Fellow Daoist, I gladly accept this heaven-defying opportunity.

The northernmost peak of the Frosty Realm.

The disciples of the Biyou Sect and the Xueyue Sect had already lined up on both sides and gathered here.

Today is the day the two factions have agreed to a duel.

"Li Haoran, you've finally arrived."

Within the Snow Moon Sect's ranks, Zheng Bingtian, wearing a hero's scarf, rose from the edge of the ice cliff and slowly walked to the boulder in the center of the field. He took out a storage ring and placed it on the stone, his tone calm yet brimming with confidence: "Inside here are eighty-three hundred-year-old spiritual herbs, thirty five-hundred-year-old herbs, three thousand-year-old herbs, plus one five-thousand-year-old quasi-king of herbs. This is most of the harvest of my Snow Moon Sect disciples over the past three days."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the surrounding disciples were instantly fixed on the small storage ring, and their eyes were burning with desire.

If all these spiritual herbs were in one person's possession, how many cultivation resources could they be exchanged for?

Not to mention there is a five-thousand-year-old quasi-king of herbs, just this one is worth ten thousand-year-old spiritual herbs!

Seeing this, Li Haoran also took off his storage ring, flicked his finger, and the ring landed steadily on the boulder, right next to Zheng Bingtian's.

"In my herb, apart from the absence of a five-thousand-year-old quasi-medicine king, the quantity of other spiritual herbs is more than enough."

Li Haoran said calmly, "If you feel it's unfair, you can bring up the prospective Medicine King separately."

Zheng Bingtian smiled faintly: "No need."

With two storage rings containing most of the spoils from the two projects settled, the betting contest officially began.

The disciples on both sides tensed up, their expressions a mixture of nervousness and barely suppressed anticipation.

On the mountaintop, snow fell heavily.

Li Haoran and Zheng Bingtian stood at opposite ends. Before the snowflakes could even reach within three feet of them, they were shredded into fine powder by the powerful sword and saber energy, which then formed pillars of energy behind each of them, creating a truly astonishing sight.

Their momentum steadily increased until they reached their peak.

Li Haoran made the first move.

With a single sword strike, it was as if the light of the sky had pierced through the clouds, forcefully tearing open the snow-covered curtain, leaving the surrounding disciples trembling in shock.

A glint flashed in Zheng Bingtian's eyes, and he drew his sword to meet the attack.

"Well done!"

The flashes of blades and swords clashed instantly, the overflowing shockwaves causing the flying snow to swirl backward and forcing the onlookers to retreat repeatedly, not daring to approach even a step closer.

"They're too strong... Both Senior Brother Li Haoran and Zheng Bingtian are far stronger than ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage 10!"

"If I were to go up there, I'm afraid I wouldn't even have a chance to draw my sword before being blown away by the aftershocks."

"This is a battle between the top experts of two factions within the sect; how could we possibly get involved?"

The disciples watching turned pale, yet they couldn't tear their eyes away, their minds completely captivated by the flashing swords and shadows.

Just then, a bruised and swollen figure squeezed into the Snow Moon Sect's ranks; it was Yue Xinqun, who had rushed back.

"Junior Brother Yue? What happened to you?"

Upon seeing this, the disciple beside him immediately frowned.

Yue Xinqun's face was extremely grim. After a long pause, he finally managed to utter, "We've been defeated by a disciple of the Biyou Sect..."

The person asking the question frowned even more deeply: "Besides Li Haoran, who else in the Biyou Sect could beat you up like this? Could it be Lei Can?"

He subconsciously looked at the tall young man carrying a broadsword in the Biyou Sect camp.

Yue Xinqun shook his head: "It wasn't him."

"Who is that?"

Yue Xinqun's face flushed red and then turned pale. He was too embarrassed to say that he had been beaten up like this by a guy at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment.

Just then, a cold voice suddenly came from the side: "Are you a disciple of the Azure Nether Sect at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment?"

"right!"

Yue Xinqun blurted out, then turned around and froze, "Zhang Shaohan?! Could it be that you also..."

Zhang Shaohan remained silent for a moment, then squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "That kid is indeed a bit strange."

Yue Xinqun's heart skipped a beat.

Zhang Shaohan has always been arrogant and disdainful of everyone in the inner sect except for Zheng Bingtian.

It's extremely rare to hear someone say something like that.

Looking at Zhang Shaohan's hands again, the sword he always carried was nowhere to be seen, his ten fingers were bare, and even his storage ring was gone.

Yue Xinqun's expression immediately became incredibly subtle.

So it turns out that not only did I fall, but this person fell even more miserably than me.

"Eighth level of Foundation Establishment? Are you two kidding me?"

The person asking the question looked utterly bewildered.

Zhang Shaohan sneered: "You don't believe me? Next time you encounter this, go up there and try it yourself."

Yue Xinqun nodded solemnly: "That's right, that kid is so strong it's unreasonable. I think... he might not be worse than Li Haoran."

"really?!"

The man looked utterly astonished. "The Azure Nether Sect has hidden such a remarkable figure?"

But he quickly shook his head, his tone resolute: "That's alright. Senior Brother Zheng has already successfully broken through this time. Even if the Biyou Sect has another Li Haoran, they still won't be a match for us."

"Senior Brother Zheng has broken through?!"

Yue Xinqun's eyes lit up, and he felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, letting out a long sigh of relief.

But for some reason, the unease in my heart just wouldn't go away, and the boy's smiling face kept flashing through my mind.

He always felt that this seemingly sure-fire bet might be about to take an unexpected turn.

At this moment, the duel between Li Haoran and Zheng Bingtian had reached a fever pitch.

Apart from their trump cards, the two used almost every trick in the book.

Li Haoran, on the other hand, consistently maintained a clear advantage over Zheng Bingtian.

"Senior Brother Li is going to win!"

The disciples of the Biyou Sect all wore expressions of joy and were greatly encouraged.

"Senior Brother Li fought Zheng Bingtian before and narrowly won by half a move. Judging from this momentum, his advantage is even greater than last time!"

"I told you long ago that Zheng Bingtian was no match for Senior Brother Li, but he still insisted on showing off and making a bet. Now look what happened, all of his three days' worth of harvest has been wasted on us. It's hilarious."

"Within three moves, Senior Brother Li will surely defeat Zheng Bingtian!"

Lei Can, the second-ranked disciple of the Biyou Sect, had a piercing gaze and spoke with unwavering confidence in Li Haoran.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Haoran suddenly shouted in a low voice, "Spring breeze does not reach here!"

In an instant, the snow seemed to freeze for a moment, and a gentle, breeze-like breeze brushed across everyone's face.

But hidden within this gentle spring breeze were countless fine sword lights, dense and layered, penetrating every crevice. Zheng Bingtian slashed several times, but was forced back step by step by this one sword, unable to withstand it at all.

Li Haoran turned his sword and slashed again.

"Defeat him!"

Zheng Bingtian parried the blow head-on with his sword, but the impact sent him flying more than ten meters away. His feet carved two deep furrows in the snow before he finally regained his footing.

Zheng Bingtian lost?

In an instant, the Biyou Sect camp was in complete chaos.

"Haha! Senior Brother Li won!"

"Senior Brother Li is awesome!"

"So this is the chief disciple of the Snow Moon Sect? He's nothing special. He was completely dominated by Senior Brother Li from start to finish, without even a chance to fight back. With this kind of strength, he dares to challenge Senior Brother Li?"

"Now the Snow Moon Sect's three days' worth of spoils are all ours. I bet they're kicking themselves!"

The disciples of the Biyou Sect cheered and jumped for joy, their shouts almost overturning the snowstorm, and everyone's face showed confidence in victory.

Strangely, the disciples of the Snow Moon Sect on the other side showed no sign of frustration or resentment at losing the bet. Instead, they remained calm, their eyes revealing a peculiar and intriguing quality.

"Li Haoran, it's been several months since I last saw you. Your swordsmanship has almost reached the pinnacle. I am indeed inferior to you in this respect."

Zheng Bingtian suddenly spoke, his tone revealing no hint of anger.

Li Haoran glanced at him sideways, his face full of condescending disappointment: "The path of martial arts is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. You've wasted so much time, and your swordsmanship and intent haven't improved even an inch. Where do you get the confidence to stand here and gamble with me?"

His tone was indifferent, but his words were cutting: "From now on, you are no longer qualified to be my opponent."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zheng Bingtian suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter.

"Li Haoran, you're speaking too soon. I haven't lost yet!"

Upon hearing this, the disciples of the Biyou Sect were stunned.

What does that mean?

That sword strike just now clearly left Zheng Bingtian with no chance to fight back, and the outcome was already clear. Now he's denying it; is he planning to act like a scoundrel in public?

Even Li Haoran frowned: "You are no match for me, why waste your time?"

"You'll soon find out whether it's a waste of time or not."

Zheng Bingtian smiled slightly and raised his hand to deliver a seemingly ordinary slash.

Li Haoran raised an eyebrow, about to swing his sword to block, when suddenly something unexpected happened. Zheng Bingtian's aura suddenly surged several times over, and the light of his blade spread out in an instant!

Fine ice shards condensed in mid-air, carrying a bone-chilling cold as they crashed down with the blade's light, like a thousand-mile-long glacier cascading down from the sky, a terrifying sight.

Li Haoran's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively unleashed a sword technique: "Spring Breeze Does Not Reach You!"

The sword strike that had just forced Zheng Bingtian into a retreat was as thin as paper when it collided with the surging blade light, and was instantly torn to shreds.

The blade struck Li Haoran squarely in the chest, causing him to grunt as he was sent flying.

All of this happened so fast that the cheers of the Biyou Sect disciples hadn't even faded before the situation on the field had completely changed.

"What happened? Why is Senior Brother Li suddenly at a disadvantage?"

"That strike was terrifying! How did Zheng Bingtian's strength increase so much?"

The disciples of Biyou looked at each other, both surprised and suspicious, completely baffled.

Only a handful of people seemed to have guessed something, their faces turning deathly pale in an instant.

As the snowstorm subsided, Li Haoran's figure reappeared.

He looked quite disheveled at the moment, his face as pale as paper, his eyes dull and lifeless, and his clothes were stained with red spots, clearly indicating that the knife wound had caused him serious internal injuries.

He stared at Zheng Bingtian with a complex expression, and said slowly and deliberately, "Golden Core Realm... You've been hiding it well." These words were like a thunderbolt that struck the crowd, causing an uproar.

Golden Core Realm?!

Zheng Bingtian has broken through to the Golden Core stage?

No wonder his strength has increased so drastically that even Li Haoran couldn't withstand a single move!