Chapter 55: Widespread Shock, Solitary Melancholy

This is bad!?Mo Tianling was instantly alarmed. He could sense the life-threatening danger rushing right towards him. He felt his heart sink into despair, as if he were on the verge of drowning.

He’d fought and killed on the battlefield for over a year, an incomparably brutal tempering.

But this was the first time he’d felt so close to death. He’d never been so terrified in his life!!

His will to fight instantly shattered, and he sank into despair.

Struggle?

Resist?

Fight with everything he had?

All of these ideas shattered into pieces. His mind went entirely blank.

Meanwhile, beneath countless gazes, an unbelievable scene played out.

The spectators watched as Mo Tianling just stood there, as if his soul had left his body.

And Su Yi? His gently pressing hands suddenly clenched and shifted positions.

Boom!

The air shook, rumbling like thunder.

The entire iron-wrought stage trembled, stirring up shrieking gales. Mo Tianling’s long hair billowed, and his clothes fluttered in the wind.

“What level of martial art is that?”

The entire venue fell silent. The higher-ups of both participating cities couldn’t help but gasp.

Mo Tianling’s Malevolent Celestial Thunder Hand was the Cloudlight Marquis’ long-famed ultimate skill, a top-class killing technique.

But Su Yi’s martial art was like straight-up immortal magic!

His attack seemed light and ethereal, yet it resembled a falling skyscraper or the dome of heaven falling to earth. It shook the hearts of all who witnessed it.

“How is this possible….” Hidden within her sleeves, Nan Ying’s pale fists clenched so hard that her veins?bulged.

She stared intently at the youth in jade robes, the man with the bearing of a deity. Tidal waves surged through her heart, and she felt an indescribable, inexplicable resentment.?She was on the verge of losing control completely.

By now, who couldn’t tell that Su Yi had more than just “recovered” his former cultivation? His attainments in the Martial Dao were now strong enough to suppress even Mo Tianling!

This revelation was simply shocking!

“Why didn’t you defeat me in a single attack?”?Mo Tianling had already regained his senses. His face was pallid, and there was a hint of lingering terror in his expression. More than that, there was resentment and bitterness.

“I said I’d give you the chance to draw your saber. Had I suppressed you right off the bat, wouldn’t it seem like I didn’t keep my word?” said Su Yi flatly.

Mo Tianling was stunned.?It was just to give me a chance to draw my blade?

Su Yi’s words were a deep affront to his dignity. His expression soured, becoming unsightly, and his eyes blazed with viciousness and fury.

“I can admit defeat, but there’s no way I’ll accept this kind of humiliation!” said Mo Tianling icily.

He drew his saber.

Clang!

The deep purple of its blade had an eerie, radiant luster. Against the darkness and beneath the lantern’s glow, it flashed with a chilling, bloodthirsty light.

A purple saber!

The Cloudlight Marquis had given him this weapon personally in hopes that Mo Tianling would use it to slaughter countless enemies in battle and achieve matchless meritorious deeds.

Mo Tianling had disdained to draw his blade even against Wen Jueyuan.

With his saber in hand, Mo Tianling’s demeanor changed. He was fierce and domineering as flame, as sharp-edged as frost.?This scene drew the countless spectators’ attention, stunning each and every one of them.

“So, his real trump card was the Dao of the Saber….” Wen Jueyuan’s eyes were lifeless, and his face was ashen.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Mo Tianling strode across the stage, each step like a heaven-shaking drum.

He raised his purple saber into the air. It lit up with eerie, radiant light as he swung in fury.

The Blood-Drinking Slash!

Years ago, this very attack had made the Cloudlight Marquis nigh-invincible on the battlefield. It was the reason his enemies paled and fled at the very mention of his name.

When Mo Tianling used it, he lacked the monstrous power of the Grandmaster Realm, but he retained a portion of the slash’s essence.

The edge struck like lightning, its radiance unearthly. The air split beneath this vicious swing, stirring up high-pitched, howling winds.

Who knew how many people felt chills course down their spines when they saw this attack?

But Su Yi merely furrowed his brow, a hint of disappointment flickering across his face.

He sighed, and his tall, lean frame finally took action.

Clothes fluttering, he stood as graceful as a crane in cold water, with a detached, ethereal charm.

He raised the fingers of his right hand, avoiding the layers of unearthly saber light by a hair, and gently tapped Mo Tianling’s blade.?His movements were casual and understated.

Clang!

.

The sound of the resulting collision stung the eardrums. Mo Tianling froze in place, as if he’d been struck by lightning, quivering violently from head to toe.

The purple saber shook and buzzed in his hand, then flew from his grip.

The Blood-Drinking Slash was Mo Tianling’s secret weapon, his ultimate killing technique, yet Su Yi had shattered it with a casual tap of his fingers!

Thud!

The purple saber crashed onto the stage, shocking the startled spectators out of their reverie.

Without exception, their expressions shifted dramatically.

A single finger had determined victory and defeat. Terrifying!

“You rely on gambits, prioritizing tricks over ‘momentum.’ You’ve gone down the wrong path and cut off your future growth.” Su Yi shook his head.

And here he’d thought that someone like Mo Tianling ought to have at least some attainments in the Dao of the Saber.

But against all expectations, one swing was enough to tell Su Yi that his opponent had lost his way. His Dao wasn’t even worth looking at.

Mo Tianling stood there, stunned, as if he’d lost his soul. Finally, he said bitterly, “What martial art did you just use?”

He was dazed; this whole fight was like a bad dream. He couldn’t even tell just how strong his opponent was.

“A petty skill, not even worth mentioning,” said Su Yi lightly.

All he’d done was see through his opponent’s attack and break it. He’d relied on his keen eyes, power, and temperament. He hadn’t used some “exquisite martial art” or anything like that.

“A petty skill….” Mo Tiangling muttered to himself, and his spirits sank. “I lost….”

His eyes were lifeless and black, and he seemed to wither as he walked off the stage.

Just like that, Mo Tianling, the adoptive son of the Cloudlight Marquis, lost!

Su Yi remained on stage, his hands behind his back. He said flatly, “Does anyone else wish to compete?”

The entire venue fell silent!

Regardless of whether they hailed from Guangling or Cloudfall City, no one dared accept this challenge.

Mere minutes had passed between Su Yi taking the stage and Mo Tianying slinking off in abject defeat. This overturned countless spectators’ perceptions of reality!

Who could ever have imagined that the cast-off disciple of Blueriver Sword Manor, the Wen Family live-in son-in-law everyone mocked, would emerge as the uncontested victor of the Dragon’s Gate Banquet just one year later?

The most shocking part was how calm and composed Su Yi seemed; suppressing Mo Tianyun seemed almost effortless. This, more than anything, shocked everything present.

Wen Jueyuan looked as if he were attending his parents’ funeral.

He was the leading figure of the Wen Family’s younger generation, a rare prodigy?of the Martial?Dao, someone everyone in Guangling City thought had a real chance of taking home the championship.

In the past, he paid Su Yi no heed at all. He’d always ignored him, and when he did notice him, he treated him with disdain.

But today, Mo Tianling beat him in a single punch!

That alone was no small shock, but Mo Tianling was once an inner sect disciple of Blueriver Sword Manor, and he was now the adoptive son of the Cloudlight Marquis. Losing to someone like him still?hurt, but Wen Jueyuan could accept it.

But when he saw Su Yi easily defeat Mo Tianling, Wen Jueyuan’s mental state collapsed. He sank into a furious, bewildered daze, unable to extricate himself. He couldn’t accept that Su Yi, the person he’d once disdained, was so far above him!

Wen Shaobei and the other Wen Family youths were flabbergasted too.

They’d only just realized how ridiculous they must have seemed to Su Yi, like a pack of silly little clowns…

“That bastard! He’s been pulling the wool over our eyes this entire time!” Wen Changqing gnashed his teeth. It seemed he’d finally understood something, and his expression turned terrifying and sinister.

Li Tianhan’s heart sank. He couldn’t help but wonder,?If Moyun were here, could he defeat Su Yi?

“Sigh.” Zhou Huaiqiu was excited but also vexed. His heart was in turmoil.

Su Yi’s performance was an indescribable delight, but when he recalled the way Blueriver Sword Manor cast Su Yi out and how distant he’d been upon finding out that Su Yi had become a live-in son-in-law, his heart filled with regret.

All he could do now was grimace.

Hu Quan’s jaw dropped, unable to believe it.

Huang Qianjun and Nie Teng’s hearts surged with emotions, their gazes shocked and reverent.

Nan Ying’s expression shifted back and forth, her heart filled with resentment as well as regret.

She resented that Su Yi had climbed back up to prominence after falling into the dust!

And she regretted cutting Su Yi off so completely after learning of his lost cultivation. She should have at least left some thread of their former bond intact. That way, they might still be able to reconcile…

Although she didn’t realize it, Ni Hao had been watching her this whole time, and his expression grew steadily darker. His heart surged with limitless anger.

Huang Yunchong and Nie Beihu looked at each other. They could clearly see the shock written in each other’s eyes.

But soon, they couldn’t help but laugh.

When Su Yi appeared on stage, they knew they could relax.?They just hadn’t anticipated that he’d win so beautifully. They were both Qi Accumulation Realm experts, but even they couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.

Furthermore, they were completely certain that after tonight’s banquet, Su Yi’s name would shake both sides of the Great Azure!

Fu Shan held his head up high, and he could no longer hold back laughter, the sound breaking the silence following Su Yi’s victory.?“Li Jianyu, unless you have someone else lined up to fight, Spiritbamboo Island shall belong to my Guangling City for the next ten years!”

His words spread throughout the arena.

Li Jianyu’s expression darkened, and his heart surged with intense bitterness.

Mo Tianling was his trump card.

Who would have thought his ace in the hole would lose to the Wen?Family’s?live-in son-in-law everyone in Guangling City disregarded?

When he heard Fu Shan’s laughter, he felt so stifled that he almost coughed up blood.

When he looked at the other Cloudfall City higher-ups, their expressions were unsightly.

Meanwhile, Su Yi remained up on the platform, hands behind his back, his expression flat and indifferent, with no sign of any emotion at all.

To the others in attendance, beating Mo Tianling was an incomparably dazzling result.

But in his eyes, he’d merely overpowered a tiny little Blood Circulation Realm youth. What did that amount to?

If Fu Shan hadn’t specifically requested his aid, he wouldn’t have even bothered participating.

If Lingxue were here, we could go boating together on the Great Azure. Admiring the flames of countless lanterns reflecting against the water would be far more interesting than attending a banquet like that.

She’s likely already seen her sister by now. I just don’t know when she’ll come back….

Standing on the hundred-foot Dragon’s Gate Arena, Su Yi gazed at the resplendent lights illuminating the Great Azure. He suddenly recalled that pure-hearted, bright, beautiful, lively little sister-in-law of his.

Suddenly, he felt a thread of melancholy rise within his heart.