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

In Ye Shuanghua's cave, the light from the luminous pearl was softer than usual, casting a warm glow on the stone walls.

She stood by the stone bed, her silver-white outfit still covered in dust from the arena. Her clear, cold eyes were fixed on Li Hanshan, who was meditating opposite her, her gaze carrying a complex emotion that she rarely showed.

"Do you know what you did today?" she finally spoke, her voice lower than usual, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor. "You knocked Wang Hao off the stage."

Li Hanshan opened his eyes. Pure Yang energy slowly circulated through his meridians, completing a full cycle, and the divine infant in his dantian regained its radiance. He looked at Ye Shuanghua and said calmly, "I know."

"You know?" Ye Shuanghua took half a step forward, unintentionally releasing the pressure of a fourth-level Nascent Soul cultivator for a moment before quickly withdrawing it. "Wang Hao didn't really exert his full strength. You haven't even witnessed half of the true power of his Xuanhuang Divine Body."

"The Profound Yellow Divine Body?" Li Hanshan raised an eyebrow. He could indeed sense that the spiritual energy circulation within Wang Hao's body was extremely unique, and that sense of harmony was far beyond what ordinary cultivators could possess.

"Heaven and earth are mysterious and yellow, with mysterious and yellow being the foundation." Ye Shuanghua sat down on the futon opposite him, her tone carrying an unusual solemnity. "The Mysterious Yellow Divine Body is a naturally occurring treasure body of the same level as your Pure Yang Sacred Body. Its cultivation speed is several times faster than that of ordinary people, its spiritual power is naturally harmonious, and its affinity for the laws of heaven and earth far surpasses that of others of the same level. You were able to win today because, firstly, he did indeed underestimate his opponent, and secondly, your final sword strike truly took him by surprise. But he still has trump cards he hasn't used yet."

She paused, her gaze falling on Li Hanshan's face: "If he had gone all out, unleashing the true power of the Xuanhuang Divine Body with the total spiritual power of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, your Divine Soul Sword could have only distracted him for a moment at most, not enough to create any real opening. You won that battle by sheer luck."

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I understand. His ability to confront a Nascent Soul cultivator head-on is no empty boast. The reason my sword strike was able to injure him was because he didn't expect me to have Nascent Soul level divine sense and a sword of the soul, and even more so, he didn't expect me to have comprehended a trace of ancient sword intent."

Seeing that he was listening, Ye Shuanghua's expression softened slightly. She stood up, walked to the window of the cave, and looked at the lights gradually lighting up in the twilight outside. Her voice returned to its usual coldness: "Chen Jie probably won't go on stage himself."

Li Hanshan was somewhat surprised: "Why?"

"Because he's smart." Ye Shuanghua didn't turn around. "Wang Hao's Xuanhuang Divine Body ranks among the top three of the Nascent Soul generation in the Hehuan Sect. Although Chen Jie is already a Deity Transformation cultivator, if he suppresses his cultivation to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, his spiritual energy quality, combat experience, and foundation are all inferior to Wang Hao's. Wang Hao has already lost, so if he goes on stage, he will only humiliate himself."

She turned around, a meaningful glint in her clear, cold eyes: "Besides, he can't afford to lose. He's the Ninth Elder's eldest disciple, a third-level Nascent Soul cultivator. If he were defeated on the arena by a branch sect elder at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, all the reputation he's built up over the years would be ruined. So he won't gamble."

Li Hanshan nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "What about Wang Hao? What level of genius is he?"

Ye Shuanghua sat down again beside the stone couch, her hands folded on her knees, her tone carrying a barely perceptible seriousness: "Among the Nascent Soul generation of the Hehuan Sect, geniuses are divided into three levels. At the bottom are people like Chang Sheng and Wu Qingfeng, who have reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage; it's considered good if they can even touch the threshold of the Deity Transformation stage in their lifetime. The middle level consists of those who can break through to the Nascent Soul stage before the age of one hundred and establish a firm foothold at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, like Chen Jie back then. The top level..."

She paused for a moment, "They are beings who can directly contend with Nascent Soul cultivators at the Deity Transformation stage. Wang Hao is at that level. In the entire Joyful Union Sect, there are no more than five Nascent Soul disciples at this level. They disdain participating in the sect's grand competition held once every ten years because such a competition is meaningless to them—their goals have always been Deity Transformation, Void Refinement, or even higher."

Li Hanshan remained silent. He suddenly realized how lucky he had been to win that battle today. Wang Hao stood at the very top of that level, while he had only managed to wound him with a trace of ancient sword intent and the sword of his divine soul.

of course.

Even if Wang Hao used all his skills and fought a great battle with Li Hanshan, Li Hanshan did not think he would lose, but that it would be an extremely difficult fight.

"Senior sister is on that floor too, right?" He looked up, his gaze falling on Ye Shuanghua.

Ye Shuanghua did not deny it, but slightly averted her gaze: "I have a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Although I don't have the innate precious physique like you, the Heavenly Spiritual Root's cultivation speed far surpasses that of ordinary people, and its comprehension of spells is also exceptionally sharp." As she spoke, a hint of almost imperceptible self-mockery appeared in her tone, "The sect leader took me as his disciple because of this."

"No wonder Senior Sister is so amazing." Li Hanshan looked at her face, which was particularly cold and aloof in the glow of the night-shining pearl, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Heavenly Spiritual Root, the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator, the name of the Amazing Swan Sword is known throughout most of the Central Continent... Senior Sister, you must have been targeted by many people along the way."

Ye Shuanghua didn't speak, but Li Hanshan noticed her ears turn slightly red for a moment. He stood up, walked to her, leaned closer, and lowered his voice, "Senior Sister, I beat Wang Hao today, I'm in a good mood. Want to…?"

Ye Shuanghua looked up at him, her clear, cold eyes filled with a hint of helpless tenderness: "Your spiritual power hasn't fully recovered yet."

"It's alright." Li Hanshan shamelessly moved closer by half an inch. "Senior Sister's Heavenly Spiritual Root also has a tempering effect on my pure Yang Qi. We help each other and get what we need."

Ye Shuanghua stared at him for a few moments, then finally sighed and did not refuse. She untied the sash of her outer robe, her movements much more natural than before, no longer carrying the stiff resistance of the beginning, but instead revealing a familiarity that she herself might not have realized.

Li Hanshan reached out and put his arm around her waist, leading her towards the stone bed. A gauze curtain hung down, and the glow of a luminous pearl swayed gently in their shadows.

Spiritual energy flowed gently between the two, the pure Yang energy and the refined spiritual energy unique to the Heavenly Spiritual Root forming a complete cycle under the operation of the Yang Scripture technique. Ye Shuanghua's spiritual energy was much more docile than before, no longer carrying the uncontrolled momentum of the first time, but like a tamed stream, flowing steadily along her meridians. Li Hanshan's soul trembled slightly under the nourishment of this spiritual energy, and the soul power consumed in the previous battle recovered at a visible speed.

"Senior sister, how did your Nascent Soul group competition go?" he asked, his voice low and hoarse from the circulation of spiritual energy.

Ye Shuanghua's breathing quickened slightly, but she still maintained that cool yet indulgent tone: "It's alright. I currently have the most wins. If I win ten more... I can secure a place in the top three."

"Ten matches?" Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat. "Aren't there fewer participants in the Nascent Soul group competition?"

"There aren't many people." Ye Shuanghua's fingers slightly gripped the robe on his shoulder, her voice carrying a restrained tone. "But the rules for the Nascent Soul group are different. Each match will undergo a more rigorous selection process by drawing lots. I still have a few matches left to get into the top three. I hope everything goes smoothly from here on out."

Li Hanshan didn't ask any more questions and focused his attention back on the dual cultivation cycle. He could feel that Ye Shuanghua's spiritual power was increasing at an extremely subtle rate. Although the increase was small, it was stable. Her Heavenly Spiritual Root talent indeed made the quality of her spiritual power far superior to others of the same level, and each cycle brought him a noticeable tempering effect.

The following morning, when Li Hanshan emerged from Ye Shuanghua's cave, the morning light was filtering through the clouds, gilding the outline of the main peak with a golden hue. He returned to his own cave, sat cross-legged, and meditated for half an hour, thoroughly consolidating the spiritual power he had tempered during the dual cultivation the previous night.

For the next two weeks, he won one victory after another.

One by one, his opponents from the Nascent Soul group stepped onto the arena, only to be knocked off one after another. Some tried to suppress him with speed, but he accurately predicted every move with his Nascent Soul level divine sense; some tried to wear him down with defense, but he continuously burned through their armor with pure Yang fire; some tried to cover the entire arena with spells, but he could move freely through the gaps between the spells, each step precisely landing on the gaps in the spiritual energy fluctuations.

Chen Jie never showed up.

On the day of the Nascent Soul group finals, Li Hanshan stood on the arena, facing a Nascent Soul peak opponent who had also won over ten consecutive matches. That person was named Zhou Hong, a Nascent Soul peak cultivator who practiced lightning-based techniques and possessed extremely strong combat power. Unfortunately, he was no match for Li Hanshan, who was unleashing his full power.

"First place in the Nascent Soul group—Li Hanshan!"

The referee's voice echoed throughout the square, as if announcing the beginning of a new era. Li Hanshan stood in the center of the arena, the pure yang fire surrounding him slowly receding, his breathing steady and his gaze calm.

He won first place in the Nascent Soul group.

A cheer erupted in the square, some genuine, some forced, and a few with somber expressions, gritting their teeth and remaining silent.

Chen Jie stood at the edge of the platform, watching the blue-clad figure descend from the arena, a cold smile playing on his lips. He turned to Chang Sheng beside him and whispered, "Just the first place in the Nascent Soul group of the Ten-Year Grand Competition? Does Ye Shuanghua really think that can change the sect leader's lineage's situation?"