Chapter 634: Three Sects Sword Test (Part 2)

Volume Four: Winds Rise OverseasVolume Five: Gaining Renown in One Region

Outside the light shield, there was an uproar, and many people were dumbfounded.

Even the bald, burly man serving as the referee looked deeply at the young man with a strange expression before loudly announcing:

"Han Li of the Falling Cloud Sect is victorious!"

Han Li, his expression unchanged, bowed to the burly man before calmly walking out of the light shield.

Immediately after, two Ancient Sword Gate disciples rushed into the arena, carried out the unconscious Yao Feng, and then sought ways to revive him.

At this moment, the short old man outside the arena had his eyes wide open in disbelief, his face exceptionally grim.

Although he knew that the opponent's disciple, participating in the tournament with such a low cultivation level, must have some peculiarity about him, he never expected that the opponent would use talismans as an attack method, and that his highly anticipated disciple would be defeated in a single encounter. This made it very difficult for him, who had just been mocking the red-robed elder, to save face.

For a moment, an awkward expression appeared on his face. He was filled with frustration, yet he couldn't utter a single word.

"Haha! Brother Duan, your disciple is quite interesting. He unleashed dozens of spirit stone talismans right from the start. Although it's a bit opportunistic, being able to activate so many Fireball Talismans simultaneously truly shows a lot of hard work in his technique. Ordinary disciples would find it very difficult to be so proficient," the elder surnamed Fu said, chuckling after watching Han Li's match within the light shield.

"It's nothing! Our disciple is a talisman crafter himself, so using talismans for attack is quite normal. Of course, even I, Duan, was a bit surprised that he was willing to use so many talismans at once," the red-robed elder said nonchalantly, his tone either true or false, feeling naturally pleased at the Ancient Sword Gate's Jiang Yun's deflated expression.

"Hmph! It's just a matter of having many talismans. Now everyone knows about this trick. Your disciple definitely won't pass the next matches," Jiang Yun muttered sullenly.

"Is that so?" the red-robed elder chuckled, then said no more.

"However, your sect's disciple's dashing movement technique... it resembles the light body arts of the mortal world. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to catch Junior Nephew Yao off guard so quickly," the green-robed scholar remarked, nodding with no hint of displeasure as he glanced at Han Li, who had returned to the Falling Cloud Sect's ranks.

"So Fellow Daoist Bai noticed it too! This disciple of our sect used to be a rogue cultivator, so his skills are a bit mixed; it's a bit embarrassing for your esteemed sect to see!" the red-robed elder said, showing a hint of surprise.

"That's nothing. I also had some interest in mortal martial arts in the past and even studied them a bit. While such mortal martial arts have little effect on high-level cultivators, if a Qi Condensation stage disciple can skillfully employ them, it can still add a significant boost to their strength. Moreover, your sect's disciple is so proficient in his technique; it seems he has experienced quite a bit of actual combat. Therefore, our disciple's defeat is not unjust," the scholar said with a smile.

While these high-ranking cultivators from the three sects conversed calmly, the referee in the arena had already been replaced by the gray-robed elder of the Falling Cloud Sect, who said expressionlessly:

"Second match: Ruan Tianci of Hundred Crafts Institute versus Zhou Xu of Ancient Sword Institute."

As he spoke, two more young men stepped forward from the Hundred Crafts Institute and the Ancient Sword Gate, respectively. After bowing and cupping their fists to each other, and at the elder's command of "Begin!", they each formed hand seals, unleashed their magic tools, and began to fight.

The Core Formation cultivators from the three sects immediately put the previous match out of their minds and focused intently on this new battle.

Perhaps influenced by Han Li's previous battle, these two disciples fought much more conservatively, making the onlookers outside the arena feel somewhat stifled and bored.

Ultimately, the sword cultivator disciple from the Ancient Sword Gate proved superior. He shattered the opponent's magic tool defense with his sword artifact and emerged victorious.

The next match was between the Falling Cloud Sect and the Hundred Crafts Institute...

In this manner, the first round of matches took a full two days to complete.

The strength of the Ancient Sword Gate's sword cultivators was truly not exaggerated.

Aside from Han Li and a handful of others, disciples from the other two sects who encountered Ancient Sword Gate disciples were clearly at a disadvantage and were defeated one after another.

The appearance of this situation finally made the cultivator surnamed Jiang smile again, as if he had vented a lot of pent-up frustration.

Fortunately, the Core Formation cultivators from the Hundred Crafts Institute and the red-robed elder from the Falling Cloud Sect had anticipated this long ago. Thus, while they felt a loss of face, they managed to keep their expressions neutral, feigning indifference. In terms of demeanor alone, they appeared far superior to the short old man.

In the second round, Han Li's opponent was a spirited-looking female cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage from the Hundred Crafts Institute.

This woman had seen Han Li's previous match, so as soon as the fight began, she released her flying magic tool and ascended into mid-air.

In her mind, this would allow her to freely advance and retreat, evading Han Li's talisman attacks, and she also seemed quite wary of the speed of Han Li's movement technique.

Seeing this situation, Han Li sighed lightly, and without a word, once again threw out a handful of Fireball Talismans.

Just as the woman smugly prepared to dodge these fireballs, Han Li made a hand seal with both hands. The numerous fireballs, while in flight, flashed red and transformed into dozens of fist-sized flaming birds, which circled and danced.

The Hundred Crafts Institute's female cultivator was startled by this sight. When she tried to activate her magic tool for protection, Han Li gave her no chance. While outwardly feigning to chant an incantation, he simply moved his spiritual sense, and instantly all the fiery birds flew near the female cultivator, directly colliding with her from all directions.

Although the female disciple hastily used a talisman to release a water-attribute shield, it could not withstand such a fierce assault, and in a short while, the shield shattered.

With no other option, the woman immediately conceded defeat.

After this battle, disciples from the other two sects, who had previously felt that Han Li's reliance on talismans was an unfair victory, were finally somewhat moved.

However, some Foundation Establishment cultivators with powerful magic tools still clearly disdained Han Li's profligate approach, and the result was...

Five days later, at dusk, in the central part of Cloud Dream Mountain, lay an unnamed valley nestled against a mountain.

This valley was in a secluded location, perpetually shrouded in an endless, damp, and misty haze, making it so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face, and exceedingly damp and gloomy. Within these mists, countless venomous creatures like scorpions and snakes resided.

Moreover, because the valley was not large, even if cultivators occasionally flew over it, they would easily overlook it, and no one would ever descend to investigate.

However, on this particular day, the mist in the valley was even denser than usual. Yet, deep within the valley, among a pile of seemingly haphazardly arranged rocks that in reality concealed a profound secret, a white light suddenly flashed, and then two figures appeared out of thin air.

One of the two wore a gray robe and had a ferocious face, while the other wore a green robe with a jade belt and possessed a refined, scholarly appearance.

"Isn't that Brother Bai of the Ancient Sword Gate and Fellow Daoist Yu of the Falling Cloud Sect? What, has the Sword Trial Assembly concluded?" a lazy male voice, slightly hoarse, inexplicably drifted from around the pile of rocks, despite there being no one visible.

"So it's Brother Yue on duty today! The assembly has indeed concluded. The two of us came over first to see how the Saint Land's Bright Clear Spirit Water has been prepared. If it's ready, we'll have those ten disciples teleported directly here, to avoid any issues or unexpected incidents," the cultivator surnamed Bai from the Ancient Sword Gate said with a faint smile, showing no unusual expression.

As for the gray-robed elder beside him, he remained expressionless, uttering not a word.

"What could possibly go wrong? There are three Core Formation cultivators like you and me guarding this place day and night. And then, when all of you come together, are you still worried about a group of low-level cultivators causing any trouble?" the voice said dismissively.

"The Spirit Eye Tree is of great importance; it's better to be careful than to make a big mistake! Moreover, the Bright Clear Spirit Water must be dripped into the spirit fluid only as the final step. And once prepared, the eye-washing must be performed immediately, otherwise, its spiritual efficacy will greatly diminish! Otherwise, why would we even bring these ten disciples here?" the cultivator surnamed Bai said, shaking his head slightly.

"Alright. The Bright Clear Spirit Water is almost seventy to eighty percent prepared. Once they finish washing their eyes, they'll leave immediately. This place is heavily restricted; even if they teleport here, they won't know where they are," the man said with a confident chuckle.

"That would naturally be for the best! Brother Yu, please stay here for now. I'll go inform the other fellow daoists and have those disciples teleported over," the cultivator surnamed Bai said with a slight nod.

"Oh, right! Was the winner of this Sword Trial Assembly still the Ancient Sword Gate?" the voice suddenly asked, as if recalling something.

"The champion of this assembly was our Ancient Sword Gate's Junior Nephew Meng Di. I'm afraid that might be a bit disappointing for Brother Yue," the green-robed scholar said with a faint smile.

"Hmph! It's not surprising that you sword cultivators are a bit stronger than us ordinary cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage. But once you reach the Core Formation stage, it's hard to say who's stronger or weaker. If you get a chance, tell your third senior brother that I, Yue, would very much like to spar with him again," the man's lazy voice revealed a hint of dissatisfaction.

The scholar surnamed Bai fell silent for a moment after hearing this, but then chuckled lightly and said:

"It seems Brother Yue still holds a grudge about being defeated by Third Senior Brother back then. However, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Third Senior Brother is currently attempting to break through to the late Core Formation stage and has just entered seclusion."