Open Exchange Day

Buzzz! Buzzz! Buzzz!!!

Heavenly Xuan Sect Main Peak.

Three tolls of the bell.

This signified that something important was about to be announced.

Shen Fan suddenly understood and hurriedly checked the date.

"Today is Heavenly Xuan Sect's Dao Exchange Day!"

With that thought, Shen Fan immediately packed his things and prepared to go watch the excitement.

Dao Exchange Day.

It was a day of study established by Heavenly Xuan Sect to facilitate exchange and learning among disciples, rather than sparring.

When the time came, inner and outer sect elders and stewards would all gather there.

Inner sect elders would make an exception to answer outer sect disciples' questions and guide their cultivation.

Outer sect elders would answer miscellaneous disciples' questions and guide their cultivation.

It was like professors teaching for free.

Such an opportunity was rare.

"Wait!"

Just as Shen Fan finished preparing to set out and take a look, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"I'm cultivating the Blood Spirit Unification Art and the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art now. If I run into those big shots, will they see through my cultivation?"

The thought immediately filled Shen Fan with worry.

If he were discovered, it would be like a sheep walking into a tiger's jaws. He might as well slit his own throat and ascend to the heavens on the spot!

But then Shen Fan reconsidered.

If that Blood Letter was real, if Mu Xingtian truly used people as bait, then even if they discovered disciples cultivating the Blood Spirit Unification Art, they probably would not care.

Besides, he had the Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl to conceal his aura and hide his cultivation.

There should not be any problem!

With that, Shen Fan set his mind at ease and headed straight out of the Waste Elixir Chamber.

Leaving the Waste Elixir Chamber, where even every breath was scorching hot, Shen Fan gulped down mouthful after mouthful of fresh air outside.

Even his steps felt remarkably light.

This was also a chance to test whether the Treasure Gathering Universe Bowl could keep Foundation Establishment cultivators and those Golden Core big shots from seeing through his cultivation.

The Open Day's exchange and study venue was the outer sect's Dao Inquiry Plaza.

Upon the enormous plaza, people were packed in shoulder to shoulder, filling the place to the brim.

Shen Fan had only set off after hearing the bell.

He crossed two mountain peaks and did not reach the outer sect until the sun stood high in the sky.

Without a flying artifact for transportation, it really was exhausting!

Moreover, Shen Fan had not even learned the most basic Wind Riding Technique. He had relied entirely on his own two legs.

Yet even though it was already noon, not a single disciple had left.

The outer sect disciples and miscellaneous disciples especially were all striving to display their cultivation and talent.

They hoped some elder or steward would notice their efforts and make an exception by accepting them as disciples.

"You brat, you're not dead yet?"

In the miscellaneous disciples' area, Li Wei, a miscellaneous disciple from the Spirit Field, saw Shen Fan arriving late and immediately raised a brow.

"Your daddy's alive and well. How can you talk like that?"

Shen Fan rolled his eyes at him.

When he had killed Zhao Erhu last time, why had he not dealt with this foul-mouthed brat while he was at it?

"Brat, if you've got the guts, come up here and have a match!"

Li Wei immediately leaped onto the sparring platform and shouted loudly.

At the same time, his gaze unconsciously darted elsewhere, trying to catch someone's attention.

Shen Fan raised a brow and followed his gaze.

Not far away, a group of Outer Sect Disciples in green robes were engaged in an intense sparring match.

Li Qingshan was among them.

"So this brat is trying to catch Li Qingshan's attention!"

Shen Fan sneered.

But last time in the Waste Elixir Chamber, when Mu Xingtian had summoned Li Qingshan to confront him, Li Qingshan had been so terrified that he dropped to his knees and begged for mercy. Even if he were given a hundred times the courage now, he would not dare bark orders at Shen Fan again.

And sure enough, Li Wei's shouting really did draw Li Qingshan's attention.

Upon seeing Shen Fan, Li Qingshan could not help furrowing his brow.

Seeing this, Li Wei grew even more confident. "Brat, just tell me—do you dare or not?"

Standing on the sparring platform, Li Wei provoked Shen Fan.

The surrounding Miscellaneous Disciples immediately began jeering.

Because before Shen Fan arrived, Li Wei had displayed the formidable strength of the second level of Qi Refinement in the Miscellaneous Disciples' matches, crushing every other Miscellaneous Disciple. He faintly seemed likely to secure one of the prize slots for this open learning event.

To spur everyone's enthusiasm, the sparring competition for the open learning event offered rewards even to Miscellaneous Disciples.

"Get up there! What are you afraid of?"

"Don't tell me you're a turtle hiding its head in its shell!"

"Are you even a man? If it were me, I'd have gone up already!"

The onlookers, fearing the world was not chaotic enough, immediately began egging them on.

Shen Fan sneered inwardly and deliberately put on an exasperated expression.

"Li Wei, you've opposed me at every turn in the Spirit Field. Since you're looking to die, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

With that, Shen Fan leaped directly onto the platform.

"But what if you lose?"

"Haha..."

Seeing Shen Fan take the bait, Li Wei immediately became smug.

"Me, lose? Impossible! I've already won five matches in a row and entered the top ten among the Miscellaneous Disciples. How could I lose?"

"Just tell me, what happens if you lose?" Shen Fan continued setting the trap.

"If I lose, I'll give you this Wind Riding Technique!"

As Li Wei spoke, he took out a spell manual.

"And what if you lose?"

"If I lose, you can deal with me however you please!"

Shen Fan declared confidently.

"Good!"

Seeing Shen Fan take the bait and agree, Li Wei immediately called over the match referee to serve as a witness.

This also counted as a match in the Miscellaneous Disciples' sparring competition, so the winner could obtain a slot as well!

At the referee's command—

Li Wei immediately began muttering an incantation, his hands forming seals as though he were activating some kind of spell.

The next moment, a howling wind rose across the platform.

A cyan wind blade condensed into form before Li Wei.

"Wind Blade Art?"

Shen Fan did not dare let down his guard. It would not feel good if that thing struck him.

Before Li Wei could finish condensing it, Shen Fan immediately charged in from the left.

The improvement in his physique had made Shen Fan even faster than before.

Panic flashed across Li Wei's face.

He had not expected Shen Fan to be so fast.

He immediately shifted direction and released the wind blade at Shen Fan before it had fully condensed.

Whoosh!

Shen Fan was greatly startled and dodged on the spot.

But the wind blade's speed truly beggared belief.

Sshk!

Though Shen Fan reacted swiftly, the wind blade was still faster.

It slashed directly into Shen Fan's calf.

Pain shot through his calf.

Shen Fan lowered his head and saw that his trouser leg had been slashed open. But when he pulled the fabric aside to look—

the wind blade had merely left a pale mark on his calf.

There was none of the blood he had expected to see.

"The Polar Ice-Fire Body Forging Art really is formidable!"

Two days of cultivation had already brought Shen Fan's physique to the Bone Tempering realm.

In terms of a body cultivator's physical strength, the Body Tempering realm was fully comparable to the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

Mid Qi Refining—fourth, fifth, and sixth layers—

how could a puny Wind Blade Art possibly injure it?

Seeing that Shen Fan was unharmed, Li Wei's eyes widened.

But as a Miscellaneous Disciple, this was the only spell he currently knew.

When Shen Fan charged at him again, Li Wei let out a low shout.

A surge of blood and vital energy spread from his dantian throughout his body.

"Hmm?"

Shen Fan's brows immediately rose at the sight.

"This is... Blood Spirit Qi!"

"Well, well!"

Shen Fan immediately grinned.

Just as he had guessed.

Mu Xingtian had actually taught the Blood Spirit Unification Art to more than just one Miscellaneous Disciple.

Sure enough, that old bastard did not see these lowly Miscellaneous Disciples as human at all!

Boom!

Their fists collided.

Li Wei was knocked clean off the sparring platform by Shen Fan.

"Trash!"

Feeling the force coming from his opponent, Shen Fan could clearly gauge Li Wei's strength.

Though he had cultivated the Blood Spirit Unification Art, his blood and vital energy replenishment was clearly insufficient. He had not even reached the first level of Blood Refining.

This scene also caught Li Qingshan's attention.

"Good lad. With this strength, if he'd taken part in the outer sect competition some time ago, he could probably have entered the outer sect without a hitch. Looks like the Enforcement Elder really has been taking good care of him!"