Facing this killer move, Qian Feng merely sneered, conjuring a long sword in his palm and charging forward.
His movements were like the wind; with a stomp, the ground trembled, and his sword slash carried immense power.
"Thousand Feathers Whirlwind Slash!"
With his fierce cry, a brilliant dark golden sword energy traversed the heavens.
In mere moments, the astonishing sword light directly shattered the Starfire Dragon conjured by Fang Zhiwei.
With a deafening roar, the entire ancient arena shook violently, as if the very night was cleaved by his sword.
"Mere sorcery, nothing more!"
Qian Feng, wielding his sword, emerged from the dust, his aura even more imposing than before. The long sword in his palm now bore dark golden patterns.
He flicked his sword tip, gazing mockingly at Fang Zhiwei, who looked utterly astonished.
"How did this guy's sword techniques suddenly become so terrifying?"
It wasn't just her; everyone else was stunned by the might of Qian Feng's strike.
Before this, Qian Feng had gone through several battles, and people had some understanding of his capabilities.
Logically, he should have been evenly matched with Fang Zhiwei.
Yet, now, he had neutralized Fang Zhiwei's killing blow with a single sword.
"It's over!"
A cold smile played on Qian Feng's lips. Sharp golden light erupted from his sword, clearly not intending to give Fang Zhiwei any chance to turn the tide.
This time, finally, some people saw through the trick and stared intently at the dark golden long sword in Qian Feng's hand.
Soon, someone recognized the sword and couldn't help but exclaim.
"Damn it, that guy is truly shameless! He lent his top-grade immortal sword to this Qian Feng for the exchange match?!"
"Good heavens, bullying people with a superior immortal sword, that scoundrel, he's quite the player!"
"No wonder the power is so immense; it's amplified by a superior immortal sword!"
"Qianxun Mountain really doesn't fear shame, throwing all pretense of decency aside just to win!"
The spectators, all with some discerning eyes, recognized it immediately.
The sword Qian Feng was using was Qian Hong's personal sword, a superior immortal sword bordering on a top-grade immortal sword!
Although the Three Mountains Exchange Meeting did not strictly restrict the weapons used by duelists, there was an unspoken understanding that juniors would not wield top-tier magical treasures.
Otherwise, if several Xuanxian realm geniuses fought with superior and top-grade immortal artifacts, it wouldn't be an exchange of strength, but a competition of who had the better treasure.
This superior immortal sword alone was enough to multiply the power of every sword strike by several times for the Xuanxian realm Qian Feng!
Therefore, Qian Hong lending his personal sword to Qian Feng to use against Fang Zhiwei, while technically permissible, was an act of extreme shamelessness!
"This fellow..."
Ye Yun frowned and glanced at Qian Hong in the distance.
Noticing his gaze, Qian Hong actually offered him a smile, displaying the smugness of a petty victor.
Ye Yun merely snorted in response. If he had known Qian Hong would stoop to such tactics, he would have long ago distributed those few top-grade immortal artifacts to Lin Xueyan and the others.
As he mused with regret, the battle on the arena had essentially reached its conclusion.
Fang Zhiwei was no match for Qian Feng. Within a few moves, she was completely suppressed and found herself on the brink of death!
"Thousand Feathers Frenzied Breath Slash!"
As for the decisive blow, Qian Feng could have easily finished Fang Zhiwei with another casual strike.
However, clearly displeased, he unleashed the full power of this sword strike, combining surging sword intent with the amplification of the superior immortal sword.
Around the sword's blade, the wind had almost condensed into tangible wind blades; even its residual force was terrifying.
"Submit!"
Qian Feng brought his sword down, while Fang Zhiwei, cornered, paled slightly.
"This is it... I'm finished..."
Qian Feng poured all his strength into this final strike. However, he did not intend to kill her.
Just as the sword tip was about to descend, still some distance from Fang Zhiwei, he abruptly angled his blade to the side and slammed it heavily onto the ground.
With a thunderous roar, the earth trembled violently from the impact. A surge of brutal power radiated outwards from where the sword struck.
Fang Zhiwei, with almost no defense, was unceremoniously engulfed by the shockwave, her delicate body sent flying outwards.
"Miss!"
"Senior Sister!"
"Junior Sister!"
Almost simultaneously, urgent cries erupted from the arena.
Ye Yun's brows furrowed, and he immediately shot into the air, catching her in his embrace.
"Master..."
Fang Zhiwei, injured by the residual force, looked at Ye Yun before her, her voice somewhat weak.
Even so, as she felt her master's embrace, a satisfied smile bloomed on her face.
Indeed, her heart was filled with strange thoughts.
"Master's worried expression is so beautiful, and this warm chest, so romantic..."
"If only I could be held by Master every time I got hurt, then I could get injured every day..."
Clearly, compared to the physical pain she was enduring, being held by her master was more fulfilling than anything else.
Despite her nonchalance, the injuries she sustained were not minor.
The terrifying residual force had damaged her internal organs and even her dantian. While not a severe matter for a Xuanxian realm cultivator, a period of recuperation was unavoidable.
Ye Yun immediately administered a healing pill and instructed her.
"Don't speak for now, just lie still."
Looking at the disheveled Fang Zhiwei in his arms, Ye Yun's brow remained furrowed.
At this moment, Lin Xueyan and others from the Astrologer Immortal Sect also flew over from a distance.
"Is she alright?!"
Whether it was Lin Xueyan and her senior and junior sisters, or the elders of the Astrologer Immortal Sect, they were all immensely worried upon seeing Fang Zhiwei's sorry state.
Fortunately, Ye Yun shook his head and replied.
"She's not in grave danger, just some internal injuries."
He then moved to place her on a nearby seat but found Fang Zhiwei's small hand clinging tightly, refusing to let go.
"Master... don't leave me... Disciple is so uncomfortable..."
Ye Yun looked at Fang Zhiwei, who buried her head in his chest, appearing pitifully vulnerable, and ultimately couldn't bring himself to let her go.
He sighed, sat down beside her, and gently stroked her hair, saying softly.
"Alright, alright, your master won't leave. You just rest well."
"Mmm..."
Fang Zhiwei responded weakly, occasionally letting out a pained sound.
Her appearance filled Ye Yun with even more tenderness. His hand continued to stroke her hair, as if coaxing her to sleep.
Meanwhile, the elders of the Astrologer Immortal Sect were incensed by her injury.
"That Qian Hong and Qian Feng are truly despicable! That final blow was clearly intentional!"
If they hadn't been outmatched, they would have rushed out to teach them a lesson by now.
Lin Xueyan and the others, seeing Fang Zhiwei in this state, were filled with intense anger towards Qian Feng.
They wished they could rush forward and tear Qian Feng limb from limb right then and there.
Unnoticed by anyone, Fang Zhiwei, her pretty face buried in her master's chest, wore a look of cunning triumph.
"Finally, I'm injured! This is the perfect opportunity to openly monopolize Master for a while!"
Undoubtedly, for her cultivation level, her pained demeanor was largely feigned, but everyone else believed it.
At this moment, Qian Feng on the opposite side seemed completely unbothered, nor did he feel any shame about winning through a magical artifact.
Instead, he felt rather pleased with himself and provocatively addressed Ye Yun's side.
"Too weak. If you lot only have this much strength, then today's first place will likely belong to this young master!"
With things as they were, only Lin Xueyan, Chen Lingyi, and Ye Yao, the three disciples of Chaofeng Mountain, along with himself, remained.
Regardless of how the remaining matches were arranged, he would need to defeat two of them to claim first place.
Thus, Qian Feng directly raised his sword and pointed at Lin Xueyan and the others.
"Since it's just us left, how about this?"
"You three, choose two of yourselves to come forward. This young master will crush them one by one!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xueyan immediately grew furious and moved to charge forward.
However, before she could, a cold voice from beside her was heard.
"To deal with him, Senior Sister, let me."
Lin Xueyan paused, then turned to see it was Ye Yao.
She was crouching beside Fang Zhiwei, gazing at her, tidying her messy hair.
After a long moment, she slowly stood up and then glanced at Ye Yun.
"Master... is it okay?"
Ye Yun frowned at her words but looked at Fang Zhiwei in his arms and then at the arrogant Qian Feng across from them.
Finally, he nodded slightly.
"Alright, but just teach him a lesson. Don't actually kill him."
Upon hearing this, Ye Yao seemed to be freed. A sharp, cold glint flashed in her eyes.
"Of course. Dying easily would be too comfortable for him..."