The wheel-match challenge bout held at the Bamboo Qi County training ground, featuring Xie Yun, a young disciple from the Medicine King Sect's Herb Gathering Hall, had sent shockwaves through the area. With his four swords, Xie Yun had forced Ma Yu of the Treasure Guild off the platform, subsequently sweeping the entire training ground, defeating forty to fifty young masters in a single day, stunning all observers and causing quite a stir in Bamboo Qi County.

At this time, with less than half a month remaining until the opening of the Medicine and Medicinal Herbs Convention, Bamboo Qi County had already amassed hundreds of guilds, large and small, from across Pingzhou, gathering at least ten thousand martial arts enthusiasts.

Although the contingent of young masters from the Ten Great Guilds had yet to arrive, the sheer number of elite young fighters already present was considerable. To distinguish oneself from such a massive crowd was by no means an easy feat.

And most significantly, Xie Yun remained undefeated. For two days and two nights, he still occupied the ring, having consecutively defeated over a dozen formidable young masters, pushing himself into the threshold of the sixth round.

Each duel consumed increasingly more time, draining both physical stamina and inner Zhenqi.

Yet, Xie Yun stubbornly held the stage.

According to the rules of the wheel-match challenge, this kind of battle pushing the limits of martial prowess was fought without rest until defeat. As long as Xie Yun was not defeated or voluntarily yielded, he was bound to remain on the platform, ready to accept challenges from the young masters waiting below. This meant Xie Yun had a strong probability of advancing to the seventh round, or even the eighth.

According to conventional power stratification, only masters of the Second-Rate level or above were qualified to ascend the stage to issue a challenge. Those who managed one to three rounds fell into the category of Second-Rate Masters; four to seven rounds marked them as First-Rate Masters; eight to ten rounds designated them as Top-Tier Masters. Ten rounds or more qualified one for the ranks of Peerless Masters. If Xie Yun could successfully reach the eighth round, it would signify that he had broken through the level of a First-Rate Master and earned the right to join the ranks of the martial world’s top experts.

It was worth noting that within the entire Herb Gathering Hall of the Medicine King Sect, currently, there were only three Top-Tier Masters: Hall Master Li, and Vice Hall Masters Ma and Ji—all veterans of the Jianghu, nearly fifty or sixty years of age.

The younger disciples of the Herb Gathering Hall were excitedly circulating Xie Yun’s accomplishments. Such immense glory served as a massive morale boost for the entire Hall.

“Senior Brother Xie Yun has sprinted straight into the sixth round. He’s fighting like a madman!” “The most dazzling rising star in the entire Pingzhou martial world belongs to our Senior Brother Xie Yun of the Herb Gathering Hall. All that dedicated cultivation in the Scripture Pavilion for nearly twenty years wasn’t in vain.” “Senior Brother Xie Yun is our model. Even if we cannot reach his height, we must diligently practice martial arts from now on and strive to achieve even one-tenth of Senior Brother Xie Yun’s success!”

Ye Qin had spent the last two days in deep cultivation. He had only vaguely heard about the bustling challenge matches at the training ground but knew little of the details. He was unaware that Xie Yun had stormed the ring in a fury after being defeated by him twice, ultimately striking Ma Yu of the Treasure Guild off the platform.

Every day, he dedicated about half an hour to completing his required quota of miscellaneous labor tasks for the Hall. The rest of the daylight hours were mostly spent concealed in the private courtyard southeast of the county seat, refining spirit elixirs and practicing minor arts. At night, he returned to the stone hut in the Herb Gathering Hall’s small courtyard to meditate, consume pills, and cultivate.

That evening, just as the lamps began to be lit, Yang Yicheng and Feng Xiao returned to their shared stone hut, loudly bustling in with large basins of dinner freshly fetched from the kitchen yard.

They were arguing fiercely over how many more rounds Senior Brother Xie Yun could possibly endure.

Yang Yicheng was highly optimistic about Xie Yun: “Senior Brother Xie Yun’s foundation is incredibly deep. There’s no youth expert in Bamboo Qi County who surpasses him. He will definitely hold out until the eighth round, becoming the fourth Top-Tier Master in our Herb Gathering Hall.”

Feng Xiao disagreed, shaking her head dismissively: “That’s not certain. Senior Brother Xie Yun has spent a full two days just to break into the sixth round. I can see he’s already utterly exhausted. To push through the seventh round will require at least an entire night of bloody fighting, and completing the eighth round will certainly stretch until tomorrow afternoon. Can he even sustain it?”

As Yang Yicheng and Feng Xiao shoveled down their rice while arguing, they pushed open the door to the stone hut, only to find Ye Qin sitting calmly with his eyes closed, cultivating his internal arts. They immediately felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation. All the disciples of the Herb Gathering Hall were out there cheering for Senior Brother Xie Yun, yet their ‘Second Brother’ was safely tucked away in his room cultivating, acting completely detached from worldly affairs.

Yang Yicheng and Feng Xiao quickly finished their dinner, rested for a while indoors, and then insisted on dragging Ye Qin along to witness the wheel-match challenge at the training ground. Such a spectacular holding match might only happen once in a lifetime in Bamboo Qi County; it would be hard to see after this Medicine Convention concluded.

Ye Qin couldn't resist their insistence and reluctantly agreed to go to the training ground that night to lend ‘support’ to Xie Yun. They also managed to call over Qian Ruoxiu and Sun Ying, who had just returned, and invited them all to join the crowds and excitement downtown.

At the hour of Xu (7 PM to 9 PM), the main street of Bamboo Qi County was lined with rows of large red lanterns, bathing the entire county seat in bright, fiery light.

Even though it was nighttime, most shops remained open. On the night market street, families who had just finished dinner were out strolling; the flow of pedestrians was dense and continuous.

Everywhere one looked, wealthy young dandies, clad in luxurious silks and fanning themselves, flirtatiously winked and made gestures toward the young women on the street. There were also petty ruffians and beggars roaming the city, attending to their own business.

The recent surge in visiting martial artists and merchants over the last few months had made Bamboo Qi County exceptionally lively and prosperous, especially the northwest district where the guilds were concentrated, which was thronged with people.

When Ye Qin, Yang Yicheng, Feng Xiao, Qian Ruoxiu, Sun Ying, and the other five fellow disciples arrived at the training ground in the early evening, it was the peak of the human tide. Cheers rose and fell incessantly, most of them shouting encouragement for Xie Yun. Yang Yicheng and Feng Xiao were still locked in their debate over which round Xie Yun would ultimately reach. The two young girls had been chirping excitedly along the way, thrilled by the bustling crowds.

Ye Qin sighed inwardly. It had been a long time since the five of them walked side-by-side so freely, free from the scheming and political maneuvering regarding matters of the Herb Gathering Hall, free from rivalry—purely the camaraderie of fellow sect members.

However, he suspected such opportunities would be rare from now on.

Deep within Ye Qin’s dark pupils, a complex emotion flickered—a touch of sadness, a hint of loneliness. But his face remained expressionless, as always. He gazed toward the training ground while deep in thought.

The training ground covered several qing (acres) and housed eleven platforms. The ten surrounding platforms were auxiliary stages; anyone wishing to spar could step up and fight. But the main stage in the very center, towering several zhang high, was not accessible to just anyone. It was reserved exclusively for the “Wheel-Match Challenge.” Only those deemed qualified to challenge by the competition organizers were permitted onto it.

Xie Yun had just defeated his sixty-third challenger. Holding his treasured sword, his expression cold, he sat with his eyes closed at the very center of the main stage, recovering his spirit and stamina while awaiting the next challenger. After two days and two nights of continuous combat, though fatigued, Xie Yun maintained the bearing of a true martial artist, a testament to his extraordinarily firm will.

Ye Qin suddenly felt a pang of insight. He smiled faintly. As long as one steadfastly pursues the Way of Cultivation, one should let everything else take its natural course; why trouble oneself so much over externals? With this thought, he felt his entire being relax, and his pace quickened.