Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lan Jingchi escorted him to the top of the stairs, lowering his voice: "Please keep what I just mentioned a secret. We don't want too many people in Immortal City to know about this for the time being."

Lin Zhao nodded and led the three of them downstairs.

As they left the Bihai Chamber of Commerce, Lin You couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, what did that senior mean just now?"

Lin Zhao glanced at her and briefly explained the competition.

Lin You was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

"Two Foundation Establishment Pills...regardless of winning or losing?"

Lin Zhao nodded.

Ye Xiaoxiao said softly, "Then the opponent must be very strong."

Lin Zhao asked, "Are you scared?"

Lin You shook her head, but her eyes lit up instead.

"I'm not afraid," she said. "It'll be a good opportunity to see how far we are from true geniuses."

Luo Yu stood to the side, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

He knew his path was set—to build his foundation using the Hundred Beasts True Technique, and Yan Lie would provide him with Foundation Building Pills.

What he needs to do now is to lay a solid foundation and wait for the right opportunity.

Lin Zhao looked at the three young men: "Let's go back and prepare properly. The arena competition is coming up soon."

Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time.

The four figures gradually disappeared at the end of the brightly lit street.

Behind them, the nine-story pavilion of the Bihai Chamber of Commerce was brightly lit, resembling a lighthouse in the night.

But no one knows how long this prosperity can last.

----

For the next period of time, Lin Zhao personally trained the three of them.

After a month, Lin Zhao had thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of the three individuals.

Let's start with Ye Xiaoxiao.

Lin Zhao, this nominal disciple, has reached the tenth level of Qi Refining and possesses two thousand strands of magical power.

Each level of Qi Refining is calculated as one unit of magical power. Normally, ten levels of Qi Refining would only require around a thousand units of magical power.

Foundation Establishment cultivators possess at least ten thousand strands of magical power, late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators possess one hundred thousand strands of magical power, and Core Formation cultivators possess over one million strands of magical power.

Ye Xiaoxiao has twice the number of Qi Refining Level 10 cultivators—meaning she has a solid foundation, deep accumulation, and stronger potential than ordinary cultivators.

She possessed a complete set of fire-related magical artifacts.

Crimson Fire Sword, Crimson Fire Blade, Crimson Fire Wheel, Fire Feather Robe, Crimson Flame Bow, and Crimson Sun Pearl—these six items are top-tier Tier 1 items.

There is also a core magical artifact, the first-tier top-grade magical artifact, the Fire Cauldron.

The Fire Cauldron can control the other six items, setting up a Fire Array covering an area of ​​one mile.

Offense, defense, and trapping the enemy form a complete system.

The Crimson Sun Wings that Lin Zhao left her back then were also on her.

That was a top-grade first-tier magic artifact with three pairs of jade wings.

One pair gathers spirits, one pair soars through the air, and one pair unleashes fiery magic.

She also controls the Crimson Sun Dragon, which Lin Zhao taught magic to.

Using the Crimson Sun Pearl as her energy core, she can now condense a five-zhang-long Crimson Sun Dragon.

With all his might, he controlled and mobilized magical power comparable to five thousand Dao, equivalent to half the magical power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It looks good.

But Lin Zhao knew what was going on.

This is equivalent to Lin Zhao's strength at the eighth level of Qi Refining back then.

Not to mention that he broke through the divine barrier when he reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.

When one reaches the ninth level of Qi Refining, their combat strength is already approaching the threshold of Foundation Establishment.

This step, the "divine gate," is extremely important.

With a stronger spiritual sense, one's control over magical power, judgment in combat, and application of spells are all different.

Ye Xiaoxiao is stuck here now.

She could barely operate those seven fire-infused magical artifacts, but it was extremely difficult.

Once the battle becomes intense and one's spiritual energy is greatly depleted, problems can easily arise.

Lin Zhao herself has been stuck on the spiritual consciousness barrier for many years.

He is fifty-eight years old this year, and his spiritual consciousness is still at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

After creating the Divine Soul Sword Tower at the age of forty-four, his divine sense began to advance towards the Core Formation stage.

According to normal calculations, it would take him thirty years to break through to the Core Formation stage—that is to say, he would be over seventy years old.

However, he has obtained some resources for spiritual cultivation over the years, which has shortened the time required.

But if we estimate, it will take another ten years.

That is, before the age of seventy, his divine sense broke through to the Core Formation stage.

Their strength will be able to improve even further by then.

Therefore, my first goal in coming to the Immortal City this time was naturally to find a third-tier spiritual item.

If he had any extra high-grade spirit stones, he planned to buy some resources to aid in the cultivation of divine sense.

---

Let's talk about Lin You again.

Lin Zhao's niece has reached the tenth level of Qi Refining and now possesses over 1,500 magical powers.

She used fire-based magical artifacts in her early years, but later she comprehended sword energy and began to focus on swordsmanship.

Swordsmanship is the primary focus, while fire-based magical weapons serve as supplementary tools.

What Lin Zhao left her was the Crimson Sun Sword Tower, a top-grade first-tier magic weapon—a sword tower that combines suppression, defense, and support.

Over the years, she herself has acquired another top-grade first-tier sword artifact, with a slender blade and a fiery red crystal inlaid on the hilt.

What surprised Lin Zhao the most was that she actually created her own sword technique—Karmic Fire Sword Lotus.

It can absorb the power of an attack and then unleash it instantly, transforming it into countless terrifying flame sword energies to counterattack.

As soon as Lin You used the sword technique, a lotus flower formed from flames appeared in front of him, its petals unfolding layer by layer.

A dark red flame swirls slowly in the center of the lotus.

She activated the sword lotus, causing it to spin faster and absorb the surrounding fire-attribute spiritual energy.

A moment later, she gave a soft shout, and the lotus flower suddenly exploded, sending dozens of fiery sword energies flying in all directions, instantly cutting the target he had prepared into pieces.

Of course, her cultivation level is currently low, so she can only absorb fire-attribute spiritual energy.

That would be true mastery if one could absorb all elemental spiritual energy.

Combat strength assessment – ​​also at the level of 5,000 magical powers.

But in actual combat, she was more powerful than Ye Xiaoxiao.

Ye Xiaoxiao is suited for group battles; once the formation is activated, she can withstand any number of people who come.

Lin You is suited for one-on-one combat. Once the Sword Lotus is activated, he can use the opponent's own methods against them.

As for Luo Yu...

Ok.

He has reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, and possesses two top-grade first-tier magic artifacts, a magic robe, and an offensive magic artifact.

Among cultivators of the same level, he is not bad, but he is not particularly outstanding either.

To put it bluntly, either Ye Xiaoxiao or Lin You could easily beat several of him.

Lin Zhao understood that Luo Yu's future did not lie in the Qi Refining stage.

His path is to first establish his foundation, then use the True Technique of a Hundred Beasts to build his foundation, and only after achieving a spiritual body will he be able to unleash his full power.

During the Qi-refining stage, participation is the most important thing.

Luo Yu himself was aware of these things.

-----

The training lasted for a month.

Lin Zhao would spend two hours each day watching over the opponent, correcting their techniques, adjusting their tactics, and occasionally going down into the arena to give them some pointers.

He passed on his creation, the "Heavenly Heart Formula," to the two of them.

"This technique can enhance the control of divine sense. When cultivated to the fifth level, it can even improve comprehension to some extent, which is helpful for breaking through the divine barrier."

Lin Zhao said, "If you practice well, your ability to use magic will reach a higher level."

Ye Xiaoxiao and Lin You were overjoyed and practiced until late at night every day.

Luo Yu also practiced this technique, and under Lin Zhao's guidance, he successfully broke through to the third level.

One month later,

The three went to the arena in District 25, which was specifically used for competitions.

The arena is protected by a formation that suppresses its destructive power, and it is only a hundred feet in size.

The tournament has been going on for a month.

The battles last from morning till night, with hundreds of Qi Refining cultivators participating and even more watching.