Devouring Soul Emperor

"This... I get it!"

Forcing Ye Xiaohai back with a single strike, Chu Qingyun had a sudden epiphany, a new possibility flashing through his mind.

’If the different moves within a Sword Technique can be combined to form Sword Momentum, then why can’t the moves themselves be fused together?’

Just now, an unintentional fusion of Autumn Leaves and Gale and Torrential Rain had caught Ye Xiaohai off guard and forced him back.

This proved it was possible!

Putting thought into action, Chu Qingyun immediately swung his sword, executing Autumn Leaves while focusing his mind on Gale and Torrential Rain.

But this time, he failed. All he executed was Autumn Leaves.

He tried twice more, but still failed.

That earlier success had been a pure flash of inspiration, a rare and fleeting opportunity.

"How could this be..."

’Right! When learning anything, you start with the basics. I should first try to fuse Spring Rain and Xia Feng Wuyan!’

Chu Qingyun immediately changed his Sword Technique, using only these two moves against his opponent with each strike.

However, the first two swords of the Gale Seven Swords were limited in power.

Instantly, his situation became even more precarious. Ye Xiaohai pressed him, putting him in constant danger, and he was nearly struck by the Baji Fist several times.

But Chu Qingyun gritted his teeth and persevered, desperately searching for the opportunity to fuse these two sword moves.

Finally, after narrowly dodging a punch from Ye Xiaohai aimed at his head, inspiration struck Chu Qingyun once more. He had found the key to fusing them.

’Summer wind, spring wind... they’re both fundamentally wind!’

"Go!"

Having found the opportunity, Chu Qingyun’s terrifying comprehension of the Gale Seven Swords instantly kicked in. His accumulated insight burst forth, and in a near-instant, he completed the fusion of the two swords.

The Black Iron Long Sword chopped down, unleashing an unprecedented Sword Aura that forced Ye Xiaohai to cross his fists in defense.

The power of the fused first two swords was no weaker than the Fifth Sword: Dawn Wind and Waning Moon. This bolstered Chu Qingyun’s confidence even more!

’Next, I’ll merge the third sword, Autumn Leaves, into it!’

Life-and-death situations could stimulate a Martial Artist’s potential.

At this moment, Chu Qingyun almost felt grateful to Ye Xiaohai.

Without an opponent who was just strong enough to be a threat but not strong enough to kill him instantly, Chu Qingyun likely would never have thought of fusing Sword Techniques, nor would he have had his potential stimulated by the threat of death.

With his prior experience, Chu Qingyun’s fusion speed increased.

After incorporating Autumn Leaves, the power of the three-sword fusion was already comparable to Gale and Torrential Rain.

After adding Winter Wind Frost, the four-sword fusion’s power faintly surpassed the final sword, Wind-Scattering Clouds.

Little by little, Chu Qingyun was turning his disadvantage around.

By the time he fused the fifth sword, the power had far surpassed Wind-Scattering Clouds, even rivaling the two weaker punches of Ye Xiaohai’s Baji Fist.

At this point, many of the experts in the crowd had noticed something was amiss.

Chu Qingyun’s Sword Technique seemed to have changed, but upon closer inspection, it also seemed unchanged. It was baffling.

"Strange, why is the power of his Sword Technique continuously increasing?"

"This... I see it now! He—he’s actually fusing different Sword Techniques! He’s merging the moves of that low-level Sword Technique as if he were condensing Sword Momentum!"

There was no shortage of discerning eyes in the audience, and someone quickly realized that Chu Qingyun was fusing his Sword Techniques.

Instantly, everyone was utterly shocked.

Fusing different Sword Techniques—such a thing had never even crossed their minds.

By now, Chu Qingyun had completely fused the first six swords of the Gale Seven Swords. The new sword strike was astonishingly powerful, its Sword Momentum sharp and fierce.

For the first time, he forced a prepared Ye Xiaohai back in a direct confrontation!

In the contest between Sword Technique and Fist Technique, he was no longer weaker than Ye Xiaohai!

"Idiot! Why are you competing in Fist Technique? Use your Primordial Power to crush him!"

Ye Lan furiously rebuked Ye Xiaohai.

Only then did Ye Xiaohai suddenly remember that besides his Fist Technique, he had the massive advantage of Primordial Power.

At the beginning, he had suppressed Chu Qingyun with his Fist Technique, planning to toy with him and torture him to death. He had even forgotten that as a dignified Third-level Martial Artist, he could have simply used his absolute strength and pure Primordial Power to crush Chu Qingyun from the start!

But upon Introspection, he was dismayed to find that after the intense battle, he had already consumed more than half of his Primordial Power...

’I’ve used up so much of my Primordial Power, but that little bastard must be in even worse shape. I’ll just wear you down until you drop!’

Ye Xiaohai charged forward once again, but this time, he used even more Primordial Power, focusing on a battle of attrition.

Of course, this did not escape Chu Qingyun’s notice.

However, he couldn’t care less.

A battle of attrition over Primordial Power?

The Qi Sea opened by a Tier Two Martial Soul, at its absolute strongest, would only be a hundred meters in radius.

Chu Qingyun’s Qi Sea, however, was a terrifying ten thousand meters in radius. Even filled to only one-third of its capacity with Primordial Power, it was far beyond what Ye Xiaohai could compare to.

Chu Qingyun focused on fusing the final sword, while Ye Xiaohai grew more and more alarmed as the fight dragged on, his confidence rapidly draining away.

His Primordial Power was being depleted at a rapid rate, yet Chu Qingyun seemed completely unaffected, the power of his Sword Technique not diminishing in the slightest.

’How can this be? Is this kid’s Primordial Power infinite? Or does he have a Tier Three Martial Soul and a larger Qi Sea?’

Ye Xiaohai’s mind was in chaos.

But even if he wracked his brain, he would never have guessed that Chu Qingyun’s Qi Sea was ten thousand meters in radius!

’It’s no good, my Primordial Power won’t hold out... Dammit, I have to risk it all on one last attack!’

"Kid, take my final move!"

"Eight Extremes Hell!"

Ye Xiaohai roared, mobilizing all the remaining Primordial Power in his Qi Sea Meridians. He gathered it into his fist and punched toward Chu Qingyun.

"Good timing!"

Chu Qingyun’s eyes lit up. Just a moment ago, he had completed the fusion of the seventh sword. He had perfectly integrated all the sword moves of the Gale Seven Swords, condensing them into a single strike.

"Seven Swords Unite, Gale Sword!"

At that moment, everyone’s eyes were glued to the Black Iron Long Sword in Chu Qingyun’s hand.

What kind of power would this unprecedented fusion of seven Sword Techniques produce?

Could such a sword strike condense Sword Qi?

Everyone felt a mix of nervousness, anticipation, and curiosity.

A dazzling Sword Aura shot out from the Black Iron Long Sword. Its sharp aura made many people’s hair stand on end, and it felt as if a gale had suddenly swept through the hall.

However, several of the seventh and eighth-level Martial Artist experts sighed softly to themselves.

In the end, he hadn’t defied the heavens; he still failed to condense Sword Qi.

"That Sword Technique is simply too weak. Even with the Seven Swords Unite, pushed to its absolute limit, it still couldn’t produce Sword Qi."

"If he were using a high-level Sword Technique—no, even just a top-tier low-level Sword Technique—a fusion like this probably would have condensed Sword Qi!"

"A pity, what a pity. If he could have condensed Sword Qi, with his strength, he would have been able to contend with a Fifth-level Martial Artist..."

Many people shook their heads helplessly.

In the end, the issue still boiled down to his Sword Technique being too weak.