48: Chapter 48: All Advance.

After another hour, it was Chen Changqing's turn to take the stage.

Chen Changqing merely nodded at everyone, then went down and walked to his arena. He deliberately suppressed his aura to the level of the 6th layer of Qi Refining, which even ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators failed to detect.

He glanced at the other arenas; some matches were faster and had already gone twenty or so rounds, while others were slower, only at the thirteenth or fourteenth round.

A young Cultivator also walked up from the opposite side with ordinary cultivation at just the 4th layer of Qi Refining. For Chen Changqing, defeating him was merely a matter of a casual gesture. Not to mention that his Realm now far surpassed the opponent's, even if they were in the same Realm, the opponent would not be able to withstand a single blow from him, because his Qi was inherently much more profound than that of ordinary Cultivators, and he was also a Talisman Master.

The tournament matches also allowed the use of Talismans and the like, either refined by oneself or matching one's financial standing.

Otherwise, if some Families wanted to break into the top thirty-two and directly gave their juniors a dozen or so 1st-Rank High Grade Talismans, how were other Cultivators supposed to play?

The opponent also seemed to realize that his cultivation was far lower than Chen Changqing's, so he was very polite, hoping that Chen Changqing would give him a chance to perform well so he wouldn't be defeated instantly.

"Fellow Daoist, please," the opponent said sincerely.

Chen Changqing merely nodded and motioned for the opponent to make a move.

After obtaining Chen Changqing's tacit approval, the young man on the opposite side made his move. As soon as he came up, he summoned two Magical Artifacts, one for offense and one for defense.

Facing the opponent's Magical Artifact attack, Chen Changqing indifferently summoned a 1st-Rank Medium Grade Xuan Iron Shield with a casual wave to block it.

After several successive attacks yielded no effect, the opponent had to find another way. He took out several 1st-Rank Medium Grade Talismans from his Storage Pouch and struck towards Chen Changqing.

Looking at the pile of Talismans, Chen Changqing simply increased the input of his Qi. Under the blessing of the Late Qi Refining Stage Qi, the Xuan Iron Shield instantly glowed brilliantly, once again effortlessly blocking the attack.

Seeing this, the young Cultivator felt joy in his heart. He never intended to break Chen Changqing's defensive Magical Artifact through Talismans; instead, he wanted to use this method to obstruct the opponent's line of sight, thereby preparing for his next strike.

This idea was quite good, but he used it on the wrong target, or rather, the person he faced was extraordinary.

Under the cover of the thick smoke, the young man's Magical Artifact did indeed approach within a few feet of Chen Changqing. If it were any other Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivator who underestimated the opponent too much, they might have truly fallen into the trap.

However, Chen Changqing merely circulated the Evergreen Art, and his profound Qi formed a Green Wood Shield.

Clang!

Sparks sputtered after the Magical Artifact collided with the Green Wood Shield, but it failed to break the defense.

The opponent also felt that his Magical Artifact did not transmit any texture of piercing through a body, but rather seemed to be blocked. He wanted to recall the Magical Artifact, only to find that he couldn't recall it no matter what.

What is going on?

The young man was inwardly puzzled.

Until the thick smoke completely dissipated, he finally discovered that his Magical Artifact was in Chen Changqing's hand.

"Fellow Daoist, is this enough?" Chen Changqing said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, the young man was instantly terrified. He could accept being easily defeated, but he could not accept that even after using his full strength, he was still handled so effortlessly—and the opponent merely used a defensive Magical Artifact to block his attacks, doing nothing from start to finish.

Is this strength really just the 6th layer of Qi Refining?

Suppressing the shock in his heart, the young man cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for giving me a chance to perform." With that, he left the place under Chen Changqing's calm gaze.

The Cultivators off the stage were all shocked by Chen Changqing's calmness. They originally thought that since this person was so arrogant, he was bound to be heavily slapped in the face, but they didn't expect reality to be the opponent fiercely slapping them in the face instead.

Some Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivators also noticed Chen Changqing's existence, silently noting down his appearance and strength.

And the Families and factions behind them also seized the opportunity to investigate Chen Changqing.

They truly did not expect that there was still such a deeply hidden Genius.

Although the few Families of Qinghe County were inwardly shocked, they didn't feel anything was wrong. Originally, they had heard that Chen Changqing had once killed multiple Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivators while in the Early Stage of Qi Refining, which even included the 6th layer of Qi Refining. Now seeing it for themselves, it was indeed true.

In the private box of the Zhou Family, a young man looked at Chen Changqing with a much more solemn expression, unlike his relaxed demeanor just moments ago. His name was Zhou Ziye, and he was the eldest Cultivator of the third generation of the Zhou Family's Zi generation, as well as the youth who had once held a strong Battle Intent toward Chen Changqing at the Qinghe Market auction.

"I didn't expect the rumors from a few years ago to actually be true," said a slightly younger youth, before looking at Zhou Ziye beside him. "Big Brother, if you face him, how confident are you of winning?"

Zhou Ziye was silent for a moment before speaking, "Unclear. I'm afraid the opponent is still concealing his strength."

His current cultivation was also the 6th layer of Qi Refining, and he dared to fight even against the Qi Condensation 7th Layer. Because he had once single-handedly slain a 1st-Rank High Grade Yao Beast, purely in terms of strength, he had never previously believed anyone in the Qinghe Market could compare to him. Therefore, his gaze was never placed on that remote corner of Qinghe Market, but rather on the entire Taihe Prefecture, and even the entire Great Yan Country.

However, ever since he came to Taihe Prefecture, he found quite a few people of similar age whose cultivation was a step higher than his. Of course, he had never thought much of these people, because their cultivation was merely higher than his, which did not mean their strength was stronger than his.

Zhou Ziye looked straight at Chen Changqing's departing back. Perhaps this person would be a powerful and formidable rival for him in the future.

Hearing this, the others did not continue to press, but they felt a bit lost inwardly. They hadn't expected that their Big Brother would one day feel he might not be the opponent's match, even when their Realms were equivalent.

Returning to the Chen Family's private box, everyone didn't show any particular joy, because they already knew Chen Changqing's strength. If he couldn't even do this, that person couldn't possibly be Chen Changqing.

Chen Changqing himself did not expect that he held such great prestige in everyone's hearts.

He came to his seat and quietly waited for the next match to begin.

After a few more matches, it was Li Qingling's turn. The Cultivator she faced was at the 3rd layer of Qi Refining, and she sent the opponent off the stage with merely a single move. It could not be said to be anything less than fast; the opponent was still a bit dazed up to now, not even knowing why they had lost so quickly when it clearly shouldn't have been like that.

Finally, only Chen Changxuan was left. As the last Chen Family Cultivator to compete, the opponent he faced was quite extraordinary in strength, with cultivation equivalent to his and a strength not far off. Coupled with the fact that the Dust and Sand Skill he cultivated was not suited for offense but rather excelled at defense, he ultimately won the match by dragging it out and wearing down the opponent's Qi until it was completely exhausted.

After several hours of matches, today's competition thus completely ended. Many Cultivators retreated gloomily, including some Cultivators from the few Foundation Establishment Families of Qinghe County. Their luck was not as good as the Chen Family's, as some of the opponents they faced had cultivation even higher than theirs.

As for the Chen Family, everyone advanced.