A commotion erupted outside the light dome. Even the bald judge, who had been overseeing the match, stared in astonishment at the young contender before declaring with authority, "Han Li of Luoyu Sect, the winner!" Han Li remained composed, bowed gracefully to the judge, and then stepped out of the dome at his own pace. Soon after, two disciples from the Ancient Sword Sect rushed into the arena, lifting the unconscious Yao Feng out and beginning efforts to revive him. At the outer stands, the short elder could hardly believe his eyes, his face pale with disbelief. Though he had known that the young disciple had entered the tournament with a relatively low level of cultivation, which must have been due to some unusual circumstances, he had never imagined that the young man would employ scroll-based attacks—defeating his own highly anticipated disciple in a single encounter. This sudden reversal had left the elder, who had previously mocked the red-robed elder, utterly embarrassed. At that moment, a touch of embarrassment crept onto the elder's face, his inner frustration mounting yet he found himself unable to utter a single word. "Ha! Brother Duan, your disciple truly has some talent. He launched a set of scroll seals worth dozens of spiritual stones right off the bat. Though a bit clever, he managed to simultaneously activate so many fire pellet seals—his technique clearly reflects considerable practice, something most ordinary disciples would find difficult to achieve." The elder, having observed Han Li's performance within the protective aura, chuckled softly, somewhat at a loss. "Nothing special, really. Our disciple is, in fact, a scroll craftsman, so using scrolls as an offensive means is quite natural. Of course, I did find it somewhat surprising that he was willing to expend so many scrolls at once." The red-robed elder, seeing Jiang Yun of the Ancient Sword Sect falter, felt a deep sense of relief, though he spoke with a light, almost casual tone—either genuine or feigned. "Hmph! It's merely that he uses more scrolls. Now that everyone has seen this, others will surely find it hard to pass through when it comes to the next rounds." "Jiang Yun still muttered a few discontented remarks. "Is that so?" the elder in red robes chuckled, then said nothing further. "Still, the disciple from your sect seems to have a technique more akin to the ordinary light-body arts of the mortal world. Otherwise, he wouldn't have managed to catch Yao's nephew off guard so swiftly." The scholar in blue robes glanced at Han Li, who had returned to the lineup of Luoyun Sect, and nodded without any hesitation. "White friend, you've noticed that too! This disciple used to be an independent practitioner, and his training is a bit eclectic—perhaps that has caused some embarrassment to your sect." The elder in red robes showed a touch of surprise. "That's quite understandable. I myself once had an interest in the martial arts of the mortal world and studied them a little. While such arts may not prove particularly useful to high-level cultivators, when a Qi-Stage disciple masters them and applies them skillfully, they can certainly add a third part of strength. Moreover, this disciple's movements appear so fluent, as though he has experienced many actual combat situations. Thus, the defeat of your sect's disciple is not entirely unjustified." "A scholar smiled and said. As the three parties spoke calmly and composedly, the referee on the field had already been replaced by an elderly gray-robed figure from Luoyun Sect, who spoke evenly: "Match two: Ruan Tianci from Baiqiao Academy versus Zhou Xu from Gǔjiàn Academy." With these words, two young disciples stepped forward from Baiqiao and Gǔjiàn Academies, exchanged bows and clasped hands. Upon the elder's single word, "Begin," they each activated their incantations and launched their magical artifacts into combat. The three parties' Dan-stage cultivators momentarily set aside their previous match and focused intently on this new contest. Perhaps influenced by the earlier performance of Han Li, the two young disciples fought more conservatively, making the spectators find the match somewhat dull and monotonous. In the end, it was the sword cultivator from Gǔjiàn Academy who emerged victorious, using his sword artifact to breach the opponent's magical defense. The next match featured the contest between Luoyun Sect and Baiqiao Academy... Thus, the first round of competitions took two full days to complete, covering every single pair. The sword-specialists from the Ancient Sword Sect truly live up to their reputation. Aside from a few individuals like Han Li, most of the disciples from the other two sects who faced the Ancient Sword Sect clearly found themselves at a disadvantage, suffering defeats. This development finally allowed the Ji surname cultivator to regain his composure, as though he had finally released a long-held breath of relief. Fortunately, the several Jin Dan cultivators from Baiqiao Academy and the red-robed elder from Luoyun Sect had anticipated this scenario in advance. Though they felt their prestige slightly diminished, they managed to maintain a composed demeanor, appearing indifferent—thus, in terms of bearing, they far surpassed the shorter, elderly cultivator. In the second round, Han Li's opponent was a young female cultivator from Baiqiao Academy, full of youthful vigor and confidence. Having previously observed Han Li's performances, she immediately deployed her flying artifact as soon as the match began, ascending into the air. In her estimation, this way, she could naturally maneuver with ease, dodging Han Li's scroll attacks, and moreover, she was rather intimidated by Han Li's swift footwork. Seeing this situation, Han Li sighed lightly, said nothing, and launched another batch of fire scrolls. Just as the young woman, confident and pleased, prepared to evade these fire balls, Han Li suddenly pressed his palms together in a series of gestures, and as the fire balls flew through the air, they flashed with a crimson glow, transforming into dozens of flame birds the size of fists, which then circled and danced in the air. The female cultivator from Bai Qiao Courtyard was taken aback. As she attempted to activate her magical instruments to protect herself, Han Li offered her no further opportunity—on the surface, he merely pretended to recite incantations, yet with a mere mental command, all the flame birds instantly converged around her, rushing in from all directions. Though the young disciple quickly summoned a water-based protective shield through her scrolls, it could not withstand such intense assault, and within moments, the shield shattered. To no choice but to immediately step up and concede defeat, this young woman did. After this battle, those disciples from the other two sects who had previously found it unimpressive that Han Li had won solely through the use of talismans finally began to show some respect. Nevertheless, several foundation-stage cultivators who wielded powerful artifacts still treated Han Li, a newcomer, with clear disdain, as though he were merely a mere upstart. And thus—five days later, at dusk, in a nameless valley nestled against the mountains of Yunmeng Mountain. This valley, located in a remote area, had been perpetually shrouded in a continuous mist of damp, foggy vapors, so thick that visibility was nearly zero, and the place was perpetually damp and dimly lit. Within this mist, countless venomous creatures—scorpions, snakes, and others—lurked and thrived. Moreover, due to the valley's small size, even when occasional cultivators flew past, they often went unnoticed, and no one ever stopped to investigate. But that day, the mist in the valley was thicker and more hazy than usual. Deep within the valley, at a pile of stones that appeared disordered at first glance but actually held a hidden order, a flash of white light suddenly shimmered, and then two figures materialized there without any prior sign. One wore a gray robe, his face stern and rugged; the other dressed in a green robe with jade sash, his appearance refined and scholarly. "Isn't this Bai from the Ancient Sword Sect and Yu from the Falling Cloud Sect? How's it going, the Sword-Testing Grand Assembly concluded?" Though the area around the stone pile seemed completely deserted, a lazy, slightly hoarse male voice unexpectedly arose. "Indeed, it's Yu who's on duty today. The assembly has ended. We've come to check on the preparations for the sacred spring water and clear mountain spring water arranged by the holy site. If everything is ready, we'll have the ten disciples transported directly over. That way, should anything be amiss or an unforeseen issue arise, we'll be prepared." The gray-robed master from the Ancient Sword Sect smiled calmly, showing no surprise. As for the gray-robed elder standing beside him, he remained expression "What could possibly go wrong? There are already three days of us, fellow Dan-stage cultivators, stationed right here. And when you all arrive together, how could a group of lower-tier cultivators possibly cause a commotion?" The man speaking sounded unconcerned. "The Spirit-Eye Tree is of great significance—better to be cautious than to risk anything. Moreover, the Qing-Ming Spirit Water must be added in the final step, and once the mixture is complete, the recipients must immediately undergo eye washing, or the efficacy will significantly diminish. Otherwise, what's the point of bringing these ten disciples all the way here?" The white-clad cultivator shook his head slightly. "Well then. The Qing-Ming Spirit Water is nearly ready. Once we have them wash their eyes, they can simply depart. With so many seals in place, they'll only arrive via teleportation and won't even know where they've ended up." The man beamed confidently. "That sounds perfect." "Brother Yu, please stay here for now. I'll go inform the other elders and have the disciples transmit over." The white-clad cultivator nodded slightly. "By the way—has the winner of this Sword-Testing Assembly still been the Ancient Sword Sect?" The man who had been speaking suddenly remembered something and asked. "This year's champion is our junior disciple, Meng Di from the Ancient Sword Sect. I'm afraid it might leave Brother Yue a bit disappointed." The scholar in green robes smiled gently. "Hmph! It's only natural that your sword cultivators are stronger than ordinary cultivators at the Foundation Stage. But once we reach the Condensation Stage, who's stronger becomes a matter of debate. I'll have a message for your third elder brother—Brother Yue would love to spar with him again." With a relaxed tone, the man's voice carried a hint of mild dissatisfaction. Upon hearing this, the scholar in white remained silent for a moment, then smiled lightly and said: "It seems Brother Yue still holds the incident from when he lost to your third elder brother close to his heart. But I'm afraid that will leave our friend somewhat disappointed." Our third elder is now striving to reach the late stage of Consolidating Qi, and has just closed his meditation chamber.