On the raised platform not far away, the Core Formation elders came back to their senses one after another.
Liu Chenyu glanced at Li Pingyang, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"What a pity. That fight ended too quickly.
Had I known you wanted another wager with me, I would have told my third disciple to take his time."
The corner of Li Pingyang's eye twitched violently several times, but he did not provoke him again.
He gave a long sigh. "This young disciple of yours really might be another Li Changge.
I'll have the heaven crystal sand you wanted delivered tomorrow."
Before Liu Chenyu could speak, a Core Formation cultivator beside him asked in surprise,
"Old Li, this is only the second round. Why are you admitting defeat already?"
Li Pingyang let out another long sigh.
"Xu Changxing destroyed four of Ye Hong's artifacts with a single stroke. His momentum is already unstoppable. What point is there in holding out?
The only thing I can't understand is his foundation."
At this point, Li Pingyang abruptly turned to Liu Chenyu.
"Just how many cloud patterns did this disciple of yours condense?
If he truly hadn't had time to condense even one, he could never have cut through four of Ye Hong's artifacts in succession, even with swordsmanship that bordered on the divine."
His words immediately stirred the other Core Formation elders' curiosity.
They suddenly realized that Li Pingyang was right.
Though a cultivator's foundation did not affect his talent for the sword, the power of his sword moves was closely tied to his cultivation.
Without a deep foundation to support him, even a true sword prodigy like Xu Changxing should have exhausted his strength after cleaving through Ye Hong's Flying Shuttle.
Yet not only had he not run out of strength, he had gone on to cut through three of Ye Hong's Defensive Artifacts in one go, seemingly with power to spare.
This was certainly beyond an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
For a moment, all the Core Formation elders' gazes converged on Liu Chenyu.
Their scrutiny immediately left Liu Chenyu feeling rather uneasy.
He could only keep his face expressionless. "All I can tell you is that everything I said before was true.
From the moment I gave him the Cloudglow Reflecting Immortal Art to the moment he completed Foundation Establishment, no more than ten days passed."
"So Xu Changxing really didn't have time to condense any cloud patterns?
Then why is his foundation so deep?"
"Could the cultivation art he practiced before have been no weaker than the Cloudglow Reflecting Immortal Art?
Speaking of which, Old Liu, just what cultivation art does your third disciple practice?"
"Well..."
Liu Chenyu could not help freezing for a moment at the question.
The change in his expression immediately piqued the other Core Formation elders' interest again.
Someone laughed. "Come now, Old Liu. You mean you don't even know what cultivation art your disciple practices?
This disciple really did just fall into your lap."
"Old Liu's luck is ridiculous. First, Li Changge fell into his lap.
Now he's picked up Xu Changxing too.
With those two disciples, you can live carefree for the rest of your life.
Tsk, tsk. Why don't I have luck like yours?"
"Old Liu, your disciple's performance in this tournament was truly dazzling.
He may already have caught the attention of the Sect's elders.
You probably won't be able to keep his high-level Foundation Establishment cultivation art a secret.
Although the sect won't force disciples to hand over their cultivation arts, someone will probably come asking about it.
You'd better think about how to discuss this with your disciple."
Those words drew Liu Chenyu's brows into a deep furrow.
His gaze unconsciously fell on Xu Changxing outside the arena.
At that moment, Xu Changxing was watching the other disciples fight.
Although the other Foundation Establishment disciples were far below him in cultivation, their varied combat methods still offered lessons worth learning.
Perhaps his dazzling performances in the first two rounds had fired up the other Foundation Establishment cultivators' fighting spirit.
In the matches that followed, these Foundation Establishment disciples all performed well, and several even brought out the trump cards they had kept at the bottom of their chests.
Some of their methods had not even appeared in the previous simulations.
Only after all of the day's matches had ended did Xu Changxing ride his Flying Sword back to his peak.
As usual, he reviewed the day's fights, then prepared to sit down and regulate his breathing.
But he had barely begun when the young Dao Attendant's clear voice rang out beyond the courtyard again.
Xu Changxing opened the courtyard gate and asked curiously,
"Has Master sent you to deliver something else?
What is it this time?"
The young Dao Attendant placed a Storage Bag directly into Xu Changxing's hands.
"I don't know either. The master didn't let me look.
But he did ask me to pass along a message to you, senior brother."
Xu Changxing blinked. "What did Master say this time?"
The young Dao Attendant rubbed his cheek.
"The master said your performance today drew too much attention.
Some people think it might have something to do with your cultivation art.
Someone may come asking about it in a few days.
If you're willing to offer your cultivation art to the sect, you should receive a substantial reward.
But if you don't want to reveal it, there's no need to feel pressured. The master can turn those people away for you."
Xu Changxing considered for a moment. "My cultivation art is indeed rather unusual.
But if the sect wants it, I don't mind offering it.
Wait here a moment."
In several previous simulations, Xu Changxing had offered up the Spring Renewal Art.
Each time, the Setting Sun Sect had rewarded him handsomely.
Although he had died because of that Secret Realm on one occasion, the blame hardly lay with the Setting Sun Sect.
So when he heard that people in the sect had already noticed his unusual cultivation art, Xu Changxing gave it only a little thought before deciding to offer up the Spring Renewal Art.
A short while later, he had transcribed the cultivation art into a Jade Slip from memory.
After a moment's thought, Xu Changxing used his own sword intent to imprint a few simple restrictions within the Jade Slip.
He had learned all of these restrictions while watching the previous simulation.
The methods involved were not difficult and should pose no obstacle to a Core Formation Stage sword cultivator.
Xu Changxing had placed these restrictions merely to prevent the young Dao Attendant from casually copying it along the way.
Only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with the Jade Slip did he return to the young Dao Attendant.
"This is the cultivation art I practice. Take it to Master."
The young Dao Attendant solemnly put the Jade Slip away. "Rest assured, senior brother. I'll deliver it into the master's hands myself!"
Seeing that Xu Changxing had no further instructions, he turned and left.
After seeing the young Dao Attendant off, Xu Changxing returned to his room and opened the Storage Bag Liu Chenyu had sent this time.
This Storage Bag held only a single bottle of pills.
Xu Changxing opened the porcelain bottle and immediately caught a refreshing fragrance that seeped into his heart.
It was not merely a medicinal fragrance; it also carried a hint of pleasure for the spirit.
He instantly realized that these must be pills refined from the Spirit-Nourishing Fruit, specifically meant to nurture the soul when taken.
Generally speaking, Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators had no need to nurture their souls deliberately.
This was because the strength of the soul had little bearing on the progression from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation.
Ordinary cultivators only began considering how to nurture their souls after Core Formation, when preparing to condense a Nascent Soul.
Pills that nurtured the soul were extraordinarily expensive, luxuries even among Core Formation cultivators. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators had no way to obtain them.
Only exceptionally wealthy cultivators would begin nurturing their souls during Foundation Establishment.
Before you continue