Chapter 26

Zhang Ruochen stared at Lin Nishan, and said calmly, "The top four are also very important to me. How about this! I can fight you without a sword!"

"Really?"

Lin Nishan's heart leaped with joy, and she said, "Since Cousin is so modest, Nishan is grateful!"

In her view, Zhang Ruochen must be unwilling to win against her, which was why he had proactively suggested fighting without a weapon.

However, she had no idea that what Zhang Ruochen was thinking was that he didn't need a sword to win her.

The sword Lin Nishan used was a second-grade True Wu treasure, the Starlight Sword.

As the sword was drawn, it immediately emitted a radiance like the stars, with specks of light flowing over its surface.

Lin Nishan's eyes became sharp as she mobilized the true qi within her body, continuously injecting it into the sword, activating a force-type inscription and a light-type inscription engraved in the sword.

"Whoosh!"

Lin Nishan took three steps forward, each step covering three meters, and she took the initiative to strike, aiming at Zhang Ruochen's chest. A green sword flower blossomed in the air.

In just an instant, the cold tip of the sword reached Zhang Ruochen's front.

Previously, the Ninth Princess had been defeated by this very sword technique, which showed that this move was not simple.

Zhang Ruochen's feet pushed off the ground, and he immediately moved to the right.

"Swish!"

Lin Nishan changed her move, her arm trembling as the Starlight Sword spun in the air, and she thrust it backhanded at Zhang Ruochen's neck.

The Starlight Sword seemed to have become a part of her body, completely under her control, and the sword techniques she used were extremely exquisite.

"Flowing Clouds!"

Lin Nishan performed a mid-grade human-level sword technique, thrusting nine times in succession, one after another, without interruption.

The sword technique was beautiful, and the sword light was dense.

"Wind Sweeps the Clouds!"

"Rain Stops, Clouds Disperse!"

...

Lin Nishan performed thirteen sword techniques in succession, each thrust into the air, but not even the hem of Zhang Ruochen's clothes was touched.

It should be noted that her sword intent had already reached the "sword follows the heart" realm, so how could she not defeat a martial artist with weaker cultivation in a prolonged battle?

"Clouds Disperse, Fog Clears!"

Lin Nishan performed the final move of this set of sword techniques, a grand and powerful move that forced Zhang Ruochen to keep retreating, all the way to the edge of the training ground.

It looked like Zhang Ruochen was about to retreat out of the training ground.

"Almost there!"

Two rays of light shone from Zhang Ruochen's eyes as he suddenly stopped, staring at the overwhelming sword light, and formed a finger sword with his index and middle fingers.

He thrust it out!

"Whoosh!"

The finger sword broke through all the sword qi in the air and struck Lin Nishan's chest.

"Bang!"

True qi transmitted from his fingertips, hitting Lin Nishan and sending her flying, landing three meters away on the ground.

Zhang Ruochen stared at the fallen Lin Nishan and said calmly, "You lost!"

Lin Nishan clutched her chest, gritting her teeth, her eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen. She picked up the Starlight Sword from the ground, her eyes filled with a cold and humiliating anger, and said, "I haven't lost! Zhang Ruochen, let's continue the fight!"

Zhang Ruochen shook his head lightly, not wanting to argue with a defeated opponent, and turned to leave the training ground.

"Heaven's Heart Points the Way!"

Lin Nishan's eyes turned cold, filled with resentment, as she poured all her true qi into the Starlight Sword, performing the lower-grade spirit-level Heavenly Heart Sword Technique.

The Starlight Sword immediately shot out a one-meter-high sword light, emitting a powerful sword qi.

With a wave of her arm, a seven-meter-long sword qi slashed toward Zhang Ruochen.

As Lin Nishan performed this move, the martial artists outside the training ground all changed their expressions.

It should be noted that the Ninth Prince was walking out of the training ground, and Lin Nishan was attacking from behind with a powerful spirit-level sword technique.

If it struck the Ninth Prince, he would surely die.

"Nishan, stop!" Lin Fengxian's face also changed, and he immediately roared.

If the Ninth Prince died at Lin Nishan's hands, the Lin family would be in trouble!

However, no one expected that after her defeat, Lin Nishan would still continue to attack.

It was too late to rescue him.

Just as everyone thought Zhang Ruochen would surely die under Lin Nishan's sword, Zhang Ruochen's body shot up into the air, dodging the sword qi.

"Dragon Soars in the Sky!"

Zhang Ruochen soared seven meters into the air, twisted his body, and let out a dragon's roar, striking Lin Nishan's shoulder with his palm.

"Bang!"

Lin Nishan's whole body trembled, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and her legs gave way, falling to the ground.

Zhang Ruochen glanced coldly at the fallen Lin Nishan, shaking his head, feeling even more disappointed with his cousin.

Lin Fengxian immediately rushed into the training ground, glanced at Zhang Ruochen, and then at the distant, cold-faced Yunwu County King, and said reluctantly, "Thank you, Ninth Prince, for sparing my life."

After saying this, Lin Fengxian immediately helped Lin Nishan up.

He placed his palm on Lin Nishan's back, and a thick true qi flowed continuously from his palm into Lin Nishan's body, helping her recover from her injuries.

Just now, Zhang Ruochen had indeed held back.

If Zhang Ruochen's palm had struck Lin Nishan's head instead of her shoulder, she would have surely died.

Lin Nishan woke up, opened her eyes, and looked at Zhang Ruochen, her eyes filled with intense resentment, thinking, "Zhang Ruochen, the humiliation you have inflicted on me today, I will surely return to you with interest in the future."

At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had already turned and left the training ground.

After Lin Fengxian helped Lin Nishan down, the competition continued.

The next three matches were:

- Situ Linjiang vs. Lin Tianwu

- Fifth Prince vs. Sixth Prince

- Xue Kai vs. Luo Cheng

Lin Tianwu was another young expert of the Lin family, reaching the middle stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm at the age of nineteen.

However, Situ Linjiang was at the peak stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, and he only used one palm to send Lin Tianwu flying out of the training ground.

The battle between the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince ended with the Sixth Prince's withdrawal.

The battle between Xue Kai and Luo Cheng was quite exciting.

Although Luo Cheng was only at the middle stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, the martial techniques he cultivated were very powerful, allowing him to match Xue Kai.

Of course, due to the difference in cultivation, Luo Cheng ultimately lost to Xue Kai.

Thus, the top four of this year's year-end assessment were born: Zhang Ruochen, Fifth Prince, Xue Kai, and Situ Linjiang.

Lin Nishan, Luo Cheng, Lin Tianwu, and the Sixth Prince would compete for the fifth place.

The next battles would become even more brutal, as the Fifth Prince, Xue Kai, and Situ Linjiang were all at the peak stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, while only Zhang Ruochen was at the early stage.

"Fifth Brother, I really didn't expect you to make it to the top four. Fifth Brother indeed underestimated you before. Of course, you can only stop at fourth place, as the gap between the early and peak stages of the Yellow Extreme Realm is much greater than you can imagine," the Fifth Prince said with a smile.

Zhang Ruochen ignored the Fifth Prince, closing his eyes to quickly recover his spent true qi.

"The next match, Ninth Prince Zhang Ruochen, vs. Imperial Advisor's House Xue Kai."

Zhang Ruochen and Xue Kai walked into the training ground together.

Xue Kai sized up Zhang Ruochen and said with a smile, "Ninth Prince, your most skilled weapon is the sword, right?"

"Sure!" Zhang Ruochen replied.

"Great! Then let's have a sword duel!" Xue Kai extended his arm, and a young martial artist from the Imperial Advisor's House handed him a long sword.

Xue Kai had carefully observed Zhang Ruochen's previous two matches and believed that Zhang Ruochen's skill with the sword was just a facade. Zhang Ruochen's true strength was definitely in palm techniques.

After all, the palm techniques Zhang Ruochen displayed in the previous two matches were indeed very powerful, not at all like those of a sword expert.

Palm techniques emphasize powerful force.

Sword techniques emphasize agile changes.

The two are difficult to combine.

Therefore, Xue Kai proposed a sword duel.

He believed that Zhang Ruochen's sword skills were far inferior to his.

"Ninth Brother, catch the sword!" The Ninth Princess threw her own sword, the Green Water Sword, to Zhang Ruochen.

Zhang Ruochen caught the Green Water Sword, gripped the hilt, and immediately felt a faint coldness emanating from the sword.

"A third-grade True Wu treasure sword, with three ice-type inscriptions and three force-type inscriptions engraved in the sword." Zhang Ruochen determined its grade simply by holding the sword.