Chapter 271 Semi-Final Ends!
Nie Fengzhuo steadied his breath, the faint sting in his arm betraying the force of their last clash.
His gaze fell on Chu Ziyan-still standing, eyes sharp as a drawn blade.
She hadn't fallen.
He hadn't underestimated her-not once.
From the beginning, he had treated her as a worthy opponent.
Yet... this wasn't what he expected.
By all logic, she should have crumbled already.
Her strikes had been sharp, yes. Her control was refined, yes.
But compared to the sheer weight of his attack, she was supposed to break. And yet she endured.
Even his Absolute Severance, a Heavenly Technique that had ended stronger opponents, had only managed to force her back five steps.
Five steps!
While he himself was pushed back 3 steps!
Nie Fengzhuo's eyes narrowed, the faintest flicker of respect flashing across them before hardening again into steel.
"This is becoming much more difficult than I anticipated," he muttered.
He thought he had already grasped the strength of his competitors, but it seemed he was wrong.
But that realization did not shake him.
The crowd's roars faded into the background, drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat.
Nie Fengzhuo shifted his stance, black sword raised once more.
The air around him grew heavy, oppressive, as if the stage itself recognized his resolve.
His lips parted, his voice low and cold.
"Endure if you can. But know this-"
A surge of sword intent erupted from him, fierce and domineering, tearing across the arena like a storm.
"-I will not allow anyone to stand in my way."
He stepped forward, each stride carrying unstoppable momentum, his aura pressing down like an unyielding tide.
Chu Ziyan's eyes flashed in defiance, her sword lifting to meet him again.
The next exchange was inevitable.
Slash! Slash!
The two began their exchange once again. Despite expending much of their Qi, they still fought as if nothing had happened.
Chu Ziyan was visibly being pushed back.
Slash! Slash!
The stage blazed with steel and fury.
Neither paused, neither gave quarter-each strike answered by another, each wound avenged in the very next breath.
Blood sprayed across the stone tiles as Nie Fengzhuo's blade bit into Chu Ziyan's shoulder, tearing through her barrier.
She staggered half a step-yet before he could press further, her sword flashed like lightning, cutting a shallow line across his chest.
The crowd gasped as the two separated briefly, blood dripping from fresh wounds-only to hurl themselves forward again.
No rest. Only fighting.
The clash of their blades rang like thunder, sparks cascading around them like meteors. Sword intent howled, shredding the air and gouging deep scars into the stage.
An hour passed-yet still, they fought relentlessly.
The audience held their breath for as long as they could, hands clenched until knuckles turned white.
No one dared blink, afraid they would miss the instant victory was decided.
But time left its marks.
Both were visibly exhausted, their bodies painted in blood, clothes shredded by countless exchanges.
Every breath came ragged, every movement fueled only by will.
Still, one glance made the truth clear.
Chu Ziyan was worse off.
Her arm trembled with each swing, her once-fiery aura dimming, flickering like
a candle battered by the wind.
Her sword strikes were fierce, but the sharp edge of her technique dulled under fatigue and blood loss.
Nie Fengzhuo was far from unscathed-his chest burned from her cut, his left leg bore a slash that slowed his footing-but his stance remained steadier, his
breathing more controlled.
The difference was subtle to the untrained eye. But to cultivators, it was
glaring.
"Chu Ziyan, surrender. Our exchange has already proven it-I am stronger. Continuing is meaningless!"
Chu Ziyan spat blood onto the ground, her lips curling into a defiant snarl.
"Meaningless? Hah... Perhaps, but not to me!"
Her words struck harder than any sword.
Nie Fengzhuo's brows drew together, a mix of admiration and frustration flashing in his eyes.
His grip tightened, veins standing out along his forearm.
"Tch... why must I face such an opponent?" he muttered under his breath.
It was Jin Yuanzhan previously, and now Chu Ziyan-both refusing to yield
despite the difference.
Of course, he couldn't say he didn't understand their sentiment, for he too had his reasons.
Then, for a second, his gaze flickered toward Bai Xueqing, who by now was
visibly worried about Chu Ziyan.
"Tch! I wanted to save it for last!"
He looked visibly frustrated.
"But it seems I have no choice!"
Nie Fengzhuo's breath grew heavy, his grip on the black sword tightening until
his knuckles whitened.
His chest rose and fell like a storm contained in flesh, his Qi surging restlessly as if demanding release.
The cut across his chest still throbbed, the ache of fatigue pulling at his limbs- but none of that mattered now.
He glanced once more at Chu Ziyan, still standing despite the crimson staining her robes, and at Bai Xueqing beyond the stage, whose gaze was locked on her
with visible concern.
His jaw clenched.
He had wanted to save it for last-for Bai Xueqing, for the moment when it
mattered most.
But this stubborn woman had dragged him to the edge, and he could no longer
afford hesitation.
A deep growl rumbled in his throat as his aura suddenly ignited.
The ground beneath his feet cracked in an instant, webbing with fissures as an invisible pressure poured out of his body.
"-Heaven-Rending Breakthrough!"
At once, Nie Fengzhuo's Qi flared, expanding wildly until it devoured the stage.
His dantian pulsed violently, his cultivation erupting to new heights as his aura surged beyond its usual limit.
His realm-normally sitting comfortably in the mid-stage Soul Formation Realm -now blazed, climbing furiously until it reached the peak of Soul Formation
Realm.
A violent storm of sword intent spun around him, sharp winds howling as if countless invisible blades slashed the very air.
His long hair whipped in the pressure, his black robes snapping like banners in
a hurricane.
The black sword in his hand quivered, trembling with suppressed power, before stabilizing as his overflowing energy merged seamlessly into the blade.
The audience staggered back, shielding themselves against the suffocating wave of intent.
"He... He boosted his cultivation!?"
"That's not a simple technique-it's something that burns away his Qi reserves!"
"Nie Fengzhuo... he was hiding something like this?"
Even the elders in the viewing stands narrowed their eyes, recognizing the risk.
The strength he had drawn out was terrifying, but so too was the cost-once expended, it would leave him weakened, unable to unleash it again.
Nie Fengzhuo's expression was grim, shadowed by cold determination. "This is not what I wanted," he muttered, voice low, carried by the storm. "But you left me no choice."
His gaze locked onto Chu Ziyan, sharp as a blade point.
With that, his foot slammed against the stage, shattering the tiles beneath.
In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished into a blur of black lightning, his sword descending with a force that could tear mountains apart.
Chu Ziyan's eyes widened as Nie Fengzhuo's aura crashed down on her like a collapsing mountain.
That pressure-it was suffocating.
She staggered back instinctively, her sword arm trembling under the weight of his next blow.
Clang! Clang!
(So he's been hiding this all along...)
Her teeth clenched as sparks erupted between their blades, the shockwaves rattling her bones.
Every strike carried the might of a cultivator a realm higher than he should have been able to reach.
Her body screamed at her to falter, to collapse. But she didn't.
(No-I can't... not here. I have to prove it. I have to prove I am worthy of standing beside him.)
Although even the title of Dragon and Phoenix Champion might not be enough to stand beside Bai Zihan, it was still a step forward-still something worth grasping.
Steel rang, again and again, but now it was a desperate rhythm.
She no longer had room to counterattack-each strike was heavier than the last, and every inch she gave was stolen permanently.
Her defensive barriers splintered one after another, Qi scattering like torn silk threads.
Her arms grew numb, her fingers raw from the impact vibrating down her sword. Her legs faltered as fissures spread beneath her heels with each retreating step.
Nie Fengzhuo's black sword howled, storming down relentlessly, his eyes locked on her with grim determination.
Slash! Slash!
Each cut tore deeper into her defenses until finally, one blow cleaved through her guard entirely.
Her sword nearly slipped from her grasp, her shoulder splitting open as blood misted into the air.
She coughed violently, crimson dripping from her lips. Still, she refused to let go.
The crowd fell into stunned silence-watching not Nie Fengzhuo's dominance, but her stubborn, desperate resistance.
But willpower alone could not turn back an avalanche.
Her aura flickered like a guttering flame, every movement slower than the last. She wanted to fight, to claw back the momentum, to prove herself-but under that relentless storm, her body betrayed her resolve.
Nic Fengzhuo's final downward strike came like a judgment.
Her sword rose shakily, but her strength had already been drained away. The blow hammered down, shattering her guard.
Her knees buckled.
And finally-she collapsed onto the cracked stage, her sword clattering from her grasp.
Gasps erupted across the arena.
The referee appeared at once, stepping between them, raising a hand. His voice boomed across the stage:
"Winner-Nie Fengzhuo!"
Nie Fengzhuo stood tall, chest heaving, his black sword dripping with the aura
of victory.
Yet his gaze lingered on Chu Ziyan's fallen figure, and for just a moment, the steel in his eyes softened-replaced with something closer to respect. Before the echoes faded, a flash of crimson light streaked across the stage.
"Ziyan!"
Bai Xueqing was already kneeling beside her, arms steadying Chu Ziyan's trembling body.
Her eyes brimmed with urgency, but her hands moved swiftly, producing a lustrous jade bottle.
From it, she drew out a Grade-5 healing pill-gleaming with dense spiritual
radiance.
"Take this!"
She pressed it gently to Chu Ziyan's lips. The pill melted the instant it touched her tongue, dissolving into streams of pure vitality.
Wounds that had been gaping only breaths before began to knit together, bleeding slowed, and the pallor of her face warmed with returning color.
A weak cough escaped her, followed by a strained breath. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open.
"I... lost..." Chu Ziyan whispered, voice hoarse. The weight of that truth pressed against her chest heavier than any wound.
The only thing that made her better was that Bai Zihan was not here to see her
pitiful state.
Previously, she was a bit sad but now she felt relieved.
Bai Xueqing's jaw tightened, but she didn't answer. She only clasped Chu Ziyan's
hand firmly, a silent promise that her efforts had not been meaningless.
Her eyes lifted-and met Nie Fengzhuo's.
He stood at the opposite end of the stage, his aura still rolling with the aftershocks of his unleashed power, his black sword dripping faint traces of energy like a predator that had just tasted blood.
Their gazes locked.
The air between them tightened, the crowd sensing it instantly.
This was it. The final battle.
Bai Xueqing Vs Nie Fengzhuo.
The clash that would decide the Dragon and Phoenix Champion.
Also where their grudge would be settled once and for all.