Raise a sword!

On Hidden Sword Peak.

When Ling Shu arrived at Master Duan's cave again, she saw Master Duan standing on the edge of the cliff with his hands behind his back, looking towards the Sword Testing Valley in the back mountain.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Master Duan turned around with a smile on his lips.

"He's gone?"

"Let's go," Ling Shu replied.

Master Duan laughed again, "Well, did I not lie to you?"

Ling Shu's face was filled with complex emotions.

She nodded slightly, but quickly shook her head.

"He is a powerful swordsman, but not pure enough... He doesn't consider himself a swordsman; in fact, he sees using a sword as just a means of combat."

Master Duan said, "Not every sword cultivator in the world treats their magic sword as if it were their life... Even you yourself just now, didn't you use a talisman?"

"That was... never mind."

Ling Shu wanted to argue, but she couldn't even articulate her reasons.

A self-proclaimed pure swordsman was forced to use talismans to save his life; the facts speak for themselves, and any reason or excuse would seem weak.

"Do you think what he said is right?" Master Duan asked again.

"What?"

"I told you not to let the term 'sword cultivator' confine you."

Ling Shu frowned, her gaze falling on Duan Zhenren, who had turned his back again, as if she had vaguely thought of something.

"So it was you, sir, who used Senior Brother Jiang to pass on your teachings to your disciple."

"What preaching? Everyone understands the principles, but whether you can truly comprehend them depends on yourself."

Master Duan waved his hand.

"The Sword Pavilion's lineage only goes up to the Golden Core stage, but your future shouldn't stop there... If you want to find the true lineage of an ancient sword cultivator now, you might have to go to the Central Plains, but that's too uncertain. Since it concerns your future achievements, you should make more preparations."

Ling Shu sighed softly, "Are you saying that the path of pure sword cultivation has been cut off?"

Master Duan did not answer.

Seeing this, Ling Shu didn't ask any further questions, but simply turned and left.

"Pure sword cultivation is enough for me to reach the Golden Core stage. After that, I must go to the Central Plains to see the world... I was born with the sword and grew up learning about swordsmanship. Now that I know there is such an ancient sword cultivation method as the 'Heavenly Chen Sword Nourishing Technique,' how can I ignore it?"

"You should always give it your all, even if you don't get what you want, at least you won't have any regrets."

Master Duan frowned.

"If we waste our time because of this, it will be too late to regret it in the future."

"Ling Shu has no regrets."

...

Cangshan Sect, on Yanwu Peak.

The rewards for this sect competition are unprecedentedly generous, making it an unprecedentedly grand event.

After more than half a month of competition, the top sixteen disciples from each level were finally determined.

Today is the day to determine the top eight.

The first to compete were the disciples in the early stages of Qi Refining.

In addition to rewards such as magical artifacts and elixirs, the top eight in the early stages of Qi Refining will be directly granted the status of inner disciples by the sect, and will be personally trained by Foundation Establishment elders.

This is practically a guaranteed path to the peak of Qi Refining.

Since there were no disciples at the early stage of Qi Refining on Biwu Peak, the three people on Biwu Peak did not pay attention to the competition at this level.

By noon, the preliminary rounds of the Qi Refining competition had ended.

Next up is the battle for the top eight in the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Upon reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining, in addition to the status of an inner disciple, the sect will also grant a large sum of sect contribution funds and the opportunity to exchange for some scarce resources.

In the waiting room.

Su Zhi and Mei Jinhe are cheering Liu Linong on.

"I know my senior brother's temper. He's not a good person! If you don't make it into the top ten, he'll really make things difficult for you."

Mei Jinhe spoke ill of Jiang Peng in a low voice.

Su Zhi nodded solemnly to the side.

Liu Linong, however, acted nonchalantly, waving his hand and saying, "I'm not afraid at all! The old man only has so many tricks up his sleeve when he's messing with people, like locking them up in solitary confinement or not giving them food. As his disciple, I sometimes find it quite amusing."

Liu Linong immediately opened his storage bag and waved it in front of Mei Jinhe and the other person.

"See? I've bought all the storybooks from the market down the mountain in recent years, and I've also prepared several hundred pounds of cooked food in advance. With such thorough preparation, why should I be afraid of that old man's childish tricks?"

Mei Jinhe was speechless.

"If you have this kind of energy, wouldn't it be better to focus on preparing for the competition?"

"I can't get away from Ling Shan Fang," Liu Linong said, shrugging.

Soon a disciple came to deliver the message that it was Liu Linong's turn to go on stage.

After the chubby boy left the room, Mei Jinhe and Su Zhi exchanged a glance.

"This chubby boy isn't as cute as he was when he was little," Mei Jinhe said.

Su Zhi nodded in agreement, and at the same time took out a palm-sized stone from his pocket.

This is a non-ranking magical artifact called the Sound Recall Stone.

Su Zhi activated the recording stone, and Liu Linong's voice immediately echoed in the room.

"...Are you still afraid of that old man's childish tricks?"

Mei Jinhe and Su Zhi exchanged a smile.

Having lived in harmony and fraternity on Biwu Peak for so long, it's time to teach the younger generation about the treacherous nature of human hearts.

Half an hour later, Liu Linong returned with an excited expression.

"Did you win?" Mei Jinhe asked.

"I lost." Liu Linong shrugged. "The girl on the other side was very pretty. She kept calling me 'good brother' and 'good senior brother' as soon as she came up. I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Did you win?" Mei Jinhe asked.

"I lost." Liu Linong shrugged. "The girl on the other side was very pretty. She kept calling me 'good brother' and 'good senior brother' as soon as she came up. I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Besides, my junior sister has no one to rely on in the sect, unlike me who has enough good stuff like the Purple Jade Nourishing Pill. Why should I compete with her?"

"Then why are you so happy?" Su Zhi asked, puzzled.

"My junior sister invited me to admire the moon tomorrow night." Liu Linong rubbed his hands excitedly. "I'm over twenty years old and I've never even held a young girl's hand. It's only because Master isn't here that I have such a good thing."

"What a character." Mei Jinhe rolled her eyes at Liu Linong.

Soon, the competition reached the stage of identifying true disciples.

When it was Mei Jinhe's turn to go on stage, the three of them walked out of the room and into the training ground.

Mei Jinhe's opponent is Jiang Yuliang, a true disciple of Tianhe Peak.

This person is quite famous among the true disciples.

The competition among the true disciples was far more intense than the previous competitions.

After testing each other on stage, Mei Jinhe and Jiang Yuliang then unleashed their full power.

Thanks to years of accumulated Dragon Tiger Skill, Mei Jinhe, although only at the eighth level of Qi Refining, was extremely powerful when she made a move, and she even gained a slight advantage.

She practiced her family's fire magic, and also received guidance from Jiang Peng. The spiritual fire combat was extremely smooth.

Soon, Jiang Yuliang was forced into a corner on the stage.

Just when Mei Jinhe was about to win.

Suddenly, Jiang Yuliang, who was at a disadvantage, waved his hand and fired out dozens of silver needles in succession.

"I was already on guard against Senior Brother's magic weapon 'Hidden Void Needle'." Mei Jinhe chuckled, preparing to deal with it calmly.

Suddenly, she froze, as if she had lost her focus for a moment.

When she regained her senses, the dozens of silver needles were already close at hand.

"Oh no!" Su Zhi and Liu Linong, who were sitting in the audience, had drastically changed their expressions.

Mei Jinhe's meridians were all injured by the silver needles, and she fell to the ground unconscious.

The elders beside the arena finally appeared a moment later.

"Hiss, I was a step too late."