Chapter 2035 — Sword Emperor Qualifications’ First Trial

As the man rose to his feet, Yuan came to a halt, his focus sharpening as he watched the stranger’s every move.

Without warning, the man drew the sword at his waist and unleashed a swift slash from afar, sending a powerful wave of ordinary Sword Aura hurtling toward Yuan.

Yet, Yuan didn’t move a muscle and allowed the Sword Aura to hit him, and when it did, the Sword Aura shattered into countless fragments like glass.

"So it was just ordinary Sword Aura..." Yuan muttered as he retrieved a random sword he had in his spatial ring.

Since all treasures were essentially the same in the trial, he didn’t need to use Number One Under Heaven, nor did he want to use it before so many spectators.

Then, without hesitation, he swung at the man, sending a wave of Supreme Sword Aura at the man. However, as if copying Yuan’s actions, the man did not attempt to block it and allowed it to strike his body.

Once the Supreme Sword Aura struck his body, the mysterious aura around him flared up, deflecting Yuan’s Supreme Sword Aura.

Seeing this, Yuan raised an eyebrow. The trial had just begun, yet he was already fighting an enemy immune to Supreme Sword Aura? Something felt off.

Just to make sure, he struck the man again with Supreme Sword Aura, and sure enough, the results were the same.

After blocking his second attack, the man suddenly moved, charging toward Yuan with his sword raised and gushing with ordinary Sword Aura.

"If Supreme Sword Aura doesn’t work, then..."

Yuan swung his sword at the man without channeling any Sword Aura, yet once again, his blade was effortlessly deflected by the aura.

Yuan was certain now that the trial required him to somehow get past the man’s mysterious aura, and for the next several minutes, he analyzed the man’s aura to the best of his abilities.

Unfortunately, he was unable to figure out its secrets.

’There’s gotta be a clue...’

Yuan glanced around, searching for anything that might offer a clue to counter the man’s mysterious aura, but aside from the silent figure before him, there was nothing in sight to guide him.

Suddenly, realization flickered across Yuan’s face.

"Let’s see if this works..." he murmured.

Lifting his sword, he gathered only ordinary Sword Aura, just as the man had been using all along, and unleashed a focused slash.

The very next moment, his sword tore right through the aura and sliced the man in half.

"An aura that blocks Supreme Sword Aura but cannot resist ordinary Sword Aura, huh?" Yuan muttered out loud, his voice filled with intrigue.

After defeating the man, Yuan searched his body to see if there was anything to loot.

"Nothing."

With nothing left to do, Yuan continued walking the path.

Before long, he came to another halt. In the distance stood not one, but two masked men, each wielding a sword, and both radiating the same mysterious aura as the one he had faced before.

Without any words, the two masked men charged at Yuan, moving at a speed that was noticeably faster than that of his last opponent. Not just that, but their attacks were also much quicker and precise.

However, now that Yuan knew the trick, he quickly defeated them with ordinary Sword Aura and continued moving forward.

A few minutes later, Yuan came across four masked men, twice as many as in his previous encounter. Each one stood silently, swords in hand, their presence radiating the same eerie aura as before.

Seeing this, Yuan smiled faintly and muttered, "Let’s see how many times you’ll multiply."

This time, he took the initiative, moving before his opponents could react. Though their strength had clearly increased compared to the previous group, it still wasn’t nearly enough to pose any real threat to him.

In less than a minute, Yuan dispatched all four masked men with ease and continued down the path, fully expecting to face eight opponents next.

However, to his surprise, only a single man stood in his path. Though the aura he emitted resembled that of the previous masked opponents, Yuan could sense a subtle difference.

As Yuan focused, trying to discern the subtle difference in the man’s aura, the masked figure suddenly made his move.

Unlike the others, he didn’t strike with ordinary Sword Aura but Enhanced Sword Aura instead.

Seeing this, Yuan attacked with Enhanced Sword Aura as well, and sure enough, it was able to cut through the masked man’s aura.

Having grasped the pattern, Yuan pressed on through the trial with a quicker, more confident pace.

After defeating two masked opponents simultaneously—and then another wave of four—he eventually came to a halt again, and standing before him was a lone masked man wielding Supreme Sword Aura.

When the masked man struck, his swordsmanship was precise, fluid, and refined to perfection. It was incomparably superior to that of Yuan’s previous opponents, leaving no doubt that this foe was on an entirely different level.

Not only did the man move like an expert with tens of thousands of years of experience, but he even used martial techniques.

Yet, despite the drastic improvements, Yuan defeated the man in just a few exchanges.

"This can’t be the real trial. It’s too easy..." Yuan mumbled as he continued forward.

After overcoming two more waves of opponents wielding Supreme Sword Aura, Yuan finally arrived at the end of the path. It opened into a vast, circular field, one that radiated an unmistakable pressure, as if silently declaring the beginning of the real trial.

Without hesitation, Yuan walked to the center of the field and waited for the trial to begin.

Moments later, Yuan could sense several—many presences appearing all around him.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds... no, thousands of masked men surrounded him, each radiating a mysterious aura. Yet not all were the same. The three distinct types of aura Yuan had faced earlier—ordinary, enhanced, and Supreme Sword Aura—were now interwoven throughout the crowd.

"Now this is more like it." Yuan muttered with an excited smile on his face.