Yvonne Easton was shaken back a step by the force of this sword, while Quentin Harper was counter-shocked by the powerful true energy contained in Yvonne Easton's sword edge, causing his fluid offensive to come to a halt.

"Good! Take my sword!"

A sharp light flashed in Yvonne Easton's eyes, her face full of excitement. Seizing the opportunity, she unleashed her sword technique once more.

"Thousand Swords, Hundred Folds!"

With a single thrust, before the sword even reached its target, it had already transformed into dozens of variations—like a hornless antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace to follow. At a glance, all one could see was the flickering of sword light, real and illusory, ever-changing.

"Excellent swordsmanship!"

Quentin Harper's mind was highly focused, his blood and energy surging violently as if boiling, and his true energy circulated at a frenzied pace, surpassing the speed of twelve cycles per hour.

"Cold Moon Meteor!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

In the next moment, the sword in Quentin Harper's hand seemed to become ten, and ten sword shadows struck simultaneously, completely enveloping the dozens of variations from Yvonne Easton.

Ten against dozens—an unequal contest.

But Quentin Harper's ten swords were truly ten swords, while Yvonne Easton's dozens of variations were subtle derivations of swordsmanship, like the moon reflected in water.

Under Quentin Harper's peak burst of ten swords per second, these illusions were forced to reveal their true form, and all the variations dissipated.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

With a series of collisions, sparks burst in the air, and Yvonne Easton's sword techniques were completely broken by Quentin Harper.

Of all swordsmanship in the world, only speed is unbreakable!

Amidst the chaotic swords, Quentin Harper's sharp blade drove straight in, breaking through all of Yvonne Easton's defenses and touching the center of Yvonne Easton's brow.

A chill quickly spread at the spot between Yvonne Easton's brows.

However, before the sword could truly pierce Yvonne Easton's brow, the true energy at the peak of the third level of Refining Truth rebounded, and with a shock, the sword technique scattered. Quentin Harper staggered back repeatedly, his sword nearly flying from his hand.

The significant gap in true energy cultivation could not be easily bridged by exquisite swordsmanship, even if the difference between the first and third levels of Refining Truth was not obvious.

Ten swords in a second—Quentin Harper broke all of Yvonne Easton's sword techniques, but in doing so, he harmed himself even more than his opponent.

The peak true energy of Yvonne Easton's third level of Refining Truth caused Quentin Harper's palm to split open, blood gushing out. After regaining his stance, his right hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably.

……

"Ah! It's Senior Yvonne Easton!"

At this moment, the dozen or so students around finally noticed the unusual activity on the dueling platform and cried out in surprise.

"Isn't Senior Yvonne Easton attending the graduation ceremony? Why is she on the dueling platform? And who is dueling with her? In all of Qingyuan City, besides Brian Norton, Beatrice, and Evelyn Blaze, who else could be considered her match?"

"I know him, that's Quentin Harper, known as the number one among the younger generation in Qingyuan City. Wasn't he said to have had his meridians shattered? How is he here, dueling with Senior Yvonne Easton?"

"Overestimating himself. Does Senior Yvonne Easton think he can be challenged by someone like him now? Looks like Quentin Harper still thinks he's the strongest in Qingyuan and wants to show off by challenging Senior Yvonne Easton. Let's go see how Senior Yvonne Easton deals with him."

In an instant, the dozen or so students put down what they were doing and their conversations, heading over to watch the duel.

But at this moment, Yvonne Easton no longer pursued the retreating Quentin Harper.

"Is this... the Snow River Sword Technique?"

Looking at Quentin Harper, who was sweating at the brow from the exertion, Yvonne Easton's expression was somewhat dazed.

"Meteor Piercing Moon Sword Technique."

Quentin Harper announced the name of his sword technique, then added, "It's been half a year since we last crossed swords, and you've already cultivated the Hundred Folds Sword Technique to the level of Thousand Swords, Hundred Folds."

"Thousand Swords, Hundred Folds..."

The scene from moments ago flashed through Yvonne Easton's mind, and she couldn't recover for a long while. "But it was still completely broken by your Cold Moon Meteor."

"You still have strength left, but I, having just pushed my blood and energy to the physical peak, cannot maintain this state for long. Right now, I have no strength left to fight."

Yvonne Easton shook her head.

At this moment, there was still a faint coolness on her forehead—left by Quentin Harper's sword tip just now.

"If your true energy were a bit stronger, not even at the third level of Refining Truth, just the second level... in that last exchange, I would have been killed by your sword. Even without true energy, in a life-and-death duel, the final result would still be my death and your injury—the outcome would be clear."

At this, Yvonne Easton's expression turned desolate. "I thought that after mastering Thousand Swords, Hundred Folds, my swordsmanship was no longer beneath yours. I didn't expect that the gap between us would only grow wider."

"Isn't that good? You can keep striving to catch up."

"Keep striving to catch up..."

Hearing Quentin Harper's words, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Yvonne Easton's eyes.

This was not the first time she had lost to Quentin Harper. It was just that, even though Quentin Harper had only barely reached the first level of Refining Truth in true energy, he had forced her to such an extent that even after unleashing Thousand Swords, Hundred Folds, she still could not win. For a moment, she felt a bit dazed.