Chapter 625: One Sword Breaks His Dao Heart
Long Haotian’s expression remained ugly.
Of course, he didn’t think he was the only person in the world who possessed a Top Grade Heaven Grade Artifact.
What truly shocked him was that someone like Bai Zihan had one.
His eyes narrowed, then he coldly snorted.
"Don’t become overconfident just because you possess a Top Grade Heaven Grade Sword. You are still nothing before me!"
Boom!
Immortal Realm Qi erupted once more.
Long Haotian stepped forward.
His sword swept through the air.
A dazzling golden sword light instantly slashed toward Bai Zihan.
At the same time, a sharp aura suddenly erupted from his body.
The surrounding sword cultivators immediately felt their own swords tremble slightly.
Long Haotian’s lips curved upward.
A proud smile appeared on his face.
This was his true confidence.
Half-Step Sword Intent!
Although he had not fully comprehended Sword Intent, he had already stepped through the door.
He was only half a step away.
Within the younger generation of the Central Glorious Continent, this achievement was already enough to make countless geniuses despair.
The two old men nodded slightly.
Their expressions eased somewhat.
Although Long Haotian was difficult to deal with and stubborn to his core, his talent was something nobody could deny.
One old man silently sighed.
Long Haotian’s temperament may be flawed, but his talent is undoubtedly heaven-defying.
Half-Step Sword Intent at such an age.
Given another decade or two, he would likely truly comprehend Sword Intent.
By then, there won’t be many who could be compared to him.
This was what it meant to be favored by the heavens.
Slash! Slash!
Long Haotian’s attacks became increasingly fierce.
Each strike carried traces of Half-Step Sword Intent.
The power behind every attack multiplied dramatically.
The difference between possessing Sword Intent and lacking it was like the difference between heaven and earth.
Even Half-Step Sword Intent was enough to crush countless sword cultivators.
The surrounding Heaven Sword Sect disciples stared in awe.
Most of them were sword cultivators.
Thus, they could feel the terror of Long Haotian’s swordsmanship more clearly than anyone.
Yet—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every attack was blocked.
Bai Zihan’s figure remained steady.
His sword moved calmly.
Neither hurried nor slow.
No matter how fierce Long Haotian’s attacks became, he seemed unable to gain even the slightest advantage.
Eventually, Bai Zihan became somewhat disappointed.
His expression turned indifferent.
Then he casually spoke.
"If that’s all you’ve got..."
Clang!
Another attack was effortlessly deflected.
"...then you might as well give up."
The words almost caused Long Haotian to cough up blood.
He was already using Half-Step Sword Intent!
Yet Bai Zihan was speaking as though he were some ordinary cultivator.
Rage exploded within Long Haotian’s chest.
"You arrogant—"
Before he could finish, Bai Zihan moved.
Whoosh!
His figure suddenly disappeared.
Long Haotian’s pupils contracted.
Fast!
The next moment, a silver sword light appeared before him.
Instinctively, Long Haotian raised his sword to block.
Clang!!!
A deafening explosion rang out.
Long Haotian was forced backward several steps.
His arms trembled.
His expression changed.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The pressure from Bai Zihan’s sword had changed completely.
Whoosh!
Another sword strike arrived.
Then another.
Then another.
Each strike was faster than the last.
Each strike was sharper than the last.
Soon, Long Haotian found himself completely suppressed.
The confident smile on his face had long disappeared.
Meanwhile, the two old men behind him gradually frowned.
Their eyes became increasingly serious.
At first, they thought Long Haotian was merely being pushed back due to carelessness.
Then they noticed something.
An aura that every sword cultivator dreamed of obtaining.
The first old man’s eyes widened.
"No..."
The second old man’s breathing abruptly stopped.
"That aura..."
Their gazes locked onto Bai Zihan’s sword.
Then both of them froze.
Complete disbelief appeared on their faces.
Sword Intent!
Not Half-Step Sword Intent.
Actual Sword Intent!
The first old man’s voice trembled slightly.
"S-Sword Intent..."
The second old man’s eyes widened to their limit.
His heart shook violently.
Impossible!
This should be impossible.
How old was Bai Zihan?
Even in the Central Glorious Continent, countless old sword cultivators spent centuries pursuing Sword Intent without success.
Yet this young man had already comprehended it.
And not merely touched its edge.
He had truly stepped into the realm of Sword Intent.
Meanwhile, Long Haotian finally noticed it as well.
The moment realization struck him, his entire body almost froze.
His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
The sword in Bai Zihan’s hand descended once more.
Wrapped in a sharp aura capable of splitting everything before it.
Long Haotian’s voice trembled.
"Sword Intent?!"
His mind almost went blank.
This was no longer Half-Step Sword Intent.
This was the real thing.
A complete level above him.
And what neither Long Haotian nor the two old men dared imagine was that Bai Zihan’s Sword Intent wasn’t merely Basic Sword Intent at all.
If they knew the truth, their minds would likely collapse on the spot.
However, Bai Zihan wasn’t interested in ending this fight too quickly and had no intention of using his Intermediate Sword Intent.
In fact, even using Basic Sword Intent might already have been excessive.
"When will you finally learn?"
Bai Zihan’s calm voice echoed across the arena.
"You aren’t the only person who can have something."
His sword descended once more.
Clang!
Long Haotian instinctively raised his weapon to block.
The impact forced him backward several steps, yet he barely noticed.
His attention was no longer focused on the battle.
Instead, his eyes remained fixed on Bai Zihan’s sword.
Sword Intent!
Genuine Sword Intent.
Even now, he found it difficult to believe.
His Half-Step Sword Intent had always been one of his greatest sources of pride.
It was proof of his talent.
Proof of his hard work.
Proof that he stood above countless geniuses of his generation.
Throughout the Central Glorious Continent, there were not many who could compare to him in the Dao of the Sword.
At least, that was what he had always believed.
Yet now...
Reality had given him a vicious slap across the face.
A youth less than half his age.
A cultivator from a remote empire he had previously looked down upon.
Someone who had already accomplished what he himself had been striving to achieve.
The impact was simply too great.
His confidence was crumbling.
His pride was being shattered piece by piece.
And Long Haotian had never possessed a particularly steady heart to begin with.
His path had always been smooth.
His talent had always carried him forward.
His background had always protected him.
Whenever he encountered obstacles, others solved them for him.
Whenever he desired something, it was handed to him.
Thus, although his cultivation was high, his state of mind was far weaker than it should have been.
Now that he had encountered someone who completely surpassed his expectations, the flaw immediately revealed itself.
His thoughts became chaotic.
His sword became unstable.
His focus drifted.
Even while fighting, his mind remained occupied by the same question.
How?
How was this possible?
How could someone like Bai Zihan possess Sword Intent?
Whoosh!
A sword light flashed past his shoulder.
Long Haotian hurriedly retreated.
A strand of hair floated through the air.
Only then did he realize how close he had come to injury.
Meanwhile, Bai Zihan shook his head slightly.
Disappointment flashed through his eyes.
Originally, he had been somewhat interested in Long Haotian.
After all, this was supposedly a top genius from the Central Glorious Continent.
Someone nurtured by a powerful clan.
Someone who should have possessed a firm Dao Heart, yet the reality before him was completely different.
The moment Long Haotian discovered that Bai Zihan possessed Sword Intent, his mentality had begun collapsing.
In a life-and-death battle, such a reaction was fatal.
If Bai Zihan had truly intended to kill Long Haotian, he would have been dead several times by now.
Yet Long Haotian remained completely unaware.
The gap between them was far larger than he imagined.
Bai Zihan inwardly sighed.
Apart from his cultivation realm, Long Haotian had shown nothing particularly impressive.
His combat instincts were average.
His mentality was fragile.
His battle awareness was lacking.
Even his swordsmanship was overly reliant on brute force, despite being fortunate enough to comprehend Half-Step Sword Intent.
Compared to Chong Sheng...
The difference was enormous.
Bai Zihan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The image of Chong Sheng appeared in his mind.
Someone whose cultivation, talent, combat experience, mentality, and Dao Heart had all been tempered to an extraordinary degree.
Even while facing impossible odds, Chong Sheng had remained calm.
Although Chong Sheng ultimately fell beneath his sword, Bai Zihan had needed to give everything he had to accomplish it.
It seemed that there was indeed a huge difference between a top genius and someone worthy of being called a Heaven Chosen.
The only area in which Long Haotian surpassed Chong Sheng was cultivation, and even that was largely because Long Haotian had been supplied with abundant resources and had enjoyed far more time to cultivate.
Meanwhile, Chong Sheng had possessed very few resources by comparison and very little time to grow.
Then again, Chong Sheng had been a reincarnated cultivator, so perhaps the comparison wasn’t entirely fair.
Still...
Even his sister Bai Xueqing possessed a far stronger mentality than Long Haotian, and she wasn’t even a Heaven Chosen.
Clang!
Their swords collided once more.
This time, Long Haotian was directly forced backward dozens of meters.
His arms trembled violently.
Bai Zihan remained standing in place.
He didn’t move back even a single step.
Looking at Long Haotian’s increasingly unstable expression, Bai Zihan could not help but shake his head again.
"If you don’t want to fight, then just give up!"
