xu nian had not expected that he''d manage to put on such a big show without even taking the stage.

    a single sentence from dugu jingcheng proved to be more useful than defeating ten qin tians.

    "whoosh!"

    before elder song heng could make an announcement, zhao yan had already leapt onto the battle platform.

    then he roared at qinglin academy''s ready area, "xu nian, get the hell out here; i''ve been irritated by you for a long time."

    zhao yan''s voice was especially loud, enough to shake the entire venue.

    the audience became excited; dugu jingcheng had just mentioned that xu nian was the number one sword dao talent of east field county, and now zhao yan was directly challenging him—how could they not be thrilled?

    "hey, do you guys think xu nian really is that amazing at swordsmanship?"

    "whether he is or not, we''ll find out soon enough, but i don''t think he''s necessarily a match for zhao yan."

    "i think so too. zhao yan''s control over fire is really impressive, and i heard he''s also an artifact master!"

    "really? the status of an artifact master is high. even a little artifact refiner is treated as an honored guest in a family, and if one becomes a great artifact master, that''s truly remarkable. even the lord governor would treat them with great respect upon meeting them. zhao yan has a limitless future ahead!"

    ...

    the audience continued to buzz, all of them admiring zhao yan''s status as an artifact master.

    prefectural governor chen tiansheng also had a high opinion of zhao yan; in fact, even if zhao yan didn''t make it into the top eight, simply based on his status as an artifact master, he would have absorbed him into the battle mansion.

    this showed just how revered the status of an artifact master was, and it was for this reason that zhao yan had developed his arrogant demeanor.

    xu nian let out a cold laugh and slowly made his way to the battle platform.

    to others, the status of an artifact master might be prestigious, but to xu nian it meant nothing because he himself was an artifact master.

    xu nian walked leisurely onto the battle platform and finally stood ten meters away from zhao yan, looking at him with disdain.

    "kid, draw your sword. isn''t your swordsmanship supposed to be very impressive? let''s see how many of my moves you can withstand," zhao yan said arrogantly, flipping his palm and conjuring a ball of flame in his hand.

    controlling fire is a basic ability for an artifact master, whether it''s through using spiritual sense or practicing unique spiritual formulas, a strong mastery over flames is required.

    "if you want me to draw my sword, let''s see if you''re worthy," xu nian said with a smile, his eyes filled with a playful glint.

    the audience thought xu nian was being arrogant, daring to speak to zhao yan like that.

    xu nian waved his sleeve, and the fireballs were all absorbed by him. with a thought, the fireballs transformed into a giant flaming sword.

    "here, have it back!"

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    with a cold snort from xu nian, the giant flaming sword flew towards zhao yan.

    the scorching heat forced zhao yan to retreat several steps back. finally, clenching his teeth, he punched towards the giant flaming sword.

    "boom!"

    fire splashed in all directions, and zhao yan was sent flying backward, crashing down ten meters away.

    his fist was charred black, and the pain was intense. his hair and eyebrows were also singed off a good amount, making him look like a disheveled beggar.

    everyone was stunned. zhao yan was always the one controlling the flames, making others look wretched, but who had ever seen him so miserably affected by his own fire?

    for a moment, everyone''s view of xu nian turned to one of admiration. in all three appearances, xu nian had brought them surprises.

    "this can''t be, this can''t be..." zhao yan couldn''t believe he was losing, his eyes filled with intense unwillingness.

    "admit defeat, you''re no match for me," xu nian said with a smile.

    others might fear flame attacks, but as an artifact master, he naturally had no fear. thus zhao yan''s tactics were ineffective against him.

    "no, i absolutely won''t lose!" zhao yan was extremely unwilling, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot. the next moment, his aura became incredibly violent and the surrounding spiritual energy began to converge on him.

    "is he going to... break through?" the audience exclaimed in shock.

    zhao yan actually chose to break through to the silver moon battle sect at this moment. a breakthrough during a battle was a big taboo!

    zhao yan''s decision to break through now was definitely because he was pushed to the brink.

    "xu nian, today, no matter what, i will make you lose!" behind zhao yan, his hair flew wildly as spiritual energy continued to gather into his body, and his cultivation surged to the realm of the silver moon battle sect, making his aura become incredibly formidable.

    xu nian saw this and just smiled nonchalantly, looking at zhao yan and saying, "go ahead and break through, a salted fish that turns over is still a salted fish!"

    "pfft!" overcome with rage, zhao yan spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ...

    ps: the third update for today, i hope everyone will favorite more! thank you all!