She's on Heaven's Chosen Ranking!

The blue Spiritual Qi representing ice was so sharp that it pierced fiercely into a ball of red Spiritual Qi.

It looked like a duel between two magic cultivators. To the onlookers, all they saw was a dazzling clash of Technique Method, so dazzling that they could hardly open their eyes.

"Are these the geniuses on the Heaven's Chosen Ranking? I never imagined their battle would be so terrifying!" The young cultivator, forced back ten steps by the terrifying Spiritual Qi, murmured to himself.

"What did you say?!"

No sooner had the monk finished speaking than someone grabbed his collar and yanked him off balance.

The cultivator was about to get angry when he looked up and met a pair of bloodshot eyes. The other person was staring intently at him, like a trapped beast making its last struggle.

The cultivator heard him ask him in a harsh tone, "What did you just say? Who are the talents on the Heaven's Chosen Ranking?!"

Intimidated by the opponent's imposing aura, the cultivator stammered, "It's that arena number four..."

"I know!" The young man, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, interrupted the cultivator. "I'm asking you, is Sang Ying also on the Heaven's Chosen Ranking?"

The cultivator, feeling dizzy from being shaken, quickly said, "Yes, haven't you heard? Ten Thousand Daos Born's disciple Sang Ying, is currently ranked fifteenth on the Heaven's Chosen Ranking!"

Fifteenth?! She's ranked fifteenth on the Heaven's Chosen Ranking? So, is this why she was able to beat me and win first place in the entrance test?

The hand gripping the cultivator's collar slowly loosened, and before the offended cultivator could say anything, he saw the young man stumble away as if fleeing.

"Pah, who is he!" The monk memorized the other person's face and the mark of the Mara Gate on his collar.

Sang Ying was unaware of the little incident that was happening offstage; at that moment, she was focused on fighting against Chi Yan.

As expected of someone with a rare Single Fire Spirit Root, his control over Spiritual Qi was in no way inferior to Sang Ying's.

However, this person was too reckless, seemingly desperate to surpass her, which allowed Sang Ying to seize several opportunities and leave several sizable wounds on him.

The other person's blood splattered onto the back of Sang Ying's hand, immediately causing her a burning sensation.

Sang Ying silently covered her entire body with a thin layer of ice. The mystery surrounding Chi Yan was probably more than just a fire array!

The Mara Gate had already figured out a way to break the vortex of Spiritual Qi, so Sang Ying didn't plan to use that move on Chi Yan.

Even without either of them unleashing their ultimate moves, the entire dueling arena was already teetering on the brink of collapse under the combined impact of their Spiritual Qi.

The Azure Feather Sect elder in charge of judging the fourth arena sighed, silently took out his Law Artifact, and finally stabilized the arena again.

Perhaps because Bai Kejin had consumed too much of Chi Yan's Spiritual Power earlier, he gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

The overwhelming red Spiritual Power gradually weakened, seemingly being swallowed up little by little by the blue Spiritual Power.

This scene was witnessed by Elder Xu and Su Fuyun, and both of them turned pale at the same time.

Chi Yan was their trump card, meticulously prepared for the sect competition. If even he was defeated by Sang Ying, then the Mara Gate would lose face big time!

Fortunately, just as their expressions were turning sour, the situation on the dueling platform suddenly reversed!

The fireballs that had seemed to have been carelessly discarded suddenly reignited, and the previously weakened red Spiritual Qi launched a fierce counterattack, pulling all the blue Spiritual Qi into its encirclement.

Chi Yan, covered in blood, reappeared before everyone, while Sang Ying's figure had completely disappeared from everyone's sight.

Bai Kejin, who was in the spectator seats, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Jiang Qi hurriedly tried to give him medicine, but the man refused to swallow it.

"That's a fire formation! He trapped Senior Sister in a fire formation!" Bai Kejin gasped for breath. If Jiang Qi hadn't held him down so firmly, he might have dragged his injured body onto the stage.

Seeing that he was so disobedient, Jiang Qi also got angry, stuffed the pill into his mouth, and cast a Body-Immobilizing Technique on Bai Kejin.

"Why are you glaring at me?!" Jiang Qi met Bai Kejin's deadpan gaze without flinching. "You're neglecting your health like this, it's a complete waste of the medicine that Senior Sister Sang and Elder Gu sent! If you continue to disobey me like this, I'll have someone send you back to Swan Courtyard to keep Lan Fusheng!"

These words carried considerable weight. Seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, Bai Kejin immediately composed himself and became completely obedient.

However, Bai Kejin's eyes remained fixed on the arena, as if anticipating the moment when Sang Ying would break free of the formation.

Is this the fire formation that defeated her two junior brothers? Sang Ying wondered, trapped in the sea of fire.

The scorching heat baked the thin layer of ice on her body; ice formed from Spiritual Qi was not so easily melted.

Sang Ying tentatively took a step into the sea of fire, but the terrifying flames immediately leaped up, as if to engulf her entirely.

Seeing this, Sang Ying decided not to take any more risks. She unleashed her ice-attribute Spiritual Qi with all her might, as if she wanted to fill the entire sea of fire.

What puzzled Sang Ying was that the sea of fire seemed to possess some kind of special power, actually swallowing up all the Spiritual Qi she had used!

Spiritual Qi energy has different attributes and shouldn't be able to mix. A formation that can ignore attributes like this is truly unusual.

Sang Ying thought for a moment, then raised her sword and slashed again—if she couldn't extinguish the sea of fire, then splitting it in two would do the same thing!

Within the fire formation, Sang Ying's sharp Sword Qi wreaked havoc everywhere, but to outsiders, all they saw was the red mist in the dueling arena twisting and turning.

Seeing this, Jiang Qi and the others craned their necks, and Su Fuyun's forehead was covered in sweat. However, after the violent twisting, the red mist returned to calm, as if foreshadowing the failure of Sang Ying's resistance.

Elder Xu and Su Fuyun breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing this and sat up straight in their seats again.

Neither of them noticed that the veins on Chi Yan's forehead were bulging, and his entire face had turned red. It seemed he couldn't hold on much longer.

The fire array was still exerting its power, but the red mist was slowly shrinking.

Those who had witnessed Chi Yan's several duels quickly recognized that this was a sign that the opponent had effectively trapped and eliminated their rival.

"Tsk, this Fellow Sang Ying is probably in grave danger," someone said, frowning.

These words reached the ears of many people, including Jiang Qi and his group.

Bai Kejin was immobilized by his Technique Method, stared wide-eyed. He couldn't refute it verbally, but his eyes were full of disbelief.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Qi turned to him and said, "How about I have someone send you back to Swan Courtyard?"

Although he didn't want to believe it, perhaps Mara Gate had won again this time.

Bai Kejin's eyes were filled with resistance. He didn't believe Sang Ying would lose. He wanted to stay here and watch Chi Yan's defeat!

The red mist shrank smaller and smaller, and Chi Yan's expression gradually relaxed.

Elder Xu, seemingly confident of victory, smiled at Elder Gu and said, "It seems that this time, your sect will be bringing several outstanding talents to visit my Mara Gate!"

His face was full of smugness, showing no sign of wanting to befriend Ten Thousand Daos Born.

Elder Gu was so angry that his cheeks were clenched tightly, and he looked ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

To prevent the two elders from suddenly fighting and causing embarrassment to both sects, Jiulian stepped forward once again.

Elder Xu couldn't help but shiver when he met his smiling eyes.

"The competition isn't over yet, Elder Xu, isn't it inappropriate for you to say that?" Jiulian's attitude remained gentle, as if the one trapped in the fire formation wasn't his disciple at all.

Although Elder Xu was somewhat intimidated by Jiulian, he didn't back down verbally. "The facts are already laid out before us, so why should Venerable Jiulian deceive herself? The Chi Yan fire array is no ordinary formation. Although your sect's disciples are highly skilled, it's understandable that they couldn't break through it..."

Before Elder Xu could utter the last word, a loud bang came from the dueling arena.

A flying pebble hurtled from afar, landing squarely in the direction of Elder Xu's mouth. Had he not been a high-level cultivator with Spiritual Power protecting him, he likely would have been caught in the crossfire.

At this moment, no one else cared whether Elder Xu was injured; all their attention was focused on the exploded fighting platform.

Nearly half of the arena was destroyed, with only a small section in the middle remaining intact. Chi Yan, who had been struggling to maintain the fire formation, collapsed to the ground, his fate unknown.

As the thick red fog dissipated, people could only see a blue figure standing straight on the stage.

A note from the author:

Sorry I'm late, I'm really sorry~

Let's agree on a time; I might upload chapters at 9 PM every year from now on.

That's all for today. See you tomorrow! ~Wings flutter