Underneath the tenth bluestone ring of the Magic Fighting Stage, Huangfu Bing'er watched the matches with Bai Xiuer. Although Ye Qin’s opponents in the first ten rounds were weak, every victory brought them immense joy and lifted their spirits.

Ye Qin’s first ten bouts involved some clever tactics—deception and trickery that netted him a group of Golden Core cultivators’ Yuan Crystals. But regardless, it was the first meager income the trio had earned since arriving on the Southern Demon Continent.

“Sister Bing’er, Brother Ye won over a thousand Grade Seven Yuan Crystals. That should last the three of us in Demon Spirit City for quite a while. But it’s not enough,” Bai Xiuer said excitedly. “Finding lodging in the city and covering various expenses will certainly drain quite a bit. If Brother Ye wins a few more rounds, the crystals earned will sustain us for a good stretch.”

Huangfu Bing’er smiled and nodded. Her husband’s duels over these ten rounds had been remarkably easy; another seven or eight rounds should pose no problem. She quickly calculated in her mind: just five more wins, and they would secure tens of thousands of Grade Seven Yuan Crystals, surely enough for the three of them for a substantial period.

“Today, the first ‘Ten-Round Cultivator’ of the Magic Fighting Stage has appeared! This Fellow Daoist Ye Qin is now accepting challenges from all Nascent Soul cultivators in Demon Spirit City!”

The Demon Spirit City guard overseeing the bout announced loudly that Ye Qin had reached ten rounds.

A considerable stir immediately rippled through the fighting arena. The gazes of countless Nascent Soul cultivators swept towards the ring. Even some late-stage Soul Transformation Lords who were here selecting subordinates couldn't help but cast an extra glance at Ring Number Ten.

The number of Nascent Soul cultivators paying attention to Ye Qin’s ring visibly began to increase.

Among the thousand-plus Nascent Soul cultivators present in the arena, everyone except those currently engaged in sparring matches had noticed Ring Number Ten.

“A Nascent Soul cultivator actually made it through ten rounds on the Magic Fighting Stage! Does he not understand what ten rounds signify? Reaching ten rounds means issuing a challenge to every Nascent Soul cultivator in Demon Spirit City!”

“Those who dare fight ten rounds are usually exceptionally powerful. Still, his first ten rounds were far too opportunistic; the staked Yuan Crystals were pitifully small. Ten rounds only netted him just over a thousand Grade Seven Yuan Crystals.”

“I wonder if he can reach twenty rounds!”

“What, twenty rounds? At twenty rounds, I doubt even a handful of the most elite genius Nascent Soul cultivators in Demon Spirit City could manage it!”

The crowd of cultivators buzzed with astonishment and discussion.

However, despite the loud chatter beneath the ring, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators attempting to ascend the stage was surprisingly small.

The Magic Fighting Stage possessed a rarely invoked rule: for the first ten rounds, cultivators on the stage could freely accept challenges from anyone, with few restrictions; even low-level cultivators could mount the stage to make up the numbers. But once a cultivator surpassed ten consecutive bouts, they stepped onto a new threshold and automatically earned the title of "Ten-Round Cultivator of the Magic Fighting Stage."

The subsequent matches would become intensely serious.

Only cultivators who had also achieved ten rounds of combat were qualified to step up and contend with Ye Qin.

In other words, after Ye Qin hit ten rounds, those pesky Golden Core cultivators were barred from challenging him, and even average Nascent Soul cultivators no longer held the qualification. Only Nascent Soul cultivators within Demon Spirit City who had already fought ten rounds could step onto the stage to challenge Ye Qin for higher tiers of rounds.

Furthermore, with every additional match Ye Qin defended, his title would automatically advance to "Eleven-Round Cultivator," "Twelve-Round Cultivator," and so on.

Ye Qin was unaware of this custom in Demon Spirit City, having just arrived, and he had never witnessed anyone fight past ten rounds. Seeing no one ascend the stage, he felt a pang of confusion, yet he stood quietly on the platform, waiting for other Nascent Soul cultivators to challenge him.

He waited for nearly half an hour.

In a secluded corner of the arena, a small group of seven or eight men and women, dressed in exquisite robes with arrogant expressions, gathered.

The leader, positioned subtly at the center of their cluster, was a woman in red.

They were all late or peak Nascent Soul cultivators. Their sleeves and hems bore various emblems depicting mountains and rivers—a symbol the cultivators of Demon Spirit City knew signified the exclusive insignia of Soul Transformation Lords. Only the direct lineage or trusted confidants of a Lord were permitted to use identical emblems.

Each emblem on their clothing represented a famous Lord in Demon Spirit City, indicating these cultivators possessed immensely powerful family backgrounds.

The ordinary cultivators nearby wisely kept their distance, unwilling to approach this group of Nascent Soul experts.

“Demon Spirit City has another Ten-Round Cultivator. Tsk, tsk, quite a few existing Ten-Round Cultivators must be interested. We’re in for a good show today!”

“This fellow is shameless, using some Golden Core hacks and low-ranked Nascent Soul cultivators to pad his count up to ten rounds. He probably thinks he can gain fame in Demon Spirit City so a Lord will notice him and offer good bounty money!”

A man in purple-gold robes scoffed with disdain. “Who should send a subordinate up to crush him? Make him lose face and learn that it’s not so easy to get by in Demon Spirit City.”

“Brother Cao, this person is at the ninth layer of Nascent Soul, handling combat with ease. He probably has some skill. If you casually send up just any subordinate, you might not be able to take care of him!” chuckled another cultivator in white, looking quite leisurely.

“If this person truly had strength, he wouldn’t resort to such shameless means. The minimal Yuan Crystals he bet show he fears being targeted by other Nascent Soul powerhouses. Since you all won’t volunteer, I'll send someone up myself!”

The purple-gold robed man glanced at the woman in red. Seeing she offered no objection, he signaled subtly towards the crowd of onlookers. Immediately, one of his followers moved.

A male cultivator resembling an attendant flew onto Ring Number Ten, announced his name, “I am Yang Ying, subordinate of Great Lord Cao, a Ten-Round Cultivator of the Magic Fighting Stage—eighth layer Nascent Soul! I challenge!” He submitted a pouch of Grade Seven Yuan Crystals, then summoned a small Divine Ability-grade fire-element blade artifact, standing ready with the weapon held horizontally. Instantly, a fierce wave of spiritual energy surged outward, centered on the man.

This attendant, Yang Ying, had watched Ye Qin’s previous matches and also despised Ye Qin’s “opportunistic” approach. His own ten rounds were earned by squarely defeating ten opponents of equal rank, without a shred of trickery.

Ye Qin had no time for pleasantries with this challenger. With a wave of his hand, in addition to the small Divine Ability-grade metal flying sword, the "Golden Gaze Feathered Light Sword," a wood-element Divine Ability flying sword, the "Ocean-Stirring Rage Tide Sword," began to circle around him.

The water sword happened to perfectly counteract Yang Ying’s fire blade.

Yang Ying was startled and hastily tossed another small Divine Ability-grade fire artifact from his storage pouch.

However, cultivator combat wasn't just about having more artifacts; it required coordination with Sword Control Arts. Without corresponding techniques, multiple artifacts merely became disorganized and unable to form a cohesive force. After all, a cultivator’s instantaneous output of spiritual power was always limited. The more artifacts controlled, the less power allocated to each, naturally weakening the might of every single artifact.

Moreover, controlling more artifacts placed a higher demand on one's Divine Sense. A cultivator initially possessed only one thread of Divine Sense, capable of controlling only one artifact. They could cultivate Divine Sense techniques to split that thread into two, two into four, and four into eight. The higher the division, the harder the splitting became.

A cultivator controlling only one artifact could still defeat one controlling several.

Ye Qin’s Purple Sword Art allowed him to control eight flying swords, forming a complete sword formation whose power far surpassed that of eight individual flying swords.

He had only deployed two so far, and they were already countering Yang Ying’s weapon.

The moment they clashed, in a pure exchange of martial skill, Yang Ying showed signs of defeat.

Generally speaking, Nascent Soul cultivators capable of reaching ten rounds possessed some level of strength and belonged to the higher tier of Nascent Soul cultivators. But to Ye Qin, they were simply not worth noticing. Even Ghost Master, a powerful Ghost Cultivator ranked among the top few in the East Sea Immortal Cultivation World, was nothing more than fodder for a quick kill.

Against an opponent like Yang Ying, if Ye Qin were to get serious, he could basically achieve an instant kill.

Even the numerous Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators watching from below could clearly see that Ye Qin was still fighting with ease, not exerting much power, yet Yang Ying was already being suppressed, struggling to cope on both sides.

“Yang Ying, get down! Stop embarrassing yourself on the stage!”… “Change to another challenger!” “Get lost! So useless! You wasted the hundred-plus crystals I bet on you winning!” The cultivators below roared in protest.

The pressure on Yang Ying on the stage intensified. Under the ridicule and mockery of the crowd, he swiftly retreated from the ring, admitting defeat. After all, since this was not a life-and-death match, lingering on stage without admitting failure meant he had no grounds to complain if his opponent, in a fit of pique, killed him.

“Round Eleven: Ye Qin wins!” The presiding guard of Demon Spirit City announced the result loudly.

A wave of clamor and noise swept through the crowd below, their excitement starting to surge.

Although this match ended quickly, the cultivators in the arena finally grasped a key point.

The Nascent Soul Ninth Layer cultivator calling himself Ye Qin possessed an absolute strength higher than initially predicted. If the preceding ten rounds were somewhat casual, now, a "Ten-Round Cultivator of the Magic Fighting Stage" had been defeated, proving that Ye Qin’s strength matched his title of “Ten-Round Cultivator.”

The subsequent matches would be even more thrilling, as Ye Qin, by defeating Yang Ying, had automatically advanced to become an "Eleven-Round Cultivator of the Magic Fighting Stage."

Now, only those who had already attained the rank of “Eleven-Round Cultivator” were qualified to challenge Ye Qin. The title of “Ten-Round Cultivator” had lost the right to challenge him.

This strict rule maximally ensured that a cultivator’s strength matched their Magic Fighting Stage title, preventing lower-ranked cultivators from stepping up to pad the numbers. With every increased round, the caliber of the opponent would certainly rise a level.

This was the true essence of the consecutive challenge format.

By the time the seventeenth or eighteenth rounds arrived, Nascent Soul cultivators at that level became extremely scarce.

“Defeated already? So fast!” The purple-gold robed man tightened his grip on his folding fan, his expression turning rather grim.

The man in white, however, was feeling cheerful. He laughed heartily and mocked, “Brother Cao, I told you the fellow had some skill, but you didn't believe me! Sending only your subordinate to challenge meant you just handed him another round count for free. Why don't you go up yourself and knock him off the stage?!”

“Hmph, this fellow is feigning weakness, using only despicable methods.”

The purple-gold robed man’s face darkened, his gaze fixed on the ring; anger was clearly brewing. However, as an experienced veteran of the Magic Fighting Stage, he would not casually ascend the stage. He hadn't even gauged the bottom line of the opponent's strength—how could he go up? He would only step onto the stage to challenge when he had clearly assessed the strength and tactics and felt certain of victory. His subordinate Yang Ying hadn't forced Ye Qin to reveal his true capability at all.

“Heh, that fellow named Ye certainly hid quite a bit of strength to cruise smoothly to eleven rounds. How about we all place a bet? Let’s see how many rounds this man can defend before he falls. I’ll bet one Grade Eleven Yuan Crystal that he loses below the seventeenth round!”

The man in white smiled, then turned to the woman in red at the center. “Senior Sister Dou, what do you think, how many rounds can he hold?”

“Nineteen rounds!” the woman in red stated plainly. “Nineteen rounds already signifies a top-tier cultivator, one in several hundred. Only ten late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators in all of Demon Spirit City have ever defended twenty rounds. My ancestor is currently expanding territory and needs manpower. If he can defend until the nineteenth round, I will recruit him into my service.”

The man in white’s expression shifted slightly, and he gave a wry smile.