The True Spirit Sect and the Long Plain Sect were about to engage in a Dao Discourse atop a great boat! This news stirred a great deal of interest among the sects along the way. Cultivators from these sects steered their flying apparatuses to gather around the grand vessel of the True Spirit Sect.
Not only did disciples from various sects eagerly leap forth to spectate, but even elders and masters from those sects projected a portion of their divine sense to observe the scene from afar. In this Dao discussion between the two sects, numerous outstanding genius disciples appeared in succession.
All were impressed by the unbroken legacy of the True Spirit Dao lineage and its vigorous successors. At the same time, many admired how the Long Plain Sect had been rising steadily in strength, gradually taking on the air of a Great Sect. Four bouts had passed.
With the result tied at two to two, the final match would determine the outcome—it was no longer just a matter of victory or loss, but of sect prestige. The first to take the stage for the final match was a disciple of the True Spirit Sect who had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
Zhao Chun recognized this person—it was Ding Zheng. Back when his cultivation was at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, he had managed to seize a top twenty spot in the Sect Dueling Tournament. Since then, within a year and a half, he broke through to a higher level.
While his strength still fell short of another ninth-layer senior in the team, Jian Zhonghe, choosing him to fight first clearly served to test their opponent. The Long Plain Sect had only one disciple left at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and now he too took to the stage, leading as the opening strike of their side.
With arched brows and cold eyes, that disciple had quite a sinister countenance. When he released his spiritual power, all the disciples of the True Spirit Sect tensed in unison. He had reached the absolute peak of the ninth layer—his True Qi was refined and dense.
In terms of the solidity of his cultivation base, he could be compared to even Zhuang and Fang. That the Long Plain Sect held such strength back until now was quite the strategy. Given these circumstances, how could Ding Zheng possibly win?
Even though he fought bitterly for more than ten moves, he was ultimately defeated! Off-stage, Jian Zhonghe stood with a solemn expression. He too was among the eight ninth-layer disciples of the tournament.
While he couldn't compete with the most outstanding geniuses within the sect, he should still have the strength to hold his own against disciples of the Long Plain Sect. In their bout, both sides used every technique and tactic at their disposal without holding back.
However, the Long Plain disciple was only a step away from Foundation Establishment, and the amount of True Qi in his body clearly surpassed Jian Zhonghe’s. In the end, the True Spirit Sect's Jian Zhonghe had no strength left to continue and had to step down.
Though the arched-brow disciple had consumed much of his True Qi, judging from his countenance, he could still fight a few more rounds. Among the remaining disciples of the True Spirit Sect, two were at the eighth layer of Qi Refining—at this point, the tide of victory had begun to lean in favor of the Long Plain Sect.
Standing beside Zhao Chun was a female disciple named Bian Ru. Her strength was slightly lower than Zhao Chun’s, but among eighth-layer cultivators, she was considered decent. However, when matched up against the arched-brow disciple, her chance of victory was close to zero.
"Will you go up, or shall I?"
Zhao Chun lightly gripped the hilt of her sword and asked softly. If Bian Ru chose not to go on stage, she would personally step up to deal with the opponent. Bian Ru’s gaze sharpened, and she answered with resolution, “No worries, if I lose, you can take the next round.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a wave of surprised exclamations erupted around them. The arched-brow disciple turned to signal someone among the Long Plain crowd, then suddenly leapt down from the Martial Platform, forgoing the match!
“What is this…”
Bian Ru was puzzled in her heart, but she still drew her sword and ascended the platform. She too practiced the sword, but she had not yet entered the realm of the sword and could not yet be called a true sword cultivator.
After that disciple stepped down, another figure stepped onto the platform from the Long Plain Sect—a saber-wielding girl at the eighth layer of Qi Refining. It was clear she held considerable esteem in the sect, as the other disciples revealed prideful expressions—their stance showed that her honor was the sect's honor.
Meanwhile, within the high pavilion above, Li Su received a voice transmission from Shi Tong through his communication stone. Shi Tong said in a firm and pleased tone, “I was just about to make introductions. This disciple is my personal disciple, accepted just in recent years.
Her strength is quite satisfactory. Daoist Friend, please watch closely.” Li Su exchanged a look with Huo Zixun, both understanding what this meant—this disciple must be an elite genius, for Shi Tong to speak so earnestly.
If that was the case… Li Su furrowed his brow and cast his gaze toward Bian Ru, whose expression was solemn upon the stage. This match would doubtless be immensely difficult for her.
“I am Sun Youyi of the Long Plain Sect. Please offer your guidance!”
The girl bore a sly look on her face as she smiled with bared teeth.
“Bian Ru of the True Spirit Sect!”
Suppression!
The moment the saber slashed down, the word surfaced in Bian Ru's heart. Whether in terms of strength, speed, or technique, everything from her opponent overwhelmed her completely—there was nowhere to resist. Bian Ru bit her lip.
Clearly, just three moves would be enough to send her off the stage. But the opponent had no intention of doing so. Watching from below, Zhao Chun’s displeasure grew deeper and deeper.
Sun Youyi was not just one level above Bian Ru—any discerning person could see that. Yet she purposely suppressed her strength to match Bian Ru’s resistance, constantly disrupting her attacks with subtle harassment. She wasn’t fighting—she was playing with her.
Just then, Shi Tong sent a second voice transmission.
“My beloved disciple is unruly. The other disciples also often suffer her teasing. Daoist Friend, please do not take offense.”
Li Su, however, looked neither angry nor calm. He exchanged another interested glance with Huo Zixun. Though Sun Youyi had not made it obvious, many observers now realized—she must have entered the first realm of the Saber Dao and attained the level of a saber cultivator.
From among the gathered sects watching the match, several exclaimed in awe, “Her movements are fluid, and she hides the saber’s glow within the blade itself. This girl must’ve entered the Saber Realm some time ago! To attain this during the Qi Refining Stage is no easy task—she’s truly a genius!”
“You likely don’t know, but the Saber Dao flourishes in the Long Plain Sect. Many among their disciples are saber cultivators. That Elder Shi Tong is a renowned figure in the southern region’s Saber Dao. In the last generation, there was a disciple named Geng Tianqin who even entered the second realm of the Saber Dao—though he still lost to the True Spirit Sect’s Foundation Stage chief disciple, Huo Zixun.”
“If that’s the case, then it seems these two sects have some rivalry between them. But with Sun Youyi stepping into the Saber Realm while still in Qi Refining, I dare say the True Spirit side is finished…”
“No need to talk further, just keep watching!”
It was exceedingly rare for a disciple in the Qi Refining stage, especially from a minor sect, to enter the Dao Realm. Yet it wasn’t unheard of. And among the surrounding spectators, there happened to be a newly initiated sword cultivator who had only just entered the Sword Realm.
His expression grew heavy. He had always considered himself ahead of his peers in the Way of the Sword, having witnessed the disciples of top-tier sects like the Perceptive Moon Sect and Glorious Clarity Mountain during the Hundred Sects Assembly.
And yet now, from a minor sect without even a single Profound Division cultivator, he saw someone whose talent even surpassed his. His heart churned with stifled frustration.
“Senior Brother, what do you think of that girl’s strength?” a nearby disciple asked in a hushed voice.
The young man heaved a long sigh and replied gloomily, “Her cultivation is inferior to mine… but her talent in the Saber Dao… slightly exceeds mine.” This astonished the disciples near him. In their eyes, their senior brother was already an untouchable genius—and yet even in a sect like Long Plain, there existed such a prodigy!
Sun Youyi smiled with crimson lips, having toyed with Bian Ru long enough. When her amusement waned, she flipped her saber and knocked Bian Ru off the platform with the flat of it. Bian Ru stumbled, catching herself beside Zhao Chun with a pale face and sweat-drenched robes.
Yet heavier than the exhaustion in her body was the shame that clung tightly to her heart. The other disciples of the True Spirit Sect had also recognized Sun Youyi’s deliberate mockery. For a time, their gazes toward her were filled with both alarm and anger—conflicted and strange.
“Junior Sister, perhaps it's time to show her something real,” came the voice of Fang Cairan.
No one knew when she had appeared behind Zhao Chun, her tone laced with rage.
Naturally so.
Bian Ru was one of the disciples under Ge Xingchao, just as she was. And Fang Cairan had always fiercely protected her fellow disciples. Zhao Chun lowered her eyes and quietly said, “One who humiliates others shall be humiliated in turn.
Even a child should know this truth.”
(End of Chapter)