For the first round, many participants had merely warmed up, holding back their true skills—even the four leading contenders for the championship hadn't showcased much of their power. In this second round, the four favorites remained relaxed, but the others were decidedly less so, each revealing some hidden technique.

As these competitors unleashed their true skills and hidden strengths, the predicament of the Wudang Immortal Sect became even more awkward.

They couldn't win; they simply couldn't match them.

The cultivators from Wudang, adapted only to the intensity of Jin Kingdom fights, were utterly overwhelmed by the variety of attacks. Moreover, the techniques from the Great Qin Kingdom were truly profound. Each of the Four Great Immortal Sects possessed a foundational secret art, each basically equivalent to Wudang's Taiji Sword Technique—yet, no one in Wudang had truly mastered their own Taiji Sword.

In this second round, only Hongri and Huayue managed to hold on. Qiu Xing faced Song Dongxia of the Carefree Immortal Sect, one of the four favorites, and was instantly defeated.

Instantaneously!

Yes, instantly!

The disparity in strength was staggering.

By this point, the Wudang Immortal Sect was truly embarrassed. After the second round of the individual competition, only two people remained. Such a poor showing in the individual matches meant that even if they planned to rely on the team competition to earn points back with the Wudang Sword Formation, they had already suffered too great a loss. The individual matches had been disastrous, making it extremely hard to recover points in the team events.

Fortunately, just as the second round was drawing to a close, the hired external aid, Lu Yuan, managed to defeat his opponent from the Great Fahua Temple—a monk at the third layer of the Longevity Realm.

"I didn't expect Lu Liu to be so formidable," people said, as Lu Yuan used the name Lu Liu here.

"Indeed, to think he could defeat a master from Great Fahua Temple at the third layer of Longevity."

"That master used several secret arts, the Annihilation Finger and the Flower-Plucking Finger, but Lu Liu countered them all."

"He can even break the secret arts of the Great Fahua Temple?" "Truly astonishing."

"This time, the external aid hired was the right choice." "Senior Brother Yin truly has discerning taste." As they were all ninth-generation elders, they naturally addressed Yin Zheng as Senior Brother.

"However, even with this result, our situation remains quite awkward. Only three of us passed the second round."

"Yes." The members of the Wudang Immortal Sect hung their heads dejectedly; their morale had been nearly shattered.

Lu Yuan had already stepped forward to collect his reward. The reward for the first round was one thousand spirit stones; the reward for the second round would surely be richer. What would it be this time? Lu Yuan noticed many eyes on him. Although he had only made simple, casual moves in the previous two rounds, Lu Yuan was currently the only cultivator at the second layer of Longevity who had passed the second round, naturally attracting attention. Cloud-element cultivators could usually conceal the depth of their magical power, but once a fight began, hiding that depth became impossible.

Lu Yuan paid them no mind and accepted his second reward.

Water of Pure Clarity.

If it were just the Water of Pure Clarity, it wouldn't be remarkable, but there was far too much of it. He recalled obtaining only a single cup of the Water of Pure Clarity in the desert of the Hundred Mines Province, and even that was extremely precious. Yet, here, there was enough Water of Pure Clarity to fill a small wine jar—perhaps ten or twenty times the amount he had acquired in the Hundred Mines Province.

A treasure! The Water of Pure Clarity was certainly beneficial to Lu Yuan. As long as the Blood Sword Sect existed in the Great Jin Kingdom, and as long as the Blood Cloud Spirit Beasts were present, this water would be immensely useful. Perhaps he could take a trip to the Blood Sword Sect when he had time. Against such demonic and evil cultivators as the Blood Sword Sect, he could legitimately slay demons and eradicate evil, harvesting countless Blood Cloud Spirit Beasts, all of which he could claim. But after a second thought, he decided against it for now. The strength of the Blood Sword Sect was likely comparable to that of North Peak, and the Blood Sword Ancestor's power must be at the Great Dao Realm, augmented by nearly a hundred cultivators at the Longevity stage. Rushing there now would definitely be courting death.

Carrying so much Water of Pure Clarity, Lu Yuan was in high spirits.

There were still several rounds remaining; he had to keep fighting. The rewards later on would surely be better.

Lu Yuan mused to himself, no wonder the five Immortal Sects fought so fiercely over the True Martial Grotto-Heaven, and no wonder every cultivator rushed to be here. This True Martial Grotto-Heaven contained numerous benefits, and spiritual resources were distributed after every successful round.

"Right, time to focus. The third round is coming." By the third round, only thirty-five people remained. Excluding Lu Yuan, everyone else was basically at the fourth layer of Longevity or higher. The upcoming fights wouldn't be easy. He hoped the next draw wouldn't be too terrible. If he drew a cultivator at the fifth layer of Longevity now, he would stand no chance at all.

The third round now featured only thirty-five participants, meaning one person would receive a bye, automatically advancing to the next round. That person would undoubtedly be incredibly lucky. Everyone wished they could be the one to receive the bye. Of course, even if they didn't get the bye, avoiding those at the fifth layer of Longevity—especially the four favorites—would be a relief. If they faced one of the four favorites, they knew without fighting that they were guaranteed to lose.

Now, everyone waited anxiously for the results of the draw.

The atmosphere was extremely tense. The five referees were employing a spell for random pairing, a technique completely randomized and incapable of cheating. Everyone trusted this spell. Many numbers flickered in the void, finally confirming this round's matchups.

First, a cultivator from the Crimson Dragon Immortal Sect, at the fourth layer of Longevity, burst into laughter. He had drawn the only bye and could proceed to the next round without fighting. Every round advanced brought significant benefits, so this cultivator was overjoyed.

The others showed mixed emotions as they looked at their respective draws.

Lu Yuan didn't recognize most of the others, but he knew the remaining Wudang members. He checked their results—there weren't many worth looking at. Only three from the Wudang Immortal Sect remained: Hongri, Huayue, and himself. He looked over and saw Hongri's face contorted in defeat.

Hongri sighed, "I drew Song Dongxia." In the previous round, Qiu Xing faced Song Dongxia and was instantly defeated without any suspense. Hongri's strength was slightly better than Qiu Xing's, but only slightly. He would likely be defeated in a few moves.

What was bad luck? This was it.

All the elders of the Wudang Immortal Sect felt they were extraordinarily unlucky, drawing figures from the Four Great Favorites two rounds in a row.

Hongri had absorbed all the bad luck for them. Huayue was not as unfortunate; she drew a cultivator from the No-Sword Immortal Sect, who appeared to be at the fourth layer of Longevity as well, meaning she had a fighting chance. Whether she could win or not, who knew. The crowd immediately turned to Lu Yuan, eager to see his draw result.

They hoped Lu Yuan hadn't drawn such bad luck, avoiding the Four Great Favorites or other cultivators at the fifth layer of Longevity.

Lu Yuan smiled, "My luck is quite good. I drew a master from the Great Fahua Temple." It seemed this round would present no difficulty. He wondered what the reward for the third round would be, feeling expectant.

After the draw, the third round of the contest was finally about to begin.

Hongri's match went first. He stepped onto the stage, and his opponent, Song Dongxia, was already waiting. Song Dongxia was a middle-aged man with a perpetually troubled expression. Song Dongxia looked at Hongri and said, "Wudang Immortal Sect cultivator. I hear you practice the Wudang Pure Yang Art. The saying goes, 'With a point of pure yang in your heart, all techniques are held in your palm.' Combined with your Wudang Pure Yang Sword, you are quite formidable. Our Carefree Immortal Sect also possesses the Nine Yang Great Art. Let's see which is stronger: your 'point of pure yang in your heart, all techniques held in your palm,' or my Nine Yang Great Art. Of course, I won't bully you too much; I'll use only fifty percent of my power."

Hongri's heart stirred upon hearing that his opponent would only use half his strength; perhaps he had a chance to win. He immediately circulated the Wudang Pure Yang Art and drew his flying sword, the Sun-Chasing Sword, unleashing the Wudang Pure Yang Sword. This technique was a method of controlling the sword with qi. When the Wudang Pure Yang Art was pushed to its extreme, the long sword shone like a great sun, fiercely radiating pure yang energy.

When the heat reached its peak, Hongri finally attacked—a straight, unchanging thrust, immensely powerful, aimed directly at Song Dongxia. Song Dongxia merely chuckled softly and drew his own sword. Instantly, nine streams of sunlight gathered upon his blade. This was also a technique of controlling the sword with qi, another perfectly straight thrust.

"Clang!" A sword of pure yang met a sword of nine suns. Almost on contact, Hongri began to collapse. With a bang, he was thrown an incredible distance. Many Wudang Immortal Sect members rushed over to find Hongri already severely injured from the clash. A Wudang elder quickly administered a pill to help him heal.

In the subsequent fight, Huayue also entered the fray and was defeated by her opponent. Fortunately, she only sustained light injuries, nothing severe.

By this time, more than half of the third round matches had concluded.

The only one remaining from the Wudang Immortal Sect who had not been eliminated was Lu Yuan.