Saint Certification, Cihang's Jealousy

At this moment, the disciples of both the Chan and Jie Sects were brimming with fighting spirit, some even itching to rush straight into the next round of combat.

In particular, those cultivators who previously had little confidence in securing a top-three finish were now stirred to an extreme fervor.

Although failing to reach the top three meant no Innate Spirit Treasure, they could still obtain inheritances of divine abilities and escape arts—things that, for disciples other than Direct Disciples and Inner Disciples, were otherwise beyond reach.

According to the hierarchy of disciples:

Direct Disciples and Inner Disciples cultivated the Jade Pure Sacred Art and the Upper Pure Sacred Art.

Outer Disciples and Registered Disciples cultivated the Jade Pure Art and the Upper Pure Art, which the Three Pure Ones had practiced before attaining the Dao.

There was a fundamental difference, and beyond Direct Disciples and Inner Disciples, Outer Disciples and Registered Disciples had no access to divine ability inheritances—such as the Three Pure Divine Thunder.

What was casually within reach for Li Yun and his peers was something distant and nearly unattainable for those Registered Disciples and Outer Disciples.

"Silence!"

Seeing the clamor rising, Yuanshi spoke once more.

In an instant, the restless disciples of both sects fell quiet.

Witnessing this, Yuanshi Tianzun nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Sect Master Tongtian and said, "Third Brother, I'll leave the rest to you."

"After all, when it comes to formations, you are the most skilled."

"Understood, Second Brother!"

With a word of acknowledgment, Sect Master Tongtian wasted no time. He stepped forward, raised his hand, and waved it through the air: "Condense for me~"

The next moment, countless runes appeared.

Under Sect Master Tongtian's control, those countless runes visibly began to spread outward.

Before long, the runes had divided the entire square of the Jade Void Palace into distinct zones, and within them, the fluctuations of the Law of Earth surged as special arenas silently emerged from within.

This sight left Li Yun and the others utterly awestruck.

Creation from nothing.

Ten thousand runes in a flick of a finger!

Such a formidable technique was far beyond their reach—at least for their current stage, it was an invincible power.

The might of a Saint was on full display in that moment, shaking them to the core and igniting a deep, heartfelt desire to one day reach such a level.

"Done!"

Before long, Sect Master Tongtian's voice rang out softly.

The next moment, the entire square of the Jade Void Palace was filled with numerous arenas, some clustered together and separated by special barrier formations.

At that same time, words appeared at the entrances to those barriers: Earthly Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, Mysterious Immortal, True Immortal, Grand Unity True Immortal!

Before the crowd could recover, Sect Master Tongtian spoke first: "Alright, the arenas for the Combat Tournament are fully established."

"Now, proceed to the area corresponding to your own cultivation realm."

"As for the Golden Immortal realm matches, they will take place directly in the center of the Jade Void Palace square, with us Three Pure Ones personally judging!"

At these words, the cultivators of both the Chan and Jie Sects dared not delay. Exchanging glances, they each sped off toward the zone marked for their own cultivation realm.

"Junior Brother, I'll be going now."

At that moment, Xuandu walked over to Li Yun, his expression solemn. "Junior Brother, know your limits. The outcome doesn't matter, but you must ensure your own safety."

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother!"

Li Yun smiled at Xuandu, then said seriously, "I will do my best."

"Since I've joined, I naturally want to find out where my limits lie."

"And Senior Brother, you should be careful too—I noticed a few formidable presences among the Mysterious Immortal realm disciples of the Chan and Jie Sects."

"Alright!"

Xuandu nodded and said no more.

He knew Li Yun wouldn't act recklessly, and with the Three Pure Ones personally overseeing things, victory or defeat was uncertain, but safety was guaranteed.

With that, Xuandu hesitated no longer and walked straight toward the arena zone for Mysterious Immortal realm cultivators.

This sight made the Chan and Jie Sect disciples present twitch their mouths involuntarily, their gazes toward him filled with complex emotions.

After all, this was the Direct Disciple of the Human Teachings.

Though he was also at the Mysterious Immortal realm, to be honest, none of them felt confident facing him in combat. The inheritances and teachings they had received were simply not on the same level.

What's more, they couldn't gang up on him—if anything happened to Xuandu, the future reckoning would be something none of them could withstand.

With that thought, the Mysterious Immortal realm cultivators silently formed an unspoken agreement: one of the three victory slots would go to Xuandu, while they would compete for the remaining two victory slots and the other seven spots in the top ten.

"Hey, why hasn't that Human Teachings disciple left?"

"Shouldn't he be in our zone? Why is he still in the center?"

Just then, cultivators in the Grand Unity True Immortal realm noticed Li Yun's presence.

They could see that Li Yun was at the Grand Unity True Immortal Realm, yet he had not come to this place but instead stood within the arena for Golden Immortal Realm cultivators. This was truly unbelievable, leaving them deeply puzzled.

Their conversation also drew the attention of cultivators from other zones.

For a moment, cultivators from the Chan and Jie Sects in every zone turned their curious gazes toward Li Yun.

They were extremely curious, confused, and baffled by this husky that had wandered into a pack of wolves.

"Silence."

Seeing the disciples' confusion, the Three Pure Ones exchanged glances.

Then, Yuanshi and Tongtian waved their hands, each condensing a Magical Power clone.

As the clones entered each zone, they spoke: "Li Yun, an Inner Disciple of the Human Teachings, has a special situation—he is unmatched at the same realm and unfit to participate in the Grand Unity True Immortal level Combat Tournament. After discussion among us three brothers, we have placed him within the Golden Immortal Realm battlefield."

"Enough, no more idle talk. Begin at once."

"So that's it!"

After hearing the Saints' explanation, many cultivators suddenly understood.

But immediately after, their gazes burned even more intensely on Li Yun.

Unmatched at the same realm!

These five simple words carried a tremendous impact.

Though they didn't know if it was true or false, they believed the Saints would not lie.

Thus, everyone became interested in exactly what kind of person this Inner Disciple Li Yun of the Human Teachings was, including the Direct Disciples of the Chan and Jie Sects in the Golden Immortal Realm zone, as well as the other Golden Immortal Realm disciples of the Jie Teachings.

At this moment, Li Yun was the center of attention, filled with curiosity, doubt, anticipation, exploration, and skepticism.

"Haha, Junior Brother Li Yun, you are truly extraordinary. Unmatched at the same realm—this is the endorsement from Master and your two uncles."

Just then, a loud laugh rang out from the crowd.

Following the sound, Cihang stepped out from the crowd, his gaze fixed on Li Yun as he said, "I wonder if Junior Brother would be willing to spar with me?"

Cihang had been somewhat displeased with Li Yun before.

After all, when Li Yun claimed that Huang Long had extraordinary talent surpassing even them, it was hard for the other Chan Sect Golden Immortals—except Guang Chengzi and Yu Ding—to accept or understand.