Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The picture gradually became clear in Lin Zhao's mind: this was not a simple case of embezzlement, but a manifestation of the sect's operating rules.

Given limited resources, allowing a group of people to risk their lives and strive for higher levels is a way to partially legitimize resources.

If we fail, we recover the principal and interest, and the resources are recycled and put back into circulation.

This serves as both an incentive and a brutal process of selection and redistribution, preventing sects from developing rigid class-based resources and opening up pathways for cultivators to advance.

This was a preliminary deduction he made based on the principles behind the collapse of various dynasties in his previous life.

Perhaps the sect is completely unaware of the situation here; in reality, this is just a training ground for the sect.

Let's see if Master Canglang still has the potential to break through to the late stage of Core Formation.

Secondly, assess the abilities of the Core Formation cultivator in the Enforcement Hall.

Thirdly, observe the Foundation Establishment cultivators under the sect's command and their ability to adapt to complex situations.

For example, Fang Yue and Lin Zhao.

He recalled his master's words of advice before his departure: "It's nothing serious." At this moment, he sensed a different meaning in them.

Perhaps Master had already seen through the situation.

As long as none of the parties cross the sect's bottom line, all struggles will be conducted within the rules, making Lin Zhao safer.

Moreover, in order to maintain stability, Master Canglang would actually give Lin Zhao some benefits. It is believed that this situation is not the first time it has occurred in the sect.

Thinking of this, the resentment of being used as a pawn in Lin Zhao's heart quietly dissipated, replaced by a faint excitement.

The water at Zhenhai Cliff was deeper and more interesting than he had expected.

"It seems," he picked up his now-cold tea and gestured to Fang Yue, "that our mission this time is not just to wipe out pirates."

Fang Yue saw the fleeting glint in his eyes, raised his glass, and a long-lost smile appeared on his lips: "Never."

Over the next few days, the two found a rocky island in a remote sea area and had a few matches where they competed without restraint.

It was Fang Yue who brought it up.

He wanted to see for himself what the true quality of Lin Zhao's "Law Domain" was.

The result is no suspense.

No matter how much Fang Yue pushed his movement technique to its limit, his figure flashing like a ghost among the shadows of the reefs, every time the longsword, infused with a trace of spatial power, pierced out, it could only create heavy ripples in that invisible domain before it could spread further.

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Within the domain of law, the illusory images of the Five Sacred Mountains rose and fell, and the flow of spiritual energy was entirely under Lin Zhao's control, suppressing Fang Yue's swift and unstoppable speed.

"Tsk, what a monster." Fang Yue took a breath, sheathed his sword and stood there. There was no sense of defeat on his face, but rather excitement.

He suddenly took a deep breath, his aura becoming ethereal and dangerous. He held his longsword horizontally, and at the tip of the sword, the space seemed to collapse slightly inward for a moment.

In the next instant, the sword was thrust out.

There was no earth-shattering sound, only an extremely thin, extremely bright silver-white line that seemed to cut through light itself, which appeared out of thin air and almost instantly pierced through the nearly 100-foot distance between the two people!

But Lin Zhao's eyes narrowed slightly, and the power of his Dharma Domain suddenly contracted and condensed in the vicinity.

The silvery-white thread pierced the solidified magic domain, making a "hissing" sound, like a branding iron being plunged into water. Although its forward momentum was drastically slowed, it still stubbornly drilled inward!

After penetrating a full fifty feet, this extremely refined strike finally exhausted its power, the thin lines flickering a few times before dissipating into nothingness.

The force field of the law domain also fluctuated slightly, and it took a while to calm down.

"Impressive," Lin Zhao praised, but his eyes lit up with interest. "To achieve this at the Foundation Establishment stage... you almost broke my Law Domain."

Fang Yue shook his head. He knew that this was his strongest attack at the moment, but it wouldn't even reach Lin Zhao.

What alarmed him even more was that in the subsequent competition, Lin Zhao didn't even launch any attacks. He simply opened his domain and occasionally attacked with the Azure Lotus Sword, or just summoned the two late-stage Foundation Establishment spirits to force him to flee in a sorry state.

Lin Zhao seemed to be... observing.

He was indeed observing.

In the state of Heaven, Lin Zhao's perception and deduction abilities soared to an unbelievable level.

Within the domain of the law, every subtle fluctuation caused by Fang Yue's activation of spatial power, the distorted trajectory of light, the rhythm of spiritual energy being pushed aside and replenished... were all like an open scroll, which he analyzed, memorized, and attempted to understand at an alarming speed.

In their final clash, Fang Yue's sword energy, though already close to Lin Zhao's side, strangely veered slightly, grazing past the hem of her clothes.

The deflection was minimal, but Fang Yue clearly felt that, in that instant, the spatial ripples around his sword energy were slightly disturbed by another, more powerful force.

He sheathed his sword, staring at the almost invisible, yet subtly distorted, hazy silver light surrounding Lin Zhao's domain, remaining silent for a long time.

"...You used your domain to steal the power of space?" Fang Yue's tone was complicated.

"It's not stealing," Lin Zhao said, dispersing his domain and smiling. "It told me itself that your spatial power is very profound."

Fang Yue let out a long breath, as if to expel all the shock in his chest: "Among the cultivators of our generation, I'm afraid only you are qualified to go toe-to-toe with that monster Qin Tianjun."

Lin Zhao shook his head and looked towards the western sect: "Qin Tianjun... a metal-type heavenly spiritual root, a natural nine-sword spiritual body, an acquired five-element spiritual body, born into the Nascent Soul Qin family, and comprehended sword intent. I probably can't compare to him yet."

He paused, but there was no sign of discouragement in his eyes; instead, a sharp glint flashed within them. "However, the 'Five Elements Spiritual Body' he forged during his Foundation Establishment stage, which he expended a vast amount of resources to create..."

As for my later-developed "Five Sacred Mountains Spiritual Body," I'd really like to test its strength against yours if given the chance. And who can say for sure what will happen next?

Since returning to the sect and breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Lin Zhao has not only condensed the Divine Soul Sword Tower's divine power, but also obtained the Heavenly State with this divine power, and his strength has been increasing every day.

After the competition, both sides gained a deeper understanding of each other's strengths.

Fang Yue's killing moves are extremely deadly, and his spatial attribute attacks are enough to threaten most late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, but his other aspects are somewhat mediocre.

Lin Zhao has already reached the pinnacle of the Foundation Establishment stage. Once his Law Domain is activated, he is almost invincible. Unless he encounters a legendary figure like Chu Fengge, who can use a Foundation Establishment Perfection stage to fight against a Core Formation stage cultivator, it is not difficult for him to escape even if he is defeated.

If Fang Yue wants to truly contend with Lin Zhao, he will probably have to wait until he breaks through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, which would require his spiritual body to awaken more than three times.

This made him realize once again that his friend had become a complete "monster".

It should be noted that Fang Yue is a genius among the sect's elites, yet he is being challenged by someone of a higher level.

A few days later, Lin Zhao piloted the Azure Scale and returned to port alone.

His mission upon returning was clear: to go back to Zhenhai Cliff, make a fuss, attract attention from all sides, and especially put some "pressure" on that Canglang Zhenren.