Within the True Martial Grotto-Heaven. Below the high platform, the first round of the contest had already begun. This time, the five Immortal Sects had sent a total of one hundred and forty participants, so the first round was naturally a contest for the top one hundred and forty to advance to the top seventy.

The first round of matches was not too difficult for the Elders of the other four great Immortal Sects, but for the people of the Wudang Immortal Sect, it proved extremely challenging. The formidable techniques and ultimate skills of the four great Immortal Sects of the Great Qin Kingdom were indeed superior to those of the Wudang Immortal Sect. And frankly speaking, having grown accustomed to the level of combat in the Jin Kingdom, suddenly facing the higher echelon of fighting from the Great Qin Kingdom left them truly unsettled.

Setting aside the others, just consider the six individuals who coordinated with Lu Yuan in the Seven Star Stance; these six were all experts at the Second Level of Longevity within the Wudang Immortal Sect. They had entered the fray even earlier than Lu Yuan. Among the six, aside from the ever-grinning Yang Kaixin, the other five had all succumbed to their opponents.

Even Yang Kaixin had only managed a narrow victory. “The people from the Four Great Immortal Sects are truly formidable.” “Indeed, why are they so strong?” “Their ultimate arts are too powerful; we simply cannot cope.” “Is this the standard of the cultivation world in the Great Qin Kingdom?” After their defeats, the Elders of the Wudang Immortal Sect murmured amongst themselves. They now understood the true strength of their rivals; it was almost unbelievably potent.

Except for Hong Ri, Hua Yue, and Qiu Xing, who were at the Fourth Level of Longevity, even those who managed to win had mostly secured a hard-fought victory, with the majority tasting defeat. They finally understood why their predecessors in the past could never overcome the people from the Four Great Immortal Sects of the Great Qin Kingdom. Despite their spiritual power levels not being drastically different, they consistently lost no matter how they fought.

Much of the morale boosted by the immense resources and Yin Zheng's fervor had now been thoroughly scattered. “Group Forty-three, Lu Liu of the Wudang Immortal Sect versus Xuan Fayiyi of the Crimson Dragon Immortal Sect.” The five cultivators, each representing one of the five Immortal Sects and tasked with monitoring spiritual resources, now served as referees. As soon as the announcement was made, many eyes shifted towards the stage.

The people from Wudang knew that Lu Yuan was their only external reinforcement. It was rumored that this external helper was specifically invited by Martial Uncle Yin. Well, let’s see what methods this outsider possesses.

But it was likely to be difficult. After all, this contest was currently a contention among Elders at the Longevity stage, and Lu Yuan was, ultimately, just a disciple. Lu Yuan stepped onto the stage, and his opponent was already ascending.

His opponent was dressed identically to the others from the Crimson Dragon Immortal Sect—robes of gold, presenting a majestic air. This opponent had a short beard, and his eyes, like a hawk’s gaze, fixed upon his adversary: “You are the cultivator from the Jin Kingdom? Jin Kingdom!

Laughable. Your Wudang colleagues before you already understand the might of the cultivators from our Great Qin Kingdom. Now that you face me, you will only know defeat.” Lu Yuan yawned slightly.

“So, you only rely on the sharpness of your tongue.” This languid demeanor clearly infuriated his opponent, Xuan Fayiyi. Xuan Fayiyi roared, “Brat, you are courting death.” A golden light shot out from his right palm—it was the unsheathing of his Golden Marquis Flying Sword. Once drawn, the Golden Marquis Flying Sword unleashed the move, “Celestial Emperor’s Solar Command.” This particular strike within the Emperor Sword arts, when executed, bathed the surroundings in a blinding golden radiance, temporarily obscuring the vision even of nearby cultivators.

Amidst this infinite golden light, the Golden Marquis Sword silently pierced directly toward Lu Yuan. This strike was overtly aggressive, using the golden light to dazzle the opponent before launching a stealthy assault; the Golden Marquis Sword aimed straight for Lu Yuan’s vitals. This move, he thought, should certainly wound the opponent, given he came from a backwater like the Jin Kingdom.

The result, however, was a resounding clang—the strike had been blocked! Yes, it was forcibly parried. Xuan Fayiyi couldn't help but be stunned.

The opponent must have blocked the strike by sheer luck. Immediately, Xuan Fayiyi launched the first stance of the Nine Strikes of the Emperor Sword: the Offensive Emperor Stance. This strike drove forward with uncompromising momentum.

Xuan Fayiyi felt this move was exceptionally exhilarating; once momentum was built up, the spirit fused into one. But at that very moment, he heard a grating sound—his long sword was seized by Lu Yuan’s Nourishing Myriad Sword, rendering it impossible to unleash its full potential. The techniques of the Crimson Dragon Immortal Sect inherently relied on attacking the spirit and prioritizing overwhelming momentum.

If the momentum could not be generated here, the attack naturally lacked significant power. Seeing this, Xuan Fayiyi unleashed the second strike of the Nine Strikes of the Emperor Sword—the Collapsing Sword Stance. Once deployed, the sword’s power instantly erupted upon meeting the enemy.

If Lu Yuan failed to break this stance, the subsequent moves—the Oscillating Emperor Stance, the Distorting Emperor Stance, the Shattering Emperor Stance, the Splitting Emperor Stance, all the way to the final Emperor Emperor Stance—awaited. At that point, the Nine Emperors would link up, attacking as one torrent—who could possibly stand against it? But precisely then, this move, too, was parried halfway through its execution, completely stalling its flow.

The exchange continued. This was likely the longest duel in the entire first round. Xuan Fayiyi incessantly brought out a variety of sharp and decisive skills, yet each was interrupted by Lu Yuan at a crucial moment, leaving Xuan Fayiyi so frustrated he felt like spitting blood.

The surrounding cultivators naturally watched the fight. Observing the exchanges between the two, they felt the duel was utterly unremarkable. Xuan Fayiyi was merely repeating the Crimson Dragon Immortal Sect’s standard techniques, which everyone had already witnessed.

Lu Yuan’s moves held nothing exceptional either, appearing utterly commonplace. Thus, after watching for only a short while, they shifted their attention to other matches. There were a full seventy bouts in the first round, and naturally, several were taking place simultaneously; otherwise, the very first match alone would take an age to conclude.

Virtually no one was paying close attention to Lu Yuan versus Xuan Fayiyi. In truth, the fight unfolding this way was entirely intentional on Lu Yuan’s part. Lu Yuan held considerable interest in swordplay.

The Emperor Sword was, after all, the ultimate skill of the Crimson Dragon Immortal Sect. Letting the opponent execute more moves from the Emperor Sword series was beneficial; there was no need to rush for victory. Of course, given Lu Yuan’s actual strength, defeating the opponent easily would have been simple, requiring no exertion of his true power—a few casual, ordinary moves would have sufficed.

However, it seemed Xuan Fayiyi did not possess many profound techniques. Seeing that enough time had passed, and having prolonged the fight significantly longer than the adjacent bouts, Lu Yuan unhesitatingly executed several swift sword strikes. These final few moves appeared to win the match purely by coincidence.

Xuan Fayiyi felt that the last few strikes were all down to sheer luck. If not for that, he believed he would never have lost. Thus, as Lu Yuan’s long sword finally stopped at his throat, Xuan Fayiyi was deeply unconvinced.

If given another chance, he thought to himself, he certainly wouldn't lose to this man. This was the subtlety of Lu Yuan’s approach. From start to finish, he had been merely playing with Xuan Fayiyi, who was also at the Second Level of Longevity.

As a result, even upon losing, Xuan Fayiyi remained unclear about where he went wrong, still convinced he had many opportunities to win. Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship had become so masterful that he could toy with someone at the Second Level of Longevity. “Lu Liu of the Wudang Immortal Sect wins.” The referee announced.

His first round match concluded just like that, securing an easy victory. Lu Yuan strolled off the high platform with ease, yet he understood that while the first round was simple, the subsequent matches would not be so effortless, especially the final few rounds, as they would involve cultivators at the Fifth Level of Longevity—a level he could not yet match. The rewards for the first round were also announced.

After collecting one thousand spirit stones from the referee, Lu Yuan clicked his tongue in appreciation. This True Martial Grotto-Heaven was truly unusually wealthy. The reward for the first round was a thousand spirit stones, and without a doubt, the rewards would only increase in later rounds.

“Impressive.” “Lu Liu, truly amazing.” The other members of the Seven Star Sword Formation came to congratulate Lu Yuan. Although Lu Yuan’s fighting looked quite ordinary, not drawing much attention, he had ultimately won. Having sparred against the cultivators of the Great Qin Kingdom, they understood their formidable nature, having suffered continuous losses.

Among the seven, only Yang Kaixin’s victory was a hard-won triumph. Unlike them, Lu Yuan had emerged relaxed, completely uninjured, and showing minimal depletion of spiritual power. After a while longer, the first round of matches finally concluded.

Unsurprisingly, the Wudang Immortal Sect suffered the most losses. Twenty people had come from Wudang, and only seven remained victorious; thirteen were instantly eliminated. Everyone now knew that the cultivators of the Great Qin Kingdom lived up to their reputation; Great Qin was indeed superior to Jin.

Listening to the discussions nearby, they learned that among the current cultivators, the four major Immortal Sects each boasted two or three experts at the Fifth Level of Longevity. This dwarfed the Wudang Immortal Sect, which only possessed three at the Fourth Level of Longevity. It was said that the current strongest contenders were Master Jifa from the Great Dharma Temple, Song Dongxia from the Carefree Immortal Sect, Ye Hou from the Crimson Dragon Immortal Sect, and Zhong Qiu from the Peerless Sword Immortal Sect.

These individuals each possessed unique characteristics and abilities. Take Song Dongxia from the Carefree Immortal Sect, for instance; his overall strength was remarkable. Of course, it was rumored that Song Dongxia had an elder brother, Song Chunqiu, who was far more formidable, a figure at the Upper Echelon of the Great Dao Realm.

While Song Dongxia was a minor figure compared to his brother, he commanded the peak power of the Fifth Level of Longevity, coupled with terrifying Carefree ultimate skills, making his dominance within the True Martial Grotto-Heaven virtually undisputed. These few were considered the strongest candidates for the championship. Following a brief respite where everyone consumed pills to restore their spiritual energy, the second round of matches was finally set to commence.

This round would narrow the field from seventy to thirty-five participants. As soon as this round began, it immediately demonstrated a significantly higher level of difficulty. Wan Liang, a cultivator from the Wudang Immortal Sect at the Third Level of Longevity, was immediately suppressed and bombarded by his opponent, lacking any chance to retaliate.

Wan Liang was at the peak of the Third Level of Longevity, yet he was being beaten senseless by his foe. The cultivators from the Wudang Immortal Sect visibly tensed; the contests in the True Martial Grotto-Heaven were proving far more arduous than anticipated. And now, the second round had only just begun, yet the atmosphere had become significantly more grave.

(First update delivered.)