As days passed one after another, the Heavenly Alliance Grand Competition finally entered its final stretch.
While the battles grew increasingly fierce, the situation gradually became clearer.
Lower-level cultivators had long since been eliminated.
Now, those remaining on the arenas were without exception sect overlords.
Either ancient family ancestors, or great powers with profound foundations and extraordinary encounters.
The arena specifications had been comprehensively upgraded to A-grade.
Every clash brought changes to heaven and earth.
Laws resonated thunderously.
Spectators cheered in delight.
Due to the competition rule requiring fellow disciples to avoid each other, several core disciples had yet to encounter each other.
The Immortal Spirit Sacred Land's Alliance Leader Xiao Chen.
Enforcement Elder Han Yu.
Immortal Spirit City Lord Ji Lingxiu.
Elder Jiang Che and others.
Like towering mountains, they stood firmly in the winners' bracket.
They awaited their eventual clashes.
And besides these already world-renowned powerhouses and a few top sect masters, there were three others.
They maintained perfect undefeated records as dark horses.
Advancing triumphantly and attracting countless gazes!
These three were a young martial cultivator named Fan Lie.
A female arts cultivator named Ding Tanghuan.
And a sword cultivator known as Xu Yujun.
Fan Lie's combat style was incomparably fierce.
His fists and palms seemed to contain the power to shatter stars.
His martial will was condensed into something tangible.
He often overwhelmed opponents with absolute power in just a few moves.
Ding Tanghuan's spellcraft was transcendent.
Casual gestures produced ancient techniques of immense power.
Her mastery over heaven and earth's spiritual energy was exquisite.
Her casting speed was extremely fast, making her impossible to defend against.
Xu Yujun's sword dao was exceptional.
A single long sword in her hand seemed almost alive.
Her sword intent was sometimes ethereal as clouds, sometimes sharp as lightning.
Her sword paths were tricky and ingenious.
She often found victory where none seemed possible.
The cultivation these three displayed on the surface was all late Heavenly Being stage.
Yet the combat power they demonstrated far exceeded their peers.
They advanced through each round with almost effortless ease.
Their depths unfathomable.
Never having been forced to reveal their true strength.
Their sudden emergence sparked endless discussion and amazement:
"The Xuanying Continent truly has hidden dragons and crouching tigers!"
"To think there are such peerless geniuses we've never heard of!"
"This Fan Lie's martial dao is simply unreasonably domineering!"
"He feels even more powerful than some sacred land elders who specialize in body cultivation!"
"Ding Tanghuan's spells are too terrifying."
"With a wave of her hand, the winds and clouds change."
"What sect or faction is her inheritance from?"
"Xu Yujun's sword... it reminds me of a certain legend from the Sword Pavilion years ago."
"Yet it's different. Even more unfathomable and profound!"
"It seems this grand competition has variables beyond the internal rivalry of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Land!"
However, the outside world's astonishment and speculation had long been observed.
The high ranks of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Land were watching.
Xiao Chen, Han Yu, Jiang Che, and others stood on the elevated platform.
Their gazes calmly swept across the arenas where those three fought.
"Fan Lie, Ding Tanghuan, Xu Yujun..."
Han Yu's voice was cold.
"Disciples reported earlier that these three previously appeared alongside Ji Yunshu."
"Their movements are suspicious."
Jiang Che interjected, "They must be some restless characters from the Upper Realm."
"Finding another way to seek payback."
"At least they've learned some sense, knowing to follow our rules."
Xiao Chen nodded slightly.
His gaze sharp as an eagle's.
"An open plot."
"Everything they've done falls within the competition rules."
"They could even be called exemplary."
"No cheating, no harming others—they've fought their way up entirely honorably."
"If we were to make a move without cause now, we'd lose the moral high ground and appear petty."
He paused, his tone decisive.
"In that case, we have no choice but to defeat them honorably on the arena!"
"Let them, and everyone else, know that my Immortal Spirit Sacred Land, my Heavenly Alliance, can accommodate any challenge, and can meet any challenge!"
"According to the upcoming match schedule..."
Ji Lingxiu's beautiful eyes flashed with battle intent.
"These three will face Senior Brother Han, myself, and Xiao Luo respectively."
Everyone's gazes involuntarily turned to the youngest disciple among them.
The one who had entered the sect most recently—Lu Xiaoluo.
Lu Xiaoluo still wore her usual gentle and well-behaved demeanor.
Sensing her senior brothers' and sisters' gazes, she raised her head.
She revealed a shallow, reassuring smile.
"Xiao Luo will do her best."
For Han Yu and Ji Lingxiu, no one had much worry.
Han Yu was meticulous in thought.
Always cold and efficient, best at finding weaknesses.
Ji Lingxiu's combat power was formidable, her foundation profound.
Though both were only at Long Life stage peak, like Xiao Chen, they had more or less suppressed their cultivation levels.
Combined with their rich combat experience, their odds against those three mysterious dark horses were extremely high.
Only for Lu Xiaoluo did everyone harbor some hidden concern.
Though her talent was extremely high and her progress rapid, after all, she hadn't been in the sect for long.
Her cultivation had also reached Long Life stage.
But compared to Han Yu, Ji Lingxiu, and the others, her foundation and experience might fall short by more than a little.
And her opponent, that sword cultivator Xu Yujun, had demonstrated sword dao cultivation that was unfathomable.
Extremely difficult to deal with.
"Xiao Luo," Xiao Chen said solemnly, "be extremely careful facing Xu Yujun."
"Her sword is not simple."
Lu Xiaoluo nodded earnestly.
"Don't worry, Eldest Senior Brother. Xiao Luo understands."
Invisible pressure quietly spread through the air.
Everyone understood.
The clash between these three "dark horses" from the Upper Realm and the three core disciples of the Immortal Spirit Sacred Land would be a crucial preliminary battle.
It would determine the ultimate alliance leader.
Its intensity and brilliance would surely far exceed everything before!
...
Heavenly Alliance Grand Competition, Twenty-First Day.
Just as Xiao Chen had said, Han Yu encountered Fan Lie first.
On an A-grade arena, two figures stood facing each other from a distance.
On one side was the Immortal Spirit Sacred Land's Enforcement Elder Han Yu.
Clad in an indigo elder's robe.
His figure tall and straight.
His features cold and stern.
His gaze sharp as an eagle's.
His aura deep and condensed like an abyssal pool.
On the other side was one of this competition's greatest dark horses.
Fan Lie from the Upper Realm, a master of martial dao.
His build wasn't particularly burly.
Yet standing there, he seemed like a volcano that might erupt at any moment.
Filled with an explosive sense of power.
His eyes were haughty.
Carrying the superiority and scrutiny of one from the Upper Realm.
Before the competition bell had even rung, Fan Lie suddenly moved his lips.
A voice transmission that only Han Yu could hear was precisely delivered to his ears:
"Han Yu. Calm, cautious personality."
"Long Life stage perfected cultivation."
"Most skilled in the Supreme Immortal Technique, Heaven-Blocking One Sword."
"Once had a master named Mo Shi—who was actually an enemy—before later meeting Chen Chang'an and becoming his disciple..."
Han Yu's motion of preparing his opening stance paused slightly.
His cold gaze swept toward Fan Lie.
He transmitted back, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger:
"It seems you from the Upper Realm have prepared quite thoroughly in terms of intelligence."
"But so what?"
"On the arena, ultimately, true skill must be proven by one's hands."
A cold smile appeared on Fan Lie's face.
His transmitted voice carried a hint of pity and mockery:
"Prepared thoroughly? I merely pity you."
"Having your so-called 'master' Chen Chang'an steal the tremendous fortune and supreme future that should have belonged to you."
"Yet remaining ignorantly unaware."
"Desperately working for him here, serving as a pawn."
"How laughable and pathetic."
Han Yu's eyes flickered imperceptibly.
His tone remaining flat:
"Oh? Is that so? I'm all ears."
Seeing that Han Yu seemed to have "taken the bait," Fan Lie secretly rejoiced.
He continued in a tone of revealing the truth:
"If Chen Chang'an hadn't meddled, pretending to save you, then it should have been you."
"Relying on that 'Immortal-Commanding Gourd,' rising step by step."
"In the future, the name 'Immortal Lord Han' would have resounded through both Upper and Lower Realms!"
"Achieving supreme greatness!"
"Not like now, cooped up in this tiny Lower Realm sect."
"Serving as a mere Enforcement Elder, guarding his gate!"
He painted a seemingly glorious but vague picture of the future.
Han Yu listened, nodded thoughtfully.
He transmitted back:
"I see."
"So according to you, should I immediately thank you for awakening me?"
"Then betray my sect on the spot, join your side in tears, and pursue this so-called 'Immortal Lord Han' future?"
Fan Lie tried to squeeze out a sincere expression:
"I know the truth is hard to accept at first, but facts are facts."
"In the Upper Realm, there's an immortal artifact called the 'Past Life Mirror'."
"It can reveal certain future trajectories of living beings."
"If you have the chance, go observe it, and you'll know my words aren't false."
He paused, emphasizing his tone.
Attempting to break through Han Yu's mental defenses:
"Think carefully."
"At that time, you already possessed the Immortal-Commanding Gourd."
"Even if Chen Chang'an hadn't appeared, hadn't pretended to save you, did you really have no chance?"
"No backup plan to escape Mo Shi's clutches?"
"Your fate should have been in your own hands!"
The arena fell silent.
The spectators below only saw the two standing opposite each other.
Seemingly engaged in some wordless contest.
Unaware of the specific content.
After a long while, Han Yu suddenly smiled.
That smile was no longer his usual coldness.
It carried a detachment of having seen through everything.
And... a trace of mockery.
He transmitted back, his voice clear and firm:
"You're right."
"Perhaps, if I hadn't met my master, I really might have, as you say, relied on the Immortal-Commanding Gourd and some unknown luck."
"Ultimately escaped Mo Shi's clutches."
"And even... truly walked an entirely different path."
Fan Lie's heart leaped with joy.
He thought the persuasion was working.
But Han Yu's tone sharply shifted:
"However—"
"But I know that if my master hadn't acted back then, that child who was captured by Mo Shi along with me, Li Hanzhou, would certainly have died."
"One hundred percent, without any chance."
His tone was flat, yet contained undeniable power.
"As for whether I can become this 'Immortal Lord Han' you speak of, I, Han Yu, am not interested right now."
"But I know more clearly than anyone."
"The life before my eyes, the senior and junior brothers and sisters beside me, everything I protect—this is what I cherish."
"What I am willing to defend with my sword."
"The story you tell is very good, very moving."
"The future you weave is also tempting."
Han Yu concluded, the mockery in his tone no longer concealed:
"But next lifetime, if you encounter me again, remember to change the topic."
"After all..."
"One's master cannot be insulted! You... have earned yourself a death sentence."
The instant his words fell, the competition bell timely rang!
The detachment in Han Yu's eyes instantly transformed into cold sword intent.
His fingers formed a sword shape.
A sword aura condensed to the absolute limit tore through the air!
It thrust straight at Fan Lie's face!
The scheme to break his heart had completely failed!
Fan Lie's expression instantly became unsightly.
He roared furiously.
His boundless martial true intent erupted, meeting the attack head-on!
...
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