Please be my partner.

Since entering the Golden Jade Immortal Sect, although Mellen has always kept a low profile and cultivated in seclusion, the reputation of being an outsider and possessing an immortal foundation is too great, and those who are truly well-informed have naturally already learned about it.

Furthermore, Mellen demonstrated overwhelming strength against everyone in this inner circle competition, so even though the other two semi-finalists have absolute confidence in themselves, they do not believe they are guaranteed to win.

In this situation, the best way to at least get into the top three is to defeat your opponent and advance to the final. That way, even if you lose to Mellen in the final, you can still get second place without having to fight Yu Junhui again while injured.

Some people may feel that such continuous high-intensity battles are unfair to certain individuals.

However, for cultivators, luck, or fortune, is also an important criterion for measuring whether they can reach the pinnacle!

The final two semi-finalists treated this battle as a true life-or-death struggle, showing absolutely no hesitation or holding back.

One person used metal-based supernatural powers to create forty-nine flying swords, which moved swiftly and decisively, cutting down everything in their path.

The other person used fire-based magical abilities, combined with a feather fan magic weapon, each time he fanned it, a raging sea of ​​fire erupted.

Both of them had reached a level of mastery through practice, and could unleash their supernatural abilities at will, displaying a myriad of variations.

Although fire-type divine abilities have a subtle advantage over metal-type divine abilities, the latter was clearly well-prepared, having refined the golden flying sword to an extremely pure level, and was completely unafraid of the elemental counteraction.

After a fierce battle, the one who used the metal-based supernatural power ultimately gained a slight advantage and won.

The battle between the two not only thrilled the younger generation, but also put many powerful immortals into deep thought, because their supernatural powers and their grasp of combat were enough to allow them to briefly hold their own against ordinary immortals.

Next, facing an opponent who is exhausted, Yu Jun will easily achieve victory.

In the final match, Mellen and Chung Jae-ting stood facing each other.

Looking at Zhong Zaiting, whose face was pale, Mellen said softly, "Senior Brother Zhong."

Zhong Zaiting smiled slightly and said, "Junior Brother Mellen, since I have no hope of continuing to challenge the Ten Heroes, let me see your true strength."

"One move decides the outcome!"

"Boom!~"

A burst of golden light flashed across the sky, transforming into forty-nine flying swords. The swords converged and eventually formed a giant sword, which slashed towards Mellen with the force to split mountains and cleave seas.

Mellen watched calmly, waiting until the aura emanating from the golden greatsword brushed against his hair...

"Buzz!~"

An invisible force spread out, freezing the space.

The next moment, the golden greatsword shattered into pieces.

In the dappled golden light, Zhong Zaiting gave a bitter smile and said, "I lost."

Mellen nodded slightly and said, "Senior brother, you flatter me."

"Wow!"

Loud cheers erupted from the sidelines as people celebrated the birth of the winner of the inner gate competition.

Of course, this celebration is destined to be short-lived, because even more exciting projects are coming soon.

The top three in the inner sect competition are qualified to challenge the sect's top ten disciples!

The Ten Outstanding Disciples of the Golden Jade Immortal Sect are truly at the pinnacle of all inner disciples, enjoying a precipitous lead in privileges and resources.

However, there is only one chance every five years to challenge the sect's top ten talents, and only three spots are available each time. Furthermore, one must overcome numerous obstacles.

It can be said that being able to complete the challenge and become one of the top ten disciples of the new generation of sects under such extremely unequal conditions is definitely a superior achievement in terms of talent, temperament, perseverance, and so on.

Under this system, the prestige of the top ten disciples of a sect will only increase.

Only in this way can the ten outstanding disciples of the sect be worthy of such generous treatment.

In previous inner sect competitions, there were almost always disciples who would challenge the sect's top ten disciples, but so far, the sect's top ten disciples have not changed for twenty years.

In fact, besides the challenge of the inner sect competition, there are two other ways to change the top ten disciples of a sect...

One option is that ten outstanding disciples meet the requirements and are promoted to true disciples; the other option is that ten outstanding disciples are promoted to immortals.

The former has achieved the fundamental goal of becoming one of the ten outstanding disciples of the sect and is preparing to enter the next stage, striving to become a true immortal; while the latter has undoubtedly abandoned the path of true immortality and chosen to become an ordinary immortal trapped in a 'prison'.

Regardless of the method, when a sect's top ten disciples become vacant, no one else will be directly appointed to fill the vacancy. Instead, they will still need to complete the inner sect competition to be promoted to the next position, which is the same as the way true disciples are established.

After all, whether the Golden Jade Immortal Sect sets up ten outstanding disciples or nine true disciples, its purpose is only one: to cultivate true immortals!

To Dao Lords and Dao Venerables, immortals are nothing more than cannon fodder and henchmen. Only by becoming a True Immortal can one be considered to have the most basic qualifications to grow to their level.

In this day and age, the top ten talents of a sect are all present, but often, the top ten talents of a sect are less than half.

As the cheers subsided, Jun Tianqi slowly appeared. He looked at Mellen, Yu Junhui, and Zhong Zaiting with a smile on his lips and sighed, "Although this is not the first time I have hosted the Inner Sect Competition, I still feel emotional every time I see the top three."

"Little ones, keep going, keep striving, keep fighting! When you are fortunate enough to become true immortals one day in the future, you will find that everything you have done now was worth it!"

"Because, true immortals are truly different!!"

"Alright, now tell me, do you want to challenge the sect's top ten heroes?"

Yu Junhui stepped forward first and said firmly, "That's exactly why I came!"

Zhong Zaiting glanced at Yu Junhui with some envy, then gave a wry smile. He had naturally prepared a lot for today. If he and Yu Junhui had switched places in the previous competition, he would have chosen to concede without hesitation and compete for third place. But unfortunately, there are no "ifs". His luck was just a bit bad.

Zhong Zaiting said helplessly, "I give up."

Finally, all eyes were on Mellen, who smiled slightly and gave the obvious answer: "I want to take on the challenge!"

Jun Tianqi was not surprised by the three people's choice. He nodded and said, "Okay!" Then he looked at Yu Junhui and said, "Then let's start with you."

Yu Junhui took a deep breath, looked at the ten outstanding disciples of the sect who had been watching everything from a high position throughout the entire inner sect competition, and said, "Senior Brother Lian, come and fight!"

Lian Wenren's lips curled into a slight smile, and a dark spiritual light slowly dissipated, instantly turning the sky into a cloud of dark clouds, as if some kind of world-destroying demon was about to descend.

"You've got guts, Junior Brother Yu! You actually dare to challenge me?!"

Lian Wenren descended slowly, like a deity walking towards the mortal realm. The dark clouds in the sky grew even thicker, and in the occasional flashes of lightning, a terrifying, shadowy figure could be vaguely seen.

This is precisely the supernatural power that Lian Wenren cultivated... [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path], which requires the gathering of the ultimate seven emotions and six desires, as well as various demonic thoughts, during cultivation.

As long as one can maintain self-control at all times, the cultivation speed of the [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path] is definitely among the best of all supernatural abilities, and it also consumes relatively few resources.

Furthermore, as a supreme divine power, the [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path] is not limited to this. If one can cultivate it to the pinnacle, one can generate another supreme divine power on this basis... [Great Freedom Light God], which is equivalent to two divine powers, but only occupies the immortal seed position of one divine power.

Unfortunately, advancing the [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path] to its pinnacle is extremely difficult. Maintaining one's self-control is only the most basic requirement; one must also 'possess without indulging, engage without becoming addicted,' actively embrace darkness, accept darkness, and throw oneself into darkness. Only in this way can one successfully cultivate it.

As Lian Wenren left the arena, the other members of the Ten Heroes all wore expressions of anticipation, with Zheng Jiayun even jokingly asking, "How long do you think Junior Brother Lian can last?"

Zhuo Gu calmly said, "Lian Wenren was born with a 'pure spiritual heart,' which allows him to constantly observe his own mind, remove impurities, and cleanse the dust. He is indeed suitable for cultivating the [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path]. However, the 'pure spiritual heart' is not omnipotent. If desires and demonic thoughts accumulate to an excess, they will forcibly distort it. If he cannot advance the [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path] to its peak and generate the intent of light within ten years, I'm afraid his fate will not be good."

Cheng Yuanshan, ranked fifth, glanced at Zhuo Gu and sneered, "On the contrary, if Senior Brother Lian can cultivate the [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path] and generate the [Great Freedom Light God], then he only needs to find enough spiritual treasures to have a high probability of reshaping his immortal foundation and taking a crucial step. He may even become a True Immortal in the future!"

Zhuo Gu did not refute it, because it was indeed true, but how easy was it to achieve all of this?!

Zheng Jiayun said with a smile, "Speaking of which, with Junior Brother Yu's talent, it seems that he was confident of challenging our Ten Outstanding Individuals in the last Inner Sect Competition, but for the sake of Junior Brother Zhuo, he dragged it out for five years. So, is Junior Brother Zhuo confident this time?"

According to the rules of the sect's top ten heroes, if Yu Junhui defeats Lian Wenren, he will directly inherit the latter's sixth place, while Lian Wenren will be demoted to seventh place, and so on. Zhuo Guhui, who was originally ranked tenth, will be kicked out of the top ten.

However, there is another rule for the Ten Outstanding Disciples of the Sect, which is their internal ranking. During each sect competition, it is both a time for other inner disciples to challenge them and a time for them to challenge each other and re-determine their ranking.

It should be noted that among the top ten, there are differences in their abilities, and their treatment varies according to their ranking.

As long as Zhuo Gu defeats the person ranked ahead of him in this challenge, he will not be eliminated.

During the last Inner Sect Competition, Yu Junhui was indeed confident in challenging the latter-ranked among the Ten Outstanding Individuals, but Zhuo Gu, who was ranked tenth, was not confident in advancing further. In other words, if Yu Junhui succeeded in his challenge, Zhuo Gu would inevitably be squeezed out of the Ten Outstanding Individuals.

So Zhuo Gu approached Yu Junhui, hoping he would give up the challenge.

Normally, even if both sides belong to the same extraterritorial camp, Yu Junhui would not give up such huge benefits just to benefit others.

However, Zhuogu presented sufficient reasons and benefits.

At that time, Zhuo Gu was cultivating a certain supernatural power at a critical moment. He could not interrupt a special resource exclusive to the Ten Heroes. If he could successfully cultivate it, Zhuo Gu would greatly improve his strength and would be expected to advance one or two places among the Ten Heroes.

Furthermore, Zhuo Gu also allocated most of the privileges and resources that had been exclusively reserved for the Ten Outstanding Disciples over the past five years to Yu Junhui.

With these two points in mind, Yu Junhui finally agreed to this win-win-win deal.

Yu Junhui obtained resources from the Ten Heroes; Zhuo Gu cultivated supernatural powers and greatly improved his strength, and is expected to retain his position among the Ten Heroes; the influence of the extraterrestrial faction among the Ten Heroes was enhanced; and the influence of the local faction among the Ten Heroes was weakened.

The only thing that troubled Zhuo Gu was the sudden appearance of Mellen, which meant that he needed to defeat at least the eighth-ranked player to be absolutely certain of retaining his place among the top ten.

"Boom!~"

The rolling demonic clouds in the sky gathered and condensed, transforming into the Heavenly Demon Lord, wielding colorful lightning, terrifying beyond compare, his power even rivaling that of ordinary immortals.

As for Yu Junhui, his ability to become the leader of the outer region camp, apart from the Ten Heroes, is naturally due to his special qualities. In addition, he has obtained the resources of the Ten Heroes over the past five years, making his strength even more unfathomable.

He then softly proclaimed, "Heavenly Net and Spiritual Connection, Myriad Thoughts Unified!"

Clusters of spiritual light exploded, transforming into countless serpents. These serpents seemed to possess their own lives, moving flexibly, changing at will, and gathering and dispersing unpredictably. They could often neutralize and defeat the Heavenly Demon Lord's attacks with minimal cost.

One becomes myriad, and myriad return to one.

Each snake is like a different supernatural power or secret technique, constantly changing and combining, making it impossible for anyone to understand.

Despite the formidable power of the Heavenly Demon Lord, as time went on, Yu Junhui's supernatural serpent continuously defeated the former's attacks, accumulating advantages bit by bit and gradually turning them into a victorious force.

When the first serpent broke through the Heavenly Demon Lord's defenses and entered his body to begin tearing and destroying him, everyone understood that even Wen Ren had been defeated.

At this moment, Lian Wenren suddenly entered a strange state. His expression was a mixture of crying and laughing, and his eyes gradually turned black, releasing a hint of madness.

When the Heavenly Demon Lord was completely defeated, Lian Wenren suddenly screamed loudly, his breathing became disordered, and he gesticulated wildly, appearing like a madman.

Countless spectators were in an uproar. They never expected that one of the ten outstanding disciples of the prestigious Golden Jade Immortal Sect would go insane simply because of a defeat in a battle.

However, the truly discerning experts thought differently. They looked at the mad Lian Wenren with some doubt and surprise. Even Jun Tianqi, after showing a hint of surprise, nodded approvingly.

At this moment, the Tenth Hero, who had been concentrating with his eyes closed since the beginning of the Inner Sect Competition, seemingly out of place with his surroundings, slowly opened his eyes, looked at Lian Wenren, and said softly, "Break... and then establish!"

Upon hearing this, all ten other heroes turned their heads in surprise.

Chapter 614 Battle of the Prodigies

"Destruction before construction?!"

After the first person's reminder, the other ten heroes also figured out the trick.

Zheng Jiayun put away her playful expression and said solemnly, "What a Lian Wenren! What demonic powers, what an evil nature, what a ruthless heart."

Cheng Yuanshan sighed, "Senior Brother Lian, why do this to yourself!"

Zhuo Gu also became serious and said, "Although he is an opponent, I admire him a little. He made the most 'correct' choice."

"Is that correct...?" Zheng Jiayun's solemn expression slowly disappeared, and she returned to her languid state, saying, "In that case, it is indeed 'correct'."

"The [Extreme Desire Dark Heavenly Demon Path] has many advantages, but its disadvantages are equally obvious. Even if Wen Ren has the relevant talent to suppress the negative effects of the supernatural power, he still needs a lot of external means to assist him."

"This time, Junior Brother Lian was defeated by Junior Brother Yu, which will inevitably cause him mental distress. If it were anyone else, it wouldn't be so bad, as they could recover to about 70-80% in a short time. But Junior Brother Lian is different. His mental distress will cause a sharp decline in the power of his supernatural abilities, resulting in a significant drop in strength for a period of time. And then..."

At this point, Zheng Jiayun glanced at Zhuo Gu and said with a half-smile, "Next, you will likely face a series of challenges. You will definitely lose your position among the top ten. Without the position of the top ten, you will lack some of the most crucial cultivation resources. At that time, even Junior Brother will not be able to last for ten years, let alone the next inner sect competition. He will be devoured by the desires and demonic thoughts in his supernatural powers."

"That would truly mean certain death."

Cheng Yuanshan rallied his spirits and said, "That's why Senior Brother Lian chose to put himself in a life-or-death situation, taking advantage of the opportunity to defeat Yu Junhui, and taking the opportunity to detonate the desires and demonic thoughts within his body, fundamentally shattering his own mind, and even destroying his talent 'Pure Spirit Heart', causing his thoughts and will to completely fall into madness."

"But if one day, even Senior Brother Lian can restore order to the land and rebuild his soul, he will surely gain a more profound foundation, and in the future, he will truly have hope of becoming a true immortal!"

Zhuo Gu sighed softly. He had fought Lian Wenren for over a decade, but at this moment, he had no desire for gloating. Instead, a sense of sorrow filled his heart as he said, "How easy is that?! How easy is that?! A shattered heart, a mind driven mad—even if a wisp of one's true self remains, how can one possibly rebuild the soul from that..."

At this moment, Qi Dianwu, who was in second place, suddenly said, "It's not necessarily true that the hope is so slim."

Cheng Yuanshan's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "What do you mean?"

Qi Dianwu said calmly, "Although Junior Brother Lian is destined to withdraw from the Ten Heroes this time, his ruthless and decisive approach has undoubtedly driven him to the brink of despair. As the saying goes, 'No madness, no life.' If Junior Brother Lian can truly complete his mental reconstruction, then his hope of stepping into the True Immortal realm will surpass that of all of us except for Senior Brother Long."

"Under these circumstances, the sect's higher-ups will certainly not abandon Junior Brother Lian. Instead, they will invest special rare treasures. Think about the resources we usually receive. As long as we demonstrate talent and show the hope of becoming a True Immortal, the sect has never been stingy with its resources."

Cheng Yuanshan's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he said, "That's right! That's right!! That's exactly it!! Senior Brother Lian must have foreseen this, which is why he made this choice!"

As they had guessed, even when Wenren realized that victory was impossible, he immediately foresaw the various developments that would follow and made the choice that was most advantageous to himself.

Just before his heart was about to shatter completely, Lian Wenren's gaze towards Yu Junhui lost its fierceness, replaced by calmness and composure, as if to say... You won this time, but when I return, it will be time for us to fight again!

The next moment, even Wen Ren's eyes were completely consumed by madness. His supernatural powers, comparable to those of an immortal, vanished without a trace. He became like a madman with a blank expression, then cried out in pain, unable to even control his urination and defecation.

Yu Jun will unleash a colorful radiance to shield Lian Wenren, so as to prevent this former top ten hero from embarrassing himself in front of everyone.

Jun Tianqi appeared, took Lian Wenren into his sleeve, and then announced: "Yu Jun will win! Lian Wenren will withdraw from the Ten Heroes position due to problems in his cultivation, so the subsequent rankings do not need to be postponed and will remain as they are."

"So, what's next..."

Jun Tianqi gestured for Yu Jun to go back and rest, then looked at Mellen and asked, "Mellen, who are you going to challenge?"

Mellen arrived at the challenge arena and his gaze swept over the ten outstanding individuals high above him. In his view, even though these ten outstanding individuals did not participate in the inner sect competition, the 'momentum' they possessed far exceeded that of him, the champion of the competition. In particular, the 'momentum' they gained increased as their ranking rose.