After his killing intent soared to its pinnacle, Dugu Sheng transformed into a streak of black lightning, charging towards Lin Yi!
But Lin Yi, invoking the Infinite Sword Intent, stood still, responding to myriad changes with unchanging steadiness.
His body seemed like a mountain, immovable, no matter how Dugu Sheng launched his assaults, he could never make Lin Yi budge an inch.
Dugu Sheng moved from in front of Lin Yi to behind him, from the left to the right, as if Dugu Sheng’s figures surrounded Lin Yi from all sides.
There were four, even eight Dugu Shengs, besieging Lin Yi.
This scene made many Saints below the stage shudder with fear.
Had they been in Lin Yi’s place, they probably would have been pierced with countless holes by now, instead of appearing as composed and unshakable as Lin Yi.
It was only after they crossed swords for twenty-eight moves that Dugu Sheng’s sharpness was all but worn away, having reached the end of his strength.
Suddenly, Lin Yi took the offensive, sending Dugu Sheng’s black heavy sword flying out of his hands with a single strike.
The black heavy sword drew a half circle in the air before it heavily fell below the battle platform, embedding itself into the ground.
Dugu Sheng let out a sigh of disappointment, "I have lost."
"You are indeed much stronger than I am; no matter how fiercely I attacked, you did not reveal the slightest flaw."
"I had thought I had at least a twenty percent chance of victory, but it turns out, I didn’t even have that."
However, Lin Yi’s face remained expressionless as he said, "You have performed exceedingly well, there’s no need to be disheartened."
Hearing this, a complex taste lingered in Dugu Sheng’s heart.
Was Lin Yi praising his performance, or belittling him, suggesting that was all he was capable of?
Yet, deep down, he knew very well that Lin Yi had held back, and if Lin Yi had fought with all his strength from the start, he wouldn’t have been able to last twenty-eight moves.
"In the end, I still lost!"
On the high platform, Black Sword Half Saint’s face also showed a trace of regret. Defeating Lin Yi could have propelled Dugu Sheng to new heights.
And it seemed, there was still a not insignificant gap between the two.
"Losing to Xu Qing is no shame."
Half-Saint Xuan Yu shook his head, "Now, in the second round of the sword-fighting conference, only Wan Huayu, Feng Xiao, and Xue Wanliu can put up a fight against Xu Qing."
As long as Lin Yi could defeat any one of these three, then the top three positions of this sword-fighting conference would be firmly secured.
Even though Lin Yi did not choose to become his disciple, he still wanted to see how far Lin Yi could go in this sword-fighting conference.
After defeating Dugu Sheng, Lin Yi faced a succession of challengers.
But the ensuing opponents were still a bit less skilled than Dugu Sheng, none were a match for even a single move from Lin Yi.
Including Jiang Yunhe, who had previously been defeated by Lin Yi.
Even if he exerted all his strength right from the start.
In the end, he was still knocked off the battle platform by a single move from Lin Yi.
Soon, Lin Yi faced a challenging opponent.
Known for excelling in both literature and swordsmanship, Shangguan Tiance.
Shangguan Tiance’s strength was on par with Dugu Sheng, naturally, he was not a match for Lin Yi.
However, Lin Yi was not the type to be utterly ruthless. After all, Shangguan Tiance was one of the top three Heavenly Prides of the Holy Land. It wouldn’t look good if he was defeated by just one move, would it?
Dugu Sheng had managed to endure twenty-eight moves against him.
If one was to play a role, one had to play it thoroughly to avoid being exposed.
Moreover, Shangguan Tiance had always been known as a refined gentleman in Heavenly Sword Holy Land; there was no need to embarrass such a person.
Therefore, it was only after thirty moves that Lin Yi used the technique "Four Symbols Return to Origin" to defeat his opponent.
However, Shangguan Tiance, who was defeated by Lin Yi, did not show any signs of dejection but instead came before Dugu Sheng, somewhat boastfully, "Dugu Sheng, it seems there is a slight gap in our strength after all."
"How so?" Dugu Sheng frowned.
Shangguan Tiance laughed, "You only lasted twenty-eight moves in Xu Qing’s hands, while I held out for thirty moves, two moves more than you. Surely, this proves I am stronger than you?"
At this moment, he was almost at a loss whether to laugh or cry; he had thought Shangguan Tiance had some kind of ace up his sleeve to make such a claim. Still, he hadn’t expected that Shangguan Tiance’s reasoning was based on withstanding two more moves against Lin Yi.
"Xu Qing was clearly not using his full strength; he let you last that long, and you can’t see that?"
"Those extra two moves you lasted have no reference value and prove nothing about you being stronger than me."
Yet, Shangguan Tiance was undeterred, "Regardless, I lasted two moves longer than you, now among all who have fought Xu Qing, I have held out the longest and with the most moves."
"Boasting about being Xu Qing’s defeated foe, are you?"
A twitch ran through the corners of Dugu Sheng’s mouth, "Let’s settle this on the platform later; I want to see how much better your thirty moves are than my twenty-eight!"
The petty quarrel between the two amused Wan Huayu in the distance, who couldn’t help but furrow her Liu Mei eyebrows, as Lin Yi’s strength was improving too quickly, and even she began to feel a heavy pressure.