The Long Journey to Immortality

Li Haoqiong nodded slightly, clearly having already figured out how to show off his prowess in front of Han Lu.

While the two exchanged pleasantries and pleasantries, a few disciples in the audience who were unaware of Han Lu and Li Haoqiong's identities learned about them from others, and learned about their outstanding achievements in Dongshan Academy, Zhengyi Sect, and the Central Plains region.

While the disciples were discussing and speculating about how Han Lu and Li Haoqiong would fight on the arena and who would win, a disciple with a cultivation level of only the fourth level of Qi Refining was fiddling with a crystal-clear, fist-sized piece of crystal below the arena.

"Third brother, still playing with that broken rock."

"Second brother, don't keep saying 'break the stone, break the stone,' this is a rare treasure," the young cultivator called the third brother said, gripping the crystal in his hand tightly. "This is a new treasure made a few months ago by the most famous weapon-refining master in the Southern Dynasty. If he hadn't been acquainted with my father, he wouldn't have given it to me as a toy so casually."

"My fault, my fault," the cultivator called Second Brother apologized repeatedly. He nudged his companion with his elbow, then gestured in another direction and said, "Third Brother, quickly use this battle power stone to see who is stronger, Senior Brother Li or Senior Sister Han on the stage."

"Brother Wang has opened a betting platform; this is a perfect opportunity for us to make some money."

The third brother cautioned, "This stone isn't particularly accurate for measuring combat strength, and a duel isn't just about who has the higher combat strength. Even if you have a combat strength of 120, you still can't beat me, whose combat strength is only 97. Gambling with this thing is quite risky."

The second brother used this excuse to explain why, even though he was already at the fifth level of Qi Refining, he couldn't defeat the third brother, whose cultivation was inferior to his roommate's: "Isn't it because you have a lot of magical treasures in your storage bag...?"

The fact that this third brother could obtain interesting magical artifacts from a famous Qi Refining Master suggests that he is a second-generation immortal with considerable wealth.

The second brother, unwilling to dwell on this painful matter, urged, "Stop talking nonsense, third brother, take a look, the betting market is about to close."

"Alright, alright," the third brother said, activating his magical artifact and pointing the crystal at Li Haoqiong. "Senior Brother Li's combat power is 1,300 points..."

"I remember that Senior Brother Li was a cultivator in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. He has already achieved a combat power of 1,300 points in less than a year since he advanced to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. No wonder Senior Brother Li achieved such outstanding results in the last competition."

The second brother was a little confused. "Huh? I remember that the average combat power of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator is not two thousand points... Senior Brother Li hasn't even reached the average yet."

The third brother said helplessly, "Second brother, didn't I say before that this thing can measure more accurately and the data will be higher when a cultivator uses spiritual power?"

"Based on my experience, I estimate that Senior Brother Li would have around 2,300 combat power during the battle."

"Oh..." Second Brother asked again, "What about Senior Sister Han? I heard that Senior Sister Han advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage a year and a half ago, and then advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage half a year ago. I suppose her foundation is not stable, so her combat power should be lower than Senior Brother Li's."

Second Brother's deduction is reasonable and well-founded, consistent with the views of the vast majority of Zheng Yi Sect cultivators regarding Han Lu's sudden increase in cultivation.

In the eyes of the onlookers, Han Lu must have cultivated some incredible but self-harming secret technique in order to return to the Central Plains smoothly from the East Sea. This is why she was able to advance to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in less than a year, achieving what many early-Foundation Establishment cultivators could not accomplish in their entire lives.

Time was running out, and the third brother didn't dawdle. He quickly aimed the crystal at Han Lu again.

In just a moment, the crystal sent back digital feedback.

Upon seeing the numbers on the crystal, the third brother was so shocked that he almost dropped it.

He stammered, his mouth agape, "Wow, it's actually so high? Could the crystal be malfunctioning?"

Upon hearing this, the second brother was very curious, but unfortunately he couldn't understand the numbers composed of the unique characters on the crystal.

"What, Third Brother? Is Senior Sister Han's combat strength higher than Senior Brother Li's?"

"High...higher, much higher," the third brother stammered.

Time was of the essence, and the second brother didn't have time to ask exactly how much higher it was.

He quickly jogged a few steps, took out two spirit stones from his storage bag, and placed a bet with Brother Wang.

When they returned to their third brother's side, the second brother asked about Han Lu's combat strength again.

"Third brother, just how strong is Senior Sister Han? Tell me so I, your second brother, can have an idea."

Chapter 462 Beast Eyes Defeating the Enemy

As a new gadget developed by a renowned weapon-refining master in the Southern Dynasty, the young cultivator known as Lao San had only had it in his possession for seven days. His understanding of it was based solely on a few tests conducted by his friends and the weapon-refining master's introduction to the magic weapon.

According to this weapon-refining master's description, the combat power displayed in the combat power stone for a Qi Refining cultivator in a non-combat state is generally between one and three hundred.

The second and third brothers, who are only at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining, usually have a combat strength of only around forty.

A cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Refining can typically achieve a combat strength of around four hundred.

Only ordinary cultivators at the twelfth level of Qi Refining can gain the recognition of the Battle Power Stone and be given a score of around 500 in battle.

Although the threshold between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment is not high, the difference in strength between cultivators at the two levels is enormous.

Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator practicing the most mediocre techniques can be regarded by the Battle Power Stone as someone who can fight two Qi Refining Stage 12 cultivators, thanks to the abundant spiritual power in their dantian and dantian.

Some powerful early Foundation Establishment cultivators can even raise their daily combat power to over four digits. With the help of higher-level magic weapons and spells, they can easily take on ten Qi Refining cultivators.

For higher-level Golden Core cultivators, this low-level version of the combat power stone cannot currently measure their combat power.

But according to that weapon-refining master, even if a Golden Core cultivator only forms a ninth-grade Golden Core, their combat power is at least five or even six thousand.

As for cultivators like Han Lu and Li Haoqiong, who are in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, they are the highest-level cultivators that can be measured by the current version of the combat power stone.

Before this, the third brother had also used the battle power stone to examine the mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect, and found that their non-combat stats were mostly around 1,200.

This is why, when he used the Battle Power Stone to evaluate Li Haoqiong's combat strength, he felt that Li Haoqiong, who had only advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm for a year, was quite formidable.

However, Li Haoqiong's combat strength was still within the third brother's comprehension and did not exceed it by much. In fact, a few days ago, when the third brother was idly testing the combat strength stone on the other senior brothers, he encountered several Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivators who were three points stronger than Li Haoqiong.

However, when the Battle Power Stone was used to estimate Han Lu's data, the data obtained exceeded the Battle Power Stone's understanding of mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators, reaching another higher level.

"The test results show that Senior Sister Han has a combat power of 3,700!" The third brother touched the slightly hot combat power and quickly stopped inputting spiritual power. "It must be that there is a problem with this stone. It's a minor issue. Maybe I accidentally dropped it on the ground yesterday and damaged a rune."

The second brother didn't listen to the second half of what he said. He excitedly said, "Three thousand seventy thousand against one thousand threety thousand? Doesn't that mean I can just stand here and wait for the spirit stones to fall into my pocket?"

"Hey, third brother, why didn't you say so earlier? Otherwise, I would have definitely spent a few more spirit stones, and in a few days I could have gone to Fangshi to buy another low-grade, no, mid-grade magic item!"

The second brother didn't understand the significance of this number; he simply compared the numbers and believed he was guaranteed to win.

The conversation was completely misunderstood, and the third brother was too lazy to explain any further. He simply put away the stones and focused his attention on the arena.

He thought to himself, "Is Senior Sister Han really that powerful? She has a combat strength of 3,700 just by standing on the arena..."

"Wouldn't that mean that if a fight broke out, the combat power would be around six or even seven thousand? That's almost the same as the combat power of the weakest Golden Core senior."

"No, the power stone must be faulty."

One is a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator with combat power comparable to a Golden Core cultivator, and the other is a new magical artifact crafted by a certain unreliable weapon-refining master that has malfunctioned.

Of the two events, the former is naturally more unbelievable, while the latter seems more like the truth of the matter.

However, as the battle on the stage intensified, the third brother increasingly felt that what seemed unbelievable was the truth.

The moment the light sphere released by Han Lu went out, the two people on the stage immediately took action.

Different attitudes towards this sparring match led Li Haoqiong, who took it more seriously, to be the one to strike first.

With his hands forming hand seals and his mouth chanting incantations, a thick fog enveloped the arena, and Li Haoqiong's body gradually became transparent, completely blending into the environment created by magic.

Although he was the eldest disciple of Piaomiaozi, Piaomiaozi had only become wealthy in the last year or two, and Li Haoqiong had not received many powerful magic treasures from his master.

Naturally, when fighting, he prefers to rely on the spiritual power within his body and use magic to fight.

The move he is using now is his "starting move" against Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same realm.

Conceal yourself first, then seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack; this flexible and adaptable approach has proven effective time and again.

Unfortunately, Han Lu, who was now fighting him, was not an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. She knew similar moves and immediately thought of ways to pull Li Haoqiong out of the thick fog after he used this move.

There are many ways to solve the problem. After a moment's thought, Han Lu decided to use a method that was least like what a Foundation Establishment cultivator would use.

The beast eye, which she had used no less than ten times since acquiring it, was taken out by Han Lu at this moment. She was certain that as long as she opened her divine sense, she could detect Li Haoqiong's exact location on the arena.

As Han Lu had expected, while Li Haoqiong's techniques were "resistant" to secret arts like the Spirit Eye, they were completely ineffective against the other level of divine sense, which was generally only usable by Golden Core cultivators.

With her divine sense activated, Han Lu easily spotted Li Haoqiong hiding in a corner of the arena, silently accumulating spiritual power in preparation for unleashing a powerful spell.

Once the person was found, everything became much easier.

Han Lu didn't use any fancy tricks; she simply conjured a bolt of lightning and struck it in the direction of Li Haoqiong.

Although the lightning was summoned casually, Han Lu's lightning technique was comparable to the power of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator who deliberately chanted incantations to summon lightning.

A bolt of lightning, as thick as a bowl, shot towards Li Haoqiong's location with a deafening roar.

The flashes of lightning illuminated the dim, foggy area, making it seem as if a path had been swiftly carved out of the wilderness as we moved forward.

When Li Haoqiong heard the thunder, he assumed it was just lightning released by Han Lu at random, and that his opponent was unaware of his location.

But soon, in the next instant, he was terrified when he realized that lightning was rushing towards him.

"Hide? No, Junior Sister Han must already know my location. I have no choice but to fight!"

Thinking of this, Li Haoqiong quickly summoned the defensive magic item from his storage bag.

A magical artifact resembling a fishing net appeared in front of Li Haoqiong, protecting him.

The lightning struck the fishing net head-on in the next instant, and the intense electric current turned the originally grayish-white net into a charcoal color.

In the rush, only 70% of the lightning was blocked by the fishing net; the remaining lightning multiplied and struck Li Haoqiong.

The light from the lightning dissipated, and the mist vanished as well. Li Haoqiong, who had been struck by lightning, was covered in a fishing net and looked disheveled.

Affected by the electric current, Li Haoqiong's muscles twitched slightly, and he couldn't control his facial expression, with the corners of his mouth involuntarily turning up.

If it weren't for the fact that Li Haoqiong usually practices some external martial arts techniques to strengthen his physique...

Otherwise, with just this one move, he would have been defeated.

Chapter 463 Clash of Spirit Swords

Right from the start, Han Lu effortlessly unleashed her lightning technique, striking Li Haoqiong, who was hidden in the thick fog. This scene drew gasps of admiration from the Zhengyi Sect cultivators watching from below the stage.

"This is Senior Brother Li's signature move, but I didn't expect it to be so easy for Senior Sister Han to see through it so quickly."

"In the last competition, it is said that Senior Brother Li relied on this move to win several matches in a row. Many well-known cultivators in the sect were helpless against this move."

"How did Senior Sister Han find Senior Brother Li's location?"

"I think it was that strange little ball in Senior Sister Han's hand that had the effect."

……

There was much discussion, and many Qi Refining cultivators with some experience were able to discern some of the underlying principles.

Han Lu only used lightning magic and a magic weapon; she did not use any special techniques.

Even so, in the eyes of the onlookers, Han Lu's image was elevated by a few points simply because of this one round.

Several cultivators who had bet on Li Haoqiong's victory were trembling with fear, muttering prayers that Li Haoqiong would learn from his mistakes and be motivated to fight back, and that he wouldn't be knocked down and surrender because of this "mere" lightning strike.

It was just a friendly spar, so Han Lu didn't press her advantage. Instead, she stood still, holding the beast's eye, patiently waiting for Li Haoqiong, whose hairstyle had changed and whose face was now charcoal-colored, to get up from the ground.

Li Haoqiong was only considered above average among cultivators of the same realm in the sect, and he had been beaten quite a few times in competitions, both large and small.