Qinghe Immortal Clan.

The cultivator who was chosen to fight Song Qingming was named Liu Yukun, and his cultivation level was at the peak of the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

This person happens to be from the "Qingyang Holy Sect," which had a grudge against Song Qingming, and is also one of the ten major sects of the Donghuang Kingdom.

The Qingyang Holy Sect ranked seventh in the previous Sword Tournament and has twelve Nascent Soul cultivators, making it a Nascent Soul sect with a relatively deep foundation.

Back then, Song Qingming incurred the wrath of the Qingyang Holy Sect cultivators by killing a Nascent Soul elder in the Tower of Babel.

When Song Qingming and Li Xuanyi returned to the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" last time, the other party had set up an ambush in the Illusionary Sea Desert, almost causing Song Qingming and Li Xuanyi to perish.

Although he did not have concrete evidence, he had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

Unbeknownst to him, Song Qingming and the other party had already formed an irreconcilable feud, and meeting this person today could be described as an ill-fated encounter.

In a flash, Liu Yukun arrived in the arena. Looking at Song Qingming in front of him, although his cultivation level was lower than Song Qingming's, he did not show the slightest fear in his eyes.

"Song Qingming vs. Liu Yukun, begin!"

As soon as the "Demonic Palace" cultivator presiding over the referee gave the order, Liu Yukun, who was standing opposite, raised his hand and cast a spell to directly summon a blue feather fan.

The cyan feather fan emitted wisps of flame, giving Song Qingming a strange sense of familiarity. He then realized that it was the "Azure Yang True Fire" he had witnessed before, and a serious expression appeared on his face.

"Eh! This is the Azure Flame Fan of the Azure Yang Sect. Fellow Daoist Liu actually brought this top-grade fourth-level magic weapon. This is going to be quite a show."

It is said that when Elder Liang Zhenren of the Qingyang Holy Sect was still in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he once used this magic weapon to defeat a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, thus overcoming a higher level.

I've never heard of this cultivator from the Floating Cloud Mountains before. He seems to have only recently advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage.

I never expected to run into Liu Yukun. Could he be the first late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to be eliminated?

"Hehe! That's hard to say, even though the other party is a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator."

But I heard that Liu Yukun has mastered the Azure Yang True Fire and now wields the Azure Flame Fan. His combat strength is probably no less than that of a typical late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

If this person doesn't have any special abilities or supernatural powers, he might actually lose to the other party.

After all, it wasn't unheard of for a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to defeat a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator at the Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament before.

"Haha, you're right, brother. If Fellow Daoist Liu can really defeat this person, then we've truly seen something amazing today."

".."

As Liu Yukun took out his magic weapon, the "Azure Flame Fan," gasps of surprise erupted from all sides of the stage, as everyone began to anticipate the great battle that was about to begin.

Although Song Qingming's cultivation level was higher, he was already a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, his opponent not only came from the Qingyang Holy Sect, one of the ten major sects of the Donghuang Kingdom, but also possessed an extremely powerful fourth-grade magic weapon, making him equally formidable.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this battle is unlikely to be decided in the short term and will be much more exciting than the previous matches.

On the arena, seeing Song Qingming's eyes fixed on the "Azure Flame Fan" in his hand, Liu Yukun couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

His "Azure Yang True Fire" has been cultivated to perfection. Combined with the sect's fourth-grade high-quality magic weapon, his offensive capabilities are definitely not inferior to those of ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

The Song Qingming in front of me comes from a barren place like the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" and has only broken through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm in the last twenty years. He probably doesn't even have a high-grade level four magic weapon.

If I can defeat this person today, I can not only make a name for myself in one battle, but also avenge my fellow disciples in the sect. It would be a win-win situation.

Although he was extremely excited, Liu Yukun did not underestimate his opponent. After all, the person in front of him was a genuine late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

If he is careless and allows the opponent to take advantage of the situation and drag it into a protracted battle, it will be at a disadvantage for him.

Having decided to use offense as a defense, Liu Yukun first spat out several balls of blue flames, then held the "Blue Flame Fan" and gently fanned the flames in front of him.

The cyan fireball, originally only the size of a fist, instantly grew dozens of times larger under the azure spiritual light of the "Azure Flame Fan," transforming into a giant fireball taller than a person.

Moreover, these fireballs, enhanced by the magic weapon, were incredibly fast, arriving in front of Song Qingming, who was hundreds of feet away, in the blink of an eye.

This "Azure Flame Fan" was specially crafted by a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator of the Azure Sun Holy Sect for the purpose of cultivating the Azure Sun True Fire supernatural power.

This magical artifact can greatly amplify the power of the "Azure Yang True Fire," making it several times stronger than before.

This also shows that the power of the "Azure Flame Fan" in Liu Yukun's hands is even greater than that of a typical high-grade fourth-level magic weapon, which is also his greatest confidence in defeating the great cultivator Song Qingming.

Just as the "Azure Yang True Fire" was about to approach him, Song Qingming's feet flashed with light, and he immediately disappeared from the spot using the Nine Palaces Meteor Escape Technique, easily avoiding the opponent's attack.

But all of this was within Liu Yukun's expectations. Before Song Qingming could land, the "Azure Flame Fan" in his hand was already dancing again.

Immediately, dozens of identical cyan fireballs surrounded Song Qingming's location from all directions.

If they were fighting outside, Song Qingming might be able to use his cultivation and escape techniques to try and evade the direct attack of "Qingyang True Fire".

However, at this moment, the two were in the arena, and there was only a few hundred feet around them where they could move around, so there was not much space to hide.

In any case, Song Qingming will have to face his "Qingyang True Fire" sooner or later.

As expected, under the attack of dozens of cyan fireballs, Song Qingming did not choose to continue to dodge. Instead, he cast a spell to directly summon his natal magic weapon, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," to block in front of him.

Several golden flames shot out, and the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" transformed into Xuan Yang Flame, easily blocking the numerous blue fireballs in front.

"The Profound Yang Blazing Flame, this guy's natal magic weapon actually contains such pure heaven and earth spiritual fire, no wonder Junior Brother Luo was defeated by them back then."

"But if you think you can stop my Azure Yang True Fire with just this bit of Xuan Yang Blaze, you're overestimating yourself."

Faced with Song Qingming's "Mysterious Yang Blazing Flame" obstruction, Liu Yukun once again wielded his magic weapon, and dozens more large spheres of azure flame quickly formed.

With a slight smile, the "cyan fireball" once again rushed towards Song Qingming's location, intending to use the Azure Yang True Fire to directly devour and refine the opponent's natal magic weapon.

Just when Liu Yukun thought that Song Qingming had no other choice but to forcibly withstand his attack, a crimson flame, resembling a fire serpent, suddenly shot out from the battlefield ahead.

With a mere flick of its wrist, the crimson flame easily shattered the azure fireball in front of Song Qingming, then transformed into a crimson fire python that devoured the remaining flames.

"This is... the Purple Profound Divine Flame! How could he possess such a magical treasure!"

Upon seeing the crimson fire python appear before him, Liu Yukun immediately realized that the other party also possessed a high-grade fourth-level magic weapon, and his expression immediately showed some surprise.

I thought that Song Qingming had only recently advanced to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and that he only had one powerful natal magic weapon.

Unexpectedly, the opponent also possessed a high-grade fourth-level magic weapon, which, moreover, contained a spiritual fire of heaven and earth that was no less powerful than his own. This immediately reduced the threat posed by the "Azure Yang True Fire" to the opponent.

Before Liu Yukun could recover from his surprise, the crimson fire python controlled by Song Qingming in the distance had already rushed towards his location.

Seeing this, Liu Yukun immediately activated his magic weapon "Azure Flame Fan" and released azure flames that transformed into a fire dragon to entangle his opponent.

Two fiery dragons, one red and one blue, instantly entangled in mid-air, their sparks illuminating the entire arena.

Just as Liu Yukun was desperately activating his magic weapon to resist the fire python in front of him, a figure suddenly appeared silently not far from him.

"Song Qingming, how is this possible!"

Liu Yukun had been so focused on the fire python that he hadn't noticed how Song Qingming, who had been controlling the magic weapon in the distance, suddenly appeared beside him.

Before he could dodge, five golden bronze mirrors appeared around Liu Yukun, blocking all his escape routes.

The next moment, five or six chains flew out from the golden bronze mirror, directly locking the opponent's figure in mid-air.

Meanwhile, Liu Yukun, facing the blockade of the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," still wanted to release the Azure Yang True Fire to resist.

However, he discovered that the magic weapon "Azure Flame Fan" had been fixed in mid-air by chains wrapped with Xuan Yang Blazing Flames, and he was unable to activate the magic weapon for the time being.

Without the support of the magic weapon "Azure Flame Fan", the power of Liu Yukun's Azure Yang True Fire was immediately reduced by more than half.

In just a short while, he was firmly suppressed by the Xuan Yang Blazing Flame and the Crimson Fire Python, and had no way to escape.

Seeing that Song Qingming not only possessed formidable supernatural abilities but also had a high-grade level four magic weapon capable of countering the "Qingyang True Fire," Liu Yukun's initial excitement cooled considerably.

I originally thought I had a 30-40% chance of defeating my opponent, but I didn't expect the difference in strength between us to be so great that I was completely powerless to resist.

At this moment, Liu Yukun, whose face was now grim, had lost all the composure he had shown before the competition, and his previously excited heart had turned cold.

The audience below, seeing Liu Yukun easily suppressed by Song Qingming on the stage, were also greatly disappointed.

It was thought that with Liu Yukun's mastery of the Azure Yang True Fire and the sect's treasure, the "Azure Flame Fan," his strength was already comparable to that of an ordinary great cultivator.

Even if he might ultimately lose to Song Qingming, this battle between the two should still be evenly matched.

But after only a dozen or so rounds, Liu Yukun was already powerless to resist and posed no real threat to his opponent.

This one-sided result completely surprised everyone watching.

Many cultivators couldn't help but joke that the legendary "Azure Sun True Fire" was nothing special after all; indeed, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was not so easy to defeat.

Although he knew he was unlikely to defeat his opponent, Liu Yukun, trapped by the "Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk," still gritted his teeth and persevered, trying to make sure his defeat wasn't too humiliating.

However, faced with Song Qingming's two powerful divine abilities, "Purple Profound Divine Fire" and "Profound Yang Blazing Flame," his "Azure Yang True Fire" ultimately could not reach them.

However, he could only barely hold on for a while. Many parts of Liu Yukun's body were sizzling from the intense heat of the flames, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

On Song Qingming's side, however, he did not rush to continue attacking the trapped Liu Yukun. Instead, he turned his attention to the "Azure Flame Fan" that was frozen in mid-air by golden light.

A flash of light appeared in his hand, and a golden flying sword appeared. In an instant, a powerful pressure filled the arena.

"This is a high-grade fourth-level flying sword." "I...I surrender!"

Liu Yukun, whose physical body was already on the verge of collapse, showed a flash of surprise in his eyes when he saw the golden flying sword in Song Qingming's hand.

Unexpectedly, Song Qingming had only just advanced to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, yet he already possessed two high-grade level four magic treasures, which truly made Song Qingming's face show a hint of fear.

Seeing that the flying sword in his opponent's hand had begun to gather magic power and aim at his magic weapon "Azure Flame Fan", Liu Yukun immediately stopped hesitating and loudly admitted defeat.

Even though he had already shouted it out, Song Qingming's flying sword did not stop.

A golden sword light flashed across the battlefield, instantly breaking the "Azure Flame Fan" in mid-air into two pieces. The aftershocks of the sword light disappeared only after reaching the magic array above.

"Song Qingming, how dare you..."

After this sword strike, not only was Liu Yukun, who was suppressed by the flames, stunned in place, but even the spectators below widened their eyes in disbelief.

The fact that a single sword strike could destroy a level-four superior magic weapon was truly beyond their comprehension.

Before this competition, very few people knew the name Song Qingming.

Almost everyone thought that he, who had only recently broken through to the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, was just an ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from a small place, and wouldn't have any strong supernatural abilities.

Given Song Qingming's cultivation level, even if he manages to defeat Liu Yukun, he will likely be eliminated in the next round.

Only now, seeing Song Qingming sever the magical artifact "Azure Flame Fan" with a single sword strike, did everyone begin to re-evaluate the unassuming man in the green robe before them.

"Where did this person come from? How can he be so powerful?"

".."

Just as Song Qingming retracted his magical artifact, a short, elderly man dressed in a Taoist robe appeared on the arena.

Hu Canghai, acting as the referee, glanced meaningfully at Song Qingming before turning to look at Liu Yukun, who had just broken free from the suppression of the "Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk".

At this moment, he held the "Azure Flame Fan" that had been cut in two in his hand, staring angrily at the distance.

"Song Qingming, I have already admitted defeat. Why did you deliberately destroy my magic weapon? Fellow Daoist Hu, you must uphold justice for me!"

"Hehe, I was just engrossed in the battle of magic, which is why I was a little slow to react and couldn't stop myself. It wasn't intentional."

"Fellow Daoist Liu, are you perhaps dissatisfied with this match? How about we have another duel?"

"you."

"You two should both know the rules of the arena competition. As long as it's not an intentional act of killing someone, we won't interfere too much."

Fellow Daoist Liu, let me ask you one more time: are you going to admit defeat now, or do you want to continue the competition?

Seeing Liu Yukun's indignant expression, Hu Canghai didn't seem to care too much. Instead, he asked Liu Yukun seriously if he wanted to admit defeat.

The rules of the sword-testing and martial arts tournament are not many, except that one cannot intentionally injure or kill another person.

It is perfectly normal for cultivators to be injured by their opponents or have their magical treasures, puppets, or other spiritual objects damaged in the arena.

Even though Song Qingming's act of severing the "Azure Flame Fan" seemed somewhat intentional to outsiders, it wouldn't affect the outcome of the match.

As a referee, Hu Canghai naturally didn't want to delve into this matter, otherwise countless cultivators whose magical treasures had been destroyed would probably come out to complain.

Liu Yukun stared at the broken magic weapon in his hand, wanting to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by a voice transmission from outside the arena.

In the end, he still didn't have the courage to continue fighting Song Qingming. He could only leave a fierce glare and choose to leave the arena on his own.

"I hereby announce the result of this round of competition: Song Qingming is the winner!"

After the match results were announced, Song Qingming smiled, bowed to Hu Canghai beside him, and then stepped off the stage.

As soon as he returned to the attic, several figures who had been waiting there came to greet him.

"Haha, Seventh Brother, that sword strike you just made was really sharp-eyed."

".."

Just as Song Qingming left the arena, in the private room on the top floor of the arena's pavilion...

An elderly man in a blue robe withdrew his gaze and then asked the middle-aged man sitting to the side:
"May I ask, senior brother, there seems to be something wrong with the flying sword magic weapon that Song Qingming just activated. Could it be that this sword is not a high-grade fourth-level magic weapon, but a replica spiritual treasure?"

"Yes! You're not mistaken, that flying sword should be a replica of a magical artifact."

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's confirmation, the old man in the green robe and the people beside him immediately showed some surprise.

"It's really a counterfeit magic weapon? How is that possible?"

“Even in our Eastern Phoenix Kingdom’s cultivation world, there aren’t many sects that possess such spiritual items. Song Qingming is just a cultivator from the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. How could he possibly have a counterfeit spiritual treasure?”

Could it be that he obtained it from another cultivation world?

".."

Just as the people around him were all somewhat surprised, the middle-aged man who was originally sitting waved his hand and said, "It's just a replica of a magical treasure, is it really worth making such a fuss about?"

To be honest, Song Qingming was summoned by his senior martial uncle two hundred years ago, so it's not surprising that he has some kind of fortuitous encounter. Don't overthink it."

"So that's how it is! This kid is actually highly regarded by my martial uncle, no wonder he has such an opportunity."

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, after this conference, should we also take him to Falling Star Sea?"

"With his supernatural abilities, he should be able to break into the top twenty, but whether he will be selected depends on our master's decision. We shouldn't think too much about it."

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, his gaze quickly fell into deep thought, as if he had remembered something.

".."

In a pavilion not far below, Liu Yukun looked at his fellow disciples with a very unpleasant expression.

"Sect Leader, this Song Qingming is simply too much! He actually..."

"Alright, I warned you not to underestimate your opponent when you went to the next match. Now that you've lost, it's not too late to say this."

We all initially thought Song Qingming was just a Nascent Soul cultivator from a minor sect and didn't take him seriously, but now it seems we were wrong.

The flying sword in this guy's hand is definitely not an ordinary magic weapon. His true strength is probably no less than that of a Nascent Soul level nine cultivator. Everyone must be extremely careful when facing this person in the future.

"What? Song Qingming has only been in the late stage of Nascent Soul for twenty years. How could he possibly have the strength of the ninth level of Nascent Soul? Senior Brother, aren't you giving him too much credit?"

"Yes, Senior Brother Sect Leader, this boy dared to destroy the sect's most precious treasure, the Azure Flame Fan, in public. He clearly doesn't respect our Azure Sun Holy Sect."

If we don't teach him a lesson, our sect will likely become a laughingstock in the future.

"Our sect leader should teach this man a lesson. Even if we can't kill him in the martial arts contest, we should let Song Qingming know the power of our Qingyang Holy Sect."

".."

While everyone was writing lyrics with righteous indignation, Master Jingyue remained completely calm.

"Don't worry, fellow disciples. If we encounter this person again, I will teach him a lesson."

However, with the Grand Elder absent from this martial arts tournament, we must prioritize the sect's interests and avoid any unforeseen complications.

Liang Zhenren, the Grand Elder with the highest cultivation level in the Qingyang Holy Sect, was unable to attend the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering" due to being in seclusion.

Now that Liu Yukun has been eliminated, only "Master Jingyue," the sect leader, remains to compete for a place among the top ten sects.

After the battle, seeing that Song Qingming possessed so many powerful high-level magic treasures, "Master Jingyue" felt somewhat uneasy.

Although they had a way to secretly bribe the person who drew the lots to make "Master Jingyue" face Song Qingming in the next round and eliminate him.

But after thinking for a moment, "Master Jingyue" still didn't want to cause any more trouble and withdrew his idea.

After Song Qingming stepped down, the third day of the competition quickly came to an end.

Of the last forty cultivators who advanced, only three were lucky enough to be mid-Nascent Soul cultivators; the rest were all late-Nascent Soul experts.

Among them, nearly twenty people have reached the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage or the half-step Divine Transformation stage, most of whom came from the previous "Top Ten Sects".

As expected, the competition for the top twenty spots will be even fiercer tomorrow.

After the "martial arts contest" ended, Song Qingming and others went to the "auction" venue to participate in the exciting second auction.

The spiritual items that appeared at the second day's "auction" were of much higher quality than those at the previous one.

Not only did several valuable mid-grade level four magic treasures appear, but even high-grade level four spirit talismans began to appear on the "auction stage," attracting a fierce battle among the crowd.

On Song Qingming's side, in addition to bidding on some necessary materials and pills, he also acquired a high-grade fourth-level spirit talisman.

Unfortunately, the "Nurture Pill" that everyone was eagerly anticipating did not appear. It seems that the "Demon Suppressing Palace" intentionally reserved it for the last day of the auction.

As the moon set and the sun rose, its rays illuminating the arena, the highly anticipated "Sword Trial Competition" entered its final stage, with the top twenty contenders vying for supremacy. (End of Chapter)