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

The night wind rustled through the bamboo forest at the southern foot of the valley. Not long after Li Hanshan returned to his cave, two streaks of light landed one after the other on the stone platform in front of it. The stone door opened, and Ye Shuanghua and Zhang Qingxuan walked in side by side.

Ye Shuanghua was still dressed in her silver-white outfit, the Jinghong Sword hanging at her waist, her expression more relaxed than during the day. She sat down by the stone couch, her gaze falling on Li Hanshan, her tone carrying a genuine admiration she rarely showed: "Zhao Shoudao is at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, having cultivated for 1200 years. To be able to defeat him in public by you, after this battle, no one in the entire Hehuan Sect will dare to underestimate you anymore."

Zhang Qingxuan sat down, picked up the spiritual tea on the table, took a sip, first praising Li Hanshan, then said, "Since the Elders' Council dared to have Zhao Shoudao go all out, we can do the same. Junior Sister Ye, are you planning to make your move?"

Ye Shuanghua gazed towards the entrance of the southern valley. After a moment of silence, she turned around, her tone resolute: "The Elders' Council temporarily changed the rules, allowing Nascent Soul cultivators to focus their full efforts on targeting Core Formation participants. Now that this rule has been passed, everyone should receive the same treatment."

Zhang Qingxuan nodded: "The rules they set can't just target us. Tomorrow, we'll show them what it means to be caught in their own trap!"

Listening to their conversation, Li Hanshan immediately understood that they were planning to ambush the Nascent Soul Peak disciples of the Elders' Council.

The elders are all at the Void Refinement stage, and the disciples are mostly at the Nascent Soul stage. Those who are accepted as disciples by them at the Nascent Soul stage are all geniuses, one in ten thousand. For example, Wang Hao and Luo Lie, who possess special physiques.

"Alright, junior brother, let your senior sister help you recover."

Zhang Qingxuan softened again.

The night is like water.

Rippling.

The following morning, the crowd in the Hehuan Sect's plaza was like a swarm of bees stirred up. The Ninth Elder sat high on the platform, looking down at the numerous Hehuan Sect disciples below.

At that moment, a silver-white figure suddenly soared into the sky from the edge of the waiting area, like a drawn sword, landing directly in front of the platform. Ye Shuanghua stood at the edge of the platform, her silver-white outfit fluttering in the wind, the Jinghong Sword still sheathed in her hand. Her gaze did not look at anyone, but was fixed on the gray figure sitting upright in the main seat of the platform.

"Ninth Elder." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable sharpness, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present, "Since the rules have been changed so that Nascent Soul cultivators can go all out to snipe Nascent Soul contestants, shouldn't I, as a disciple of the sect leader's lineage, also enjoy the same right?"

Upon hearing this, the previously buzzing discussions in the square fell silent as if an invisible hand had flipped a switch. Everyone turned to look and saw a silver-white figure standing on the edge of the platform, like an iceberg about to erupt. His clear, cold eyes were fixed on the Ninth Elder, carrying an unwavering questioning tone.

The Ninth Elder's expression darkened slightly, but he didn't speak immediately. Chen Jie, standing beside him, strode out from the side of the platform, his voice filled with barely suppressed urgency: "Senior Sister Ye, your cultivation is too high! A full-force attack from a fourth-level Nascent Soul cultivator is simply too much for Wang Hao and Luo Lie to handle!"

Ye Shuanghua didn't look at him. Her gaze remained fixed on the Ninth Elder, as if Chen Jie's words weren't worth her attention at all. The Ninth Elder was silent for a moment before finally speaking, his voice calm yet carrying an invisible pressure: "Since the rules have been passed, there is indeed no prohibition against disciples of the sect leader's lineage using the same rights. But your cultivation level—" He didn't finish his sentence because Ye Shuanghua had already moved.

She raised her right hand, and a silvery-white spiritual light flowed at her fingertips, like a sharp blade being grasped, before suddenly contracting, compressing, and solidifying. That light spread from her fingertips to her dantian, flowing down her meridians, as if freezing an entire waterfall into ice. The moment the spiritual light receded, her aura plummeted, dropping from the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage to the third. The silvery-white spiritual light swirled around her once, finally settling quietly, as if it had never existed.

Ye Shuanghua lowered her hand, looked at the Ninth Elder again, and asked calmly, "Is it alright now?"

As expected of the Ninth Elder, who was at the Refinement Void Realm, his expression did not change much in the face of Ye Shuanghua's relentless pursuit, but a very faint fluctuation clearly flashed in his lightning-like eyes.

Although he didn't reveal his aura, his gaze sharpened. Ye Shuanghua, however, raised her head and met his gaze without fear, her eyes filled with determination.

"Can!"

After a long pause, the Ninth Elder finally agreed.

No matter how powerful the Elders' Council is, the Sect Leader is still the Sect Leader. The key now lies in whether the Sect Leader can achieve Dao Integration. If the Sect Leader succeeds in achieving Dao Integration, the situation of the Joyful Union Sect will naturally undergo a dramatic change.

Therefore, the Ninth Elder cannot go too far before the final result is announced.

Chen Jie stood to the side, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed back the words that were about to come out under the Ninth Elder's gaze.

Ye Shuanghua didn't say another word. She turned around, transforming into a silver-white streak of light, and rushed straight towards the main arena. Her speed was extremely fast, like a silver-white lightning bolt tearing through the air, and she had already landed in the center of the arena before anyone could fully react.

At this moment, Wang Hao had only just stepped onto the arena, his moon-white robe fluttering in the morning breeze, the God-Slaying Spear already in his hand. His expression was solemn today, clearly prepared to fight with all his might. But when he saw the figure landing on the arena opposite him, he froze on the spot as if his pressure points had been struck.

Ye Shuanghua stood opposite him, her silver-white outfit fluttering in the wind. She held the scabbard-covered Jinghong Sword in her hand. Although her aura was suppressed to the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, her sword intent was still like an invisible blade, causing the air at the edge of the arena to slightly stagnate. She didn't draw her sword, but simply took a step forward. Her silver-white sword energy, like a stream of light tearing through the morning mist, precisely slashed at Wang Hao's protective aura.

Wang Hao reacted with lightning speed, holding the God-Slaying Spear horizontally in front of him, its dark golden light exploding. However, the force of the sword energy far exceeded his expectations; he was forced back three steps, the spear flashing violently. The second sword energy followed immediately, its angle tricky, forcing him to abandon his impending counterattack. The third, fourth, fifth—Ye Shuanghua's sword energy was like an endless tide, each strike more precise and fierce than the last. Wang Hao desperately blocked seven strikes, but when the eighth struck, he was hit squarely in the chest, flying backward and crashing heavily onto the bluestone ground outside the arena. The God-Slaying Spear slipped from his grasp and rolled to the ground, making a crisp clanging sound.

Wang Hao struggled to sit up, clutching his robe at his chest, staring at Ye Shuanghua on the arena, and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Ye Shuanghua—! You, a dignified fourth-level Nascent Soul cultivator, come to ambush my Nascent Soul group?!"

Ye Shuanghua glanced down at him, her tone indifferent: "The rules allow it." After she finished speaking, she turned and walked off the arena, her silver-white figure casting a long shadow in the morning light.

"Damn it! I'm not going to make it to the finals!"

Wang Hao's cheek twitched, and his teeth ground together. Yesterday, he challenged Li Hanshan in the elimination rounds and was defeated head-on. He had already lost once. According to the elimination round rules, anyone who loses two or more out of five matches is eliminated. Now, facing Ye Shuanghua and losing again, he has two defeats in his hands, and his journey in the Centennial Grand Tournament has come to an end.

He was about to curse when he saw Luo Lie on the other side of the arena being slapped off the stage by a figure in cyan. Luo Lie rolled several times outside the stage before finally coming to a stop, his crimson robes covered in dust. He looked up at the figure standing on the stage who had already stopped fighting, opened his mouth, and finally managed to utter only one word: "Damn it!" He had spent eighteen years in seclusion tempering his Heavenly Fire Spirit Body, hoping to shine in this centennial competition, but he was eliminated before even reaching the finals. This sense of frustration almost made him explode on the spot.

Wang Hao and Luo Lie exchanged a glance from dozens of feet apart, both seeing the same emotion in each other's eyes—extreme resentment, yet nowhere to vent it. After a moment of silence, Wang Hao spoke first, his tone laced with mockery: "You got sniped too?" "Of course! Didn't you see me lying on the ground?" Luo Lie sat up, wiping the dust from his face. "Eighteen years of hard training, and I didn't even make it to the finals!"

As the two were arguing, a silver-gray figure slowly descended from the side of the platform, walking towards them. Xuan Yinzi, dressed in a silver-gray robe, maintained his usual effeminate and composed demeanor, even sporting a lazy smile. He stood beside them, hands behind his back, glanced at Wang Hao, then at Luo Lie, his tone carrying a suppressed schadenfreude: "What, got ambushed by Ye Shuanghua and Zhang Qingxuan?"

Wang Hao gritted his teeth: "You were sniped too?" Xuan Yinzi nodded, his tone as calm as if he were talking about something trivial: "That's right, but I didn't fight back, I just surrendered."

Luo Lie was taken aback: "Admit defeat?" "Yes." Xuan Yinzi leaned against the stone pillar beside him, looking at the two of them, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips. "Losing two matches in the elimination round means you're out, and there's only one chance for a Nascent Soul cultivator to block you. I only lost one match, and I still made it to the finals. You two have already lost once in the elimination rounds against Li Hanshan, and if you lose another match, you'll be eliminated."

He paused, his gaze carrying the composure of someone who had "seen it all along," and said, "So now you know why I haven't challenged Li Hanshan yet, right?"

Wang Hao's expression froze for a moment, then became extremely complicated. Luo Lie opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that everything the other party said was true.

Even after being sniped once by a third-level Nascent Soul cultivator, they still advanced to the finals with a record of four wins and one loss. However, the two of them wasted a chance to make a mistake by actively challenging Li Hanshan, and now, with Ye Shuanghua and Zhang Qingxuan making up for it with a second loss, they have directly lost their qualification for the finals.

Luo Lie leaned against another stone pillar, his crimson hair disheveled by the morning breeze, and gritted his teeth, saying, "I should have just admitted defeat." Wang Hao shook his head, his tone carrying a sense of helplessness that had been worn down by time: "What's the point of saying all this now?"

Xuan Yinzi watched their frustrated expressions, the smile on his lips never fading. He said nothing more, turned and walked towards the high platform, his silver-gray robe gleaming coldly in the morning light. His steps were unhurried, as if the surrender he had just made was merely part of his plan. Behind him, Wang Hao and Luo Lie still leaned against the stone pillar, exchanging a bitter look and sighing in unison.