentally, the scabbard descended from the air, and Jiang Yun caught it with his left hand. The Qingping Sword returned to its sheath.

At that moment, Zhou Ziyue's sword aura had reached a meter in front of Jiang Yun. However, Jiang Yun seemed to be unaware, turning around and walking toward the edge of the stage. This perplexed the spectators, wondering what sort of trick Jiang Yun was playing.

But the answer was revealed the next moment.

Zhou Ziyue's sword aura, in mid-air, seemed to be severed by some invisible force. It split into two parts, dispersing immediately.

By the time Jiang Yun had taken the first step down the stage, Zhou Ziyue's sword had already snapped in half. A wound about half a meter long appeared on his chest, and his blood stained his clothes red.

Zhou Ziyue's eyes widened in horror as he gazed at Jiang Yun's retreating figure. Pain surged from his wound, and he looked down at the gash that was dangerously close to his heart. Dizziness overcame him as the loss of blood led to oxygen deprivation in his brain. His vision darkened, and he collapsed right there.

Meanwhile, as Zhou Ziyue fell, Jiang Yun had just descended the first step of the stage. A gentle breeze lifted his hair, cascading over his shoulder, creating an image of Jiang Yun's profile that appeared quite desolate to onlookers.

Defeating Zhou Ziyue didn't bring any visible satisfaction to Jiang Yun. His goals extended far beyond these outer disciples.

Jiang Yun's seemingly casual sword strike, however, who would know that it had already exhausted the only trace of sword energy within his dantian.

During these two months, Jiang Yun had secluded himself in the back mountains, crazily cultivating the Nine Lihui Technique. It had already reached the second layer of the seventh level. Yet, what brought Jiang Yun the most joy was the sword energy within his dantian. Three days prior, it had emerged from its seal like a sprouting seed, manifesting as an extremely faint strand of sword energy in his dantian.

With this trace of sword energy, Jiang Yun naturally disdained competing against these outer disciples for superiority. If it hadn't been for Li Dadan, and if Zhou Ziyue had challenged him first, Jiang Yun would probably have focused on refining his body once again.

The reason Jiang Yun used this strike was to test whether, after depleting this strand of sword energy, there would be another surge of sword energy emerging from the seal. However, as he sensed his empty dantian, devoid of any sword energy, Jiang Yun's heart couldn't help but be filled with wry amusement. This single sword strike had made his two months of practice akin to fetching water with a bamboo basket—it had ultimately been in vain.

Under these circumstances, Jiang Yun, overwhelmed by these emotions, couldn't possibly care about anyone else's feelings.

With Zhou Ziyue's collapse, Jiang Yun's intervention rendered this round of examinations devoid of suspense. After receiving the reward for securing the first place, Jiang Yun returned to his room.

The Nine Lihui Technique, under Jiang Yun's cultivation, had reached a bottleneck. Although Jiang Yun was initially delighted by the sudden emergence of sword energy within his dantian, he had inadvertently squandered it today while confronting Zhou Ziyue.

Without sword energy, although Jiang Yun seemed overwhelmingly powerful, he was merely falsely strong within the realm of Earth Martial. Earth Martial realm warriors could directly suppress Jiang Yun with their aura. Regardless of how profound Jiang Yun's sword techniques were, they would be entirely inapplicable when confronting Earth Martial realm warriors.

Sword energy could counteract the aura of Earth Martial realm warriors. This was the reason Jiang Yun had been able to defeat Elder Qin when he had fallen into a demonic state. Elder Qin had no inkling of the existence of sword energy, and his aura had no effect on Jiang Yun. Jiang Yun had capitalized on this advantage, exploiting the high damage of sword energy to vanquish him.

Even though Jiang Yun's current strength far exceeded that of three months ago, the foundation of his power was sword energy. Without that foundation, no matter how strong he became, it would be like a castle in the air.

Facing Jiang Yun, Luo Qi didn't even need to engage physically. By using the suppression of realms and the aura of Earth Martial realm, Luo Qi had dealt him heavy injuries. This sense of powerlessness in the face of absolute strength was actually more significant than the gap between outer disciples and Jiang Yun.

While Jiang Yun's unique skills were powerful, only sword techniques like Pulling Sword Art and Lethal Thirteen Swords, which relied primarily on techniques rather than internal energy, were unaffected. Others like Heavenly Ascension, Sword Manipulation Technique, and the River's Sunset Sword all consumed significant internal energy. After the sealing of Jiang Yun's sword energy, he was unable to execute these formidable techniques.

These circumstances effectively rendered Jiang Yun's strength one level lower. Upon arriving at the Sword Sect, Jiang Yun finally found a way to unseal his sword energy—by resonating it with the power of the Nine Lihui Technique after reaching its third layer. This method could break the seal.

However, Jiang Yun's progress in the Nine Lihui Technique had hit a bottleneck. He was unable to continue cultivating it, leaving him unsure when his sword energy would break its seal again.

However, Jiang Yun wasn't the type to give up easily. Facing the bottleneck of the Nine Lihui Technique, he decided to go to the Sword Sect's library for a solution. After all, the Sword Sect was a vast and influential place, and there might be a method to overcome the bottleneck of the Nine Lihui Technique. It wasn't an impossible possibility.

However, a problem arose. Outer disciples needed a recommendation from inner disciples or a token from second-generation disciples to enter the library. Jiang Yun only knew one inner disciple, Lu Yao. To enter the library, he had to seek Lu Yao's help.

To be honest, Jiang Yun didn't really want to face Lu Yao.

First, Luo Qi already harbored strong jealousy towards Jiang Yun. During the two months that Lu Yao hadn't contacted him, Luo Qi also remained inactive. If Jiang Yun took the initiative to find Lu Yao this time, it might reignite Luo Qi's jealousy, leading to another confrontation. Jiang Yun didn't want to directly face Luo Qi right now.

Second, Jiang Yun didn't actually dislike Lu Yao. If they interacted frequently, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't develop feelings for her. However, the current Jiang Yun didn't want to allow emotions to tie him down.

After thinking it over, Jiang Yun decided to seek Lu Yao's help. Whether it was Luo Qi or Lu Yao, he would eventually have to face them. Whether it was good or bad, whether it brought fortune or trouble, he couldn't escape it.