Chapter 420: Carriage

The moment Li Yuan rose, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.

On the high platform, Long Yechan pinched his brow, and the elders of several sects also turned to look.

Even while Wang Lue battled numerous challengers, many people were still watching Meng Pin; especially the true disciples of the Dragon-Tiger Temple, such as Shan Hong, and Jing Xiu, who paid even closer attention.

When he rose, Jing Xiu and Shan Hong both felt a tremor in their hearts; Wang Lue, standing with his spear propped up, felt his scalp go numb, until hearing his voice echo, only then did the heavy stone in his heart settle.

Shan Hong and the others maintained their expressions, but Lin Lin Fangzhui, who had been approaching quickly, stopped in his tracks.

He looked up at Li Yuan, who had risen and cupped his hands not far away; his face stiffened, and the heart hanging in suspense finally died.

"Out of four choices, you picked me? The surname Li indeed holds a grudge."

Feeling the various gazes cast from all around, Lin Lin Fangzhui felt bitterness in his heart, yet his face calmed down.

Regarding Li Yuan choosing him, he was somewhat prepared; after all, among the four, only his Hundred Weapons Pavilion had had some friction with that person's Silver Weapons Shop.

In fact, the reason he was late was because he had foreseen this; thus, he borrowed a batch of spiritual pills to enter seclusion and break through to Marrow Refining, only emerging just now.

"Will you accept the challenge?"

Gong Gong Jiuchuan spoke to inquire.

Lin Lin Fangzhui, accept the challenge!

Pressing lightly on the long blade at his waist, Lin Lin Fangzhui forcibly calmed his emotions, but the scene of him being explosively killed inside the Dragon-Tiger Tower last time kept surfacing in his mind.

"Even with Marrow Refining, is there a chance of victory? At least, a little bit?"

Gripping the blade tightly, Lin Lin Fangzhui's face sank like water; he stepped forward into the arena, his peripheral vision scanning both sides before pausing briefly at a certain spot; Wang Lue, leaning on his long spear, smiled with a sense of relief.

"Heh, just you wait."

Lin Lin Fangzhui sneered inwardly, instead calming down; even if he lost, at worst it was just one year of true disciple treatment.

"When next year comes... hmm?"

Wang Lue seemed to sense something; just seeing Lin Lin Fangzhui's cold eyes, the smile on his face instantly froze.

Incense.

Li Yuan pressed his brow; streams of incense rose within the realm of spiritual light; although most were merely unranked, this intensity still surprised him somewhat.

"This is what they call: hearing is not as good as seeing?"

Li Yuan slightly distracted himself, sensing the emotions contained in the gazes from all around; this was far more intense than his previous descent from the mountain.

Junior Brother Li, please bestow your teachings.

With his mind settled, Lin Lin Fangzhui cupped his hands and bowed in greeting.

"Please, Senior Brother Lin, offer guidance."

Li Yuan returned the greeting gently; between fellow disciples sparring and testing skills, naturally one cannot start with a sneak attack.

Almost the instant Li Yuan returned the greeting, a long blade shot out from its sheath, trailing a cold, sinister blade light.

"Junior Brother Li, be careful!"

In an instant, brilliance erupted; the dazzling cold light rose like a full moon in the sky; the blade light shone like moonlight; with a single flash, it covered an area of dozens of zhang in all directions.

Moving means going all out.

Lin Lin Fangzhui dared not hold back even a shred; the sound of true qi circulating, like tides hitting the shore, permeated his body; the true qi seemed to be burning, and the Silver Moon Blade Technique had been pushed to its limit.

The blade light was sinister, crisscrossing in all directions.

"The style of a Dao Sect true disciple; before attacking, he even gives a warning."

Feeling the blade light rushing toward him, Li Yuan felt a slight sigh in his heart.

The Dragon-Tiger Health Preservation Art is not without flaws; its tower guardians, formed from health-preserving qi, are not so particular; as the blade light swept toward him, Li Yuan lightly tapped his foot, weaving and shifting within that crisscrossing blade light; his movement speed was not fast, but to the onlookers, it appeared extremely incredible.

The Silver Moon Blade Technique emphasizes blade light like moonlight; with a single strike, it flows like mercury poured on the ground, leaving no room for retreat.

Thus, in the eyes of most onlookers at this moment, Li Yuan's figure seemed to become a phantom; the blade light pierced through him, yet he remained unharmed.

Nine Appearances of the Cloud Dragon!

On the high platform, Xie Xie Tongzhi's eyelid twitched; he recognized this peerless lightness skill; moreover, this was at least at the fifth layer or higher of proficiency, and must have comprehended the forms of Wind and Cloud!

This young man is only in his twenties, yet he already possesses the qualification to cultivate the Wind Tiger and Cloud Dragon? What a lightness skill!

Master Master Dading clapped his hands in praise, his heart slightly settled.

Relying solely on this one move of lightness skill, below the Grandmaster realm, one can naturally stand in an invincible position.

"Nine Appearances of the Cloud Dragon, Great Perfection..."

Tianxu Zi held a round bead the size of a dragon's eye within his sleeve; this was formed from the energy of the Azure Dragon, originating from the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing of the Azure Dragon Pavilion, the Two-Colored Azure Dragon Armor.

Its sole function was to sense other Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing. Just now, with this, he detected the aura of the Dragon-Tiger Health Preservation Furnace; but now, after concentrating for a long time, he still did not detect the aura of the Sea-Splitting Black Whale Hammer.

Is the master of that Black Whale Hammer not here?

Brother Tianying Zi murmured inwardly; this Sensing Qi Platform encompasses the elite disciples of the Dragon-Tiger Temple.

He settled his mind and sensed again; his gaze swept over everyone on the Sensing Qi Platform, not even missing a black-and-white spiritual cat crouching on the cliff face.

Yet still, he found nothing.

"Or is the transmitted voice fake?"

Strong winds danced with the blade light; the battle circle constantly expanded.

Lin Lin Fangzhui exerted all his strength; the Silver Moon Blade Technique, already at Great Perfection, under the extreme burning true qi driving it, erupted with extremely dazzling brilliance.

The blade light interwove, like towering waves upon waves, or like layers of blade nets.

The strength of his blade momentum made Wang Lue, Jing Xiu, and Shan Hong, who were watching, change their expressions; this was already Marrow Refining achieved; even Xin Xin Wenhua was somewhat surprised; before he achieved Great Perfection in Marrow Refining, he estimated he was only slightly stronger than him.

The blade light swept horizontally, blood and qi boiling; Lin Lin Fangzhui grew more alarmed the more he fought, more terrified the more he fought; from his first strike until now, he hadn't even touched the hem of Li Yuan's clothes.

"This is not Nine Appearances of the Cloud Dragon... The Dragon walks in the clouds, seeing the head but not the tail, seeing the tail but not the head; no wonder the Daoist Lord Long appears and disappears mysteriously..."

Li Yuan felt quite pleased in his heart.

Once the two forms of Wind and Cloud were formed, the power of the peerless lightness skill Nine Appearances of the Cloud Dragon was fully displayed; beneath the rolling, tide-like, crisscrossing, net-like blade light, he could calmly change his position.

In the span of a single move, he could shift position nine times. Even though the Silver Moon Blade Art was famed for being inescapable and relentless, it still couldn't lock down his evasive angles.

The wind and clouds are ever-changing, their transformations unfixed.

Once this peerless lightness skill was mastered to its full extent, it no longer held any ordinary meaning of footwork or body technique — instead, it shifted in response to the changes in the surrounding environment.

"This lightness skill!"

On the Qi-Sensing Platform were the elites of every sect, along with figures like Pei Pei Xingkong, Shi Shi Qingyi, Yan Jiugong, and Fayin Fayin Tongzi — quasi Grandmasters — who naturally discerned many things as well.

Pei Pei Xingkong narrowed his eyes slightly. Even he could never have woven through the blade net with such ease.

He instinctively looked toward the people of the Azure Dragon Pavilion.

Shi Shi Qingyi was also observing the fight. As if she had sensed something, she responded with a cold gaze.

In less than a moment, the blade-light abruptly dissipated.

"I concede."

Lin Lin Fangzhui sheathed his blade, his heart bitter. He sighed and cupped his fists: "Junior Brother Li's Wu Gong is ten times mine. I'm no match."

The thirty or forty blades unleashed with full force had already vented most of the unwillingness in his heart. Li Yuan had clearly been leaving him face. If he forced himself to continue, that would truly be impolite.

"Senior Brother Lin, you let me win."

Li Yuan cupped his fists in return. It was a sparring match between fellow disciples of the same sect, not a life-or-death brawl in the jianghu — he still had a sense of propriety about this.

After all, his opponent had to give a heads-up before attacking. If he had countered with a single move and sent the man sprawling, that would have been rather discourteous.

In any case, the True Disciple seat was already in hand.

That he conceded just like that caused some stir among the crowd. Most were still waiting for Li Yuan to counterattack; seeing this scene, they felt disappointed.

"That fierce?"

Li Yuan pressed his brow, feeling alternating waves of heat and cold. Lin Lin Fangzhui's blade qi was still dispersing in the air, yet in the Spirit-Light Land, multiple streams of incense had already risen — unranked, ranked, and even…

"How could there be fourth-rank incense?

"

Li Yuan was deeply shaken.

According to the Incense Lesser Record, for a devout believer to produce even a single wisp of fourth-rank incense through daily kowtowing and chanting, it would take at least a hundred years.

He instinctively looked around, his gaze falling on the high platform. Surely this incense couldn't be coming from a Grandmaster, could it?

Li Yuan's thoughts wandered. Lin Lin Fangzhui turned away dejectedly, casting only a cold glance at Wang Lue before sweeping his sleeve and leaving. The latter's face also darkened, looking rather uneasy.

The assessment wasn't over yet, but Wang Lue had already rushed back to his courtyard. He was preparing to enter closed-door cultivation — he wouldn't emerge until he succeeded in marrow refinement.

But was anyone else going to challenge?

Gong Gong Jiuchuan called out loudly several times, but no one stepped forward.

On the high platform, Nie Xianshan flicked a finger, and from several miles away, struck that bronze bell.

The bell's chime echoed, ringing several times: "Inner disciple Li Yuan, victorious in the duel, approved for True Disciple!"

Yan Yan Sanxing stepped forward at the right moment and spoke loudly.

Li Yuan bowed in thanks, then walked toward the high platform. Feeling the gazes coming from all directions, his heart skipped again — in just this short while, two more streams of fourth-rank incense had actually appeared.

"Here… take this."

Tossing a token over with a flick of his hand, Long Long Yingchan gave a slight cough, gesturing for Gong Gong Jiuchuan to speak on his behalf — about the treatment afforded to True Disciples.

Regarding this, Li Yuan, who already enjoyed the treatment of a Dragon Gate Dao Child, bowed in thanks. He felt rather odd about it.

"How does this feel like it was prearranged?"

"No — Daoist is sending him through on a free pass!"

Placing the token into his robe, Li Yuan sensed briefly. In the Spirit-Light Land, his visualized Spirit Self was still drawing in incense, but those three streams of fourth-rank incense had not increased further.

"Strange!"

"The bell rang!"

The Dragon-Tiger Grand Competition is over, isn't it?

Outside the gates of Sishan, in a tavern, Blood Vajra leaned against the railing and gazed into the distance. Through the wind and snow, the bell's chime traveled clearly.

As usual, after this bell, there should be the bestowal of rewards and the process of receiving greetings from other sects — it would be over soon.

Fayin Fayin Tongzi's face was wooden, expressionless.

Heh.

Bone Vajra tugged at the corner of his mouth, but Blood Vajra firmly pressed his hand down, shutting him up.

Fayin Fayin Tongzi fell silent.

He privately reckoned his scheming wasn't bad, but the problem was no one carried it out, so it could only fizzle out.

These two beasts actually wanted him to go first.

Suddenly, Blood Vajra seemed to sense something. He rose sharply, pushed Fayin Fayin Tongzi aside, and looked out the window toward the distant street.