Mystic Water Spirit Body

Feng Ran's pupils contracted at the sight of the flying sword.

To control objects with Qi, one needed to be at least at the fourth level of Qi Gathering!

How was this possible? He had never heard of any new disciples reaching the fourth level of Qi Gathering this year, other than the three with Spirit Bodies.

Shock was one thing, but Feng Ran's reaction was swift; he immediately raised his longsword to parry.

However, Chen Xuan's flying sword arrived with overwhelming speed and force.

"Clang!"

With a crisp ring, although Feng Ran's longsword managed to block the direct thrust, the immense power imbued in the blade left his arm numb and forced him to stagger backward uncontrollably.

Chen Xuan seized this fleeting opportunity and unleashed Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms. The surrounding clouds instantly transformed into several tough, silken ribbons that struck like vipers emerging from their den, binding Feng Ran into a mummy before he could regain his footing.

"Mmph...!"

Feng Ran only had time to let out a muffled grunt before he was rendered immobile, his eyes filled with resentment and disbelief. He had never expected to be defeated so quickly, subdued in a single exchange.

Chen Xuan did not delay; he stepped forward, quickly located Feng Ran's Storage Bag, removed all the tokens inside, and then stuffed the bag back into Feng Ran's robes.

The entire process took only a few short breaths.

After succeeding, Chen Xuan noticed that the light beam above Feng Ran's head had vanished.

Hm?

Chen Xuan was puzzled for a moment.

Then, he realized something: the light beams probably didn't lock onto everyone.

Combined with the two hundred or so tokens in Feng Ran's Storage Bag, he immediately guessed that the light beams might be targeting disciples who held a large number of tokens.

Chen Xuan's eyes gleamed; if that were true, it was the best news possible.

Immediately after, Chen Xuan swept his gaze, locked onto the nearest light beam, and utilized Flowing Cloud Moon-Stepping, his figure vanishing into the forest like the wind.

Outside, in the plaza.

The crowd of disciples observing Chen Xuan's light screen fell into silence.

They had indeed noticed over this period that Chen Xuan was formidable, but they hadn't expected him to be this formidable.

It was also their first time seeing Chen Xuan control a sword.

Only now did they realize that Chen Xuan had already reached the fourth level of Qi Gathering.

Furthermore, he might be the only one at the fourth level of Qi Gathering besides the three Spirit Body cultivators.

"Does anyone else feel like... if those three were to fight one-on-one, they might not be able to beat Li Feiyu?"

Someone suddenly spoke up.

Ever since Chen Xuan spouted that name, these victims had truly believed it.

The surrounding area fell silent. Come to think of it, they actually felt that might truly be the case.

Inside the secret realm.

After Chen Xuan had moved far away, the clouds dissipated.

Feng Ran sat on the ground, still feeling a bit dazed.

He had heard rumors over the past few days about someone who liked to ambush disciples and tie them up like rice dumplings, but he had always dismissed them.

Now that he had encountered it himself, he was completely stunned.

Feng Ran checked his Storage Bag; not a single token remained.

It was heartbreaking!

That was over two hundred tokens, worth more than two thousand contribution points!

"What a total bastard... that bastard Li Feiyu... wait? Where is Yellow Maple Valley? Does the sect even have a valley like that?"

Feng Ran stood up, cursing, but he froze mid-rant.

He had never heard of Yellow Maple Valley.

However, it was possible that he simply hadn't heard of it yet.

After all, he had only been in the sect for three months and had spent that entire time in seclusion, otherwise, he wouldn't have reached the third level of Qi Gathering.

So, it was normal for there to be places in the sect he didn't know about.

Feng Ran stopped dwelling on it, swept his gaze around, selected a light beam, and went off in pursuit.

There were still three days left in the trial.

Although he had lost all his tokens, he couldn't just give up, whether for the sake of the tokens or his ranking in the trial, so he had no choice but to go and snatch them from others.

Back in the outside plaza, the other new disciples also didn't think it strange that Yellow Maple Valley didn't exist.

After all, they were all disciples who had only been in the sect for three months, and they all felt it was normal for there to be places they hadn't heard of.

Most of them only knew of the Cloud Sea Nine Heavens.

That is, the nine heavens: Divine Firmament, Azure Firmament, Jade Firmament, Cinnabar Firmament, Radiant Firmament, Jasper Firmament, Gem Firmament, Purple Firmament, and Grand Firmament.

Cloud Sea Nine Heavens, also known as the Cloud Sea Nine Peaks, belongs to the nine major branches of the Cloud Sea Sect and serves as the core of the sect.

Other halls and valleys are all subordinate to the Cloud Sea Nine Heavens.

Outside the main hall.

The three elders witnessed this scene.

"This kid is actually quite interesting."

Elder Zhang said with a smile.

"Junior brother, you cannot compete with me for this person."

Elder Xie said hurriedly.

"Senior brother, rest assured, I will not go back on my word."

Elder Zhang shook his head with a smile.

Inside the secret realm.

Chen Xuan's subsequent actions became much easier.

In the first few days, he had to find ways to hunt for people, but now he finds them with pinpoint accuracy, and they are all disciples possessing a large number of tokens.

Once he finds someone, his methods are clean and efficient.

A flying sword attack, seizing the opportunity to bind them like a mummy, then taking the tokens and leaving.

The entire process is streamlined.

He can finish one in almost an hour.

The only reason it takes an hour is because of the travel time.

At the fourth level of Qi Gathering, going without sleep for a few days is no big deal.

Chen Xuan plans to spend these last three days hunting for people every single day.

In the blink of an eye, the tenth day arrived.

The trial ends tomorrow morning at the Si hour; once the time is up, they will be teleported out.

Chen Xuan also accelerated his pace of capturing people.

Chen Xuan was currently chasing a beam of light.

The beam of light seemed to notice Chen Xuan in pursuit; instead of fleeing, it charged straight toward him.

A smile appeared on Chen Xuan's face. Good, he likes fellow disciples who don't run away but charge at him instead.

Not long after, the two met.

The moment he saw the other person, Chen Xuan recognized him.

Shen Xinghe, one of the three spirit body cultivators.

This person possesses the Mystic Water Spirit Body, which is considered one of the spirit bodies most suited to the Cloud Sea Sect among the many that exist.

Seeing Chen Xuan, Shen Xinghe said nothing and immediately unleashed his flying sword at him.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan also activated his Floating Cloud Sword to intercept.

The two flying swords clashed in the air, producing a crisp metallic ringing sound.

Shen Xinghe was slightly startled, not expecting his opponent to also be at the fourth level of Qi Gathering.

But now was not the time for surprise; Shen Xinghe became serious.

Chen Xuan manipulated his flying sword to engage the opponent in combat while simultaneously focusing his mind to cast Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms.

Cloud mist permeated the surroundings, rapidly condensing into several long swords of cloud energy that struck at Shen Xinghe from different directions.

Shen Xinghe reacted extremely quickly, immediately casting his own Daoist techniques to defend.

He saw that cloud mist was also permeating his own body, condensing into swords of cloud to try and block the attacks of the cloud energy swords.

"Your Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms is very powerful."

Shen Xinghe said in a deep voice.

He could feel the solidity and sharpness of the long swords formed by his opponent's cloud energy.

One must know that he possesses the Mystic Water Spirit Body, which provides a boost to the power of Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms.

Yet even so, he was only fighting to a draw against Chen Xuan.

"Likewise."

Chen Xuan replied concisely, his hands never stopping.

He manipulated the cloud energy swords to constantly change angles of attack, while the Floating Cloud Sword led the frontal assault, exerting immense pressure on Shen Xinghe.

Although Shen Xinghe's Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms was strong, under the continuous attacks of Chen Xuan's mastery-level Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms, he began to struggle to parry and fell into a disadvantage.