Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

As he spoke, his gaze pierced through the ground restrictions of the Qinggang Palace and landed on a certain arena below.

Following his gaze, True Monarch Beichen glanced at the arena. Spiritual light surged on the stage, a five-colored domain spread out, and several spiritual bodies were besieging their opponents.

He didn't say anything and withdrew his gaze. There must be a reason why Qingyuan Zhenjun found it "somewhat interesting".

Yan Feng also secretly glanced down, but he couldn't tell who Qingyuan Zhenjun was looking at.

Qingyuan Zhenjun didn't mind, leaning back in his chair and raising his legs even higher.

-----

Lin Zhao was unaware that someone was watching him from above on the arena below; he was fighting his sixteenth match.

Those who can break into the top 100 out of tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators are no slackers.

It must possess one of the following: a domain of law, supernatural powers, or magical treasures, along with some other special methods.

Unfortunately, Lin Zhao was stronger. On the arena, the domain of law spread out, and the ten-mile-long blue stone arena was covered with five-colored spiritual light, and the phantoms of the Five Sacred Mountains slowly rotated.

He only used three spiritual bodies: Sword Dragon, Yinglong, and Nine Luminaries Heavenly Dragon. The three spirits hung in mid-air, and their dragon roars caused the light barrier to ripple.

That's how he fought his first fifteen matches—using his magic domain to suppress opponents, his spirit body to surround and kill them, and his Golden Phoenix Bow to fire in short bursts.

Fifteen opponents, none of whom have yet withstood this attack.

The female cultivator in front of me is named Meng Yao. She is at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage and has released four eight-armed puppets.

The puppet's strength was comparable to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, with each of its eight arms wielding a second-grade high-quality magic weapon, totaling thirty-two magic weapons.

The ritual implements were exactly the same—a spear ten feet long with special patterns engraved on its shaft.

Lin Zhao recognized the pattern.

Those are spirit-breaking runes. All thirty-two magical artifacts on the puppet's body are made of spirit-breaking materials, specifically designed to counter spells that condense spiritual power.

Lin Zhao's seven spiritual bodies are essentially a convergence of spiritual energy. When they collide with something, it's like snow hitting a hot iron; it leaves a dent with every touch.

The Stegosaurus pounced, but its claws were blocked by the short spear. The spirit-piercing runes lit up.

A gash was cut into the dragon's claw, from which sword energy flowed out, blurring the edges of the claw.

Yinglong swept past from the side, its four-colored wings flapping as it unleashed a barrage of ice spikes, fireballs, and wind blades.

The spear on the puppet's hand glowed with spiritual light, the ice spikes shattered into powder upon impact, the fireball was dispersed by the spear tip, and the wind blades left no mark when they cut into it.

The Nine Luminaries Heavenly Dragon Thunder Ball exploded, lightning danced on the surface of the puppet, the spirit patterns on the puppet flashed, and the lightning disappeared.

Moreover, Lin Zhao's domain of magic has little effect on puppets.

There seemed to be some kind of connection between the four puppets, similar to a domain of magic. Their spiritual patterns were flashing in sync, and their movements were completely in unison.

The domain of law pressed down, but was split in the middle by an invisible force. A layer of dark silver light membrane rose on the surface of the puppet's body, sliding away all the earth, water, fire, and wind.

Meng Yao stood behind, controlling her puppet.

Lin Zhao withdrew her gaze.

With the seven spiritual bodies and the magic domain being restrained, the puppet that Meng Yao crafted was practically made specifically to counter magic cultivators.

Unfortunately, he was not a Dharma practitioner.

The seven spiritual bodies are not his only trump card.

Lin Zhao flipped his hand and took out the rarely used Azure Lotus Sword from his storage bag.

He gripped the Azure Lotus Sword tightly, and an invisible aura of sword intent rose from his body.

The innate divine power of a superior-grade Azure Lotus Dao Foundation – Azure Lotus Power.

This power surged from the depths of his Dao foundation and flowed into the Azure Lotus Sword, causing the azure patterns on the sword's surface to light up.

Lin Zhao took a deep breath.

A powerful sword intent and spiritual energy are concentrated in this sword.

He raised the Azure Lotus Sword, its tip pointing towards the sky.

Then, he cut it off.

A hundred-foot-long azure sword light slashed out, tearing the air apart and emitting a sharp screech.

Meng Yao's expression changed drastically.

With a wave of her hand, one of the four puppets blocked the sword light, and eight spears formed a defensive net, the spirit-piercing patterns shining brightly.

The cyan sword light struck, and the spear broke; the first one was sliced ​​in two.

The second, the third, the fourth, the fifth sword—the sword light sliced ​​through like tofu, and the spirit-breaking patterns couldn't even be hindered by the cyan sword light; the spirit light crumbled upon contact.

Finally, the sword light pierced the puppet's body. The dark silver shell was sliced ​​open. The puppet was cleaved diagonally from its right shoulder to its left rib, with only a thin layer of spiritual light connecting its upper and lower body. It flew backward, crashing into the light shield at the edge of the arena, then bounced back and slammed heavily to the ground.

Meng Yao was so distressed that her face turned pale.

It's not just the destruction of the puppet that's heartbreaking, but also the destruction of the magical artifacts.

The magical artifacts on the puppet were specially crafted by her for this competition, and each one was extremely valuable. Five of them were severed by this one sword strike.

"I give up!" Meng Yao practically shouted.

The referee glanced at her, confirmed that she had no intention of continuing, and announced: "Meng Yao concedes defeat, Lin Zhao wins."

Lin Zhao sheathed her sword, and the spiritual light on the Azure Lotus Sword dissipated.

Meng Yao walked over, her expression not very good, but she still clasped her hands in a fist and palm salute: "Your swordsmanship... is very strong."

"Your puppet is not bad either," Lin Zhao said. "That spirit-breaking artifact is quite something. If it were a third-tier spirit-breaking material, I would be in trouble today."

Meng Yao smiled wryly, "Third-tier magic-breaking materials? I simply can't afford them."

She turned to tidy up the puppets, carefully putting the damaged one into her storage bag.

Lin Zhao stepped out of the arena.

Next match. My opponent is someone I know.

Pei Yue.

He entered the sect at the age of seventy. During his ten years of training at the Dao Asking Hall, he overpowered many geniuses and was known as the Mad Dragon Old Daoist.

Tutor to three emperors, a man of both literary and military talent, who led the dynasty to expand its territory.

Back then, his cultivation level was low, and he was able to enter the sect purely by relying on countless talismans and his incredible control over them, forging his own path.

At this moment, Pei Yue looked to be only in his fifties, wearing a purple Taoist robe. The robe was not embroidered with the common cloud and crane patterns, but with a landscape painting.

His cultivation level reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Lin Zhao was also secretly wondering why everyone's cultivation level was higher than his. Was he out of touch with the current version?

However, upon closer reflection, this group of people had already established their foundations a year or two earlier than him, and each of them was a prodigy with considerable opportunities for advancement.

If he had another year or two to cultivate, he would have reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, so the difference wouldn't be that big.

The two greeted each other.

After the battle began, Pei Yue made the first move.

Despite his peak Foundation Establishment level, Lin Zhao was in the late Foundation Establishment stage. He knew Lin Zhao's battle record—he had directly repelled a Core Formation cultivator and later even killed a Core Formation cultivator. He was a ruthless person of the highest caliber.

Being polite to this kind of person is tantamount to courting death.

He took out a flag.

The Banner of Ten Thousand Laws, when unfolded, is about three feet wide. The banner is jet black, embroidered with silver runes that are layered and interlocked.

When the flag flutters, the runes flow from the flagpole to the tail of the flag and back again, in a continuous cycle.

This is a genuine Tier 3 magic weapon.

Pei Yue, through some unknown fortuitous opportunity, had already advanced his natal magic weapon to the third tier ahead of schedule.

Pei Yue tossed the Myriad Laws Banner into the air, and the banner unfurled, fluttering loudly. Countless spells shot out from the banner—fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, lightning bolts, earth spikes… a dazzling array of colors.