Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

The competition over the next few days practically became a stage for Lin Jingchu, Song Yu, and Bai Haozhi. Regardless of their opponent, they were all defeated within a few moves.

Fu Tiancheng had long lost the leisurely and carefree attitude he had shown a few days ago when he was stroking his bald head; his face was so bitter it looked like it could be squeezed to ooze juice.

This was not only because the elite disciples of the sect had been defeated by these three in succession, but also because the remaining disciples of Luoyun Sect were encouraged by Lin Jingchu and Song Yu's consecutive victories, and their morale was greatly boosted. They even fought to a standstill with Baiqiaoyuan, with each side winning and losing.

This means that Baiqiaoyuan has no chance of winning the championship this time, let alone surpassing Yunzong on the list.

"I never expected that our first time leading a team would end in such a crushing defeat. I'm afraid my senior brothers and I won't be able to explain this to the academy when we get back!" Fu Tiancheng looked at the battle on the stage that was determining the final rankings of the top ten, and shook his head with a wry smile.

Only two members of the Hundred Crafts Academy made it into the top ten, with the remaining spots split between the Ancient Sword Sect and the Falling Cloud Sect.

Elder Feng was in a good mood and comforted them, saying, "Even horses can stumble, and people can make mistakes. This year, our sect just happened to produce a few disciples with some talent. The next year... well, that may not be the case."

Contrary to his usual self, Old Man Jiang remained calm and composed, refraining from making any sarcastic remarks.

He had figured it out: Bai Haozhi was a shoo-in for first place, and the Ancient Sword Sect remained firmly at the top. It was just that the Falling Cloud Sect had replaced the Hundred Crafts Academy and taken the position of second place for the millennium, which was no different from before.

That being said, the next moment, Old Man Jiang suddenly sat up straight.

On the stage, the referee's loud call of names resounded throughout the arena:

"Meng Yao of the Luoyun Sect wins!"

"Next match—Bai Haozhi of the Ancient Sword Sect versus Song Yu of the Falling Cloud Sect!"

After the announcement, the square was quiet for a moment, then erupted into an even more heated discussion.

Song Yu flew onto the stage, nodded slightly to Meng Yao who was passing by, and then landed on the stage, looking calmly at Bai Haozhi, who was twenty or thirty feet away.

"Fairy Song, to witness such exceptionally talented individuals as you and Fellow Daoist Lin at this grand gathering foreshadows the rise of the Luo Yun Sect. But today, I, Bai, will not relinquish this position of champion." Bai Haozhi drew his sword, pointing it diagonally at the ground, and four golden sword shadows instantly materialized behind him. "Please make your move!"

Song Yu remained calm and said softly, "I will strive for the top spot myself; why should I need others to yield it to me? Fellow Daoist Bai, take this!"

Twelve shimmering azure needles shot out in response, weaving together into a sharp net of light that hurtled straight at Bai Haozhi.

On the hundred-foot-high stone platform, the two men moved swiftly and fiercely, locked in a fierce battle. Sword energy sliced ​​through the air, and needle-like shadows crisscrossed the space. Both launched powerful attacks and defended effectively, making it difficult to determine a winner for the time being.

Below the stage, Meng Yao watched anxiously and suddenly grabbed Lin Jingchu's sleeve: "Junior Brother Lin, what do you think?"

"I'll just stand here and watch," Lin Jingchu thought to himself, but said calmly, "Let's observe and see how things unfold."

Although he has added himself as a variable, Bai Haozhi is definitely a "protagonist template" - with a complicated background, a dangerous road ahead, and appearance and figure only slightly inferior to his own.

On the arena, the battle intensified.

Bai Haozhi's golden sword wheel would always whistle past from tricky angles, but Song Yu would always use the rhombus-shaped ice crystals to block and intercept it at precise angles.

The sword wheel struck the ice crystals, sparks flew, and a flash of light shone, but most of its power was dissipated.

Bai Haozhi even attempted close combat, but was disoriented by the dazzling light from the sudden burst of ice crystals. Fortunately, he had diligently cultivated his swordsmanship, resulting in a clear and focused mind, allowing him to break free of the restraints and regain his composure to defend himself.

After suffering a loss once, he no longer dared to get close, and only used his ranged sword wheel to entangle with Song Yu.

"I intended to save my ultimate move for an old friend, but it seems I can't keep it hidden any longer." After thinking it over, Bai Haozhi no longer hesitated, recalled the sword wheel that had been slid away by the ice crystals again, and scattered it back into the four beams of light.

Immediately afterwards, he spun around, his longsword slashing in a circle, slicing away the twelve flying needles that were approaching. He then flicked his wrist and swung the longsword out, simultaneously forming a hand seal—four beams of light instantly attached themselves to it, transforming into a thick, golden spiral of sword light that roared forward.

The rhombus-shaped ice crystal artifact managed to block the attack for a few breaths before being violently repelled. Song Yu's expression hardened, and a phoenix shadow appeared around her, its wings flapping lightly, carrying her several feet to the side, narrowly avoiding this fatal blow!

"It's actually 'Phoenix Cry Azure Feather'!" On the high platform, Old Man Jiang exclaimed in surprise, "Wasn't the unique skill of the first peak master of White Phoenix Peak long ago lost?"

Elder Feng's expression was solemn. Although Song Yu had successfully mastered this method, the secret technique was incomplete and its power could not be fully displayed.

On the arena, the sword light spiraled and missed its target, then suddenly changed its direction, locking onto Song Yu's figure again and thrusting fiercely.

Song Yu remained calm. Utilizing the astonishing agility of Luan Ying, he dodged again at the last possible moment, while simultaneously forming a hand seal with his left hand. The twelve flying needles that had been knocked away turned back and attacked Bai Haozhi.

"Junior Sister is going to win!" Meng Yao exclaimed excitedly. Previously, Bai Haozhi had only been able to defend against the flying needles with his longsword or the four lightsabers. Now, he had gone all in, unleashing both his longsword and lightsabers, but still failed. It seemed…

However, things did not go as she had hoped.

A layer of white sword energy suddenly rose from Bai Hao's right hand, condensing into a claw-shaped force that enveloped his palm, directly facing the oncoming green light needles.

With palm strikes and claw strikes, the flying needles lost their luster, were knocked away and stuck upside down on the table, temporarily out of control.

"Taibai Transformation Qi Hand!" Now it was Elder Feng's turn to exclaim in amazement. "Your esteemed disciple has mastered this unique skill at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared."

The Taibai Transformation Qi Hand generates pure sword energy from the palm, making it incomparably sharp and capable of breaking through almost anything in combat against opponents of the same level. However, its weaknesses are also very obvious: it has an extremely high skill ceiling and is limited to close-quarters combat.

Old Man Jiang was not pleased by the praise; instead, his expression turned grave. He had been forced to use all his trump cards simply by dealing with this Celestial Spirit Root from the Song family. The next match against the Lin disciple, whose intelligence was scarce and whose strength was difficult to fathom, would be even more troublesome.

Just as the Core Formation elders on the high platform were each lost in their own thoughts, the duel on the arena entered its final stage.

The spiraling sword light, having missed its target twice, suddenly disintegrated, and four beams of light surrounded and encircled Song Yu, trapping him firmly within the sword formation. The longsword suspended high in the air shone brightly with golden light, instantly transforming into a golden sword phantom several meters high, which slashed down upon him.

"Screech—!" The Cangyu Luan Ying stretched its neck and cried out defiantly!

A solid, almost tangible sound wave crashed head-on into the illusory image of the falling giant sword!

"Boom!" The heavy sword shadow trembled violently, the light and shadow fluctuated erratically, and the downward momentum stopped.

Everyone on the field held their breath, their eyes fixed intently. Would the sword shadow shatter first, or would the phoenix's cry run out of steam?

Having unleashed his ultimate move, Bai Haozhi was unwilling to delay any longer, his fingertips forming a hand seal. The phantom of the golden giant sword exploded on its own, unleashing countless sharp golden sword energies!

Faced with the storm of sword energy descending from the sky, Song Yu, trapped in the sword formation, could only raise a spiritual light shield, while her phoenix wings folded to protect her completely.

However, amidst the crisscrossing sword energy, the longsword suddenly shot through the air, piercing through two layers of shields in succession, and hovered motionless in front of Song Yu.

"Song Yu of the Luoyun Sect has been defeated!" The fake alchemy referee had already flashed behind Song Yu the instant the longsword fell, just in case, and announced it loudly.

At this announcement, the previously frozen square instantly erupted into noise. Countless disciples of the Ancient Sword Sect discussed the spectacular competition that had just taken place.

"We won! We finally won! I almost thought we were going to lose!"

"Is this really... a disciple of the Falling Cloud Sect?"

"We still have to fight Lin Jingchu. Do you think Uncle Bai will lose?"

"Impossible... Absolutely impossible."

All eyes on the field were fixed on the white-clad figure who, despite her defeat, remained composed, as she gracefully flew back to the Luoyun Sect's ranks.

"Senior sister, you've worked hard," Lin Jingchu said.

Song Yu smiled and said, "Next... it's up to you, Junior Brother."

The referee announced again: "Half an hour break."

"Next match—Bai Haozhi of the Ancient Sword Sect versus Lin Jingchu of the Falling Cloud Sect, both of you, please prepare!"