Chapter 82: Overcoming Levels! Sword Attendant Ye Chen!

The first battle lasted less than ten minutes.

Now, on the thousand-square-meter arena, only five people stood.

All of them had defeated more than ten opponents.

Among them was Ye Chen, his long sword at his side.

“Big Brother Chen, you’re amazing!” Li Feng excitedly told those around him. “See? I told you—he won!”

The audience had clearly seen Ye Chen’s performance.

Anyone who made it to the end was undoubtedly among the top performers of this round.

Ye Chen’s Xuanbing Sword Art was devastating—each strike lethal. In the first round, he defeated twelve opponents and held his ground until the final.

“This Ye Chen is truly strong—among the nine major Dao Academies, he’s exceptional.”

“Incredible! Is this what an Jianshi is? He’s only Qi Refining 7, yet just killed someone at Qi Refining 8?”

“Sword cultivators really are the deadliest profession. He’s not even a true sword cultivator, yet he’s already overcoming a higher realm!”

“…”

Many spectators had witnessed firsthand just how terrifying a sword cultivator’s killing power could be, and they now acknowledged Ye Chen’s strength.

Hearing the praise, Li Feng beamed with pride and deliberately glanced toward Zhu Hongyuan’s table, saying:

“Big Brother Chen came from humble origins, yet rose against all odds. All those so-called Immortal Second Generations? He crushed them underfoot—and now he’s the Qingshanzong ’s most anticipated Immortal Seed!”

Lao Hu and the others, who had tolerated him until now, suddenly grew annoyed.

Sanzi slammed his fist on the table and stood up, pointing at him:

“Li Feng, what are you implying? What does Ye Chen’s strength have to do with you?”

Lao Hu also snorted coldly:

“Exactly! When did Ye Chen become Qingshanzong ’s most anticipated Immortal Seed? Isn’t it Chu Wange and Lin Mo?”

Their voices were loud enough that nearby freshmen from other Dao Academies turned to look curiously.

The “Southern Mountain Immortal Couple” had topped the trending charts in Qinzhou multiple times.

While saying Chu Wange and Lin Mo were known throughout Qinzhou was an exaggeration, among the nine levels of newcomers at Wudao Cliff, they were unquestionably famous.

Everyone now knew that Southern Mountain No. 4 High in Xichuan had produced a pair of “immortal lovers”—they both cracked the Top Ten of the Immortal List and entered Qingshanzong together.

Li Feng, upon hearing this, sneered:

“Chu Wange I’ll let slide, but Lin Mo? That gold-digger? How dare you call him a top prodigy?!”

The crowd erupted in shock.

The students of the nine Dao Academies naturally held a higher status than ordinary newcomers, and Lin Mo was among the Top Ten of the Immortal List—undoubtedly one of the elite prodigies among the freshmen.

Now someone dared openly slander him—didn’t he fear karmic retribution?

All eyes turned to Li Feng, wondering why he had such audacity.

At that moment, Zhu Hongyuan, who had remained silent until now, frowned and said: “Li Feng, if you don’t know, don’t speak.”

“I studied with Lin Mo for three years. Do you think I don’t know?”

Li Feng scoffed, ignoring the warning, and continued:

"He’s nothing but a five-element mixed spiritual root! If he hadn’t clung to Chu Wange’s leg, he wouldn’t have made the Top Ten of the Immortal List—even the qualification to take the Heavenly Dao Immortal Exam would’ve been out of reach!"

The audience was stunned.

“Five-element mixed spiritual root? Are you serious?”

“What nonsense! My own talent is better than that!”

“This guy’s lost his mind—how could the Top Ten of the Immortal List be a five-element mixed spiritual root?”

“Don’t exaggerate, bro. If Lin Mo hears this, you’d better watch yourself—he’s Qingshanzong ’s Immortal Seed!”

“…”

Hearing the warnings around him, Li Feng only sneered louder and declared:

“I’m not wasting words with you. You have no idea how strong Big Brother Chen is! I’ll tell you this: in three years at Southern Mountain High, Lin Mo never beat him once.”

As he spoke, he gazed at Ye Chen in the Mirror of Flowers and Moon, his eyes filled with reverence:

“And Big Brother Chen has already told me—he’ll challenge Lin Mo in the second stage. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see!”

Seeing his certainty, those who had just argued with him now looked hesitant.

Could it be true?

Everyone murmured inwardly, momentarily silenced by Li Feng’s boldness.

Soon, someone began scrolling through news on their Spirit Device.

“Holy shit, this Lin Mo guy is ridiculously handsome!”

With this exclamation, everyone’s attention shifted.

“Let me see… wow! He’s actually pretty good-looking—not far off from me!”

“Hah! Bro, don’t brag. If you had half his looks, you wouldn’t still be on Level Six.”

“Hahaha, true! If you had confidence, go find yourself an Immortal List Top Graduate.”

“You don’t get it—I make it on talent, not looks.”

“…”

As the crowd buzzed, the topic quickly shifted from “Is Lin Mo a gold-digger?” to “How did he land that gold-digging gig?” and “One hundred and eight ways to be a gold-digger…”

Zhu Hongyuan frowned slightly, unsure how to defend Lin Mo.

To be honest, neither he nor Lao Hu and the others knew Lin Mo well.

And as Li Feng said, a month before the Immortal Exam, none of them had ever heard of such a prodigy from Southern Mountain.

Lin Mo only surfaced because of rumors linking him to Chu Wange.

Then came the news: Lin Mo took the Heavenly Dao Immortal Exam—and ranked in the Top Ten.

Everything happened too suddenly. Even Lin Mo’s homeroom teacher, Old Li, likely had no idea how it happened.

Could Li Feng really know some secret they didn’t?

Zhu Hongyuan sighed. Either way, this wasn’t something he could control.

“First round concluded. Successful qualifiers: Tang Lei, Ye Chen, Qi Tianlei, Li Yuankai, You Mengfei!”

With the host’s announcement, the first battle ended.

The qualifiers took seats on the sidelines, becoming spectators for now.

“Next, please welcome the competitors for Round Two!”

The Mirror of Flowers and Moon flickered with new runes; fresh competitors appeared on the arena, beginning the next round of battle…

…

…

In the bamboo courtyard of Level Nine of Wudao Terrace, the Mirror of Flowers and Moon was mounted on the wall.

The team leaders of the nine Dao Academies had gathered in the courtyard, watching the newcomer competition with keen interest.

After announcing the start of the second round, Li Shixiong of the Ghost Sect, one hand pressed to his throat and the other holding a talisman, withdrew his spiritual sense from the fleeting space.

He looked at the scene on the Mirror of Flowers and Moon and smiled at He Shixiong beside him:

“He Shixiong, you’ve picked a fine seed. Ye Chen, at Qi Refining 7, fought his way out of a hundred competitors—remarkable!”

He Shixiong smiled modestly:

“Ye Chen is decent enough. His talent is average, but his fortune compensates for that. He’s just a bit too loose-tongued.”

“Suitable enough to be He Lian’s sword attendant.”

If Li Feng and the others heard this, they’d be shocked—Ye Chen isn’t He Shixiong’s sword attendant; his true sword master is someone else.

But the surrounding team leaders weren’t surprised.

It’s common for a sword cultivator to have three to five sword attendants; some even have ten or twenty.

And He Shixiong himself is also a sword attendant.

Sword attendants may lack the killing power of true sword cultivators, but they’re far stronger than most spell cultivators.

Thus, sword attendant became one of the best choices for cultivators with pure Gold Spiritual Roots but insufficient purity—a common sight even in Qingshanzong , famed for its sword cultivators.