Chapter 238

The Profound Understanding Realm duels of the Heavenly Dao Assembly total thirty matches, unfolding intensely over three days.

Ten matches were fought fiercely on the first day, ten matches were also fought fiercely on the second day, and the remaining last ten matches were on the third day.

And the focus of everyone's attention fell mostly on the schedule of the second day.

Because the participants of the second day, compared to the first and third days, were all more worth watching.

When the scorching sun hung high in the sky at noon, a sword style as vigorous as a mountain collapsing and the earth cracking slashed down at the Tianji Arena; Lin Chuan, the only son of the millennium noble family Lin family, could not stop his hands from trembling slightly, and a trace of blood overflowed from his ferocious mouth corner.

But before he could stand firm, a sword Dao carrying biting cold intent had already arrived through the air, the sharp sword aura instantly unfolding the air waves that had not yet subsided.

Lin Chuan's pupils shrank, and in his haste, he lifted his saber to block; the saber edge with sparks splashing blocked most of the whistling sword aura, but a wisp of sharp sword aura still grazed his left shoulder, instantly tearing open his brocade robe, and bright red blood sprayed out, soaking the luxurious clothing until it was eye-piercing.

Lin Chuan is not a person without a name; on the contrary, he is also a genius famous in Yuzhou.

And the Lin family and the Ask Dao Sect Shang lineage are also in-laws; he did not enter the Xian Sect because he was not subject to discipline, but in reality, the cultivation resources he possessed were never less than those of Xian Sect disciples.

At this time, Zhuang Zixin standing opposite him couldn't help but pant lightly after slashing out a sword, then raised his cold eyes.

Amidst the watching of the full arena, Zhuang Zixin turned his wrist, a round sword shadow like a silver moon in the sky, carrying a whistling wind, slashed down toward Lin Chuan.

Clang, sparks splashed...

On the other side, Qiyun Arena.

Li Yunzhao, the younger brother of Li Yunlang, the second son of the old imperial family Li clan, used an iron spear to meet the attack, like a cold dragon coming out of a cave, but facing the opponent's strange and unpredictable mother-and-son heavy sword, the rapidly rotating spiritual yuan still gradually appeared to have a tendency to dry up between rapid breathing.

A sword that struck directly at the heart was carried by his family's secret technique 'Sun and Moon Divine Decision', but afterwards, he was fiercely stabbed into the shoulder bone by the son sword stabbed by the opponent.

And his opponent, Yan Hao, the grandson of the Heavenly Sword Peak master, after an intense duel, although he also had light injuries, was basically fine, and afterwards ended the duel with a heavy sword, tidied his hair crown amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd, and walked off the circular stage.

Yan Hao's duels have always been known for being quick and crisp; once the heavy sword in his hand comes out, it is the momentum of thunder and mountain collapse, suppressing all directions.

From the first round of the group stage, there were many people watching his duels all the way.

They always felt that Yan Hao's son sword was not strong, and the reason it existed was purely to make up for the disadvantage of slow movement speed caused by the heavy sword.

But after the battle with Lin Chuan today, everyone discovered that the lethality of that thin sword was completely different from before; that sword draw, which was as fast as lightning, was simply difficult for people to react to.

On the other side, the intensity of the fierce duel at the Xingchi Arena was no less than these two matches.

At that time, Li Yunlang had techniques added to his body, like a bright golden sun wheel, his energy bursting, his steps like chasing the wind, the snow-bright one in his hand was even more biting and rapid, pressing a Spirit Sword Mountain elder's direct disciple to retreat step by step as soon as the match started, difficult to draw the sword, and even more difficult to form momentum.

Sword Dao is like this; if one cannot connect into a momentum and gather sword aura, it is very difficult to exert its original power.

However, Spirit Sword Mountain has countless sword Daos, and this elder's direct disciple also had some means, changing sword intent several times during the period, almost succeeding in a counterattack, but each time was pressed down by the opponent's sudden iron spear pursuit.

Finally, he was whipped off the stage by the spear shaft, and was bumped into a mess on the ring's barrier.

But the duels of the Heavenly Dao Assembly will not develop according to everyone's expectations; there will always be things that exceed expectations.

Just like in a duel in the afternoon at the Qiyun Arena, Mountain Sea Pavilion branch master's daughter Wei Yingmeng unexpectedly lost.

There are many female cultivators in the Azure Cloud World; because their minds are delicate and they see the subtle, their comprehension is higher than men, and their cultivation speed is also faster, but the combat power of female cultivators is often not high, and they will not be too prominent in the same realm.

However, this Wei Yingmeng is a counterexample.

It is said that she has been dressed as a boy since she was a child, and her cultivation and duels have never been weaker than others.

This Heavenly Dao Assembly actually had many people predicting that Wei Yingmeng was the one who could enter the top ten.

And walking to the second round, she encountered an opponent from the Qingzhou Zhu family, named Zhu Shun.

This Zhu Shun is actually not famous, far less eye-catching than his brother Zhu Yao who joined the Ask Dao Sect; in fact, before the Heavenly Dao Assembly started, very few gazes paid attention to him.

But following the start of the duel between the two, everyone discovered that Wei Yingmeng seemed somewhat absent-minded, falling into a disadvantage after a few collisions, and narrowly lost on the circular stage.

This result caused an uproar among the surrounding onlookers, who stood up one after another to gaze, feeling dazed for a time.

"Actually would be like this..."

"What kind of technique is that?"

"The Zhu family's inherited Bright Sun technique."

In the subsequent duels, the biggest highlights were on the two people named You Bai and Hao Feng.

The You family and Hao family are also not famous within the Nine Provinces, belonging to downstream noble families, but these two people, like that Ba Yang earlier, were all people who broke through their realm before the match.

In the second round of the Heavenly Dao Assembly, these two also achieved victory in the duels, suppressing their opponents to regretfully leave the stage with the difference in realm.

And those who lost in their hands were not some unknown juniors; one was a disciple of a millennium noble family, and one was a disciple of an in-law noble family of the Chen Shixian Race.

From this, it can be seen that a realm higher is really a matter of much difference, very difficult to make up for by other means.

Different from the heat in the entire Sages Garden was the mood of the people from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

Wang Gaocen lost.

His opponent today was an elder's direct disciple of the Mountain Sea Pavilion, and the two fought until the third round.

Wang Gaocen can be considered a presence with good combat power among the Profound Understanding Realms of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, and was evenly matched with this Mountain Sea Pavilion disciple, fighting until it was difficult to separate, with dangerous situations constantly arising.

What he used was the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's orthodox 'All Methods Added to Body'; although the power was not as great as the senior brothers and sisters in the Merging with the Dao Realm, it was still worthy of the name of Xian Sect disciple, moving like a swift wind, with heavy saber force.

It's just a pity that by the third match, he was still one move behind the opponent, and was directly pressed down on the stage by the opponent's energy, almost being pierced through the heart by a saber.

Fortunately, at the last moment, he used a defensive magic artifact, turned over and killed the opponent back, but in the end, he was still slashed off the stage.

At this time, he walked out of the Lingxi Arena, looking at the Sages Garden with somewhat dejected eyes.

He is the direct grandson of a Heavenly Tian Shuyuan elder, having lived in luxury since childhood, and can be called a genius among his peers; coming to participate in the Heavenly Dao Assembly this time, his goal was to compete for first place.

However, out of humility and caution, what he claimed to the outside world was always that he wanted to enter the top ten.

But those who come here to participate in the duels, which one is not for entering the deepest part of the Sages Holy Land.

But this duel was like a blow to the head, knocking him dizzy, suddenly discovering that he was actually weaker and more mediocre than he imagined.

Gazing at the long white marble road, he suddenly stopped his steps, intending to return, because he still didn't know how he should inform others that he had lost.

However, just when he was dazed, a group of Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples suddenly appeared in the Yuyu Arena adjacent to the Lingxi Arena, carrying a bamboo-woven rattan frame and running out in a hurry, running along the white marble road directly toward the direction of the gate.

Wang Gaocen was stunned, his eyes involuntarily widening.

Because the man lying on the rattan frame covered in blood was none other than his fellow disciple Gu Zetao.

After staring for a long time, Wang Gaocen saw Wei Han, a disciple of the Management Tian Shuyuan who was following Gu Zetao, and saw that he also had a solemn expression and dejected eyes.

Wang Gaocen came back to his senses: "What happened to Zetao?"

Wei Han pursed his lips: "Junior Brother Gu lost."

"I remember his opponent was from the Ask Dao Sect?"

"Ask Dao Sect Ye Qing, lost both matches, was slashed through his 'All Methods Accompanied' by the opponent."

Wei Han had been in the Yuyu Arena just now, watching the entire process of Gu Zetao's duel.

This Ye Qing attacked fiercely, displaying surging energy as soon as he went on stage, and his combat experience far exceeded Gu Zetao's, achieving victory without accident.

At this time, the Management Tian Shuyuan manager who came upon hearing the news arrived in front of them, listening to Wei Han's report, and looking at Wang Gaocen's embarrassed appearance with his hair crown shattered, his face was extremely ugly.

Proceeding to this stage, among the Seven Great Xian Sects, excluding the Pill Sect which does not participate, every other Xian Sect has had defeats.

For example, Chen Shuo of the Chen Shixian Race, and for example, the branch master's daughter of the Mountain Sea Pavilion.

But only they, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, lost two people in one day, and one of them was carried off the stage seriously injured; this was truly somewhat ugly.

Among the onlookers, a portion were people from noble families in the capital, for example, the Chong Prince's party, who were walking out of the Lingxi Arena and Yuyu Arena at this moment, their expressions all somewhat difficult to hold.

They live in Shengjing, and are separated from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan by a very short distance; they also associate with cultivators in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan on weekdays, so it is not strange to come here to watch the battle.

It's just that they never thought the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan would lose two matches in a row, and even have one seriously injured and unconscious.

Looking back at the beginning, they had all watched the Heavenly Dao Assembly preliminaries.

They are not clear about the Elder Pavilion's back-door intervention, but they all know that this Wang Gaocen and Gu Zetao were carefully selected from the academy, and the result is just this?

Amidst the whispers, another batch of pro-Xian Sect officials came from the Jingyang Arena, gathering with them.

After learning that two Profound Understanding Realms of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan had lost, this batch of latecomers also brought another piece of bad news.

"On the Merging with the Dao Realm side, a Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciple also almost lost."

"Who?"

"Xiao Hanyan."

"Almost lost means didn't lose; this second round's battle situation is very dangerous, being able to win is ability."

"Actually, she was going to lose, but at the last moment, this Xiao Hanyan secretly threw out a magic artifact."

"The Heavenly Dao Assembly doesn't forbid the use of magic artifacts; this also doesn't count as anything."

"It doesn't forbid the use of magic artifacts, but the convention is that if one wants to bring a magic artifact on stage, one still needs to declare it first; like this kind of secret, in short, it seems somewhat winning dishonorably."

"How could it be like this, clearly it's the Great Xia Holy Sect's..."

"The Sages Holy Land is the place where the holy artifact preached the Dao in those years; one year of cultivation equals ten years of cultivation. In order to enter it, using some means is normal, it's just that the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's reputation might not be easy to talk about from now on."

Spiritual energy rushing like the sea, saber light and sword shadows like electricity.

You come and I go, one win and one loss.

In the nine major arenas, people come and go, figures are constant; some hold their heads high and look like winners, while others have dazed expressions and appear somewhat embarrassed.

As for those onlookers, a portion of the young people felt their Dao heart was blocked because of the god-like performances in the arena, having a feeling of being unable to catch up, and some old people couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, when I was young, I definitely wasn't as good as him.

In the last two years, there have always been rumors in the world that the human race's luck is about to end, so much so that the Barbarian race and Demon race are all harboring evil intentions, ready to move.

Attacking Hantie Pass, entering the Nine Provinces in the name of trade, and even wanting to form an alliance, are all things that have happened in these two years.

But after watching the second round of the Heavenly Dao Assembly, many people felt that the saying that luck is about to end is simply nonsense.

Look at this scene of a hundred flowers blooming; the human race is clearly welcoming a prosperous age.

The scenery in the Sages Garden is elegant, the pavilions and towers are arranged in an orderly manner, but it is ultimately a garden that is too large, not very suitable for intense discussion.

However, the Zhongxing County city, which developed relying on the cultivator grand gathering, has teahouses and wine shops in the surroundings that are extremely suitable.

Between the setting sun going west, the wine towers in Zhongxing County were full, with ten thousand red lanterns, and there were constant figures drinking together, talking endlessly about today's battle.

"The performance of this Li Yunlang of the Central Province Li clan is stronger than I imagined; I see that the top ten spots definitely have one for him."

"I agree with this, but that Zhu family brother, it seems, is also a person who cannot be underestimated."

"Don't forget that Zhuang Zixin, his performance is also very eye-catching, and his age is just right; I actually still have a granddaughter in my family who is not yet married."

"Speaking of this Zhuang Zixin, his elder brother Zhuang You is also surprising; I heard he only used ten swords at noon today and slashed and defeated a direct disciple of the Profound Origin Immortal Mansion."

"The most powerful should be that Yan Hao of Spirit Sword Mountain; I have been watching the battle these few days, always feeling that he seems to have not used his full strength yet."

"And that Ask Dao Sect Shang Senior Xi Yao's younger brother Shang Zhou, Profound Origin Immortal Mansion's Wen Song..."

"Everyone, don't forget, besides these people you mentioned, there are also those three people who broke through their realm before the match in the Profound Understanding Realm duels; although it is a difference of a small realm, they have ultimately crossed the threshold of Profound Understanding and Merging with the Dao."

"Speaking of which, the top ten spots really don't know who they belong to."

"The previous Heavenly Dao Assemblies, by the second round, could basically determine the top ten spots; this year it is actually hanging in the balance..."

"Hey, don't forget there are ten matches tomorrow; maybe the number of people will continue to increase."

"Not bad, there must still be people who hid their strength in the group stage; this point is beyond doubt. After all, there are still some Xian Sect disciples who haven't dueled, but speaking of Xian Sects, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan seems somewhat ugly this time."

"It is said that they lost two?"

"Three, actually."

"How could it be three?"

"Someone secretly used a magic artifact; in short, the result is somewhat controversial. The Heavenly Dao Assembly is not comparing whose magic artifact is powerful; winning the duel but ultimately losing some reputation."

Ji You watched the battle for a day, and only after returning did he know that the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan had lost two matches today, and Xiao Hanyan's duel, although she won, seemed to be criticized by others, thinking to himself, no wonder the academy was quiet today, with no one drinking tea.

Wen Siyuan ran over specially at this time, exchanged with him, but didn't mention the consecutive losses, only solemnly urging him to be more cautious in the duel tomorrow morning.

This sentence shouldn't be what he wants to say, but what the Management Tian Shuyuan urged him to say.

It seems the three managers who take maintaining sect dignity as their mandatory purpose have already started to be nervous; it is estimated that the face today was not very good-looking.

This is also normal; among the Seven Great Xian Sects, only the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan is crowned with the Holy Sect title; this kind of battle record is truly somewhat unworthy of the name...

Because the second day of the second round of the Heavenly Dao Assembly was exceptionally wonderful, many people were looking forward to the duels of the third day.

So early on the second day, countless people set off from the gardens and inns where they were staying, heading to the arenas in the Sages Garden.

Some people chatted with friends all night last night, and when they went out, they still carried some wine aura that had not yet dissipated.

And the shopkeeper in the wine tower stayed up all night, while counting the silver that filled the basins, smilingly sending the guests out the door.

Several direct disciples of Spirit Sword Mountain, several direct disciples of the Chen Shixian Race, and several seed disciples of millennium noble families who received much attention would all finish their matches today.

Among them, the new cultivation genius Zhu Yao of the Ask Dao Sect, Chen Ruiyang of the Chen Shixian Race, and Murong Yu, the eldest daughter of the Murong family, received much attention; additionally, some people who performed quite eye-catchingly in the group stage were also paid attention to.

Along the white marble road, everyone walked toward the nine major arenas, passing through the Qiyun Arena and Tianji Arena along the way.

And while they were passing through the Cangwu Arena, a portion of them couldn't help but pause slightly, then turned and walked in.

Chen Ruiyang's duel today was at the Cangwu Arena; this portion of people came for his duel.

Lu Xiong, the head of the Lu family, also arrived here at this time, looking around aimlessly, intending to find an arena to watch the battle.

Their Lu family disciples lost three in the first round, and the remaining ones successfully entered the second round relying on luck.

However, luck is not something that happens often, so they all lost in the second round.

But the Lu family still had some noble families they were on good terms with, and there were duels today, so he naturally wouldn't be idle in the garden.

Just at this moment, Lu Xiong ran into Lou Jingzhi, the head of the Lou family, in front of the Cangwu Arena.

Although the Lou family and Lu family are not close, they have some dealings in spirit stone business, and both of them now live in Lianxing Garden, and have also met and chatted a few times.

Lou Jingzhi looked at Lu Xiong at this time, and after bowing lightly, spoke: "Brother Lu, early."

"Brother Lou, early."

"Does the Lu family have anyone dueling today?"

Lu Xiong waved his hand upon hearing this: "The disciples in the family are not very promising; they all lost yesterday, so I probably can't sit still, so I intended to come out to watch the battle."

Lou Jingzhi nodded, then couldn't help but say: "After meeting Brother Lu a few days ago, I suddenly remembered one thing, always thinking of finding a time to chat well with Brother Lu."

"Oh? Don't know what matter Brother Lou is for?"

"It's like this, I still have a son in my family who is not yet married, and I, as a father, am also quite worried; later I suddenly remembered that Brother Lu also seems to have a daughter of marriageable age waiting to be married?"

Lu Xiong, upon hearing these words, naturally knew his subtext was hoping the two families could have an opportunity for in-laws, and after pursing his lips for a long time, said softly: "So that's what Brother Lou means; I do have two daughters waiting to be married, but this matter still needs to be discussed with my wife."

Lou Jingzhi smiled after hearing this: "Then don't know where Lady Lu is?"

"When I went out, my wife left; I also don't know where she went."

"Perhaps she went to watch the battle."

Lu Xiong laughed lightly: "She is a woman, and usually has no interest in these kinds of things."

Lou Jingzhi heard that he seemed to have little interest, and was not angry: "The Heavenly Dao Assembly won't end in a while, and time is plenty; since it's not a coincidence this time, then look for another opportunity. Brother Lu, goodbye."

"Farewell."

Lu Xiong watched him walk into the Cangwu Arena, and suddenly realized that the eldest son of the Lou family seemed to be the one who withdrew a few days ago.

Precisely because he withdrew, Ji You won the last match without a fight...

Lu Xiong thought for a long time looking at the Cangwu Arena, and suddenly his gaze froze, seeing a familiar figure, his expression somewhat astonished.

Cultivators have keen eyes and ears; if observed carefully, the scenery in the distance can also be seen at a glance.

Following the Lou family walking into the Cangwu Arena, he was shocked to find that in the spectator stands, his own wife had already taken her seat early, her eyes staring fixedly at the stage.

The conversation he had with Lou Jingzhi just now was indeed somewhat evasive, but basically all were serious.

He discovered his wife had gone out after getting up this morning, and his wife indeed had no interest in killing and fighting matters.

Brother Lu originally thought she had made an appointment with several other ladies from the Lingzhou Chamber of Commerce to go sightseeing, never thought she had come here.

And seeing the position his wife was in was so close to the circular stage, he felt his wife seemed to have come early to occupy the seat...

Actually, Lu Xiong had the idea after remembering the Lou family son withdrew, also wanting to go to the Cangwu Arena to watch the battle, but he still didn't understand why his wife was here.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Xiong stepped into the Cangwu Arena.

And near the position where Lu Xiong was standing just now, a group of noble family young ladies were also walking along the road.

One of them was Qiu family young lady Qiu Hanyue, and the others were her sisters, as well as new friends she had met in the garden these past few days.

"How does Hanyue feel about that Young Master met in the wine tower yesterday?"

"Quite good, gentle and elegant, a humble gentleman."

"I also think it's not bad; the person is handsome, and the strength is also not bad."

Qiu Hanyue argued on grounds, and the matter of successfully pushing off the marriage with the Fengzhou private cultivator had already been told to the sisters around her; they were all very happy for her.

However, she was ultimately of marriageable age; if she didn't marry this one, she would have to marry that one.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of talents gathering at the Heavenly Dao Assembly, the Qiu family also re-selected several men for her.

Qiu Hanyue went to see one accompanied by her sisters yesterday.

That was a noble family young master; the person was indeed not bad, and the strength was also very strong, walking all the way to the second round.

Qiu Hanyue indeed felt it was not bad, and hearing the sisters around her also evaluate it like this, she thought to herself that her eye for people was indeed not bad.

"Hanyue."

"Mm?"

"Seems to be Huang Rou."

Qiu Hanyue raised her eyes, looking at the woman who spoke.

This was one of her best sisters, named Sheng Xiyu; when she was troubled because she had to marry to Fengzhou, it was she who came up with the idea, suggesting she might as well bypass the He family and Qiu family and go directly to find Ji You to talk.

At this time, she looked in the direction Sheng Xiyu pointed, and immediately saw her other good sister Huang Rou in the spectator stands of the Cangwu Arena, her expression couldn't help but be slightly startled.

Huang Rou hadn't been with them, these sisters, these past few days, and acted alone more often.

She had refused the sightseeing a few days ago and the banquet yesterday.

Qiu Hanyue originally thought Huang Rou was going to spend time alone with her childhood sweetheart, but later learned that her childhood sweetheart had already been seriously injured and died during the competition.

So when she saw Huang Rou sitting in this arena, her eyes couldn't help but be somewhat lost.

What made her even more lost was that Huang Rou was still staring fixedly at the stage, a trace of expectation flowing in her eyes, seemingly looking forward to seeing the person dueling.

(End of chapter)