This time, the character duel between Tai Xu Sect and Heavenly Sword Sect had begun.
Outside the dueling arena, though the mountains and seas stretched endlessly, the number of spectators was relatively small compared to past events.
They found it uninteresting.
Tai Xu Sect's strongest team continuously lost in the character duel, performing terribly without even a single noteworthy moment.
Very soon, no one held any expectations.
Moreover, this duel was a battle of offense and defense, with the defending side being Tai Xu Sect and the attacking side being a top-tier sword cultivation sect—Heavenly Sword Sect.
Heavenly Sword Sect wielded an ancient and powerful inheritance—the Heavenly Sword Art.
This Heavenly Sword Art was considered the pinnacle of sword techniques in Qian Yuan Realm, possessing an incredibly terrifying might.
Allowing Heavenly Sword Sect to take the offensive, unleashing their lethal sword aura, was a daunting challenge even for the mighty Dragon Cauldron Sect of the Four Great Sects or Diamond Gate, a body refinement sect specializing in defense among the Eight Great Sects.
Let alone Tai Xu Sect, which didn't even have a single truly top-tier body cultivator.
To make things worse, they had Mo Hua, known as "shattering upon contact."
In the eyes of many cultivators, this was a duel with no chance of winning and nothing worth watching.
Tai Xu Sect's disadvantages compounded, making their defeat inevitable.
Yet, among the audience, some still had expectations.
But their expectations were not for Tai Xu Sect to win—rather, they hoped that Heavenly Sword Sect would seize an opportunity to exploit Mo Hua's weakness and kill him outright in this duel.
It was a simple expectation.
"I just want to see Mo Hua die once."
From the Xuan Character Duel to even the preliminary rounds of the Huang Character Duel, this had already become an obsession for many spectators.
They had no other desires—just to see this through. This obsession kept them coming back, making them unwilling to miss Mo Hua's duels.
There was no other choice—this bastard Mo Hua had committed countless vile deeds, enraging too many people.
If he didn't die at least once, they would find it difficult to let go of their grudges.
On the High Platform of the Officials
Yu'er lowered his head, unwilling to even lift his gaze to look at the Heavenly Projection.
He was a little scared to watch.
During the Xuan Character Duel, Brother Mo toyed with a bunch of "big idiots," and he found it quite enjoyable.
But in this Duel, Brother Mo had been losing nonstop.
Watching each match was painful, and he honestly didn't want to watch anymore.
But... this was Brother Mo's match—how could he bear to look away?
What if he actually wins?
If he didn't watch, wouldn't he regret it?
Yu'er furrowed his brows, clenched the hem of his robe, and forced himself to keep looking at the Heavenly Projection.
Aside from Yu'er, Wen Xinwan, Gu Changhuai, Zhang Lan, Murong Caiyun, and Hua Qianqian, Mo Hua's friends and close companions, were much calmer.
At first, they were a bit anxious, but after loss after loss, they had gotten used to it.
Victory and defeat were commonplace in cultivation battles.
While they hoped Mo Hua would win, they also understood limits—some things were simply impossible.
After all, this was the Grand Qian Yuan Sword Tournament, filled with heaven's chosen geniuses.
The fact that Mo Hua had even reached this stage was already impressive.
Thus, they watched simply to support him.
Furthermore, they had already predicted the general outcome of this battle and thus didn't hold excessive expectations.
And soon, their predictions were proven correct.
Tai Xu Sect was losing battle after battle.
The Format of the Battle
This was a battle of offense and defense, structured like a siege battle in cultivation warfare.
Heavenly Sword Sect played the role of attackers.
Tai Xu Sect played the role of defenders.
Of course, the format was simplified.
Unlike real cultivation warfare, which involved thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of cultivators, this was just a small-scale simulation designed for competition and training.
There was no actual city, just a constructed fortress in the arena.
The battlefield was divided into:
Outer City, surrounded by walls.
Inner City, protected further within.
A "City Lord" statue, placed at the heart of the Inner City.
The Winning Conditions:
Attackers (Heavenly Sword Sect) had to break through the Outer City, invade the Inner City, and destroy the City Lord statue to win.
Defenders (Tai Xu Sect) had to protect the statue until time ran out.
The battle had a time limit of two hours.
If the city was breached within two hours, attackers win.
If the city was defended for two hours, defenders win.
Thus, Tai Xu Sect's task was to endure under the onslaught of Heavenly Sword Sect's sword aura for two full hours.
This was far from easy.
Division of Roles
To defend the Outer City, they needed to hold the gates.
The Outer City had two gates, requiring multiple defenders.
The Inner City had one gate, which also needed guarding.
This meant their forces had to split up, which was devastating for Tai Xu Sect's already flawed team composition.
And the biggest weakness was Mo Hua.
This battle format further exposed Mo Hua's shortcomings as a spiritual cultivator.
From the start of the duel, some spectators immediately noticed this issue:
"In this battle format... does Mo Hua even have a role?"
"I really can't imagine what he could do…"
"This is a direct confrontation—there's no room for tricks or deception."
"No matter how good his stealth techniques are, no one cares."
"Even if his movement techniques are fast, he can only run—this is a defensive battle, where could he run to?"
"His weak-level spells can't possibly withstand Heavenly Sword Sect's sword aura, right?"
"With that fragile body of his, even if he tries to block, he won't last a single strike..."
"Honestly, he's useless here. I bet he'll just hide in the Inner City and rely on his teammates to stall for time..."
"Win or lose, it has nothing to do with him."
Some mocked him outright.
As the sword duel began, the image was projected onto the arena.
The spectators watched in disbelief—Mo Hua was actually doing exactly what they had speculated. He ignored everything, went straight to the inner city walls, squatted down, and turned his back on the crowd. He seemed to be sneaking around, doing something unknown. Watching him, there was a vague sense of… cowardice.
This immediately sparked outrage.
"Wait… I thought he was just joking, but he's actually hiding in the inner city?"
"His teammates are fighting for their lives, and he's hiding?"
"At the very least, he could throw a few fireballs! What's he sneaking around for?"
"Is he just greedy for life and afraid of death?"
…
Amidst the murmurs, a few sharp-eyed cultivators suddenly noticed:
"Wait… is Mo Hua setting up an array?"
Someone sneered. "You think setting up an array can be done so easily?"
"But it's clearly forming."
"The formations used in the sword duels have to be drawn in advance, reviewed by the elders, and only then can they be brought into battle. Setting up an array during the fight is just stalling for time! He's just loitering over there, messing around for half a day…"
Powerful formations take too long to prepare.
In real battles, formations need to be arranged beforehand.
Otherwise, setting them up during combat is as good as useless.
The same applied to the sword duels.
Mo Hua squatted there for half the match, claiming to be setting up a formation, but in the eyes of the spectators, this was nothing more than procrastination—blatant slacking.
"He's being this passive, and the Tai Xu Sect isn't going to do anything about it?"
"They're actually tolerating this?"
"I don't think he's the sect master's disciple. Rather, the sect master is his disciple… Otherwise, why would they spoil him like this?"
…
The sword duel continued.
The Tai Xu Sect was already at a disadvantage.
The competition format was also unfavorable to them.
Adding to that, they had a certain "Young Master" who was being passive and refusing to fight.
It was clear how the battle would end.
The Heaven Sword Sect's sword energy surged like a rainbow, cutting through the battlefield like a hot knife through butter. They quickly breached two city gates, bypassing the outer city, and advanced towards the inner city.
This process was effortless and smooth.
Linghu Xiao and his group fought with all their might, desperately resisting.
However, their struggle only delayed time—it made no difference to the outcome.
Before long, they were forced to retreat to the inner city.
Five disciples of the Heaven Sword Sect gathered outside the inner city's gates.
This was the final defense.
As long as they broke through the city gate, invaded the inner city, slaughtered the Tai Xu Sect disciples in their way, and destroyed the statue of the city lord, the duel would be over.
The Heaven Sword Sect would claim another victory, taking one step closer to securing the title of the top sect among the Four Great Sects.
It would be an overwhelming victory.
"Tai Xu Sect… is about to lose."
This thought surfaced in the minds of the vast majority of spectators.
And the more they thought about it, the more inevitable it seemed.
There wasn't even a hint of suspense.
Many cultivators in the audience sighed, growing bored.
"This kind of sword duel is just a waste of time…"
"I could close my eyes and predict what happens next…"
"Obviously, the Heaven Sword Sect disciples will break through the gate, storm in, engage in a final battle, and then kill Linghu Xiao's group…"
"And then that Mo Hua kid will crush his escape jade talisman and run away?"
"Then the Heaven Sword Sect will destroy the city lord's statue, and it'll all be over…"
"The gap between the Four Great Sects and the Tai Xu Sect is just too large. There's no way they can win…"
—
In the VIP viewing platform.
Yu'er hung her head in disappointment, her small face full of dejection.
Wen Ciwan gently patted her head, offering quiet comfort.
Zhang Lan and the others also looked downcast.
The atmosphere turned heavy and somber.
Inside the battlefield, the disciples of the Heaven Sword Sect intensified their attacks, unleashing waves of pure white sword energy, each strike carrying immense power as they aimed for the city gate.
Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Ouyang Xuan desperately tried to block the onslaught.
Linghu Xiao also unleashed his Chongxu Sword Qi, attempting to cancel out their attacks.
But the sword energy of the Heaven Sword Sect was too overbearing.
Five disciples combined their attacks, drawing power from the heavens, their sword energy sweeping across the battlefield with unstoppable force.
The defenders couldn't withstand it.
Cheng Mo and the others fell one by one.
Linghu Xiao was also struggling to hold on.
The pure white sword energy of the Heaven Sword Sect continued to crash against the city gate.
Every strike sent a shiver down the spines of the spectators.
The moment the gate fell, the match would be over.
What happened afterward would be meaningless.
Many people didn't want to see the gate fall, didn't want the Tai Xu Sect to lose.
But even more were just waiting for the inevitable.
Waiting for the gate to be destroyed.
Waiting for the Tai Xu Sect disciples to be cut down one by one.
Time slipped away in this tense standoff.
The disciples of the Heaven Sword Sect continued to unleash sword energy, attacking the gate without pause.
And yet… the city gate still held.
They had been attacking for a long time.
And still, the gate did not fall…
In the viewing platform, the spectators began to exchange puzzled glances.
Something didn't feel right.
Even after such relentless attacks, the gate still held strong.
It was as if it were made of iron.
The realization made some people's faces change.
"What the heck is going on...?"
"This city gate... isn't it a bit too sturdy?"
"It's not that the gate itself is strong... it's the formation on the gate... doesn't it seem too powerful?"
At this moment, some cultivators skilled in formations—whether outsiders or formation elders from various sects—carefully examined the gate. Beneath the dense sword energy covering it, they caught glimpses of faint, flickering formation lights.
Upon closer inspection, a few of them were instantly shocked, standing up abruptly.
"A high-grade formation?!??!"
"The Taixu Sect used a high-grade formation in the Sword Debate?!!?"
For a brief moment, the battlefield fell into silence.
Then, like a boulder thrown into a lake, it stirred up massive waves.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
"A second-rank high-grade formation?!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"The formations allowed in the Sword Debate are supposed to be limited to second-rank mid-grade at most, right?!"
"This isn't following the rules..."
"Is this cheating?"
"Did the Taixu Sect cheat?"
"Ridiculous..."
More and more voices raised doubts:
"When did they even bring this formation in?"
"The rules of the Sword Debate are strict. Anything brought into the arena is personally inspected by the elders. There's absolutely no way favoritism or rule-breaking would be allowed."
"Did the Taixu Sect... bribe the elders of the Debate Mountain?"
"Does the Taixu Sect really have this much influence?"
...
Compared to the spectators outside the arena, the ones who couldn't sit still the most were the elders of Debate Mountain.
To become an elder of Debate Mountain, one usually had to be of great seniority, highly respected, and known for their fairness and impartiality.
This matter, however, was completely unexpected and unprecedented.
The elders had been sitting leisurely, sipping tea, and watching the Sword Debate unfold in a relaxed manner.
But the moment the high-grade formation appeared, many of them were so shocked that they jumped up, some even crushing their teacups in their hands.
"What happened?!?"
"This is bad! How did those kids manage to bring a high-grade formation into the arena?"
"The ancestral rules have been broken..."
"Who inspected him?"
"Were they getting senile…?"
One elder stiffened his neck and argued, "Don't talk nonsense! I personally inspected him when he entered, and there was absolutely no high-grade formation!"
"Then where did this formation come from?"
"Quick, check the recordings!"
Immediately, someone began rewinding the arena's recorded projection, playing back everything from the start of the Sword Debate frame by frame to see what Mo Hua had done.
To avoid bias and ensure fairness, the review process was transparent—everyone outside the arena could see the playback.
On the projection screen, a small window appeared, replaying every single movement of Mo Hua from the moment he entered the arena.
Everyone, including those within the Sword Debate, widened their eyes and focused intently on the "replay."
The recording quickly played through—until it froze on the most suspicious frame.
Mo Hua was crouched in a corner, his back turned toward the crowd, furtively doing something unknown.
"Quick, change the angle," an elder commanded.
The projection shifted, showing Mo Hua's face.
His every action was now perfectly clear.
The entire Debate Mountain fell silent.
Then, within seconds, the entire audience erupted in an uproar.
At this moment, everyone finally understood what Mo Hua had been sneakily doing in that corner.
He was tampering with the formation.
But he wasn't setting up a formation—
He was drawing a formation!
Right in the middle of the Sword Debate, in the heat of battle, as the heavenly prodigies clashed—
Mo Hua had personally drawn a high-grade formation on the spot!
The Sword Debate strictly forbade bringing a second-rank high-grade formation into the arena.
So he made one himself!
The entire crowd was speechless. No one knew what to say.
After a brief moment of silence, someone finally voiced a doubt: "Wait... if he drew a second-rank high-grade formation, then what about the formation media?"
Someone else suddenly realized: "He must have dismantled other formations he brought in and repurposed the materials!"
"..."
"Then what about his formation brush?"
"The Sword Debate allows participants to bring spiritual artifacts. He didn't carry a weapon—just a formation brush."
"A formation brush is a formation master's weapon..."
"Then what about the spiritual ink? Where did he get the ink?"
"No idea..."
Some shook their heads. Many cultivators were completely bewildered.
But someone familiar with the Sword Debate rules explained:
"Participants are allowed to bring a small selection of 'miscellaneous items'—spiritual ink falls under that category."
"Wait..." someone was confused, "Why would they classify spiritual ink as a 'miscellaneous item'? Who made this rule? Do they have no common sense?"
"It was set by the ancestor of Debate Mountain..."
That person instantly slapped their own mouth: "Never mind, I was being reckless. If the ancestor said it's a miscellaneous item, then it's a miscellaneous item."
Someone finally concluded:
"So basically... this kid, Mo Hua, dismantled his own formation media, brought his own formation brush, and used the spiritual ink categorized as 'miscellaneous'... then personally drew a second-rank high-grade formation right onto the city gate??"
"How is this even possible?"
"Is this even allowed?"
"How does his brain work? How did he even find this loophole and take advantage of it to this degree?"
"What loophole? This is outright cheating!"
"Bringing a high-grade formation into the Sword Debate... how are others even supposed to fight? If this isn't cheating, what is?"
"Well... technically, it's still within the rules."
"Besides, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The real challenge is yet to come—the high-grade formation is powerful, sure, but don't forget, he's facing the Five Heavenly Prodigies of the Heaven Sword Sect.
A single high-grade formation might not be enough to decide the winner!"
"If they still lose after using a high-grade formation, that would be even more humiliating..." someone sneered.
But another disagreed:
"You're underestimating high-grade formations. And given that Mo Hua personally drew it, it's most likely an elite-grade nineteen-pattern formation. At this level, you think it's a joke?"
While the debate raged on—
Inside the arena, the disciples of the Heaven Sword Sect had also noticed.
"A high-grade formation?!"
Inside the Sword Duel Arena, the disciples of Heavenly Sword Sect finally noticed something was amiss.
"A high-level formation?"
A tall and proud genius of the Heavenly Sword Sect frowned before speaking in a deep voice, "So what if it's a high-level formation? I'd like to see today whether your formation is sturdier or my Heavenly Sword Sect's sword energy is sharper!"
"Attack!?"
The other four people responded in unison, "Attack!!"
Without hesitation, they unleashed their full power, channeling their sword energy to its utmost limit.
A fierce surge of sword aura slashed toward the city gate.
Even with the reinforcement of a high-level formation, the city gate showed slight cracks upon impact. The tremors shook the structure, sending dust cascading down.
Mo Hua, however, remained unperturbed.
Linghu Xiao and the others simply followed Mo Hua's instructions, neither rushing to intervene nor needlessly disturbing the fight.
For now, their duty was to hold back the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples and protect the city gate.
As long as the high-level formation was intact, it could withstand the attacks of the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples. All they needed to do was apply enough pressure to relieve the burden on the city gate.
It was actually quite easy.
As both sides clashed, waves of sword energy continued to bombard the city gate, only to be absorbed by the high-level Golden Stone Formation.
Though the formation was powerful in defense, facing the relentless assaults from the prodigies of the Four Great Sects, it wouldn't last forever.
The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples continued their fierce onslaught without relenting.
The cracks in the formation gradually increased.
The city gate itself seemed on the verge of collapse.
Seeing that the formation was about to break, the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples were thrilled.
"Quick! One final push! Once the formation falls, the city gate will be ours!"
"Yes!"
They joined forces, unleashing a final surge of sword energy to break through the gate.
Yet, the Heavenly Dao was not on their side.
After repeated attacks, the glow of the city gate's formation dimmed, and the formation patterns began to fracture.
The high-level Golden Stone Formation was finally broken by the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples.
Cheers erupted among them.
The spectating cultivators also nodded in approval, praising,
"As expected of the Heavenly Sword Sect's prodigies, even a high-level formation couldn't stop them..."
However, just as the formation on the city gate dimmed and was about to vanish, Mo Hua, with unhurried precision, placed his hand on the wall and pressed down.
In an instant, a brilliant light flared.
A brand-new high-level Golden Stone Formation was activated.
The city gate, which had been on the verge of collapse, instantly became "indestructible" under the renewed formation.
The spectators, who had just been praising the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples, suddenly felt as if their words were stuck in their throats.
The proud geniuses of the Heavenly Sword Sect, who had just been overjoyed, saw their hopes utterly crushed.
Gazing at the glowing "city gate," their faces turned pale, their expressions bitter.
One high-level formation had already been difficult to break.
What about two?
Was it really just two?
How many more high-level formations did Mo Hua have hidden up his sleeve?
Just how many layers of formations were buried within this city gate?
A deep sense of despair unconsciously took root in the hearts of the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples.
At this moment, they finally recalled something they had overlooked—Mo Hua's true identity:
The Grandmaster of the Formation Dao.