“Next, who’s coming?”

The question was light, airy, and utterly devoid of killing intent. Gu Xiu spoke as if he were asking who wanted the next cup of tea.

But those five simple words slammed into the hearts of the spectators with the weight of a collapsing mountain.

The arena fell silent for three full breaths.

Then, chaos erupted.

“What just happened?”

“Why did Niu Xifang lose?”

“Did anyone see it? How did that minor Foundation Establishment cultivator do that?”

“Impossible!”

The crowd was in an uproar. No one could maintain their composure. They stared at Gu Xiu with wide, incredulous eyes, as if looking at a monster wearing human skin. The leaders of the five sects and three clans felt their pupils contract in shock.

“Did you see it clearly? It was too fast!”

“I didn’t see anything. Judging by Niu Xifang’s injury, it was a sword wound. But he was bare-handed! He didn’t even draw a weapon!”

“Is this person really a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Why have we never heard of such a technique?”

“Niu Xifang was the Azure Mystic Sacred Land’s vanguard! Her strength is formidable, her Dao Platform stable as a mountain. Even if she couldn’t win, she shouldn’t have lost so… inexplicably!”

These were the prodigies of the cultivation world, the cream of the crop. Yet, not a single one of them had seen how Niu Xifang was defeated.

Even the Azure Mystic disciples who rushed the stage to retrieve their fallen comrade were staring blankly at her wound.

“It looks like a sword thrust,” one disciple muttered, examining the hole in Niu Xifang’s chest. “It entered from the front and exited the back. The speed must have been blinding.”

“Senior Sister Niu specializes in brute force, not speed, but she isn’t slow! How could she not react at all?”

“He held back,” another disciple said grimly. “If that strike had been an inch higher, it would have pierced her heart meridian. She would be dead, not just unconscious.”

Bian Yifei narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the wound. But even he found nothing. He hadn’t seen the attack either.

“He must have used a special technique,” Bian Yifei declared, his voice steadying the panicked disciples. “Niu Xifang lost because she underestimated him. This person will still lose!”

He was a prodigy of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. He would not fear a minor cultivator from a merchant pavilion.

The other sects reached the same conclusion. Niu Xifang had been careless. The next challenger just needed to be cautious.

Soon, the second challenger took the stage.

It was a disciple from the Chiyan Sect. His sect was in decline, and he was considered bottom-tier among the gathered elites. But even ‘bottom-tier’ meant he was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Crushing an early-stage opponent should have been easy.

Before, he had been mourning his bad luck at facing Niu Xifang. Now? He was overjoyed.

A free win! Heaven favors the Chiyan Sect!

Despite his internal celebration, he didn’t get cocky. He immediately channeled his spiritual power, encasing himself in a thick layer of protective energy. Then, he stared cautiously at Gu Xiu, determined to see through the mystery.

He wasn’t alone. Every eye in the audience was glued to Gu Xiu, desperate to uncover the truth.

Gu Xiu remained calm. He turned to the judges. “Can we start?”

“Yes.” The Golden Core judges nodded, their own curiosity piqued.

Thump.

The crowd blinked.

The Chiyan Sect disciple, who had been staring intently at Gu Xiu, was suddenly on his knees, clutching his chest and gasping for air.

“Hrk… huff…”

The crowd looked closely and gasped.

Again. One inch below the heart meridian. Another penetrating sword wound.

“Next, who’s coming?” Gu Xiu asked, his tone unchanged.

The audience frowned.

“Did you see it?”

“No.”

“I didn’t see him move a muscle!”

“How is this possible?”

“That trash was too weak! He couldn’t even resist!”

“Send a real expert next!”

The blame fell on the Chiyan disciple’s weakness. The third challenger took the stage.

This was a true prodigy, renowned for his strength. He was extremely cautious, inspecting the stage for traps before nodding to begin.

The moment the signal was given, he didn’t wait. He exploded into motion, using a powerful movement technique to charge Gu Xiu.

“Smart move!” a spectator analyzed. “The Wanbao Tower guy relies on distance and trickery. Closing the gap aggressively will disrupt his rhythm!”

“Exactly! He’s only early-stage Foundation Establishment. A rush attack will panic him!”

The analysis was cut short.

The charging prodigy, still ten feet away from Gu Xiu, suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed.

The wound was identical.

“Next, who’s coming?”

The sentence, repeated for the third time, hadn’t changed in intonation or volume.

How is this possible?!

“This person is strong. Do not underestimate him!”

“I still haven’t seen his attack!”

“Is he a Golden Core in disguise?”

The crowd turned to their own Golden Core elders, pleading for answers.

But the elders looked just as shocked. They exchanged glances and shook their heads. “He didn’t use Divine Sense. He isn’t a Golden Core cultivator. He really is at the Foundation Establishment stage.”

The answer was unbelievable. How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator possess such a method?

“The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion has defended three rounds,” someone whispered. “They’ve already secured thirty spots.”

Everyone looked at the Wanbao Tower delegation. Wan Xiaobei stood there, her mouth slightly open, looking utterly stupefied. Even she hadn’t expected her ‘Wind Enshrinee’ to be this terrifying.

“We must defeat him!” the sect leaders declared. “Falling Rain Valley belongs to us! We can’t let a merchant house take all the spots!”

They sent their experts.

The fifth challenger. The sixth. The seventh. The eighth.

In the blink of an eye, champions from every major sect and clan had taken the stage. Each used their strongest techniques. Each prepared their best defenses.

And each one fell, pierced by an invisible sword, unable to rise.

And every time, the same calm voice followed.

“Next, who’s coming?”

The words, once heavy, now felt like a blade of ice sliding down their spines. The prodigies were demoralized. The elders were horrified.

“I sense him moving Spiritual Qi, like he’s controlling a flying sword,” one elder whispered, sweat beading on his forehead. “But… flying sword control requires mid-stage Foundation Establishment and at least two perfected Dao Platforms. He just forged his second platform! How can his technique be so bizarre? So invisible?”

“I have higher cultivation than him, and even I can’t see it,” another elder admitted grimly. “His attainment in the Dao of the Sword… is beyond anything I can comprehend.”

At that moment, the arrogance of the five sects and three clans shattered.

Gu Xiu’s sword had cut not just their champions, but their very spirit.

“If this continues…” someone murmured, voicing the fear in everyone’s heart. “The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion will take every single spot.”

“We will become the laughingstock of the cultivation world!”

While the sects trembled before Gu Xiu’s invisible blade, a different kind of tension gripped the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

On Artifact Resonance Peak, a rainbow radiance illuminated the sky.

Thousands of disciples stood in formation across the mountain, their positions forming a massive, complex array. Over a hundred Elders anchored the formation’s nodes.

At the peak stood the Azure Mystic Supreme, Guan Xuelan, surrounded by her six personal disciples. Their expressions were solemn, their eyes fixed on the Heaven-grade forging platform that erupted with blinding light.

Today was the most important day in the sect’s recent history.

Today, Junior Uncle Jiang Xun’s Divine Sword would be forged.