"Xuan Zhen's talent is exceptional, with a Heaven-Grade Thunder Spiritual Root and the Profound Thunder Treasure Body. He's perfectly suited to cultivate our Leiyin Temple's techniques. He's bound to ascend to the Buddhist realm in the future."
Seeing Kuang Jingyun unleash his lightning techniques and Gu Boji stand motionless, Monk Tong Yuan boasted to Yang Hong, subtly mocking him for his inability to keep such talent.
"..."
Yang Hong merely cast a dismissive glance at Tong Yuan and closed his eyes to rest.
Gu Boji, as the head of Qingfeng Villa's Internal Affairs Department, already enjoyed abundant benefits and resources without any need for corruption. Furthermore, having cultivated the "Qingfeng Breathing Technique," his cultivation had reached the twelfth level of Qi Condensation.
Tong Yuan grew somewhat uneasy at Yang Hong's attitude.
Meanwhile, the battle arena had seen a change.
"Hmph—Golden Sword Technique!"
The one who had been constantly struck by lightning roared, crushing a talisman: a top-grade Earth Armor spell. A yellowish aura enveloped him, rendering him impervious to the blue lightning.
Immediately, a miniature golden sword, merely three inches long, shot out.
"Swift—"
After the golden sword was released, Gu Boji didn't pause to recover his energy. He instantly drew a flying sword from his storage bag and sent it after the golden sword.
"Hmph, a mere parlor trick, daring to show off before..."
Kuang Jingyun started to jeer but suddenly fell silent. His lightning technique faltered, and five talismans appeared in his hand. He quickly crushed them, and five defensive spells immediately protected him.
*Pop, pop, pop, pop*
Four muffled thuds echoed as four layers of Kuang Jingyun's defensive spells were pierced.
"Electric Light Shield!"
Even with one layer of defense remaining, Kuang Jingyun didn't dare to be careless. He unleashed his strongest defensive spell to shield his entire body. Simultaneously, he activated five other talismans, launching five ice cones, each about ten feet long, towards Gu Boji.
"Vine Entanglement, Mud Swamp Art!"
Facing the ice cones, Gu Boji eschewed magic, instead evading with martial arts agility far exceeding that of a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator. Concurrently, he cast two spells at Kuang Jingyun's feet.
Kuang Jingyun's cultivation restricted, his expression shifted. Lightning surged around him as he attempted to use his electrical power to break free from Gu Boji's spells.
However, it was a bit too late.
"Golden Sword Technique!"
A golden light sliced through the air, piercing Kuang Jingyun's lightning aura.
"Ah—Ahhh—My hands—My legs—No—"
Three breaths later, the golden light emerged from the dissipating lightning.
Kuang Jingyun, who had been so arrogant moments before, had his limbs severed, the severed parts mangled.
Simultaneously, a thumb-sized, penetrating wound appeared at his dantian.
"No—No—"
Two ninth-tier Buddhist cultivators who had been blocking the Qingfeng Villa disciples simultaneously cried out in alarm. They rushed into the combat zone, shielding the gravely injured Kuang Jingyun, and glared venomously at Gu Boji, who had long since retreated.
"Tong Yuan, you bald donkey, how does this count?"
Yang Hong's voice was calm yet sharp. He flickered to a position above Gu Boji, deliberately stopping just outside the formation's light barrier, signaling he hadn't illegally interfered with the fight.
"This battle, my [Boundless Buddhist Dharma Alliance] loses. Shi Jing, Shi Qing, withdraw."
Monk Tong Yuan was slightly surprised by Yang Hong's teleportation speed and began calculating if his original plan was still feasible.
Yang Hong smiled and retreated. However, no one noticed him sending a final divine sense sword strike into the dazed Kuang Jingyun's sea of consciousness.
Qingfeng Villa's sect rules stated: Betrayal of the sect leads to death!
That divine sense sword strike would erupt when someone tried to heal him, potentially claiming another life if luck was on his side!
"First battle, Qingfeng Villa's Gu Boji wins."
Ke Ji Mei, standing nearby, announced Gu Boji's victory in a loud voice. Gu Boji bowed to Yang Hong, then turned and left the formation's boundary.
"Junior Brother Liu, good luck."
Outside the formation's light barrier, Gu Boji smiled and greeted his junior brother, Liu Xian, who was approaching.
"Heh heh—Senior Brother Gu, don't worry, Junior Brother will win beautifully."
And win beautifully they truly did!
The battles between Qingfeng Villa and the [Immortal Alliance] were back and forth, remarkably restrained and civilized.
Liu Xian and the next participant, Sha Youtian, both followed the same pattern: as soon as the referee called start, they unleashed spells like Vine Entanglement, Mud Swamp Art, and Ice Art to incapacitate their opponents, followed by swift flying sword attacks to sever limbs.
Liu Xian was faster, even piercing his opponent's dantian. Sha Youtian, however, lacked precision; he pierced his opponent's abdomen but failed to shatter the dantian.
"So close—Alas—Just a little bit more!"
This fellow was rather glib, constantly muttering these words in front of the ninth-tier Buddhist cultivators sent to rescue their injured comrade, enraging Shi Jing to the point of wanting to slap Sha Youtian to death.
However, their current mission was to recruit disciples alongside the immortal sects. He worried the immortal sects might publicize their unruly behavior, so he forcibly suppressed his anger.
"Second match, Nascent Soul battle, commencing now. Shi Yu of Futu Temple—"
As if unwilling to let Qingfeng Villa bask in their glory, the Buddhist referee announced the start of the second match loudly.
Meanwhile, the battle between Qingfeng Villa and the Immortal Alliance had just concluded, with Qingfeng Villa predictably emerging victorious.
Ke Ji Mei glanced at Zhang Zhengyan outside the formation, who was already eager to fight, and chimed in.
"First match, Qingfeng Villa's Zhang Zhengyan."
Just as Yang Hong retreated to the side, Ancestor Chaoyang's voice reached him.
"Shi Yu is a new generation genius of Futu Temple. Although he has been in the Nascent Soul realm for less than fifty years, he has a record of killing seventh-level Nascent Soul cultivators with three strikes. He has no recorded losses in fifty years, his strength unfathomable!"
"Old Ghost Chang Jia, that's not fair. You need to tell me about this Zhang Zhengyan."
Monk Tong Yuan's complaint seemed genuine, but there was a hint of disdain. He looked at Yang Hong and deliberately raised his chin slightly.
Ancestor Chaoyang glanced at Yang Hong. Seeing that he didn't object, he continued:
"Zhang Zhengyan was originally the Sect Master of the [Deyuan Sect]. After joining Qingfeng Villa, he spent over a decade as a handyman disciple, then another decade as an outer disciple. He only recently became an inner disciple, likely ascending to the ninth level of Nascent Soul three years ago. His strength should be somewhat greater than an average Nascent Soul cultivator."
"Ahem—Zhang Zhengyan's cultivation has encountered issues. He is currently at the seventh level of Nascent Soul."
Before Ancestor Chaoyang could continue his analysis, Yang Hong coughed, interrupting him.
This old fellow seemed to have been keeping a close eye on Qingfeng Villa. He would need to be more cautious in the future.
Monk Tong Yuan's expression grew more serious as he said, "Seventh level Nascent Soul. It seems Master Yang has great confidence in his disciple's strength."
"Nonsense. He's my disciple, of course, I have confidence."
Following the incident with Kuang Jingyun, Yang Hong naturally showed no pleasantries towards Monk Tong Yuan.
"Heh heh—Then we shall wait and see."
Inside the battle arena, after the two combatants entered, they wasted no words and quickly engaged in combat.
Currently, the flying swords and silver sabers wielded by Zhang Zhengyan and Shi Yu were both genuine fifth-tier top-grade magical artifacts, and indeed, high-quality ones.
Both were supremely confident in their respective artifacts, and they immediately engaged in a head-on clash, sword against saber, with no fancy maneuvers.
The clang of metal against metal, *ka-ching-ka-ching-ka-ching*, was deafening even from ten miles away!
White flying swords and silver long sabers collided and clashed in mid-air, unleashing terrifying sword energies and saber energies that tore unfathomable black fissures into the earth below.
The battle between Nascent Soul cultivators was truly a spectacle to behold.
Yang Hong observed that Zhang Zhengyan's control over his artifact was significantly more agile than Shi Yu's. This was not only due to his cultivation of the Earth-grade low-tier "Flowing Flower Sword Art" being more advanced but also likely because he had spent a longer time refining his fifth-tier flying sword.
Shi Yu, as the one experiencing it firsthand, naturally noticed this. Thus, after a few exchanges, he changed his tactics.