The challenge messages were overwhelming. Even with Lin Shuang’s Fire-Eyed Golden Sight technique, she couldn’t keep up.
“What’s going on?” Meng Zi frowned, gripping his disciple token, which almost felt scalding in his hand.
Wave after wave, over a hundred spiritual consciousness messages—had he misheard?
Were these messages from different disciples challenging them?
“What’s happening? Did I change my name to Spirit Stone all of a sudden?”
Suddenly, they had become the center of attention.
Meng Zi, carrying his blade, frowned as he entered the resting cave dwelling.
There were three thousand layers of resting cave dwellings, yet today every single stone table was occupied, with many disciples even standing.
They were staring at them with strange expressions.
Huangpu Yuan sighed softly. “We’re on the two thousand two hundredth layer. At least two more rounds before we reach above the three thousandth layer.”
Lin Shuang pressed her forehead and sighed again. “Ah.”
“What’s wrong? Aren’t we allowed to go up to the three thousandth layer?” Meng Zi glared at the disciples surrounding them. “Chen Xingchuan, Gu Ming, what are you all doing? Gone mad?”
The disciples looked like they wanted to speak but held back.
Lin Shuang shook her head and sighed once more, pulling out today’s schedule from her spatial pouch.
She murmured, “All this brilliance has caused trouble.”
The disciples: “…”
Huangpu Yuan: “…”
Meng Zi’s mouth twitched. “Speak normally! My neck is getting chills.”
Being too high-profile had triggered an additional event.
Lin Shuang silently lowered her head and glanced at the disciple token in her hand.
[Ranking within the Zhenchuan’s three thousandth layer: 10]
[Members:
Lin Shuang: 8999th among outer disciples
Huangpu Yuan: 30000th among inner disciples
Meng Zi: 11192nd among inner disciples]
She flipped her palm and showed the token to Meng Zi.
Meng Zi took one look and cried out, “Your rank among outer disciples is still 8999th after ten years?”
“Huangpu Senior, there are only 30,000 inner disciples total in the sect, right? You’re still last?”
What a pleasant surprise.
“At least I’m decent. I’m within the top forty percent of inner disciples. This is despite being in the patrol team and completing fewer sect tasks.”
Huangpu Yuan closed his eyes briefly.
“That’s not the point, junior brother,” Huangpu said.
Meng Zi’s reading comprehension… Lin Shuang sighed.
Meng Zi raised an eyebrow, casually scanning the token, but as he read, he froze, his breath hitching.
Tenth in the Zhenchuan’s three thousandth layer!
“When did we climb into the top ten?”
This time, Meng Zi was genuinely stunned.
He looked around at the fellow disciples in the resting cave dwelling, their gazes complex.
Finally, he understood.
8999th among outer disciples, 30,000th among inner disciples.
One was at the Qi Condensation stage, another was frail and sickly, and even his own position among inner disciples wasn’t particularly high, barely within the top half.
Yet, all these fellow disciples in the cave dwelling had to call them seniors!
Meng Zi suddenly realized the situation was serious.
Chen Xingchuan, standing beside Chen Sheng, had several cave dwelling jade keys hanging at his waist. He stepped forward first.
“Meng Zi, pick one. I suggest you pick me.”
Other disciples wanted to stand up, but Chen Xingchuan raised his hand to stop them.
“You’ve already fought my junior brother Chen Sheng before, breaking his record as the layer master. As his senior brother, I should naturally win back his honor.”
Chen Xingchuan took another step forward. “Yesterday, we were in the same trial layer, and you took the position of layer master from me.”
“My challenge comes from the heart, unlike other disciples who were forced by elders.”
Meng Zi’s eye twitched. What? There were elders forcing them?
Lin Shuang lowered her head, trying to reduce her presence, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Huangpu Yuan also showed a hint of innocence and helplessness in his expression.
“You can’t escape. All disciples below the three thousandth layer have issued challenges to you.”
“Weakness protection allows only three refusals per day.”
Meng Zi took a deep breath.
They had really caused trouble.
[Task: Intercept outer disciples from climbing within two days!]
[If any outer disciple climbs another five hundred layers in Zhenchuan, all inner disciples will lose ten thousand contribution points!]
[This task has no reward, only severe punishment!]
Lin Shuang glanced at her disciple token and shook her head.
“Indeed, we can’t avoid it.”
“I expected this would happen. Too much brilliance will inevitably hurt each other.”
Can’t you act cool at a different time?
Meng Zi’s mouth twitched. All the disciples below the three thousandth layer looked at her with complex expressions.
But Lin Shuang faced them without fear or hesitation.
Her gaze swept over Chen Sheng beside Chen Xingchuan, at the Foundation Gathering Second Stage.
Then she looked at the trio sitting alone in a corner of the cave dwelling—Dao Shan Dong Xi Bei, Foundation Gathering Third and Fourth Stage.
Then she glanced at today’s schedule.
“Senior brothers and sisters, those of you weaker than Dao Dong should withdraw your challenge letters directly.”
“Don’t waste my time making me filter through them one by one.”
Everyone’s expressions changed.
The expressions of the three Dao Brothers instantly became colorful.
Arrogant!
She was simply too arrogant!
She was practically trampling over the three inner disciples of Dao Mountain and walking forward.
She didn’t even consider the inner disciples worth her attention.
Meng Zi almost wanted to hit her with his blade.
“So junior sister, you accepted Dao Dong’s challenge back then for today. You really saw this coming.”
Huangpu Yuan was once again ignited by her audacity.
The three Dao Brothers’ figures trembled.
She had known all along. As an outer disciple in Zhenchuan, one day she would inevitably face challenges from inner disciples.
So she accepted their challenge back then to make an example!
Dao Dong was at Foundation Gathering Fourth Stage, so those weaker than him, don’t challenge her and humiliate yourselves!
This was the reply she had sent yesterday to all disciples below the three thousandth layer!
[Holy crap, how impressive our outer junior sister is!]
[I thought she was overestimating herself when she accepted the challenge. Turns out she was ahead of us all along!]
She was walking ahead of them—
[Given time, this outer junior sister will surely reach Soul Refining! I’ll stake my words on it!]
The challenge hadn’t even started yet.
But the Zhenchuan projection was already sharing the scene of this cave dwelling with disciples who paid spirit stones to watch.
[Sigh, to be honest, if she were an inner disciple instead of an outer one, I’d really hope she wins.
Ganging up on a Qi Condensation junior sister—what kind of heroes are you?]
[Shut up! Isn’t the face of inner disciples worth anything?]
[Are inner disciples’ lives not valuable? Do you want to go to the outer sect?]
[Alright, stop arguing. She’s indeed a promising talent. Even if she loses, the elders will notice her. Maybe once she leaves Zhenchuan, she’ll be promoted to inner sect with special consideration.]
The audience argued noisily.
The fee for viewing spirit stones skyrocketed again.
In the resting cave dwelling, Lin Shuang checked the time and looked at the crowd surrounding them.
“Which senior brother or sister is the strongest? Step forward directly.”
“Let’s save everyone time. Don’t make us search for your names in so many challenge messages.”
Still showing off, as always.
Meng Zi and Huangpu Yuan couldn’t help but glance at her.
The entire cave dwelling fell into silence.
But soon, many disciples took a step back.
Only a dozen or so disciples with imposing auras remained at the forefront.
Meng Zi wanted to choose, but the leading woman smiled slightly.
“Junior sister Lin is straightforward. Then we seniors will also be decisive. So, you’re currently on the two thousand two hundredth layer. To reach the three thousandth layer, you still need to pass two more layers.”
“Why not have two matches against us seniors at the Peak Foundation Gathering Fourth Stage?”
The leading woman had curly, waterfall-like long hair, was tall, and had a pair of glass-colored pupils.
But she was holding an erhu in a very artistic way.
Beside her stood two broad-shouldered, bearded men, who lacked any trace of cultivation elegance but were holding jade flutes artistically.
The scene was quite unusual.
The inner sect also had many talents.
Lin Shuang appreciated them greatly and agreed readily, “Alright.”
Chen Xingchuan wanted to speak, but the tall woman nodded to him. “Brother Chen, you can go first.”
“If you win, it’ll be a happy ending.”
“If you lose, me and the Gang Er brothers will step in. How about that?”
Hearing this, Chen Xingchuan had no objections.
Both groups had reached the peak of Foundation Gathering Fourth Stage, suppressing their cultivation to advance to Foundation Gathering Fifth Stage only when facing Zhenchuan’s layer trials.
They had stayed below the three thousandth layer for a long time, also wanting to accumulate more layer masters to slow down their progress.
It wasn’t that they lacked strength to ascend.
Their true strength was already incomparable to the disciples below the three thousandth layer.
“Alright.”
Chen Xingchuan smiled.
In catching thieves, they couldn’t match this outer junior sister.
But in an open match, he didn’t believe he would lose again!
“Senior brother Chen will be fine.”
“Let outer junior sister see our inner sect’s brilliance.”
“Though there’s Mei Xin behind us, you better not lose, or it’ll be too embarrassing.”
Chen Xingchuan smiled, unfazed. “Lose? If we lose, what are we three still doing in the inner sect?”
His two junior brothers behind him glared at the speaking disciple. “Exactly, looking down on us?”
“If we lose, I’ll take my sword and follow her to the outer sect!”
[Group 500 challenges Group 11111.]
[Accept?]
Lin Shuang and the three instantly received a new invitation.
[This match has no weak protection, so you have no choice in the content or location of the match.]
[Match content: One-on-one arena battle.]
Lin Shuang raised her brow and looked toward the pink-robed woman who usually worked at the sales office in the cave dwelling.
The pink-robed woman was holding a stack of cave dwelling jade slips. Seeing her gaze, she smiled calmly.
“If you want to buy a cave dwelling, you can come find me after the challenge.”
Lin Shuang nodded but spoke before she turned away.
“Property manager, is that you?”
“Or should I call you the Zhenchuan Three Thousand Layer Chief Examiner Elder?”
The pink-robed woman’s figure paused.
Meng Zi almost dropped his blade from his shoulder. “What? Who are you talking to, auntie?”
Bang, Meng Zi fell flat on his back on the ground.
The pink-robed woman remained expressionless, placing her hands behind her back.
Huangpu Yuan stepped back in time to dodge the palm wind, his expression complex.
Auntie.
Only Meng Zi had ever addressed her like that from the beginning.
Meng Zi got up and warily looked at the pink-robed woman.
“Sh*t—did you two know all along? Why didn’t you tell me!”
Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan sighed with complex expressions.
Of course, they hadn’t known beforehand.
But they hadn’t been too late to guess.
Brother Xu Xiang could exchange inner disciple tasks for trials in specific Zhenchuan layers.
This proved that elders in Zhenchuan were managing it anytime.
Moreover, the exchanged trial layers were precisely those below the three thousandth layer.
And they were exactly the layers Lin Shuang, as an outer disciple, had chosen.
There was also this challenge task targeting Lin Shuang.
Who could do this? And so promptly?
Someone who could adjust according to the situation in Zhenchuan anytime and deeply understand when they would return to the resting pavilion.
Not to mention, previously in Li Village, the puppet Li Lao invited them to answer questions, distributing rewards vividly and commenting on the trials as if he were alive.
All these indicated that the supervising elders were constantly monitoring their trials.
The day they came out and saw Zhao Keran, an outer disciple, cleaning and organizing at this layer, they had already felt puzzled.
Who could command outer disciples and decide to let them enter Zhenchuan’s layers for trials?
Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan looked at the pink-robed woman, their eyes showing a trace of caution.
They didn’t sense any spiritual fluctuations from her.
She was like an ordinary person, just like the retired senior uncles.
Returning to simplicity, she was at least at the peak of the Void Return Stage.
“Can we request a one incense stick of rest time?”
Lin Shuang looked toward the pink-robed woman.
“Elder, you understand. We three came here today but haven’t claimed the rewards for layer 2200 yet.”
The pink-robed woman was taken aback.
“According to the rules, there’s no problem with us claiming our disciple rewards first, right?”
Indeed, there was no problem.
The match wouldn’t wait just for this short time.
According to Zhenchuan’s trial rules, after each layer, disciples could check their gains and replenish pills and treasures.
The pink-robed woman looked at Lin Shuang with a complex expression and nodded slightly.
“Thank you, Elder.”
Lin Shuang smiled at Chen Xingchuan’s trio.
“Senior brother, I know you’re in a hurry, but please don’t rush.”
“We three will go breakthrough first.”
“???”
“!!!”
What?
Everyone was more shocked to hear that the Zhenchuan elder was this pink-robed woman.
Even Meng Zi was the same.
Time to claim rewards, breakthrough?
Did he think breaking through was as easy as drinking water!
Meng Zi was speechless, turning to the two who had already walked toward the stone tablet.
“Hey, can’t you two consult me first?”
“I didn’t even know I could breakthrough…”
But halfway through his words, he followed them with his blade on his shoulder, then paused.
“Senior brother, when the protagonist faces a life-or-death crisis, they often breakthrough.”
“Ah?”
Meng Zi was puzzled.
But beside him, Huangpu Yuan, upon hearing this, his phoenix eyes suddenly lit up.
The next moment, before Meng Zi could react, Huangpu Yuan raised his head and let out a sorrowful roar.
“Junior brother Meng, junior sister Lin, although I am the senior brother, I have become a burden to you two!”
“Breaking through, you stand before me.”
“Battle, you stand before me.”
“How can this broken body of mine deserve it, deserve it—”
As he spoke, his aura surged, and his spiritual energy became turbulent!
“This time, let this useless senior brother stand before you!”
As he roared in grief, he spat out a mouthful of essence blood.
His cultivation level soared, Foundation Gathering First Stage, early First Stage… entering Foundation Gathering Second Stage…
“!”
Meng Zi was stunned, and all the disciples, even the pink-robed senior aunt, were taken aback.
What? He really broke through due to emotional turmoil caused by them!?
And soon, as they watched intently, another roar sounded.
Turning their heads, they saw Lin Shuang, who had somehow already stood opposite Huangpu Yuan.
“Senior brother Huangpu!”
Lin Shuang staggered forward a step, her grief stirring the green-clothed sleeves of her robe as the spiritual energy within her nearly erupted into the sky!
She gripped Huangpu Yuan’s two arms tightly and shook him.
“How can I let you, already weakened by illness, stand in front of me? If anything were to happen to you, I could never forgive myself!”
Lin Shuang’s eyes reddened as she let out a long, anguished cry toward the sky. In an instant, surging spiritual energy rushed into her body, her aura climbing rapidly.
Cultivation stage transformation—fourth layer of Qi Formation, fifth layer, sixth…
“Today, as long as I’m here, no one will harm you!”
Her cry resounded, fierce and sorrowful, almost matching the oppressive force of a Yuan-stage cultivator!
Huangpu Yuan’s arms trembled slightly. He lowered his head, his dark pupils shadowed by the light, gazing deeply into her shimmering, spiritually-charged eyes.
His thin lips quivered.
Breaking through in a life-and-death crisis, protecting a fellow disciple—this explanation was perfectly reasonable.
—There couldn’t be a better opportunity. Today, he could explain why his crippled body suddenly recovered. Everyone here could witness it, that he was only protecting his frail junior sister.
—There was no need to waste time explaining to the outer and inner sects why her Qi Formation stage resembled a Yuan Condensation stage, or why she possessed 97 dantians. It was all for the sake of protecting her ailing senior brother!
Both of them shared the same calculating glint in their eyes.
But at the same time, a trace of awkwardness flickered.
Yue…
[Little Ai No.2 Backup (Da Bao): Enough, junior sister.]
[Little Ai No.1 (Lin): Enough, senior brother.]
[Little Ai No.2 Backup (Da Bao): Let go of me.]
[Little Ai No.1 (Lin): This feels more real.]
“…”
“…………”
Meng Zi held his blade, his expression like he’d been struck by lightning.
Damn it, why didn’t he feel anything!
Ah—
He also threw his head back, wanting to cry out and break through.
“Junior sister, junior brother, I recently obtained a fragment of the sect leader’s notes. Please stand guard while I study them—last time I read them, I had a faint glimpse of the sect leader’s true intent.”
Huangpu Yuan pushed Lin Shuang’s hands off his arms.
Meng Zi opened his mouth blankly.
The disciples watching and the girl in pink all wore expressions of disbelief.
“What, the sect leader’s note fragment?”
“Isn’t that the one with only over two hundred words, each as big as a fist, that sprays water and mocks disciples?”
“Isn’t it just ‘train train train, train your mother, keep training your mother…’ and ‘kowtow and I’ll cut your legs off’?”
But Huangpu Yuan had already sat cross-legged on the ground, solemnly flipping open the pages of the book in his hands.
As he read, he nodded.
He extended his index finger, and a sword seal gradually formed at its tip.
The sword energy carried the force of thunder, shattering the threshold of the Yuan Condensation second stage and reaching the power of the third!
“Uh, this note…”
“I always had my suspicions—I always believed it would turn out this way. If the sect leader’s notes were being sold in Zhenchuan, they couldn’t possibly be just for mere entertainment!”
“So this is the truth, and I just didn’t understand it?!”
The disciples were all stunned, hurriedly reaching into their spirit pouches.
Quite a few of them had bought it before and been scammed.
“It really is like this.”
As Huangpu Yuan read, his sword seal’s aura kept rising.
Lin Shuang also lowered her head, her face suddenly lighting up with realization. “This is precisely what the sect leader’s notes described—breaking through in a life-and-death crisis, reflecting on a lifetime of hardships to achieve instant enlightenment!”
Immediately, the spiritual energy from all directions in the rest courtyard surged toward her like a flood, condensing into a vortex above her head!
Both of them were swallowed by the spiritual energy.
Their auras kept climbing!
“……!”
“Damn it, senior, I want a fragment of the sect leader’s diary too.”
“Quick, give me one too.”
“Two hundred spirit stones, who doesn’t have that?”
“Do I have to prick my finger and let the blood drip on it to unlock the hidden secret manual?”
Everyone went crazy.
Meng Zi went crazy too.
They stood in front of the exchange stele, a bit apart from everyone else.
Only he could look down and see the scroll in Huangpu Yuan’s hand.
—”Get out!” (Gǔn)
A single, crude word.
The handwriting of the leader was even a bit unattractive.
It was inscribed on the blank page, dripping with water…
Meng Zi’s hand holding the blade trembled.
“Junior sister, you reminded me. Senior brother has understood.”
“Senior brother, I was also inspired by you. I’ve understood too.”
Huangpu Yuan’s phoenix eyes sparkled. A single strand of her hair fell beside his ear, carrying the fragrance of plum blossoms.
His throat moved slightly, a rush of blood and a metallic taste rising together.
A streak of crimson flashed in his pupils, then quickly vanished.
He regained his calm, lifting his head to gently look at the stunned Meng Zi.
“Junior brother Meng, have you understood?”
Lin Shuang also came to her senses, “Senior brother Meng, have you understood?”
Meng Zi: “…”
He really…
Was going to chop them both!
[Challenge started.]
[One-on-one arena match.]
[Best of three wins, allowing the victor to ascend five hundred floors.]
[The winner may also choose one challenge reward from the Zhenchuan challenge pool.]
When Huangpu Yuan finally wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, and Lin Shuang finally dried her tears, closed the ‘Leader’s Secret Manual’ in her hands, and stood up, the challenge finally began.
Chen Xingchuan, Yun He, Mu Wenchang—all at the peak of the fourth stage of Yuan Condensation.
The three of them all looked solemnly toward Lin Shuang, who was now engulfed in spiritual energy.
She was clearly still in the Qi Formation stage, yet somehow she had become extremely dangerous.
They turned their heads once more, gazing at Huangpu Yuan—who had undergone a metamorphosis by rushing to shield his junior sister, breaking through to the peak of the third stage of Yuan凝聚 through pill consumption, blood-spitting, and profound comprehension of the notes.
They turned their heads again, looking at Meng Zi, who remained unchanged, still at the fourth stage of Yuan Condensation.
Ah, finally someone who didn’t break through.
The three of them exhaled in relief, then fell silent.
Who could have imagined that in just an instant, two of the three of them had actually increased their cultivation in front of everyone’s eyes!
In the rest courtyard on the 3000th floor, everyone watched them—six people—being teleported to the single-person arena trials on the 2800th floor, breathless.
Someone was the first to break the silence.
“Chen Xingchuan might actually lose?”
“Disciples of cultivation must not speak carelessly, or it will leave a heart demon. Did he just say, if he loses, he’ll go to the outer sect?”
“…”
The disciples on the 3000th floor immediately fell silent.
For the first time, the girl in pink showed panic on her determined face.
She wouldn’t have sent three inner sect disciples to the outer sect for that scoundrel Li Daowei, would she…
No, impossible!
At the 2800th floor, Lin Shuang and the others were instantly teleported to three parallel square arenas.
Lin Shuang nodded.
As expected, Zhenchuan had one-on-one arena matches.
Her guess had been spot on.
The nine items of Lingquan, the common nine categories of cultivation competitions, made up the 9999 layers of Zhenchuan.
In other words, each category had 1111 sets of questions.
So, Zhenchuan was a sea of questions prepared by the Qingshui Sect for its disciples.
The topics revolved around the nine cultivation categories, layer by layer, with questions increasing in difficulty.
They rotated every year, ensuring that disciples never encountered the same question twice.
What painstaking effort by the question-setting teachers!
[Layer 2798: If you’re a cultivator, stand firm—don’t fall down!]
[One-on-one arena rules: Falling down or being knocked out of the arena counts as a loss.
If one side concedes, the match ends, and the other party must not pursue or attack, or they will be disqualified from participating in similar Zhenchuan trials.]
Three versus three.
Soon, six beams of spiritual light landed before them. Lin Shuang stretched out her hand.
A wooden token marked with the number one appeared in her palm.
She exhaled in relief.
Huangpu Yuan was number two, Meng Zi number three.
On the other side, Chen Xingchuan and the others also drew their corresponding numbers, exchanged glances, and walked toward their respective arenas.
[Oh, is this rule the same as the personal arena free-for-all in the Huadong Region?]
[Yes, the draw determines the pairing. You can’t choose your opponent based on whether their technique counters yours. It’s very fair.]
The observing senior brothers and sisters discussed.
They watched Lin Shuang walk to the first arena, her head crowned with a spiritual vortex!
[!]
[What cultivation stage is she at now?!]
[How should I know? Through the projection, who can tell?]
Lin Shuang glanced at the opponent walking onto the arena across from her—Chen Xingchuan with his sword drawn—and nodded.
She looked inward, observing the full-speed operation of her 98 dantians!
The 98th had just solidified moments ago.
“Little Ai reminds you that today’s hell-level sword training—30,000 sword swings—will begin in twelve breaths.”
“Now checking each dantian status.”
“Single dantian, 100% activated, 100% operational, check complete.”
“Double dantian, 100% activated, 100% operational, check complete.”
As the BGM in her earbuds played, Lin Shuang’s eyes glowed brighter and brighter.
Across the arena, Chen Xingchuan narrowed his eyes at her spiritual energy, which looked like hundreds of spider threads swirling around her, drifting ceaselessly at her sides. He gripped his sword tightly.
She was strange.
Earlier, in the rest courtyard, she had clearly absorbed spiritual energy at least at the Yuan Condensation level.
Yet now, her spiritual energy was overflowing, yet she still seemed like she was only at the third layer of Qi Formation.
Chen Xingchuan frowned.
On the second arena, Meng Zi, worried, glanced toward her on the left.
“Junior brother Meng, you’d better focus on yourself first,” his opponent warned.
Meng Zi seemed not to hear, and turned his head to look to his right.
He saw Huangpu Yuan, ranked third, step onto the arena with a light cough. Yuan had condensed the third stage, but his cultivation base was extremely unstable, fluctuating like a flickering flame between the first and third stages.
Meng Zi frowned.
Both of their spiritual energies were very strange.
“Junior brother Meng! Your opponent is me!”
His opponent was already furious.
Zeng—
The three arenas rang with a grim sound.
[Match begins!]
In an instant, almost as soon as the water-like patterns appeared, the three figures on the arenas rushed toward Lin Shuang and the others.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Xingchuan, the leader of the three, stood before Lin Shuang.
“Junior sister Lin, this is where it ends.”
There was no embellishment on his sword, but in an instant, a jet of water erupted from the blade, rising from beneath Lin Shuang’s feet in a breath, swallowing her entire body.
[! Has Chen Xingchuan’s Water Spirit Sword reached the ninth layer? The sword qi is like a solid substance!]
[This is a one-sided slaughter.]
[You don’t know? Chen Xingchuan is the ninth adopted son of Elder Chen. You surely know what Elder Chen teaches in the inner sect?]
Sword techniques!
He taught the Water Spirit Sword, the most commonly learned sword technique among disciples in both the inner and outer sects!
This sword technique could be learned by both inner and outer sect disciples.
But no one could master it better than the disciples of Elder Chen’s lineage.
Chen Xingchuan had received the true teachings, and his Water Spirit Sword was completely different from that of ordinary disciples.
“Junior sister, today I’ll teach you!”
Chen Xingchuan’s sword qi was like a dragon, the water jet engulfing Lin Shuang completely.
“The true essence of the Water Spirit Sword—”
Before he could finish, the water splashed and scattered.
This was not real water, but the illusion of sword light. Where it landed on the body, it left a wound!
“When practiced deeply, a single sword strike can lock an opponent’s movement for half a breath.”
Chen Xingchuan smiled.
“In the world of cultivators, half a breath is enough to decide victory or defeat.”
But in an instant, he heard an “oh.”
“Senior brother, you’ve learned well, but—your efficiency is too low.”
Lin Shuang’s voice came from within the water.
What?
Chen Xingchuan raised an eyebrow in confusion, about to ask.
Suddenly, in the sword light and water shadows, he saw countless illusory water dragon jets.
[……!]
[…………]
Chen Xingchuan looked up, his pupils instantly widening.
A buzz—no, several buzzes.
Lin Shuang slashed her sword, the blade dancing, forming ninety-eight water dragons!
Instantly, he and his sword were submerged!
When practiced deeply, a single sword strike can lock an opponent for half a breath.
Then what about ninety-eight strikes at once?
“Dantian 1—98, each sword swing once, totaling 98 swings completed.”
Little Ai’s cute voice rang out.
Chen Xingchuan slammed his hand down, disbelievingly dispersing the sword qi around him.
Just as he lifted his head, another ninety-eight sword qi came rushing in.
“Sword swings completed: 196.”
Just as he lifted his head, another ninety-eight sword qi came rushing in.
Just as he lifted his head, another ninety-eight sword qi came rushing in.
“Sword swings completed: 1012.”
“Sword swings completed: 1110.”
…
“…9800.”
Chen Xingchuan’s entire body seemed frozen in midair.
As soon as he broke free, another wave of sword qi came.
His body seemed like a pile driver in a wave, shaking rapidly, unable to stop.
Constantly frozen in place, constantly attacked…
Qi Formation against Yuan Condensation, at most causing minor injuries, but 9,800 consecutive attacks arriving in an instant…
Chen Xingchuan’s protective qi shield—1—1—1—1…
Chen Xingchuan’s protective qi shattered, and he was wounded.
Chen Xingchuan’s health—1—1—1—1—1…
Chen Xingchuan was bleeding!
“Hold on a little longer, Lin Shuang, you’re doing great! You’re almost done with today’s 30,000 sword swings.”
“You still have 20,000 more sword swings to go~”
Chen Xingchuan: “!”
[……]
[…………]
[Why does this scene feel so familiar?]
[Dao Xi closed his eyes, Dao Dong also closed his eyes, now Chen Xingchuan comes to join them!]
[…Pff.]
[Wait, is this how the outer sect practices sword techniques…?]
[Why can she unleash ninety-eight sword qi in a single strike? Why?!]
[No, look closely at her hands. There’s a one-breath interval between each of the ninety-eight vibrations.]
[She seems to be wielding ninety-eight Qi Formation disciples at once!]
[??? Is this reasonable?]
It was reasonable.
Lin Shuang’s ninety-eight dantians all mastered the Water Spirit Sword technique.
Each dantian sequentially unleashed the Water Spirit Sword, once was ninety-eight strikes.
Other disciples trained 30,000 sword swings daily, needing at least half a day.
But she trained at ninety-eight times the speed.
The advantage of activating a hundred dantians at once was evident.
[Chen Xingchuan’s blood loss exceeds 30%!]
[Exceeding 60%, the Zhenchuan disciple protection will activate, teleporting him to the Spirit Medicine Cave!]
A ripple of water quickly formed.
Chen Xingchuan couldn’t believe it.
What? He had just been continuously stunned, unable to move, bleeding out like this—was he about to die?
Lin Shuang couldn’t believe it either. She was even more panicked than Chen Xingchuan.
“What? Senior brother, your blood is so thin.”
“!”
Chen Xingchuan’s throat burned, his spiritual energy going haywire.
He was so angry he wanted to spit blood.
[……]
[I suddenly feel like maybe we should just let her go directly to the 3000th floor.]
[Yes… If this match continues, the faces of the inner sect disciples will be stuck to the ground, unable to be lifted.]
[Can’t watch anymore, he’s a disgrace to the inner sect sword cultivators!]
[Chen Xingchuan, admit defeat already, it’s just too painful to watch!]
Chen Xingchuan couldn’t see these harsh words attacking him on the projection screen.
But his lips moved, filled with agony.
Was he really going to be sent out like this?
“No…”
“I can’t…”
Chen Xingchuan raised his head painfully, a groan spilling from his mouth—
Wait a second?
That wasn’t his voice!
Chen Xingchuan opened his eyes and saw the figure in green clothes swiftly rushing toward him through countless sword beams, red cords fluttering as sleeves flapped violently.
“No, please… Senior Brother, hold on, don’t die on me!”
With a ‘plop,’ three pills were flicked by that small hand into his wide-open mouth.
“I still have twenty thousand sword techniques left to practice today.”
“Senior Brother, wake up! Just wait until I finish those twenty thousand sword techniques—”
After stuffing the pills in, that small hand even pressed hard on his philtrum.
Then came another ten thousand sword techniques.
Once she finished practicing, would there still be anyone left?
Puuu—
Chen Xingchuan tasted the effects of the Regrowth Pill in his mouth.
This time, he really spat out a large mouthful of blood filled with pent-up anguish.
[Earlier comment about faces sticking to the ground—correction: from now on, the faces of inner sect sword cultivators below Foundation Formation Stage Four are basically the ground!]
[…]
The senior disciples watching the projection on the sixth thousandth and ninth thousandth floors were all stunned.
“What? My senior sister was challenged by an inner sect senior brother?”
“Where, which projection floor? I just came out from the ‘Who Can Ignore Who Longer’ retreat training. Senior brothers and sisters, does anyone know? Hurry up and tell me.”
Zhao Keran hurried from the teleportation formation to the resting cave on the sixth thousandth floor.
It was said that today there were many seniors on this floor, so she had been temporarily assigned here by her master.
But right now, how could she have time to do any cleaning?
With both hands, she manipulated sword seals and played the erhu.
With both feet, she danced the Dragonfly Skimming Water and Water Surface Drifting techniques, swiftly arriving before the group of sixth thousandth floor seniors who were all breathless with shock.
Inner sect disciples: […]
“Umm, junior sister, don’t panic. Your senior sister has already won,” a man with fish scales on his head kindly answered with a simple smile.
The group of high-level inner sect disciples all turned their faces away—they were too ashamed to listen.
Zhao Keran, however, looked astonished and dejected.
“What? I didn’t even take a breath, rushing all the way from the eight hundredth floor to the sixth thousandth floor just to watch, and I didn’t even get a glimpse before my senior sister already defeated the inner sect senior brother?”
“Sigh, how come she defeating inner sect seniors is faster than me taking the teleportation array…”
Inner sect sixth thousandth floor: “!”
Big brother with fish scales: “…!”
Junior sister, why don’t you just teleport back!
We’ll handle the cleaning ourselves!
*
While Lin Shuang was rescuing Chen Xingchuan, she was also practicing sword techniques.
She was extremely busy.
“So tired. I’m drained. Senior brother, you’re amazing.”
After one incense stick’s time, she weakly gave Chen Xingchuan a thumbs-up as she collapsed from exhaustion.
Chen Xingchuan rolled his eyes, his sword heart completely cracked.
He tilted his head back and fell down.
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