I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

In the second round, my opponent was a core disciple at the fifth level of the Golden Core stage.

Having learned from Zhou Yuan's mistake, the man immediately went into full defense, attempting to deplete Li Hanshan's spiritual energy. However, Li Hanshan's fireballs rained down like a machine gun, forcing him to retreat steadily until he could no longer even hold his ground and had to admit defeat.

In the third round, the opponent was a core disciple at the sixth level of the Golden Core stage, whose strength was significantly greater than the previous two.

He unleashed a set of exquisite sword techniques, the sword light raining down, enveloping Li Hanshan. But Li Hanshan merely trod on fiery clouds, his figure dodging left and right amidst the sword light, each sword grazing past his robes but never touching his body.

"Hokage Step? No, it's more advanced than the Hokage Step." The man's expression changed, and he was about to change his move when Li Hanshan had already closed in. A fireball exploded in his chest, sending him flying.

With three consecutive wins, Li Hanshan easily advanced to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Song Qingyun and Ouyang Ming also fought their way through the competition and entered the final four. The other spot in the final four was won by a female cultivator named Zhao Ling.

In the semifinals, Li Hanshan will face Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling was a stunning woman in red, with a cultivation level of the fifth stage of the Golden Core realm. She was quite famous among the Golden Core disciples of the Joyful Union Sect. She looked at Li Hanshan, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes, but she did not back down.

"Senior Brother Li, I am honored to have learned from you." She clasped her hands in greeting and then made the first move.

A red ribbon flew out from her sleeve, coiling towards Li Hanshan like a serpent. Although the spiritual power attached to the ribbon was suppressed to the first level of the Golden Core stage, its suppleness and strangeness far surpassed the abilities of an ordinary first-level Golden Core cultivator.

Li Hanshan didn't take the attack head-on. Instead, he stepped on fiery clouds and dodged the entanglement of the bolt of lightning in a flash. He raised his hand and fired a fireball at Zhao Ling.

Zhao Lingjiao let out a shout, and the ribbon retracted, weaving into a red shield in front of her. The fireballs exploded on the shield, causing her to stagger back three steps, and the light on the shield dimmed slightly.

"What powerful fireballs!" Zhao Ling was startled, but dared not be careless. The bolt of lightning struck again, this time splitting into three, simultaneously entangling Li Hanshan from three directions.

Li Hanshan's gaze sharpened, and his Pure Yang Meridian circulated slightly. He thrust out with both hands, launching three fireballs simultaneously, which accurately struck the three streaks of light.

Boom boom boom!

Three loud explosions rang out almost simultaneously, sending Pi Lian flying backward and causing Zhao Ling's blood to churn. She bit her lip, about to strike again, when Li Hanshan appeared before her.

A fireball materialized before her eyes, the purplish-gold flames making her face appear pale.

"You flatter me," Li Hanshan said calmly, retracting the fireball.

Zhao Ling gave a wry smile, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Senior Brother Li's strength is truly admirable, I am completely convinced."

A gasp of amazement rippled through the square once more. Defeating Zhao Ling in just two moves, Li Hanshan's performance was increasingly astonishing.

On the other side, Song Qingyun also defeated her opponent and advanced to the finals. Ouyang Ming narrowly lost in the semifinals and will compete with Zhao Ling for third place.

In the final, Li Hanshan faced off against Song Qingyun.

The two stood on the dueling platform, ten feet apart. Song Qingyun's expression was cold and stern, his eyes filled with an unwavering determination. Li Hanshan's expression was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Junior Brother Li, your strength is indeed impressive," Song Qingyun said slowly, his tone carrying a hint of arrogance. "But you've only been in the sect for five years, and your combat experience is far inferior to mine. You cannot win this battle."

Li Hanshan said calmly, "Senior Brother Song, don't speak too definitively."

Song Qingyun snorted coldly and stopped talking nonsense.

At the Grand Elder's command, Song Qingyun made the first move. He struck out with his palm, the golden palm print carrying fierce spiritual power, heading towards Li Hanshan's chest. Although this palm strike only used the spiritual power of a first-level Golden Core cultivator, the power of law contained within the palm's intent far surpassed that of an ordinary first-level Golden Core cultivator.

Li Hanshan's gaze sharpened, and stepping on fiery clouds, he dodged the palm print in a flash. He raised his hand, and a fireball condensed in his palm, which he then blasted towards Song Qingyun.

Song Qingyun sneered and raised his hand to shatter the fireballs with another palm strike. But his expression changed slightly—the fireballs were more powerful than he had imagined.

"Again!" Song Qingyun shouted, unleashing both palms simultaneously, golden palm prints raining down on Li Hanshan like a storm.

Li Hanshan, his feet treading on fiery clouds, dodged left and right amidst the palm prints with incredible speed, narrowly avoiding each attack. His fireballs continued to blast out, colliding with Song Qingyun's palm prints in mid-air, exploding into bursts of dazzling light.

The two exchanged blows for dozens of rounds, neither able to gain the upper hand.

The disciples in the square watched intently, not daring to breathe.

"Senior Brother Li is incredibly strong! He can actually fight Senior Brother Song to a standstill!"

"Senior Brother Song is at the seventh level of the Golden Core stage and has rich combat experience. Senior Brother Li is already very impressive to be able to fight him to this extent."

"No, didn't you notice? Senior Brother Li has been on the defensive the whole time, without taking any initiative to attack. He's observing Senior Brother Song's weaknesses."

Sure enough, after Song Qingyun struck out with another palm, a glint flashed in Li Hanshan's eyes.

He found the flaw.

With a slight circulation of his Pure Yang Meridian, a surge of pure Yang energy flowed from his Immortal-grade Golden Core. He formed hand seals, and a fireball, a full size larger than before, condensed in his palms, which he then blasted towards Song Qingyun.

This fireball was incredibly fast; it flew to Song Qingyun almost the instant it was formed.

Song Qingyun's expression changed drastically, and in his haste, he struck out with his palm, colliding with the fireball.

boom!

The fireball exploded, and the purple-gold flames engulfed Song Qingyun. He groaned, thrown backward by the shockwave, and crashed heavily onto the dueling platform.

"You flatter me," Li Hanshan said calmly, withdrawing his hand.

The square was deathly silent.

A moment later, a roar of exclamations erupted.

"Senior Brother Li won!"

"My God, he actually beat Senior Brother Song!"

"Complete crushing! Utterly crushing! Senior Brother Song had absolutely no chance against him!"

Song Qingyun scrambled to his feet, covered in blood, his clothes tattered, his face ashen. He looked at Li Hanshan, his eyes filled with disbelief and resentment.

"You... how could you..." He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't say anything.

Li Hanshan didn't look at him, turned around and walked off the dueling platform.

On the high platform, the sect leader's eyes were full of satisfaction.

The Grand Elder's face was ashen, as if he had swallowed a fly.

Qin Muyue watched Li Hanshan's retreating figure, a smug smile appearing on her lips. This old man, as expected, hadn't disappointed her.

For the first time, a genuine emotion appeared in Leng Yue's silver-gray eyes.

The emerald beads in Chu Mengyao's hand started spinning again. She looked at Li Hanshan, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

The second round of competition has now concluded.

Li Hanshan won first place in the combat strength competition with overwhelming force.