Late-stage Core Formation Again

The final top four list was settled.

Li Xuanfeng of Qingyun Peak, Lin Mochen and Shi Jingxian of Qingyue Peak, and Mu Chenyu of Jianxiao Peak.

The four had different statures, but all exuded the sharp edge of top-tier disciples, adding even more suspense to the semifinals.

On the viewing platform, Shi Wanshan looked at his two disciples who had advanced to the top four, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha. His palm, as large as a palm-leaf fan, slapped the armrest with loud thuds.

"Those two brats didn't embarrass me!"

He was so smug he practically wanted to carve "Qingyue Peak stands proud" right on his forehead.

The Peak Master of Feiyun Peak chimed in, "Senior Brother Shi is truly blessed. This generation of disciples has truly surpassed their masters."

However, the sourness in his tone was practically overflowing.

Xuanyangzi, meanwhile, lightly tapped his teacup with his fingertips. As his gaze swept over the seats of the top four, it lingered on Mu Chenyu noticeably longer.

This child hid himself quite deeply.

He nodded inwardly. During the previous rounds of the competition, Mu Chenyu's spiritual energy fluctuations had remained steadily at the mid Core Formation stage, but his final strike carried a hint of the late Core Formation stage.

Just now, during his battle with Yun Qingjue, the faint sharpness in his sword moves clearly showed he had touched the threshold of Sword Intent.

To comprehend the rudimentary form of Sword Intent at such an age, even Ye Guying in his youth was half a beat slower.

"What a pity," he muttered to himself. Mu Chenyu's sword originally had a chance to clash with Li Xuanfeng in the finals.

But who told Shi Wanshan to run over to Zizhu Peak in the middle of the night to scrounge for fortuitous encounters, directly allowing those two silly boys to defy the heavens and change their fate?

Soon, the war drums for the semifinals sounded, and the atmosphere in the martial arena grew increasingly fervent.

The first match was Li Xuanfeng against Shi Jingxian.

The reputation of a clash between titans instantly captured everyone's attention.

Li Xuanfeng had just dominantly defeated the late Core Formation stage Su Qingyuan, and Shi Jingxian's previous violent brawls were equally spectacular.

Li Xuanfeng's longsword pointed diagonally at the ground. Purple-cyan sword qi flowed in the morning light like a spirit snake ready to strike.

The spiritual energy fluctuations around him were steady, consistently maintained at the level of the peak mid Core Formation stage. To anyone's eyes, he was an exceptionally talented core disciple.

Opposite him, Shi Jingxian was bare-chested. Blue veins bulged on his bronze muscles, and his fists were slightly clenched.

Every breath carried a steady rhythm. It was the starting stance of Qingyue Peak's Hunyuan Fist. Seemingly ordinary, it had already circulated his spiritual energy to the extreme.

He similarly concealed his aura, locking his Purple Mansion stage cultivation tightly beneath the facade of the peak mid Core Formation stage.

"Senior Brother Li, today let me experience Qingyun Peak's Thirteen Styles of Flowing Cloud."

Shi Jingxian grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. Before his words even faded, his body shot forward like a cannonball, his fist aiming straight for the face with a piercing howl that tore through the air.

Before the wind of the punch arrived, the spiritual energy of the peak mid Core Formation stage had already kicked up layers of airwaves.

Li Xuanfeng tapped his toes lightly, drifting backward like a willow catkin. His longsword swept up smoothly, the sword qi drawing an arc in the air that perfectly collided with the wind of the punch.

With a muffled bang, the airwave spread outward, blowing the robes of the disciples below the stage until they fluttered wildly.

At the moment of impact, Li Xuanfeng's eyes narrowed slightly.

The force of this punch far exceeded a normal mid Core Formation stage cultivator, and the physical strength was even more absurd.

He thought to himself: It seems Junior Brother Shi really gained a lot of benefits from Martial Uncle Gu.

Shi Jingxian, on the other hand, only felt a dense yet profound force surge over, actually leaving his fist slightly numb from the shock.

This sword qi appeared to be at the level of the peak mid Core Formation stage, but the spiritual energy contained within was as bottomless as a deep pool. Even his Purple Mansion stage physical body could feel a faint sense of oppression.

"Good heavens, he's hiding it quite deeply..."

Taking advantage of his backward momentum, Shi Jingxian secretly circulated his spiritual energy, attempting to probe the other party's true depths.

He clearly remembered his master saying that his physical strength was already outstanding among his peers, and his Purple Mansion stage spiritual energy was ten times more profound than a normal Core Formation stage cultivator. Yet, in that strike just now, he had not gained the slightest advantage.

This battle was fought heartily, but it also made Shi Jingxian more alarmed the longer they fought.

His fists were incomparably fierce, but Li Xuanfeng's swordplay was agile and ethereal. The sword light was like a net, always able to avoid the sharp edge in the nick of time and counterattack the opponent's flaws.

What frustrated Shi Jingxian even more was that no matter how much force he added, the other party's spiritual energy seemed inexhaustible, and the sword qi remained as sharp as ever.

"This guy is really good at pretending!"

Shi Jingxian had gained three sword wounds on his shoulder, blood dyeing half his body red, yet he cursed inwardly.

"He's at least at the mid Purple Mansion stage, yet he insists on pretending to be at the Core Formation stage. This spiritual energy is so profound it's almost overflowing. Does he think I'm blind?"

He tried to quietly release a trace of Purple Mansion stage spiritual energy, originally intending to test the opponent's bottom line. However, he saw Li Xuanfeng's sword qi shift slightly, easily neutralizing that trace of spiritual energy, with a faint, almost imperceptible teasing look in his eyes.

Forget it, I can't beat him anyway.

Shi Jingxian simply let go of his distracting thoughts. After a hundred moves, he intentionally revealed a flaw and was struck on the shoulder by Li Xuanfeng's sword.

"I lost." He straightforwardly conceded and turned to walk off the arena.

The crowd below the stage watched with boiling blood, only treating it as a pinnacle showdown between peak mid Core Formation stage cultivators. No one knew that just now, two ruthless characters at the Purple Mansion stage had been hiding on this arena.

Compared to the evenly matched first arena, the battlefield on the other side was considered by everyone from the very beginning to be a one-sided fight.

Mu Chenyu of Jianxiao Peak was famous throughout the sect for his fast sword. At its fastest, his sword could execute seven stabs in a single breath. In the previous rounds, his opponents often lost before they could even see his sword moves clearly.

At this moment, he stood in the center of the arena, his white clothes purer than snow, his longsword pointing diagonally. The spiritual energy around him flowed like a creek, clearly showing he had adjusted his condition to its peak.

Opposite him was Lin Mochen, carrying a Black Iron Axe on his shoulder. The cold gleam on the axe blade looked entirely out of place against his coarse cloth garments.

Although the disciples of Qingyue Peak were strong, they always won through sheer physical power. In front of a speed-type opponent like Mu Chenyu, they were often severely restricted.

"Junior Brother Lin, be careful."

Before Mu Chenyu's words fell, his figure had transformed into a white blur. His longsword flashed like lightning, stabbing straight toward Lin Mochen's heart—it was precisely his famous ultimate skill, the Seven Shadow Stabs.

On the viewing platform, Peak Master Ye Guying of Jianxiao Peak nodded slightly. Not bad.

Below the stage, there was a chorus of gasps. Many people even closed their eyes, as if they had already foreseen the outcome of Lin Mochen's defeat.

However, in the next second, a crisp clink echoed throughout the arena.

The crowd opened their eyes to look, only to see that Lin Mochen had neither dodged nor evaded. The Black Iron Axe was held horizontally across his chest, perfectly blocking the tip of the sword.

Mu Chenyu's sword momentum was incredibly swift and fierce, but at this moment, it was as if he had stabbed into a towering mountain. He was actually forcefully rebounded by half an inch.

"How is this possible?"

Mu Chenyu's pupils suddenly contracted. The spiritual energy around him violently surged, and the oppressive aura of the late Core Formation stage burst forth.

The sword moves of the Seven Shadow Stabs abruptly sped up. The second sword and third sword followed closely one after another. The sword light wove together like a net, attacking the major acupoints all over Lin Mochen's body from every angle.

The trace of newly comprehended Sword Intent attached to the tip of the sword, causing faint fissures to appear in the very air.

"It's the late Core Formation stage! And Sword Intent!" The crowd below the stage instantly erupted into an uproar.

"Lin Mochen is finished now!"

Right at this moment, Lin Mochen suddenly moved.

His whole body similarly erupted with the spiritual energy fluctuations of the late Core Formation stage. A pale golden halo instantly surfaced on the Black Iron Axe.

He did not step forward; instead, he abruptly spun his body, and the Black Iron Axe swept outward at an inconceivable angle.

The axe strike appeared slow, yet it carried a flawless, natural rhythm. It was as if heaven and earth revolved alongside the blade, sealing off every possible angle of evasion.

"Another Late Core Condensation realm expert?!"

The gasps from the audience below the stage were deafening.

"This is insane! Senior Sister Su is in the late stage, Mu Chenyu is in the late stage, and now even Lin Mochen is in the late stage?"

"Then what about Senior Brother Li Xuanfeng and Senior Brother Shi Jingxian? They fought so fiercely just now, could they also be..."

Some disciples subconsciously glanced at the two who had just stepped down from the arena, suddenly feeling a chill run down their spines. It couldn't be... right?

The sect's hidden depths are too terrifying, I want to go back to my farming village!

On the arena, Mu Chenyu felt a majestic, oppressive force bear down on him, causing his breath to catch in his throat.

He instinctively raised his sword to block, but the tremendous power behind the axe sent him stumbling backward. He only stopped when his heels hit the edge of the stage, his longsword clattering heavily to the ground.

The blade of the profound iron axe halted a mere half-inch from his throat. The icy sensation radiating from it made his entire body stiffen.

"I... lost?"

Mu Chenyu muttered to himself, his eyes vacant.

He had never imagined that his most prized fast sword technique would be dismantled in such a simple and brutal manner.

A few breaths later, the martial arena erupted into a thunderous uproar.

"Lin Mochen won?!"

"What kind of axe technique was that? How could it possibly block a Seven Shadows Thrust infused with sword intent?"

"Just how many monsters are hiding in this year's grand tournament!"