Chapter 346: How to Comment on This?

Lu Yang on the stage and Meng Jingzhou below both fell into contemplation.

Senior Sister had said that the Qingzhou government invited Wen Dao Sect disciples to participate in the grand ceremony. The requirement for the ceremony was that participants must be cultivators under the age of eighteen. They wanted to interact with the younger generation and register for the competition, which was perfectly logical and flawless.

But why were Lan Ting, Bai Ming, and someone they didn't know sitting on the stage?

Were they all over eighteen?

The people below the stage gasped when they heard Lu Yang was from the Wen Dao Sect.

They hadn't expected participants from the Five Great Immortal Sects to be competing in this event; such a thing had never happened before.

"But who is Lu Yang? Have you heard of him?" people wondered, puzzled. The Wen Dao Sect was famous, but few recognized Lu Yang.

"Never heard of him. I only know of his opponent, Feng He."

"Me too. I heard that Feng He entered the path of cultivation by listening to music, guiding Qi into his body and embarking on the immortal path. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he acquired a damaged ancient guqin at an auction, which seemed to have belonged to a powerful cultivator. When rogue cultivators became greedy and tried to snatch it, Feng He, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, used the power of the guqin to capture one Foundation Establishment cultivator and two late-stage Qi Cultivation rogue cultivators."

Lu Yang's name was not as well-known as those of the popular seeded contestants.

The backgrounds of the popular seeded contestants were often promoted by their sects to build their reputations, publicizing how their disciples descended mountains to eliminate bandits, evil spirits, and demons, or how they were ranked first in sect competitions, unbeatable in their realm. At the very least, they had tragic backstories—orphaned, suffering hardships, and overcoming countless difficulties in their cultivation journey. In short, they were promoted in any way that made them stand out.

Furthermore, Lan Ting, Bai Ming, Yan Tianzhi, and others had performed numerous acts of justice and evil-eradication during their sect missions. Local gentry, town mayors, and prefects treated them with utmost respect, fearing they might invoke immortal sect enforcement powers. Their deeds were widely circulated among the populace, making them even more famous than the seeded contestants.

In contrast, Lu Yang, during his Foundation Establishment stage, infiltrated the Immortal Cult, eliminated the Yanjiang branch leader who also served as a prefect, then trapped and killed the Immortal Cult's deputy leader within the Wen Dao Sect, finally dismantling the 14,000-year-old Immortal Cult.

In the Golden Core stage, he impersonated an ancient genius, established the Heavenly Court Cult, deceived the Nine Nether Cult into temporarily abandoning their murderous intentions, and opened a barbecue restaurant.

Not only did these matters need to be kept secret, but even if they were revealed, no one would believe them.

"So, you're a fellow Daoist from the Wen Dao Sect! Come, let's fight!" Feng He declared confidently, displaying a hearty smile. He retrieved a perfectly preserved ancient guqin from his storage ring; its golden strings shimmered in the sunlight.

His master had commissioned an appraisal, confirming that the guqin was a relic of a Soul Transformation stage cultivator, and it had been 70% restored. Although it couldn't unleash its full power as it would in the hands of a Soul Transformation cultivator, even a slight activation of an artifact of this caliber made it difficult for cultivators of the same realm to contend with.

Feng He certainly had reason to be proud. Lu Yang had more than a dozen junior brothers and sisters who were in the same cohort as him and were also under eighteen.

They had only recently reached the Foundation Establishment stage, with the faster ones possibly reaching mid-Foundation Establishment.

Feng He's cultivation talent was evident.

Of course, Lu Yang's junior disciples were largely self-taught, whereas Feng He was meticulously cultivated by his sect, making a direct comparison not entirely fair.

Facing an opponent of similar age who radiated such confidence, Lu Yang did not underestimate him and used the Invincible Pill.

Soon, the Invincible Pill gave its verdict.

"Just hit him casually."

*Clang—*

The guqin's chime, like golden bells, tinkled and echoed, sounding like a coiled dragon and a crouching tiger. A golden shimmer began to ripple, and it emitted a powerful sound wave sweeping towards Lu Yang. In an instant, the guqin's music formed a precise arc in the air, like a white snake, as the sound wave surged with scorching energy and power, radiating malevolent aura.

Feng He struck first, channeling his spiritual power into the guqin, seizing the initiative and gaining an early advantage in the battle.

He had calculated his next move, whether Lu Yang chose to withstand the attack directly or dodge it.

Combat must be filled with calculations!

"Sound wave manifestation! He's only just reached Foundation Establishment and has already mastered this technique?" an exceptionally knowledgeable cultivator exclaimed in surprise. Many cultivators specializing in music spent ten or twenty years to achieve this, yet Feng He, a junior, had already grasped it.

"They say Feng He used this very method to defeat an experienced early-stage Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator!"

"Back then, his guqin was still damaged. Now that it's restored, its power can only be greater!"

"He's using his trump card right from the start!"

"Can Lu Yang from the Wen Dao Sect withstand this move?"

Facing the sound wave manifestation, Lu Yang showed no slackness, going all out. He swiftly fanned his right hand downwards, directly dispersing the malevolent sound wave.

He stepped forward, extended his index finger, and unleashed an invisible sword qi. Feng He couldn't react in time, but his magical artifact protected its master, automatically blocking in front of him.

The sword qi, sharp and heavy, struck the guqin, and its residual force impacted Feng He's internal organs. Feng He, clutching his guqin, stumbled out of the arena.

The cultivators below the stage were silent for a moment, then erupted into a discussion so loud it made people's scalps tingle.

"Did you see that move just now? Was that sword qi? I've never seen sword qi before!"

"He dispersed the sound wave with a single hand and defeated Feng He in one move! This Lu Yang is incredibly powerful!"

"What realm is he actually in?!"

Lan Ting, at the judges' stand, remained silent for a long time.

When she received the prefect's commission, she thought it would be simple, at most a minor skirmish between Foundation Establishment cultivators, and assessing their strengths and weaknesses wouldn't be difficult.

This scene, however, was completely unexpected.

How should she put it? Praise Lu Yang for defeating the seeded contestant Feng He with his Golden Core cultivation?

She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Or should she praise Feng He's sound wave attack as proof of his musical talent, destined for greatness in the future?

But Lu Yang had just slapped away that seemingly powerful sound wave.

She turned to look at Bai Ming and Yan Tianzhi. Bai Ming was silent, as if temporarily blind to what was happening on the stage. Yan Tianzhi opened his mouth and slowly uttered the word "Good."

"Good?" Good what? Was he praising Lu Yang's exquisite control over his sword qi, which neither harmed Feng He nor sent him flying out of the arena, demonstrating peak power control?

Just as Lan Ting was pondering, she heard Yan Tianzhi utter three more words: "...shameless."

Lan Ting: "..."

It seemed she couldn't count on these two.

She let out a long breath and, racking her brain, commented: "Contestant Feng He's sound wave attack was truly unexpected and worthy of the title 'musical genius.' Even if other seeded contestants could block it, they would suffer significant damage and become fatigued."

"Unfortunately, Contestant Feng He encountered Contestant Lu Yang this time. Contestant Lu Yang is a sword cultivator, deeply devoted to the way of the sword, solely pursuing the highest swordsmanship. His invisible sword qi contains profound principles, clearly demonstrating his mastery in the path of the sword!"

"Of course, the above are not the key factors in Contestant Lu Yang's victory. The most crucial point is that Contestant Lu Yang is at the Golden Core stage."