Tang Yan was a highly esteemed figure even among the core disciples. He had ranked seventh in the previous Core Disciple Tournament. The swordsmanship that he practiced, the Immaculate Swordsmanship, was well known and feared throughout the world.
He had once pursued an infamous Heavenly True Immortal bandit into his den and destroyed all the sects and powers associated with him. Due to that incident, his name rung out loudly in the world.
He was fifty-one, but in terms of his outer appearance, he looked no different from someone in his early twenties. His zhenqi was condensed and wholesome, and it felt like he could whip up a devastating storm of sword qi with a wave of his hand.
Be it standing, fame, or strength, he lacked none of them.
At that moment, he was standing in the courtyard of his residence, drawing out beautiful strokes with his sword. It was an aesthetically pleasing sight, almost as if one was looking at a skilled painter.
Hu!
Tang Yan stopped his movements and retracted his sword.
Those strokes still floated beautifully in the air, reminiscent of drifting smoke.
Gua gua!
A wild bird unintentionally flew into the midst of the smoke.
Peng!
As if it had dashed right into the midst of a meat slicer, fresh blood splattered all around the area. In the blink of an eye, its entire body had already disintegrated into dust.
“Congratulations, Senior Tang! You have finally reached Major Accomplishment in the Immaculate Swordsmanship!”
Applause sounded as a young man walked over.
He was ranked eighth among the core disciples, Guo Yi!
Even though he looked like he was in his twenties, the truth was that he was also in his fifties.
The lifespan of those who had reached Pseudo Immortal would exceed three hundred years. An advancement to the True Immortal realm would not increase one’s lifespan, but the further condensation of one’s energy and vitality would allow the cultivator to retain their strength and youth. As such, those in their fifties could still be considered young among True Immortal cultivators.
“After cultivating this technique diligently for thirty years, I have finally accomplished something in it. With this, I should be able to get into the top five in the next Core Disciple Tournament!” Tang Yan nodded with a satisfied smile.
It was because he had failed to master this swordsmanship that he had been stuck in the seventh place during the previous tournament. However, now that he had reached Great Accomplishment, it should not be too difficult for him to get into the top five!
The Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion had always been known for its fighting prowess, such that those who could get into the top five of the core disciples could already be considered to be within the top twenty of the younger generation!
“Those who manage to get into the top five of the core disciples will have a chance to become a core elder of the sect. Congratulations in advance, Senior Tang!” Guo Yi clasped his fist.
The core elders who managed the crucial affairs of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion mainly came from the top five experts of the core disciples.
For example, a hundred years ago, Elder Bai Ye had consistently ranked in the top three among the core disciples. The only one who was able to outdo him was Elder He Tian.
“Don’t worry, I won’t forget about you after I become a core elder!” Tang Yan chuckled a little before looking over. “It’s rare for you to visit me. Is there something up?”
“Well, the thing is… Senior Tang, you have always been interested in Bai Ruanqing, right?” Guo Yi asked.
“Yes, that’s right,” Tang Yan admitted frankly.
Bai Ruanqing might have a bad temper, but her background and looks were excellent. If he could marry her, it would be extremely useful to his future development. He might even become the successor of the sect. That would make him one of the top figures on the continent.
“She’s ranked seventeen among the core disciples, but for some reason, she suddenly challenged Wang Hao earlier today…”
“You mean the sixteenth rank Wang Hao?” Tang Yan asked. “That fellow can’t be said to be too powerful, but his Water Reminiscence Sword is still quite terrifying to deal with. His Sword Intent flows smoothly like a river, creating an impenetrable defense. Even I would require quite some effort to deal with it. I don’t think Bai Ruanqing will stand too much of a chance against him.”
“Wang Hao is indeed a difficult opponent to deal with, but I just received news that Bai Ruanqing just sliced off Wang Hao’s head twice. All in all, she took less than three moves!” Guo Yi exclaimed.
“In less than three moves, she killed Wang Hao twice?” Tang Yan was stunned.
He was acutely aware of Bai Ruanqing and Wang Hao’s capabilities, and it could be said that Wang Hao was firmly ahead of Bai Ruanqing even though they were only one rank away from one another. How could Wang Hao be killed by Bai Ruanqing in less than three moves, not to mention, twice?
When did that female dinosaur become so powerful?
“Bai Ruanqing didn’t stop after dealing with Wang Hao. She went on to challenge those above Wang Hao, and the news I have received is that she also used a single move to defeat rank fifteen Sun Jian, rank fourteen Yang Hu, and rank thirteen Du Chuan!” Guo Yi said.
“With a single move, she eliminated everyone from sixteenth to thirteenth? How is that possible?” Tang Yan could not believe what he was hearing. “Let’s head over to take a look!”
“Let’s go!” Guo Yi nodded.
The main reason he had gone over to look for Tang Yan was indeed due to this matter. They both took out their Ethereal Tokens and entered the Ethereal Hall.
Very soon, they arrived at the private duel sector. There, they saw quite a few people seated outside with gloomy looks on their faces.
“Hong Qing? Why are you here?”
One of them was a young man named Hong Qing, and he was ranked tenth of the core disciples. The fact that he could get within the hugely contested top ten positions of the core disciples showed that he was someone who possessed true capability.
There was an informal segregation of powers among the core disciples. The first rank formed the topmost echelon, the second and third place formed the second echelon, then the fourth to sixth place formed the third echelon, seventh to tenth place formed the fourth echelon, and the eleventh to twentieth place formed the fifth echelon.
Each of these echelons represented a huge power gap.
Ranked seventh, Tang Yan belonged to the fourth echelon, but the strength that he possessed was already enough to leave many despairing.
Did Bai Ruanqing not only defeat opponents up to the thirteenth rank? Why would Hong Qing be waiting outside with such a defeated expression on his face?
Considering that Hong Qing belonged to the same echelon as him, it should not be possible for Bai Ruanqing to defeat him!
“My head was just lopped off by Senior Bai in a single move,” Hong Qing said with a bitter smile.
Regardless of whether it was the inner disciples or the core disciples, it was a convention to address a person stronger than them than their senior. This was one of the unspoken rules within the sect.
“Are you saying that Bai Ruanqing challenged you and won?” Guo Yi’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment.
“She challenged the opponents above her one by one… I thought that it wouldn’t be anything much, but I ended up being decapitated with a single blow!”
“It’s the same for me!”
A few other young men and women in the area cried out as well. Glancing over, Tang Yan saw that ranks eleven and twelve were present as well. They had helpless looks on their faces.
Even they were unable to withstand Bai Ruanqing’s swordsmanship.
“In the Ethereal Hall, our cultivation is fixed at Lesser Pseudo Immortal. Yet, she was able to single-handedly subdue everyone from sixteenth place to tenth place without taking any rest at all. Does she still have the strength to carry on?” Tang Yan could hardly believe what was going on.
He could not believe that Bai Ruanqing’s swordsmanship had actually advanced to such a level.
Guo Yi suddenly thought of something, and his eyes widened in shock. “Wait a moment. The fact that all of you are actually out here… Does it mean that she is…”
“Indeed. She’s challenged the ninth rank Lu Yue. If she wins the battle, you’ll be…” Hong Qing nodded.
Before he could finish his words, the doors suddenly creaked open. A woman’s head peeked out. “Guo Yi, you are here. What good timing! Come on in!”
“…” Guo Yi.
The casual tone sounded as if she was just inviting him in to have a talk…
You are challenging core disciples here, not interviewing candidates… Are you sure you don’t need a rest?
“There’s no need to go in. Why don’t you have your duel here?” Tang Yan suddenly said.
“Indeed. Why don’t we just have a public duel for everyone to see? There’s just the few of us here anyway, so there’s no need to hide anything!” someone echoed in agreement.
Since Bai Ruanqing was already going at them one by one, there was not much to hide anymore.
“A public duel?” Bai Ruanqing turned to Guo Yi and asked, “What do you think?”
“I’ll follow Senior Tang’s suggestion!” Guo Yi nodded.
“Fine by me!” Bai Ruanqing nodded as she walked out of the room.
“Let’s head to the dueling ring outside then,” Guo Yi said.
“There’s no need to go through so much trouble!” Bai Ruanqing said as she raised her sword and walked right up to Guo Yi.
“Do you intend to make a move here?”
Guo Yi did not think that Bai Ruanqing was going to make a move there. Astonished, he quickly raised his sword to defend himself.
But before he knew it, he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his throat.
Padah!
His head fell right to the ground. His eyes were widened in horror, as if he could not believe this to be true.
After dealing with Guo Yi, Bai Ruanqing turned right to Tang Yan and said, “Done. It’s your turn next!”
Initially, she had been a little unfamiliar with the horizontal slash that Senior Uncle Zhang had imparted to her, but after slaying several core disciples one after another with ease, her confidence was soaring.
Her Senior Uncle had only taught her for several minutes, but her swordsmanship had already improved so much.
It was no wonder she was no match for Dan Xiaotian! She could hardly imagine how powerful she would be if she had been through two hours of guidance, too!
“You want to challenge me here too?” Tang Yan’s face turned livid.
“This place will do… It’ll spare us quite a lot of trouble!” Bai Ruanqing replied.
“Aren’t you getting a little too arrogant?” Tang Yan replied menacingly.
It was true that he had not been too much stronger than Guo Yi in the past, but having cultivated the Immaculate Swordsmanship up to Major Accomplishment, he was already no longer the same person.
“I’m pushed for time. I still have to challenge the top five, so let’s not waste each other’s time, alright?” Bai Ruanqing said with a wave of her hand.
Tang Yan’s face reddened. “Since that’s the case, don’t expect me to go easy on you!”
With a flick of his wrist, he immediately released innumerable strokes of sword qi into the surroundings.
“Did he reach Major Accomplishment in the Immaculate Swordsmanship?”
“How formidable!”
“With such prowess, he should be able to get into the top five at the very least!”
“Indeed…”
Those present were skilled sword practitioners, so they quickly noticed the improvements in Tang Yan’s swordsmanship. Who could have known that Tang Yan would have made such a huge breakthrough over the past few months?
“Formidable!” Bai Ruanqing remarked upon seeing the move as well.
The Immaculate Swordsmanship left traces of sword qi everywhere, such that those who barged into its area of attack would be sliced into pieces. Even though her horizontal slash was a powerful offensive move as well, it was not a good match for the Immaculate Swordsmanship.
“I never would have thought that you would have cultivated the Immaculate Swordsmanship to such a level. Give me a moment. I’ll head out for a while and come back to fight you!”
Then, her body dissipated into light fragments and vanished from sight.
“This…”
The crowd stared at one another in bewilderment, unable to comprehend what was going on.
Tang Yan was stunned, too.
He had thought that the other party would dash right over to sever his head, similar to what she had done with Guo Yi. If she had really done so, he would have counterattacked. In the end, it would boil down to who was faster.
He did not expect the other party to simply turn around and leave.
She even told him to wait for her before leaving.
“Senior Tang…” Guo Yi, who had just re-entered using another Ethereal Token, was stunned as well.
“Let’s wait here,” Tang Yan replied. “I don’t believe that she’ll be able to win just by having us wait here for some time.”
