Chapter 782: Comparing Miseries

A blade is a type of weapon, following its unique law—only after comprehending the true meaning of the weapon can one comprehend the heart of the weapon.

Just like swordsmanship: first comprehend the true meaning of the sword, then one can comprehend the lower sword heart, middle sword heart, and even the upper sword heart!

He was a top student at the Martial Arts Academy, with profound insights into blade techniques, yet he was only at the peak of the true meaning of the weapon, still some distance from the lower blade heart.

The person before him—blade sparking with lightning, aura like a rainbow—had directly displayed an ability only possible after comprehending the blade heart!

How is that possible!

He had fought with the other earlier, who had only comprehended ordinary true meaning of the blade, a vast gap between them. This Teacher Zhang had only taught one blade technique—how could he have changed so much?

"Damn it..."

Shocked, his body trembled. Knowing that if he paused, he would be defeated, White-Face gritted his teeth and raised his long blade to meet the attack.

In his view, even if the other had comprehended the essence of the blade heart, so what?

That blade technique from earlier was weak and slow, and he had studied it carefully—full of flaws. As long as he struck quickly, using speed to overcome slowness, he could easily win and defeat him.

Whoosh!

Just as his long blade was about to clash with the other's, he saw the opponent's blade trace an elegant arc in the air and continue pressing down.

It seemed his movement had no effect at all.

"This... is simplifying the complex, overcoming with force?"

His whole body went rigid.

While practicing blade techniques, he had heard renowned masters say that when one reached a certain level, they could transform complex techniques into simple ones.

At that point, the simplest moves possessed an irresistible power.

He had thought it was nonsense, but... it had actually appeared in the other person!

The long blade in the freshman's hand was not intricate, without any flourish, yet it carried the power to strike through everything. Enveloped by this blade technique, it felt as if all his acupoints were locked by the aura, and no matter what move he switched to, he could not escape.

"Retreat!"

In an instant, fear arose in his heart. Not daring to meet the attack head-on, he hastily retreated.

For anyone else, executing a blade technique and then retreating would invite backlash. But he had suppressed his cultivation, and his true ability far exceeded this level. Coupled with his insight and experience surpassing the freshman's, though flustered, he suffered no major harm.

Clatter!

After retreating two steps, just as he was about to counterattack, he saw the youth step forward again, swinging his long blade, once more executing the wood-chopping blade technique.

Blade aura like a dragon, aura like lightning.

This time, it gathered the power from the previous technique that had not yet dissipated, like wind and clouds surging, doubling its might.

"This is... blade force stacking?"

White-Face was about to vomit blood.

He had thought that by dodging, the other's power would wane with each attempt, but instead, it showed no such trend and even stacked the first blade aura, greatly increasing its power!

He couldn't even withstand the first move; how could he withstand two combined?

He retreated again.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Seeing him retreat repeatedly, the youth's confidence soared, and he delivered a third strike.

Three consecutive strikes combined, the blade light like a hundred streams converging into a river and sea, carrying an irresistible force.

The youth originally had only the strength of the early Harmony Realm, but with three strikes infused with the blade heart, even a mid or late Harmony Realm expert would find it hard to withstand!

"No... if I let him keep building power, I'll definitely lose..."

Finally realizing the problem, White-Face's expression turned grave.

He had thought that by dodging, the opponent's edge would fade, leaving him at his mercy. He never dreamed that this guy's blade technique would grow stronger and stack. Once he dodged, he lost the initiative and could no longer hold out!

"I'll go all out..."

Gritting his teeth, he surged his internal power, his long blade cutting through the air as he met the attack.

Spirit-grade upper-rank martial technique: Raging Blade Cuts the River!

This technique was said to have been created by a Saint Realm expert, who drew his blade in fury for a beauty, cutting a tens-of-thousands-meter river in two, never to reunite.

This was his strongest ultimate move after years of training.

Though he had suppressed his cultivation to the early Harmony Realm, leaving his true qi somewhat insufficient, he still executed it fully with his understanding and insight into the blade.

Blade aura surged, crashing into the youth's stacked blade technique.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, the two blades clashed. White-Face felt his face flush as the power of Raging Blade Cuts the River was instantly annihilated. Then the stacked blade aura surged onward, as if to shatter all his meridians.

"Not good..."

His expression darkened.

He had considered that he might not withstand it, but he never imagined the opponent's stacked blade aura would be so terrifying—breaking through his attack and continuing forward unaffected.

No longer caring about anything else, he roared and abruptly raised his suppressed cultivation.

Mid Harmony Realm!

Late Harmony Realm!

Peak Harmony Realm!

Early Bridge Heaven Realm!

His cultivation rose an entire major level, reaching the early Bridge Heaven Realm, finally blocking the blade aura from entering his body and averting disaster.

Bang!

As his power surged, the youth suffered backlash, involuntarily retreating a few steps and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Though injured, his eyes shone with excitement: "You... lost!"

If the other hadn't lifted his seal, he would have been cleaved to death on the spot, proving that he had lost the match!

Hearing this, White-Face's face turned ashen, his pupils unfocused: "I... I lost!"

He had no choice but to admit it. In front of so many people, beaten without even being able to counterattack, it was a total loss!

When this guy first came up, he was struck down by a single slash. The second time, he defeated him... Even experiencing it himself, he found it hard to believe.

This Zhang Xuan had only taught one move... and it defeated him? How was that possible?

Not only he found it hard to believe, but all the freshmen below felt their eyes were about to pop out.

They had witnessed the freshman's strength. Teacher Zhang taught one blade technique, and he defeated a top student from the Martial Arts Academy... That was too exaggerated!

The president... was going to defy the heavens!

"President, I... succeeded, I defeated a fourth-year student..."

Hearing the other's admission, the youth excitedly jumped off the platform, strode to Zhang Xuan, and clenched his fists.

As the user of the blade technique, he knew how powerful the move the president taught was. With long-term practice, his understanding of the blade would only grow stronger, making him a grandmaster.

Thus, his excitement was understandable.

Slap!

Before he could finish his excited words, he saw Teacher Zhang slap him on the head, like a teacher disciplining an unworthy student, his face dark.

"President..."

Stunned, the youth stood there dumbfounded.

He had defeated the opponent, so why was the president so angry?

"And you're still happy? What kind of fight was that? Is that what you call a blade technique? On the first move, if you had used full force, the opponent couldn't have dodged! You could have won in one move, but you used three—aren't you ashamed?"

The more he spoke, the angrier he got. Zhang Xuan wanted to beat this guy up.

He was too stupid!

He had personally taught the Heavenly Dao Blade Technique, even imparting a blade intent, and this guy still took three moves to defeat the opponent—it was an insult!

"Win in one move..."

White-Face rolled his eyes, nearly vomiting blood.

I'm a fourth-year student, a top student at the Martial Arts Academy... You taught a blade technique that defeated me in three moves, and that's already incredible, and you're complaining about using too many moves...

"Yes..."

Scolded by the president, the youth dared not argue and could only lower his head.

The president was right. If he had used the first move to its fullest, White-Face would have conceded on the spot, instead of struggling to the end and even injuring him.

"Alright, I'm not blaming you. But next time, remember: when facing an enemy, never go easy!"

Seeing that the guy knew he was wrong, Zhang Xuan calmed down, waved his hand, and looked back at the platform.

"Who are you sending this time?"

"I'll seek Teacher Zhang's guidance!" Yuan Gang stepped forward.

With White-Face defeated on the spot, even he was deeply shocked and no longer dared to underestimate this youth.

"Hmm!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Who lost to him earlier?"

"Me!"

"President, I lost too!"

"Your loss isn't as miserable as mine. Let me do it!"

"Miserable my ass! You just fell off the platform. I got slapped in the face. I'm the most miserable! So I want to challenge!"

"I even spat blood. Let me..."

...

Hearing Zhang Xuan's call, the crowd below erupted in uproar. The previously injured all rushed forward indignantly, shouting with excitement.

These were all masters. The youth earlier couldn't even withstand a single move from White-Face, but after Teacher Zhang's guidance, he turned the tables and defeated him. If they could learn such skills, their strength would surely advance greatly.

Such a good opportunity—only a fool would give it up!

"There's such an operation..."

Yuan Gang and Ying Qin on the platform both twitched their mouths.

Damn!

They had seen people retreat in fear when facing senior students, but never seen people scrambling to go up.

And scrambling was one thing, but comparing miseries?

The more miserable, the weaker the strength, the more passive in the earlier fight. Beaten like that and still eager to come up—do you have any respect for us seniors?

Too arrogant!

"Yuan Gang, when you go up, strike directly, don't hold back... If we lose again, we won't have the face to go back!"

Seeing the increasingly fierce argument below, everyone regretting why they hadn't stayed put and let Yuan Gang beat them more to be more miserable... Ying Qin couldn't stand it anymore and sent a telepathic message.

The first match's crushing defeat made him realize how terrifying this Teacher Zhang was. They couldn't lose the second match!

If they lost again, they'd have no face to return and would end up as gatekeepers for this Xuanxuan Society.

"Don't worry, I'll go all out!"

Yuan Gang nodded.

As the two spoke, they saw Zhang Xuan below had already chosen his opponent—a guy with a bruised and swollen face, crooked mouth and nose, and still spitting blood.

"This guy... I know him. I didn't hit him that hard? Could it be... he beat himself up to be more miserable than the others?"

Recognizing the person, Yuan Gang's eyes rolled, and he nearly fell over.