Chapter 13: Su Xin! Su Xin!

With a swift step, Zhao Ling suddenly appeared before him. Upon closer inspection, a faint aura of thunder still shimmered around his body.

Like a bolt of lightning, the battle blade in his hand swung forth in unison.

Boom! Crack!

The blade descended, accompanied by flashes of thunder.

“The Thirty-Six Thunderbolt Techniques!”

“The most powerful recognized blade technique in the Su family’s secret manual!”

“His very body emanates thunder; Zhao Ling has clearly mastered this blade technique to perfection.”

Several powerful cultivators at the Huahai Realm watching nearby revealed expressions of astonishment.

The Thirty-Six Thunderbolt Techniques—mastering it to such a degree meant that, even among Huahai Realm experts, Zhao Ling ranked among the elite.

No wonder he had reached the eleventh level of the True Martial Pavilion.

As Zhao Ling continued to swing his blade, each flash of light resembled apocalyptic thunder, directly enveloping Su Xin.

Su Xin’s eyes gleamed like lightning. Although the speed of the slashing blade was incredibly swift, in his mind, time seemed to slow.

This was a unique ability gained after awakening his Supreme Bloodline.

By relying on the swordsmanship manual he cultivated, he could identify flaws or weaknesses within the techniques, refine them, and even deduce stronger moves on his own.

Similarly, when facing opponents, as long as their power level wasn’t overwhelmingly superior, he could find weak points in their moves.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The repeated clashing of metal rang out.

Su Xin’s sword swings appeared casual, and their power seemed unremarkable, yet the terrifying blade flashes, as swift as thunderbolts, were repeatedly intercepted and dismantled by him.

In the blink of an eye, all thirty-six strikes had been completely blocked by Su Xin, who only took a few steps back.

“Impossible!” Zhao Ling’s breath became erratic, his face filled with disbelief.

“This… this…” The surrounding crowd was stunned, especially the Huahai Realm experts present.

They well understood the terror of the Thirty-Six Thunderbolt Techniques. Under normal circumstances, to block such a blade style, one would need to counter with equally formidable moves or rely on speed and agility to evade.

But for Su Xin to casually block all thirty-six strikes with a mere sword swing—that was unprecedented.

“This scene… why does it feel so familiar?”

Among the crowd, Su Yuning wore a strange expression. She remembered that when they had sought guidance from the man who had reached the fourteenth level of the True Martial Pavilion, known as “Sword One,” he had effortlessly blocked many of her sword techniques with nonchalance.

“So this is your blade technique?” Su Xin’s lips curled into a faint sneer as he looked at Zhao Ling.

“Bastard!”

Zhao Ling was clearly irritated, his aura growing wild and violent.

Boom!

He charged again, the faint thunder around his body seeming to condense into a tangible force.

“Noon Thunder!”

A fierce shout echoed as Zhao Ling gripped his blade with both hands, slashing down ferociously.

It was a strike capable of cleaving mountains and splitting valleys—a terrifying move.

This was Zhao Ling’s ultimate secret skill!

Su Xin remained calm, watching until the mountain-cleaving strike reached him before lightning-fast countering.

He thrust his sword straight forward, the tip piercing exactly where the blade’s power converged.

Zhao Ling felt a peculiar force acting upon his battle blade, instantly dissipating the terrifying momentum he had gathered.

With a twist of Su Xin’s wrist, the sword’s edge eerily grazed Zhao Ling’s arm…

“Shh!”

The blade left a clear slash mark on Zhao Ling’s shoulder.

Though not deep enough to affect his combat strength, the wound was an unprecedented humiliation for him.

Just moments ago, Zhao Ling had confidently claimed that forcing him to use his blade technique was enough to take pride.

Yet in the blink of an eye, Su Xin had effortlessly countered his entire technique, instantly neutralized his ultimate move, and even inflicted injury upon him.

How could Zhao Ling accept such a result?

“Su Xin, you’ve angered me!”

Zhao Ling roared, his eyes burning with fury.

In the next instant, he surged forward again, wielding his fierce blade technique with brutal force, relentlessly attacking Su Xin.

But the result was the same—

Clang!

A clash rang out as Su Xin easily deflected his blade, the sword’s edge sliding along Zhao Ling’s waist.

Clang!

After each exchange, Su Xin left a fine sword mark on Zhao Ling’s wrist.

Time and again, Su Xin pinpointed weak spots in Zhao Ling’s blade technique with uncanny precision, striking accurately and leaving more sword marks.

Before long, Zhao Ling’s body was etched with thirteen sword scars.

Though all were minor and avoided vital points, his strength remained largely unaffected.

The spectators around the training ground were already dumbfounded.

Just moments earlier, when Zhao Ling announced he was preparing to unleash his blade technique, many in the Su family had been anxious for Su Xin.

After all, Zhao Ling had conquered the eleventh level of the True Martial Pavilion.

Yet, when Zhao Ling wielded his blade against Su Xin, the battle turned into a one-sided rout.

“The gap is too vast, they’re not even on the same level!”

“That’s Zhao Ling, the one who passed the eleventh level of the True Martial Pavilion! His blade technique is so terrifying, yet before Su Xin, it’s utterly one-sided?”

“Mockery—Su Xin is completely mocking him!”

The Su family’s strong cultivators and disciples watching were thrilled and invigorated.

Over the past three years, as the Su family declined, a faction led by Zhao Tianlei had run rampant within the family, even trampling over the family’s authority.

They even vied for the Sword Order, the symbol of power among the young generation, aiming to strip the Su family of its control and seize power for themselves.

Yet, the Su family faced threats from beyond, and the younger generation had proven largely disappointing—no one could rival Zhao Ling.

They could only watch helplessly as Zhao Ling won first place in the grand competition and took control of the Sword Order.

But just when all hope seemed lost—

Su Xin appeared from nowhere.

Not only did he reveal terrifying strength to face Zhao Ling head-on, but he now openly dominated and ridiculed Zhao Ling with his swordsmanship.

This gave every strong Su family disciple present a profound sense of vindication.

“Well done!”

“Su Xin!”

“Young Master!”

The Su family disciples around the training ground shouted excitedly.

In the stands, three figures sat quietly, their expressions varied, especially Yuan Qing from the Red Dragon Tower.

“That boy… I thought he looked familiar the moment I saw him. Sure enough, he’s Sword One,” Yuan Qing muttered inwardly.

Sword One had challenged the True Martial Pavilion half a month ago, his appearance concealed by a hood, but his figure was unmistakable.

Yuan Qing had felt a faint familiarity when first seeing Su Xin but hadn’t given it much thought.

Yet as Su Xin displayed his strength, casually dominating Zhao Ling, Yuan Qing immediately confirmed his identity.

After all, Zhao Ling had passed the eleventh level of the True Martial Pavilion, his skill formidable.

For Su Xin to so effortlessly trample him, his skill must be at least at the thirteenth level.

Currently, in Yongning Prefecture, only Sword One was recorded to have surpassed the thirteenth level of the True Martial Realm, and Su Xin wielded a sword.

Coupled with Yuan Qing’s recognition of his figure, there was no doubt: Su Xin was indeed Sword One.

“Since he is Sword One, it’s no surprise he can easily dominate Zhao Ling with his swordsmanship. But what exactly does this kid want? With his skills, he could have easily struck Zhao Ling down in any of their many clashes. Instead, he’s only left minor sword marks on him.”

“Could it be that he’s really just venting for the Su family?” Yuan Qing pondered.

On the battlefield, Zhao Ling’s eyes were bloodshot, his body covered with thirteen clear sword scars, all still bleeding, making him look utterly miserable.

“Su Xin! Su Xin!”

“You bastard!”

Zhao Ling roared furiously, his already raging aura skyrocketing at a shocking speed, reaching a new level in an instant.

“This is… the Huahai Realm!”

“No!”

The Su family’s disciples who had just been excited now showed shock and anger.

Some couldn’t help but roar.

“Huahai Realm?”

Even Su Qinghong and Su Yuning, the Su family’s geniuses, looked despairing.

Su Xin had clearly won, yet at this critical moment, Zhao Ling had broken through.

His cultivation had surged from the Tenth True Martial Stage straight into the Huahai Realm.

This was a monumental breakthrough—a qualitative transformation in strength!

“Su Xin, do you know that I could have broken through to the Huahai Realm long ago, but I deliberately suppressed my cultivation?” Zhao Ling’s cold voice echoed over the training ground.

“That’s because not long ago, I obtained an incredibly powerful cultivation method from my father. I intended to switch to it and use it as a base to break through to the Huahai Realm, so that when I did, my strength would be even greater!”

“But because of you!”

“Because you appeared, I was forced to break through prematurely!”

“Su Xin, you truly deserve to die!”

Zhao Ling bellowed.

His words instantly clarified for the crowd that Zhao Ling had long been capable of reaching the Huahai Realm but had held back his power.

“No wonder his strength was so formidable; he was already a half-step into the Huahai Realm,” Su Qinghong thought.

“Brother! Brother!”

At a nearby gathering of retainers, Zhao Qing shouted proudly and excitedly.

“Look! This is my big brother’s true strength!”

In the stands, Yuan Qing furrowed his brow deeply.

“That kid…”

“He had the chance to defeat Zhao Ling outright before but chose to hold back, allowing Zhao Ling to breakthrough.”

“And even after Zhao Ling’s breakthrough, that kid’s expression didn’t change much, as if it was all expected.”

“Could it be that he’s confident in dealing with Zhao Ling even after his advancement to the Huahai Realm?”

…