Chapter Thirty-Two: The Blade Unleashed!

Upon the white jade platform, Yang Yan stood with his left hand behind his back. In his right hand, Moonshadow Frost shimmered with silvery light, like moonlight cascading down, cold and deadly in a way that words could scarcely describe.

With a swift motion, Yang Yan raised his sword, its tip aimed directly at Xu Shaoguang. Moonshadow Frost hummed and trembled, silver light swirling, as if delighted.

“That sword is strange, but it looks to be of high grade!”
“The Zhang family, aside from Zhang Tai’s Azure Spirit Sword, has no other famed blades above mid-tier spiritual weapons. Where did this young man get such a sword?”
Spectators’ eyes were fixed upon the Moonshadow Frost in Yang Yan’s hand, murmuring in amazement.

“The grade of that sword is at least as high as your Starfall Demon Hammer, if not higher,” an elder in fine robes whispered to Xu Tianlong in the Xu family’s section, his eyes glimmering briefly.

Xu Tianlong did not deny it. With his keen eyes, he could see the sword’s brilliance—no ordinary weapon. He clenched his teeth, his fleshy face twisting into a sinister grin.
“Good boy. You keep surprising me, but no matter how clever you are, the champion of this martial gathering belongs to the Xu family!”

Zhang Tai, seated among his kin, was equally astonished.
“No wonder Yan scorned the low-grade offensive spiritual weapons in our family’s Treasure Vault—he had such a treasure all along. But where did he find this sword?”
“Could it be that day?”
A sudden thought struck Zhang Tai, hinting at a possibility, but he quickly shook his head and dismissed it.

He remembered the sword Yang Yan had purchased from the Xu family’s Precious Pavilion: rusted and unsightly, nothing like the blade Yang Yan now wielded.
No wonder Zhang Tai failed to recognize it. After Yang Yan’s prolonged nurturing with spiritual energy, Moonshadow Frost had undergone a transformation inside and out. Not even Xu Tianlong and his son could discern its origins.

In the arena, Xu Shaoguang stared, momentarily stunned by Yang Yan’s calm demeanor and poised sword. He sensed waves of energy and a faint, chilling aura of killing intent emanating from the blade. It was clear that the sword’s grade matched, if not surpassed, his Starfall Demon Hammer!

A nameless fury rose in Xu Shaoguang’s heart. Ever since that day in the city, Yang Yan had overshadowed him at every turn. Whenever Xu Shaoguang unleashed his strength or tactics—proudly believing he could crush Yang Yan—his opponent would effortlessly dismantle his careful plans and climb above him again.

How could Xu Shaoguang not be driven mad? As the second young master of the Xu family, he had grown up surrounded by flattery. His cultivation talent was above average; even with minimal effort, he surpassed peers who had toiled for years. He was hailed as a prodigy. Yet, the arrogant Xu Shaoguang found himself repeatedly bested by Yang Yan, whom others called the “good-for-nothing young master.” It nearly drove him insane.

With a roar, Xu Shaoguang’s face flushed crimson, his expression contorted, rage flashing in his eyes as he stared at Yang Yan. He gripped the hammer’s handle; his arms trembled, and fire-attributed spiritual energy surged forth, gathering around his arms and the Starfall Demon Hammer.

The pitch-black hammer turned a bizarre shade of red, as if forged in blazing fire. The temperature in the arena soared; the air warped around the hammer from the heat.

With all his spiritual energy concentrated in the Starfall Demon Hammer, Xu Shaoguang stepped forward, appearing just a short distance from Yang Yan. He drew his arms back, raising the hammer high above his head and smashed it down toward Yang Yan’s skull.

“Die!”
Xu Shaoguang’s face twisted with ferocity. With a shout, he swung his arms downward, the hammer descending like a mountain, accompanied by a deafening sonic boom, blotting out the sky.

Yang Yan was startled by the sudden burst of speed from Xu Shaoguang—so at odds with his size. Not daring to be careless, Yang Yan immediately deployed Shadow Step, his feet tapping the ground as he swiftly retreated, dodging the hammer’s range. At the same time, water-attributed spiritual energy gathered in his sea of qi and transferred into Moonshadow Frost. With a flick of his wrist, the blade vibrated, bending like a snake and striking the right side of the hammer.

Moonshadow Frost was both strong and supple, entirely dependent on its wielder’s control. After two months of practice, Yang Yan understood its secrets well. Xu Shaoguang’s Starfall Demon Hammer was a powerful, heavy weapon; to confront it head-on with a sword would be foolhardy. Thus, Yang Yan chose to evade its force and wait for an opening.

At that moment, Yang Yan felt a tremendous power coursing through the sword into his right arm, numbing it slightly. The overpowering fire-attributed energy flowed through the hilt into his body, filling him with a restless heat.

“Wait, what is this...?”

Suddenly, Yang Yan realized that a trace of Xu Shaoguang’s fire-attributed spiritual energy had inadvertently entered his sea of qi. As Yang Yan tried to expel it, the fiery energy touched his own faint blue spiritual power and mysteriously vanished. It was as if the blue thread absorbed the fire energy, growing thicker in the process!

A thunderous crash echoed in the arena, sparks flying!
Xu Shaoguang’s hammer missed as Yang Yan dodged and redirected its force with Moonshadow Frost, leaving only a shallow white mark on the jade platform.

“I can’t clash head-on with this brute...”
Yang Yan mused silently.

White jade was a mineral found on the Tianyuan Continent—not rare, but exceptionally hard. Even sharp low-grade spiritual weapons could barely leave a mark, yet Xu Shaoguang’s recent strike had broken this rule, revealing the hammer’s power.

Missing his target, Xu Shaoguang roared in fury, seeming almost deranged, swinging his hammer at Yang Yan with renewed ferocity.

“So impatient? Very well, I’ll use you for a little experiment first.”

With this thought, Yang Yan’s right arm trembled; five strands of pale blue spiritual power rose from his sea of qi, coursing through his arm and into Moonshadow Frost. The blade quivered, its silvery glow now tinged with icy blue light, chilling to the bone.