Chapter 258: South China Sea Ten Thousand Laws Sect

In a guest room, a young man in a red shirt was having tea and chatting with a woman in a blue dress."Senior Brother Li," the woman in the blue dress suggested, "after the final round tomorrow, let's just take our rewards and leave! If we stay here longer, their elders might come looking for us, and that would be troublesome. This is the Eastern Barrens, not the Southern Sea; it's not worth risking our lives for a few rewards from the Yang family."

The young man in the red shirt nodded and said calmly, "I never intended to do much for the Yang family anyway. I just happened to pass by and decided to play a few rounds with them. The Eastern Barrens is truly too weak; it's hard to find even one capable Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"The Eastern Barrens is our human race's newly developed territory," the woman replied. "Most of the humans here migrated from other places, so in terms of heritage, they definitely can't compare to our Southern Sea. However, there are still capable individuals in the Eastern Barrens. Centuries ago, a Nascent Soul senior who called himself 'Loose Cultivator Beihe' was undefeated across much of the Southern Sea. Even one of our Ten Thousand Swords Sect's grandmasters was defeated by Loose Cultivator Beihe."

"That's all in the past," the young man in red said. "Didn't Loose Cultivator Beihe disappear later? He was probably killed by a Nascent Soul senior from our Southern Sea. Anyway, none of that matters. We're just here in the Eastern Barrens for some training, to complete our sect's mission, and then we'll go back. I'll probably be able to attempt the Core Formation stage soon. Once I form my core, I'll propose to Senior Uncle Nangong."

The young man in the red shirt gazed at the woman in the blue dress with a tender expression, his eyes full of love.

Hearing this, the woman in the blue dress blushed deeply, her ears burning red.

In a private chamber, Yang Zongyan was speaking with Yang Zongwang.

"Ninth Brother," Yang Zongyan said, "the two who died were disciples from the Hundred Beast Mountain of Yu Country and the True One Sect of Yue Country, respectively. Those two Foundation Establishment cultivators shouldn't be from the surrounding countries; I've heard of all the famous young prodigies from the neighboring countries."

"Such things have happened before," Yang Zongwang replied. "Life and death are fated. Since they signed the life-and-death agreement, it has nothing to do with us. There are still fourteen people left; let's change the rules to select the top ten as quickly as possible. Oh, and as for the top twenty participants of the Sword Discourse Assembly, try to keep them here if possible. As for those two, and young friend Zhao, let them leave!"

Yang Zongyan nodded. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "Ninth Brother, in half a year, it will be Grand Elder Three's four hundredth birthday. Do you need to invite any additional guests? If not, I'll send people to distribute the invitations."

"Grand Elder Three is in secluded cultivation," Yang Zongwang replied. "His birthday celebration doesn't need to be arranged. All right, you may leave!"

Yang Zongyan paused slightly, agreed, and turned to leave.

After Yang Zongyan left, Yang Zongwang sighed and murmured to himself, "Four hundredth birthday? I wonder if Grand Elder Three will be able to overcome this hurdle."

Early the next morning, hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived at the bluestone plaza on the mountaintop.

Wang Changsheng and the other fourteen Foundation Establishment cultivators stood on a combat stage, with Yang Zongyan standing in front of them.

"Fellow Daoists," Yang Zongyan announced, "due to some special circumstances, we are changing the rules. The top ten will be decided by your discussion. If anyone disagrees, they may challenge. For example, if Daoist Zhao Yunlei wishes to be first, and someone objects, they can spar with Daoist Zhao. The winner takes the first spot. Each person only has two opportunities to challenge others and can only be challenged twice. If defeated twice, they are immediately disqualified and cannot be selected for the top ten."

Hearing this, the young man in the red shirt smiled faintly, stepped forward, and said, "My name is Li Rui. First place is mine. Who objects?"

The woman in the blue dress also stepped forward and said, "My name is Nangong Fu. Second place is mine. Who objects?"

Everyone exchanged glances, and no one stepped forward. Sword cultivators were rumored to be invincible among their peers, and it wasn't worth fighting a life-and-death battle with one for a small reward from the Yang family.

"Since no one objects," Yang Zongyan said, "Daoist Li and Immortal Nangong will hold the first and second positions. Who claims third place?"

Yang Zongyan's gaze quickly swept over the crowd as he asked.

"Third place is naturally mine. Who objects?"

Zhao Yunlei, full of confidence, stepped forward.

He was a seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivator with a thunder spiritual root. In previous matches, he had easily defeated his opponents.

"This junior has long heard of Daoist Zhao's profound cultivation," a young woman in a green ruqun stepped forward and said, "and would like to spar with Daoist Zhao." She was also a seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"This Wang also wishes to spar with Daoist Zhao," Wang Changsheng added.

Wang Changsheng also stepped out. Only the third-place winner could obtain Profound Dark Cold Water, and he had no other option.

Besides Wang Changsheng and the woman in the green dress, four other people wanted to challenge Zhao Yunlei, the lowest cultivation among them also being at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

Six people wanted to challenge Zhao Yunlei, and Wang Changsheng's cultivation was the lowest.

With seven people vying for third place, they could only decide by drawing lots for a match.

Wang Changsheng's luck was good; he drew a bye and advanced directly to the next round.

Zhao Yunlei's opponent was a burly, dark-faced man with a broad back, also a fourth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As soon as the match began, the dark-faced man immediately conjured a misty green second-tier talisman, which transformed into hundreds of green wind blades that shot towards Zhao Yunlei.

Zhao Yunlei flicked his wrist. A silver ring on his left wrist glowed brightly, and a white light shot out from it, transforming into a thick silver light barrier that protected his entire body.

Hundreds of green wind blades struck the silver light barrier. The silver light barrier swayed violently, and its light dimmed slightly.

Seizing this opportunity, the dark-faced man conjured four talismans glowing with dark light, which transformed into a massive black light curtain, enveloping Zhao Yunlei.

It was a second-tier, mid-grade Fiend Trapping Talisman Formation. He raised his hand, and a palm-sized black seal flew out, soaring towards Zhao Yunlei's head.

A sneer appeared on Zhao Yunlei's lips. He opened his mouth and spat out a foot-long silver saber, his innate magical artifact, the Flying Thunder Tiger Blade.

The blade was crescent-shaped, and its hilt was carved with a lifelike tiger head.

At this moment, the black seal had expanded to the size of a house and was smashing down towards Zhao Yunlei below.

Zhao Yunlei rapidly formed hand seals with his fingers. Several incantations struck the silver saber, and it immediately flared with brilliant silver light, transforming into a colossal silver thunder tiger.

The gigantic silver tiger had a pair of wings on its back. Its fur was a lustrous golden, like satin, and it had crimson eyes with golden pupils, a wide maw, and tusks.

"Roar!"

The gigantic silver tiger let out a furious roar. A large swath of silver lightning erupted from its body.

Dozens of silver lightning spears flew out from its body, striking the black light curtain, whose glow immediately dimmed.

"Boom!"

The black light curtain was shattered by the gigantic black seal. The gigantic silver tiger opened its maw and spat out a massive silver lightning orb, striking the bottom of the black seal.

A deafening explosion rang out. A large area of silver electrical arcs engulfed the black seal. The gigantic silver tiger unfurled its wings, pounced, and tore the colossal black seal to shreds.

And there was more. Zhao Yunlei rubbed his hands together. A loud thunderclap sounded, and an egg-sized silver lightning orb appeared in his palm. In less than three breaths, the silver lightning orb expanded to the size of a water vat, exuding a terrifying aura.

The gigantic silver tiger flapped its wings, sending a large swath of silver lightning shooting forth. It then opened its jaw and spat out a thick silver beam of light.