Immortality and cultivation: Heaven rewards diligence, and success is inevitable.

Soon, Long Yuanhai began announcing the next draw.

"The Fang family, Fang Lin!" Long Yuanhai said.

Upon hearing this, Fang Lin stood up and walked towards the stone platform.

He was the least powerful of the three members of the Fang family, at the peak of the early Golden Core stage, but after Fang Han's crushing defeat, the impetuousness on his face had diminished considerably.

"The Chen family, Chen Xuanshu!"

The result of the draw: Chen family, Chen Xuanshu.

Chen Xuanshu stood up from his seat, wearing a light gold Daoist robe. He had a handsome face and was at the peak of the early Golden Core stage. It was said that he had already cultivated to the first tribulation of the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual: Golden Fire Sword Qi.

The two stood facing each other on the stone platform.

Chen Xuanshu sized up Fang Lin: "So you're Fang Lin from the Fang family. You don't seem like much."

Chen Xuanshu spoke provocatively.

"Whether we win or lose, we'll decide after the fight!" Fang Lin gripped the low-grade spiritual weapon, the Frost Sword.

Chen Xuanshu also summoned a crimson sword!

The crimson sword shone with a brilliant golden-red light; it was a low-grade spiritual weapon called "Crimson Flame".

Chen Xuanshu struck first, unleashing a sword strike that multiplied into ten golden-red sword energies, then into twenty, raining down like a storm.

Fang Lin turned sharply, unleashing the full power of his "Treading Snow Without a Trace" footwork, his figure weaving through the rain of sword energy.

He dodged most of them, but two still grazed his shoulder and arm, tearing his robe and causing blood to seep out.

He swung his sword backhand, creating an ice wall in front of him to block the remaining sword energy.

Like Fang Han, Fang Lin also possesses the talent of the Ice Spirit Root. He and Fang Han are brothers, born to the same parents!

Just then, Chen Xuanshu's second wave of sword energy arrived, twenty of them condensing into one, transforming into a three-zhang-long golden-red giant sword, which slashed down.

Fang Lin gripped the sword with both hands to block the attack. The ice-blue and gold-red clashed, sending shockwaves scattering in all directions.

Fang Lin was forced back several steps, his hand went numb, and the first crack appeared on the blade of the Frost Sword.

Although Chen Xuanshu's Golden Fire Sword Qi is not a sword technique, its attack power is not weak. Fang Lin suffered a small loss when he fought it head-on!

Therefore, Fang Lin stopped fighting head-on.

He thrust out a palm, and the ice dragon roared as it charged toward Chen Xuanshu, while simultaneously circling to the side.

Chen Xuanshu swung his sword to cleave the ice dragon, while Fang Lin cut in from the right, his Frost Sword thrusting straight at Fang Lin's ribs.

Chen Xuanshu dodged to the side, but a bloody gash appeared on his waist.

Chen Xuanshu winced in pain, took two steps back, and said with a gloomy face, "You bastard."

Fang Lin's strength was actually slightly greater than his!

Fang Lin gave Chen Xuanshu no chance to catch his breath, unleashing a barrage of ice spikes and blades, preventing Chen Xuanshu from gathering the strength to unleash his sword.

Chen Xuanshu's Golden Fire Sword Qi was extremely powerful, but fortunately it was only at the minor stage. Fang Lin relied on his exquisite movement technique to quickly create distance after each sword exchange, preventing Chen Xuanshu from accumulating the power of his Golden Fire Sword Qi.

Chen Xuanshu's pace was slowed down, but the difference in strength between the two was not particularly large, and he was not without the ability to retaliate.

Chen Xuanshu took the sword head-on, used the force to create distance, gripped the sword with both hands, and a bright golden-red light shone forth.

The golden-red giant sword materialized once more, larger, faster, and heavier, before slashing down.

Seeing that he couldn't dodge, Fang Lin could only parry with his sword.

The ice shield shattered, and the person was thrown to the edge of the stone platform, kneeling on one knee, blood spilling from their mouth.

Another crack appeared on the Frost Sword, and the wound on his left arm split open, blood dripping down his fingers.

Chen Xuanshu, sword in hand, said coldly, "Admit defeat, or your sword will break."

Chen Xuanshu wasn't refusing to finish off the enemy; rather, he had just used a secret technique to gather his strength, and his true energy was somewhat disrupted. He was still secretly adjusting his breathing, which is why he spoke up to stall for time.

Fang Lin planted his sword in the ground and struggled to his feet: "I haven't lost yet!"

He took a deep breath and mobilized all the remaining true energy.

If he loses, then the Fang family loses!

Therefore, he cannot afford to lose!

Fang Lin rushed towards Chen Xuanshu, thrusting out with both palms, unleashing a continuous barrage of ice dragons, ice cones, and ice walls as if he didn't need any real energy.

Chen Xuanshu had no choice but to quickly swing his sword to defend, both of them reaching their limits.

Just then, Fang Lin concentrated all his remaining true energy into his right palm and struck out with it.

A beam of icy blue light shot out from his palm, as fast as lightning, aiming straight for Chen Xuanshu's chest.

Chen Xuanshu didn't have time to gather his Golden Fire Sword Qi, so he held his sword horizontally in front of his chest.

The icy blue beam of light slammed into the sword, causing it to tremble violently. He staggered back five steps, and the stone slab beneath his feet shattered.

A thin layer of ice had formed on the blade, and it was spreading towards the hilt.

Fang Lin stood there, panting heavily, clearly having consumed a lot of his true energy.

Chen Xuanshu was in even worse condition. His true energy was already somewhat disrupted, and forcing himself to make a move only caused further damage to his body.

Now, after being hit by Fang Lin's move, half of his body was frozen into frost!

Getting out of this predicament will probably take some effort!

However, Chen Xuanshu was very unwilling to admit defeat, as the gap between him and Fang Lin was not actually that large!

It's just that Fang Lin's desire to win is stronger than his!

Just then, a voice transmission entered his ear, and Chen Xuanshu's expression changed drastically. He couldn't help but look at Chen Xuanji.

Chen Xuanji told him to admit defeat, but Chen Xuanshu had no choice but to speak up:

"I lost!"

After Chen Xuanshu conceded defeat, Fang Lin walked back to the Fang family's seat, his steps unsteady but his back straight.

Fang Han helped him up, and Fang Lin grinned, "I won!"

Fang Tianxing gave Fang Lin a Rejuvenation Pill to take.

"You did a great job!" Fang Zhenyue said.

The Fang family has one win and one loss; the story isn't over yet.

Fang Lin won.

Although it was a hard-fought victory, we won nonetheless.

"Leave the rest to me," Fang Tianxing said.

Although this is a trap, the Chen family will definitely find a way to target the Fang family.

However, the Fang family is one of the four great families of Zhongzhou, so they will not easily admit defeat.

On the other side, Chen Xuanshu returned to his seat in the Chen family with a long face.

"I lost," Chen Xuanshu said softly, his head bowed.

"It's alright. Fang Tianxing of the Fang family isn't particularly strong. Now that he's the only one left in the Fang family, he's bound to lose," Chen Xuanji said, his voice full of confidence.

On the field, Long Yuanhai announced the next match: "Fang Tianxing of the Fang family versus Long Yunshuang of the Long family."

The whole place fell silent.

It turned out to be Fang Tianxing fighting against Long Yunshuang.

Many onlookers could see that this competition was, to put it bluntly, a trap set by the Chen family against the Fang family.

The purpose was to avenge the killing of the Chen family members last year.

They all thought that Chen Xuanji would be the one to fight Fang Tianxing next, but unexpectedly, Long Yunshuang went up herself.

Fang Tianxing stood up, took off his outer robe, revealing his tight-fitting martial arts uniform.

Long Yunshuang stood up from her seat in the Long family's group.

She was dressed in a silver-white outfit, her long hair was tied up with a crown, and her face was as cold as ice.

Her hands hung down naturally, her fingernails gleaming with a dark gold color—a natural manifestation of dragon blood, a phenomenon that appeared without any conscious effort.

"Long Yunshuang actually wants to make a move, interesting, very interesting," Chen Xuanji said with a smile.

Although the Long family did not follow his plan to have him fight Fang Tianxing, seeing the Long family's prodigy make the trip worthwhile.

He also wanted to see just how strong this generation of prodigy in the Long family truly was.

Since mastering the fourth tribulation of the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual, Chen Xuanji has been extremely confident, believing himself to be the number one Golden Core cultivator of his generation!