Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 257 Tianyu Disciple
This person was none other than Fan Dongchen.

However, his current appearance is completely different from the arrogant and domineering genius of Xuan Yuan Sect that everyone remembers.

His Taoist robe was stained with mud and grass clippings, making him look quite disheveled.

That perpetually arrogant face was now completely devoid of color, and his lips were trembling slightly.

His eyes were unfocused, and his body was hunched over.

There was no trace of any talisman on him.

He was eliminated.

"Ho..."

Someone in the crowd gasped.

At this moment, both those who had just complained about him and the disciples of the Xuan Yuan Sect were slightly surprised and incredulous.

who is it?

Who could possibly turn a Foundation Establishment cultivator, especially an elite Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Xuan Yuan Sect, into this state?

Li Yi of Dongyuan Sect, Jue Ming of Huadu Temple...

Is it still that mysterious and unpredictable rogue cultivator Jiang Ming?

Zhou Liu slightly raised his eyes, glanced at him, and then closed his eyes again, seemingly without any reaction.

Xi Shuyan, on the contrary, was extremely curious and wondered who had done it.

This question also arose in the minds of everyone present.

On the viewing platform, there were no formal seats for the elders; it was just a gathering of elders representing the nine lineages.

The Xuan Yuan Sect's foreign affairs elder, who was comparable to Zhang Guangyuan, was none other than Shen Yu.

He frowned slightly when he saw Fan Dongchen being eliminated in such a sorry state.

"waste."

He cursed inwardly.

In his original opinion, as long as he didn't do anything reckless, there was no way Zhou, Xi, and Fan, these three new generation foundation-building cultivators, would cause any problems.

Now, Fan Dongchen has run into someone and has been eliminated early.

However, it was impossible to leave him out of the later stages of the competition.

What a waste of a qualification to advance.

Just as the deathly silence and shock spread, a figure appeared faintly at the selection exit.

A tall and slender figure appeared in everyone's sight.

A Taoist robe of dark gold, and an ancient-style sword case.

It was a Song banquet.

His expression was calm and undisturbed, as if he had just come back from deep thought.

The black Taoist robe was spotless, suggesting that no intense battle had taken place.

Calm and composed.

However, everyone's attention was instantly fixed on the scene surrounding him.

Nine talismans slowly rotated, rising and falling.

Three Yin talismans, three Yang talismans, and three blank gray talismans.

The square fell silent for a moment.

Song Yan slightly raised his eyes, his pale golden pupils calmly sweeping across the square, finally landing on the ragged man in the crowd.

Fan Dongchen's gaze remained fixed on Song Yan, seemingly unfocused.

When the other person looked at him, he trembled, as if he had realized something, and a look of horror appeared in his eyes.

"Is it him...?"

"Song Yan from the Dongyuan Sect?"

The selection process is nearing its end, and so far, apart from Fan Dongchen, there has been no news of anyone else actively hunting down other cultivators.

The current situation is then quite easy to guess.

"hiss--"

"No way... This person doesn't look like he's ever been in a fight with anyone."

"What's so surprising? Senior Brother Song is already incredibly strong..."

"how you said that?"

“I saw Senior Brother Song’s demeanor back in Changping. At that time, he was only a Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator.”

"Tell me quickly."

There was a lot of discussion among the crowd.

Zhou Liu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally opened them.

For the first time, those eyes truly held a look of interest as they fell upon the cultivator who was even younger than himself.

Xi Shuyan, who had been standing beside him, smiled broadly, her eyes flickering slightly.

Her red lips parted slightly, and she silently uttered two words, which were drowned out by the surrounding noise.

On the elders' seat, Shen Yu's gaze fell on Song Yan, revealing a look of surprise.

"This child has actually reached the Foundation Establishment stage..."

His aged eyes revealed no emotion.

Song Yan ignored all the noise and calmly withdrew his gaze.

With a slight flick of his fingertip, the nine swirling talismans instantly vanished.

They all coalesced in his hand, transforming into three black and white jade pendants.

The blank talisman was then returned to the talisman box.

He continued walking steadily toward the place where the disciples of Dongyuan Sect were gathered.

He seemed to ignore what others were saying.

……

The sun is setting in the west.

Soon, the selection phase officially came to an end.

Some who had been avoiding battle but had not yet collected all the talismans were also teleported out by the formation.

The results of this selection were unexpected by many.

The Dongyuan Sect actually has a total of seven spots.

Song Yan won three, while Li Yi, Yuwen Yao, Xiang Zhaoling, and Lin Qing each won one.

Unfortunately, Han Yuan and Yuwen Yao encountered a Foundation Establishment cultivator on their return journey.

In order to protect Yuwen Yao, Han Yuan himself held off the man for a few breaths, allowing Yuwen to escape.

However, he lost all his talismans, was eliminated, and suffered serious injuries.

It's a pity, but it's understandable.

There's really no other way.

Han Yuan was slowly recovering from his injuries. At this moment, he smiled freely, with a slight hint of apology: "Foundation Establishment, you are really strong."

The remaining members of the Dongyuan Sect were also eliminated.

Song Yan's gaze swept briefly over Shao Sichao, who was hidden at the back of the crowd, as if lost in thought.

No elders announced the final results, so these things were obtained through mutual observation among the cultivators.

Song Yan's gaze swept across the bustling crowd, and then paused slightly.

He saw a familiar figure.

Yang Kaijun.

"what?"

He's not dead?
A sense of unease and doubt arose in Song Yan's heart.

At this moment, Yang Kaijun appeared normal and stood unharmed in the crowd.

What surprised him even more was that the person walking with Yang Kaijun was none other than Ke Huai, whom he had previously reunited with at the meditation center.

A rogue cultivator and a disciple from a small sect were walking together.

Were they already acquainted?

Ke Huai didn't seem to be acting strangely. He was talking quietly with Yang Kaijun, but he had lost some of his gentle demeanor.

An indescribable strangeness.

The cultivators from various sects gradually dispersed.

The reason why the elders did not make a final judgment at this time is naturally because the selection process is not completely over yet.

There are still ten days until the shortlist is announced three days before the competition.

There is still a lot of room for maneuver in this area.

Regardless of the selection process, each faction will send a disciple to observe the competition.

This disciple only does one thing.

Record which monk has extra slots.

In the Nine Meridians Grand Competition, the ultimate champion will undoubtedly be a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

It can be said that for cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm, reaching this point in the selection process is practically the end of their journey.

Even the disciples of the sect think this way.

However, almost every Qi Refining cultivator participating in this grand event wanted to stand on that final stage.

This is the grandest event in the cultivation world of Chu. To appear under the world's watchful eyes of such a person is to be considered a prominent cultivator in the cultivation world.

However, how can one obtain one from these cultivators who possess extra advancement slots...?

This is precisely where multiple forces need to demonstrate their unique abilities.

……

On their way back to their cave, the previous year's disciples had already finished their selection process.

The members of Dongyuan Sect received another piece of even more exciting news.

In the previous selection of disciples, four out of five cultivators qualified.

Only Senior Sister Qin Ying was unfortunately eliminated.

This is an extremely terrifying thing.

The champion of the Nine Meridians Grand Competition usually appears in the Foundation Establishment stage of the previous generation of cultivators.

Of the twenty seats in total, Dongyuan Sect already occupies four.

Considering the situation of the new generation of disciples, there are a total of eleven disciples in the sect who will be able to stand on that final stage.

The results of this year's competition are simply terrifying.

Zhang Guangyuan couldn't hide the smile on his face.

While some are happy, others are naturally sad.

The meeting place of the Xuan Yuan Sect.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense as the ten new generation disciples gathered together.

Actually, the results of this year's Xuan Yuan Sect were not bad.

Three out of five disciples from the previous year advanced, while five out of ten disciples from the new generation advanced, leaving one additional spot.

It looks good, but when he thinks about the situation of Dongyuan Sect, he doesn't want to talk.

After a moment of silence, Shen Yu broke the silence with a deep and slow voice: "This time, including the two under Song Yan's command, Dongyuan Sect will have seven new disciples advancing, compared to four in the previous year. They are not to be underestimated."

He didn't think the position of leader of the Nine Meridians would be handed over so easily, but judging from the number of people, the rise of the Dongyuan Sect was also very obvious.

His gaze shifted to Fan Dongchen, whose face was crestfallen: "Why did you lose to Song Yan?"

All eyes turned to Fan Dongchen.

“Song Yan has some strange supernatural abilities that I can’t understand.”

He hesitated for a moment, then managed to utter, "Elder, that illusion is so hard to distinguish between reality and illusion, it's truly terrifying, I..."

He looked up and scanned the crowd, only to see Zhou Liu with his eyes closed and silent, Xi Shuyan with a mocking expression, and the other disciples with doubtful looks in their eyes.

Illusion?

If we were to actually be defeated by such low-class tactics, it would truly be a laughing stock.

It must have been because he underestimated his opponent that Song Yan was able to launch a sneak attack.

Given Fan Dongchen's strength, it's unimaginable how the other party could have so casually sent him out, barring this situation.

Shen Yu hesitated, then finally let out a sigh.

"Don't say too much."

Shen Yu waved his sleeve, interrupting him: "Defeat is defeat, why bother with sophistry?"

Fan Dongchen wanted to argue, but his face flushed red and then turned pale, and he finally swallowed his words.

"Zhou Liu still has one spot left, so I'll give it to you."

Shen Yu said, "This time, we must not be overconfident or underestimate our enemy."

"...Yes, Elder."

Fan Dongchen sighed inwardly, but promised, "If I encounter another opponent, I will definitely not..."

Just then, Zhou Liu slowly opened his eyes.

"Why are you saying all this?"

A cold voice rang out.

Zhou Liu's gaze made Fan Dongchen dare not look him in the eye.

"When did I say I would give this spot to you?"

what?
Fan Dongchen and everyone else were slightly taken aback.

There are only three Foundation Establishment cultivators among the Xuan Yuan Sect cultivators. If we don't give it to him, are we supposed to give it to Qi Refining cultivators?
"Know that if you were fighting outside, you would already be dead by now."

"It's a dead man, understand?"

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely oppressive.

Zhou Liu took out the extra Yin-Yang Jade Pendant from his Qiankun Bag and said, "I will definitely be the leader of the Nine Veins this year."

"So, who are the other participants, and how did they just go through the motions..."

"I don't care at all."

He didn't use any spiritual power; he simply held it in his hand and lifted it up.

"It doesn't matter who gets this qualification."

"Only you, Fan Dongchen..."

Zhou Liu looked down at him, his face devoid of any pity.

"You do not deserve."

clang.

With a flick of his finger, he sent the jade pendant into the arms of a disciple of a Qi Refining cultivator.

Then, Zhou Liu turned and left.

Fan Dongchen stared blankly at his retreating figure, his eyes vacant.

Shen Yu sighed. This qualification for advancement belonged to the cultivators, and he had no right to interfere.

The casual remark he just made was the most explicit message he could give.

Unfortunately, this person was Zhou Liu.

The Qi Refining cultivator who qualified for advancement was overjoyed and wanted to express his gratitude, but found that Zhou Liu had already left.

He glanced at Fan Dongchen with some concern, unsure of what to say.

I wonder if this person will take their anger out on me in the future.

One by one, everyone dispersed, leaving only Fan Dongchen sitting there blankly, lost in thought.

……

In recent days, many forces have already begun to take action.

If Song Yan's cave dwelling had a threshold, it would have been trampled to pieces by now.

Countless people have visited with "sincere intentions."

He subtly inquired about the purpose of Song Yan's two extra spots.

He rejected them all.

Regarding these two spots, Song Yan had actually discussed them with Li Yi, but Old Li was too lazy to think about it.

Elder Zhang Guangyuan offered no objections, leaving Song Yan to handle the matter as he saw fit.

This is really difficult.

Among the five fellow cultivators who did not advance, Han Yuan is now at the peak of Qi Refining, Chen Chen and Zhao Xuan are at the eighth level of Qi Refining, Kong You is at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and Shao Sichao is at the peak of Qi Refining.

Logically, these two spots should have been given to Han Yuan and Shao Sichao.

However, Shao Sichao was a strange person; when Song Yan asked for his opinion, he actually refused.

"Although my cultivation is decent, my combat strength is insufficient, and I am timid and cowardly by nature. I am afraid I will disgrace the reputation of Dongyuan Sect."

Shao Sichao said this.

"……All right."

Song Yan nodded without saying anything more.

Ultimately, this matter does depend on individual wishes.

Therefore, he has tentatively decided on Han Yuan and Kong You for now. There are still ten days before the competition officially begins, so there is no rush to finalize the decision.

If Shao Sichao suddenly comes to his senses, he'll save himself from changing his mind and making a perfectly good thing awkward.

The third day after the selection process ended.

A gentle ripple emanated from the protective barrier outside the cave, indicating that someone else had arrived.

Xiao Ju is currently in seclusion in the training room, practicing her martial arts.

Song Yan opened the restriction on his own.

The number of visitors these past few days has been countless, and it would be inappropriate to turn them away regardless of their intentions.

With Xiao Ju and Xiao He around, things are usually manageable.

The person who came this time was a woman.

A gauze dress draped over her exquisite figure, her soft black hair was casually tied up, and her skin was as white as snow and as delicate as jade.

"I am Su Lianxue, a disciple of Tianyu Palace. I greet Senior Song."

Su Lianxue bowed gracefully.

The sheer white gauze dress covering her chest appeared rather flimsy after these movements.

The peaks are steep and rugged, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden.

Upon seeing this, Song Yan gasped in shock.

The heart is not good.

(End of this chapter)