42: The outer sect grand competition begins; poisonous blades meet chaos.

The morning mist had not yet been dissipated by the rising sun, and the bluestone floor of the Star Moon Sect's Training Grounds was already filled with the clamor of voices.

Two rows of scarlet banners snapped in the wind. Under the four seal-script characters for "Outer Sect Grand Competition" on the banners, Disciples crowded in front of the tournament schedule, fingers jabbing at the names "Shen Li of Grade A Courtyard" and "Chu He of Grade C Courtyard," their voices hushed and urgent—these two were the acknowledged top experts of the Outer Sect; no one dared to bet on them losing, and even fewer imagined that today, someone would be able to withstand their sharp edge one after another.

Lin Yang stood in the shade of a tree on the east side, watching Liu Qingluan grind the remnants of an essence condensing pill into powder and mix it into warm spirit spring water.

Liu Hongluan held the ceramic bowl and drank in small sips. The burn mark on her skin from the Burning Gold Art had faded to a light brown, and when her Wood Element True Essence circulated, faint green flickers could still be drawn from her fingertips.

"Brother, Senior Sister Shen's poison needles are coated with 'Heart-Rotting Grass.' If they touch you, they will bore into your Meridians. Senior Brother Chu's black iron shield cannot even be pierced by the Protective Aura of a fifth-layer Innate cultivator." His younger sister gripped his sleeve, her eyes full of worry. "When you encounter them later, please don't force it."

Just as Lin Yang was about to speak, a commotion suddenly came from afar. The crowd automatically parted, and Shen Li walked over the bluestone floor. Her Dark-colored Tight-fitting Suit outlined her sharp shoulder lines, and a three-inch soft sword hung at her waist, its scabbard adorned with three poison needles emitting a faint blue glow.

She seemed not to notice the surrounding gazes, walking straight up to Lin Yang. She held a poison needle between her fingertips and twirled it, her tone carrying a hint of casual mockery: "I heard you can swallow True Essence? Just right, my 'Heart-Rotting Needle' lacks a test subject. Why don't you try it?"

"Shen Li! Stop this nonsense!" Zhang Yuan's reprimand suddenly came from the high platform, but his eyes hid a smile—he was eager for Shen Li to teach Lin Yang a lesson on behalf of the Zhao family. Shen Li ignored him and just raised an eyebrow at Lin Yang: "What? You don't dare?"

Lin Yang straightened his body, the chaos star core quietly rotating in his Dantian, having already deduced the trajectory of Shen Li's True Essence clearly: "Trying is fine, I'm just afraid your poison needles won't be enough for me to swallow."

"Bold!" Shen Li's eyes lit up. She turned and leaped onto the competition arena, her soft sword "swishing" out of its sheath, the blade wrapped in crimson flames. "The eighth match, I'll fight you!"

When the drum sounded, Shen Li's figure suddenly split into three afterimages—this was the "Flame Shadow Step" driven by Fire Element True Essence. Each afterimage carried a scorching wave of air, and even the air was scorched until it trembled. Three poison needles shot out from different directions, their tips wrapped in pale purple poison mist, and upon hitting the ground, they actually corroded small pits into the bluestone floor.

Lin Yang did not dodge or avoid them. Gray-gold True Essence condensed into a translucent shield in front of him. "Ding! Ding! Ding!" With three crisp sounds, the poison needles struck the shield. Instead of bouncing off, they melted like snow meeting fire, and the poison mist was instantly wrapped by the True Essence, not even a wisp escaping.

"Oh? You really can swallow poison?" Shen Li's surprise could not be hidden. She turned her wrist, and the soft sword, carrying blazing fire, thrust straight at Lin Yang's chest. "Then try my 'Heart-Burning Sword'!" This strike appeared fierce, but the tip of the sword was slightly off by half a point—she owed Zhao Meier a favor and needed to teach Lin Yang a lesson, but she didn't want to truly take his life.

Lin Yang saw through this probing attack, and his Chaos True Essence wound along the sword blade like greedy vines, bit by bit devouring the flames until nothing remained.

Shen Li took the opportunity to retreat. As she sheathed her soft sword, she suddenly leaned close to Lin Yang and said in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Zhao Kun will make a move after you leave the arena. He brought a 'spirit sealing chain' that can seal True Essence. Be careful." After saying this, she stepped back abruptly and shouted to the high platform: "I concede!"

Zhang Yuan's face instantly darkened: "Shen Li! You..."

"If I can't beat him, I can't beat him. Do you expect me to resort to underhanded tactics?" Shen Li glanced at him, turned, and walked off the competition arena. When passing by Zhou Kai, she deliberately bumped into him: "Some people only know how to put on a front using talisman papers given by others. Don't blame the arena if you lose."

Zhou Kai's face instantly turned liver-colored. He gripped the flame talisman in his sleeve that could temporarily increase his cultivation by one layer, staring fixedly at Shen Li's back—this talisman had been secretly given by Zhang Yuan, originally intended for him to strike when Lin Yang was exhausted after fighting Shen Li, but now that Shen Li had exposed it, he was in a dilemma.

"The ninth match, Chu He of Grade C Courtyard, against Zhou Kai of Grade A Courtyard!" Zhang Yuan's voice carried anger, but he had to continue announcing the schedule.

Chu He walked onto the competition arena carrying a black iron shield half a person tall, the surface of which still bore claw marks from a Vicious Beast, its edges gleaming with cold, hard iron light. He looked at Zhou Kai, his voice as hoarse as if it had been ground against stones: "Three months ago, you snatched the demon core I obtained from hunting a Black Wind Leopard. Today, it should be returned."

Zhou Kai sneered: "It's just a broken demon core, and you still remember it now? My brother is Zhao Kun of the Inner Sect. Do you dare to touch a single finger of mine?" Flames roared in his palm, and the True Essence of a fourth-layer Innate cultivator wrapped around the fire, charging fiercely toward Chu He: "Splitting Fire Palm!"

Chu He did not dodge or avoid it. He slammed the black iron shield heavily onto the ground. With a "bang," a yellow-brown halo of light spread from the shield's surface, wrapping his entire body within it—this was his "Thick Earth Shield" which he had Cultivated to the extreme. "Boom!" The Splitting Fire Palm struck the shield, leaving only a scorch mark; it didn't even disperse the halo of light by half a point. Chu He suddenly drew a short blade from his waist, the blade wrapped in Earth Element True Essence, and slashed directly at Zhou Kai's wrist: "I don't care who your brother is, what you owe me must be returned!"

This strike was fast and ruthless, a life-or-death move he had honed among piles of Vicious Beasts. Zhou Kai hurriedly retreated, but was pressed step-by-step by Chu He, the black iron shield blocking all paths of retreat. "You dare to hurt me?!" Zhou Kai roared, secretly reaching for the flame talisman in his sleeve. Just as he was about to crush it, Chu He's short blade suddenly changed direction, "swishing" as it sliced off his sleeve, and the flame talisman fell to the ground, instantly burning to ashes.

"Without the talisman paper, you are nothing." Chu He's short blade rested against Zhou Kai's throat, the chill of the blade making Zhou Kai tremble all over. "Concede, or lose a wrist?"

Zhou Kai's face was deathly pale, his teeth chattering, and finally, he cursed under his breath: "I concede!"

Chu He sheathed his blade and shouldered his shield, turning to look at Lin Yang. There was no hostility in his eyes, only pure Battle Intent: "Next match, I'll fight you."

On the high platform, Elder Wu of the Xuantian Sword Sect stroked his beard, a trace of greed flashing in his eyes. He leaned into Ling Feihong's ear and whispered: "This Lin Yang's True Essence can swallow poison and fire, and can even break the Thick Earth Shield. The matter of the Chaos Supreme Treasure is nine times out of ten true. Wait until he finishes fighting Chu He, then let Zhao Kun exhaust some of his strength, and then we will make our move."

Ling Feihong stared at Lin Yang in the arena, her fingertips clenched until they turned white—last time in the Qingmeng Secret Realm, Lin Yang had snatched her Spatial Core and even copied her sword moves. She would settle this account sooner or later.

At this moment, Lin Yang was meeting Chu He's gaze, slowly walking onto the competition arena. He knew that this match was the true test of the Outer Sect Grand Competition.