Chapter 73

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Chen Hai and his companions were unaware that in the adjacent Jia No. competition arena, several young women were observing everything that had just happened, and among them was Dong Ning, the Princess of Yuecheng, who had once been engaged to Yao Xing, the former pride of the Yao family.

Back then, the Dong family had arranged the engagement to form an alliance with the Yao family, aiming to strengthen their influence in the imperial court. However, after Yao Xing was stripped of his cultivation and expelled from the Yao family, the engagement was naturally forgotten.

Chen Lie would not foolishly go to the Martial Guard General Dong Liang and ask him to honor the old engagement, even though his nephew was a bit of a waste and a bit of a scoundrel. Even if Chen Hai knew about this relationship, he would not be so foolish as to bring it up again.

Otherwise, the sect would most likely assign him a mission that would surely lead to his death, thereby completely erasing this troublesome matter from the world.

As Chen Hai, Zhou Jun, and Wu Meng entered the Bing No. competition arena, Chen Hai thought about how it would be quite satisfying to overwhelm his opponents with his presence and force them to back down.

"Chai Rong invited you to a duel, why didn't you fulfill his request?" Zhou Jun asked with a smile, still somewhat puzzled. Chai Rong had not yet reached the mid-stage of the Spirit Formation realm, and Zhou Jun believed Chen Hai should have a good chance of winning. He didn't understand why Chen Hai had only chosen to humiliate Chai Rong verbally.

"Of course, I will have to settle the score with Chai Rong, but if we were to have a hasty duel today, how likely do you think it is that he would fall for my suggestion to put up some protective magical treasures as stakes, with the winner taking all?" Chen Hai asked, spreading his hands and smiling. "If I can't win a few magical treasures as stakes, why should I jump around and perform a monkey show for you all?"

Zhou Jun and Wu Meng couldn't help but burst out laughing. They hadn't expected Chen Hai to have even deeper plans for Chai Rong. Earning two protective magical treasures from Jie Wenchan wasn't enough; he wanted to make a fortune from Chai Rong as well.

Indeed, if they were to duel today, Chai Rong might fall for it, but if Chen Hai proposed a bet, Chai Rong would likely become more cautious. Chai Rong had more experience than Jie Wenchan and was less likely to fall for such a direct trap.

Chen Hai noticed that the walls of the competition arena were gathering spiritual light, indicating that an array was in effect to prevent the disciples' duels from damaging the tower. He took off his cold-resistant cloak and set aside his gold-tempered knife, then entered the arena with his frost-tempered gold-tempered war spear in hand.

To prevent any accidents, Chen Hai did not remove the Nine Flame Soaring Dragon Seal.

This time, Chen Hai wanted to test how much the enhancement of his six senses from the disciple fish seal would help in close combat. Wu Meng stood in the arena, driving his spirit-patterned sword towards the center.

In the past, Wu Meng's sword control was straightforward and relied on the sheer power of his true essence and the sharpness of the spirit sword to break through the enemy's defenses. However, after observing Chen Hai's battle against the demon python, Wu Meng gained deeper insights into the path of the sword.

Now, as he drove the spirit-patterned sword, he no longer sought speed or strength but incorporated martial techniques into his sword strikes. The spirit-patterned sword darted up and down like a dragon, becoming incredibly agile.

Wu Meng felt more at ease and more like a fish in water while controlling the sword, and a faint yellow sword glow emanated from the spirit-patterned sword.

**********

In the underground palace of the trial tower, which was the control center for the tower's various arrays, a supervisor was using the array's unique water-moon mirror technique to project the events in the Bing No. trial arena onto the north wall of a side hall, like a painting.

The supervisor, with his hands behind his head, was comfortably lying on a fur-covered recliner, watching Wu Meng control the spirit-patterned sword. He couldn't help but comment, "This sword cultivator must be a seasoned general with rich combat experience in the military. His sword control is far beyond what the self-important young disciples in the sect can achieve..."

"This disciple's sword control is indeed not weak," the supervisor said.

Suddenly, he heard someone agreeing with him, and his soul nearly fled in shock.

The trial tower would record the duels through the water-moon mirror technique, but unless an accident occurred, the sect would only review the recordings afterward. Normally, it was strictly forbidden for disciples or the supervisors and enforcers on duty in the underground palace to privately spy on the duels.

The supervisor had been bored and was secretly watching the duels, which already violated the sect's rules. He usually made sure to close the side hall's door tightly before doing this, but he hadn't noticed someone suddenly standing beside him. With his peak Spirit Formation realm cultivation, he hadn't sensed anything, which nearly scared him to death.

When he turned around and saw the disheveled white hair and the crane-like face of Ling Xue, the supervisor's hands and feet trembled in fear, and he knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "I should not have spied on the duels, and I deserve punishment. Please, Ancestor Ge, punish me."

The old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao laughed and walked over to the fur-covered recliner where the supervisor had been sitting. "You young ones should learn to respect the elderly. This chair should be for me, the old man. Guarding this underground palace all day is too boring. Sneaking a peek at the duels isn't a big deal. Come, come, tell me, which of these two do you think will win?"

The supervisor, wiping cold sweat from his head, stood up. Although it was said that the head of the Ancestor Hall, Ge Xuanqiao, was easy to talk to, he had broken the rules today. He nervously said, "If the sword cultivator isn't deliberately letting the other win, he will definitely win."

"Come, let's make a bet. I bet on the spear cultivator. If the spear cultivator wins, you owe me a thousand points of sect merit," the old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao said.

"This isn't good," the supervisor's scalp tingled. He had heard that this ancestor was a gambling addict and had even been forced to take the position of head of the Ancestor Hall due to a gambling loss. He hadn't expected the ancestor to start a gambling session with him.

"What's not good?" the old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao raised his white eyebrows and glared at the supervisor, saying, "Do you think I'll cheat you?"

"..." The supervisor felt bitter. He had indeed heard that this ancestor's gambling character wasn't good. Even if he lost a thousand points of sect merit to the old ancestor, it wasn't a big deal, but he felt uneasy.

"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you. If the sword cultivator wins, I'll pay you double. If I don't have enough sect merit, I can offer a spell as collateral," the old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao said.

"Whatever Ancestor Ge says is fine," the supervisor said helplessly, his eyes fixed on the water-moon mirror projection, wondering why the old ancestor was betting on the spear cultivator, who hadn't even opened the secret palace of the spirit sea.

The water-moon mirror technique had its limitations. Chen Hai's projection on the wall seemed to lack any momentum, almost too calm, without the ferocity of a military shield and spear warrior. However, the moment the spirit-patterned sword and the frost-tempered gold-tempered war spear met, the supervisor felt as if Chen Hai had transformed into an ancient fierce beast, his war spear creating a sphere of mysterious light that enveloped the spirit-patterned sword.

Wu Meng controlled the sword from ten feet away. As long as his mental power could withstand it, the spirit-patterned sword had an advantage over the war spear, but he needed to maintain distance to prevent the war spear from getting too close.

The supervisor watched as Wu Meng's spirit-patterned sword, like a dragon, was one of the top sword controllers among the inner disciples of the upper seven peaks. However, even with such outstanding sword control, the spirit-patterned sword, like a dragon, couldn't break free from the war spear's envelopment!

The supervisor was stunned.

Although his cultivation wasn't high, he had seen countless martial cultivators while on duty in the trial tower. He had never seen a disciple who had cultivated the martial war spear to such a level, especially one who hadn't even opened the secret palace of the spirit sea...

"This isn't right. The sword cultivator's cultivation isn't weak, and he has reached the stage of condensing sword light. How could the frost-tempered gold-tempered war spear and the spirit-patterned sword clash without any damage?" The supervisor looked at the old ancestor suspiciously, suspecting that he had arranged this to trick him out of a thousand points of sect merit.

"Rubbish, you have no eye for talent, and you suspect me of cheating?" the old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao was furious, his nose flaring and his eyes glaring.

"I absolutely didn't think that, and I will willingly lose a thousand points of sect merit," the supervisor quickly shut up, knowing that even if the old ancestor had a good temper, he couldn't afford to offend him.

"Hmph! I see you are unwilling in your heart. I'll let you see more clearly!" The old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao coldly snorted and pointed his finger, sending a beam of mysterious light into the ground.

The supervisor felt the trial tower's array, controlled by the old ancestor, accelerate. The projection on the wall became much clearer, and the speed of Chen Hai and Wu Meng's duel seemed to slow down several times.

At this moment, the supervisor truly saw the details of the sword and spear clash. He noticed that Chen Hai, holding the spear, tried to avoid direct contact with the spirit-patterned sword, often striking the side of the sword or the hilt. This meant that Chen Hai's every movement with the war spear was nearly instinctive, allowing him to control the spear with such subtle precision.

The supervisor was amazed, but he could also see that the sword cultivator's sword control had reached a considerable level. Even if Chen Hai's spear control was exquisite, the frost-tempered gold-tempered war spear would still be forced to clash with the sharp edge of the spirit-patterned sword.

However, the supervisor then saw a faint blue glow gather around the war spear, repelling the spirit-patterned sword's sword light!

At this moment, the supervisor truly felt it was unbelievable. After a while, he muttered, "Could this be the spiritual aura condensed by the true meaning of martial arts? How is this possible?"

"You really are a shallow person. Why can't a Transcendent Realm disciple comprehend the true meaning of martial arts?" the old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao laughed and scolded the supervisor, then muttered to himself, "I was right. The aura of his divine soul indicates that he has grasped the true meaning of various paths, and he is just one step away from mastering it completely. But it's strange, such a disciple, even if he committed a major crime, someone as protective as Yao Lao Fei should have protected him."

At this moment, someone was approaching the side hall, but the supervisor hadn't noticed. The old Daoist Ge Xuanqiao had already hidden the projection on the wall.

The side hall's door was pushed open, and the duty elder and the Princess of Yuecheng, who was practicing in the trial tower today, walked in.

"Ah, Uncle Ge, you're here. I was wondering who was tampering with the array and came to check..." The duty elder, who had sensed someone tampering with the array, rushed over angrily but quickly changed his expression and bowed when he saw the head of the Ancestor Hall, Ge Xuanqiao, in the side hall.

"Ancestor Ge is here?" Dong Ning looked around the side hall, puzzled about why Ge Xuanqiao was in the underground palace of the trial tower.

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