Whose flying sword was this?

Han Yu, his opponent Bai Lingyun, and the crowd of disciples below the arena all turned their heads to look.

On the spectator stand to the side, Li Tonghai stood with a smile, his fingers forming a sword seal directed straight at Han Yu.

He was the one who had spoken.

Han Yu was astonished.

This was the Wanchun Valley Laborer Disciple Grand Competition. Li Tonghai, a spy from the Spirit Sword Sect, was brazenly showing his face and even offering assistance?

Looking closely, Li Tonghai appeared completely at ease.

Beside him, Elder Yan and another unfamiliar Elder also wore smiles, watching the scene with amusement.

It seemed Li Tonghai was living quite comfortably in Wanchun Valley, with no restrictions placed upon him.

“Senior Brother Han!”

Li Tonghai called out with a laugh. “Everyone else is armed with Magical Artifacts, yet you have nothing. Would it not be an unfair victory if they defeated you?”

“This flying sword is forged from refined gold, personally bestowed by my master. Its edge exists to slay demons, vanquish evil, and flatten injustice.”

“Today, I lend it to you, Senior Brother Han. Go and have a proper fight!”

Han Yu replied, “You are at the eighth layer of Qi Refining. There is no need to call me Senior Brother…”

“Since I have already called you that, why change it now?” Li Tonghai chuckled. “Senior Brother Han, enough idle talk. Use my sword!”

Seeing Li Tonghai’s straightforward attitude and the lack of objection from the two Wanchun Valley Elders beside him, Han Yu reached out and grasped the hilt of the flying sword embedded in the arena floor.

The moment his palm touched the hilt, Han Yu made a judgment.

Two days of accumulated replication charges would not be enough. It would take three days to replicate this flying sword. Copying items like the Mystic Heart Fruit or essence blood had never been this difficult. It seemed that replicating a finished, refined artifact consumed significantly more energy.

Unless absolutely necessary, it was more efficient to replicate resources like the Mystic Heart Fruit, essence blood, Spirit Blood Vine, or pills to improve his cultivation.

Han Yu gripped the flying sword and pulled gently. It slid out of the stone effortlessly, its spiritual light pulsing rhythmically.

On the other side of the arena, seeing his defeat looming, Bai Lingyun couldn’t help but protest. “We are about to fight! Isn’t giving him something like that against the rules?”

On the high stand, the Elder surnamed Bai—who had arrived with Elder Yan and stood beside Li Tonghai—spoke up with a smile. “Alright, Lingyun. Come down.”

Bai Lingyun immediately looked aggrieved. “Great-Grandfather, I haven’t lost yet—”

“I said come down, so come down. You are covered in artifacts; winning would indeed be dishonorable,” Elder Bai said calmly. “Making it to the top four is already good enough.”

Bai Lingyun took a deep breath, fuming. He unbuckled his armor, threw down his sharp sword artifact, and tore off his necklace and bracelets, casting them all to the ground.

“Is this acceptable now?”

Seeing the boy stubbornly discard his gear in a fit of pique, Han Yu also re-embedded Li Tonghai’s flying sword back into the arena floor.

Below the stage, the purple-robed Deacon looked up at Elder Bai.

Elder Bai smiled. “If he wishes to try, let him try.”

The purple-robed Deacon nodded and announced the start of the match.

Han Yu immediately raised his hand and released a Wind Control Technique, driving the gale directly at Bai Lingyun to push him off the stage.

Bai Lingyun shrieked, “Wait! I’m not ready yet!”

Han Yu acted as if he hadn’t heard. He fired another Wind Control Technique, shoving the boy clean off the platform.

The purple-robed Deacon leaped up and caught Bai Lingyun mid-air.

Standing on the ground, Bai Lingyun glared at Han Yu. His lips quivered, and his eyes grew redder and redder, tears threatening to spill.

Finally, he sniffled loudly and shouted, “You win this time!”

After yelling, he turned and ran without looking back, furiously wiping his eyes as he fled.

“Bai Lingyun, your things!”

The purple-robed Deacon called out a reminder. Seeing that Bai Lingyun had already run far away, the Deacon had no choice but to gather the pile of discarded artifacts and hand them over to Elder Bai.

Elder Bai accepted them with a smile. “This child has a poor Spirit Root and is spoiled by the family. His temperament needs tempering.”

Watching this, Han Yu sighed inwardly. Bai Lingyun is about my age. With that suit of artifacts, he would probably be harder to kill than an ordinary cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

Before Han Yu could leave the arena, the purple-robed Deacon returned to announce, “The other match has also concluded! Han Yu and Meng Bao will now determine the first and second place of this Grand Competition!”

He signaled for a Laborer Disciple covered in bloodstains and leading a fierce beast with unusually long tusks to take the stage.

As the two faced off, before the match could even begin, Han Yu pulled Li Tonghai’s flying sword from the ground again.

This opponent was different. He bore the blood of battle, and Han Yu had to be fully prepared.

Meng Bao frowned, looking at the flying sword in Han Yu’s hand, then at the beast beside him. He raised his hand.

“I concede! Your sword is too sharp! I’m afraid you’ll injure my Long-Toothed Tiger!”

The Deacon was stunned. “You concede?”

Meng Bao nodded. “Yes. His sword is too sharp.”

Han Yu asked, “What if I don’t use the sword, and you don’t use your Long-Toothed Tiger? We can compete with spells.”

“Then I would be even less of a match for you,” Meng Bao said helplessly. “I am only good at raising spirit beasts.”

“First place is yours. I am content with second.”

Hearing this, Han Yu said no more.

He had expected to stop at fourth place. Unexpectedly, due to Li Tonghai’s intervention, he had leveraged the power of an artifact to secure first place.

Carrying the long sword, he walked off the arena and approached the viewing platform, presenting the weapon to Li Tonghai with both hands. “Thank you for the assistance. I did not intend to take first place; this is truly a surprise.”

“Why so formal, Senior Brother Han?”

Li Tonghai laughed, sheathing the flying sword on his back. “As I see it, those Laborer Disciples at the second layer of Qi Refining were far from your equal. They relied on external power to suppress someone like you who has no backing.”

“Since I witnessed it, naturally, I had to lend a hand.”

“My business here is done. Senior Brother Han, if fate allows, we shall meet again!”

After speaking, he nodded slightly to Elder Yan and Elder Bai. The three rose into the air, riding their artifacts away from the main peak of Wanchun Valley.

Han Yu watched their retreating figures. After leaving the main peak, they passed through the Guardian Formation above Wanchun Valley and paused high in the sky, appearing as three small black dots.

Suddenly, a dazzling cold light flashed—like sunlight reflecting off glass, or a meteor streaking by.

The light flickered once and vanished into the distance.

The three black dots—Elder Yan, Elder Bai, and Li Tonghai—remained suspended there quietly, waiting for something.

“Wonderful! Junior Brother Han, first place!”

Zhong Yue’s cheering voice came from behind.

Han Yu turned to see Zhong Yue, Sun Kang, and Liu Lan walking over, their faces beaming with congratulations.

Many Laborer Disciples also looked over with admiration, envy, or surprise. Even the Deacons and disciples from the Inner and Outer Sects cast curious glances his way.

“A competition for Laborer Disciples at the second layer of Qi Refining… it isn’t really that significant, is it?” Han Yu remarked.

“You cannot say that,” the purple-robed Deacon Bai said as he approached. “No matter what, this is an official Sect Grand Competition. Taking first place is proof of your ability!”

“Come. I will lead you twenty-eight to the Deacon’s Hall to change into your Outer Disciple robes and jade pendants, and to register your rewards.”

Han Yu acknowledged and followed Deacon Bai along with the others. Since Bai Lingyun had run off crying and another disciple had been injured by Meng Bao’s tiger, only twenty-six of the original twenty-eight proceeded to the Deacon’s Hall.

On the way, Li Xuan, Wang Teng, and Meng Bao—the three who had lost to Han Yu—greeted him, praising his skill.

There was no bad blood between them, and since Han Yu remained humble, he responded politely. It could be said they had become acquaintances through combat.

At the Deacon’s Hall, everyone changed into the azure robes of Outer Disciples and received their identity jade pendants, which were slightly rough in texture. From the four available techniques—Wind Blade, Ice Condensation, Earth Control, and Flame Technique—each disciple selected two as their entitlement.

Han Yu chose the Wind Blade Technique and the Ice Condensation Technique.

Since he lacked an earth-attribute Spirit Root, there was no need to learn the Earth Control Technique.

The ten Minor Merits for first place were transferred directly into Han Yu’s jade pendant via a stone tablet, bypassing the need for manual reporting.

Ten Spirit Stones were also issued to him.

Afterward, the Deacon’s Hall began arranging the assignments for the new Outer Disciples.

Han Yu stepped forward and asked, “Excuse me, Deacon. May I return to the Spirit Field Department? Senior Sister Li has already instructed me to assist her there once I become an Outer Disciple.”