63: Is it the late stage of Condensation Pill again?

The final list of the top four contenders was settled.

Li Xuanfeng from Qingyun Peak, Lin Mochen and Shi Jingxian from Qingyue Peak, and Mu Chenyu from Jianxiao Peak.

The four had different builds, but all exuded the sharp edge of top Disciples, adding suspense to the semifinals.

On the viewing platform, Shi Wanshan, seeing both his Disciples advance to the top four, laughed like a Maitreya Buddha beside him, his large, fan-like hands banging on the armrest.

"These two brats didn't embarrass me!"

His smugness was such that he wished he could engrave "Qingyue Peak's Triumph" on his forehead.

The Peak Master of Flying Cloud Peak chimed in, "Senior Brother Shi, you're truly blessed. This generation of Disciples has truly surpassed their predecessors."

However, the sourness in his tone was almost overflowing.

Xuan Yangzi, meanwhile, gently tapped his teacup with his fingertip, his gaze lingering on Mu Chenyu for an unusually long time as it swept over the four semifinalists' seats.

This child hides himself quite well.

He nodded to himself—in the previous rounds, Mu Chenyu's Spiritual Qi fluctuations had remained steadily at the Middle Stage of Core Formation, yet his final strike had hinted at the Late Stage of Core Formation.

Just now, during his battle with Yun Qingjue, the faint, almost imperceptible sharpness in his sword moves clearly showed he had touched the threshold of Sword Intent.

To comprehend the nascent form of Sword Intent at such a young age, even Ye Guying back then was half a beat slower.

"What a pity."

He murmured to himself, Mu Chenyu's sword originally had a chance to contend with Li Xuanfeng in the finals.

But who could have known that Shi Wanshan would run to Zizhu Peak in the middle of the night to seek an Opportunity, directly allowing those two foolish boys to defy fate.

Soon, the drums of the semifinals sounded, and the atmosphere in the training grounds grew even more fervent.

The first match was Li Xuanfeng against Shi Jingxian.

The title of a strong-on-strong showdown instantly captivated everyone's attention.

Li Xuanfeng had just powerfully defeated Su Qingyuan, who was at the Late Stage of Core Formation, and Shi Jingxian's previous violent clashes were equally spectacular.

Li Xuanfeng's longsword pointed diagonally at the ground, and purple-green Sword Qi flowed in the morning light, like a coiled spiritual snake ready to strike.

His body's Spiritual Qi fluctuations were stable, consistently maintaining the Peak of the Middle Stage of Core Formation, making him appear to anyone as an exceptionally talented Core Disciple.

Opposite him, Shi Jingxian was bare-chested, his bronzed muscles bulging with veins, his fists slightly clenched.

Each breath carried a steady rhythm; it was the opening stance of Qingyue Peak's "Primordial Fist," seemingly ordinary, yet it had already circulated his Spiritual Qi to its utmost.

He too had restrained his aura, firmly locking his Purple Mansion Realm cultivation beneath the facade of the Peak of the Middle Stage of Core Formation.

"Senior Brother Li, today, let me witness Qingyun Peak's 'Flowing Cloud Thirteen Forms.'"

Shi Jingxian grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. Before his words finished, his figure had already shot out like a cannonball, his fist carrying a sharp whistle through the air, heading straight for Li Xuanfeng's face.

Before the punch arrived, the Spiritual Qi of a Peak Middle Stage Core Formation had already stirred up layers of Qi waves.

Li Xuanfeng lightly tapped his toes, his body floating backward like willow catkins. His longsword swept up with the momentum, the Sword Qi drawing an arc in the air, precisely colliding with the punch's force.

With a muffled "bang," the Qi waves spread in all directions, causing the robes of the Disciples below the stage to flutter.

At the moment of impact, Li Xuanfeng's eyes narrowed slightly.

The force of this punch far exceeded that of an ordinary Middle Stage Core Formation, and his Physical Body strength was even more outrageous.

He mused to himself, it seems Junior Brother Shi indeed gained many benefits from Martial Uncle Gu.

Shi Jingxian, however, felt a dense yet profound force surge towards him, his fist actually tingling slightly from the shock.

This Sword Qi seemed to be at the level of a Peak Middle Stage Core Formation, but the Spiritual Qi contained within was as bottomless as a deep pool, even his Purple Mansion Realm Physical Body could feel a faint pressure.

"Good fellow, you're hiding quite deeply..."

Shi Jingxian used the momentum of his retreat to secretly circulate his Spiritual Qi, attempting to probe his opponent's true strength.

He clearly remembered his Master saying that his Physical Body strength was already a leader among his peers, and his Purple Mansion Realm Spiritual Qi was ten times more profound than that of an ordinary Core Formation Realm; yet, with that last strike, he hadn't gained the slightest advantage.

This battle was exhilarating, but it also made Shi Jingxian increasingly alarmed as he fought.

His fists were fierce and powerful, but Li Xuanfeng's swordplay was agile and ethereal, his sword light like a net, always able to avoid the sharp edge at the last possible moment, counter-stabbing at his opponent's weaknesses.

What frustrated Shi Jingxian even more was that no matter how much he increased his strength, his opponent's Spiritual Qi seemed inexhaustible, and his Sword Qi remained as sharp as ever.

"This kid is really good at faking it!"

Shi Jingxian had three sword wounds on his shoulder, blood staining half his body, but he was cursing inwardly.

"At least Middle Stage Purple Mansion, yet he insists on pretending to be Core Formation. This Spiritual Qi is so profound it's almost overflowing. Does he think I'm blind?"

He tried to subtly release a wisp of his Purple Mansion Realm Spiritual Qi, intending to test his opponent's limits, but saw Li Xuanfeng's Sword Qi subtly shift, easily neutralizing that wisp of Spiritual Qi, with a hint of playful mockery in his eyes.

Forget it, I can't beat him anyway.

Shi Jingxian simply cast aside his distracting thoughts. After a hundred moves, he deliberately exposed a weakness and was struck on the shoulder by Li Xuanfeng's sword.

"I lost."

He frankly conceded defeat and turned to walk off the stage.

The crowd below was boiling with excitement, assuming it was a Peak showdown between two Peak Middle Stage Core Formation cultivators. No one knew that two formidable Purple Mansion Realm characters had just been hiding on that stage.

Compared to the evenly matched first bout, the other battlefield was considered by everyone to be a one-sided fight from the very beginning.

Mu Chenyu of Jianxiao Peak was known throughout the Sect for his fast sword. At its fastest, his sword could strike seven times in a single breath. In the previous rounds, opponents often fell before they could even clearly see his sword moves.

At this moment, he stood in the center of the arena, his white robes like snow, his longsword pointing diagonally, Spiritual Qi flowing around him like a stream, clearly having adjusted his state to its Peak.

And opposite him, Lin Mochen, with a black iron axe resting on his shoulder, the cold gleam of the axe blade incongruous with his coarse cloth attire.

Although the Disciples of Qingyue Peak were strong, they always relied on brute strength. Against a speed-type opponent like Mu Chenyu, they were often constrained.

"Junior Brother Lin, be careful."

Before Mu Chenyu's words finished, his figure had already transformed into a white blur, his longsword like lightning, stabbing straight at Lin Mochen's heart—it was his renowned ultimate technique, "Seven Shadow Stab."

On the viewing platform, Ye Guying, the Peak Master of Jianxiao Peak, nodded slightly. Not bad.

Below, there was an exclamation, many even closing their eyes, as if they had already foreseen Lin Mochen's defeat.

However, the next second, a crisp "ding" echoed throughout the arena.

Everyone opened their eyes to see Lin Mochen, who had neither dodged nor evaded, holding his black iron axe horizontally across his chest, perfectly blocking the sword tip.

Mu Chenyu's sword momentum, no matter how swift, now seemed to have struck a mountain, actually being forced back half an inch.

"How is that possible?"

Mu Chenyu's pupils contracted sharply, and the Spiritual Qi around him surged violently, the pressure of the Late Stage of Core Formation erupting.

The "Seven Shadow Stab" sword moves suddenly accelerated; the second and third swords followed one after another, sword light weaving like a net, attacking Lin Mochen's vital points from all angles.

That trace of Sword Intent he had just comprehended adhered to the sword tip, causing subtle cracks to appear in the air.

"It's Late Stage Core Formation! And Sword Intent!"

The crowd below immediately erupted into an uproar.

"Lin Mochen is finished now!"

Just then, Lin Mochen suddenly moved.

A Late Stage Core Formation Spiritual Qi fluctuation similarly burst forth from him, and a faint golden aura instantly appeared on his black iron axe.

Instead of moving forward, he suddenly spun, sweeping his black iron axe out at an incredibly unexpected angle.

This axe strike seemed slow, yet it carried a natural rhythm, as if heaven and earth rotated with the axe blade, sealing off all angles of evasion.

"Another Late Stage Core Formation?!"

The exclamations from below the stage were deafening.

"Are they crazy?! Senior Sister Su is Late Stage, Mu Chenyu is Late Stage, even Lin Mochen is Late Stage?!"

"What about Senior Brother Li Xuanfeng and Senior Brother Shi Jingxian? They fought so fiercely just now, could it be..."

Someone subconsciously looked at the two who had just walked off the stage, suddenly feeling a chill down their spine. No... right?

The Sect's schemes run deep, I want to go back to the countryside!

On the stage, Mu Chenyu felt an immense power pressing down on him, his breathing momentarily stifled.

He instinctively parried with his sword, but the immense force carried by the axe blade made him retreat repeatedly until his heels hit the edge of the stage, and his longsword clattered to the ground.

The blade of the black iron axe stopped half an inch from his throat, the icy touch making him stiffen all over.

"I... lost?"

Mu Chenyu murmured to himself, his eyes blank.

He had never imagined that his most proudly fast sword would be broken in such a simple and crude manner.

A few breaths later, a deafening clamor erupted from the training grounds.

"Lin Mochen won?!"

"What kind of axe technique was that? How could it block the Seven Shadow Stab with Sword Intent?"

"Just how many monsters are hidden in this Grand Competition this year?!"