Chapter 1855: Sparring (Part 1)

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality – Main Text, Volume 10: The Demon Realm War

This person was none other than the Heavenly Elder of the Lin family, ranked third among the five great families. He seemed to be at odds with the Grand Elder of the Ye family.

"Hehe, if Fellow Daoist Lin is so eager to spar with me, this little one will naturally oblige," the feather-robed girl from the Ye family replied with a light chuckle, covering her mouth.

The cloaked young man, however, merely snorted coldly without a word.

Fairy Xiaofeng, representing the Gu family, and the two Integration-stage men from the Feng family naturally had no objections either.

Seeing this, Patriarch Long of the Long family nodded immediately and clapped his hands gently.

Immediately after the clap, another golden-armored guard walked onto the Myriad Spirit Platform, holding a tray in both hands.

On the tray rested a light yellow bamboo tube, containing five slender, blood-red bamboo slips, most of which were inserted into the tube.

The entire bamboo tube was shrouded in a layer of spiritual light, making it impossible for even divine sense to penetrate its walls.

"Fellow Daoists who will be competing shortly, please come forward and draw lots first! As per the old rules, the contests between us are merely sparring matches between Integration-stage cultivators. There's no need for the younger generation to make a spectacle of themselves on stage. Number one will compete against number three, and number two against number four. Number five gets a bye and will participate in a drawing with the winners of the first round." Patriarch Long stated indifferently.

"It seems Brother Long won't be drawing first, so I'll go ahead and pick one," the richly dressed man from the Feng family chuckled. Without stepping onto the stage, he simply made a grabbing motion towards the bamboo tube from outside the Myriad Spirit Platform. Instantly, a blood-red slip shot out and, with a flash, landed in his hand.

"Number three!" the richly dressed man declared frankly, after only a glance at the item in his hand.

Seeing this, the feather-robed girl from the Ye family smiled faintly, her lips pursed, and with a raised arm, she also pointed a finger towards the bamboo tube from afar.

With a 'whoosh,' a silver thread shot out from her fingertip. In a flash, it spanned dozens of yards to reach the bamboo tube.

With a 'swish,' another blood-red slip was lightly tugged by one end of the silver thread. It shot out instantly, transforming into a streak of crimson light, and landed in the girl's hand.

"Number five."

The feather-robed girl said with a half-smile, her beautiful eyes briefly scanning the blood-red slip.

This Grand Elder of the Ye family had actually drawn the bye number right away.

"Senior Han, would you like this junior to draw for you?" Fairy Xiaofeng, who was sitting next to Han Li, asked respectfully.

"Then I'll trouble you, Fairy," Han Li replied, looking unconcerned.

Fairy Xiaofeng nodded. With a flick of her sleeve, a white silken streamer shot out, similarly coiling around a blood-red slip, which she then reeled back into her hand.

"Number four."

Fairy Xiaofeng looked at Han Li and softly spoke the number, unsure if it was good or bad.

Han Li nodded, saying nothing.

At this moment, the cloaked man from the Lin family reached out towards the stage and drew one of the last two blood-red slips into his hand, coldly announcing "number one."

As soon as this result was announced, all the cultivators from the Gu family changed their expressions drastically.

In that case, the last remaining undrawn blood-red slip would naturally be number two, which the Gu family was supposed to face.

Patriarch Long's gaze swept over the only remaining blood-red slip in the bamboo tube. After grabbing it, he glanced meaningfully at Han Li before announcing to the others:

"The drawing is complete, let the contests begin. The specific rules for the matches and determining victory will be decided by the sparring parties themselves. Now, Fellow Daoists from the Lin family and the Feng family, please begin the first match."

"There's no need to compete. My brother and I admit we cannot break through Brother Lin's Wood Mirage. Our Feng family concedes willingly," the richly dressed man from the Feng family said without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the cloaked man's gaze flickered slightly, but he showed no surprise.

"Hmm, very well. The Feng family will be placed in the loser's bracket. Later, you will compete against another losing family. If you win, you will be eligible to challenge any of the other three families. If you forfeit, you will directly secure the fourth or fifth rank. Next, it will be the Long family's turn to spar with the Gu family. Will Fellow Daoist Han represent the Gu family? For our Long family, it will be this old man and Elder Hui. Only by defeating both of us consecutively can you be considered to have surpassed our Long family!" Patriarch Long announced indifferently, his eyes glinting as he fixed his gaze on Han Li.

"Senior Han, our Gu family should forfeit," Fairy Xiaofeng said to Han Li without hesitation, her expression tightening upon hearing this.

The woman knew clearly in her heart that even if the Grand Elder of their Gu family were personally present, there would be absolutely no chance of defeating the Long family. She naturally hoped Han Li would preserve his strength for the upcoming major battles.

"Late-stage cultivators, you say! If it's just sparring, experiencing it would be good. I haven't sparred with such high-level cultivators since I advanced to the Integration stage." Han Li stroked his chin and casually said, much to the astonishment of Fairy Xiaofeng and Elder Xiao.

For Han Li, this was not a life-and-death struggle, but an opportunity to understand the true strength of late-stage Human Race Integration cultivators, and to see if he could truly contend with them after his advancement. It was naturally a rare opportunity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately used his divine sense to intimidate Long Dong at the start, thus provoking Patriarch Long.

Moreover, if possible, he wouldn't mind establishing his prestige within the Human Race by leveraging the cultivators of these True Spirit families.

After all, his current situation was vastly different from when he was among foreign races.

Among foreign races, no matter how high his cultivation, he had to be as low-key as possible to avoid attracting their murderous intent. But back among his own kind, establishing a formidable reputation would naturally free him from the many taboos he faced among foreign races, and the benefits, both tangible and intangible, would be immeasurable.

As for the other Integration-stage cultivators from the True Spirit families, at most they were at the mid-stage of cultivation. Without needing to verify, he was confident he was in no way inferior to them.

"Ah, Senior Han, you must not! The Long family is..."

"If I'm not mistaken," Han Li said, his expression suddenly darkening and a blue light flashing in his eyes as he swept a glance at Fairy Xiaofeng, "the terms under which I agreed to help did not include obeying the Gu family's demands regarding whom I should fight."

The female family head of the Gu family, as soon as her beautiful eyes met the blue light, felt a chill in her heart, and the words she was about to utter instinctively halted.

Taking advantage of this moment, Han Li's body flashed with a green light, and with a large stride, he instantly vanished from his spot.

The next moment, a figure flickered on the Myriad Spirit Platform, and Han Li appeared merely a dozen yards away from Patriarch Long, giving a slight cupped-hand salute as he spoke:

"I, Han, have only recently advanced to the Integration stage, but I have long heard of Fellow Daoist Long's great renown. I hope Brother Long will not hesitate to impart some guidance."

"So it is Fellow Daoist Han representing the Gu family after all. But I wonder if your disciple, Qi Lingzi, is still well?" Patriarch Long's eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly moved the corner of his mouth to mention Qi Lingzi.

Upon hearing this, Han Li was slightly startled inwardly, but outwardly showed no change in expression, replying indifferently:

"Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist. My disciple tends to get into trouble, so I have sent him to a secluded place to cultivate in seclusion. I estimate he won't emerge again for several decades."

"That's good too. Your disciple is no ordinary person; indeed, he needs to be careful. However, if Brother Han is challenging this old man now, you've chosen the wrong person. The first cultivator from our Long family to enter the arena will naturally not be the head of the family." Patriarch Long said blandly.

Almost simultaneously, spatial ripples appeared beside Patriarch Long, and another dark figure flickered out eerily, coldly speaking to Han Li:

"For the first match, I shall attend to Fellow Daoist. If Your Excellency can truly defeat me, Hui, Fellow Daoist Long will personally spar with you."

The person who appeared was naturally the Long family's other Grand Guest Elder, the black-robed man at the mid-Integration stage.

Upon seeing this man, Han Li immediately recalled the extremely unfriendly gaze he had received from him earlier. He nodded subtly:

"Very well, I, Han, shall first experience Brother Hui's divine abilities."

Upon hearing this, a hint of a sinister smile seemed to flash in Patriarch Long's eyes. Without a word, his body shimmered with golden light, and he transformed into a streak of golden light, escaping outside the Myriad Spirit Platform. He then immediately issued a loud command:

"Immediately strengthen the restrictive power! Do not let the struggle between the two Fellow Daoists affect our disciples!"

Upon hearing this, the cultivators within the valley, who were secretly responsible for operating the entire defensive grand formation, immediately began to scramble into action.

The various formation flags originally encircling the Myriad Spirit Platform instantly burst forth with brilliant light!

The enormous light barrier enveloping the entire stone platform slightly trembled the next moment, then immediately thickened several times over. Simultaneously, multicolored restrictive runes began to flicker and flow across its surface.

Whether it was the disciples of the five great families or the other small and medium-sized families, upon seeing this sight, they all stirred with excitement, their faces involuntarily showing anticipation.

Witnessing Integration-stage cultivators in combat firsthand was naturally not something anyone could easily encounter. Whether it was for broadening their horizons or taking the opportunity to observe and gain insights, it was indeed a rare and excellent chance.

No wonder the elite disciples of the various families were so excited.

Inside the light barrier, after the black-robed man swept his gaze over the greatly enhanced barrier, he let out a cold chuckle. With a shake of his wide sleeve, a clear ringing sound emerged, and two streaks of dark light flew out from it. They were actually two pitch-black Wu Hooks.

They were no more than three feet long, eerily dark and ominous, yet faint silver patterns seemed to shimmer unsteadily across their surfaces, giving them a mysterious appearance.

However, these two strange Wu Hooks did not directly attack Han Li. Instead, with a ringing sound, they transformed into two dazzling rainbows, circling and dancing around the black-robed man, appearing to prioritize defense over offense.

This caused Han Li, standing opposite, to frown, a hint of displeasure flashing across his face.

But the next moment, spiritual light flashed again from the black-robed man's sleeves, and another pair of white lights shot out. This time, they were a pair of pure white short swords, about a foot long, gleaming with cold light and emanating an unusual chill.

The clear ringing sounds continued without end. As the black-robed man continuously flicked his sleeves, a pair of silver flying daggers shot out immediately after...

Witnessing pairs of bizarre magic treasures continuously flying out from his opponent as if endlessly, Han Li's eye twitched involuntarily several times.