He had finally managed to form his Golden Core just before his centennial birthday, nearly twenty years prior. However, he missed the chance to participate in the last Island Seizing Assembly, which is why he was delaying until this current competition.

He had expected that nearly two extra decades of cultivation would have pushed his strength close to the second layer of the Golden Core stage, making him slightly stronger than other Golden Core participants, thus giving him a good chance of securing one of the top ten spirit islands.

But instead, he ran into this pair of dual cultivators.

This Daoist couple had already swept several early-stage Golden Core cultivators off the ring in quick succession. Ah—no, it was only the woman doing the fighting; the man stood by smiling, watching, never having made a move or even revealed a sliver of his actual power.

If it were only the woman, the old man might still have entertained thoughts of struggling to contend for a victory. But with this other man, whose power was unknown and who wore a faintly mocking smile… the more he looked, the more insurmountable the opponents seemed.

One against two—this was simply too difficult.

The grizzled elder hesitated.

A Nascent Soul cultivator in blue robes, presiding over the bout as arbiter, watched the grizzled elder stalemate against Huangfu Bing'er on the platform for half an incense stick's time. Seeing his repeated indecision, the arbiter grew impatient and spoke lightly, "If you have no confidence, concede. Do not waste time!"

He did not think highly of the grizzled elder. Furthermore, since all participants in the Assembly were cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Alliance, aggressive fighting during the competition was discouraged. If the disparity in strength was too great, the arbiter had the authority to advise one party to forfeit.

“I willingly yield!”

The grizzled elder felt a flush of shame under the Nascent Soul cultivator’s reprimand. With a sigh, perhaps realizing his own lack of certainty, he finally gave up voluntarily. He decided it was better to let others fight for the Number Two Fire Spirit Island. He would find an easier island to seize, saving his strength for later bouts.

The Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounding the arena, who had been waiting eagerly for excitement, could only let out gasps of regret when the grizzled elder abruptly conceded. Amidst the clamor and mocking murmurs, the old man recalled his magic tools and trudged shamefacedly off the dueling stage.

“Jiang Hao forfeits! The Ye couple wins!”

The arbiter in blue robes made the ruling with an indifferent expression.

Ye Qin smiled faintly.

He had anticipated this outcome. Bing’er’s successive defeats of two Golden Core cultivators had severely damaged the grizzled elder’s confidence, prompting his withdrawal.

Since this fight had caused no drain on their resources, the pair did not need to rest and immediately welcomed the next Golden Core challenger. This challenger was the rather stout cultivator from the Treasure Gathering Palace, clad in golden brocade robes, who also had his sights set on the Number Two Fire Spirit Island.

Ye Qin raised an eyebrow slightly.

The name "Treasure Gathering Palace" struck a deep chord with him. He wondered what connection this Treasure Gathering Palace of the Heavenly Dao Alliance had with the True Person of Treasure Gathering, one of the Eight Great Ancient Rogue Cultivators of the Central Land Spirit Fog Realm.

He had once ventured into the underground labyrinth of the Immortal Fate Hall and obtained a Treasure Gathering Gourd; he held a partial connection with True Person of Treasure Gathering.

On the grand plaza of White Float City.

A middle-aged man with a mighty beard, a young man in white robes, and an elegant young woman all froze momentarily as they spotted the somewhat familiar figures on the dueling stage. They were none other than Wei Dayuan, Zhu Tiannan, and Su Tong—three cultivators who had crossed paths with Ye Qin on two separate occasions.

All three were high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators who had specifically come to White Float City for the Island Seizing Assembly. They certainly hadn't expected to see two familiar faces while attending the Foundation Establishment division.

“Isn’t that Brother Ye and his wife?” The bearded cultivator stared for a long moment, pointing a disbelieving finger toward Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er high on the dueling stage. “How did they both break through to the Golden Core stage in just over a year?!”

“I don’t know. The power of Madam Ye’s ice-element Nascent Soul artifacts is incredible; she’s defeated several Golden Core cultivators in a row. How strong must her Divine Sense be to control sixteen of them simultaneously?”

Su Tong’s eyes shone with shock, finding it hard to believe Huangfu Bing’er’s strength.

Zhu Tiannan gazed blankly at Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing’er on the stage. After a long pause, he dramatically fanned himself with his high-grade feather fan, letting out a long sigh. “Alas, alas, alas!”

Wei Dayuan looked puzzled. “Brother Zhu, why the long sighs?”

“It’s utterly unjust!”

Zhu Tiannan closed his fan, pointed at Ye Qin on the stage, and lamented, “Look at him! Brother Ye is such a mediocre individual—no strength to speak of, relying on his wife to prop him up in a Seizing Assembly. No looks, and likely little wealth. Yet, this kind of person marries a stunning wife, transforms into a Golden Core cultivator in just over a year, and thereafter finds the path of immortal cultivation wide open! Whereas I, Zhu Tiannan, am young, outstanding, suave, talented, with a decent family background, and I cultivate diligently, yet I’m still stuck at the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment, and I don’t know how far the Golden Core Dao is. I am nowhere near this inferior person. What kind of cosmic justice is this? Why does Heaven not favor me even a little? Alas!”

“Brother Zhu, everyone has their own destiny; you cannot force it! Senior Ye’s fortune and heavenly luck are extraordinary, beyond what ordinary people can attain,” Wei Dayuan offered in consolation, though he fell silent afterward.

“Brother Jin, it seems you’re in trouble. That couple, especially the woman from Water Cloud Palace named Huangfu, her set of ice-element Nascent Soul artifacts is no ordinary magic; it requires extremely strong Divine Sense to control. Even if I deploy the Great Five Elements Sword Array, I might not have more than a sixty or seventy percent chance of winning.

Unless the man beside her, surnamed Ye, has negligible combat power, you might have a chance against the woman. Otherwise, if that man possesses even half of the woman’s fighting strength, your odds of victory are pathetically slim.”

The woman in purple robes had watched Huangfu Bing’er’s three matches in succession. Though she hadn't seen Ye Qin fight at full strength, she still shook her head, unconvinced about stout Jin.

After all, Ye Qin was a Golden Core cultivator; his strength couldn't be that poor, no matter what.

“Someone from Water Cloud Palace in Immortal Palace City?”

The stout Jin’s gaze first swept over Huangfu Bing, then settled on the Water Cloud Palace insignia on her sleeve, causing his pupils to constrict slightly. Golden Core cultivators from Water Cloud Palace might be difficult to handle.

Then, his gaze lingered on Ye Qin for a moment. Other than a Heavenly Dao Alliance badge on his sleeve, there was nothing else to prove his identity. Even Ye Qin’s magic tools were a collection of the absolute lowest-grade junk, street stall wares that showed no origin. This meant the man surnamed Ye was most likely a rogue cultivator, without background or backing.

The stout Jin’s expression immediately turned disdainful.

“A Golden Core cultivator from Water Cloud Palace and a Golden Core rogue cultivator? Why be so cautious? Without a set of top-tier artifacts, even a Golden Core cultivator has limited combat power. Hmph, Junior Sister Zhou, just watch how I force him right off the stage!”

He patted the large storage pouch at his waist, which was filled with numerous mid-grade and high-grade artifacts and talismans of various grades, feeling quite smug.

After the grizzled elder Jiang Hao voluntarily conceded and left the stage, the stout Jin promptly flew onto the platform using his artifact.

The surrounding Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators began to buzz again with eager discussion. As a Golden Core cultivator from the ancient Immortal Palace’s Treasure Gathering Palace, this stout man’s strength was naturally incomparable to ordinary cultivators. They wondered if he could withstand a direct confrontation with the Golden Core Daoist couple.

The stout Jin flew onto the great stage contesting the Number Two Spirit Island and, without a word, tossed out a top-grade Fire-element Magic Bead.

This bead spun rapidly in mid-air, spewing forth a vast expanse of intense Samadhi True Fire, sweeping toward Huangfu Bing’er at the center of the stage with full force.

He didn't expect this single top-grade bead to shatter Huangfu Bing’er’s ice swords. He merely intended to use it to stall her momentarily. He wanted to use that time to drive Ye Qin off the platform.

As long as a cultivator was forced beyond the arena’s five-hundred-zhang perimeter, they were considered defeated and disqualified from the fight.

After he drove off the cultivator surnamed Ye, he would turn back to deal with Huangfu Bing’er. This strategy would break their joint offense, eliminate any concerns, and greatly increase his odds of winning the island in a one-on-one duel.

Of course, all of this depended on his ability to hold Huangfu Bing’er with the Fire-element Magic Bead, even if only for a few breaths of time. He was confident enough that he could drive Ye Qin off the stage within those few breaths.

The stout Jin threw the Fire-element Magic Bead at Huangfu Bing’er, then opened his mouth and released a small Nascent Soul artifact shaped like a tiny gold ingot. This ingot instantly swelled to the size of a small mountain, dozens of feet large, and descended with crushing force directly toward Ye Qin.

He chuckled inwardly at his own plan.

Ye Qin’s few low-grade artifacts certainly couldn't withstand this Golden Ingot; they would shatter on contact. If Ye Qin did not actively retreat from the great stage, he would undoubtedly be crushed into a pulp by the ingot.

Seeing that the stout Jin did not try to defeat Huangfu Bing’er first, like the previous Golden Core challengers, but instead attacked him directly, Ye Qin let out a cold laugh, having somewhat guessed the stout man's intentions.

But did this stout man really think he was easy to handle?!

A clear cry echoed on the dueling stage as a South Ming Li Fire Sword, only a few inches long, shot out from Ye Qin’s mouth. It instantly transformed into a massive purple greatsword nearly twenty feet long, its blade wreathed in countless wisps of Samadhi True Fire.

Ye Qin pointed his hand remotely and cleaved down toward the stout Jin’s mountain-sized Golden Ingot Nascent Soul artifact with a swift whoosh.

"Clang!"

The massive, heavy Golden Ingot was firmly blocked by the South Ming Li Fire Sword; it could not press down even a fraction, and instead—

“The South, South Ming Li Fire Sword…! How could the Purple Sword Palace’s guardian artifact be in your hands, boy?!”

The stout Jin cried out in shock.

He didn't even have time to process his astonishment.

On the stage, Huangfu Bing’er let out a delicate shout. Her sixteen Ice Soul Chill Light Swords struck the fire bead densely. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of ‘crackling’ collisions shattered the top-grade Fire-element Magic Bead into shards of fiery red debris.

Following this, the sixteen Ice Soul Chill Light Swords coalesced into an icy, surging torrent and shot toward the stout Jin’s back.