If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!

A terrifying shockwave swept across the entire area in an instant.

The five-layered defensive array shook violently, creaking under the strain.

The disciples who were nearby felt as if their eardrums were about to shatter, and they all retreated with pale faces.

"They've gone mad! They've all gone mad!"

"Is this the kind of commotion a Core Formation stage cultivator can produce? This attack could have demolished my house!"

The dust and smoke dissipated.

A huge crater appeared in the center of the arena.

Xiao Fan knelt on one knee, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but the spear in his hand still pointed steadily at the sky.

Ye Wushang floated in mid-air, his clothes somewhat disheveled, but his breath remained long and deep.

"That's the difference in levels of understanding."

Mo Chengyue sighed and shook his head.

"Xiao Fan's skills and awareness are absolutely top-tier."

"But the blue bar isn't long enough."

"The amount of spiritual energy reserves differs by at least five times between the early and late stages of Core Formation."

"Ye Wushang is like a mage with unlimited firepower, throwing out skills without a second thought."

"Xiao Fan is meticulously planning every move, and he has to rely on burning his blood and qi to make up for the damage."

"This is going to be tough."

Just as Mo Chengyue had predicted.

The ensuing battle devolved into a fierce tug-of-war.

One hundred rounds.

Two hundred rounds.

Three hundred rounds...

The entire training ground was now completely silent.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the two intertwined figures on the stage.

Xiao Fan's body was covered in more and more wounds.

His disciple's robes were stained with blood, making him look like a demon who had crawled out of hell.

But the flames in his eyes burned ever brighter!

Even during the battle, his aura continued to rise, showing faint signs of breaking through to the mid-stage of Core Formation!

"A breakthrough in the heat of battle? You actually dare to use that protagonist-level cheat code?"

Mo Chengyue's eyelids twitched as he read it.

If he really breaks through, Ye Wushang might end up losing his way today.

Obviously.

Ye Wushang also realized this.

The holy son finally put away all his contempt, and an unprecedented solemnity appeared on his face.

"Xiao Fan, you are indeed a worthy opponent."

"To show you respect, I will use my strongest move to send you off the stage."

Ye Wushang took a deep breath.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged upon him frantically.

The demonic image behind him, whose face was originally blurry, gradually became clearer.

A terrifying pressure, seemingly emanating from the ancient primordial era, instantly enveloped the entire Wanqi Mountain.

"Heavenly Demon Strategy - Forbidden Technique - Demon God Descends!"

Xiao Fan was already at his limit.

But he still did not back down.

He slowly straightened up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the spear in his hand trembled with a mournful sound.

That was a sign that it was about to collapse because it could not withstand its master's excessively violent power.

"Let's fight!"

Xiao Fan roared and burned the last 30% of his essence blood.

that moment.

Behind him, a phantom emperor's figure seemed to appear, blurry yet exuding an aura of dominance over the world.

boom--!!!

The final collision.

It was also the most devastating one.

The whole world seemed to have lost its sound, leaving only a blinding white light.

Mo Chengyue had no choice but to close his eyes and simultaneously circulate the Yin-Yang Virtue Harmony Scripture to protect his heart meridian, thus preventing him from vomiting blood from the aftershocks.

a long time.

The light dissipated.

The arena... no longer exists.

All that remained was a charred ruin.

Amidst the ruins.

Ye Wushang stood there, his face pale, his purple-gold python robe tattered, his right hand trembling slightly, and even dripping blood.

And ten feet away from him.

Xiao Fan, leaning on the broken spear, knelt on one knee.

He wanted to stand up.

However, the spiritual energy within him had been completely depleted.

Even the depleted essence and blood have been burned away.

"Cough cough..."

Xiao Fan coughed violently, each cough bringing up blood clots.

He lost.

It wasn't because of the moves they made that they lost.

It wasn't because of a lack of moral resolve that they lost.

It lost purely because of the inherent flaw of having a "small fuel tank".

If he were in the mid-stage of Core Formation, or even if he had just broken through, the outcome of this battle would be hard to predict.

The entire room fell silent.

No one cheered, and no one laughed.

All eyes were filled with awe.

Even the inner sect elites who usually looked down on the disciples of Tiantai Peak had to lower their proud heads at this moment.

This is a world where the strong reign supreme.

Although Xiao Fan lost the game, he won everyone's respect.

"I... lost."

Xiao Fan's voice was hoarse as he uttered those three words with difficulty.

Ye Wushang looked at him with a complicated expression.

There was both the relief of victory and a deep sense of apprehension.

He slowly stepped forward, not taking advantage of Xiao Fan's misfortune, but instead bowing slightly to him in front of everyone.

"Today's battle was exhilarating."

"Junior Brother Xiao, I'll be waiting for you up ahead."

"Next time, I hope to see an even stronger gun from you."

After saying that, Ye Wushang turned and left, but his back view looked a bit... disheveled.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

In the corner, Mo Chengyue picked up his thermos again and took a sip of goji berry tea to calm his nerves.

"Although this holy son won, his mentality is probably half-collapsed."

"I was forced to use all my cards by someone two ranks below me, and I even got injured."

"It's like a max-level character getting half their health chopped down by a shirtless newbie with a wooden sword in the starting village."

"Even though we won in the end, my face... is still swollen."

Mo Chengyue took out his notebook and added a few more lines of notes to the page with "Xiao Fan":

[A battle maniac whose combat power increases as his health bar decreases, possessing the passive abilities of "Unyielding" and "Invincibility".]

[Weaknesses: Short mana bar, poor sustain, and extremely reliant on equipment strength (ordinary magical artifacts simply cannot withstand his burst damage).]

[Suggestion: If you have to fight him in the future, be sure to use the "kiting" tactic to wear him down. Or, when he's out of mana, just stun him.]

After writing all this, Mo Chengyue closed the notebook with satisfaction.

This theory class was so worthwhile.

Although he enjoyed watching it, it also strengthened his resolve to follow the Dao.

"It's too dangerous, it's really too dangerous."

"Any one of these two could turn the cultivation world upside down if released."

"I'm just a nobody, I'd better just stay a nobody and be my 'dregs'."

"As long as I don't step in, I won't be part of this world-destroying plot."

Mo Chengyue was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

Sudden.

A clear, cold voice, yet with a hint of amusement, suddenly rang out in the air above the training ground.

"Now that this warm-up match is over..."

"So, isn't it our turn next?"

Mo Chengyue's heart skipped a beat, and that ominous premonition surged into his heart again.

He turned his head stiffly.

On the fourth arena.

A stunningly beautiful figure was holding a pipa, looking in a certain direction with a half-smile.

Lin Miaoyin, the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect.

And opposite her.

It was Ye Changfeng, the swordsman who was a master of swordsmanship but always had a "I want to go home" expression on his face.

But this is not the point.

The key point is...

Lin Miaoyin's captivating peach blossom eyes, which seemed to be able to bewitch souls, looked at Ye Changfeng.

It seems, it appears, it probably...

He glanced at his own corner, almost imperceptibly.

"Holy crap?"

Mo Chengyue almost dropped the thermos in his hand.

"Is it just my imagination?"

"It must be my imagination!"

"I've wrapped myself up like this, even my own mother might not recognize me, so why would she look at me?"

"Could it be... that I looked too cool while eating the melon?"

Mo Chengyue's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He suddenly remembered.

This Saintess Lin cultivates the Dao of Music, the "Dance of the Heavenly Demons," and her spiritual power is abnormally strong.

Could it be...?

Did this female demon hear my inner monologue just now?

"Um... is it too late for me to withdraw from the competition and go home to collect my clothes?"

Mo Chengyue wanted to cry but had no tears.

I just want to shout to the sky:

This damned cultivation world, can't we just let these wage slaves survive in peace?!