On the thirteenth day of the internal competition at Luoyun Sect, however, in a pavilion situated halfway up the main peak, seven or eight cultivators at the Dan stage gathered together, discussing matters. Among them were two peak masters from Tianqu Peak—Xin, a middle-aged man—and an older gray-robed man with a somewhat fierce appearance. The others also seemed to carry themselves with impressive presence. "Still, none of the younger brothers are willing to volunteer for the leadership role this time, are they?" asked an elderly blue-robed man with flowing white hair and deeply lined face, his brows slightly furrowed. "Hmph! Feng brother, the Sword-Testing Assembly claims it's a joint effort among the three sects, yet every time we're the ones who fall short—our two sects consistently lose while the ancient Sword Sect shines. This time, I'm certain the leader will once again be Jiang Yun, that sharp-tongued fellow. I certainly don't want to suffer through this without any reason." replied a middle-aged man with a relaxed demeanor and a pair of small mustaches on his upper lip, speaking casually. "Exactly!" I've also heard that a few years ago, the Ancient Sword Sect admitted a disciple with the 'Nine Spirit Sword Body'—this time, they will surely send him to participate in the assembly. With that, what could possibly be more competitive? Though we have some disciples with unique physical traits, when compared to theirs, the gap is far from minor. Moreover, I've heard that the Hundred-Tricks Academy has taken on a direct descendant from the Shangguan family, who, even during the Qi Condensation stage, managed to defeat his elders using his own crafted artifacts. Such a contender—how could we possibly handle him?" The other elder, with a pale complexion, shook his head in agreement. Upon hearing this, the bearded elder grew visibly displeased. "My two younger brothers, your points are well taken—the Sword Assembly has indeed become a demonstration of the Ancient Sword Sect's strength toward our two sects. Yet, who can deny their superior strength and influence? If our sect fails to send any disciples, we may well fall short of even securing a quarter of the pure liquid." Moreover, this might easily provoke the ancient sword sect to harbor ill will toward our Lu Yun Sect, which would be detrimental to our long-term development on Yunmeng Mountain. After all, the other sects eyeing our three sects with constant vigilance are not just a few. We cannot afford to leave any room for them to exploit. Master Wei, with a serious expression, said this. "Since Master Feng has expressed such concerns, I’ll take on the responsibility myself. After all, I haven’t seen Elder Chang Zheng of the Bai Qiao Hall for quite some time. It would be a good opportunity to catch up and chat." The red-robed elder with a dignified appearance, sitting across from Master Wei, suddenly stepped forward and accepted the task. "Young Master Duan, as the head of Huayun Peak and with so many disciples under your charge, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for you to leave now?" Master Feng, upon hearing this, hesitated slightly. "It won’t be a problem. Li Young Master remains at Huayun Peak, so there will be no issues at all." Moreover, they weren't leaving Yunmeng Mountain at all—merely flying from the eastern branch to the western branch, a journey of just one day. The red-robed elder said this indifferently. Upon hearing this, the white-bearded elder no longer pressed the point, merely nodded in agreement. Then, as his gaze swept over the others, it settled finally on the gray-robed elder, whose face was somewhat stern, and he asked slowly: "Yu, I know you don't hold much authority at Tianquan Peak. This time, will you assist Duan brother for a while? How does that sound, Xin brother? Do you have any objections?" The white-bearded elder's final words were directed toward the middle-aged man with the surname Xin. "Of course not. As long as Yu brother is willing, that's all." The middle-aged man replied calmly. The gray-robed elder, whose expression had remained cold, stirred slightly. After a while, he responded briefly: "Very well. I'll go then!" "Heard this, the gray-bearded elder beamed with satisfaction, nodded, and continued, 'This time, the leading role will be taken by Segment Brother, with Yu Brother and Song Sister from Bai Feng Peak as assistants. Once the final round of today's competition concludes, gather all thirty disciples and give them some guidance. Perhaps this gathering will still prove competitive. After all, among our disciples, there are several strong contenders whose abilities should allow us to challenge both the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Skills Academy.' 'Song Sister is also participating in the grand assembly? I didn't know that! In that case, I'll personally take care of Yu Brother's affairs this time.' A cultivator who had been quietly standing in the corner of the hall, with a smooth, composed demeanor, exclaimed in surprise. The other cultivators in the pavilion were equally stirred by this news, several of whom immediately showed signs of regret. 'Hmph! Cling Brother, what do you mean by that?' Just now, I was talking to you for a long time, yet you didn't say a word. Now that I hear Master Song is going, you immediately jump in. To be honest, the condition Master Song has set for agreeing to lead the delegation is that I must not inform anyone—especially not the others—about her departure. Otherwise, how could she easily leave White Phoenix Peak?" The elderly man with white hair, whose cultivation had reached the late stage of the Jiadian stage, said, his expression darkening. The younger cultivator, who was only at the initial Jiadian stage, looked visibly out of place. As soon as the elder's expression changed, the younger one immediately lowered his head and remained silent, no longer daring to argue. Several others who had been particularly interested also exchanged glances, hesitating and unable to speak up. At that moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside the room, followed by a man's voice from outside. "Report to Master, the senior uncles—our final round of trials has concluded. A total of three Foundation-level disciples and twenty-one Qi-level cultivators have been selected. I have brought the list with me." "Oh! Since they've arrived, let's bring them in. And while we're at it, let the several senior uncles take a look as well." The bearded elder, upon hearing this, relaxed slightly and said. "Understood!" the man outside replied respectfully, then pushed open the door and stepped inside. He was a man in his thirties, at the late Foundation Stage, with a dignified appearance and tall, sturdy build. "This is the list and profiles of the twenty-four finalists." The man reached into his sleeve and produced a white jade scroll, offering it to the elder with both hands. "I'll take a look first!" The elder nodded slightly, took the scroll, and briefly scanned it with his spiritual awareness. "Hm," he said, his face lighting up with surprise after just glancing at it. "What's going on? Is there something amiss with this list?" The red-robed cultivator's expression brightened, showing genuine curiosity. The others also turned to the elder, looking equally astonished. "Nothing at all. Let each of you take a look!" With that, the bearded elder resumed his composed demeanor and tossed the scroll to the elderly man beside him, whose complexion was pale and wan After reviewing the jade scroll, this person also looked surprised but said nothing, simply passing it on to the next person. Not long after, every single person had gone through the scroll, and each one now displayed a mixture of expressions—sometimes bright, sometimes uncertain. Among them, the middle-aged man from Tianqu Peak, who had just finished reading the scroll, showed a series of growing expressions of astonishment. "I never thought it would be this way. Six of our peak's members have been selected this time—such a remarkable achievement that truly makes the other peaks feel embarrassed! It truly seems that Senior Xin has been exceptionally successful in training his disciples!" The man with a pair of mustaches sighed and said slowly. "It appears that Senior Xin has been determined to make a strong showing at this trial sword competition, which is why he has invested so much effort in cultivating these disciples!" The smooth-voiced cultivator, however, added with a hint of envy, noting that his own Yinjian Peak had only three members selected—something that had certainly diminished their prestige. "No, absolutely not. There's absolutely no way such a thing could be true." To our surprise, so many of us from Tianquan Peak have been selected this time—myself included, I must admit, I was quite taken aback. However, others aside, how come two cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Stage have made it? These are the disciples of Han Li and Du Dong. As far as I remember, they've only just begun their cultivation journey, barely a year or so. Yet they've managed to reach the final round? That's rather unusual. As for how they achieved this, High Nephew, could you please tell me more?" The middle-aged man with the surname Xin paused, then asked calmly. Upon hearing this question from the senior nephew, the newly arrived male cultivator immediately responded, "Their methods of victory aren't particularly remarkable. Du Dong's disciple wields a powerful, ice-element top-tier artifact. Though the artifact's name is unknown, it excels in both offense and defense, and works harmoniously with his cultivation technique. Every opponent who faces him is instantly frozen to the ground upon first contact. After several rounds, no one manages to withstand even a single strike." "Ah!" What kind of artifact would you like to describe? Could you share a few with us? The middle-aged man, with a few small whiskers on his mouth, interrupted with genuine interest. "An artifact shaped like a wheel, about a foot in diameter, carved with crescent moon patterns. Once activated, it emits a bright white glow and can instantly generate an icy protective shield, or project a large bird-shaped blast of cold energy." "This sounds exactly like the clan's ancestral treasure—the 'Cold Moon Wheel'—which was instrumental in the complete destruction of the Du family two centuries ago. Du Dong is truly a descendant of the Du family, isn't he?" the man with the whiskers said, his eyes narrowing with slight surprise. "Indeed, quite likely. The Du family was once a substantial one. Some direct descendants managed to survive the disaster and have since lived quietly under different names—perhaps believing that, after so many years, their old enemies would no longer notice them. That’s probably why they’ve decided to reemerge now." The elderly man with white hair gently stroked his beard, speaking with a calm, reflective tone.