Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over those three days, Lin Yi successfully cultivated the Spiritual Secret Technique, Jianluo Wave. He also refined the Spirit Medicine he had bought into pills to aid his cultivation.
Soon, the day of the Immortal Pool Contest officially arrived.
Early that morning, Xuan Su personally called Lin Yi over, and they headed outside the Wanjin Merchant Guild together.
When they walked out the gate, dozens of fine horses were already waiting there.
Lin Yi swept his gaze over the scene and saw a rather handsome young man in the middle of the crowd, smiling as he chatted with Xia Zhilan.
"This is the person who replaced Song Qing's spot. His name is Lin Yi. Three days ago, he defeated Song Qing in two moves." Seeing Lin Yi approach, Xia Zhilan introduced him.
"My name is Liu Yi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Brother Lin." Hearing this, the handsome young man cupped his hands toward Lin Yi and smiled.
Seeing how courteous the other man was, Lin Yi did not put on any airs. He also cupped his hands toward Liu Yi.
"Hehe, everyone's here, so let's get moving..." Xuan Su flipped onto a fine horse nearby and shouted lightly. Then she led the group of riders swiftly out of Flame City.
"Let's go, Brother Lin. Our destination is a deep mountain in the eastern part of Flame City. It'll take about an hour to get there."
Liu Yi called out to Lin Yi, then mounted his horse and quickly caught up with the main group.
Lin Yi smiled faintly and rode after them as well.
The destination of Lin Yi's group lay deep within a mountain in the eastern part of Flame City. Since the issue of ownership over the "Danxian Pool" had yet to be resolved, the Wanjin Merchant Guild and the Blood Wolf Gang had both sent quite a few people to guard it.
Thus, the site of the Immortal Pool Contest was set on the open ground beside the Danxian Pool.
Once the two sides determined the winner, people could be arranged to enter the Danxian Pool and soak in it for cultivation.
After traveling at full speed for more than an hour, the group finally reached their destination: a mountaintop deep within the forest.
At this moment, two groups were already facing each other on the mountaintop. At the edge of the mountain, a steep stone cliff towered into the sky.
At the foot of the cliff was a clear pool barely a zhang across. The water was extremely strange. One half boiled and constantly gave off steam, while the other half wafted with bone-chilling cold air.
Two completely opposite attributes existed distinctly within the pool, each occupying its own side.
Lin Yi's gaze swept across the pool, and anticipation rose in his heart. Without a doubt, this was the Danxian Pool they would be fighting over today.
"Manager Su, you're rather late..."
As Lin Yi surveyed the Danxian Pool, a faint voice suddenly rang out.
Lin Yi followed the voice and saw a burly, bare-chested middle-aged man at the head of a large team radiating killing intent. A blood-wolf tattoo was exposed on his chest, and his gaze was fixed on them.
"That man is the Blood Wolf Gang's leader, Yue Shan. People call him Mountain Breaker Hand. He's a Great Perfection of Yuan Dan Stage expert, and very few people in Flame City can stand against him." Beside Lin Yi, Liu Yi quietly introduced him.
Lin Yi nodded slightly to show that he understood.
"Hehe, Gang Leader Yue, why the impatience..." Just after Yue Shan finished speaking, a middle-aged man in embroidered robes with a somewhat portly appearance smiled faintly from the Wanjin Merchant Guild's side.
This middle-aged man was none other than the president of the Wanjin Merchant Guild, Xia Wanjin. Like Yue Shan, he was also at the Great Perfection of Yuan Dan Stage.
Yue Shan cast Xia Wanjin a sidelong glance, then waved his hand and said, "Enough with the nonsense. Since everyone's here, let's begin. If we delay any longer, the Danxian Pool's energy will disperse..."
Hearing Yue Shan's words, Xia Wanjin smiled and did not delay. After chatting with Lin Yi and the other two for a few moments and introducing their opponents, he had the three of them step forward to prepare for battle.
"Are you done dawdling? Who's going first?"
At this moment, a young girl about the same age as Xia Zhilan stepped out from the Blood Wolf Gang's group, a red whip coiled around her arm. She looked at Lin Yi and the other two and curled her lips.
This girl was none other than Yue Shan's daughter, Yue Ling.
Xia Zhilan glanced at Yue Ling and walked forward, sneering, "In such a hurry to embarrass yourself?"
"Heh, Xia Zhilan, don't cry when your face gets beaten to a pulp later..." Yue Ling immediately retorted with a cold laugh.
The two girls already had a grudge between them. On top of that, the Wanjin Merchant Guild and the Blood Wolf Gang were far from friendly. Naturally, their meeting was like flint striking steel.
Powerful Yuan Power fluctuations erupted from both girls almost simultaneously. The surging Yuan Power swept up all the dead leaves on the ground like a violent wind.
"Crack!"
A fiery-red whip shadow pierced through the air in an instant, resembling a fire python as it lashed toward Xia Zhilan with lightning speed.
Faced with Yue Ling's attack, Xia Zhilan snorted coldly. She clenched her jade-like hand, and a fiery-red sword instantly appeared. Then her figure flickered as she engaged Yue Ling in close combat.
The two girls were at similar realms, both in the Late Heaven Origin Realm. However, in terms of the richness of their Yuan Power, Xia Zhilan had the advantage. Unsurprisingly, Xia Zhilan won this battle.
However, in the second match, Liu Yi fought Yue Shan's son, Yue Feng, and unfortunately lost.
As a result, the Blood Wolf Gang evened the score.
At this thought, everyone's gazes turned almost in unison and fell on Lin Yi.
One win and one loss—the atmosphere in the arena immediately became tense.
"Lin Yi, it's your turn... You should be able to do it, right?"
Xia Zhilan's pretty face was also filled with tension. She looked at Lin Yi with a complicated expression, never expecting that the final victor of this Immortal Pool Contest would truly be decided by Lin Yi.
Lin Yi stared at the ordinary-looking gray-clothed man opposite him, who wore a calm expression, and smiled faintly. "It shouldn't be a problem."
"Little friend, the outcome of this Immortal Pool Contest may depend on you." Xia Wanjin also smiled faintly at Lin Yi.
"President Xia, rest assured." Lin Yi cupped his hands toward Xia Wanjin, then slowly walked toward the open ground between the two forces.
"Xuan Su, how confident are you in this man you found?" Watching Lin Yi's back, Xia Wanjin's expression tightened as he lowered his voice and asked Xuan Su.
"You should know how important the Danxian Pool is. If our Wanjin Merchant Guild can obtain it, Zhilan will be able to break through to the Yuan Dan Stage within two years. We could even use the remaining energy to cultivate several Yuan Dan experts."
"He defeated Song Qing in only two moves, and he wasn't even using his full strength." Xuan Su smiled faintly.
"Really?!"
Xia Wanjin was instantly both delighted and astonished.
Although Xia Wanjin knew that Lin Yi had taken one of the spots, he had not known that Lin Yi had fought Song Qing three days ago.
When Lin Yi entered the arena, the Blood Wolf Gang's side also looked him over several times.
Yue Shan stared at Lin Yi for a moment, then turned toward the gray-clothed man who had remained silent until now. "Jiang Li, it's your turn."
"Mm." The man called Jiang Li nodded calmly and said, "Remember our agreement."
"Haha, don't worry! As long as you win, you'll receive every bit of the reward I promised." Yue Shan laughed.
Hearing this, Jiang Li finally smiled. Then he entered the arena unhurriedly and stopped in front of Lin Yi. He lowered his head to straighten his sleeves and said indifferently,
"I don't spar with people. Once I make a move, I strike extremely hard. If you aren't prepared, you'd better leave early."
"Make your move." Lin Yi looked at him calmly and extended one hand.
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