Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The Stegosaurus crashed into the first giant sword, its own scales shattering in large patches; the Yinglong stirred up the elements, binding the two swords in a fierce battle; the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Dragon spewed out thunder pillars, and electric arcs crackled and exploded around the swords.

The Azure Dragon coiled around the sword, the White Tiger struck, the Vermilion Bird burned the soldiers, and the Black Tortoise withstood the attack head-on. Each of the four spirits guarded its position, desperately holding back the remaining giant sword.

Another stalemate.

Above the arena, the Seven Spirits and the Nine Swords clashed, with bursts of spiritual light erupting one after another. Each collision caused huge ripples to spread across the barrier.

Lin Zhao didn't intend to let things drag on any longer.

He took out the Golden Phoenix Bow.

The bow was gilded, and the bowstring was as thin as a gold thread. The moment the bow was drawn, the spiritual energy within a radius of several miles surged wildly, and a visible vortex formed in front of him, swirling the pebbles in mid-air.

A golden phoenix slowly materialized on the bowstring.

The phoenix's cry was clear and melodious, tearing the battlefield apart.

The golden phoenix shot off the bow, transforming into a streak of light that pierced through the heavens and earth, its tail flame stretching for tens of feet, distorting the very space around it, and hurtling straight toward Qin Tianjun.

Qin Tianjun's pupils shrank sharply—this attack could truly endanger his life.

Among his peers in the sect, Lin Zhao was the first person to push him to this point.

He flipped his hand and summoned eight white jade swords, making a total of nine second-tier top-grade magic weapons, including the one he had summoned earlier, all connected by aura.

Nine swords return to one.

The nine swords merged into a giant white jade sword over ten feet long, its spiritual light surging, and its power surpassing that of a third-tier magic weapon.

Qin Tianjun swung his sword, unleashing a hundred-foot-long golden sword light to meet the Golden Phoenix Arrow head-on.

A distance of several miles can be covered in an instant.

The golden phoenix and the sword light collided with a deafening roar.

A point of golden light exploded, then expanded into a blazing sphere of light that engulfed everything.

boom----!!!

A series of deafening roars shook the entire area, and shockwaves swept in all directions. The Seven Spirits and the Nine Swords were all swept into the core of the explosion, instantly disintegrating into countless fragments of spiritual light. The giant sword broke and the spiritual bodies disintegrated.

The power of the Dharma Domain, Divine Ring, Spirit Body, Greatsword, Golden Phoenix Arrow... all of it was reduced to zero in this clash.

The disciples on the viewing platform all raised their hands to cover their eyes.

A massive crater hundreds of feet in diameter was blasted into the center of the arena. The blue stone walls of the crater were melted by the high temperature into a smooth, terrifying glass-like surface.

As the smoke and dust dissipated, the two remained suspended in mid-air.

Lin Zhao, clad in a crimson feather and golden robe, unleashed a full-blown crimson-gold fire curtain, blocking all the shockwaves.

Qin Tianjun transformed the Five Elements Divine Rings into a five-colored halo, surrounding him without suffering any harm.

When the Five Elements Divine Rings are cultivated to their ultimate level, they become virtually invulnerable to all magic, with defensive capabilities comparable to magical treasures.

Neither of them was injured, but both had exhausted a great deal of their magical energy.

Lin Zhao activated the Seven Spirits and the Golden Phoenix Bow in succession, which greatly depleted his spiritual power. However, he had not exhausted his trump cards yet—the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool was still frantically converting spiritual liquid to continuously replenish his spiritual power.

Qin Tianjun's breathing became more rapid than before. He had used up more than half of his magic power and was relying solely on his own magic power reserves to keep going.

Lin Zhao secretly calculated that he was cultivating the "Five Spirits Returning to the Void True Technique," a top-tier fourth-order cultivation technique that had vaguely touched upon the Nascent Soul stage.

His mana was already several times stronger than others of the same level, and with the replenishment from the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool, his total expendable mana had already surpassed that of Qin Tianjun.

The scales of victory began to tip in Lin Zhao's favor.

Qin Tianjun frowned slightly.

He knew that if he dragged this out any longer, he would lose.

He was actually a bit too overconfident in this battle.

Before the competition, someone from the Qin family suggested that he bring some magical treasures with him, but he refused.

Firstly, he is a sword cultivator who pursues breaking through all laws with a single sword strike. What kind of sword cultivator would use other magical treasures?

Going out on missions is one thing, but he's not that pedantic.

But this is a sect competition.

If he doesn't even dare to defeat everyone with a sword in a fair and square manner, then his swordsmanship has been wasted.

Secondly, his own equipment is very strong, no less than those cultivators who wield various magical treasures.

His magical power is ten times that of others of the same level, and he cultivates a fourth-level sword technique. His offensive power is unparalleled in the world, and his defensive capabilities as a Five Elements Spiritual Body are no less than those of a magic weapon.

The nine white jade swords in his hand were matching second-tier top-grade magic weapons, each comparable to a quasi-magic treasure.

With three magic weapons at once, one can contend with any low-grade third-tier magic weapon; with nine magic weapons in a set, one is equivalent to a Core Formation cultivator possessing three magic weapons.

Once he advances to the Core Formation stage, these nine swords will be upgraded to third-tier magic weapons. Upon reaching the Core Formation stage, he will have nine magic weapons in hand. Combined with the cultivation technique "Nine Swords United," they will be comparable to high-grade third-tier magic weapons.

Even though he hasn't advanced yet, this set of magical artifacts can still unleash terrifying power in his hands.

That is, he encountered the monster Lin Zhao.

Although Lin Zhao's basic equipment was not as good as his, it was not far off. With several magic weapons in hand, he not only fought him to a draw, but even gained a slight advantage.

Qin Tianjun took a deep breath.

He wouldn't admit that there was another reason for not using the magic weapon—he had investigated Lin Zhao's background before the competition and knew Lin Zhao's true abilities.

Lin Zhao's background is said to be a Foundation Establishment family, but in reality, he was just promoted to a Foundation Establishment family. In the early stages of his cultivation, he was just a Qi Refining family.

He came from a family of Nascent Soul cultivators. His identity as a Nascent Soul cultivator weighed heavily on his mind.

He harbored a deep sense of pride, wanting to prove that he wasn't solely reliant on his family, but that he had achieved his position through his own hard work.

He wanted to defeat Lin Zhao fair and square.

Qin Tianjun flew into the air and raised his white jade sword.

He felt a jolt throughout his body.

Countless sword energies erupted from his body—not just a few, not just dozens, but hundreds and thousands, covering the sky and the earth like a flood bursting its banks.

He has cultivated for decades, learning more than three thousand sword techniques from childhood to adulthood.

They varied in strength and attributes, but he was now unleashing them all.

The advantage of the Five Elements Spiritual Body lies here—it can use most sword techniques in the world without being restricted by attributes.

He used all three thousand sword techniques in one go.

Sword energy gathered, swirled, and intertwined around him. Golden, cyan, blue, red, yellow, white, black... sword energies of various colors moved, intertwined, and overlapped in the air like living things.

Ultimately, over 100,000 sword energies covered the entire arena.

One hundred thousand sword energies, densely packed, resembled an inverted sea of ​​swords. Each sword energy trembled slightly, emitting a low hum. The ten thousand hums combined, causing the restrictive barrier to shake.

The sword energy was vast and varied, obscuring the sky and the sun.

This is his strongest move.

Sword Domain

Qin Tianjun unleashed his sword intent, forcefully controlling the massive amount of various sword energies with it.

His metal-elemental celestial spiritual root, combined with the Nine Swords Spirit Body's natural affinity and control over swords, allows him to do things that ordinary people cannot—hundreds and thousands of sword energies intertwine, swirl, and form arrays under his command.

All the sword energy was aimed at Lin Zhao.

"go."

At his command, 100,000 sword energies poured down.

It wasn't a random barrage, but a convergence. All the sword energy merged, fused, and compressed in mid-air, ultimately converging into dazzling sword lights, like an inverted Milky Way, crashing down on Lin Zhao.

Wherever the sword light passed, the air was torn apart, emitting a sharp shriek. The arena floor was plowed with deep furrows by the aftershocks of the sword energy, and the pebbles were crushed into powder by the subsequent sword energy before they could even fly.