Zhan Lingyun shook his head, sighed softly, and said, "Call it a draw, but Brother Liu is still a realm below Zhan. Zhan has truly overstepped."
Liu Yunche smiled faintly. "Why does Brother Zhan say that? I have exhausted my strength yet failed to best Brother Zhan, so it is naturally a draw."
Zhan Lingyun nodded, the pride of a peer prodigy completely gone from the depths of his eyes, replaced instead by a sense of mutual appreciation. He now regarded Liu Yunche as an equal rival capable of standing side by side and competing at the same level.
Inside the residence, three spirit cultivators looked down at the courtyard, each harboring their own emotions.
Since the beginning of this sparring match, Qinglü's eyes had carried an unbroken smile, clearly supremely satisfied with Liu Yunche's performance.
Jin Que's gaze pierced through the residence, landing on Liu Yunche as his pupils flickered slightly.
Having watched with concentrated attention just moments before, he had actually caught a wisp of hazy, limpid spiritual Qi from around Liu Yunche—prolonged, restrained, and endless, as though it were silently nourishing his body.
Looking closer, he realized the source of that spiritual Qi came from a plain jade pendant hanging at Liu Yunche's waist.
The pendant's faint glow was restrained, neither dazzling nor bright, yet it endured endlessly, constantly warming the physique and stabilizing the foundation.
What a fine spirit-warming jade pendant.
Jin Que inwardly praised. That Liu Yunche could go toe-to-toe with his own disciple while in the Tiger Tendon Realm showed that, aside from astonishing innate talent, his opportunities and background were unfathomably deep.
Aside, Daoist Fire Crane flickered his sleeve with a light laugh, withdrawing his gaze first.
"Very well. The youths have verified their martial arts and gained much. Next, we ought to