The entire venue instantly fell silent.
Everyone held their breath, their gazes focused on the slender figure in the center of the field.
Jiang Yifan stood in the middle of the testing area, the Six-Combination Continuous-Bead Gun in his hand shimmering with an eerie light.
He lightly raised his hand and tapped his fingertip on the cylinder's body. Three spirit pearls lit up simultaneously, emitting a faint green glow.
"So few?"
"He's only activating three?"
Doubtful whispers rose from the sidelines.
A slender beam of green light shot out from the muzzle, moving so fast its trajectory was nearly invisible.
"Bang!"
With a soft sound, the Golden Core puppet's protective shield shattered instantly. The green light continued unabated, leaving a bowl-sized hole in the puppet's chest.
"With just three spirit pearls..."
"He broke through Golden Core stage defense?!"
The sidelines erupted into a commotion. Even the direct disciples of the major sects changed expression slightly—though their strength far surpassed this puppet.
Still, that was a genuine Golden Core stage defense, yet it had been pierced so easily...
Jiang Yifan's expression remained unchanged. He flicked his fingers and lit up two more spirit pearls.
This time, six spirit pearls lit up at once, and the green light wove into a peculiar pattern in the air.
"Swoosh—"
Four beams of green light simultaneously struck the puppet's limb joints, precisely destroying the spiritual energy circuits. The puppet's movements immediately became stiff. Its right arm snapped with a crack and hung limp.
"Such precise control."
"Every strike hits a vital point..."
At the judges' bench, several elders couldn't help but praise him in low voices.
Jiang Yifan suddenly stopped his movements and stood still on the spot.
His gaze was focused intently on the spirit pearls on the cylinder, as if he were calculating something.
The entire field fell into an eerie silence.
"What is he doing?" Li Nanyi craned his neck, his voice kept extremely low. "Why did he suddenly stop?"
Over at the Beast Taming Sect, several disciples looked at each other in confusion.
A tall, thin disciple suddenly stood up, only to be immediately yanked back to his seat by a companion pulling his sleeve. "Don't block the view!" the companion scolded in a low voice, though his eyes never left the field for a second.
Even Li Nanzhu exchanged confused glances with her fellow disciples.
Only Chu Chenzhou stared fixedly at Jiang Yifan's hand, his pupils suddenly shrinking. "No! He's..."
Before he could finish, Jiang Yifan suddenly formed a hand seal, sending a streak of spiritual light into the cylinder.
"Buzz—"
Thirty-six spirit pearls simultaneously emitted a blinding light. The surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment before beginning to vibrate violently.
"He's mad!" Elder Ming Deng bolted upright, his sleeve knocking over the teacup on his desk. "Controlling thirty-six tier 5 spirit pearls at the same time?!"
Elder Chang Yan's hands gripped the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. "This strength of divine sense... it has already exceeded the limits of the Golden Core stage!"
The disciples watching from the sidelines all sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Can Fourth Senior Brother's sea of consciousness handle it?" This time, even Feng Weilan's breathing became a bit rapid. "If one thing goes wrong, his sea of consciousness will collapse."
"Every spirit pearl requires independent divine sense control... thirty-six strands of divine sense..." Feng Qingping murmured. "First Senior Brother, can you do it?"
Mu Wenyan looked at Jiang Yifan in the field and slowly shook his head.
"Fourth Junior Brother..." Zhu Yinxi was also filled with worry.
When Liu Qingyang saw this scene, the bell in his hand almost fell to the ground. He stiffly turned his head toward Chu Chenzhou. "First Senior Brother... this..."
Chu Chenzhou's Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke in a dry voice, "At most... I can control twelve simultaneously."
Fine beads of sweat broke out on Jiang Yifan's forehead, but he had no intention of letting go. He sent another burst of spiritual energy into the Six-Combination Continuous-Bead Gun.
"Combine!"
With a soft shout, a burst of green light intertwined with various colors erupted from within.
"Buzz—"
A pillar of green light several feet in diameter instantly swallowed the Golden Core puppet whole.
The blinding radiance forced everyone to close their eyes. The violent spiritual energy fluctuations even shattered the protection array around the field.
When the light dissipated, only a charred pit three zhang deep remained on the martial arts arena. The puppet had long since turned to ash, leaving not even a single fragment behind.
The entire venue was deathly silent.
Jiang Yifan slowly withdrew his spiritual energy, and the spirit pearls dimmed one by one. His face was as pale as paper, but a faint smile played on his lips.
Only after a long while did someone speak in a trembling voice:
"This..."
"A Golden Core stage puppet..."
"Just gone like that?"
The few Qingxia Sect disciples slumped directly to the ground, their faces ashen. They could no longer find a single word to comfort themselves.
Chu Chenzhou stood where he was, the Seven-Star Reflecting Moon Mirror in his hand having lowered at some point. He stared at the deep pit in the field, the shock in his eyes impossible to hide.
After a long time, Elder Chang Yan finally found his voice. "Tier 5 highest-grade, well-deserved."
Meanwhile, Jiang Yifan looked at the scattered remains of the puppet and turned to the judges' bench. "Need the disciple to pay compensation?"
"N-No need..." Elder Tan stammered in reply. "Test losses... are charged to the assembly's account..."
As the sect leader of the Water Moon Sect, Liu Changhe was the first to regain his composure. He took a deep breath, and his voice rang through the venue.
"After review, the results of the Refining Great Competition are as follows—"
"First place, Jiang Yifan of the Five Elements Dao Sect!"
"Second place, Chu Chenzhou of the Water Moon Sect!"
"Third place..."
The announcement echoed in the air, but Chu Chenzhou's attention was no longer on the rankings. He stared at the magic tool in Jiang Yifan's hand, his gaze unreadable.
Just as Elder Chang Yan was about to announce the end of the competition, Chu Chenzhou suddenly took a step forward.
"Wait a Moment!"
Every gaze in the venue instantly focused on him.
"According to the rules of the competition," Chu Chenzhou spoke, "I have the right to challenge the first place."
At the judges' bench, several elders exchanged glances.
"There is indeed such a rule." Elder Chang Yan nodded. "Granted. But before the match, the spiritual energy of both of you will be suppressed to the early stage of Foundation Establishment."
Saying this, he looked at Jiang Yifan. "If his Seven-Star Reflecting Moon Mirror can surpass your Six-Combination Continuous-Bead Gun, the rankings will be swapped. Any objections?"
Jiang Yifan smiled slightly and cupped his hands. "The disciple has no objections."
Chu Chenzhou took a deep breath and walked back to the center of the field, the Seven-Star Reflecting Moon Mirror in his hand glowing with silver light. "Please advise."
"Please." Jiang Yifan looked composed, the Six-Combination Continuous-Bead Gun in his hand shimmering with a faint light.
With their cultivation suppressed, the deacon elder gave the order. Chu Chenzhou immediately activated the Seven-Star Reflecting Moon Mirror, and a concentrated beam of silver light shot out.
Jiang Yifan remained unhurried, merely tapping the cylinder's body lightly. Three spirit pearls lit up, and a beam of green light met the attack.
"Boom—"
The two beams of light collided in the air, kicking up a storm of spiritual energy.
Chu Chenzhou gritted his teeth and changed his hand seal. The seven mirrors merged into one, and the silver light instantly doubled in thickness. But Jiang Yifan simply lit up two more spirit pearls, and the green light immediately became even more concentrated.
Sweat soon beaded on his forehead, yet he refused to give up. His hands moved rapidly to form seals, injecting almost all the spiritual energy available at the Foundation Establishment stage.
A flash of admiration crossed Jiang Yifan's eyes. This time, seven spirit pearls lit up simultaneously.
The green light wove into a net in the air, firmly locking that silver beam in place!
"Boom!"
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