There was a soft knock on the door, followed by a gentle female voice.
"Fellow Daoists of the Five Elements Dao Sect, Mu Qingwan of the Hundred Herbs Sect requests an audience."
Everyone looked at each other in surprise.
Li Nanzhu rose to open the door. She found Mu Qingwan standing alone outside, now dressed in simple, plain robes. The jade bracelet on her wrist was gone.
"Is there something you need, Fellow Daoist Mu?" Li Nanzhu asked cautiously.
Mu Qingwan bit her lip and suddenly bowed deeply. "Thank you for showing mercy today. I... I came to apologize."
This sudden change of heart left everyone stunned.
Mu Qingwan continued, "After I returned, my master checked my injuries. He said that if you hadn't used your life force to neutralize the toxin in time, I would probably have..."
Her voice choked up slightly. "I even stubbornly argued that you only won because of a magic treasure, but my master rebuked me on the spot." She pulled a jade box from her robes. "This is the Hundred Herbs Sect's clear heart jade dew pill. Please accept it as a small token of my gratitude."
Li Nanzhu took the jade box and felt the pure spiritual energy fluctuations within. "There is no need for such a gift, Fellow Daoist Mu. It was just a match."
"No," Mu Qingwan shook her head. "The Heart-Siphoning Myriad Poisons I used today is a forbidden technique. It goes against the very purpose of the assembly... I was simply too desperate for victory... I couldn't accept defeat..."
She laughed bitterly. "And I certainly shouldn't have slandered you after losing... In truth, I knew you didn't use any magic treasures at all."
That last sentence made everyone's hearts tighten.
Mu Qingwan pursed her lips and said self-deprecatingly, "When my own divine sense attack hit, wouldn't the sensation be different if it struck a magic treasure versus your own divine sense? I was just unwilling to admit it at the time, so I..."
She changed the subject. "But rest assured, I will keep this secret to myself. I swear it upon my Dao heart. Also..." She hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice. "Be careful of the Sword Heart Sect."
With that, she bowed once more and turned to leave.
After a moment of silence, Duan Xianxing was the first to speak. "Does this count as becoming friends after a fight?"
Feng Qingping frowned. "That last thing she said... what was she implying?"
"Whatever it is, it won't be anything good." Mu Wenyan took a sip of tea. Over the past few days, Feng Yi had been nowhere to be seen, so all the directing fell to him as the eldest senior brother.
"If your future opponents are all like that, you'll need to be careful." Zhu Yinxi twirled his jade flute in his hand. He had been watching the matches lately, filling in the missing details in the jade slips.
"Second Senior Brother," Duan Xianxing poked Zhu Yinxi, "I think you guys should be the ones worried. After all, the Golden Core stage matches are way more dangerous than our Foundation Establishment ones. Not to mention..." He glanced at Mu Wenyan. "There's also Eldest Senior Brother's Nascent Soul matches."
"We don't need you to worry about us," Zhu Yinxi said, swatting away Duan Xianxing's restless hand. "You still have at least three rounds left. After Little Junior Sister, it'll be you and Sixth Junior Brother. Stay focused."
"Relax, don't you trust your junior brother's strength?"
On the arena grounds, the matches continued one after another.
Duan Xianxing stretched and looked at the scrolling list of pairings on the light screen. "Tsk, tsk. My opponent is from the Wuji Sect."
Feng Weilan also saw his opponent. "Sword Heart Sect."
"It seems the Sword Heart Sect is getting a bit impatient." Li Nanzhu raised an eyebrow. These were the only two sects they had conflicts with, and yet they just happened to be matched against them. How curious.
"Perfect," Duan Xianxing chuckled. "Let's see who ends up being more embarrassed."
Even Zhu Yinxi nodded in agreement. "Finish it quickly."
When Duan Xianxing stepped onto the arena, his opponent, Zhao Wuyan, was already standing there. Multiple talisman pouches hung from his waist, and an arrogant sneer was plastered on his face.
"The Five Elements Dao Sect actually thinks they're worthy to compete? You've been gone for a thousand years; couldn't you just stay hidden quietly?" Zhao Wuyan mocked. "I heard you don't even have a sect mountain anymore?"
A cold glint flashed in Duan Xianxing's eyes, but he didn't get angry. Instead, he flashed a brilliant smile. "Fellow Daoist Zhao, with all those talismans on your waist, are you planning to open a general store?"
A burst of laughter erupted from the sidelines.
Zhao Wuyan's face turned ashen. Just as he was about to snap back, the referee announced, "The match begins!"
Whoosh!
Zhao Wuyan's hand had only just touched his talisman pouch when Duan Xianxing appeared right in front of him!
"So fast!" Zhao Wuyan was horrified. In his haste, he only managed to throw out three fire talismans.
Duan Xianxing didn't dodge. With a flick of his sword, three sword qi accurately struck the talismans, detonating them in mid-air.
Boom!
Amidst the scattering flames, Duan Xianxing's figure burst through the smoke, his sword lunging straight for Zhao Wuyan's throat!
"Gold bell talisman!" Zhao Wuyan frantically slapped a golden talisman onto himself, and a phantom image of a golden bell instantly enveloped him.
Clang!
Duan Xianxing's sword struck the golden bell with a deafening ring. Zhao Wuyan took the chance to retreat while throwing more talismans with both hands.
However, Duan Xianxing was faster. In the split second before the talismans could activate, he had already circled behind Zhao Wuyan.
Thud!
A powerful side kick slammed directly into Zhao Wuyan's lower back. The Wuji Sect disciple didn't even have time to scream before he went flying like a broken kite, crashing heavily onto the ground thirty feet away.
"Arena Seven, Duan Xianxing of the Five Elements Dao Sect wins!"
As the referee's announcement fell, the crowd went into an uproar. No one had expected the match to end so quickly—from start to finish, Zhao Wuyan hadn't even successfully activated five talismans!
Duan Xianxing gave a light scoff.
"Trash."
The Wuji Sect elder's face was livid. He shot Duan Xianxing a fierce glare before sweeping his sleeves and storming off.
Next was Feng Weilan's match.
His opponent was Li Jianfeng, an inner sect disciple of the Sword Heart Sect. It was obvious that he also looked down on the Five Elements Dao Sect. Even though Feng Weilan had already shown impressive strength, the man attributed it entirely to luck.
Being an inner sect disciple of the Sword Heart Sect, he naturally possessed a certain degree of pride. His swordplay was indeed decent, but after twenty exchanges, Feng Weilan caught a flaw during a transition and cleaved the man's longsword in two with a single strike.
Snap!
Li Jianfeng's sword shattered on impact.
He stared blankly at the broken hilt in his hand. Before he could react, the tip of Feng Weilan's blade was already pressed against his throat.
"Do you admit defeat?" Feng Weilan's voice remained calm.
Li Jianfeng's expression shifted several times before he finally gritted his teeth. "...I admit defeat."
"Arena Nine, Feng Weilan of the Five Elements Dao Sect wins!"
The Sword Heart Sect elder's face was incredibly grim. Li Jianfeng was a disciple the inner sect had high hopes for, yet he had been defeated without even forcing out Feng Weilan's true strength!
Clearly, the Sword Heart Sect's plan to suppress the Five Elements Dao Sect by partnering with the Wuji Sect had completely failed. Of course, they still blamed it on poor luck.
The three of them were so good at feigning their strength that if Mu Wenyan and the others hadn't known the truth, even they might have been fooled.
In the following matches, although they encountered disciples from other major sects again, nothing hindered the trio's advancement.
Seven days later, the top fifty were finally decided!
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