But the result was the same—
Clang!
A single clash rang out, and once again, Zihua effortlessly deflected Wei's blade. His sword tip slid across Wei's waist, leaving behind a thin, deliberate mark.
Clang!
Another exchange—Zihua's sword nicked Wei's wrist.
Again and again, with flawless precision, Zihua exploited the weak points in Wei's technique. Every time he struck, he left behind a sword mark on Wei's body.
In just a short exchange, Wei's body was already covered in thirteen sword marks.
Each one was small, carefully placed, and avoided any critical points—none of them truly affected his combat power.
The crowd around the martial arena had long since fallen silent in shock.
Just earlier, when Wei had announced he was going to use his blade techniques, many members of the Bai family had been worried for Zihua.
After all, Wei had passed the eleventh level of the True Martial Tower—his blade skills were supposed to be monstrous.
But no one had expected that once the fight truly began, it would turn into such a one-sided beatdown.
"The gap is massive... they're not even on the same level!"
"That's Wei we're talking about—the guy who cleared the eleventh level of the True Martial Tower! His blade techniques are terrifying! And yet against Zihua, he doesn't even stand a chance?"
"He's toying with him. Zihua is completely toying with him!"
The Bai family's elders and younger disciples couldn't contain their excitement. One by one, their hearts surged with emotion.
Over the past three years, as the Bai family declined, the Retainer Faction led by Lei had been throwing their weight around within the clan. They acted like they ran the place—arrogantly trampling over everything, as if the Bai family, their actual masters, were beneath them. Hell, they were practically crapping on the Bai family's head.
Now they even dared to compete for the Sword Token—the symbol of authority for the younger generation of Bai family leaders. That was clearly an attempt to completely sideline the Bai family and claim dominance for themselves.
The sad part was, that the Bai family had powerful enemies eyeing them from the outside, and their younger generation had truly been a letdown. Not a single one of them could rival Wei. Originally, they had no choice but to watch helplessly as Wei took first place in the grand tournament and claimed the Sword Token for himself.
But just when despair seemed inevitable—Zihua appeared out of nowhere.
Not only did he show strength terrifying enough to go head-to-head with Wei, he was now straight-up humiliating him with nothing but swordsmanship, treating him like a plaything.
This moment was pure catharsis for the Bai family's warriors and disciples.
"Amazing!"
"Zihua!!"
"Young Master Zihua!!"
The shouts erupted from around the training field as the Bai family members roared with excitement.
Meanwhile, in the stands, the expressions of the three seated figures shifted slightly—especially Sun from the Black Dragon Pavilion.
"This kid... I knew he looked familiar the moment I laid eyes on him. So he is Storm," Sun muttered to himself.
Half a month ago, someone known only as Storm had cleared the True Martial Tower. Though he'd worn a bamboo hat that obscured his face, his body shape had been unmistakable. When Sun saw Zihua earlier, something about him felt familiar, but he didn't think much of it.
Now, seeing Zihua effortlessly overpower Wei with casual sword strikes, everything clicked.
After all, Wei had passed the eleventh level of the True Martial Tower—his blade skills were anything but weak. For Zihua to crush him so easily, his abilities had to be at least enough to clear the thirteenth level.
And currently, within all of Bright Moon City, the only person on record who had cleared above the thirteenth level of the True Martial Tower ... was Storm.
Zihua used a sword, had a matching physique, and now that his skills were showing, Sun had no more doubts.
Zihua was Storm.
"If he really is Storm, then it's no wonder he's able to toy with Wei like this using swordsmanship alone," Sun thought. "But what is this kid trying to do? With his skill, he's had multiple chances to strike Wei down for good—yet all he's done is leave shallow sword marks that don't even slow him down."
"Could it be... he's really just doing this to vent for the Bai family?"
Back on the battlefield.
Wei's eyes were bloodshot now. His body was streaked with thirteen visible sword wounds, each one still bleeding. The blood made him look utterly battered and miserable.
"Zihua! You piece of trash!!"
Wei roared in fury. His aura, already raging wildly, suddenly surged even further—skyrocketing at an alarming rate. In a flash, it reached an entirely new level.
"That's... the Sea Transformation Realm!!"
"No!"
The Bai family warriors and disciples who had just been cheering wildly now looked on in shock and horror.
Some couldn't help but shout in anger.
"Sea Transformation Realm?!"
Even Bai family talents like Huo and Wan'er were filled with despair.
Zihua had already secured victory—he had it in the bag. But right at that moment... Wei broke through.
His cultivation jumped from the peak of the True Martial Realm all the way into the Sea Transformation Realm.
That wasn't just a minor step forward—it was a full leap into a new stage of power. A complete transformation in strength.
"Zihua, did you know... I could've broken through to the Sea Transformation Realm a long time ago?" Wei's cold voice echoed across the training field. "I've been holding myself back on purpose all this time."
"Not long ago, I got my hands on an incredibly powerful cultivation method from my father. I wanted to rebuild my foundation with this technique and use it as the base for my breakthrough. That way, once I advanced, I'd be even stronger!"
"But then you showed up!"
"Because of you... I've been forced to break through ahead of schedule!!"
"Zihua, you... you damn well deserve to die!!"
Wei roared in fury.
His words immediately made everything click for the spectators—Wei had been capable of reaching the Sea Transformation Realm all along. He'd just been suppressing his cultivation on purpose.
"No wonder he's been so powerful. He was already half a step into the Sea Transformation Realm," Huo muttered under his breath.
"Big Bro! Big Bro!!" Over where the retainers were gathered, Nan was yelling like a madman, his face full of smug pride. "You see that?! That's the real power of my big brother!!"
Up in the stands, Sun's brows furrowed even deeper. "That kid... Zihua had more than one chance to finish Wei off earlier, but he held back—he let Wei complete the breakthrough."
"And now that Wei has broken through, he doesn't even look surprised. It's like he expected this all along. Could it be... he actually has a way to deal with Wei, even now that he's reached the Sea Transformation Realm?" Sun thought to himself.