Prelude to the Tournament

Sword-Coming Peak, Sword-Inquiry Platform.

Time flew by, and the tournament soon arrived.

The enormous Sword-Inquiry Platform was forged from obsidian and was exceptionally sturdy.

The area below the platform was packed with people. Outer sect disciples and menial servants had surrounded it so tightly that they all craned their necks, eager to see what the inner sect disciples were capable of.

High up among the clouds stood a White Jade Viewing Platform, specially prepared for the sect's higher-ups.

Elder Li, the steward of Sword-Coming Peak, sat in the seat of honor. Below him sat the elders from Blackwater Peak and Cinnabar Glow Peak, all Foundation Establishment True Persons.

Everyone had assumed the seating arrangements were settled, but at that moment, a figure drifted over, dragging along an old man in a worn Daoist robe who looked as though he had not yet woken up.

"Master, sit here. You can see the clearest from this spot."

Without giving him any say in the matter, Su Yu pressed Cloudveil True Person into an empty seat. Then, with practiced ease, she pulled a jug of green plum wine from her storage pouch, found a random corner, and sprawled there.

The moment Cloudveil True Person appeared, Elder Li's movements paused. The other elders also turned to look, their expressions all somewhat unnatural.

This senior, the highest-ranking elder of Sword-Coming Peak, had not shown his face at an occasion like this for several decades.

Shen Qingzhou stood amid the disciples below the platform. He glanced up at the White Jade Viewing Platform, then withdrew his gaze.

He could feel all sorts of eyes falling upon him—curious ones, appraising ones, and others filled with envy and provocation.

The tide of fate cannot be stopped. I can only go with the flow; only then will there be a sliver of life...

Shen Qingzhou silently reminded himself.

"The first round of the tournament: drawing lots for duels!"

The steward announced loudly as jade tokens flew into the hands of the disciples on the field.

Shen Qingzhou opened his palm. Zhou Huan's name appeared on the jade token.

He had some impression of this person. Just a fence-sitter, not worth worrying about.

He headed toward his designated fighting area and happened to brush past Lu Chen.

Lu Chen stood there with the cultivation of the fourth level of Qi Refining, calm and confident. He seemed to have improved considerably again.

On the other side, Zhao Heng also stepped onto the platform.

Moisture swirled around him, and the fluctuations of his spiritual power were strong. He faintly gave off the feeling of being at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Yet that aura carried an insubstantial quality, as though it had been forcibly raised.

He took pills? Shen Qingzhou found it strange.

Zhao Heng looked at no one else. He stared fixedly in Shen Qingzhou and Lu Chen's direction, battle intent blazing fiercely.

Fang Wuji and Liu Yinghan in the crowd had also each received their jade tokens.

"First match: Shen Qingzhou of the Kan Water Lineage versus Zhou Huan of the Wèi Earth Lineage!"

At the steward's command, Shen Qingzhou and Zhou Huan stood facing one another.

"Junior Brother Shen, I have heard much about you."

"At Wind-Listening Hall, Junior Brother's lofty words truly opened our eyes. To have the chance to spar with Junior Brother today is a blessing earned over three lifetimes."

Though his words were polite, his gaze was serious. His opponent's comprehension was simply too frightening. Who knew how much he had progressed during these days of secluded cultivation?

He did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.

"Please."

"Junior Brother, be careful!"

Before Zhou Huan could finish speaking, he stomped fiercely. A wave of earthy yellow spiritual light rushed toward Shen Qingzhou along the ground.

At the same time, he formed a hand seal, and an earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking the view between them.

This was a common opening move of the Wèi Earth Lineage: use earth spikes for a sneak attack, then an earthen wall to disrupt the opponent.

But just as the earthen wall rose, Zhou Huan did not continue casting spells. Instead, a dark yellow talisman slipped from his sleeve.

He muttered an incantation, and a strange green light lit up on the talisman.

"Corroding Bone Miasma Talisman!"

A knowledgeable disciple below the platform cried out in alarm.

This talisman was insidious. The miasma could neither be seen nor touched, but once it contaminated someone, it corroded their spiritual power. It was extremely troublesome.

He actually wanted to use such a method in the very first match.

But while he was fast, Shen Qingzhou was faster.

Just as Zhou Huan thought he was about to succeed and prepared to activate the talisman, a figure passed through the solid earthen wall without warning.

Shen Qingzhou's movement technique had long ceased to be mere footwork. It had fused with the stealth of the Abyssal Concealment True Meaning. Before him, the earthen wall was like a curtain of water, pierced through in an instant.

The smug smile on Zhou Huan's face froze at once.

All he saw was a blur before his eyes, followed by a cold sword edge pressed against his throat.

The blade of the Ripple-Pattern Sword was somewhat dim, yet it radiated a chill that made his entire body go cold.

"You..."

Shen Qingzhou flicked his wrist. The Ripple-Pattern Sword did not pierce in; instead, its flat swept sideways and sent him flying.

Pfft!

As if struck by a heavy object, Zhou Huan flew backward, crashed below the platform, and coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

He struggled to rise, only to discover that his dantian had been shaken and his spiritual power could not circulate at all.

He was crippled.

This was not an injury to his muscles and bones. His Dao foundation had been damaged.

That strand of Abyss-Hiding Sword Qi would remain in his sea of qi, ensuring that his cultivation could never advance another step for the rest of his life.

This man had harbored ill intentions, so Shen Qingzhou naturally showed him no courtesy.

From start to finish, it had taken only two or three breaths.

The crowd had not even seen how Shen Qingzhou made his move before the battle was over.

That decisiveness and ruthlessness sent chills rising in everyone's hearts.

"I never expected him to be so formidable in spell combat as well as Dao discussion. This kid is even harder to provoke now."

Elder Li's cheek twitched on the viewing platform, but he did not erupt.

"Heh, playing dirty tricks and running into someone even more unreasonable. Serves him right."

Su Yu snorted coldly, a smile appearing on her face.

Soon after, the duels in the other areas began one after another.

"Second match: Lu Chen of the Wèi Earth Lineage versus Liu Yinghan of the Blackwater Lineage!"

This was a true head-on clash.

The moment Liu Yinghan attacked, she unleashed Cold Pool Sword Intent. Her sword light was icy, and frost formed even in the air wherever it passed.

Lu Chen neither dodged nor evaded. He simply stood there. When Liu Yinghan's sword light entered that area, its speed abruptly slowed, and much of its sharpness was weakened.

"This is the rudiment of sword momentum..."

An elder on the viewing platform murmured in praise.

The results of Lu Chen's secluded cultivation before the Mountain-Suppressing Stele had already become apparent.

Liu Yinghan could not break through for a long time. Instead, that pressure forced her back again and again, rapidly draining her spiritual power.

In the end, Lu Chen stepped forward and threw a punch.

He did not use his sword, only his fist.

Yet that punch carried the momentum of a collapsing mountain.

Liu Yinghan raised her sword to block. With a crisp clang, the magic sword in her hand was knocked flying.

She herself was blasted off the platform by that tremendous force, her face pale as paper.

Lu Chen won, and he won with extraordinary composure.

Meanwhile, the battle between Zhao Heng and Fang Wuji was far more intense.

"Fang Wuji, you are no match for me. Hurry up and admit defeat!"

Zhao Heng's sword momentum was like raging waves, and his aura appeared wildly turbulent.

His attacks surged higher than wave after wave, suppressing Fang Wuji completely.

Fang Wuji's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched tightly as Tail Fire blazed fiercely over his body.

He caught sight of Liu Yinghan below the platform, being supported by someone with a pale face, and remembered the words of the Liu family steward, words that had sounded like charity.

All his unwillingness and humiliation transformed into the madness before him.

"I won't lose!"

"So what if my birth is ordinary? I will prove it to all of you—I... I am no worse than anyone!"

That stubbornness completely ignited the fury in Zhao Heng's heart.

Prove himself—who did not want to prove themselves?

He, Zhao Heng, was the most outstanding genius of this generation in the Zhao Lineage of Blackwater Peak, yet he had always lived beneath the shadows of his elder brothers.

He had always lived beneath the crushing expectations of his Lineage.

He had swallowed an entire bottle of Blackwater Jade Marrow Pills and risked damaging his foundation. It was not so he could listen to some worthless trash shout nonsense here.

"What a joke! You want to prove yourself—do you think I do not?"

"My fine elder brothers are all watching, and the elders are watching too. Why should you be able to stand above me?"

"What are you even supposed to be? You think you are worthy of talking about proving yourself before me? Sea-Overturning Sword Art! A Thousand Layering Waves!"

Violent water-aspect Sword Qi carried all the anxiety and jealousy of a genius, transforming into a colossal wave that swallowed everything.

"Aah!"

Fang Wuji screamed, falling to the ground drenched in blood and completely losing consciousness.

His obsession, and the things he had wanted to protect... had all been crushed to pieces.