Behind Cloud Hidden Peak, there was an open martial arts arena reinforced with formations. Normally it was where disciples on the peak practiced techniques and sparred.
On this day, the atmosphere in the arena was different from usual. Many disciples from Cloud Hidden Peak who heard the news, and even trouble-seekers from other peaks who came after hearing the news, gathered early at the arena's edge. Their burning gazes fixed on the two people standing opposite each other in the arena.
On one side was Third Senior Sister Liu Yun, dressed in fiery red martial attire. Her posture was upright, her horse-tail hair tied high, and her brow carried a natural heroic spirit. She held a longsword gleaming with cold light, its blade faintly flowing with crimson glow. Her aura was clearly at the peak of mid-Foundation Establishment, just one step from late stage. Apparently after returning from the secret realm, she had not relaxed her cultivation; her power had advanced considerably.
On the other side was Xiaoqi in plain blue robes, his expression calm. He did not hold a sword in his hand but instead gripped that signature item, his frying pan now dark golden in color. His aura was steady and restrained. His Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivation, under Third Senior Sister's sharpness, seemed unremarkable.
"Little Qi, I hear you've been quite popular lately!" Third Senior Sister Liu Yun's lips curved with a fighting smile. She twirled her sword and pointed it at Xiaoqi. "Alchemy, teaching—you've been busy. But I wonder, has your handwork fallen behind? Today, Senior Sister is bored and specially came to test your mettle!"
Her voice was clear, spreading across the entire martial arts arena, immediately causing a buzz of low discussion and anticipatory gazes from the surrounding disciples. Third Senior Sister Liu Yun was known throughout the younger generation of Qingxu Temple as a battle enthusiast with fierce sword techniques and a fiery temper. Her initiative to challenge the rising Tang Xiaoqi made this sparring undoubtedly highly interesting.
Xiaoqi looked at the battle-energized Third Senior Sister without surprise. He knew her temperament well. After her cultivation broke through, seeking sparring to verify her progress was routine. He smiled slightly and held the Mysterious Golden Guardian Pan horizontally before him, calmly saying: "Senior Sister's command, disciple naturally accepts. Please go easy on me."
"Don't give me that fake modesty!" Liu Yun shouted. "Show me your real skills! Let Senior Sister see what the secret realm hero is really made of!"
Before the words finished, she moved like an arrow from the bow, launching the first attack! The sword in her hand transformed into a crimson streak of lightning, bringing a scorching airwave, directly thrusting toward Xiaoqi's face—impossibly fast!
A gasp rose from the arena's edge. Third Senior Sister's opening move was the fierce killing technique "Crimson Bow Piercing the Sun"—clearly not the slightest bit of testing.
Facing this lightning-fast sword, Xiaoqi's eyes sharpened, but he did not panic. He had already decided: in this battle, he would not use the Purification Source or Crimson Flame Sword Intent. He would only use his own Foundation Establishment early-stage Evergreen Art spiritual power and the sublimated frying pan.
His footwork naturally circulated the "Nine Turns of the Swimming Dragon" technique. The first turn, "Hidden Dragon Emerges from the Abyss," executed. His figure like a ghost slid backward several feet, narrowly evading the sword's edge. At the same time, his right hand swung up the Mysterious Golden Guardian Pan, not dodging or evading, but meeting that scorching sword momentum head-on with a straightforward horizontal swing!
"Clang—!"
A bell-like ring exploded in the arena!
At the point where sword met pan, qi burst outward, kicking up dust from the ground. Xiaoqi felt a scorching and sharp force transmit through the pan body. His arm slightly numbed. His body drifted backward with the force, unloading the impact. Liu Yun also felt a heavy yet strangely stable rebound transmit through her sword, slightly halting her forward momentum. A trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.
"Good stuff! This pan really is hard!" Liu Yun blurted out, then her fighting spirit rose even higher. "Again!"
Her sword technique changed, no longer pursuing extreme speed but unfolding a dense, rain-like, tide-like offensive "Flowing Fire Sword Style." Sword lights dotted like countless fire rain, completely covering Xiaoqi's vital points.
Xiaoqi's expression was calm. He wielded the Mysterious Golden Guardian Pan widely. The sublimated frying pan in his hands seemed no longer a pan but a strange shield that could both attack and defend, or like a blunt heavy halberd.
He had not learned any profound pan techniques. All his moves came from instinct reactions from countless real battles and his own understanding of power. Swatting, blocking, lifting, slamming... the movements seemed simple and crude, even somewhat comical, yet always at critical moments could precisely block Liu Yun's sword paths.
That dark golden pan body, infused with the Evergreen Art's gentle, enduring spiritual power, radiated a steady, heavy aura. Faintly forming an invisible force field, it caused Liu Yun's swift, agile sword light, each time it drew near, to seem as if falling into a mire—its speed and power both weakened to varying degrees. This was precisely the effect of the "protective implication" contained within the frying pan after sublimation.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!..."
The sound of metal striking metal rang continuously. Crimson sword light and dark golden pan shadows constantly collided and crossed in the arena. Explosions rang out one after another.
Xiaoqi pushed the "Nine Turns of the Swimming Dragon" footwork to the extreme, dodging and weaving within the arena. Although mostly defending, occasionally seizing opportunities to counter with a pan strike, the powerful, momentum-heavy blows with vibrating force forced Liu Yun to block with her sword, not daring to take them head-on.
His control over his own spiritual power was extremely refined. Every ounce of strength was used at the crucial point, never wasted. His grasp of battle opportunities had become exceptionally keen due to life-and-death struggles in the secret realm.
The disciples at the arena's edge watched with dazzled eyes and stirred hearts. They originally thought that Foundation Establishment early-stage Brother Tang, facing mid-Foundation Establishment peak, combat-renowned Third Senior Sister, would not last many moves. They never imagined the battle would be so evenly matched!
Brother Tang's seemingly comical frying pan, in his hands, actually displayed such astonishing might. Defensively steady as a rock, offensively powerful and heavy. Combined with that eerie, agile footwork, he actually traded blows with Third Senior Sister evenly, not falling behind even slightly!
"Brother Tang... so strong!"
"What kind of magical artifact is that pan? It can actually clash head-on with Third Senior Sister's Flowing Fire Sword!"
"Did you notice, Brother Tang seems to not have used his legendary purifying power and sword intent at all?"
"Yeah, just with his own cultivation and that pan..."
The discussions were full of shock and admiration.
Liu Yun, unable to make progress despite prolonged attack, grew more and more astonished in her heart. She could feel that although Xiaoqi's spiritual power cultivation was indeed not as deep as hers, his spiritual power's purity, his control over power, and that troublesome degree of the odd pan all far exceeded her expectations. Especially that pan's invisible force field, which gave her a feeling of nowhere to exert her strength.
"Good boy! You've really grown!" Liu Yun shouted, a trace of determination flashing in her eyes. "Take my final move!"
Her body suddenly stopped. Her sword stood vertical before her. Crimson spiritual power from all around madly gathered toward the sword body. A scorching and sharp aura far exceeding before rose into the sky! The sword body turned red-hot, as if about to melt!
"Flowing Fire—Scorching Heaven!"
She gripped the sword with both hands and slashed forward violently! A condensed, several-zhang-long crimson sword intent, like a volcanic eruption, brought a terrifying momentum to incinerate everything, pressing toward Xiaoqi! This was the strongest move she could currently unleash!
Facing this earth-shaking sword, Xiaoqi's pupils constricted. He felt enormous pressure. He took a deep breath, pushed the Evergreen Art spiritual power to its extreme, and injected everything into the Mysterious Golden Guardian Pan!
The dark golden pan body shone brilliantly. That invisible protective force field instantly solidified, as if constructing an indestructible barrier before him. He no longer dodged. Gripping the pan with both hands, he aimed the pan bottom at the rushing crimson sword intent and thrust forward violently!
"Protect!"
Murmuring in his heart, although that faint protective sword intent had not been invoked, its intent perfectly matched the frying pan's own characteristics!
"BOOM—!!!"
An earth-shaking roar exploded in the arena! The crimson sword intent and the dark golden pan bottom collided violently. The violent energy shockwave spread in rings outward, causing disciples at the arena's edge to have their robes and hair flapping violently. Those with lower cultivation even stumbled backward.
When the light faded, everyone looked eagerly.
Xiaoqi stood firmly at his position, gripping the pan. Although the ground beneath his feet was cracked, his body was upright, not retreating even half a step! Only his face was slightly pale, and the heels of both hands gripping the pan were cracked, with blood seeping out. And on the Mysterious Golden Guardian Pan before him, at the bottom position, there was a faint white mark, slowly fading.
On the other side, after unleashing this full-power strike, Liu Yun's aura was also somewhat unsteady. She looked at Xiaoqi, relatively unharmed, and the pan that only had one more white mark, her face full of disbelief.
Her move "Flowing Fire Scorching Heaven"—even Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivators wouldn't dare face head-on. Xiaoqi actually blocked it with just one pan?!
Silence filled the arena. You could hear a pin drop.
After a moment, Liu Yun slowly sheathed her sword. The shock on her face faded, replaced by complex emotions—surprise, relief, and even a kind of feeling of watching her child truly grow up.
She walked up to Xiaoqi and patted his shoulder, her tone carrying unprecedented seriousness and recognition: "Good! Very good! Little Qi, you really... are different now. Senior Sister acknowledges your strength!"
Xiaoqi exhaled in relief, put away the frying pan, wiped the blood on his hands, and showed a gentle smile: "Senior Sister's sword techniques are fierce. Disciple admires them."
"Stop flattering me!" Liu Yun cursed with a laugh, then lowered her voice. "But you boy, definitely still have some trump cards you haven't used, right?"
Xiaoqi smiled without speaking.
Liu Yun didn't press further. She laughed and turned to the disciples still standing dazed around: "Everyone disperse! Nothing to see here!"
Everyone then came to their senses. Looking at Xiaoqi, their gazes were already full of genuine respect. This battle, although Xiaoqi didn't win, by facing mid-Foundation Establishment peak Third Senior Sister without defeat at Foundation Establishment early stage, his strength was proven in the most direct way!
Through this battle, the impression of "powerful combatant" was completely established among Qingxu Temple disciples. No one dared to slight him because of his shallow seniority or background. His prestige, through these three paths of alchemy, teaching, and sparring, was truly consolidated, making him truly among the top-tier disciples of the younger generation of Qingxu Temple.