Chapter 792: Dueling Tournament

The South Sea, Coral Sea region.Sea Cucumber Island, a secret chamber.

Wang Qingshan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, hundreds of ethereal azure flying swords hovering around him. As he breathed in and out, these sword projections grew increasingly solid, appearing almost tangible.

Inside his dantian, a dragon-eye-sized azure inner core spun rapidly. Streaks of azure light points surged into his body and, under his guidance, flowed towards his dantian. The azure inner core spun quickly, as specks of azure light flowed into it.

After a while, the azure inner core ceased spinning, and the ethereal azure flying swords around Wang Qingshan dissipated, vanishing as if they had never been there.

He opened his eyes, sensing the powerful aura emanating from him, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

“Third-stage Core Formation!”Through years of arduous cultivation, aided by medicinal pills, he had advanced to the third stage of Core Formation, significantly increasing his strength.

“I wonder if Qingjing has reached the Core Formation stage yet?” Wang Qingshan murmured to himself, then took out a communication plate to contact Wang Qiuling.

“Seventh Uncle, you’ve come out of seclusion? Congratulations on ending your seclusion.”

“Qiuling, how is Qingjing?”Sea Cucumber Island must have a Core Formation cultivator stationed there. If no new Core Formation cultivator emerged, Wang Qingshan couldn't leave Sea Cucumber Island for too long.

“Eighth Aunt has already come out of seclusion and successfully advanced to the Core Formation stage. She just returned. Oh, and Seventh Uncle, Tianqi brought back some good news: the Myriad Sword Sect is hosting a Sword Dueling Convention, inviting sword cultivators from various regions to participate and exchange pointers.”

“A Sword Dueling Convention?” Wang Qingshan immediately grew interested upon hearing this.

“Have Tianqi come to my residence. I have some questions for her.”

“Yes, Seventh Uncle.”

Half an hour later, Wang Tianqi appeared at Wang Qingshan’s residence, her expression respectful.

Wang Tianqi was the head of the Intelligence Hall, overseeing all the family’s intelligence in the South Sea. Over the years, the number of scouts under her command had steadily increased. Currently, the Intelligence Hall had 120 cultivators, including ten Foundation Establishment cultivators. Each Foundation Establishment cultivator supervised ten Qi Refinement cultivators, while Wang Tianqi, as the Hall Head, directly managed thirty Qi Refinement cultivators. The scouts were distributed across five sea regions, with over twenty cultivators in each, responsible for gathering intelligence, such as news of secret realms, the emergence of rare treasures, and the number of high-level cultivators in major forces. To be frank, a hundred-plus individuals weren't many; the South Sea was too vast. Wang Tianqi was currently applying to expand her personnel to gather more intelligence. The more personnel the Intelligence Hall had, the higher its expenses would undoubtedly be. As the Hall Head, the stronger the Intelligence Hall became, the more cultivation resources Wang Tianqi would acquire.

The Myriad Sword Sect was one of the Ten Great Sects of the South Sea, with a legacy spanning over ten millennia and profound heritage. Its overall strength ranked among the top three in the South Sea cultivation world, and it boasted a large number of sword cultivators.

Wang Tianqi was currently at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment. She frequently traveled back and forth, serving as the sole link between Sea Cucumber Island and Silver Serpent Island, making her position crucial.

Wang Qingshan scrutinized Wang Tianqi from head to toe and said with a smile, “Tianqi, I haven’t seen you in a few years, and your cultivation has improved considerably. Excellent, it seems you haven’t neglected your training.”

“I dare not slack off, as Great-grandfather is quite concerned about my cultivation.”

Wang Qingshan nodded and asked, “Tell me about this Sword Dueling Convention.”The South Sea cultivation world was vast, with numerous sects, and the Wang family’s strength was relatively weak, so the information they could gather was limited.

Wang Tianqi nodded and recounted what she knew.

The Sword Dueling Convention was a grand event hosted by the Myriad Sword Sect, having been held over a hundred times. Every hundred years or so, the Myriad Sword Sect would host the convention to exchange pointers through combat. Concurrently with the convention, the Myriad Sword Sect would hold a large-scale auction. The top ten participants in the Sword Dueling Convention would receive generous rewards, including Core Formation spiritual items and magic treasures.

“The Myriad Sword Sect is hosting such a grand event and offering numerous treasures as rewards. What tangible benefits do they gain from this?” Wang Qingshan asked, puzzled. The world bustled with activity, all for profit. Major sects hosting large-scale events and providing considerable cultivation resources surely had an ulterior motive.

“Of course. Firstly, it’s for interaction with other sword cultivators; many sword cultivators participate in every convention. Secondly, it’s to temper their flying swords, allowing their swords to absorb the sword qi from other flying swords, thus strengthening them. It seems to be related to refining sword pills.”

Wang Qingshan’s eyes lit up. After absorbing a large amount of sword qi, a flying sword could evolve into a sword pill. Sword pills possessed immense power, and Venerable Sword Master Xiaoyao highly praised them. However, very few cultivators managed to refine a sword pill. Generally, for a flying sword to evolve into a sword pill, it required thousands of sword duels. These duels weren't just against two flying swords, but against various flying swords, using the sword qi from others’ flying swords to temper one's own sword's essence. The process of a flying sword evolving into a sword pill could take anywhere from several decades to several centuries. Typically, sword cultivators who had comprehended sword intent found it easier for their soulbound flying swords to evolve into sword pills. Venerable Sword Master Xiaoyao had once instructed Wang Qingshan to definitely refine his flying sword into a sword pill, as sword pills could greatly enhance a sword cultivator’s strength.

“Tianqi, when will the Sword Dueling Convention be held?”

Wang Qingshan pressed on, “It’s a year from now. If you leave now, you should make it in time.”

Wang Qingshan nodded and said, “I understand. By the way, how are Ninth Uncle and Ninth Aunt?”

“They are all doing well, currently stationed on Silver Serpent Island. Fourth Grand-uncle, Tenth Grand-aunt, and Twelfth Grand-uncle have already gone into seclusion to attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage and haven’t emerged yet.”

Wang Qingshan inquired about the family’s development, and Wang Tianqi answered truthfully that the family’s development momentum was quite good at present.

“Tianqi, you may go and rest! These few bottles of pills will be beneficial for your cultivation; please accept them.”

Wang Qingshan gave Wang Tianqi two bottles of pills and dismissed her.

No sooner had Wang Tianqi left than Wang Qingjing arrived.

“Seventh Brother, congratulations! Oh, and these are the set of flying swords Father asked me to bring for you.”

As Wang Qingjing spoke, she took out an exquisite azure sword casket and handed it to Wang Qingshan.

Wang Qingshan looked delighted and said, “Thank you, Ninth Uncle, for the trouble.”

He already had a soulbound flying sword; an additional set of flying swords could enhance his strength, as a set could be used to deploy a sword formation.

“We’re family, there’s no need to be so polite.” Wang Qingjing said with a smile. To be honest, Wang Changsheng treated Wang Qingshan with more affection than his own sons, which made Wang Qingjing a little envious. Of course, she knew very well that Wang Qingshan was exceptionally strong; before reaching Core Formation, he was the foremost Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Wang family, and after forming his core, Wang Qingshan would undoubtedly become even more formidable.

“Eighth Sister, the Myriad Sword Sect is holding a Sword Dueling Convention, and I plan to attend. I’ll leave Sea Cucumber Island in your care.”

Wang Qingjing nodded and said, “Alright, Seventh Brother, please be extra careful on your journey. It seems other sea regions are a bit chaotic.”

Wang Qingshan agreed, gave a few more instructions, and then left Sea Cucumber Island.

After seeing Wang Qingshan off, Wang Qingjing began her secluded cultivation.

In the meeting hall, Wang Qiuling was speaking with Wang Changqing and Wang Qiuyan.

“Ninth Grand-uncle intends to focus on cultivating you all. Grand-uncle Changqing, Qiuyan, please set aside your current duties and focus solely on your cultivation. Once you reach the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, the family will provide Core Formation spiritual items to help you attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage.”During his trip to the Zhenhai Sect ruins, Wang Changsheng obtained ten Core Formation spiritual items. He exchanged one with Cheng Zhenyu, gave two to Wang Qingling, leaving seven. He then reserved two for Ye Haitang, which left five. He and Wang Ruyan were stationed on Silver Serpent Island, and Wang Qiqi and two others were attempting to break through to the Core Formation stage; at least one of them should succeed. In contrast, Sea Cucumber Island only had Wang Qingjing and Wang Qingshan as Core Formation cultivators. Wang Changsheng needed to cultivate a few more Core Formation cultivators to facilitate rotation.