78: Chapter 79 Two Battles Under the Cold Spring

Jiang Yuhe gazed at the stage, where she saw several tiny talisman fragments fall from Wen Zhibai's sleeves.

The fragments were extremely thin; upon falling onto the water surface of the arena, they were swallowed by the glimmer of the water, and even Fang Jingtan failed to notice them immediately.

The Wen Family's methods of talisman communication and Restriction.

This was Wen Zhibai's true skill.

The Cold Spring mist grew thicker and thicker.

Fang Jingtan thought he had already taken control of the situation, and with a sudden jolt of his Cold Spring Ring, three streams of Cold Water Arts intersected and shot out from the mist, aiming directly at Wen Zhibai's chest, knees, and shoulders.

Wen Zhibai suddenly raised his hand, and the four-cornered Wind Signal Talismans lit up simultaneously.

The Cold Spring mist, which had originally been driven by Fang Jingtan to obscure the Sanyuan Wind-Listening Plaque, seemed to be pulled from all sides, its flow reversing as it violently surged back toward Fang Jingtan.

Fang Jingtan's vision went white.

His Divine Sense was briefly obscured by the cold mist.

This bore a striking resemblance to the combat techniques of Sun Jingxiu.

At that instant, the Sanyuan Wind-Listening Plaque flew out, the three layers of wind barriers overlapping and slamming obliquely into the three Cold Water Arts that Fang Jingtan had just unleashed.

The trajectory of the Cold Water Arts shifted, striking instead against the water curtain that the Cold Spring Ring itself had drawn together.

Fang Jingtan's expression changed abruptly, and just as he was about to retreat, he felt a slight numbness at his shoulder well.

A needle of Dui Metal Wind, as fine as an ox hair, had pierced through the cold mist at some unknown moment and struck his right shoulder.

Fang Jingtan's entire right arm went numb instantly, and the technique in his palm was severed, causing a backlash; the spiritual light of the Cold Spring Ring also fell into disarray.

Wen Zhibai's Sanyuan Wind-Listening Plaque pressed forward, forcing Fang Jingtan to the edge of the arena.

Fang Jingtan looked at the three jade plaques, then lowered his head to look at his right hand, which he could not lift in the short term, and remained silent for a moment.

"I concede."

Liu Xuanhe flicked his sleeves.

"Middle Stage Qi Refining, Wen Zhibai of the Jiang Clan wins."

In the Jiang Family's seating area, Old Crow Chen couldn't help but whisper, "This kid is not bad."

Jiang Chengning also nodded repeatedly as he watched.

What the Jiang Family lacked were precisely these fundamental things—Restrictions, Formations, and communication—that truly allowed a Family to function.

Wen Zhibai's battle today proved that he was not just a useless, displaced Cultivator who carried a good Magical Artifact to save his own life.

Jiang Yuhe looked at Wen Zhibai's back as he stepped off the stage, her resolve firming a little more in her heart.

This person must be kept.

In the Xie Clan's seating area, the youth in the green robe whispered a few words to the Foundation Establishment elder beside him.

The other person did not respond immediately, merely letting his gaze sweep over Wen Zhibai as if by chance, before falling back onto the arena.

Now that the Jiang Family had achieved two victories, they met the conditions for advancement.

Subsequently, the host's voice spread throughout the Shuiyue Pavilion.

"The Jiang Family of Baili Mountain, having won both battles, advances to the next round."

In the Jiang Family's seating area, Sun Changshui could barely stop himself from standing up; Old Crow Chen let out a heavy breath and whispered a laughing curse.

Jiang Chengning sat in his seat, his expression still composed, and the five fingers clenched tightly within his sleeves slowly relaxed.

In this round, the Jiang Family had won too cleanly.

Not far away, Young Master Gu Xingzhi clapped with a smile.

Han Zhaoye, however, watched Jiang Yuhe, the smile in his eyes gradually fading.

In the Shen Clan's seating area, a Cultivator whispered a few words to those around him, clearly re-evaluating this Jiang Clan of Baili Mountain.

Liu Xuanhe did not say much, merely making a mark on the jade book in his hand.

Jiang Clan of Baili Mountain.

First round advanced.

Entitled to one recruitment quota from the Chengtian Sect, plus several low-grade resources.

Jiang Yuhe could still catch the gazes falling from all directions within Listening to Rain.

Shortly after, the outcomes of the remaining arenas were also determined one after another.

In the Grade A list, the Lu Family of Hedong defeated the Ye Family of Xingze, and the Gu Clan of Qingwu Terrace defeated the Ge Family of Luqiu.

In the Grade B list, the Shen Clan of Jinglan Lake defeated the Qiao Family of Songyuan, the Han Family of Hedong defeated the Shao Clan of Chiliang, and the Xie Clan of Xiping defeated the Ruan Family of Qiuze.

Among these matches, only the Han Family's victory over the Shao Clan was worth discussing; the others were basically within expectations.

With this, all six matches of the first round were concluded.

Liu Xuanhe stood atop the Shuiyue Pavilion, flicked his sleeves, and the jade book before him opened on its own.

The will of the Qingheng Edict descended with his voice, suppressing the discussions of the various clans on the lake.

"The first round having concluded, the clans that have advanced are as follows."

"Grade A list: Jiang Family of Baili Mountain, Lu Family of Hedong, Gu Clan of Qingwu Terrace."

"Grade B list: Shen Clan of Jinglan Lake, Han Family of Hedong, Xie Clan of Xiping Pass."

Of the twelve Families on the southwest sides, after the first round, all five Families on the south side had advanced.

Of the seven Families on the west side, only the Xie Clan remained.

Jiang Chengning felt slightly surprised.

The Chengtian Sect had placed the clans from the southwest sides together for the competition precisely to see the quality of both sides.

Now that the first round had resulted in such a situation, the weight of the southern Families in the Chengtian Sect's jade book would likely need to be increased.

And while the western Families, excluding the Xie Clan, had all been defeated, and the Shao and Ruan families were still Foundation Establishment Families, the edge revealed by their younger generation in the competition was clearly not as sharp as that of the Gu, Shen, and Han Families.

Liu Xuanhe did not give everyone too much time for discussion.

With a tap of his fingertip, the green light on the jade book split into two strands, falling into the two lists respectively.

"According to the previous rules, one clan will be drawn from the three winning clans to have a bye, and the remaining two clans will fight first.

The loser will then fight the clan with the bye, and the winner may then compete with the previous winner for the top ranking of the list."

The green light fell on the Grade A list first.

It swirled over the names of the Jiang, Lu, and Gu Clans for a moment, finally stopping on the characters for "Gu Clan".

"Grade A list, Gu Clan of Qingwu Terrace has a bye."

"Jiang Family of Baili Mountain, against the Lu Family of Hexi."

The Lu Family of Hexi was an established Qi Refining Family in the southern region.

This clan was not as sharp as the Han Family, nor did it suddenly rise to prominence like the Jiang Family; it only excelled in having operated for many years, with an extremely stable Foundation.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi sat in the Gu Clan's seating area, looking at Jiang Yuhe from afar with a half-smile, as if he found the result of the bye quite interesting.

Liu Xuanhe looked toward the Grade B list again.

The green light swirled between the Shen, Han, and Xie Clans for a moment, finally landing on the characters for "Xie Clan".

"Grade B list, Xie Clan of Xiping Pass has a bye."

"Shen Clan of Jinglan Lake, against the Han Family of Hedong."

Jiang Yuhe lowered her eyes, and Listening to Rain fell silently on the edge of the water stage.

Grade A, Jiang versus Lu, Gu has a bye.

Grade B, Shen versus Han, Xie has a bye.

This was the roster for the next round.

Above the Shuiyue Pavilion, as the green light of the jade book fell, the first match of the Grade A list already called for the Early Stage Qi Refining Cultivators to take the stage.

The Early Stage Cultivator sent by the Lu Family was named Lu Yuanze, at the third level of Qi Refining, cultivating the Rain Water path; his techniques were steady, unhurried, and calm, bearing quite a resemblance to Sun Jingxiu.

After fighting for over twenty rounds, Sun Jingxiu used a Rain Spike as a feint, forcing Lu Yuanze to retreat to the edge of the water stage, and then, using the Rainwater Qi to restrain the opponent's protective spiritual light, sent a water nail skimming across the water surface, striking squarely beneath Lu Yuanze's feet.

Lu Yuanze's figure faltered.

A glimmer of water surged from Sun Jingxiu's sleeve, and three water spikes hung simultaneously before his chest.

Lu Yuanze took one look, remained silent for a moment, then cupped his hands and conceded.

The Jiang Family won the first match.

But in the second match, a mishap occurred.

When Wen Zhibai took the stage, the Sanyuan Wind-Listening Plaque hung at his side, the three jade plaques slowly revolving around him, still in that previous defensive and counter-attacking style.

The Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivator sent by the Lu Family, however, was extremely young.

The person was named Lu Zhaolin, at the fifth level of Qi Refining, dressed in a grey-white short robe, with only a sheathless iron sword hanging at his waist.

After taking the stage, he gave a slight bow to Wen Zhibai.

Then, he raised his sword and thrust.

Sword Qi surged, as if a line of cold light had suddenly sliced across the water stage.

The first jade plaque of the Sanyuan Wind-Listening Plaque shuddered slightly, and just as the wind barrier in front of the plaque formed, the sword light grazed the edge of the wind barrier, having not been completely blocked.

Wen Zhibai's pupils constricted slightly.

Sword Qi.

At the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, he had already pushed the Sword Dao to the Sword Qi realm.

Sword Qi, Sword Essence, and Sword Intent are the three barriers of a Sword Cultivator.

For an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator to nurture Sword Qi is already an extremely difficult feat, let alone the fact that Lu Zhaolin was clearly not just entering this realm.

After the first sword, the second sword followed immediately.

Wen Zhibai retreated instantly, the Sanyuan Wind-Listening Plaque rotating simultaneously, with the Tianshi, Ziwei, and Taiwei plaques each splitting off a layer of wind barrier, attempting to deflect the Sword Qi.

Too fast.

By the third sword, Wen Zhibai finally could not completely cover the flaw.

The Tianshi plaque was half an inch too slow.

Lu Zhaolin's figure had already closed in, the tip of his iron sword stopping three inches before Wen Zhibai's throat.

The Sword Qi had not been unleashed, yet his throat felt a faint stinging pain.

Wen Zhibai's face turned pale; he lowered his eyes to look at the sword tip, and finally gave a light sigh.

"I concede."

There was an uproar off the stage.

In the Jiang Family's seating area, Jiang Chengning's brows furrowed slightly.

Wen Zhibai had lost too quickly.

Those three plaques, when encountering such Sword Qi that specifically sought out gaps in the Qi flow, appeared somewhat cumbersome instead.

In the distance, a Loose Cultivator whispered in astonishment: "Entering the Sword Qi realm at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining? What is going on with these riverside Families?"

Another person also couldn't help but say: "First there was Han Zhaoye, then Young Master Gu Xingzhi, and now the Lu Family has produced a Lu Zhaolin... Could it be that in this area of Baili and Hedong, there was truly some great Sword Dao expert who attained immortality here and left behind some legacy?"

"How are all these geniuses who use swords popping up here one after another?"

Jiang Yuhe's gaze fell on Lu Zhaolin.

The youth sheathed his sword, stepped off the water stage with a calm expression, his Sword Qi restrained, showing absolutely no arrogance after his victory.

The Lu Family, now acting as an affiliated clan with a status matching the Han Family, truly had a deep Foundation.

Wen Zhibai returned to the seating area, his expression somewhat unsightly, and whispered: "I'm sorry."

Jiang Chengning shook his head.

"It is not your fault."

Wen Zhibai remained silent for a moment and could only nod.

With this, both Families had won one match each.

The pressure now fell on the final battle.

Late Stage Qi Refining.

Jiang Yuhe against the Lu Family Clan Chief.

Above the water stage, Liu Xuanhe's voice slowly descended:

"The third match."

"Jiang Family of Baili Mountain, Jiang Yuhe."

"Lu Family of Hexi, Patriarch Lu Xuanpu."