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

When Zhao Shoudao finished speaking, the square fell silent for a brief moment.

Someone was the first to react, and a voice came from the crowd: "Zhao Shoudao? It's Zhao Shoudao?"

"Zhao Shoudao, the one who killed seven people in a row during the Nascent Soul Trial nine hundred years ago?"

"I heard that after he was taken in as a disciple by the Ninth Elder, he rarely appeared in public and spent his time cultivating diligently in his cave..."

"Third level of Nascent Soul, twelve hundred years of cultivation, control over earth..."

"How could this old man possibly last for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!"

The murmurs, like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind, took root in every corner of the square. The disciples who had been cheering for Li Hanshan noticeably quieted down, replaced by a suppressed silence. The gap between the Nascent Soul and the Divine Transformation stage was an ironclad fact in the cultivation world. Not to mention, Zhao Shoudao was at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage; the distance between them was like that between heaven and earth, not something that could be bridged by a few secret techniques or magical treasures.

Xuan Yinzi leaned against the bright red sedan chair, the spiritual fruit in his hand hovering at his lips, but he didn't bite into it. He glanced at Chen Jie on the high platform, then at the gray-robed figure on the arena, shook his head, and said with undisguised sneer, "Chen Jie likes to play these kinds of tricks. He's only at the Nascent Soul stage, yet he insists on dragging in a third-level Deity Transformation cultivator to block him. Winning isn't honorable, and losing is even more embarrassing." He casually tossed the spiritual fruit to a female cultivator beside him, leaned back on the brocade cushion, but his gaze remained fixed on the arena, carrying a subtle scrutiny. "I'll see how long that old man can last."

Ye Shuanghua stood at the edge of the waiting area, her silver-white outfit fluttering slightly in the wind. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the scabbard at her waist, her knuckles turning white, but her gaze remained fixed on the two figures on the arena. Zhang Qingxuan had walked up to her at some point, and the two stood side by side, neither speaking, but the silent tension conveyed their worry more clearly than any words.

They had long suspected that Chen Jie would arrange for someone at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage to make a move.

Yu Mengjia stood in the viewing area under the Sixth Elder's command, the emerald jade token gently twirling between her fingers. Her gaze shifted from Zhao Shoudao to the figure in cyan, the interested light in her eyes shining even brighter than before.

She turned to the female disciple beside her and whispered, "A third-level Nascent Soul cultivator versus a peak-level Core Formation cultivator—the outcome should be a foregone conclusion. But Li Hanshan... when he fought Wang Hao, I thought he couldn't win, but he did; when he fought Luo Lie, I thought he'd have a tough time, but he won even more easily than in the last match." She looked away, a playful smile on her lips, "So I guess he can last at least a full incense stick's time in this match."

The female disciple beside him was taken aback: "Senior Sister Yu, a Nascent Soul cultivator would be lucky to withstand a full-force attack from a third-level Nascent Soul cultivator for a few dozen breaths. Do you really think he can last even a stick of incense?"

Yu Mengjia said, "How about we make a bet?"

The female disciple beside her asked, "What does Senior Sister want to bet on?"

Yu Mengjia: "Let's bet on whether he can last until the incense stick burns out. If he can, how about you sleep with him for one night?"

The female disciple, whose looks were absolutely stunning, paused for a moment, then giggled and said, "Senior sister, does that mean I've won?"

Yu Mengjia said calmly, "Then I'll go and sleep with him for one night."

The female disciple's gaze lingered on Li Hanshan's face for a moment before she nodded: "Alright, although he's a bit old, with his cultivation level, sleeping with him for one night isn't a big deal. We might even get some benefits from it."

This female disciple was Yu Mengjia's junior sister, and her cultivation level was also at the Nascent Soul stage.