Chapter 618

Gazing at the bronze tripod in the center of the hall and the blue smoke of sandalwood, the disciples inside, though daring not to make noise, could not help exchanging glances, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Brother Han, are you participating?" As the sandalwood had burned nearly halfway, Yin Yue, seeing Han Li's utterly expressionless face, finally couldn't help asking silently.

"Participate? Why not? Every other disciple looks eager. If I don't join, I'll draw even more attention." Han Li replied coolly with his spiritual sense.

Hearing this, Yin Yue fell silent.

After a while, the sandalwood in the bronze tripod burned out completely, and the middle-aged man, who had been closing his eyes to rest, opened them.

"Disciples who do not meet the criteria or who do not wish to compete may now leave the Xixin Hall."

"Yes, Grandmaster!"

Most disciples bowed deeply and slowly exited the hall.

Inside the hall, besides the Foundation Establishment cultivators, only about thirty to forty young disciples remained, including Han Li and the giant.

The middle-aged cultivator glanced at Han Li and the others, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Almost all disciples who meet the criteria have stayed. I am pleased. Even if you do not make the cut this time, attending this internal selection will broaden your horizons and let you spar with fellow disciples from other peaks—greatly beneficial to your future cultivation. Now, your senior brother will explain the rules of the competition. Myself and your Master Yu have urgent matters and must leave first."

With that, the Xin-cultivator rose and walked toward the back hall. The gray-robed elder followed silently behind him.

"Cough! Since the Peak Master has entrusted this matter to me, I hope all junior disciples listen carefully. This competition is among fellow disciples, and certain taboos must be avoided." The sickly-looking young man named Miao stepped forward, coughing lightly, and spoke calmly to Han Li and the others.

"First, any technique or magic treasure that is excessively cruel or instantly lethal is forbidden in competition. Violators will be expelled from the sect at best, or stripped of their spiritual power at worst. Also..."

…

Fifteen minutes later, Han Li and the other disciples remaining in the hall exited the hall again, then flew off, each face glowing with excitement.

Han Li watched the retreating figures of the others, shook his head, and then flew away from Tianquan Peak himself.

He returned to his cave dwelling without incident and immediately began preparing for next month's internal competition.

Since he needed to make it into the top twenty-four slots without revealing his true strength, he would have to rely on talismans and a few magic treasures he hadn't used in years.

Top-grade magic treasures were out of the question—Han Li had already seized over a dozen from Golden Core cultivators he had killed.

But to avoid drawing attention, he could only carefully select a few.

He did not intend to use all his magic treasures in the internal competition; instead, he began crafting large quantities of low- and mid-grade talismans, planning to crush his low-level opponents with them alone.

Yet even this would not be enough. Han Li deliberately revisited the "Nong Yan Jue" he had obtained years ago from the old Daoist of the Xing Wang Fu in Yue State. Though useless to high-level cultivators, this technique was perfectly suited to disguise his power against Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples.

In truth, Han Li had possessed the Nong Yan Jue for many years. He had skimmed through it back then and gained considerable insight.

But now, with his late Golden Core cultivation base, the technique was trivial. Within just a few days, he had fully mastered the art of manipulating flames—even surpassing the original text's descriptions in subtle nuances.

In the days that followed, Han Li devoted himself entirely to crafting various talismans.

During this time, his gold-and-silver-colored Shi Jin Chong finally began devouring each other.

Han Li glanced at them briefly and was overjoyed.

He believed that these Shi Jin Chong, even if not yet fully evolved, were surely close to the legendary stage of devouring all things.

The Tihun Beast next door, however, gave him considerable trouble—it still slept soundly in the spirit beast chamber, showing no sign of waking.

Fortunately, through the Ming Hun Pearl inside his body, he knew the beast was unharmed; otherwise, he would have been truly worried.

After all, this ferocious beast's evolution had taken far too long.

…

One month later, beneath the main peak of Luoyun Sect, the area became unusually lively.

Numerous cultivators gathered toward this peak; many were not competitors, yet thousands had come merely to watch.

Almost every cultivator without official duties came to observe the competition.

After all, even without participating, watching other cultivators duel and exchange techniques was a great way to broaden one's knowledge and gain valuable insight.

The competition grounds for the Sword Trial were set on a vast open area beneath the peak.

Three arrays, each over a hundred zhang wide, had been erected, their semi-circular energy shields rising to protect spectators from stray attacks.

Three high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators served as judges, to prevent competitors from losing control and causing fatalities.

The selection competition had now reached its third day; many disciples had already been defeated in the first two days.

To be fair, Tianquan Peak's thirty or so participants were not many. Huoyun Peak had the most—over a hundred disciples entered. Compared to that, Tianquan Peak seemed insignificant.

Yet altogether, over four or five hundred disciples were competing. Even with three grounds running simultaneously, a full round would take several days.

Among them, Foundation Establishment cultivators were rare—only three or four. They did not compete in the early rounds; instead, they waited until the final round to face the victorious Qi Refining disciples, and whoever won would be selected.

After all, even if not among the seven directly selected, anyone who achieved Foundation Establishment before thirty was naturally an exceptional talent.

At this moment, Han Li stood quietly among several Tianquan Peak competitors, watching a match between a Tianquan Peak disciple and a Bai Bai Fengfeng disciple.

Bai Bai Fengfeng was a somewhat unique peak among the Six Qiao Peaks. Both its peak masters were female Golden Core cultivators, and most of its disciples were women. Yet precisely because of this, its ranks had always been thin; this time, only a dozen or so young female disciples had come to compete.

The Tianquan Peak disciple now facing the Bai Bai Fengfeng woman was a Yuan disciple who looked mature but was actually around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Though an external affairs disciple, he came from a powerful cultivator family in Xi State. His upper-grade magic treasure, the "Bai Jin Ge," was quite potent, forcing the young woman—still somewhat attractive—into steady retreat, victory seeming imminent.

The Tianquan Peak disciples standing beside Han Li clearly knew this man well and chattered excitedly among themselves.

But just as the Yuan disciple transformed the Bai Jin Ge into a white rainbow and slashed down fiercely, the woman raised her eyebrows, flicked her hand, and released a ball of green light that halted the rainbow's descent. Then, with a flick of her body, she vanished from her original spot.

Seeing this, the Yuan disciple's face turned pale. He quickly formed hand seals, trying to cast a detection spell to force her out. Suddenly, a cloud of red mist erupted behind him and engulfed him entirely.

"Plop!" The Tianquan Peak disciple collapsed face-down.

"Winner: Jin Rong of Bai Bai Fengfeng," announced a tall, gaunt cultivator hovering above the arena.

Upon hearing this, Jin Rong respectfully bowed to the sky, then took a small vial from her storage pouch and gently waved it beneath the unconscious Yuan disciple's nose.

The Yuan disciple slowly regained consciousness.

Once he realized what had happened, he blushed furiously and walked out of the arena. Jin Rong, with a hint of pride, also flew out of the array, immediately surrounded by a group of chattering female disciples. Their laughter drew the attention of nearby male cultivators.

"Next match: Han Li of Tianquan Peak versus Xun Tong of Huoyun Peak," intoned the gaunt cultivator, his voice quiet but clear to all nearby.

Hearing this, Han Li smiled, stepped out from the crowd, and walked calmly into the array.

Soon after he entered, a handsome young man in white robes approached from the side. As soon as he stepped onto the field, a stir rippled through the watching cultivators.

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