In an open area outside the main hall of the sect, Jian Huiyin, the leader of the Bamboo Sword Sect, and Feng Zhen, the inner elder of the Sword Pavilion of the Infinite Dao Sect, faced each other.

Their presence alone, even without having done anything yet, alarmed some of the elders from both sects passing by — including the grand elder of the Bamboo Sword Sect.

“Sect Leader, what is going on?” the grand elder asked, confused and cautious. He feared a war might suddenly break out, especially with the other side having someone like Bao Wuji among their ranks.

In a short time, more and more people gathered, separating into two groups. On one side of the field, the elders of the Bamboo Sword Sect assembled; on the other, the elders of the Infinite Dao Sect.

The elders of the second sect did not cause much of a stir, as their auras were concealed. But the growing concentration of auras from the first sect’s elders drew increasing attention, which in turn attracted more high-level spectators from both sects.

Jian Huiyin looked at the grand elder with indifference and shook her head.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a friendly sparring match between me and Elder Feng,” she said calmly.

That sentence eased the grand elder and his companions, who then turned their curiosity toward the opposing side, wondering how Foundation Establishment cultivator dared challenge their famous and powerful sect leader, who held a Golden Core cultivation.

Seeing it was time to begin, Feng Zhen, the elder from the Sword Pavilion, stepped forward, drawing everyone’s attention.

“I ask all companions to step back, so as not to be affected by the friendly sparring match between me and Elder Jian.” Elder Feng clasped his fists with a calm smile on his face and politely asked everyone to step away.

Although they found it odd to see their sect leader being addressed as an elder, the elders of the Bamboo Sword Sect, aware of the situation, remained calm and stepped aside after politely nodding back at Feng Zhen.

Aotian’s avatars also retreated without concern.

Seeing everyone had cleared the area, he looked at Jian Huiyin with a slightly excited smile.

“Elder Jian, since the purpose of this spar is to show you the sect’s lower-level techniques, let’s limit our realms first to Qi Refinement and then to Foundation Establishment. You may use techniques from any realm you wish, while I’ll restrict myself to techniques from each realm,” he explained clearly and calmly, smiling.

Jian Huiyin regarded him strangely. The way he spoke suggested he knew techniques above the Foundation Establishment level — which wasn’t particularly surprising. Though it was a great challenge, extremely talented individuals could, after much study and training, use some of the simpler techniques from higher realms.

She didn’t know that he was actually a Golden Core cultivator.

“Very well.” She nodded calmly and indifferently.

Feng Zhen’s aura, previously hidden, suddenly surged, releasing fluctuations of the first level of Qi Refinement. This surprised Jian Huiyin, as she couldn’t detect that the realm was false.

‘They can not only fool my senses and hide their auras, but also disguise their realms so perfectly I can’t tell they’re fake… could it be…’

As she pondered, a frightening possibility crossed her mind.

‘…that they don’t have the realm I thought they did — but a higher one?!’

Jian Huiyin’s previously indifferent face turned slightly more solemn and heavy. Now she would take this sparring seriously and try to learn a bit more about the opposing sect.

Her aura also dropped to the first level of Qi Refinement, but it was still possible to sense that she was merely suppressing the fluctuations of her powerful spiritual energy, not truly at that realm — unlike Aotian’s avatars, who could perfectly simulate it.

“Well, let’s begin,” Elder Feng said and drew his sword with an excited smile.

Jian Huiyin did not underestimate him and drew her bamboo sword, still sheathed, from her waist.

Aotian had received the Bamboo Sword Sect’s Concealed Edge technique and had already discovered that the technique wasn’t all that great.

This art, specifically, allows someone at the early stage of the Golden Core to perform a single attack equivalent to the mid-stage of the Golden Core — and that’s it. No matter how many years one continues to nourish the sword, it only grows slightly stronger, with a set limit.

This technique originated in the Bamboo Sword Sect, a low-tier Golden Core sect, so it would be surprising if the technique were actually that strong. Even so, it was still a decent trump card and impressive enough.

But in this generation, something had changed. The sect leader possessed a sword physique and awakened her sword intent during the Golden Core stage — which was remarkable. Even more terrifying was that her intent was real, not a mere prototype.

With those factors, her sword’s nourishment, after a hundred years of hiding its edge, had reached the devastating level of a single strike equivalent to a cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage. And considering her cultivation was only at the early stage of that realm, this far exceeded the original limit of the technique.

The sword in her hand was also no ordinary weapon. It was the Bamboo Sword Sect’s inherited sword, a low-grade Core-Tier weapon. And after all the nourishment it received from her, even while sheathed, it was stronger than a regular Founder-Tier sword.

But Feng Zhen wasn’t at a disadvantage in terms of weapons either. After the expedition, the sect had acquired many materials, which allowed the inner elders of the Forging Pavilion of the Infinite Dao Sect — even though they only possessed synthesized Refiner-Tier forging technique — to craft weapons on par with Founder-Tier ones. Thanks to the power boost granted by their position as Forging Masters, the inner elders’ current weapons were only slightly inferior to Core-Tier ones.

Back in the field, two gazes met: one indifferent, the other excited. Outside the sparring ring, the elders watched the confrontation closely.

Then, as if an invisible signal had been given, the battle began, and they dashed toward one another at the same time.

In mere seconds, they closed the distance, and Feng Zhen raised his sword above his head and brought it down with ferocity, grinning fiercely.

Jian Huiyin blocked the attack and pushed it back, immediately following up with a diagonal slash aimed at his waist.

Feng Zhen, with his sword still high from the recoil, quickly brought it down again, intercepting Jian Huiyin’s strike and forcing her to retreat.

Jian Huiyin released one hand from her sword, which had recoiled from the impact, and brought her index and middle fingers together in a sword gesture. Golden runes appeared, and without hesitation, she thrust her fingers toward his chest.

Feng Zhen smiled. Golden runes also appeared on his chest, and when her fingers touched them, the spells on her fingertips shattered without even dimming his runes — as if they’d struck a steel wall without leaving a mark.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, his sword — which had been pointed at the ground — rose in an attempt to pierce her stomach.

Jian Huiyin’s eyes widened slightly, incredulous that her best offensive spell at the Refiner-Tier level had no effect against his spell of the same tier. With her special Sword Physique, her sword spells naturally became sharper and more powerful, but now, that only served to highlight how astonishing the power of his spell was.

Setting those thoughts aside — no time to waste with a blade headed for her gut — she conceded defeat in that minor exchange, raising her cultivation to Foundation Establishment and gently redirecting his sword to the side with her palm.

Though she had technically lost that small battle at this stage, her eyes gleamed brighter than before, no longer dull and indifferent.

Much had happened since the battle began, but everything was fast and continuous; only a few seconds had passed in reality.

Without pause, the second stage of the battle resumed, now based at the first level of Foundation Establishment.

Swords clashed incessantly, with power levels and spell intensity rising more and more.

Eventually, they were fighting with the full power of perfected Foundation Establishment. Even so, she was steadily losing ground. Yet this only made her eyes shine even brighter, making her increasingly unstoppable on the battlefield, leaving long trails of destruction wherever the edge of their swords passed.

She knew he probably wasn’t lying and was truly using only sword techniques and spells at the Founder-Tier level, while she had already resorted to her best Core-Tier techniques.

Moreover, she felt he still wasn’t going all out.

Indeed, though the synthesized techniques were comparable to those of a higher realm, they weren’t just any techniques — they were the best of that level.

This was made even clearer when Aotian remembered Bao Hui’s battle against the Lord of Black Rock Mountain City. That city lord had Founder-Tier spells, weapons of the same tier, and the third level of Foundation Establishment, while Bao Hui had only synthesized Refiner-Tier spells and was at the first level of Foundation Establishment — with a terrible foundation, since Aotian had just forged his low-grade spirit roots at the time.

Even so, Bao Hui had the upper hand and only needed help when the city lord used a talisman beyond their level. Yet Bao Hui still managed to destroy nearly all the talisman’s power.

With Feng Zhen’s position bonus, Aotian could now calmly face someone at Jian Huiyin’s level and defeat him using this avatar. Not to mention, he still had the minds of his other avatars to assist him.

[Name: Fēng Zhēn (Meaning: True Blade)

Position: Elder of the Sword Pavilion

Cultivation: 1st level of the Golden Core Realm (1 Major Realm Above the Host)

Position Ability: Sword Intent Synthesis

Position Bonus: Fight beyond the border (Power increased by 3x)]

And even though Jian Huiyin was anything but ordinary, Aotian was certain he would be able to defeat her using Feng Zhen — as long as she didn’t unsheathe her sword — and that was without even revealing his sword intent, for fear that she might recognize it. Otherwise, it would be a fight without suspense.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. She also possessed sword intent and likely had a high-quality Golden Core. Even so, Aotian was confident in his chances. But he decided not to reveal too much of any avatar’s power, to preserve the sect’s air of mystery.

When he saw Jian Huiyin preparing to raise her cultivation to Golden Core — as it had already become obvious, given how easily Feng Zhen was fighting, that he wasn’t truly at Foundation Establishment, but rather in a realm above — Aotian had him deflect her sword and leap back.

Jian Huiyin, who had been growing more and more excited by the fight — to the point where a small smile had appeared on her usually indifferent face — now also showed more concern over the strength of the Infinite Dao Sect. At the same time, she was eager to explore the techniques available to her, caught in a constant swing of emotion. She was stunned to see him suddenly back away and sheath his sword.

Seeing her confused look, Feng Zhen gave a wry smile and a faintly apologetic air amid the field now torn apart by their duel.

“Elder Jian, we should stop here. This sparring match was only meant to show you a glimpse of the techniques you now have access to. Let’s not escalate it further,” he explained under her slightly disappointed gaze — a disappointment noticeable even behind her indifferent expression.

‘It seems she really loves to fight. Before, against Tian Zhu, she couldn’t enjoy herself — it was a serious battle. But in a spar like this, where I gave her a worthy match, she somehow seemed much more relaxed and alive, even with that indifferent face.’ Aotian mused, watching her.

Jian Huiyin, though she didn’t understand why this elder — who clearly enjoyed combat and whom her instincts told still had untapped power — wanted to stop suddenly, still respected his wishes. She sighed inwardly and returned her bamboo sword to her waist.

“Elder Feng, thank you for the match.” She clasped her fists to him in respect.

Feng Zhen returned the gesture and smiled.

“I enjoyed it as well,” he said sincerely. And indeed, Aotian had enjoyed sparring with her.

Jian Huiyin calmly studied him now that the battle had ended, and unconsciously glanced at his purple robes, unable to help but think of the other 19 inner elders of the Infinite Dao Sect she had seen.

‘Could it be… that they’re all as strong as Feng Zhen? Or is he a special case? Because if it’s the former — even without Ancestor Bao’

‘…this sect is far more terrifying than I imagined.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep