This round was a true clash of masters, comprised almost entirely of cultivators at the Fifth Level of Longevity. Every single one was renowned, and naturally, the cultivators of the Great Qin Kingdom desperately wanted to eliminate Jin man Lu Yuan. Having a Jin person mixed in was sickening; even if it were just a matter of pride, there were significant vested interests at play. If Lu Yuan had lost earlier, if the Wudang Immortal Sect had lost earlier, the True Martial Grotto-Heaven would have gone from being governed by five immortal sects to four. Essentially, Lu Yuan was cutting off their source of wealth. As the saying goes, cutting off a man's livelihood is worse than murdering his parents—that was the principle here.

Yet, in this round’s draw, Lu Yuan actually received a bye again.

This left everyone speechless.

In this round, Master Jifa encountered the less famous cultivator also at the Fifth Level of Longevity. Master Jifa employed the Finger of Removing Annoyance; with one touch, it was as if he made the opponent forget their worries. This was a truly terrifying ultimate technique. The Fifth Level Longevity cultivator facing Master Jifa was frequently affected by this finger technique, pausing momentarily at the slightest provocation.

When masters contend, victory is seized in a mere instant.

This constant pausing meant he was absolutely no match for Master Jifa.

This was, in fact, the power of the Finger of Removing Annoyance—it could instantly render the opponent's mind a blank slate. If the opponent’s cultivation level had been lower than the Fifth Level of Longevity, the effect would have been even more profound.

In this bout, Master Jifa delivered the Finger of Removing Annoyance one strike after another. While seemingly mundane, it had already beaten his opponent into a state where he could not retaliate.

On the other side, Zhong Qiu of the Seamless Sword Sect went head-to-head with Song Dongxia of the Carefree Immortal Sect.

Both were considered top contenders for the championship. Zhong Qiu’s application of the Formless Sword Qi was even more elegant; being at the Fifth Level of Longevity, he could simultaneously command two strands of Formless Sword Qi, vastly surpassing Mo Liu, who was at the Fourth Level. Song Dongxia, however, knew a significant number of skills, unleashing many of the Carefree Immortal Sect’s ultimate techniques, particularly the Zenith of Blazing Sun from the Great Yang Art, which was incredibly difficult to defend against. The most terrifying technique of the Carefree Immortal Sect was the Great Netherworld Art, which could directly siphon off an opponent’s cultivation—utterly terrifying. Furthermore, the Luoshen Ethereal Steps, famed as the fastest movement technique in the world, were also fearsome. However, Song Dongxia had not been taught these two supreme arts, though the Great Yang Art was terrifying enough on its own.

In the end, Zhong Qiu proved the superior fighter, as two strands of Formless Sword Qi were significantly more formidable than Mo Liu’s single strand.

Thus concluded the sixth round. Lu Yuan watched the spectacle unfold for a while, only to discover there were no rewards for this round. Lu Yuan expressed surprise to Hong Ri beside him. Hong Ri, having been to the True Martial Grotto-Heaven before, explained, "This was established long ago: the initial rounds offer rewards, but the final rounds offer nothing until the championship, where the reward is the greatest. Those three Beast-Grade Spirit Beasts must be that prize." Three Beast-Grade Spirit Beasts! That was equivalent to thirty large spirit beasts!

Such a reward was outrageously good.

It was as if all the rewards from the later rounds were accumulated and distributed at once—everything depended on who could seize the championship.

The seventh round—from the top three to the top two—required another bye, and astonishingly, Lu Yuan’s luck held; he received the bye again. This forced people to exclaim at the repeated stroke of fortune, making this level of luck almost unbelievable.

"Why is he getting the bye again?"

"Seriously, is there something suspicious going on?"

"There are five referees; four of them are from our Great Qin Kingdom. Do you think there’s foul play? This person’s luck is also quite remarkable."

"It’s truly infuriating."

Amidst these murmurs, Zhong Qiu of the Seamless Sword Sect and Master Jifa of the Great Dharma Temple began their contest. Unquestionably, Zhong Qiu’s greatest asset was his Formless Sword Qi, and knowing Master Jifa’s strength, he immediately unleashed it without hesitation, aiming it at the monk.

Master Jifa, however, raised his hand and presented a Buddhist treasure—a Five-Tiered Pagoda. The more tiers a pagoda possessed, the more powerful it was. This Five-Tiered Pagoda radiated intense Buddhist light, accompanied by sonorous Sanskrit chants, with rings of golden light surging behind it. His pagoda possessed over a hundred tiers of defense, sufficient to withstand the Formless Sword Qi for a time.

Simultaneously, golden light enveloped Master Jifa’s body; he appeared as if transformed into a golden man—this was the Vajra Indestructible Body, capable of resisting the Formless Sword Qi head-on for a significant duration.

Of course, even deploying the Five-Tiered Pagoda and the Vajra Indestructible Body, Master Jifa knew it was impossible to completely block the Formless Sword Qi, which was inherently the most penetrating form of attack. But he could stall for a considerable amount of time; he only needed to defeat his opponent within that window.

Master Jifa raised his hand again and unleashed another ultimate skill—the Finger of Plucking Flowers.

The allusion of "Plucking Flowers and Smiling" referred to the event involving the Bodhisattva Kashyapa; when the Buddha preached, only Kashyapa offered a knowing smile. This Finger of Plucking Flowers appeared clumsy yet was profoundly subtle, revealing possibility within impossibility. Strike after strike, the Finger of Plucking Flowers pressed down upon Zhong Qiu, making it almost impossible for him to raise his head. Furthermore, Master Jifa simultaneously struck with his left hand using the Prajñā Palm. Prajñā signifies wisdom; the peculiar nature of the Prajñā Palm technique was its uncanny ability to strike an enemy, regardless of how they dodged.

Master Jifa was pressed for time. If he couldn't defeat Zhong Qiu before the two strands of Formless Sword Qi breached his defenses, he would lose. Amidst his assault, he deployed yet another ultimate skill—the Finger of Dorayeh.

Under Master Jifa’s relentless torrent of attacks, Zhong Qiu had no choice but to concede. By the time Zhong Qiu admitted defeat, he had only managed to penetrate about fifty tiers of the Five-Tiered Pagoda’s defenses; he hadn't even touched Master Jifa’s Vajra Indestructible Body.

At this point, gasps erupted. During their previous exchanges, no one had anticipated Master Jifa’s sheer power. There were supposed to be four strong contenders, yet now the other two perceived powerhouses—Zhong Qiu of the Seamless Sword Sect and Ye Hou of the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect—had both been defeated by this single monk. Moreover, his array of techniques was astounding.

The Great Dharma Temple boasted a staggering seventy-three ultimate skills.

Typically, an elder of the Great Dharma Temple might only master one or two—like Monk Yangfa, who faced Lu Yuan, knew only two. It was rumored that the more of the seventy-three ultimate skills one mastered, the more formidable they became. Reportedly, the current Abbot of the Great Dharma Temple could command over forty such techniques.

And the techniques Master Jifa had displayed just now were numerous: the Eye of the True Reality of the Final Dharma, the Finger of Removing Annoyance, the Finger of Plucking Flowers, the Vajra Indestructible Body, the Finger of Dorayeh, the Prajñā Palm, the Dragon Claw Hand, and the Finger of Formless Calamity—a total of eight! To master eight skills was to be a genius among geniuses!

So strong!

So strong that even someone like Zhong Qiu could only admit defeat whole-heartedly.

The eighth round, the final contest, was finally upon them.

The contenders for this duel were the Jin man Lu Yuan and the genius Master Jifa of the Great Dharma Temple.

Master Jifa had so far showcased eight of the seventy-three ultimate skills. These eight alone marked him as a genius within the Great Dharma Temple. Since mastery increased power within the sect, his decisive advantage over someone like Zhong Qiu demonstrated his terrifying might.

In contrast, Lu Yuan, who had reached this stage by relying on repeated byes due to sheer luck, seemed utterly unremarkable. Lu Yuan’s strongest defeated opponent was merely at the Fourth Level of Longevity. By all accounts, this fight was devoid of suspense from the outset; everyone assumed Lu Yuan was destined to lose. However, for this Jin man to rank second in the individual competition was already a matter of immense glory for his homeland.

The members of the Wudang Immortal Sect now felt this result was quite satisfactory. With this standing, combined with their performance in the group competition using the Wudang Sword Formation, they should avoid finishing last. It seemed the True Martial Grotto-Heaven might actually be preserved. From that point on, every cultivator from the Wudang Immortal Sect smiled, believing that the external aid Lu Yuan provided was entirely worthwhile.

Amidst the myriad of voices, Lu Yuan had already stepped onto the platform. His opponent, the sallow-faced Master Jifa, also took his place. Master Jifa looked like a withered tree, truly not resembling a genius, yet figures from the Great Dharma Temple often appeared this way, so it was not unexpected.

Master Jifa immediately struck with the Finger of Dorayeh. The greatest advantage of the Finger of Dorayeh lay in its flexibility; his ten fingers moved like butterflies darting among flowers. However, the Finger of Dorayeh required close combat. Other finger techniques could be projected using internal energy for remote attacks, which was less difficult, but the Finger of Dorayeh demanded all ten fingers attack simultaneously, which was impossible to control remotely with pure energy. Master Jifa dared to engage in close combat because he possessed the Five-Tiered Pagoda and the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, allowing his Finger of Dorayeh to unleash its full potential.

Lu Yuan countered with a sword strike, slashing through the void. For Master Jifa to attempt a technique reliant on finesse like the Finger of Dorayeh against him was laughable. No one could play a game of technique against him, unless he manifested his Great Dao Realm. Lu Yuan’s counter-sword strike resulted in a direct collision of force, pitting Master Jifa’s superior cultivation against Lu Yuan’s superior technique.

The clash resulted in a near stalemate. Master Jifa paused in surprise. He had previously used the Eye of the True Reality of the Final Dharma to observe Lu Yuan and concluded that Lu Yuan could not possibly possess such cultivation power. Now, he realized he was mistaken. Two eyes snapped open in his gaze, revealing a third eye which emitted a light that enveloped Lu Yuan: "So, you have reached the Third Level of Longevity. Combined with your martial skill, you can indeed contend with me." "However, that is all you can manage, because this monk has mastered thirteen of the seventy-three ultimate skills!" Shock rippled through the crowd.

Thirteen kinds! The more of the seventy-three ultimate skills mastered, the stronger one became, and he commanded thirteen!

The cultivators of the Great Qin Kingdom, having long been exposed to the Great Dharma Temple, understood the implications of mastering thirteen skills.

Lu Yuan stood no chance of winning.

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