Although Li Yan's current cultivation level surprised Gong Yuantai somewhat, he found it acceptable when he thought about the rich and enviable cultivation resources of Little Bamboo Peak.
Right now, those in the Malevolent Spirit Sect who knew of Li Yan's history believed his cultivation was related to his unique constitution. Those who didn't know, of course, were unaware that Li Yan had cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage with a Miscellaneous Spirit Root.
After receiving Wei Zhongran's voice transmission and learning that Li Yan was to take over as captain, Gong Yuantai dared not show even a shred of dissatisfaction, despite his inner defiance.
Wei Zhongran was not someone to be trifled with. Even if he were to kill him, the Malevolent Spirit Sect would not say a word.
However, Gong Yuantai was also secretly pleased. If Li Yan were defeated later and he himself could secure a victory, he wondered what face Li Yan would have to remain. In that case, his own chances of becoming captain would be promising.
But among the people on the opposing side, the one who made him the most wary was the young woman in the tight-fitting, light blue palace dress. Gong Yuantai was not completely confident he could defeat her.
"Alright, are we fighting or not? The people have been chosen. Who's coming down first!"
The chatter from the crowd irritated Wang Ning. She spoke again in a cold voice, and it was as if a layer of frost descended upon the field, instantly silencing the surroundings.
It was clear that Gong Yuantai himself would not be the first to go up. No matter what, he had to be ranked after Li Yan. At the same time, he shot a meaningful glance at the few people beside him.
Those people, whether they were Malevolent Spirit Sect disciples or cultivators under their jurisdiction, had all fought side by side in bloody battles. They had a tacit understanding and instantly grasped Gong Yuantai's meaning.
Besides, they were also unwilling to let someone be randomly appointed to the position of captain. Before they witnessed Li Yan's capabilities, they too were unconvinced.
After Wang Ning finished speaking, none of them rushed forward as they had before. Instead, they all cast their gazes upon Li Yan, who stood slightly ahead of them.
Faced with this strange scene, Li Yan thought for a moment. With his sharp wits, he quickly understood both sides' intentions.
He suddenly chuckled. "Since that's the case, I'll go first then."
Hearing Li Yan's words, Gong Yuantai and the others were delighted. Smiles appeared on their faces, as if they were showing concern for Li Yan.
On the opposing side, everyone except Bu Luo had a playful look in their eyes. Anyone could see that Li Yan hadn't earned the respect of the people here; even the old members of the Sixteenth Squad were just watching the show.
At the courtyard wall far away, those watching the excitement were more than happy to see things escalate. Most of the Malevolent Spirit Sect disciples there knew of a person named Li Yan on Little Bamboo Peak, but few had seen him in action.
During the sect competition back then, Li Yan was only at the Qi Condensation stage. From their current perspective, the duels at that time were like child's play. They were quite curious about Li Yan's current strength.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Li Yan, carefully observing his expression. After a while, some people's opinions began to change. Li Yan's expression was very calm, so calm that his aura showed no fluctuations, giving off an inscrutable feeling.
Bu Luo looked around and, after much thought, finally made up his mind. 'I can't fight him later. His methods must be even more vicious than before!'
He remembered clearly how Xu Yehua and Monk Yiming, who had already cultivated the Lesser Vajra Body, had ended up one dead and one injured at this man's hands. He himself had nearly perished before those two.
What he didn't know was that Monk Yiming had ultimately died at Li Yan's hands in the pavilion of the Flame Palace. Otherwise, he would have dismissed any thought of fighting Li Yan long ago.
At this time, in the center of the courtyard, the two groups of cultivators retreated further, leaving a space of forty to fifty zhang for Li Yan and Wang Ning. (TN: A zhang is a unit of length, roughly 3.33 meters.)
As Gong Yuantai and his group retreated, he didn't forget to give Li Yan a word of caution.
"Junior Brother Li, be careful. This woman is likely quite troublesome. Don't be rash and fight her head-on!"
Li Yan just smiled at him without replying.
Li Yan's expression displeased several people by Gong Yuantai's side. When someone challenged the authority of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, they would unite against the outsider, but cultivators were no exception when it came to matters of closeness and distance.
As they retreated, a few of the Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators let out soft, cold laughs, while others jeered in low voices.
"It seems he doesn't appreciate your concern, Senior Brother Gong!"
"Of course. No matter how much we fight and bleed at the front, we're still just squad members. He comes here without a speck of dust on him and is made captain."
"You have a point. Ever since the great war began, I haven't seen this junior brother on Windy Cool Mountain. And now this…"
Although they couldn't say they were the sole survivors of a hundred battles, they were people who had teetered on the brink of death many times. Though they feared Wei Zhongran, their hearts were filled with frustration when they thought about how all their desperate efforts were less convenient than Li Yan having a good master.
After Li Yan's arrival, he would receive the most rewards after every battle, while dangerous missions would be thrown to squad members like them to charge into the fray, with him just shouting orders from the back.
Those who said these things were all Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators on good terms with Gong Yuantai. The conscripted cultivators under the Malevolent Spirit Sect, however, just looked at each other with varied expressions in their eyes.
Some were gloating, some were expressionless, and some were lost in thought.
Gong Yuantai's eyes narrowed, and he didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the center of the field.
"Hehehe, it seems it's not just us who think the position of squad captain should go to someone with ability. Even your own fellow disciples think so!"
The whispers from the Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators, though low, were clearly audible to the cultivators with their sharp hearing, even those by the courtyard wall. They knew these words were deliberately meant for Li Yan to hear.
Wang Ning, who was about to make her move, heard this and also let out a light laugh at Li Yan, but didn't add anything.
"Oh, it should be so. I am merely here on orders. It's normal for some people to be displeased. Fellow Daoist Wang, please!"
There was no anger on Li Yan's face. He simply cupped his fist at Wang Ning.
Since his master had told him to deal with them quickly, he had no choice but to obey.
From the last time Wei Zhongran placed restrictions on Hu Xiaowang and the others, Li Yan could see that Wei Zhongran was not as gentle as he appeared on the surface. His constant concealment of his own affairs had clearly frustrated Wei Zhongran.
Wang Ning was also decisive. Her expression turned solemn once more. With a turn of her snow-white wrist, she slashed forward. A rainbow-like silken ribbon of light arced upwards from below.
Simultaneously, a sword scar extended across the ground from between her feet, sending shattered stones flying with its turbulent sword qi.
The ribbon of light shot toward the space between Li Yan's legs. If it hit, he would be instantly split in two from bottom to top. The graceful young woman's attack was exceptionally ruthless.
'An Outer Sword lineage!'
Li Yan could tell at a glance that Wang Ning's cultivation method followed a fierce and powerful path. He knew of the Yingshui Sect; it was one of the top-tier major sects under the jurisdiction of the Ten-Pace Courtyard.
It was also a sword-cultivating sect. Unlike the Ten-Pace Courtyard, the Yingshui Sect's main cultivation methods followed the path of the Inner Sword. Most of its disciples were water-spirit-root cultivators, skilled at using softness to overcome hardness, and their evasive and entangling techniques were very strong.
But the young woman before him had clearly deviated from the Yingshui Sect's main cultivation methods, instead walking the path of the Outer Sword's raw power. Li Yan was slightly taken aback, not knowing the Yingshui Sect possessed such a formidable and powerful cultivation method.
Wang Ning had no sword casket on her back, which could easily mislead others.
As this thought flashed through Li Yan's mind, he had already vanished from his spot, reappearing in an instant to the left of the ribbon of light. He raised his hand and cast an extremely proficient low-level immortal art—the Quicksand Art.
Li Yan lacked mid-to-high-level immortal arts, but his various fundamental arts had reached a state of perfection through years of repetitive practice. Even ordinary Golden Core cultivators might not have as thorough an understanding of low-level immortal arts as Li Yan.
The Quicksand Art, normally used to trap people and horses on the ground, was unleashed by Li Yan and intercepted the ribbon of light from the side. A vortex like a coiling dragon of yellow sand appeared in the air.
The two were very close, and the sword qi and the art collided in an instant. The yellow sand coiling dragon appeared even larger, and in the next moment, it ensnared the rainbow-like ribbon of light.
From within the rolling sandstorm, a continuous "ding, ding, ding…" sound echoed endlessly. The ribbon of light from the longsword clashed with the vast amount of sand particles, producing a metallic sound upon impact.
When his Spirit Power made contact, Li Yan was also slightly stunned. The sword qi from Wang Ning was incredibly sharp. Even with the immensity of Li Yan's Spirit Power, he had to use fifty percent of his magic power to block her strike.
And Wang Ning had certainly not used her full strength either. Based on Li Yan's experience cultivating the True Scripture of Gui Water, the magic power he cultivated was about thirty percent greater than that of his peers at the same level.
'No wonder this woman walks the path of raw power. The abundance of her Spirit Power also far exceeds that of other cultivators at her level. It must be that her aptitude and the cultivation method she practices are exceptionally compatible. With such innate conditions, the Outer Sword is indeed a suitable path for her.'
Li Yan was somewhat astonished, but Wang Ning, in the distance, was even more so. The seemingly casual strike she had just unleashed had actually used about seventy percent of her magic power.
She wanted to defeat Li Yan in one blow, leaving thirty percent of her power to control the sword qi with greater ease. So even if Li Yan couldn't block it, she was confident she could prevent him from being too severely injured.
But when their Spirit Powers clashed, Wang Ning found she hadn't gained the slightest advantage. Her opponent, too, looked completely at ease.
'To have such strong magic power just after advancing to the Pseudo-Core Realm, the cultivation method he practices must be some kind of intermediate, or even advanced, art. Otherwise, it wouldn't have such power. The Four Great Sects truly have abundant cultivation resources.'
A thought flashed through Wang Ning's mind, and she immediately dismissed any underestimation of him. After her first strike missed, her figure remained motionless, standing gracefully in place, her brows slightly furrowed.
A brilliant blue light suddenly shone from the longsword in her hand, and the aura around her instantly became sharp and fierce. A continuous mountain of swords materialized before her, with countless sword shadows crisscrossing in an irregular pattern as they moved forward.
Wang Ning formed a seal with one hand, while her other jade-like hand continuously swung forward, sending endless ribbons of light pressing down on Li Yan from the air.
Li Yan, however, let out a light laugh. He too stood his ground, neither retreating nor evading. With a flick of his ten fingers, coiling dragons of yellow sand, large and small, rolled out, each one thicker, larger, and with a wider range than any of the sword qi streams.
The yellow sand coiling dragons met the incoming attack head-on, ensnaring the ribbons of light one by one, making it impossible for them to break free.
The entire courtyard trembled under this assault. Even the two groups that had already retreated several tens of zhang had to retreat again. Some had even begun to rise into the air to escape the overflowing sword qi and the crushing power of the yellow sand in the courtyard.
If not for Li Yan and Wang Ning deliberately controlling their attacks, this courtyard would have likely been reduced to rubble in the first moments of their fight.
There were many spectators with sharp eyes present.
"This Fellow Daoist from Little Bamboo Peak has masterful control over his Spirit Power. He doesn't look like someone who has just entered the Pseudo-Core Realm. And the abundance of his Spirit Power is in no way inferior to that of Fellow Daoist Wang," someone murmured, staring at the field with a strange look in his eyes.