A Possibility

"Crimson Dragon Crimson Cloud Strength!"

"Purple Gold Coiling Dragon Body!"

"And also, the Azure Emperor Shakes the World Fist!"

Yuan Jian cautiously used the supernatural Divine Ability in the [Great Dragon Physiognomy], not daring to unleash them fully, and only used about one-thousandth of their power.

Even so, they still managed to fight this barbarian to a standstill!

"What's going on? What's happening?!" As the fight progressed, Yuan Jian sensed something was wrong.

This person has been an immortal for four thousand years and has achieved a perfect immortal body, so why does he seem so weak?

Furthermore, when you first used this Swordsmanship that resembled forging, I thought it was some kind of opening move. Why are you still using this move now?

And

He could sense that this person's defense was very strong, but if he unleashed a little bit of Crimson Dragon Crimson Cloud Strength and used his Sword Origin, he could break through the defense!

He's already made several small cuts on this man!

In short, he, a novice Earth Immortal who had only ascended to immortality three months ago, used only one-fifth of his Divine Ability power and one-thousandth of its strength to fight a veteran Earth Immortal who had been an immortal for over four thousand years to a standstill!

Is this reasonable?

Did he let the water go?

[Great Insight Technique] was activated, but not to see Qing Tai's flaws, but to observe his expression and analyze his emotions.

Yuan Jian sensed that Qing Tai was extremely excited, his eyes burning with the fervor of battle, as if he had encountered an evenly matched enemy and was currently in a state of frenzy.

It seems like they didn't turn on the water?

After exchanging another hundred blows, Yuan Jian found an opportunity and pointed a finger, sending a Sword Qi striking the spot on Qing Tai's shoulder that had been hit multiple times before. This time, Qing Tai's defenses failed to take effect, and the sword aura was directly pierced through.

Qing Tai felt no pain; instead, he became extremely ferocious, his eyes turning bloodshot as if he had entered a state of rage, and his combat power suddenly increased—well, three times!

However, while his combat strength tripled, his speed did not, and he was still being outmaneuvered by Yuan Jian.

No matter how strong you are, if you can't hit anyone, it's useless. Instead, you get toyed with by Yuan Jian's various moves, and your wounds keep increasing.

Then a soft shout rang out, "Stop, there's no need to fight anymore!"

Qing Tai immediately stopped, ignoring the sword finger that was still thrusting towards him.

Seeing that he had stopped, Yuan Jian also stopped his own movements, which made Lin Qing's eyes light up again.

"As expected of an Ascended One, truly a genius!" Lin Qing stepped onto the arena, stood before Yuan Jian, his eyes gleaming, and patted Yuan Jian's shoulder heavily. "You didn't even have a suitable weapon, yet you managed to defeat Qing Tai!"

Yuan Jian didn't know what expression to make. Was this what a genius was?

"It seems you still have a good chance of winning a match for me!" Lin Qing said with a smile.

Yuan Jian his mouth, speechless.

Lin Qing could understand Yuan Jian quite well. He was a genius, so it was normal for him to be quiet and reserved, not good at communicating.

He touched his ring and pulled out a jade-colored sword, no more than a foot long and shaped like a toy, which he then handed to Yuan Jian.

"I'll lend you this Sky Azure Sword for use in the martial arts tournament. If you can defeat Black Crow, the sword is yours!"

"This is..." Yuan Jian sensed the longsword in his hand. Although it looked like a toy, the restrained aura within it clearly told Yuan Jian that this sword was no ordinary weapon.

"This is a celestial artifact, or more precisely, Low-grade Heavenly Immortal Artifact!" Lin Qing said proudly. "The sword contains a Heavenly Immortal Law, allowing you to unleash Sky Azure Sword Qi. You are a genius and a Sword Cultivator; giving you this sword will be like adding wings to a tiger!"

"Thank Village Chief, Chieftain!" Yuan Jian nodded, took the sword, and bowed deeply in gratitude.

Lin Qing nodded, neither humble nor arrogant, displaying the true nature of a genius. Not bad, not bad.

"Keep up the good work. You should master this sword within the next three months. Don't let it slip during the martial arts competition!" Lin Qing patted Yuan Jian's shoulder again, then turned and left.

He left, but Yuan Jian was numb, because he felt envious glances coming from all directions.

Yuan Jian glanced around and saw that Qing Tai, whether on the arena or among the cultivators below, was staring intently at the Sky Azure Sword in his hand.

"Hmph!" Yuan Jian snorted disdainfully, sheathed his sword, and then leisurely left the arena.

As I approached the door, I heard a commotion and discussion inside.

This kid's got a bit of an arrogance!

[He's a bit arrogant, but he only just became an immortal and he already defeated Qing Tai, so he has the right to be arrogant!]

[So that's why, Qing Tai is only one step away from becoming a celestial being!]

[He is, after all, an ascended being!]

[Ascended beings, are they really that powerful?]

[What do you think? To cultivate from a world like the lower realm, where Immortal Qi is scarce, to become a terrestrial immortal—that requires terrifying talent and ability! And he must possess Peerless Divine Abilities, unlike us.]

"Um?"

Yuan Jian's expression remained calm, but he was deep in thought.

What do you mean? They don't possess Peerless Divine Abilities?

No way! How could someone become an immortal without Peerless Divine Abilities?

Yuan Jian immediately reviewed his cultivation path. The first challenge in transforming his immortal body was tempering his brain. At this moment, he felt his thoughts were flowing smoothly, and he found the answer in the blink of an eye!

Because of its Immortal Qi!

There is no Immortal Qi in the lower realm, only Spiritual Qi.

To absorb Immortal Qi, one must possess a complete grotto-heaven, and forcibly seize the Principle within it from the immortal realm.

This means that the Principle a cultivator's inner world must be powerful; even Peerless Divine Abilities are not enough, they must be Supreme Dao Arts composed of Peerless Divine Abilities.

This is why one cannot become an immortal without Supreme Dao Arts; without Supreme Dao Arts, the grotto-heaven is not powerful enough to absorb immortal Immortal Qi.

Supreme Dao Arts are still the minimum requirement, because many cultivators, even with Supreme Dao Arts, are still stuck at the Divine Human Realm due to limitations in talent and ability, unable to absorb immortal Immortal Qi.

From the Body Refinement Realm to the Qi Refining Realm to the Spiritual Law Realm, thirty minor realms and thousands of years of cultivation were all preparations for absorbing Immortal Qi.

Therefore, cultivators in the lower realms not only need a solid foundation, but also need to cultivate powerful Divine Ability and possess unparalleled talent.

Even one in ten thousand won't do; one in a billion has the talent to even have a tiny chance of becoming an immortal.

Every ascendant is a person with great fortune, talent, ability, and destiny.

And what about cultivators born in the immortal realm?

The air here is filled with Immortal Qi; every Immortal Qi you take is infused with it.

Even without absorbing it, living with Immortal Qi day and night, the body has long since adapted to Immortal Qi, so the difficulty of absorbing Immortal Qi is naturally greatly reduced. Therefore, the underlying cultivation logic of cultivators in the immortal realm who have not yet become immortals may be different from that of cultivators in the lower realms.

Just like modern people going to work, when it comes to promotion, some people need to first get into a prestigious university, then obtain a good professional title, and then make great contributions to the company before they can barely get the title of a senior worker.

Some people only need a good father.

The cultivator from the lower realm is like that poor boy, while the cultivator from the immortal realm is like that rich second-generation.

He felt that Qing Tai's strength was weak, and in fact, he was indeed weak. He got in based on his ability with a score of 700, while others got in based on their household registration with a score of 300. Of course, his ability was stronger.

He realized this first, and then Yuan Jian realized that if that were the case, wouldn't he be seen by others as a child with a great treasure but no real strength?

After all, he possesses unparalleled Peerless Divine Abilities and Supreme Dao Arts, which others do not have!

The reason he can still cultivate peacefully now is because Lin Qing needs him to participate in the Qingyuan Martial Competition. But what about after the tournament ends? Will Lin Qing still protect him?

Even Lin Qing himself would take action.

Etc!

Yuan Jian then considered another possibility.

Is that Qingyuan Martial Competition real?

Up to this point, all the information he knows has come from Lin Qing, Tang Wan, and the cultivators here.

Is it possible that they're acting against me?

That's not impossible. Yuan Jian has encountered situations before where an entire village, or even a tribe, is full of swindlers who specifically target one person.

So, assuming that the Qingyuan Martial Competition is actually fake, then the Black Crow thing is also fake.

But surely Qingyuan City isn't fake?

A city needs at least several hundred thousand people. To construct such a large-scale scam under the watchful eyes of the public, it would require the involvement of very high-ranking officials and a considerable amount of human and material resources.

So, is it worth expending such a large amount of manpower and resources just to deceive an ascendant?

Yuan Jian believes it's worth it!

Even if he carried several Supreme Dao Arts, it would be worth it even if he only had one, or even just one Peerless Divine Abilities!

Don't think that Supreme Dao Arts are worthless just because immortals use Immortal Arts. Supreme Dao Arts Immortal Arts are also composed of supreme Supreme Dao Arts, which in turn are composed of Peerless Divine Abilities. They are fundamental things, and you can never have too much of them!

This is only one possibility, but Yuan Jian never assumes the worst about cultivators.

After all, cultivators are the most selfish and self-serving group of people.

"There are still four months until the Qingyuan Martial Competition, and Lin Qing is a True Immortal!" Yuan Jian Heart Dao.

He needs to find a way to fight against the true immortals within four months.

Even if you can't fight them off, you must have the ability to escape from the clutches of a true immortal!

So, where is the solution?

Yuan Jian looked at the Celestial Artifact, Sky Azure Sword, which he had just stored in his dantian!

The key to breaking the deadlock is right here!