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

The roar from the square was like a boiling tide, crashing against the edge of the arena wave after wave. Li Hanshan stood in the center of the arena, slowly sheathing his flaming longsword, his peripheral vision sweeping over the shocked or incredulous faces below.

His previous sword strike had exhausted nearly seventy percent of his spiritual power. A subtle emptiness emanated from his meridians, and the lingering warmth of the pure yang fire slowly faded from his fingertips, but he didn't let anyone see his exhaustion. His back remained straight, his breathing steady, and his gaze was like a calm sea, its depths unfathomable.

Wang Hao had already stepped off the stage. As he walked through the crowd, the disciples on both sides instinctively made way for him.

Someone called out "Senior Brother Wang" in a low voice. He simply nodded slightly, did not linger, and walked straight to the edge of the square. His figure quickly disappeared around the corner of the stone steps.

He left swiftly and decisively, but it made everyone present understand one thing—this genius disciple, known as having the "appearance of an immortal," had been slashed in the chest by an old man from a branch sect in the Northern Wilderness, right before their eyes. Although the injury wasn't serious, Li Hanshan's final sword strike had indeed wounded him.

This was undoubtedly painful for Wang Hao, but he clearly still had trump cards up his sleeve. Li Hanshan's sword strike did not sever his pride and arrogance.

Chen Jie stood at the edge of the platform, his gaze fixed on Li Hanshan. The smile on his face had completely vanished, his brows furrowed into a tight knot, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the stone railing in front of him, again and again, as if he were calculating something.

Chang Sheng squeezed through the crowd to Chen Jie's side and whispered, "Senior Brother Chen, that old man... can he continue?"

"No." Chen Jie's voice was squeezed out through clenched teeth, but his gaze never left Li Hanshan. "Although his last sword strike wounded Wang Hao, it consumed too much of his spiritual energy. He's just putting on a brave face right now."

He paused, then added, as if trying to convince himself, "He won't recover in a short time. If I step in, he's bound to lose."

The moment he uttered those words, the referee on the stage announced the winner.

Li Hanshan once again became the focus of discussion.

"Senior Brother Chen, I'll go make the arrangements..."

"Wait a minute," Chen Jie said in a deep voice.

Chang Sheng was taken aback and couldn't help but look at Chen Jie: "Senior Brother Chen..."

Chen Jie waved his hand, and Chang Sheng quickly shut up. Although he addressed the other as "senior brother," the difference in their status was actually too great.

One is a Nascent Soul cultivator, the other is a Deity Transformation cultivator; they are incomparable.

Chen Jie stared at Li Hanshan, his gaze so dark it seemed to drip water. Numerous thoughts raced through his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to personally confront Li Hanshan.

Originally, Wang Hao wasn't going to participate; he was planning to take the field himself.

But now, Wang Hao's battle with Li Hanshan has inexplicably made him lose confidence.

If his cultivation level were not restricted, he could easily crush Li Hanshan. However, once his cultivation level was suppressed to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, Chen Jie was not very confident.

It should be noted that Wang Hao is a top-tier genius capable of fighting against a Nascent Soul cultivator, possessing a top-tier divine body. This divine body is said to be the Xuanhuang Divine Body, with astonishing cultivation speed and combat power.

Such geniuses were defeated by Li Hanshan.

He probably won't get away with it if he goes up there.

If he were to lose to an old man from a branch of the Northern Wilderness in front of the entire Hehuan Sect, his reputation, which he had worked so hard to build over the years, would be ruined.

Chen Jie remained silent for a long time.

He didn't think he was afraid of Li Hanshan; he was just weighing the pros and cons.

In the end, Chen Jie made a decision.

"Even Junior Brother Wang has been defeated, so there's no point in me going up there." He paused, his gaze sweeping across the arena and landing on the figure in blue. "It's just a competition that only happens once every ten years; he can take first place in the Nascent Soul group."

After speaking, he turned and walked towards the elders' seats behind the high platform, his steps neither fast nor slow, without looking back.

"Senior Brother Chen, this..."

Chang Sheng was stunned.

He never expected that Chen Jie wouldn't go!

Could it be that Chen Jie, a mere third-level Nascent Soul cultivator, is afraid of that old man from the Northern Wilderness?