Chapter 111: Dueling with Trump Cards on the Arena Stage

“The lowest-end, worst quality Talisman Sword costs one to two thousand low-grade spirit stones.” Luo Jinhua did a quick calculation and reported a number that left Qin Haoxuan speechless once again.

When another pillar of sword qi erupted from the Grievance Resolution Plain, the look in Qin Haoxuan’s eyes was no longer one of envy, but of heartache.

A single Talisman Sword that could only be used three to five times cost one to two thousand low-grade spirit stones to create. Settling grudges in the cultivation world was not a cheap affair!

Because Qin Haoxuan and his group were relatively weak, their arena was assigned to a more remote area. The stages in the central region of the plain were reserved for the more powerful disciples. During their battles, pillars of sword qi would occasionally erupt, blasting cracks into the arenas. In some cases, a single sword strike would cleave an entire stage in half.

But Qin Haoxuan could feel that as soon as an arena was damaged, a strange and mysterious spiritual energy would begin to surge. Under its influence, the stage would slowly heal, as if it were a living wound closing on its own…

Walking past the arenas, which were a chaotic whirl of spiritual energy, interweaving lights, and crisscrossing sword qi, was a truly eye-opening experience for Qin Haoxuan. If one could ignore the oppressive killing intent radiating from the lights and blades, the duels between cultivators were actually quite beautiful—a vibrant and dazzling spectacle of color.

After walking for about ten minutes, weaving through the bustling crowd, they finally arrived at their designated arena.

At that moment, Yan Dong was standing proudly on the stage. With the two talismans bestowed upon him by Master Guyun, he knew that victory today was certain. His goal was to kill Pu Hanzhong, teach Qin Haoxuan a lesson, and show everyone that he was not someone to be trifled with!

To Qin Haoxuan’s surprise, the area below the stage, which he expected to be nearly empty, was already crowded with onlookers. Among them were the familiar faces of Zhang Kuang, Zhang Yang, and Li Jing, as well as several disciples from the Four Great Halls with whom Qin Haoxuan had business dealings.

These disciples looked at Qin Haoxuan and Pu Hanzhong with intense eagerness. They had given a large number of life-saving talismans and pills to Qin Haoxuan, hoping he could simply survive his encounter with Yan Dong, a cultivator at the Twelfth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm.

No one believed their side could win. Pu Hanzhong was a full two leaves weaker than Yan Dong, and Qin Haoxuan’s chances were even slimmer. How could someone in the Sprouting Stage possibly defeat a cultivator at the Twelfth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm?

Zhang Kuang, Li Jing, and Zhang Yang’s reason for watching was simpler: they wanted to see where Qin Haoxuan had gotten the immense confidence to challenge Yan Dong in the first place!

Upon seeing Yan Dong, Qin Haoxuan intended to be the first to step onto the stage, but he was stopped by the senior brother supervising the arena. The disciple glanced at him sideways. “Are you Pu Hanzhong?”

“No!”

“If you’re not, then wait. We go in order.” With that, he shifted his gaze to Pu Hanzhong. “You’re up!”

With no other choice, Qin Haoxuan stuffed all the pills and spiritual talismans he had received from Luo Jinhua and the other disciples into Pu Hanzhong’s hands. Pu Hanzhong did not refuse. He knew he was facing a Twelfth-Leaf disciple, and that Yan Dong would surely have trump cards of his own. If he was defeated, Qin Haoxuan would be in grave danger.

“If I don’t make it down from this stage, you must remember to cultivate with all your might. Only by breaking through can you extend your lifespan, and lifespan is the most important resource for a cultivator!”

Pu Hanzhong said, followed by a violent coughing fit. He looked at Qin Haoxuan. “If I die, you must live on. Find a way to help our Master obtain life-extending spiritual medicine and support the Nature Hall!”

Qin Haoxuan’s lips moved, but no words came out. He saw the deep hope and trust in Pu Hanzhong’s eyes and, once again, nodded solemnly.

Pu Hanzhong felt a sense of peace. He knew that when Qin Haoxuan promised something, he would definitely do it. He turned and walked onto the stage.

As soon as Pu Hanzhong, with his head of graying hair, stepped onto the arena, he immediately became the subject of discussion among a few onlookers.

“Is the Nature Hall here for a joke? He’s in his fifties and still stuck at the Tenth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm. How dare he challenge someone more than ten years younger who’s at the Twelfth-Leaf? I really don’t know where he’ll hide his face after he loses!”

“Look at him, he looks so sickly. In that state, what face does he have left to lose? I doubt he’ll make it down from there alive. I heard Yan Dong has received a lot of support, which will be more than enough to deal with these disciples from the Nature Hall who can’t bring out anything good.”

“He might just be the first person to die in this year’s Minor Martial Tournament.” An onlooker stared at Pu Hanzhong with a mixture of pity and contempt, muttering four words at his back: “Grossly overestimating his abilities.”

Pu Hanzhong stood firm on the stage. Facing him, Yan Dong’s lips curled into a disdainful sneer. “Pu Hanzhong, your Turtle Hall has the right idea. Hiding your heads in your shells might prevent you from breaking through and gaining lifespan, but at least you can live a long and peaceful life. But you had to be different and play the part of a martyr.”

Pu Hanzhong answered with only a cold stare, remaining silent.

Seeing that Pu Hanzhong wasn’t speaking, Yan Dong grew even more arrogant. “You brought this on yourself, you overconfident piece of trash! With your pathetic skills and your sickly appearance, fighting you would just dirty my hands. You can still regret this and surrender. Just crawl between my legs in front of everyone, kowtow three times, and apologize, and I’ll let you go!”

Pu Hanzhong smiled, his expression calm and serene, but this time his smile was laced with contempt.

“Old man, I’ve tried to spare your wretched life several times, but you old dog don’t know what’s good for you…” Yan Dong spewed a torrent of insults, but Pu Hanzhong gave no reaction. Enraged, he began forming hand seals and chanting an incantation, preparing to strike.

But Pu Hanzhong did not try to match his spell. He knew he was two leaves weaker than Yan Dong; competing with spiritual arts would be asking for trouble.

Instead, he activated his spiritual energy and slapped a defensive talisman onto his body. In his right hand, he clutched a spiritual talisman at the level of the Thirteenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm. He infused it with spiritual energy, activated it instantly, and hurled it at Yan Dong.

Spiritual energy exploded from the talisman, materializing into a massive, light-green broadsword. It was a full ten feet long and slashed directly toward Yan Dong.

Yan Dong, who was in the middle of casting his spell, was startled. This unconventional tactic—using a powerful spiritual talisman from the very beginning—instantly put him on the defensive. He had to hastily pull a defensive talisman from his robes and slap it in front of himself. A yellow light flared, and spiritual energy converged into a high wall.

CRACK!

With a deafening crash, the light-green broadsword shattered the yellow defensive wall, and the remnant of its power continued slashing toward Yan Dong.

Though he managed to block the attack, the remaining force didn’t injure Yan Dong, but it did force him back several steps, leaving his clothes and hair in disarray.

To be put in such a sorry state right at the start by a good-for-nothing from the Nature Hall sent a blaze of fury through Yan Dong. However, Pu Hanzhong didn’t stop. As if they were free, he activated the spiritual talismans Qin Haoxuan had given him one after another and hurled them at his opponent. The crowd below watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

All sorts of phantoms condensed from multicolored spiritual energy—blades of light, sword qi—congealed with killing intent.

Was this really someone from the Nature Hall? How could he be so wealthy? A single spiritual talisman was not cheap, and judging by the number he was throwing and their high ranks, the onlookers were completely stunned. Even they couldn’t afford to throw away so many spiritual talismans at once.

The arena was instantly lit up by a kaleidoscope of colors as spiritual energy raged. A barrage of ferocious attacks surged toward Yan Dong.

Yan Dong was shocked. He had originally planned to torture Pu Hanzhong slowly, but he never expected this desperate, all-out assault. If Master Guyun hadn’t given him that talisman last night, he might not have been able to withstand this surprise attack.

Forgetting all about his image, Yan Dong rolled on the ground like a clumsy donkey, narrowly dodging two talisman attacks. At the same time, he pulled out the white jade talisman and activated it with his spiritual energy.

Three breaths later, a violent and powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted from Yan Dong’s hand. Its might was even greater than the aura emitted by the Talisman Swords they had seen earlier.

Immediately after, that powerful spiritual energy transformed into countless tiny, sharp swords. Like a sky full of stars, they glittered with a dazzling, blinding light under the sun. The immense sword intent was so powerful it nearly suffocated Qin Haoxuan.

This white jade talisman wasn’t a Sword Talisman, but its sword intent was this powerful—it was clearly an extraordinary item! The onlookers were so envious they were practically drooling. To use such a talisman against Pu Hanzhong… what a waste!

Even Yan Dong was stunned after activating it, his heart aching with regret. This talisman had the power of at least the Twenty-Fifth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm! If he had just been more careful from the start, he wouldn’t have been forced to use such a precious item.

With a series of whistling sounds, the swarm of tiny swords tore through the air, effortlessly breaking through Pu Hanzhong’s offensive barrage and continuing onward to strike him.

When Yan Dong activated the white jade talisman, Pu Hanzhong’s face turned pale with horror. He knew this was bad. He immediately slapped several defensive spiritual talismans in front of himself, but they couldn’t stop the assault. One by one, the defensive barriers were pierced by the tiny swords, which then slammed into Pu Hanzhong’s body.

The force of the swords blasted Pu Hanzhong off the stage. He coughed up bloody foam, his robes riddled with fine sword cuts that bled profusely. Like a withered leaf caught in a gale, he fell straight to the ground.

The instant Pu Hanzhong was knocked off the stage, Qin Haoxuan shot forward like an arrow and stuffed several healing pills into his mouth. Luo Jinhua also rushed over, channeling her spiritual energy to quickly seal Pu Hanzhong’s major acupressure points and stop the bleeding.

“Don’t go up… cough… cough… you’re not his match…” Pu Hanzhong’s face was as pale as paper, and he coughed up more bloody foam as he used what little strength he had left to speak. “You haven’t even grown a leaf… A true man knows when to yield… There’s no shame in surrendering.”