Chapter 398

In the previous battle, after Song Qingming used the Soul-Bewildering Banner to hide his figure, he was indeed hiding inside the Azure Water Bell at first. After the attacks from above weakened slightly later on, Song Qingming found an opportunity to sneak out from under the Azure Water Bell, and then used the Hidden Spirit Shirt to hide his figure and stay in the smoke.

The yellow-robed old man had been focused on attacking the Azure Water Bell afterward and did not notice that Song Qingming's main body had shifted positions. His final choice to rashly attack the Azure Water Bell head-on played right into Song Qingming's hands, and a sudden close-range attack directly broke the black bronze mirror that had been protecting the yellow-robed old man.

After suffering Song Qingming's strike, although the yellow-robed old man had not yet been defeated, he had temporarily lost the black bronze mirror, a powerful defensive magic treasure. In the subsequent battle, Song Qingming did not give him another chance, using the powerful defensive ability of the Azure Water Bell to launch a fierce close-range attack on him.

Besides the black bronze mirror, the yellow-robed old man only had a second-grade low-tier defensive magic treasure of very average quality. After being attacked at close range by Song Qingming holding the black silver saber, he soon became overwhelmed and fell into a disadvantage. Unwilling to give up, he persisted for a while but still ended up defeated, watching as Song Qingming defeated him and directly obtained a seat in the top ten.

After defeating the yellow-robed old man, Song Qingming was also somewhat surprised that he had entered the top ten just like that. In fact, as his last opponent, the yellow-robed old man's true strength was not much weaker than Song Qingming's. The reason Song Qingming was able to win in the end was mainly due to the sharpness of the few magic treasures in his hand.

Another point was that in order to reflect the true combat level of all cultivators, this Sword Discussion Assembly prohibited all participating cultivators from using consumable spiritual items like spirit talismans and elixirs, which have a significant impact on the outcome of a battle. As a cultivator proficient in spells, the yellow-robed old man must have been an expert at driving talismans, and he did indeed suffer a small loss in this regard.

After Song Qingming finished his battle, it was soon the turn of other cultivators to take the stage. He hurriedly retreated to the spectator seats on the side and patiently watched the duels of other experts.

In the subsequent trials, the combat level of the cultivators who took the stage had almost all reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. Being able to watch such duels between cultivators of the same rank at close range was also a rare opportunity for Song Qingming to improve his own combat level.

Finally, after more than a dozen duels, this round of the Sword Discussion Assembly ended. Among the ten winners, besides Song Qingming himself, there was also an old acquaintance he knew, who was none other than Fang Wuqian, whom he had met at the Jin Yun Pavilion before.

This time, Fang Wuqian's cultivation had also advanced to the eighth level of Foundation Establishment when he came to Mount Tuoyun. Because he had dealt with Fang Wuqian in the Fuyun Mountain Range before, Song Qingming knew something about his strength, so he did not feel surprised that Fang Wuqian could enter the top ten.

What surprised Song Qingming was that Huang Shengxin, whose cultivation had already reached the peak of the ninth level of Foundation Establishment for many years, actually lost to an ordinary rogue cultivator at only the eighth level of Foundation Establishment in the final match and failed to enter the top ten smoothly.

From this battle, Song Qingming also saw some clues. If it were ten or twenty years ago, with Huang Shengxin's strength, even if the opponent's techniques countered him somewhat, it would be absolutely impossible for him to lose to the opponent in the end.

Although Huang Shengxin still looked rosy-faced and energetic on the surface when he came out this time, his lifespan was not far from its limit, and his own vitality had clearly begun to slowly deplete. It is estimated that in another four or five years, Huang Shengxin's strength might not even be enough to defeat an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment opponent.

After selecting the top ten of this Sword Discussion Assembly, the next step was the battle to compete for the top three. This time, Song Qingming was a bit unlucky, encountering a powerhouse who had performed exceptionally well in the previous rounds as soon as he came up: Lin Yutian, an inner disciple of the Carefree Sect at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

Lin Yutian had come to Mount Tuoyun this time following his master, Chu Fengping. From the first day he appeared behind Chu Fengping, Song Qingming had actually recognized him.

Many years ago, at a Tian Dan Alliance auction, Song Qingming had seen him once. At that time, in order to compete for a talisman treasure that appeared at the auction, Lin Yutian had had a small conflict with the Ma family cultivators from Iron Immortal Valley. However, in the end, the cultivators sent by the Ma family had more spirit stones and obtained that talisman treasure.

Facing this opponent whose techniques, cultivation, and magic treasures were all clearly stronger than his own, Song Qingming, even after giving his all in the subsequent battle, was soon suppressed and fell into a disadvantage. To save some energy for himself, Song Qingming thought about it and simply bowed and admitted defeat in advance.

Like Song Qingming, after Fang Wuqian went up, he was also unlucky enough to encounter a strong contender for the top three of the Sword Discussion Assembly, Fairy Qiudie.

However, Fang Wuqian was not willing to just enter the top ten. Although he knew in his heart that the opponent's strength was stronger than his, he still went all out and had a great battle with Fairy Qiudie. Although he was eventually defeated in a somewhat disheveled manner, he still received cheers from many cultivators watching the battle on the scene.

Finally, after several more rounds of fierce competition, the top three of the Sword Discussion Assembly fell to Lin Yutian, Fairy Qiudie, and an old man of rogue cultivator origin who was tall and fat. These three cultivators also got their wish and each received a reward of a second-grade high-tier magic treasure, which really made others envious.

Song Qingming, Fang Wuqian, and other cultivators who entered the top ten also had no surprises and each received a Moon-Gazing Pill. Compared to the rewards of the top three, although the Moon-Gazing Pill was much worse, for Song Qingming and others, being able to get a second-grade mid-tier elixir worth five hundred spirit stones for free just by participating in a Sword Discussion Assembly was enough to make them feel satisfied.

After the Sword Discussion Assembly ended, this Mount Tuoyun trade fair immediately entered its final stage. The Jin Yun Pavilion also directly took out a batch of finale spiritual items and placed them directly on the high platform on the third floor.

Among these spiritual items, there were three Foundation Establishment Pills alone. In addition, there were many second-grade high-tier spiritual items that were rarely seen in ordinary times. Song Qingming even saw several third-grade spiritual items like the Barrier-Breaking Pill, which are usually extremely difficult to see.

However, these spiritual items could not be bought just by using spirit stones. A Golden Core cultivator like Old Ancestor Chen, who had cultivated for hundreds of years, would naturally not be short of these thousands or tens of thousands of spirit stones. What he wanted were those spiritual items that could be useful to him, a Golden Core Old Ancestor.

Still the same as what Song Qingming had seen before, as long as you could take out a spiritual item to move him, whether it was a Foundation Establishment Pill or other spiritual items, you could exchange for it directly. Of course, if the spiritual item you took out and the spiritual item you wanted to exchange for were not of equal value, both parties would still have to take out spirit stones or other spiritual items to make up the difference.