Thirty seconds passed, and one person stepped forward from the crowd below the platform.He was dressed richly, handsome in appearance, a mocking smile on his face — the very image of a noble scion.He strolled onto the stage with composure and addressed Fang Qing politely."I am Song Chengzhou. May I know the lady’s name?""Fang Qing." The simple, direct reply was Fang Qing’s usual manner.After hearing Fang Qing’s answer, Song Chengzhou wore a graceful smile and prepared to compliment her."Truly—"But before he could finish, Fang Qing interrupted, "No need for words, make your move."Song Chengzhou’s face showed no change at being cut off; he courteously yielded."Miss Fang, you should go first.""All right."Fang Qing’s reply left Song Chengzhou momentarily stunned.Why wasn’t she following the usual protocol? Shouldn’t they exchange a little courtesy and then attack at the same time?He didn’t stay stunned long, however, because the long blade at Fang Qing’s waist slid free.Wu Qian swung down in a heavy, forceful arc toward him with no hint of mercy.Song Chengzhou quickly drew an exquisite long sword from his waist and held it in front of him.A faint green aura curled along the blade. Song Chengzhou’s face still wore that warm, elegant smile, as if he paid no mind to Fang Qing’s strike.Then his expression changed.The moment his sword met Wu Qian, Song Chengzhou felt a surge of power like that of a demon beast wash through him; the force of the impact almost instantly sent him flying.Fortunately he still had some skill — he adjusted his posture in midair and landed with composure, avoiding outright humiliation.Fang Qing watched him reestablish his stance and, with a look that made Song Chengzhou’s face a little unpleasant, said coldly and calmly, "You may admit defeat."This time Song Chengzhou no longer smiled; he shook his head and refused Fang Qing’s offer.Seeing his refusal, Fang Qing struck again and swung her blade at Song Chengzhou.Song Chengzhou raised his sword and rushed in, and they grappled in close combat.After only a few moves, he was defeated.There was no way around it — the gap in strength was simply too great.Power, speed, technique — all were utterly overwhelmed; the few moves he managed were only because he had thrown everything into them.Looking down at Song Chengzhou, who had been forced off the stage by the butt of her blade, Fang Qing glanced toward the elder nearby, the meaning plain.The elder smiled and nodded to Fang Qing, then announced in a clear voice, "Fang Qing has defeated Song Chengzhou and gained one victory!"Song Chengzhou’s defeat provoked a fair bit of discussion among the spectators."Song Chengzhou is the second son of the Song family; he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage a few days ago — I didn’t expect him to lose.""Looks like this girl… no, Miss Fang is not to be underestimated. I won’t take the stage then.""What a gathering of talents — do your best…"…The crowd below the stage buzzed, but the conclusion was clear.Fang Qing was truly strong; it would be wiser to avoid challenging her.After all, getting injured on stage would not help in later competition for rankings; better to give up first place and aim for second.Thus, Fang Qing succeeded in taking first place after winning just one bout."Time’s up. No challengers. The current defender, Fang Qing, has five victories and is ranked — first!" the elder announced loudly, settling Fang Qing’s placement.At that moment, the elders floating high above began to converse among themselves."To have this strength at seventeen — truly, every generation produces its talents!""Old Yang, how does she compare to Yongnian?""Hard to say. Yongnian trained diligently from childhood and laid a solid foundation; his future achievements will be boundless. This young lady may be stronger than Yongnian now, but she entered the path too late and is not yet a cultivator; she will likely face repeated obstacles.""Still, despite these issues, the sect master will probably recruit her.""Right. Yongnian’s prominence is too great; the sect master likely wants to suppress him a bit.""By the way, there’s also someone with a Five-Element spirit root — the sect master will want that one too.""And there’s another with an A-rank Water spirit root?""Our Fire-Gold Sect focuses on fire and metal; a water spirit root would be wasted here.""Don’t we have the Shuiyi Sect scriptures?""Those? They’re not easy to let out! Not unless the sect master agrees — otherwise it won’t work."…Fang Qing descended from the stage and came to Gu Yuan’s side.Gu Yuan congratulated her, "Congratulations on taking first."Fang Qing paid it no mind and instead said, "It should be your turn next, right? Second place — you must need it."Gu Yuan nodded. "Indeed. But I plan to wait a bit. Just now everyone else was suppressed by you; if I go up now, the backlash will be too strong."Fang Qing inclined her head and quietly waited beside Gu Yuan.Jiang Monian at her side could not get a word in. She watched Fang Qing secretly, a strange light flickering in her eyes.…After Fang Qing left the stage, the crowd below stirred again.First a burly youth named Jiang Yong went on, but he lost in his third fight and had to step down.The one who defeated Jiang Yong was called Mu Lie, a cultivator who used fire-based techniques and possessed considerable strength.Mu Lie defeated Jiang Yong, then beat two more opponents, reaching three wins; he needed two more victories to claim second place.Watching the third challenger to Mu Lie fall, Gu Yuan told Fang Qing, "I’m going up."Fang Qing gave a slight nod to show she understood.Gu Yuan didn’t wait to look at Fang Qing’s movements; he took a single step and mounted the stage.Mu Lie’s red hair flowed; his muscular body emitted waves of heat. He raised the glowing long blade in his hand and bluntly called out, "Name!"Gu Yuan answered calmly and succinctly, "Gu Yuan."He then drew the long sword at his waist — the Dianxing that Zhan Xiuran had given him earlier.Holding Dianxing, Gu Yuan did not charge in headlong like Fang Qing had; instead he traced it in front of him, slicing out a half-moon shaped wave.During those days of being the Empty Young Master, although he couldn’t get out of bed to move, he had not been idle.Within his sea of consciousness he had repeatedly consulted Master Mo and learned many practical techniques.Master Mo must have seen his spirit root, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) for the techniques taught to him were all Five-Element methods — things like ice, lightning, wind — techniques he had never formally learned before.Luotian spiritual energy coupled with Five-Element techniques, even though Gu Yuan had not yet broken through to Foundation Establishment, could produce a combat power that should not be underestimated!The wave Gu Yuan produced moved at extreme speed and covered a considerable area, about eight meters, bringing strong pressure to Mu Lie.Mu Lie looked at the wave with a troubled mind.With the Five-Element mutual restraints, he was being countered by Gu Yuan.If he faced Gu Yuan head-on he would certainly be at a disadvantage, and if he dodged he could not avoid that range, so he had only one choice: take it head-on.Quickly deciding, Mu Lie held his long blade horizontally in front of him and drew on the fire-attribute spiritual energy in his dantian to form a shield.The shield was a pale red; it stood firmly before Mu Lie, attempting to block Gu Yuan’s wave.Gu Yuan watched Mu Lie’s response without expression, a hint of craftiness flashing in his eyes.He had learned from Master Mo for several days, and the results were far more than just that single wave!Moreover, even without discussing those techniques, he also had the advantage of the weapon.Dianxing was Zhan Xiuran’s sword; its grade was certainly high, and after using it Gu Yuan discovered it was a magic sword.In other words, Dianxing was not meant solely for close combat but served to assist spellcasting and increase a technique’s potency.So even if he did not know the full repertoire of spells, simply using Dianxing to project spiritual energy offensively would still have considerable destructive power.

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