Mortal Cultivation: Starting from Hiding in the Cultivation Techniques Pavilion

Su Xiaoyuan smiled and shook her head, saying, "Senior brother, you flatter me. I did indeed use a trick; your method is the proper and righteous path. If the environment or terrain were different, I might not be your match."

His words weren't entirely modesty. Shi Jian's health bar was incredibly long; he was thick-skinned and had astonishing defense.

It would indeed be difficult for him to cause any real harm to Shi Jian.

On the contrary, if he were hit head-on by Shi Jian, he would likely lose the ability to fight again.

The reason we won this match was because of our flexibility and accurate timing, rather than our overwhelming strength.

Shi Jian shook his head, a hint of regret on his face: "I hope that after this assessment, I will have another opportunity to spar with my junior brother."

Su Xiaoyuan smiled and extended her hand: "Definitely."

The two high-fived each other and walked back to their camp together.

As soon as Su Xiaoyuan returned to the stands, she was immediately besieged by Guo Zhanyuan and Lu Ji.

Several people took turns punching him, not with much force, but because there were so many of them, they forced him to retreat repeatedly.

"Wow, Xiaoyuan! You've been hiding your true abilities!"

Guo Zhanyuan slapped him on the shoulder: "You managed to take down such a tough nut! I thought you were going to fail in the first round!"

Lu Ji chuckled and joined in, "Your skills are impressive! You don't look like someone who plays with talismans at all! Your staff techniques are so fluid and graceful. When will you teach me?"

Wang Pan chuckled from the side, "Why would someone who wields a sword try to learn staff techniques?"

Lu Ji rolled her eyes at him: "It's always good to have more skills."

Su Xiaoyuan responded to each of them with a smile.

The next round of competition continued.

In the late-stage Qi Refining faction, Su Xiaoyuan also recognized one of the characters appearing this time: Xiu Zhun.

Xiu Zhun's opponent was an outer disciple who was also at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and their cultivation levels were comparable.

Although Xiu Zhun's cultivation level has declined significantly, he was once a ninth-level Qi Refining expert. His combat experience and application of spiritual energy far surpassed those of his peers.

He finished the fight easily and effortlessly.

Su Xiaoyuan saw this and secretly admired him.

Although Xiu Zhun looks颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of listlessness, decadence, and lack of motivation), always drunk and carrying a gourd of wine, he still has the foundation and experience he needs.

The subsequent matches began quickly.

Chen Cheng fared much worse.

He fought fiercely with another fellow disciple who was at the third level of Qi Refining. The two were evenly matched and neither could gain the upper hand. In the end, they were both exhausted and collapsed to the ground, resulting in a draw and elimination.

When Chen Cheng was carried off the plane, he was still waving his fists in frustration, muttering, "Just a little bit more, just a little bit more," which made Su Xiaoyuan both annoyed and amused.

Wang Pan wasn't very lucky either.

His opponent was an outer disciple with exceptional swordsmanship skills, whose swordsmanship was flawless.

Although Wang Pan tried his best to maneuver, he was ultimately outmatched in swordsmanship. His opponent seized an opening and knocked his weapon away with a single sword strike, resulting in a regrettable defeat.

Guo Zhanyuan, on the other hand, took a shortcut.

As soon as this guy stepped onto the stage, he pulled out a formation plate without saying a word and slammed it on the ground.

Everyone thought he was going to set up a formation to fight the enemy, but the formation plate was not used to set up a formation. Instead, it directly altered the protective formation of the training ground itself!

He used part of the magic circle's function for his own purposes, leveraging the power of the terrain to significantly enhance his defense. Then, taking advantage of the terrain, he gradually wore down his opponent.

Su Xiaoyuan was dumbfounded.

If this kid lived in his previous life, he would definitely be a hacker.

He actually hacked the magic array in the training ground!

Guo Zhanyuan's move has also caused considerable controversy.

After discussing for a long time, the teachers finally concluded that Guo Zhanyuan's adaptation to local conditions and his small-scale modification of the magic array were also part of his strength, and therefore he was considered the winner.

However, starting with him, a new rule was temporarily added to the assessment: no further alteration or use of the magic array in the arena is permitted.

Guo Zhanyuan has certainly made a name for himself, managing to get the instructors to change the assessment rules on short notice, which is probably a rare occurrence in the entire history of the Nine Mysteries Sect.

When the boy returned grinning, Su Xiaoyuan couldn't help but give him a thumbs up: "You're really something! How did you even think of that?!"

Guo Zhanyuan waved his hand, a hint of smugness on his face: "Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing. I already told you, I'm a genius in formations. If the rules hadn't changed so quickly, I would have had several more moves left to use!"

Among the next people to appear, Liu Yiyi relied on the combination of the Qingfeng Technique and the Changfeng Sword Technique, her movements were agile and unpredictable, making it impossible for her opponents to predict her movements.

She defeated her opponent with ease in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, winning cleanly and decisively.

Cheers erupted from the audience, and many male disciples' eyes were glued to her, unable to look away.

Chen Lingxi, however, was not so lucky. Because of her slow progress, she encountered Xi Chuxue from Yanliu Peak.

Xi Chuxue was one of the favorites to win this assessment. Her ice magic was incredibly powerful. Although Chen Lingxi fought hard, she was ultimately defeated and lost.

As darkness fell, the sect leader announced that today's assessment was over and would continue tomorrow.

The crowd rose and dispersed in twos and threes.

The first round of competition lasted a full five days.

According to the original competition format, theoretically, more than 160 people should have entered the second round.

However, in reality, many matches resulted in double losses.

Some disciples, though victorious in the competition, also suffered serious injuries and were unable to participate in subsequent matches.

Therefore, only about a hundred people made it to the second round.

Meng Hao was extremely unlucky; his opponent was Tu Qian.

Tu Qian was the type of person who was ruthless and didn't talk much; he only gave his name from beginning to end.

Although both of them were at the sixth level of Qi Refining, Tu Qian only needed to draw his sword once to bring the gleaming longsword to Meng Hao's neck. The tip of the sword was close to his skin, and if it were pushed forward any further, it would draw blood.

Meng Hao lost before he could even react.

This was also the fastest match to conclude since the start of the assessment.

The other members of the Yanfu Society, such as Wei Song and Han Jiang, were also all defeated.

These people had spent a lot of time studying talismans, so their combat experience was obviously not that rich. As soon as they stepped onto the stage, they became flustered and were defeated in a few moves.

Lu Ji's opponent was also a talisman cultivator. Their fight was like playing a video game. They threw talismans around randomly, causing the magic array to buzz. But in the end, he was defeated and returned to the stands dejectedly.

After the first round is completed, there will be a day of rest. During this time, the instructors will decide the next round of competition based on the performance of the previous days.

This internal assessment provided the disciples of the Nine Mysteries Sect with plenty of topics to discuss.

Everywhere, people were gathered in twos and threes, discussing the battles of the past few days.

Some people analyzed just how fast Xue Qifeng's sword was, while others debated who would win if Tu Qian and Bu Nian actually fought.

Those fellow disciples who usually only focused on their cultivation were now putting down their techniques and joining the lively discussion.

The entire Nine Mysteries Sect seemed to come alive all at once, bustling with activity.