"Open Heaven's Gate!"

Lin Qingzhi shouted softly, executing the highest level of the Soaring Cloud Sword Technique. The Green Abyss Sword shone with intense green light, its fierce Sword Qi carrying an unstoppable momentum as it collided with the slash from the Skywave Sword in mid-air.

Boom!

Sword Qi streams crisscrossed chaotically, the solid giant timber used in the Martial Arts Platform scattered like paper, and even wooden pillars were completely pulverized!

Lin Qingzhi and Chen Yao both staggered.

The onlooking Mount Shu Elders and Disciples could not help but be shocked.

Originally, they thought Lin Qingzhi would fall under the sword of Chen Yao, who was at the third level of the Golden Core Realm, but unexpectedly Lin Qingzhi staunchly blocked Chen Yao's astonishing sword momentum!

"Lin Qingzhi has attained the Golden Core Realm!"

"This is his true cultivation level!"

"Elder Lu, you're not being fair, having always told your Disciple to suppress his cultivation level until now, only revealing his true level under Chen Yao's pressure."

"How did Elder Lu manage to train a disciple of mediocre aptitude from the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Golden Core Realm within three years?"

Many Mount Shu Elders looked towards Lu Changsheng again, their eyes filled with shock, admiration, and confusion.

Inconceivable!

If Lin Qingzhi were a genius, it might not be so surprising for others that he advanced from the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Golden Core Realm in three years.

But Lin Qingzhi's aptitudes were all lower grade.

"This disciple of mine, at best, has reached the second layer of the Golden Core Realm."

Lu Changsheng sighed.

"Three years, from the first level of the Foundation Establishment to the second level of the Golden Core Realm? Could it be that this child is a genius, and our Mount Shu's Immortal Artifact 'Gallbladder Mirror' was mistaken?"

"If that's really the case, then Elder Lu has picked up a huge bargain this time."

"Golden Core Realm Second Layer, although still not as good as Chen Yao at the Golden Core Realm Third Layer, is already very impressive."

"Congratulations to Elder Lu."

Many Mount Shu Elders expressed their admiration without end.

"How is that possible…!"

Xiao Xiangdao, who followed Li Changye, was heavily shaken upon seeing Lin Qingzhi's cultivation reach the second layer of the Golden Core Realm.

Three years ago, Xiao Xiangdao was at the third layer of the Qi Transformation Realm. After cultivating alongside Li Changye for three years, Xiao Xiangdao's cultivation level improved to the fourth layer of the Golden Core Realm.

Xiao Xiangdao's cultivation level was higher than Lin Qingzhi's displayed level, but he still felt something was amiss.

The leap from the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm to the second layer of the Golden Core Realm, compared to going from the third layer of the Qi Transformation Realm to the fourth layer of the Golden Core Realm, was more shocking.

"Regardless, during this Disciple Conference, the one who will rank first must be me, Xiao Xiangdao!"

Xiao Xiangdao clenched his fists, his eyes resolute.

On the Martial Arts Platform, the fierce battle raged on, with Sword Qi whistling through the air and explosive sounds like thunderclaps shaking the earth, reducing the Martial Arts Platform to ruins from the combat between the two!

Although Lin Qingzhi suppressed his cultivation level by four minor realms, still one minor realm below Chen Yao at the Golden Core Realm Third Layer, and his magical treasure was not as good as Chen Yao's Skywave Sword, Lin Qingzhi, after all, possessed the consciousness of the Golden Core Realm Sixth Layer, enabling him to fight Chen Yao on equal grounds with great difficulty.

"A strong opponent, that's good."

Each time Lin Qingzhi's Green Abyss Sword collided with Chen Yao's Skywave Sword, his Zodiac Meridians trembled violently. He quickly circulated his Taxuan Skills to suppress the surging blood and the chaotic Spiritual Energy.

In battling Chen Yao, Lin Qingzhi was accumulating combat experience.

After all, this was a brand new opponent, and Lin Qingzhi knew almost nothing about her, making it more akin to a real battle.

On the other hand, Chen Yao was also secretly astonished.

Lin Qingzhi, who seemed unremarkable in appearance and whose cultivation level seemed not very high, had actually managed to block her magical weapon.

Even though Chen Yao appeared to have the upper hand, if a third-level Golden Core Realm Disciple could not defeat a "second-level Golden Core Realm" Disciple, then in reality, it was she who had lost.

No, I can't disgrace my master.

Chen Yao bit her silver teeth, her green clothes fluttered, and the Skywave Sword returned to her hand.

"Junior brother, I don't want to hurt you. When I use that move, you should admit defeat," she said.

"Unity of Person and Sword!"

Chen Yao reminded Lin Qingzhi as the Skywave Sword emitted a myriad of blue lights, engulfing her. At that moment, it was as if she and the sword became one, transforming into an azure streak of light that shot up into the sky!

Boom...

Dark clouds hovered over the city, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. Chen Yao, holding the sword, stood in midair, the fierce wind howling, her green robe snapping in the wind, as numerous bolts of lightning were absorbed by the sharp edge of the Skywave Sword, resembling a massive whirlpool!

"You won't be able to block this sword!"

"Supreme Thunder Command!"

Chen Yao's lovely face turned red, and the autumn water-like divine sword, with its overwhelming and dazzling light, slashed towards Lin Qingzhi.

Into this sword, Chen Yao had poured all her spiritual energy and divine sense; to her, the world around seemed to quiet down.

Faced with this sword, she believed Lin Qingzhi would surely retreat.

However, Lin Qingzhi did not back down, and on the brink of life and death, he decided to give it a try.

"You'll lose your life... No, that's not right, your aura..."

In Chen Yao's eyes, Lin Qingzhi was the only one left, and she was startled to see that his momentum had suddenly increased several fold in that instant!

At the moment of life and death, Lin Qingzhi's instincts led him to release his true cultivation level, and Chen Yao, who had her attention solely on him, caught it.

"Enough is enough."

Boom!

A figure interposed between Lin Qingzhi and Chen Yao; with a wave of his Daoist robe, an invisible current, like a dragon drawing water, absorbed all the immense sword energy of the Skywave Sword and dissipated it into nothingness.

This person was Lu Changsheng.

On the other side, Lu Changsheng also suppressed Lin Qingzhi's cultivation level.

It was a close call, his disciple nearly revealed his sixth-level Golden Core Realm cultivation.

Not only that, the stance of the two had already reached a life-and-death struggle.

Chen Yao's cultivation technique exceeded her current realm; if Lin Qingzhi had used all his cultivation to clash with her, the exhausted Chen Yao would definitely have suffered a backlash and most likely would have perished, while Lin Qingzhi might have been injured by her as well.

"You're being too reckless; this is just a sparring match, no need to go so far. Being too stubborn could easily lead to inner demons," Elder Lu admonished the Mount Shu disciple across from him.

"Thank you, senior, for your guidance. I have learned my lesson," Chen Yao said, snapping back to reality and breaking out in a cold sweat, realizing she had indeed been too impulsive and used a technique she had not fully mastered.

"If it hadn't been for my master blocking sister's sword, I would have faced disaster. I admit defeat," Lin Qingzhi actively sheathed the Green Abyss Sword, not minding winning or losing.

Many elders and disciples of Mount Shu were astounded and did not see Lin Qingzhi's voluntary admission of defeat as a dishonorable act.

The technique that Chen Yao used last had already surpassed the third level of the Golden Core Realm.

"Senior, your disciple... was holding back, wasn't he?" Chen Yao said to Elder Lu through a voice transmission as he was leaving with Lin Qingzhi.

In that instant, Chen Yao had sensed that Lin Qingzhi might have been concealing his true cultivation level.

Lu Changsheng could not deny it and smiled, acknowledging that it was not just holding back; it was more like a floodgate.

"Elder Lu, your disciple... his cultivation is not just this," Fairy Xia of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion secretly sent a voice transmission to Elder Lu.