Besides these two newly acquired spells, she had also reached the beginner level in the second chapters of Tianheng Guiyuan Art: Return to Truth and Profound Bone Body-Forging Art: Return to Truth.
After reaching Return to Truth, the two techniques became distinctly different from before.
Not only did Tianheng Guiyuan Art refine spiritual energy faster, but as it circulated, it constantly organized the spiritual power within her, rendering the connection between her Nascent Soul and meridians even more stable.
Meanwhile, Profound Bone Body-Forging Art continued to temper her bones and muscles.
Yun Heng could clearly feel that her physical body was much tougher than before, capable of enduring a far greater amount of spiritual power in her bones and meridians.
Yun Heng flexed her wrist and looked out the window.
The last time she went to the Martial Inquiry Arena, she had won two matches in a row at the mid stage of Nascent Soul, ultimately ranking twenty-first on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard.
Now that she had broken through to the late stage of Nascent Soul, and both her cultivation technique and movement technique had improved, it was time to visit the Martial Inquiry Arena once again.
The main street of Tianque City remained as bustling as ever.
With the opening of the Qingming Secret Realm at hand, disciples from various sects and outside cultivators had almost all arrived. The crowd on the street was even denser than half a month ago, with no shortage of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators among the passersby.
On the other side, Su Mingyuan and He Zhou were walking on the way back to their inn.
Right then, a figure passed by Su Mingyuan.
There was almost no trace of spiritual energy fluctuations coming from that person.
Su Mingyuan glanced over subconsciously. Naturally, she would not assume that person to be a mortal without any cultivation.
This place was close to the Martial Inquiry Arena, and almost everyone coming and going on the street was a cultivator; a mortal would not appear here alone. That person must have used some spell or artifact to conceal their cultivation realm.
The moment the two brushed past each other, an intensely strong sensation suddenly arose in Su Mingyuan's heart.
She whipped her head around. The person had already taken a few steps forward, and from Su Mingyuan's position, only the side of her face was visible.
Yet with practically a single glance, Su Mingyuan recognized her.
Yun Heng.
That person had to be Yun Heng.
Su Mingyuan came to a sudden halt, her eyes fixed intently on the figure ahead.
Yun Heng continued forward along the main street, eventually stepping into the Martial Inquiry Arena.
Su Mingyuan did not have time to think further. She immediately turned around and jogged toward the Martial Inquiry Arena.
He Zhou was still walking forward when he noticed the person beside him suddenly depart, and he turned his head in confusion.
“Junior Sister?”
Su Mingyuan did not stop.
Watching her run back toward the Martial Inquiry Arena, He Zhou felt increasingly baffled.
“Junior Sister, what happened?”
Su Mingyuan still gave no answer. Staring straight at the direction where Yun Heng had disappeared, her pace quickened.
He Zhou hesitated where he stood for a moment before ultimately following her.
Away from home, he had a duty to ensure his junior sister's safety. Besides, Su Mingyuan's reaction just now was clearly unusual, so he could not let her leave alone.
The moment Yun Heng stepped through the entrance of the Martial Inquiry Arena, someone recognized her.
The first to notice her were several rogue cultivators who frequently watched matches in the Nascent Soul area.
“Isn't that Miss Yun?”
“She came to the Martial Inquiry Arena again?”
The voices quickly spread.
Those who had not noticed Yun Heng at first turned to look at the entrance as well.
“So that's Miss Yun? She really doesn't look ordinary.”
“Looks like she's here to challenge someone again. I wonder who she'll challenge this time.”
“The secret realm is about to open soon, so most people on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard are in Tianque City. No matter who she challenges, we're in for a good show.”
Whispers and discussions grew in the surroundings.
Yun Heng passed through the crowd and went straight to the arena registration desk.
The deacon behind the registration desk recognized her.
“Fellow Cultivator Yun.”
“Have you come today to register for a challenge?”
“Yes.”
Yun Heng retrieved her Martial Inquiry Token and placed it on the registration counter.
The deacon accepted the token.
“Which rank on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard would you like to challenge, Fellow Cultivator Yun?”
“Tenth place.”
As soon as Yun Heng's words fell, a collective gasp echoed around the registration desk.
“Tenth place? That's Yan Yi!”
“She only reached twenty-first place in her last two matches, and now she comes right back to challenge tenth?”
The cultivators gathered nearby all turned to stare at Yun Heng.
On the Nascent Soul Leaderboard, the difference between top twenty and top ten seemed to be merely ten places, but in terms of actual strength, they were on entirely different levels.
Those capable of entering the top ten on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard were genuine top-tier prodigies among the younger generation in the entire Eastern Region.
Tenth place on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard: Yan Yi.
Eldest Disciple of Mirror Moon Sect, with cultivation at peak Nascent Soul Realm.
Mirror Moon Sect was one of the five major sects in the Eastern Region. The sect primarily focused on the Talisman Dao, with most of its disciples being talisman cultivators. Aside from drawing and crafting talismans, disciples of Mirror Moon Sect were also adept in illusion arts, capable of using talismans to create illusions and dreamscapes, bewildering their opponents unawares.
As the Eldest Disciple of Mirror Moon Sect, whether in cultivation or Talisman Dao attainments, Yan Yi far surpassed ordinary cultivators of the same realm.
The commotion inside the Martial Inquiry Arena grew louder and louder.
“Yun Heng winning two consecutive matches last time was indeed impressive, but Yan Yi isn't an ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“She is already at peak Nascent Soul, and who knows how many talismans she holds in her hands.”
“When fighting a talisman cultivator, the most troublesome part is not knowing how many supplies they have prepared.”
Most of a talisman cultivator's talismans are drawn prior to the match, sealing spells and spiritual energy within. During actual combat, they only need to consume a small amount of spiritual energy to activate them, without needing to condense spiritual power anew like ordinary spells each time.
As long as their preparations are sufficient, the talismans on a talisman cultivator are practically endless.
Attack talismans, defense talismans, escape talismans, illusion talismans.
One after another.
Even if they cannot defeat an opponent right away, they can rely on raw numbers to constantly wear them down. In a duel against a talisman cultivator, the slightest carelessness could lead to being dragged down until one's spiritual power is entirely exhausted.
Even if they don't beat you to death, they can grind you to exhaustion.
Thinking back to Yan Yi's previous matches in the Martial Inquiry Arena, everyone could not help but break into a cold sweat on Yun Heng's behalf.
“Is Fellow Cultivator Yun certain about challenging Yan Yi, tenth on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard?”
“I am certain.”
Yun Heng's expression was calm, as though she did not care who her opponent was.
Seeing that she had made up her mind, the deacon urged her no further. He lowered his head, registered the entry on the array plate, and transmitted the challenge information outward.
The news quickly spread throughout the Nascent Soul area.
Last time, when she won two consecutive matches, many people had missed seeing it with their own eyes.
Now that they knew she had returned to the Martial Inquiry Arena and directly challenged tenth place on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard, more and more people naturally gathered around.
Having finished registering her challenge, Yun Heng stepped to the side and waited quietly.
In a distant corner, Su Mingyuan hid behind the crowd, her gaze firmly locked onto Yun Heng.
She had followed Yun Heng all the way to the Martial Inquiry Arena, originally only wanting to confirm whether she had misidentified her.
It was only when the surrounding cultivators called out “Miss Yun” that she became completely certain the person who had brushed past her earlier was indeed Yun Heng.
But she had never imagined that as soon as Yun Heng stepped into the Martial Inquiry Arena, she would challenge the tenth spot on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard.
For a moment, Su Mingyuan was at a loss for words. Does she really think of herself as a genius?
Yan Yi hailed from Mirror Moon Sect and was a genuine prodigy of the Eastern Region. Not only had her cultivation reached peak Nascent Soul, but there was no telling how many trump cards she held in her hands.
How long had it been since Yun Heng broke through to Nascent Soul? Even if she had reached the late stage of Nascent Soul now, there was still a gap between her and Yan Yi.
Su Mingyuan stared at Yun Heng. She wanted to see how Yun Heng could possibly win this time.
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