Luoo Qingshou, the Cyan Longevity Sword. He was a figure who had become famous throughout the world thirty years ago, with a level of strength comparable to the old-timers on the Secret Realm Potential List.

"If you please!" Luoo Qingshou, the Cyan Longevity Sword, ignored the murmurs of the crowd. His cold face was utterly devoid of expression. With a light pinch of his fingers on the sword’s body, a longsword with a frosty, snow-like glint shot out from its scabbard.

"The Ice Cold Divine Sword, a Royal Family’s Top-Grade Weapon!" Gripping the hilt, the longsword let out a low HUM as Luoo Qingshou grunted softly.

"The Ice Cold Divine Sword, one of the Divine Holy Empire’s Ten Great Swords? The masterpiece of the Sword Casting Master Ouyang Lie?"

"I heard it was forged from a piece of Cold Iron from the Land of Sea Ice. Even though it’s still just a Royal Family’s Top-Grade Weapon, its power is likely on par with the Treasure Swords forged by the Sword Burial King himself!"

"Indeed. The Empire’s Ten Great Swords each have a thousand years of dazzling history. The Wind Thunder Sword, the Cold Frost Sword, the Blood Shadow Sword... every single one is a heaven-shaking artifact with a terrifying story behind it. For the Ice Cold Divine Sword to be ranked among them, one can only imagine its power!"

"It looks like this His Majesty Nie Yun is in for some bad luck. Setting aside the Cyan Longevity Sword’s own strength, the sharpness of that blade alone isn’t something an ordinary person could block! Unless he also has one of the Empire’s Ten Great Swords, no other weapon could possibly stop it!"

"If he can’t even block it, how could he possibly win?"

Hearing Luoo Qingshou announce the name Ice Cold Divine Sword, the grand hall erupted once more.

The reputation of the Empire’s Ten Great Swords was simply too immense, representing the pinnacle of sword-making on the Qi Sea Continent for thousands of years. With Luoo Qingshou’s already superb swordsmanship combined with such a Divine Weapon, everyone immediately felt the situation had become completely one-sided.

"Please, draw your sword!"

After introducing his longsword, Luoo Qingshou looked at Nie Yun coldly, his gaze completely impassive.

"The Empire’s Ten Great Swords... truly extraordinary..." Nie Yun heard the crowd’s chatter but remained seated, pouring himself a cup of wine with a faint smile on his face. "My sword is far too powerful. If I were to draw it, someone would die. Seeing as you’re a man who appreciates a fine sword, how about this? I’ll use my finger as a blade to duel you. That way, we can keep things from getting unpleasant."

With that, Nie Yun extended his index finger.

"What? Use his index finger as a sword?"

"Is he arrogant or just an idiot? Even if an Ultimate Venerable Powerhouse has dense True Qi and incredible finger strength... trying to block the Ice Cold Divine Sword, renowned for its sharpness among the Empire’s Ten Great Divine Weapons, is nothing but a dream!"

"Looks like he doesn’t want that finger anymore..."

Nie Yun’s words caused an uproar, and everyone wore a strange expression.

The hand is the most dexterous part of the human body, and to maintain that flexibility, it’s inherently difficult to train for durability. To use a finger as a sword to block the Ice Cold Divine Sword, one of the Empire’s Ten Great Divine Weapons, one had to be either arrogant to the extreme or confident to the extreme!

In everyone’s eyes, Nie Yun’s current actions seemed to be the former.

"You’re asking to die. I will not show any mercy!"

When Luoo Qingshou, the Cyan Longevity Sword, heard the young man’s words and saw his gesture, his face twitched. His expression grew even colder, a sinister glint appearing in his eyes. With a flick of his palm, the Ice Cold Divine Sword shot forward.

SLASH!

With a sound that tore through the air, the sword’s light flashed like water, stabbing straight for Nie Yun’s eyes.

This ultimate technique, a direct thrust at the eyes, had a name: Seizing the Pearl of the Sea. The sword flew through the air as if soaring over the ocean’s surface, striking straight for the soul with unstoppable sharpness.

"Good swordsmanship!"

Nie Yun remained seated, unmoving. He chuckled faintly and met the attack with a flick of his index finger.

TING TING TING TING!

The tip of his index finger instantly met the tip of the Ice Cold Divine Sword. Each impact produced a crisp sound, and in a flash, they had clashed dozens of times.

"What?"

"His finger clashed directly with the sword’s tip without a single scratch? Th-this... I’m not seeing things, am I?"

"Is that a finger or the claw of a Demon Beast? How can it be so hard...?"

Everyone in the grand hall was going crazy.

"You are strong. You are worthy of my ultimate technique!" Having several consecutive moves blocked by the young man, whose finger seemed like an impenetrable curtain before him, rendering his attacks useless, Luoo Qingshou’s gaze grew solemn. He suddenly let out a long cry, "Green-Faced Mad Wind Sword!"

He had unleashed the very ultimate technique that had made him famous.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, Luoo Qingshou seemed to transform into a Thousand-Handed Guanyin. Countless arms appeared out of thin air, filling the sky with sword images. Sword Qi rained down like wind and water, leaving no openings to be found.

Thirty years ago, the Green-Faced Mad Wind Sword had shaken the Divine Holy Empire. Now, honed by time, it was even more powerful, making him appear like an undefeated War God, towering and majestic.

"Die!"

Amidst his long cry, the Green-Faced Mad Wind Sword swept toward Nie Yun in a blaze of light.

"Green-Faced Mad Wind Sword... hmm, not a bad bit of swordsmanship. However... it’s useless against me!" Nie Yun smiled faintly and extended his fingers forward just as before, but this time, he used not just his index finger, but his middle finger as well.

HUM!

In an instant, the storm of sword light came to a halt. The body of the Ice Cold Divine Sword was caught between the young man’s index and middle fingers, held fast like a venomous snake in a pair of pliers. No matter how it struggled, it couldn’t move an inch.

"What?!"

Everyone went mad, especially Luoo Qingshou. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, his face flushing crimson as if it had been washed in blood.

"You... you stopped my Green-Faced Mad Wind Sword with two fingers? That’s impossible! I don’t believe it! I DON’T BELIEVE IT!"

With a furious roar, Luoo Qingshou’s expression twisted, and he looked like a monster.

Others might not understand his swordsmanship, but he knew it perfectly well. When unleashed, the Green-Faced Mad Wind Sword was not only fast but also astonishingly powerful. A single strike from it could shatter even a Royal Family’s Top-Grade Weapon, so long as it wasn’t one of the Empire’s Ten Great Swords. And yet, this young man had caught it with his bare fingers...

’What kind of fingers are those... how can they be so terrifying!’

"So this is one of the Empire’s Ten Great Swords. Nothing special!"

Pinching the Ice Cold Divine Sword, Nie Yun smiled faintly as his index and middle fingers suddenly tensed.

CRACK!

The Ice Cold Divine Sword, known as a Divine Weapon, was casually snapped in two. With a clear and ringing CLANG, the tip of the blade fell to the floor.

"Ah..."

If the crowd was merely shocked before, now they all felt a cold chill run down their spines.

Snapping one of the Empire’s Ten Great Swords with his bare fingers?

What kind of power was this? What kind of finger strength?

Everyone was stunned.

In an instant, the entire hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one dared to say another word, and no one else dared to issue a challenge. The young man before them was simply too terrifying—so terrifying that he was beyond anything they could have imagined.

If Nie Yun’s strength had merely been acceptable, even if he were first on the Celestial List, the crowd would have eagerly stepped up to knock him down a peg and let him know he had no place among the Seven Great Empires. But now... he had effortlessly dispatched an expert in the top three of the Celestial List, used no weapon, and casually shattered one of the Empire’s Ten Great Swords—the Ice Cold Divine Sword. His power was so far beyond their imagination that it left them too terrified to make a single move. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)