After I left the sect, the entire sect knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

Time flew by, and the day of the competition arrived in the blink of an eye. Many people were pessimistic about Lin Yan's chances.

Not many cultivators had bet on Lin Yan, and many were glad they hadn't.

They had seen with their own eyes how badly she was injured, so they wouldn't be surprised if she conceded defeat in the match.

When Lin Yan appeared unharmed, she didn't look like she had suffered serious injuries, which many people found unbelievable.

"Is this for real? He was so badly injured before, and now he's recovered so well in less than two days? Did he take some kind of magic pill?"

"Yes! He looks quite well, he doesn't seem to have been injured."

"She is now a disciple of Venerable Duan Yi. The Venerable must have used some kind of treasure to heal her."

"..."

The crowd chattered amongst themselves, their voices a jumbled mix. As the two players entered the arena, the noise gradually subsided as everyone watched the match.

So what if they're talking? Once the competition starts, the barrier opens, blocking out all sound, and the people in the competition can't hear what they're saying.

After a few polite but harsh words were exchanged as per procedure, the referee announced the start of the competition.

Li Qiu made the first move, wielding her magic weapon with one hand. Her silver whip swept over like a strangling snake, instantly bringing with it a biting wind.

This isn't an effect of the whip itself. She has a single water-type mutated spiritual root, and the mental techniques and spells she's learned are also ice-based. When she uses her magic to power the Frost Whip, the wind it whips out carries a bone-chilling, gale-force feel.

This attack went straight for the opponent, without any probing intent.

Lin Yan remained calm, summoning her magic sword imbued with fire magic. The sword's power surged, and a wave of heat spread, blocking the opponent's attack.

In a magical duel, the difference lies in cultivation level and the amount of spiritual energy stored. Her cultivation level is one small rank higher than her opponent's, so if they were to truly clash through spells, her opponent would definitely be at a disadvantage.

If she could think of it, Li Qiu could definitely think of it too, so the fact that the other party was actually using magic to bombard her from the beginning was probably just to lead her astray.

Unsure of her opponent's next move, she was extra vigilant. While increasing her spiritual energy output, she dropped the scabbard.

This action appears to indicate that she was about to form a hand seal, and the sword sheath in her hand was an eyesore, so she threw it away.

At least that's what I "truly" believe.

Seeing that his first move had failed, Li Qiu exerted his strength again, swinging his whip once more, creating powerful whirlwinds that surrounded his opponent.

The whirlwind carried a chill, and the temperature within the barrier suddenly dropped.

The whirlwind came with great force. If Lin Yan really thought that the opponent used the whirlwind as their main attack move, then she would be misled.

As the surroundings cooled down, Lin Yan noticed that the ground she was standing on was gradually covered with a layer of ice, which was gathering towards her.

She seemed oblivious, continuing to try and break the opponent's spell by blocking the gathering cold wind.

As the ice spread to her feet, the mist instantly expanded, and as the cold wind attacked, Li Qiu appeared in the spot where she had just been, her hand already holding an ice spike, ready to strike.

Just as Li Qiu was about to attack, the fog instantly obscured her vision, and in less than a second, her opponent vanished.

Li Qiu was shocked, realizing she had been tricked. The other side had turned the tables on her, making her believe she had sealed them off and that their continuous attacks had given them no time to set up their formation, but she was wrong.

Her opponent had set up a formation at some point, waiting for her to enter the activation range before launching a surprise attack!
She reacted quickly, assuming a defensive stance and blocking the incoming magical attack, but the powerful impact still forced her back several steps. Li Qiu, in the instant she was attacked, locked onto her opponent's position and swung her whip in retaliation. She didn't panic; when her attack failed, she quickly sought a way to break the formation.

Fighting within the opponent's formation puts you at a natural disadvantage, which is particularly bad for you!

She coiled the whip into a circle and then tossed it into the air to form a powerful shield to protect herself.

Seeing that someone was casting a spell, Lin Yan thought that the other party probably wanted to find the node of the formation by covering it with ice, and of course she could not go along with the other party's wishes.

The sword in his hand once again condensed a powerful sword aura and attacked the opponent.

The sword and the "shield" collided, producing a resounding "bang".

Just as she was about to break through the shield and attack the opponent, countless ice spikes attacked her!
Oh dear! If you walk by the river often enough, you'll get your shoes wet! She just set a trap to lure the other party in, and now Li Qiu is retaliating in the same way, using herself as bait to lure her into attacking and then catching her off guard.

Lin Yan quickly used her sword to defend herself while retreating into the mist, using the fog to obscure her opponent's vision and cover herself.

The two continued their back-and-forth, fighting fiercely and evenly matched.

Many people below the stage couldn't see clearly due to the fog, but they all felt the urgency of the competition.

Some impatient ones, whose cultivation was too low to see anything at all, broke their guard and said, "I was really looking forward to the championship competition, but now I can't see anything at all. If you ask me, we should disqualify rogue cultivators from participating in the Immortal Sect Competition. They only know how to use some low-level tricks!"

The cultivator who said such a thing was a disciple of a sect, but from a minor sect. He was eliminated in the first round, ranking outside the top 100.

Seeing that a rogue cultivator had actually made it to the final round, and even after reaching the very end, and realizing that the clouds on the stage were only obscured because of their low cultivation level, he felt resentful.

Two rogue cultivators were sitting next to him. After being eliminated, they would spend their free time watching the competition, in addition to doing odd jobs at the Xuantian Sect.

As soon as he finished speaking, the cultivator glanced at the two of them and then spoke to them in a sarcastic tone.

The thinner cultivator secretly rolled his eyes and spoke first: "Hey ho, I ran into something really funny today, guess what it was?"

The other immediately chimed in, "What is it?"

"There was a competition held somewhere, and there was a guy whose cultivation level was too low to see the moves of the two people on stage. Guess what happened to him?"

"What's wrong?"

"Hey, he actually ordered people to ban those with high cultivation levels from participating in the competition."

"Oh dear, what a mess this is! This person is a real scoundrel."

The cultivator listened to the two talking back and forth, his face turning green and then black. Although he was furious, he knew he was in the wrong and couldn't retaliate, so he could only snort coldly and turn his head away, ignoring the two rogue cultivators.

At this moment, the competition on the stage became increasingly intense, and Li Qiu gradually felt that he was not up to the task.

Ice-based spells are effective and useful, but they consume too much spiritual energy, especially within the opponent's formation, where she clearly felt that using spells required more spiritual energy.

The other party seemed unaffected by the depletion of spiritual energy, and kept challenging her to exchange spells.

When she cast a wide-range spell to seal her opponent, the opponent retreated. With her divine sense and vision obstructed by the mist, she couldn't accurately lock onto her target, and her magical attacks could only be directed in the direction her opponent had retreated. (End of Chapter)