Both of them were in the second round of battles and had to wait for the first round to be completed before they could go on stage. For Zhao Chun, that punch just now was merely a warm-up, consuming very little of her internal Spiritual Qi. She sat quietly in her seat and continued to watch the battles.
In the draw for the first round, the eight Ninth-Layer Qi Refining cultivators had not drawn each other. They all dispatched their opponents cleanly and left the stage with an air of arrogance. Many of the mid-stage Qi Refining disciples were eliminated, leaving only a few dozen.
Between the sixth and seventh layers, there seemed to be only a small difference in level. However, reaching the seventh layer of Qi Refining meant one's body could complete a Heavenly Cycle, refining a mouthful of True Qi. Only when Spiritual Qi was condensed could it become True Qi.
The gap between them was naturally not something that could be measured by layer numbers alone. However, those with a solid foundation and exquisite cultivation of magical arts could also cross realms to defeat their enemies.
Like Zhao Chun, and a few other outstanding sixth-layer Qi Refining disciples in the arena, the spectators held high hopes, wishing for them to display their great prowess and defeat those at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. As Zhao Chun watched from her seat, she secretly compared herself with the other cultivators, weighing their strengths and weaknesses.
When the eight ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivators made their moves, both their speed and power were far superior to hers. Zhao Chun was not so blindly confident as to believe she could challenge such formidable opponents. Even among the eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivators, there were many with profound foundations and who had achieved Major Achievement in their cultivation methods.
If Zhao Chun were to face them, she would certainly be defeated. She might have a chance only against those who had just broken through, or were mediocre and hadn't shown any peerless techniques. As for the sixth and seventh-layer cultivators, she was confident of her victory.
Before Zhao Chun went on stage, among the three pairs fighting, there was an unlucky sixth-layer disciple who had drawn an eighth-layer one. He had just cupped his hands in salute when his opponent knocked him off the stage with a single gesture.
Although the spectators wouldn't mock the loser, they had less admiration for such battles where the outcome was decided by the suppression of one's cultivation base. Her battle against Guo Leng was, in the eyes of many, a major highlight.
Defeating a fellow cultivator with a single punch, in the eyes of others, meant she had already touched the threshold of fighting across realms. However, her opponent Guo Leng was no weakling. On the contrary, he had some fame in the sect.
He had reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining within a few years of joining and followed the path of body refining. Among cultivators of the same rank, almost no one could compare to him in terms of strength. Standing opposite Guo Leng, one truly realized how tall and large he was.
He was actually a full head taller than Meng Han. In front of him, Zhao Chun looked as small as a kitten.
"Guo Leng! Please!"
His voice boomed like a great bell, having the effect of intimidating others. Zhao Chun stood solemnly, her expression unchanging. She brought her cupped hands forward and said coldly, "Please!"
A moment later, the drums boomed. Guo Leng stomped his foot on the platform and fiercely threw a punch at her! His strength was definitely comparable to that of an eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.
Zhao Chun naturally wouldn't meet such a heavy punch head-on. She quickly dodged aside, her hand dropping to her waist and drawing out the Red-Edged Dagger! Although this dagger was longer and thinner than an ordinary one, it really couldn't be considered a longsword.
If Zhao Chun wanted to press the attack, she had to break into Guo Leng's close range. To enter the close range of a body refining cultivator! If others knew what Zhao Chun was thinking, they would surely call her audacious.
Body refining didn't just train strength. The skin, flesh, muscles, and bones of cultivators on this path were tough as a single entity. For them, cultivating various close-combat techniques was as natural as water flowing into a channel.
Thus, it wasn't just their strength; their speed was also exceptional! However, among the myriad Great Daos, there was another path for cultivators that also combined both power and speed. This was the sword cultivator!
With the dagger in her hand, Zhao Chun shifted her footwork, constantly dodging. Guo Leng used every trick he had, yet he always ended up a step behind her!
"Is she just skilled in footwork? Or..."
Guo Leng knew he couldn't be led by the nose. His mind raced. The sharp glint of the weapon in Zhao Chun's hand caught his eye, and he frowned, thinking to himself, "A sword cultivator?!
I wonder if she has entered the realm... I must end this battle quickly!" He had this thought, and so did Zhao Chun.
Within the span of a few breaths of movement, a counter-strategy had already formed in her mind. Using pure force to break his techniques was likely impossible. If she relied solely on speed to harass him, she feared her own spiritual qi would be depleted first, as her opponent, after all, held the advantage in cultivation realm.
Guo Leng was only in the Qi Refining stage. Even as a body refiner, he surely hadn't tempered his body to have copper skin and iron bones like a Foundation Establishment cultivator, leaving him almost without any weaknesses.
If she were to seek a vital point, the abdomen, head, and neck would be the most heavily protected areas for a body refiner, making them difficult breakthrough points. In that case, she would attack his joints and tendons, using her swift blade to break them and defeat him step by step!
The two of them weighed their various thoughts, which, in the eyes of the spectators, took but a few breaths. Suddenly, Zhao Chun's footwork changed, and her swordplay became fiercely sharp. A brilliant sword light flashed, descending upon Guo Leng like a great net!
"The first realm of the Way of the Sword! She has entered the realm!" someone on the high platform exclaimed softly.
The gap between a sword cultivator who had entered the realm and one who had not was practically as vast as the difference between heaven and earth! This word, "realm," referred to the Dao Realm of the Way of the Sword.
The Dao realms for deadly weapons like the Way of the Sword and the Way of the Blade were extremely special. They were unrelated to one's cultivation base, so not only Qi Refining disciples but even mortals with supreme talent could step onto this path. However, this didn't mean it was easy.
Quite the opposite, the requirements for talent on such a Great Dao were almost harsh. There were cultivators who practiced the sword for three hundred years and never entered the realm, while others with superior comprehension could successfully enter the realm after studying the sword for less than three days.
The power of a sword cultivator far surpassed that of their peers at the same rank. The Heavenly Dao has its own constants and naturally wouldn't allow its rules to be broken. Thus, eight or nine out of ten who cultivated the sword found it difficult to enter the realm.
When Zhao Chun had entered the realm, she was still unaware of the Five Realms of the Sword Dao. Moreover, her sword strikes were swift, and she rarely displayed them in front of others. Some cultivators didn't know about the Sword Light Realm, while many others had their doubts.
However, as they were not on that path themselves, they didn't dare to make any rash conclusions. On the high platform, a young man in blue robes, who also cultivated the Way of the Sword, nodded and said, "Indeed, she has entered the realm.
Not bad.
For this Zhao Chun to possess such talent in the Way of the Sword, Senior Brother Du, your sect has gained a true genius. Congratulations are in order." Du Fanzhi replied with a few humble words, his mood soaring.
This blue-robed youth was also a realm-entering sword cultivator, and had even reached the second realm—the Sword Radiance Realm. His words were thus all the more credible. The seated cultivators were all amazed; the Inner Sect was about to produce yet another highly talented sword cultivator!
Among the spectators on the periphery, they only noticed a brilliant flash of light and held their breath. The most frantic one, however, was Guo Leng himself. The sword light was like a net, leaving him no room to dodge, forcing him to block it with his physical body.
Zhao Chun's Red-Edged Dagger was a Mortal Grade High-Tier magical artifact of astonishing sharpness. Guo Leng's skin and flesh were torn open, and his entire body was instantly covered in blood, a truly miserable sight. However, both of them knew that for a body refining cultivator, such wounds were only superficial and could not cause deep injury.
Guo Leng swung his bloody fist, and Zhao Chun swiftly dodged. Turning back, she pointed the tip of her dagger and unleashed her Major Achievement Swift Travel Sword Art! Wind rose from beneath her feet—this was no exaggeration.
As she moved her blade, a whistling wind descended upon the stage, swiftly sweeping across the entire battle platform. This sword art was merely a Mortal Grade Low-Tier technique. In Zhao Chun's hands, although she had made slight modifications to better match her footwork, the general forms were unchanged.
When she executed the technique, someone who had also cultivated it recognized it, their expression changing drastically.
"The sword summoning the wind... this is... she's reached Major Achievement."
(End of this chapter)