Chapter 25

Lin Nishan and the Ninth Princess both broke through to the middle stage of the Yellow Apex Realm in the past three months, making them equally matched in strength.

The Ninth Princess walked into the training ground first, holding a green genuine martial treasure-level war sword. She had a slender figure and an elegant demeanor, standing in the center of the training ground, beautiful like a painting.

Shortly after, Lin Nishan also entered the training ground.

The corner of the Ninth Princess's mouth curled up, revealing a smile. "Nishan, I've heard you've reached the realm of 'sword follows the heart.' I want to see just how strong this 'sword follows the heart' is!"

"Clang!"

Her arm trembled, and the scabbard immediately flew out.

"Green Water Like Waves!"

The Ninth Princess knew that Lin Nishan was a formidable opponent, so she immediately used a mid-grade human-level sword technique.

As soon as the sword technique was unleashed, it formed seven sword shadows. These seven sword shadows then transformed into forty-nine.

The forty-nine sword shadows connected to form a vast green water curtain, emitting a sound like flowing water, pressing towards Lin Nishan.

Lin Nishan stood firmly in place, not moving an inch, her eyes fixed on the Ninth Princess's sword-holding hand.

Just as the water curtain pressed against Lin Nishan, she suddenly thrust her sword, striking the center of the water curtain. All of the Ninth Princess's sword techniques immediately shattered.

"Swish!"

The Ninth Princess quickly changed her technique, her sword becoming increasingly sharp.

Lin Nishan remained in place, not moving her feet.

With just one thrust of her sword, she could break all of the Ninth Princess's attacks.

Zhang Ruochen, standing outside the training ground, lightly shook his head, thinking to himself, "Lin Nishan's understanding of sword intent has reached the realm of 'sword follows the heart,' but the Ninth Princess's understanding of sword intent is still at the level of 'responding to moves.' Although their martial realms are the same, in a real battle, the Ninth Princess is absolutely no match for Lin Nishan. If nothing unexpected happens, the Ninth Princess will be defeated within ten moves!"

At that moment, the battle situation in the training ground indeed changed dramatically.

Lin Nishan took the initiative to attack, stepping forward and swinging her arm, forming a huge sword flower in the air.

The Ninth Princess immediately retreated, with Lin Nishan pressing her step by step.

"Swish!"

When the sword stopped, the sharp tip was pointing at the Ninth Princess's heart.

"Princess, you have lost!" Lin Nishan said.

The Ninth Princess put away her Green Water Sword and walked off the training ground, feeling very upset. She stood next to Zhang Ruochen and said, "Ninth Brother, my cultivation is not weaker than hers, so why did I lose so quickly?"

"Sword intent! Your understanding of sword intent is far inferior to hers! Once you reach the realm of 'sword follows the heart,' you will naturally understand!" Zhang Ruochen said.

The second match then began.

The two people standing in the training ground were Gu Li from the Gu family and Situ Linhai, the top young martial artist of the Situ family.

The difference in strength between the two was very obvious. Situ Linhai only used three moves to punch Gu Li out of the training ground.

"Fifth match, Ninth Prince Zhang Ruochen, Bai Wanli from the Bai family."

Zhang Ruochen and Bai Wanli walked into the training ground together.

In the first two rounds of the assessment, Zhang Ruochen had made a significant impression, causing considerable shock among the participants.

Now, those who came to participate in the year-end assessment all wanted to know just how strong he really was.

Outside the training ground, Lin Nishan, the Ninth Princess, the Fifth Prince, and the Sixth Prince all focused their attention on Zhang Ruochen. They also wanted to know how a small apex realm martial artist could defeat a middle apex realm martial artist.

Bai Wanli ranked eighth in the Wang Mountain hunting assessment, with his cultivation reaching the middle apex of the Yellow Apex Realm. He was even capable of killing a wild ox with his bare hands, making him no weakling.

"Ninth Prince, you said you are best at using the sword, but I am not skilled with the sword. For fairness, let's have a fist fight, shall we?" Bai Wanli said.

"Then let's have a fist fight!" Zhang Ruochen said indifferently.

Outside the training ground, many people frowned slightly, as they knew that the Bai family was best at fist techniques.

The Ninth Prince's cultivation was already one realm weaker than Bai Wanli's, and now he was giving up his strength in sword techniques, which would definitely put him at a disadvantage.

"Kill!"

Bai Wanli mobilized all his true qi, letting out a loud roar, and used the mid-grade human-level martial technique "Killing Aura Fist."

"Bang!"

He stepped on the ground, shattering a stone slab, and rushed forward, punching towards Zhang Ruochen's chest.

With the power of a mid-grade human-level martial technique, Bai Wanli unleashed the strength of nine oxen, his fist emitting a faint glow.

Zhang Ruochen stood in place, his legs slightly sinking, his leg muscles, back spine, and arm muscles all mobilized simultaneously.

"Bang!"

He suddenly struck out with his palm, colliding with Bai Wanli's "Killing Aura Fist."

"Crack!"

A sound of bone breaking rang out!

"You have lost!" Zhang Ruochen straightened up and said calmly.

Bai Wanli held his arm, feeling it lose all strength, and took more than ten steps back, staring at Zhang Ruochen in fear. "You... how can your strength be so strong?"

Not only was Bai Wanli confused, but the young martial artists standing outside the training ground were also completely baffled.

After all, Bai Wanli's punch just now had the explosive power of nine oxen. Yet, the Ninth Prince, without using any martial technique, managed to shatter Bai Wanli's arm bones with a single palm strike.

For a small apex realm martial artist, this was simply impossible!

Only the powerful old martial artists with high cultivation could see some clues.

"Bai Young Master's arm was not shattered, but twisted." The general in silver-scaled armor said.

"Twisted? How is that possible? I clearly saw the Ninth Prince just strike with a palm, how could he twist Bai Young Master's arm?" a young martial artist asked.

The general in silver-scaled armor said, "The Ninth Prince's control of strength is exquisite to the extreme, unleashing the power of every inch of muscle and bone in his body. Moreover, when he struck with his palm, the palm technique itself carried a twisting force."

"In just an instant, that twisting force disappeared, so you naturally couldn't see it. Even at my current realm, I cannot control my strength to such a precise degree."

After all, the person speaking was Ge Qian, the personal bodyguard of the Yunwu County Prince, and no one doubted the truth of his words.

"The Ninth Prince is so powerful! Oh my, he has only been cultivating for three months! Even the Seventh Prince doesn't have such a heaven-defying talent!"

"After this year-end assessment, the Ninth Prince's name will surely resound throughout the capital, making him a rising star among the young generation."

Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, Zhang Ruochen walked out of the training ground.

After three more martial matches, the top eight were finally decided.

The top eight were: the Fifth Prince, Situ Linjiang, Xue Kai, Zhang Ruochen, Lin Nishan, Luo Cheng, Lin Tianwu, and the Sixth Prince.

Next, they would compete for the top four.

In other words, winning the next match would secure a place in the top five and the opportunity to cultivate in the Barbarian God Pool.

"First match, Ninth Prince Zhang Ruochen, Lin Nishan from the Lin family."

Upon hearing the name of her opponent, Zhang Ruochen slightly raised his head and muttered to himself, "What a coincidence!"

He glanced in Lin Nishan's direction.

At that moment, Lin Nishan also looked over, her gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen.

The Ninth Princess stood beside Zhang Ruochen, a smile on her lips. "Ninth Brother, I know you like Nishan, but Nishan doesn't like you at all. Don't show any mercy; you must use your full strength. I'm waiting for you to take revenge for me!"

Zhang Ruochen's expression remained calm as he walked into the training ground.

"Cousin, I never thought that you, who only opened your Divine Martial Mark at the age of sixteen, past the best age for martial cultivation, could still cultivate so quickly. It's truly unbelievable!" Lin Nishan said softly, a faint smile on her delicate face.

Her red lips were lightly pursed, and she stood gracefully across from Zhang Ruochen, exuding a fresh and elegant beauty.

After seeing Zhang Ruochen's battle with Bai Wanli, Lin Nishan naturally no longer underestimated him. She knew that the young man standing across from her was no longer the former waste but a martial genius.

She had no confidence in defeating Zhang Ruochen. She even felt that Zhang Ruochen was more terrifying and unsettling than the Fifth Prince, Situ Linhai, and Xue Kai.

Of course, she didn't believe that Zhang Ruochen would really attack her, as she knew very well that Zhang Ruochen had always deeply loved her.

For her, Zhang Ruochen once waited outside the Lin family mansion for an entire night in the coldest winter without any complaint.

When she went to wake him up the next morning, Zhang Ruochen's body was completely frozen. From then on, his already weak constitution became even worse, and he was often bedridden.

In the past, she indeed looked down on Zhang Ruochen. Even though he waited for her all night in the cold, she only thought he was foolish and didn't consider him devoted.

But now, it was different. Now, Zhang Ruochen was a martial genius, and having such a martial genius deeply in love with her naturally made her feel a certain sense of vanity.

"Cousin, do we really need to fight? You should know that the top four is very important to me," Lin Nishan said softly.

Her clear, beautiful eyes were filled with a seductive tenderness, looking pitifully at Zhang Ruochen standing across from her.

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