Perhaps Jiang Yang's eagerness had rubbed off on Yun Zhen. She asked softly:
"Human, are you going up there for a bout too?"
"Of course."
Jiang Yang admitted it without hesitation, gently stroking the longsword at his waist as he said:
"I've been cooped up in the sect for so long. This is a good chance to meet the outstanding talents of the world."
"Then go on. I'll cheer you on~"
Yun Zhen waved her little clenched fists twice, then tilted her head and smiled:
"Let me see what you can do."
"Thank you."
Jiang Yang chuckled and said modestly:
"Even I don't know what I'm capable of. I'll do my best and defeat as many as I can."
A quarter of an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Dongmen Shu had absorbed the elixir, and his true essence had recovered to well over seventy or eighty percent.
Returning to his peak condition was naturally impossible, but this was enough. Fighting on the raised platform restricted the terrain, which was fundamentally good news for a Sword Cultivator.
Jiang Yang suddenly rose to his full height. Under the gazes of the many cultivators, he pushed off with his toes and leaped onto the platform, his movements untouched by worldly dust and possessed of an otherworldly grace.
White robes over blue, a feathered crown atop a high topknot, and a sword at his side—his fine appearance set everyone whispering among themselves. Even the many Demon Kings and Purple Mansion cultivators who had struggled to muster any interest could not help taking another look.
Dongmen Shu raised his eyes to Jiang Yang. A trace of surprise flashed through them as he said:
"You?"
Though they had met only a handful of times, he recognized him immediately upon seeing him.
"It's been