Brother, how come you're a witch?

In the cultivation world, seclusion is a tradition.

The Xuanqing Sect even has special retreat leave.

Su Yan went to the sect's office to register his cultivation level, and received a set of inner sect robes amidst the astonished gaze of an elder. He then requested a four-day leave for seclusion.

The real purpose of participating in the Ultimate Sword Cultivator Challenge is to investigate Yanshan. Everything related to the Heavenly Demon must be handled with utmost care.

During these four days, Su Yan not only needs to consolidate his cultivation level, but also replenish his depleted essence and blood in order to deal with unexpected situations.

"Now that I've burned my essence blood, I should have the combat power of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator."

Su Yan entered the secluded stone chamber and sat cross-legged.

His three-minute "true man" state could almost unconditionally elevate him to a higher realm, and with various other methods, he could even challenge enemies at the Nascent Soul stage.

This is the confidence he gained from being a True Immortal who had undergone a transformation and possessed the system.

"Let's begin."

Su Yan closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and began to regulate his breathing.

The duration of a cultivator's seclusion depends on their cultivation level.

A true immortal can go into seclusion for a hundred years, which is not considered long, while a Foundation Establishment cultivator rarely lasts more than ten days.

As for Qi cultivation? Because he would starve to death if he didn't eat for a few days, he almost never went into seclusion.

The stone chamber is devoid of sunlight and moonlight, making the perception of time particularly vague.

Su Yan felt that not much time had passed, but the timer bell hanging at the door had already rung, indicating that four days had already gone by.

"call--"

Su Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

His cultivation at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was completely stable, and he had replenished most of his depleted essence and blood, making him in better condition than ever before.

"Today is the day of the competition."

Su Yan stretched his limbs, changed into new clothes, and pushed open the heavy door of the stone chamber.

The outside world was bathed in sunlight, and the various immortal peaks standing in the distance remained unchanged. However, after four days of absence, the sect had become unusually noisy.

"Authentic high-quality pills, authentic high-quality flying swords, the Ultimate Sword Cultivation Challenge is sponsored by Shen Dan Feng, the leading brand of pills from Xuanqing Sect."

"A 15-minute charge provides two hours of communication via Feixin. The Hundred-Refined Five-Generation Jade Token will assist all sword cultivators."

"Who has the best beast taming skills? Elder Chen Yixing of Spirit Beast Peak wishes all contestants the best of luck. The top ten can register for his new elective course 'Love, Bonds and Spirit Beasts' next month for free."

"Find recyclers, go to the top!"

"..."

A huge flying boat floated above the Xuanqing Sect, and the presiding disciple used a sound amplification array to read out the names of all the sponsors of this competition.

Su Yan was walking down the street, and the sound of it gave him a headache.

The noise only subsided a bit when we reached the athletes' preparation area.

The preparation area was a wide square with a huge jade disc in the center, which shimmered with light and outlined the names and numbers of those who had registered.

Su Yan looked up and quickly found his name among the densely packed names.

"Su Yan, number 127; Ye Jingqiu, number 128."

The numbers are next to each other, so it seems they were reported at the same time.

"Su Yan".

A cool, clear voice came from behind me; it felt especially warm after not hearing it for several days.

Su Yan turned around and saw that it was indeed Ye Jingqiu. She was holding two flying swords used in the competition, wearing a light blue belted dress that outlined her figure with a slight curve, and her long hair was tied up with a light blue ribbon.

This outfit was bought for her by Su Yan. It was originally a gentle and elegant style, but it looked very sharp against the backdrop of the little sword ancestor's expressionless and cold face, making it a refreshing sight.

"Your flying sword."

Ye Jingqiu leaned closer and handed Su Yan a flying sword from the competition that was still slightly scented with cold fragrance.

Su Yan took it and weighed it in his hand, feeling that the weight was off, and raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Xiao Ye, have you modified this flying sword?"

"Um......"

Ye Jingqiu gently looked away.

Su Yan gave a helpless twitch of his lips. He was there to investigate, and the ranking didn't matter at all. As long as the flying sword met the competition standards, that was enough. Modifying it would just be a waste of money.

He wanted to ask Ye Jingqiu what changes he had made, but the Little Sword Ancestor dodged the question and refused to answer directly.

"Haha, Junior Brother Su! You've finally emerged from seclusion."

Lu Jing's loud voice suddenly rang out. He strode over with four team members, rescuing Ye Jingqiu from being interrogated by Su Yan who was about to rub her head.

"Senior Brother Lu Jing? What are you doing here?" Su Yan turned his head and asked.

"Of course I'm here to compete! You guys use flying swords, so will I!"

Lu Jing waved his hand dismissively, beaming with pride.

Su Yan's eye twitched; he had a feeling that Lu Jing's personality had changed.

It seems that he has indeed been suppressing his energy for too long during the Qi Refining period.

"Team leader, you've become even more dashing and handsome in just a few days."

"Yeah yeah."

"I think so too."

The sword cultivators, as always, were all sweet-talking, expressing their excitement at being able to participate in the competition.

Su Yan waved his hand, telling them to stop coming, and then looked them over for a moment.

The three men and one woman were all at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and carried light swords. It seemed they planned to judge speed by weight and rely entirely on their own spiritual power to strive for a good result.

"Oh, right, team leader, take this."

The only female member suddenly stepped forward and gave Su Yan and Ye Jingqiu each something.

"What? I don't accept bribes. Even if you offer me something, I won't go easy on you."

Su Yan made a joke and looked down at what he was holding.

It was a very small ritual implement, oval in shape, and just the right size to fit inside an ear.

"A listening device? What are you doing...?"

"Team leader, all the other contestants are wearing them. It's called an individual competition, but in reality, they're divided into mountain peaks and groups."

One of the male group members explained:

"We can't go it alone. As you said, we need to promote teamwork. We can use this magical artifact to communicate, get a bit of the flying sword's tail, and block the opponent's position, which will be more convenient."

"You've thought of everything very thoroughly."

Su Yan smiled and put the listening device into his ear.

Ye Jingqiu also used her jade-white fingers to brush aside the black hair by her ear and put the listening device into her small ear. It seemed to be the wrong size, so she pressed it with her fingers and squeezed it hard.

"All participants, you can proceed to the fencing area to prepare."

At the very front of the square, a disciple was shouting aloud using amplification magic.

The Ultimate Sword Cultivator Challenge is a flying sword rally race that lasts for three days and three nights. A difference of a few body lengths at the start has little impact.

So the sword cultivators stood casually in the huge sword-casting area, gathering in twos and threes, and even subtly leaning back.

After all, while killing is strictly prohibited in a competition, fighting is allowed.

Standing too far forward before the match will attract attention and could lead to being besieged soon after the start of the game.

Su Yan and the others were also standing in a position slightly behind the center. His gaze swept over the hundreds of sword cultivators present, searching for Liu Baishuang's figure, when suddenly a shadow brushed past him.

"...?"

Lu Jing, holding his flying sword, walked solemnly to the front of the sword-launching area, drawing all eyes to him.

Su Yan suddenly had a bad feeling. When a person has been suppressed for too long, the sudden release can not only lead to a drastic change in temperament, but also easily make them...

"Hehe, we're all sword cultivators, I didn't originally intend to use a dimensional reduction attack."

With his back to the gazes of hundreds of sword cultivators, Lu Jing smiled coldly, then slowly turned around to face the crowd, raising a finger between his lips:

"If you can get past me, then we can talk about sword cultivation."