The black sword in her palm emanated an unspeakable sharpness from the moment it appeared.
From the sword intent surrounding her, one could clearly feel it easily surpassed the Shen Yuan sword in his hand.
Looking at it this way, the outcome was quite obvious.
Ye Yun's lips twitched as he grumbled.
"You're already suppressing me so much, yet you still bring out a Quasi-Emperor artifact?"
"You see well. This is indeed a Quasi-Emperor artifact."
Ning Qianqin admitted it quite frankly.
This made Ye Yun feel like a thousand mythical creatures were stampeding in his heart.
If both sides were to unleash their full power, the might of a Quasi-Emperor artifact would be immeasurably greater than that of a top-grade immortal artifact.
"You're really going all out with this bullying, aren't you..."
Even though he looked at the sword and felt it didn't quite match her aura, its power was undeniable.
However, Ning Qianqin then said something Ye Yun didn't expect.
"It is a bit of bullying, but if you can win, this Quasi-Emperor artifact will be yours."
"Uh..."
Looking at Ning Qianqin's smile and the extraordinary black longsword in her hand.
Ye Yun agreed with utmost alacrity.
"No problem, this Quasi-Emperor artifact will definitely be mine!"
Since it was going to be given to him afterward, Ye Yun wasn't going to be polite.
Before this, he had been a bit troubled, wanting to find a high-quality sword to give to his disciple to obtain an exceptionally high-quality reward.
But in the entire Heavenly Domain, obtaining a Quasi-Emperor artifact, or even a top-grade immortal artifact through normal means, was extremely difficult.
And now, Ning Qianqin was practically delivering it to him on a silver platter!
A Quasi-Emperor artifact, and one that could be used to earn return rewards. As long as he got it, he would be making a massive profit!
Ning Qianqin smiled faintly and then said.
"If that's the case, let's give it a try."
She casually retracted the tea table that had been floating in the surrounding space.
Then, she stood with her sword, gazing at Ye Yun, as if waiting for him to make the first move.
Ye Yun, seeing her seemingly yielding stance, didn't hesitate and nodded.
"Then, Miss Ning, be careful!"
As the words fell, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
The Shen Yuan sword in his hand was suddenly enveloped by a surging sword intent, its sharpness reaching for the heavens.
This Origin Sword Intent was far superior to the Divine Grace Sword Intent that had been strengthened by the Root Sword Intent before.
At the same time, Ye Yun immediately activated the Heavenly Principle of Sword.
Furthermore, a layer of blazing flames also enveloped him and the Shen Yuan sword.
It was the Heavenly Principle of True Flame, a power he also unleashed.
"Truly impressive. Two Heavenly Principles at work, not to be underestimated."
Ning Qianqin nodded in approval, then casually swung her sword.
Compared to the astonishing display from Ye Yun's side, hers was much more restrained.
Outwardly, there were no striking anomalies, but Ye Yun could feel a chilling power emanating from the longsword in her hand.
He didn't know the specific effects of the Primordial Heavenly Principle she controlled, but its power was likely not insignificant.
Ye Yun took a deep breath, no longer hesitating. His figure suddenly traversed space and time, appearing before Ning Qianqin almost instantaneously, and he slashed down at her.
In this strike, he held nothing back; it was an all-out attack, no doubt about it.
And then...
Less than a minute later, Ye Yun's rapid-fire barrage of attacks was easily neutralized by Ning Qianqin.
At this point, Ye Yun stood frozen in place.
The tip of the black sword was at his throat, just an inch away, and Ning Qianqin was within striking distance.
"You lost."
Hearing this, Ye Yun gritted his teeth.
"Again!"
As the two distanced themselves, he attacked once more.
But the outcome was no different. Even though he could discern her every sword move.
Seeing through a technique and countering it were two different things. In fact, after seeing through her swordsmanship, he felt the near-despair of the gap even more acutely.
In her every move, there wasn't the slightest flaw; they were absolutely perfect techniques!
This time, Ye Yun lasted even less, defeated in over thirty seconds.
In the following few attempts, Ye Yun was defeated faster each time.
To the point where Ye Yun was panting, while Ning Qianqin calmly looked at him and said in a soft voice.
"Don't be too eager to defeat me; it will only lead to a more crushing defeat. You need to calm down and slowly understand my moves."
Her words finally helped Ye Yun calm down a bit.
Indeed, the continuous failures had made him increasingly anxious, and the result was an even worse defeat.
Now, it seemed impossible to defeat her in a short period.
With this realization, Ye Yun took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and then said with renewed seriousness.
"Alright, let's continue!"
As for the result, it was as expected. In the subsequent battles, although Ye Yun could hold on longer, he couldn't escape defeat.
Ning Qianqin truly demonstrated to him what it meant to wield Heavenly Principle with unparalleled mastery.
Compared to her, Feng Chi, the Blade Emperor who Smites Heavens, whom he faced previously, was not even on the same level.
Even Xing Lian, whom he had met before, and Feng Qingxian, and his wife Xing Wu, were far inferior to her in their application of these powers.
To the point where Ye Yun couldn't help but marvel, was she a Quasi-God? Or not a true divine being?
After all, if a Quasi-God possessed such strength, how terrifying would a true divine being be?
Furthermore, the number of sword techniques she mastered seemed to be endless, almost as if she could dominate him dozens of times without repeating a single move.
Coupled with the terrifying suppression of her cultivation, he was utterly defeated without any recourse.
The only advantage Ye Yun could claim was perhaps possessing two domains and two Heavenly Principles.
He could sense that if he could perfectly fuse and utilize these two, they would undoubtedly shine brilliantly, and it was likely his only chance to defeat Ning Qianqin!
Thus, the task at hand became very simple!
One was to thoroughly understand her methods, and the other was to achieve mastery of these two powers.
However, before that, he was basically in a state of being utterly dominated by Ning Qianqin...
And so, the days passed.
Even Ye Yun himself didn't know how much time had elapsed. All he knew was that he had been fighting Ning Qianqin intensely in a cave.
Almost every time, he would fight until his energy was depleted, then drink some tea, rest for a while, and then resume their fierce battle.
At any rate, Emperor-level powerhouses didn't need to rest. He was honing his strength in this way, and this almost self-abusive combat naturally led to an incredible improvement in his own strength.
The most obvious point was that, in Ning Qianqin's hands, he went from not being able to last even a minute to gradually lasting two minutes, then three minutes...
Unknowingly, outside the cave, the seasons had turned. Cold gave way to heat, and spring returned in autumn. A year had passed...