"You've left us absolutely no room for negotiation. Then we must fight to the death. But before that, let us first engage in a wager. We'll each send our representatives to establish a seal together! Regardless of the outcome, as soon as the wager concludes, we will immediately launch our full-scale battle." The thin, elderly man was surprisingly decisive, speaking plainly and directly. He likely knew that by now, convincing the three senior cultivators to yield was nothing short of impossible. "Of course, we can agree to the wager," said the Happy-Flower Elder, "but what about the captives you promised? If we don't see any of them—ah-ha!" She fixed the elder with a cold, scornful glance. Upon hearing this, the elder paused, then after a moment's thought, subtly transmitted a few words to the rear. Immediately, the ranks of the rear cultivators surged into motion. Over a thousand monks and cultivators, barehanded and dressed only in their robes, were pushed forward from the line. When they reached the front, their expressions varied widely—some flushed with embarrassment, others glaring angrily at the assembled cultivators. There was a slight commotion among the ranks of the opposing cultivators. Many of the captured cultivators were naturally recognized by their fellow disciples. Upon seeing this, the senior cultivators, including Zhiyang, exchanged glances before their expressions eased slightly and they nodded. "How is it going? You've seen them now. You should be at ease. Let's begin the wagered battle!" The short, Bi-named cultivator from the Mu Lan Immortal Master's circle grew impatient. "Why are you so eager? Surely you have something in mind for this battle?" Wei Wuyi unexpectedly asked. "If you're unwilling to engage in the battle, we'll first use these cultivators as offerings to raise the banner. Then we'll launch the full-scale battle—what do you think?" The short cultivator's face changed, and he now threatened them. "You're pressuring us!" Wei Wuyi's eyes flashed with cold intensity as he spoke sharply. "We're not exactly pressuring you. But if you're unwilling to participate in the battle, we'll have little use for these captives. Using them as offerings to boost morale—well, that's not impossible at all." The thin, elderly man's expression remained unchanged, though his voice grew more eerie. "We can settle on a wager battle. Release these prisoners first, and we'll agree to the wager." Upon hearing this, Zhiyang Monks' brow slightly furrowed before he slowly replied, "Release them? Do you really think we'd do such a foolish thing?" The short man responded bluntly. "But we don't trust you either! What if, after the battle, you fail to uphold your promise?" Wei Wuyi spoke calmly. "Even then, we—" "Enough. Let's not waste time on these trivial arguments. Before the battle begins, we'll release half of the prisoners. The rest will depend on your performance—how the battle turns out. Does that sound acceptable to you? If not, go back and prepare—then the battle begins right away." The elder didn't wait for the short man to speak further; his eyes flashed with determination, and he stepped in first. "Very well. That's settled! You release your prisoners, and we begin setting up our seals right away." "This time, the Most Yang Master and the other two exchanged a few words and promptly agreed. This was already the maximum concession the other side could make—should the matter be further discussed, they would have no way to explain it to the multitude of disciples behind them. With these relatively favorable terms, the six individuals returned to their respective camps to make arrangements. Han Li had already moved away from his original position and concealed himself among a group of disciples. Before the battle commenced, he did not wish to be noticed by the higher-ranked cultivators on the opposing side. Thanks to Han Li's keen spiritual awareness, he naturally heard every word of the conversation between the Most Yang Master and the three great diviners of Mulan. After a light smile formed on Han Li's lips, some of the disciples who had been brought forward were released from their seals by the cultivators and then flew toward the opposite side, filled with surprise. However, the Most Yang Master clearly had a well-prepared plan." They hadn't even waited for these monks to fly into the main army when already hundreds of them had come out to greet them, carefully inspecting each saved monk, confirming that none were spies and that no one had been tampered with, before allowing them to join the monastic ranks. "Those southern fellows really are quite cautious. Good thing we didn't give these monks the 'Mind-Cloud Pill' back then—otherwise, they'd have had a hard time passing this test," the short, surname-Bi man remarked, sighing with growing frustration from a distance. "This is entirely natural! The three foremost monks from the South are no ordinary figures. These minor measures would be a waste of effort. You must strike at the vital point—otherwise, you'll end up making things worse," the scholarly man with the surname-Zhong agreed. The thin, elderly man listened silently, showing no change in expression. He only stroked his sparse beard of goats' hair and gazed steadily at the monastic army across the field, remaining motionless. Under Han Li's distant observation, a group of cultivators and magicians each took flight from their respective camps, dividing the space between the two armies into ten sections, where they began setting up the defensive magical arrays. These individuals were all array specialists among the cultivators and magicians, proficient in array techniques. Though the defensive barrier arrays they were constructing were exceptionally powerful, they were not rare or specialized forms. Therefore, with their array expertise, any maneuvers the opposing side might attempt would be immediately apparent. Normally, such a setup would take considerable time, but with so many array specialists working simultaneously—utilizing various precious materials and even pre-practiced array discs and flags—the ten compact, subtly glowing arrays took shape within just one minute. Immediately thereafter, both sides' array specialists jointly activated the arrays, causing ten expansive white light shields, each covering an area of seventy to eighty zhang, to rise between the two lines. After a final inspection, the array specialists confirmed that everything was sound and then gradually withdrew. In their place, ten cultivators and magicians at the Ji Dan stage stepped forward. Exactly one cultivator and one mage jointly oversee the operation of each spell array. Among them, one of the southern sky cultivators was Ms. Song from Luoyun Sect, who gracefully approached the spell array at the second-to-last position. Seeing this, Han Li showed no surprise. The moment this woman reached the array, it meant he would be joining the duel at that very array. After all, only disciples from his own sect could reassure the veteran masters participating in the contest. Otherwise, if the dispatched cultivator were a disciple from a rival sect, and failed to step in when danger arose—or showed unwillingness to give their full effort—it would be a serious setback. Thus, Ms. Song’s appearance was actually something Han Li had proposed himself, since he knew little about the other disciples of Luoyun Sect. Once the arrays were fully established, the duelists from both sides would naturally appear together. From the opposing mage side, ten figures clad in black robes first took flight, each radiating a strong presence of cold qi and remarkable magical malice. "Magical cultivators!" Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and he murmured softly. Yet a flash of jade-green light surged through him, transforming him into a streak of jade-green light that shot out of the group of cultivators. Nine other senior cultivators, all at the Yuan Ying stage, did the same. Most of them Han Li had met before, though three or four were unfamiliar faces. Among them were the True Soul Master, the Cloud Lu Elder Demon, and the white-clad woman. These individuals flew toward the spatial arrays they had identified, hovering gently in the air. As soon as Han Li reached the space above the protective dome, he nodded politely to the woman below who was operating the array, then calmly turned his gaze toward the black-robed figure across from him. "Something's odd," he said, his expression composed, though his thoughts were racing. "How is it that his magical energy is so violently turbulent? Could it be he's taken a powerful pill—something like the 'Return-Soul Pill'—in advance?" If that were all, he wouldn't have been particularly afraid. The black-robed figure was of ordinary stature, yet his eyes glowed with a cold green light, fixed steadily upon Han Li without blinking a single time. Though he couldn't see the other's face clearly, there was no doubt that the person was a Yuan-Infant cultivator, at the peak of the early stage, still not yet advancing to the mid-stage. After glancing at the scene, Han Li turned his gaze to the other several black-robed magicians nearby, who appeared to be quite similar to his opponent. Even if there were slight differences, they were still substantial. Han Li's mind stirred, and his alertness heightened. It seemed that this betting match indeed had some issues—there were not a single cultivator at the mid-stage of Yuan-Infant! That was fine, though; as soon as the opponent used any magian technique, Han Li would immediately unleash the Divine-Defeating Lightning to instantly annihilate them. No matter what tricks the opponent might come up with, they would prove ineffective. Han Li's resolve solidified instantly, and his killing intent surged. At that moment, the black-robed cultivator across from him suddenly produced a storage sack from his waist, then glanced at Han Li with an expression devoid of emotion. Han Li smiled slightly, and likewise removed a storage sack filled with materials for the match. The materials inside the bag were jointly contributed by the four major powers of Tiannan. Their value was such that even Han Li, upon seeing them, could not help but feel a touch of envy. The black-robed figure on the other side raised his hand and tossed the bag directly toward Han Li. Han Li narrowed his eyes, then tossed his own storage bag over, exchanging them. While the materials in the other's storage bag were not as diverse as those in Han Li's, they surpassed them in rarity and value—this matched closely with what had been stated in their challenge letter, and thus was entirely satisfactory. Han Li nodded, and instead of returning the materials, he simply fastened the storage bag to his waist. The black-robed figure on the other side did the same. The female attendant named Song and the opposing sorcerer both observed this, simultaneously chanting incantations and continuously pressing hand gestures. After each of them completed their respective hand seals and applied them to the magical array, the white light shield on the array flickered several times before suddenly vanishing. Han Li and the cloaked figure moved with nearly identical speed. After a slight shift in position, both of them appeared simultaneously within the magical array. Each of them glanced at the other, slightly surprised. The pale, translucent barrier reappeared, once again isolating them from the outside world. Likewise, the other cultivators and cloaked figures paired off and entered the luminous dome one by one. For a moment, the onlookers at a distance fell silent, holding their breath, eyes tightly focused on the slightly blurred ten pairs of figures within the dome. Once inside the dome, Han Li paid no further attention to the ongoing battles outside. He simply remained still, gazing calmly at his opponent—the cloaked figure. Though his body remained motionless, the flow of azure light around him grew stronger, and the numerous swords within him began to tremble in unison, ready to launch at any moment to strike and injure. Faced with the most potent treasures of the magical cultivators, the Divine-Defying Thunder had already coalesced into a golden orb the size of a fist, gently cradled in the hands of the Dao-Embryo within Han Li's dantian, ready to unleash a stunning, earth-shattering strike at any moment.