Inside the room, the candlelight flickered, illuminating everyone's faces as they struggled to hold back their laughter.
Feng Qingping finally couldn't help but let out a snicker. "Seventh Junior Brother's mouth is really something else…"
"How has he lived this long? Has no one actually beaten him to death yet…?"
"Anyway," Mu Wenyan cleared his throat, steering the conversation back to the main topic, "Little Junior Sister's suggestion is indeed feasible. Fourth Junior Brother is competing as a refinery master, so it's only logical for him to use a few more magic tools."
Jiang Yifan nodded and pulled several magic tools from his storage bag, arranging them on the table: a small bronze seal, a silver-white short blade, and three crimson beads.
"The Qingxuan Seal focuses on suppression; the Frost Blade can pierce defenses; and these fire-thunder pearls provide area-of-effect damage," he introduced briefly.
Li Nanzhu's eyes lit up. "Fourth Senior Brother, did you refine all of these yourself?"
"Yes," Jiang Yifan said, managing more than his usual single-word response. "I recently obtained some good materials and finished these."
Feng Qingping picked up the Qingxuan Seal to examine it closely. "What exquisite refining techniques. Fourth Junior Brother's attainments in the dao of refinery have improved yet again."
Mu Wenyan looked thoughtful. "If Fourth Junior Brother uses these tools, he can indeed confuse his opponents and lead them to underestimate his true strength."
"As for Second Junior Brother…" He looked toward Zhu Yinxi’s closed door with a helpless smile. "Let's stick to the original plan."
Zhu Yinxi's door suddenly opened. He stepped out holding his jade flute, his expression having returned to its usual calm. "I know what I'm doing."
Li Nanzhu noticed that the jade flute in his hand seemed slightly different from usual; several faint golden patterns had appeared along its body.
"Second Senior Brother's flute…"
Zhu Yinxi followed her gaze, his lips curving slightly. "I asked Master to help me refine it a bit further a while back."
Feng Qingping arched an eyebrow. "It seems Second Senior Brother was already prepared."
"Likewise." Zhu Yinxi looked at the array disk hanging from her waist. "Hasn't Fifth Junior Sister also modified her array disk?"
Everyone looked at each other and smiled, sharing a silent understanding.
…
The next morning.
For the Golden Core stage qualifying matches to the top twenty-five, the elites of every sect had arrived.
Li Nanzhu squeezed to the front of the announcement board and looked up at the match list:
"Feng Qingping of the Five Elements Dao Sect versus Wen Qianhui of the Xuan Tian Sect."
"Pei Ji of the Sword Heart Sect versus Jia Jiyou of the Beast Taming Sect."
"Zhu Yinxi of the Five Elements Dao Sect versus Qing Jue of the Heng Shui Sect."
"Qu Chen of the Sword Heart Sect versus Jiang Zhi of the Shenmu Sect."
"Jiang Yifan of the Five Elements Dao Sect versus An Jinhan of the Water Moon Sect."
"We really did manage to avoid each other," Li Nanzhu whispered. "We won't cross paths with the Sword Heart Sect people until the top twelve."
Zhu Yinxi stood beside her, idly spinning his jade flute. "That's for the best. It gives us more time to observe their techniques."
As they spoke, Duan Xianxing strolled over arrogantly, still followed by those two Sword Heart Sect disciples.
"Seventh Senior Brother!" Li Nanzhu intentionally raised her voice. "Are you still not coming with us today?"
Duan Xianxing winked at her. "Sect Leader Zhao said he'd teach me the Sword-Nurturing Sutra!" He intentionally lowered his voice just enough to be heard. "Little Junior Sister, don't tell Eldest Senior Brother…"
Hearing this, the two Sword Heart Sect disciples wore satisfied smiles.
Li Nanzhu feigned anger. "Seventh Senior Brother, you… you're too much!" With that, she turned and ran off.
After putting some distance between them, she peeked back and saw Duan Xianxing being escorted away by the two disciples, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nice acting," Zhu Yinxi said, appearing beside her at some unknown moment.
Li Nanzhu stuck out her tongue. "Seventh Senior Brother is the truly amazing one, acting right under the enemy's nose…"
Zhu Yinxi gazed in the direction Duan Xianxing had gone, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes. "I hope he stays safe."
At that moment on the arena, Feng Qingping stood surrounded by her array flags. Her opponent, Wen Qianhui, was a middle-aged cultivator with a sinister expression, holding an ancient bronze sword carved with eerie runes.
"Feng Qingping of the Five Elements Dao Sect. Please advise."
"Wen Qianhui of the Xuan Tian Sect. Please."
"Begin the match!"
Wen Qianhui struck first, his bronze sword unleashing a streak of dark green sword qi. Feng Qingping remained unhurried, releasing five array flags from her sleeves. "Five Elements Rotation Array!"
The array formed instantly, but Wen Qianhui let out a cold laugh as his longsword left its scabbard. "Do you only know this one array?! I've researched it thoroughly!"
As he spoke, his sword qi aimed directly at a weak point in the array. Feng Qingping shifted her formation. "Rotate!"
Boom!
The sword qi collided with the array, producing a deafening explosion. A flash of surprise crossed Wen Qianhui's eyes—this array was weaker than he had anticipated.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Feng Qingping's forehead as she feigned a look of extreme exertion.
Wen Qianhui had no way of knowing it was an act. He simply assumed that Feng Qingping's previous opponents had been too weak or that she had been lucky, and now that she faced someone as strong as himself, she naturally couldn't hold on.
"Now…" Seeing the change in his expression, Feng Qingping deliberately left a gap in her defense.
Wen Qianhui seized the opportunity. His sword style shifted abruptly, lunging with sharp killing intent toward the flaw in the array.
Bang!
The array shattered upon impact. Feng Qingping stumbled back several steps and spoke quickly.
"I concede."
The crowd went into an uproar.
"Feng Qingping of the Five Elements Dao Sect actually conceded?"
"It seems this Wen Qianhui is quite formidable…"
"I guess the arrays of the Five Elements Dao Sect are nothing special after all…"
Wen Qianhui sheathed his sword and stood tall, a look of wild joy flashing in his eyes. He had expected a bitter struggle but hadn't realized he would win so easily.
Feng Qingping didn't care about the comments. She merely gave Wen Qianhui a meaningful smile and turned to leave the stage.
In the spectator stands, Rong Yuying watched the whole scene, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
"Eldest Senior Sister, what do you think Fellow Daoist Feng is doing…?" Yu'er leaned in and whispered. After all, they had seen how Feng Qingping had dismantled an evil cultivator's array that day; her current performance wasn't even close to that level.
"Shh," Rong Yuying smiled and tapped Yu'er's lips. "Perhaps she is simply feeling unwell?"
Yu'er realized the situation instantly and said no more. They were partners now, and the more the other side hid their strength, the more advantageous it would be for the later team battles.
On another arena, two cultivators dressed in red robes stood facing each other.
"Jiang Yifan of the Five Elements Dao Sect."
"An Jinhan of the Water Moon Sect. Please provide some guidance, Fellow Daoist Jiang." His words carried an unmistakable arrogance.
As one of the direct disciples of the Water Moon Sect, he felt an inherent sense of superiority when facing another refinery master. Since the Water Moon Sect was the premier refinery sect, he looked down on other refinery masters to some degree.
Even if the opponent was from what was once the greatest sect, he had absolute confidence in crushing them in terms of refinery!
"Begin the match!"
An Jinhan took the initiative, his hands forming seals. "Prairie Fire!"
A fire phoenix flew from his palms, lunging toward Jiang Yifan with scorching heat.
Jiang Yifan remained calm and sacrificed his Qingxuan Seal!
"Suppress!"
The small bronze seal expanded in the wind, transforming into a massive seal that pressed down from above. The fire phoenix slammed into the seal, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"Interesting." An Jinhan arched an eyebrow and pulled a crimson flag from his sleeve. "How about this, then?"
As he waved the flag, three fire dragons roared forth. Jiang Yifan swept a cold gaze over them but only brought out his Frost Blade.
With a flick of his wrist, the cold-glinting dagger shot toward the eyes of the fire dragons!
"Pierce!"
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