Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 251 - 248 Sword Heart Clarity

Chapter 251: Chapter 248 Sword Heart Clarity

"Young man, you are quite strong," Du Hanlin said, rubbing his chin. "But if you aim for twenty consecutive victories, you still lack some experience."

Du Hanlin, seasoned in battle, did not truly dismiss Ye Xuan with his words but aimed to bolster his own presence and suppress Ye Xuan’s sharpness, shaking Ye Xuan’s resolve.

"You cannot stop me."

Ye Xuan’s gaze was resolute, undisturbed by any external interference.

"If that’s the case, further words are useless. Let’s see the truth in action."

Admiring Ye Xuan’s steadfast nature, Du Hanlin raised his specially crafted pen in his hand, which was slim at the tip but thick around the handle and carved with scriptural inscriptions—clearly a weapon customized for him by the extreme combat arena.

Swoosh!

True Qi burst from his arm, pouring into the pen, causing the inscriptions to rapidly light up. He then suddenly stepped forward, his pen slicing through the air, as if it were tracing a stroke in a mural, radiating golden light as it struck towards Ye Xuan’s face.

This seemingly simple stroke was incredibly forceful and vigorous, containing a powerful righteous aura not expected from an old man.

Ye Xuan’s eyes flashed; he locked onto the pen stroke and simply flicked his sword to deflect it.

However, Du Hanlin’s offensive moves did not stop there. The first strike was merely a warm-up; the real fight was about to begin.

Du Hanlin grasped the pen with both hands, making it dance through the air, and under it, the True Qi condensed into glowing golden characters—four of them: "Punish Evil, Encourage Goodness."

With those four characters unleashed, a surge of righteousness condensed, and Du Hanlin roared, sending the dazzlingly bright characters charging straight towards Ye Xuan.

"The use of True Qi as a medium for writing is indeed a testament to your profound understanding of Martial Arts."

Ye Xuan could see that Du Hanlin’s mastery of Confucian Martial Arts was extraordinarily high. This sort of expertise would be impossible without decades of immersion in vast literatures, let alone attaining such intense righteousness.

Righteousness could also be classified as one kind of martial spirit, particularly lethal towards demons and malevolent spirits, but for someone with a clear heart like Ye Xuan, it posed no oppressive effect.

Nevertheless, Ye Xuan remained cautious, his sword light weaving into a bloom, skillfully breaking up the powerful characters, causing them to disperse and fall apart.

Breaking through the attack, Ye Xuan immediately counterattacked with his sword, launching a rapid Wind Blade Strike that swept toward Du Hanlin like a wave breaking the wind.

"Impressive. At such a young age to remain undistracted, unaffected by the righteousness, but beating me like this is still an impossibility!"

Du Hanlin praised Ye Xuan, but his actions did not slow down. As Ye Xuan’s attack swept in, he once again wielded his pen, writing down a "Defend" character in front of him. When the "Defend" character appeared, it was like a towering mountain, blocking all the incoming blade’s force.

Ye Xuan’s expression remained unchanged, his sword pressing forward continuously, taking firm control of the initiative.

But, knowing Ye Xuan’s aggressive approach, Du Hanlin was not in a hurry to counterattack. Instead, he was looking for Ye Xuan’s weaknesses while also aiming to wear him down—victory was one goal, and preventing Ye Xuan from achieving twenty consecutive victories was another.

Moreover, given Ye Xuan’s tender age and having fought eighteen bouts consecutively, he couldn’t possibly be without fatigue. Waging a war of attrition was to Du Hanlin’s advantage.

Du Hanlin had his strategies, but Ye Xuan also had his plans.

Because he discovered that his opponent’s righteousness inexplicably enhanced his swordsmanship. As the fight continued, Ye Xuan felt as if he was entering a peculiar state, where the impurities within his sword technique seemed to be slowly filtering out. It wasn’t the swordsmanship itself that was changing—it was Ye Xuan as a swordsman.

Sword Heart Clarity.

Ye Xuan felt a fresh enlightenment, yet it was strangely familiar because, in his past life, he had once mastered this realm. Now, he was merely re-cultivating it, which was much easier than a novice’s first realization.

Attaining the state of Sword Heart Clarity, Ye Xuan felt that the faint imprint of the Martial Arts Primordial Spirit in his mind twitched slightly, as if awakening a bit.

A Sword Qi imprint seemed to emerge on his forehead; at that moment, his demeanor shifted slightly, emitting a faint pressure even from a casual stance.

Now, Ye Xuan needed just a glance to make a First Grade Martial Sect martial artist kneel and beg for mercy, completely losing the will to fight.

The changes in Ye Xuan might not be perceptible to the audience, but Du Hanlin, actively engaging with him, felt them very distinctly, stirring immense turmoil in his heart.

"Could it be an epiphany? What exactly did he realize just now?"

Du Hanlin’s heart was stirred up by towering waves, only true Martial Arts prodigies could attain enlightenment right on the battlefield. If he knew that his own upright and honorable energy had helped Ye Xuan comprehend the realm of Sword Heart Clarity, he would have been even more astonished.

"Thank you."

After comprehending the realm of Sword Heart Clarity, Ye Xuan nodded with a smile towards Du Hanlin, confirming his thoughts even further.

With that thought, Du Hanlin sighed inwardly, feeling the despair of comparison; what took many others years or even decades of hard work, a Martial Arts genius could grasp overnight.

However, he was an experienced individual, and after adjusting his mindset, he stared solemnly at Ye Xuan, "If you can withstand the next move I’m about to make, I will concede defeat immediately and fight no more!"

Knowing that there was no point in delaying further and that Ye Xuan would not entangle with him, he then stimulated his True Qi, preparing to unleash his ultimate move—a move that had placed him on the Battle List and made him a highly respected expert.

"Okay!"

Ye Xuan nodded, his expression growing slightly solemn as he readied himself. He was curious to see just how powerful the secret move of this old man, ranked thirty-third on the Battle List, would be.

Whoosh!

Amidst the focused gazes in the arena, suddenly, a wind rose from nowhere. Du Hanlin’s eyes flickered with a faint golden light, and his black hair moved on its own as the energy around him flowed swiftly, swirling around his body.

The upright and formidable energy surged tremendously as if a towering phantom vaguely formed behind him. This shadow held a brush and a book, emanating a fearsome righteous pressure.

"What powerful Martial Arts, is it actually communicating with the Martial Arts Spirit?"

Ye Xuan was slightly surprised. The so-called Martial Arts Spirit only came into being when the Martial Arts level reached the Supreme Grade, but the current display by Du Hanlin seemed to have some communication with that Spirit. Although it was just a faint phantom, it was still not to be underestimated.

Du Hanlin’s aura had escalated to an extreme degree, causing many of the Martial Artists in the audience to change their expressions.

"Du Hanlin truly deserves to be a top contender on the Battle List. If he uses this move with his full strength, he might even advance further in ranking. Sima Nan can’t even carry his shoes."

"Yes, the turnover on the Battle List is quick and the competition fierce. There were so many top contenders before. Ye Xuan managed to defeat Sima Nan, but there might still be a gap compared to Du Hanlin."

With Du Hanlin’s killer move coming out, public sentiment immediately swayed towards him. Those Martial Artists who had previously hoped for Ye Xuan now largely held their tongues. The odds of Ye Xuan blocking this move were too slim.

At the gambling platform, Lady Xuan caught a glimpse of the seven hundred thousand Xuanyuan Pills entirely bet on Ye Xuan. She sighed, following Ye Xuan’s instruction to bet on him every time, which had won her a fortune so far. But losing just once could make it all go back.

"He got off easy, not having to face me," Fu Juechen fanned himself with his folding fan. If it had been him fighting, Ye Xuan wouldn’t just be facing defeat; he would be dead.

At the moment, it was still uncertain whether this old man, Du Hanlin, could actually kill Ye Xuan.

"Spring and Autumn Pen Skill, Sage Ink Imprint!"

Du Hanlin’s face turned golden as he gathered his energy, and he swung his judge’s pen.

Behind him, the towering figure shadowed his movements. A massive ancient character for "scripture" emerged, as if containing the force of thousands of galloping horses, fiercely rushing towards Ye Xuan.

When stepping into the First Grade Martial Sect, a casual punch from Ye Xuan could produce the force of three thousand galloping horses. After advancing to Second Grade, it could reach four thousand horses’ strength. With a Martial Arts strike, this force could increase significantly depending on the sword techniques and the power of the Martial Arts.

"Thunder Slash!"

Facing the fierce ancient character, Ye Xuan countered with a backhand sword strike, filled with thunderous sword light that slashed horizontally. Upon striking the ancient character, nearly five thousand galloping horses’ power erupted, and the sound of tearing fabric suddenly filled the air.

Boom!

A shocking aftermath swept out. In an instant, Du Hanlin’s figure was sent flying backward, retreating more than ten steps in an undignified manner until he finally stopped at the edge of the platform, barely keeping himself from being blasted off.

But in this exchange of ultimate moves, he had lost.

"I lost. Congratulations, you have advanced to the Battle List early."

Du Hanlin sighed, fully convinced by his defeat. Ye Xuan did not take any shortcuts but defeated him straightforwardly. This strength truly deserved a place on the Battle List.

Though typically one needed twenty consecutive wins to get on the Battle List, Ye Xuan, having defeated him, who was ranked thirty-third, would now automatically replace him as the thirty-third-ranked expert. Du Hanlin would move down one rank, and thus the thirty-sixth place would be squeezed out of the Battle List ranking.