At this moment, Du Gufang snorted coldly and spoke, "That''s enough from you all!"


    His powerful aura as a Golden Core cultivator at its peak spread out, immediately drawing the attention of the other inner sect elders. They too were at the Golden Core stage.


    Du Gufang sneered, sweeping his gaze over the crowd. "You shameless ones, not even at the Nascent Soul stage, and you dare to take Lu Yi as your disciple? Aren''t you afraid of ruining such talent?"


    Hearing this, the elders were instantly displeased.


    "Come on now, Old Du Gu, that''s going too far! What''s wrong with Golden Core? Are Golden Core cultivators not human? Can''t we compare to those Nascent Soul monsters? I believe my teaching skills are more than adequate!"


    "Say that again in front of the Nascent Soul elders of your Clear Water Peak," Du Gufang said coolly.


    The elder who had spoken fell silent. Fine, Golden Core really couldn''t compare to Nascent Soul experts.


    Du Gufang continued, "Lu Yi comprehended one cultivation method and two techniques to the level of Perfection. That''s only because outer sect disciples can only practice those few methods. How do you know his limits? With such talent, you can forget about taking him as your disciple. Look for someone else."


    Upon hearing this, the expressions of the elders shifted. After a moment, they sighed one after another.


    "Forget it. Once the competition ends and his strength becomes known, even those Nascent Soul monsters will take notice."


    "I think Bai Yulong is also quite good. His foundation is solid, and he could be considered for discipleship..."


    One by one, the elders decided to give up on Lu Yi and turned their focus to other contestants.


    After all, those who could make it into the top ten were naturally talented as well and would make good disciples.


    While the elders discussed, the match on the stage had already reached its conclusion. Bai Yulong was stunned when he heard that Lu Yi still had nearly a quarter of his spiritual energy remaining. Faced with Lu Yi''s renewed attacks, Bai Yulong, whose spiritual energy was almost depleted, simply could not resist.


    In just a few exchanges, Bai Yulong was sent flying off the platform by Lu Yi''s sword.


    Bai Yulong landed and staggered back several steps before steadying himself. Looking up at Lu Yi on the stage, his expression was complicated. Then he gave a bitter smile and cupped his hands. "Junior Brother Lu Yi, your strength is truly extraordinary. I admit defeat."


    Lu Yi smiled and returned the salute. "Senior Brother, you let me win."


    Du Gufang descended onto the platform, nodded slightly at Lu Yi, and said with a warm smile, "Not bad. Go and recover."


    Lu Yi nodded and left the stage.


    When he rejoined Jiang Fan and the others, he noticed their odd expressions. Feeling a bit awkward, Lu Yi scratched his head and asked, "Senior Brothers and Sisters, why are you looking at me like that?"This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "...Are you a monster?" Lin Wan''er asked.


    Lu Yi''s face darkened. "...Senior Sister Lin, I''m just an ordinary human cultivator!"


    That was definitely slander, right?


    "..."


    The others didn''t know how to respond to Lu Yi''s words.


    Did this guy have some kind of serious misunderstanding about what ''ordinary'' meant?


    Just then, Du Gufang''s voice rang out, "Lin Wan''er and Li Yun, come to the platform!"


    Lin Wan''er and Li Yun exchanged glances before leaping onto the stage.


    Meanwhile, Jiang Fan turned to Lu Yi with a smile. "Junior Brother Lu Yi, take this time to recover. There are more matches to come."


    Lu Yi nodded and sat down cross-legged, pretending to meditate and recover.


    In truth, his energy consumption had been minimal. By the end of the match, he still had about two-thirds of his spiritual energy left. With his fast recovery speed, he had already regained a considerable amount.


    However, if he didn''t put on a show, people might really start treating him like a monster. Lu Yi still saw himself as a normal person.


    While pretending to meditate, Lu Yi checked his task progress.


    The task to defeat Bai Yulong was marked as complete and ready to claim.


    Lu Yi considered for a moment. Sword intent wasn''t a physical object but a type of insight, so claiming it now wouldn''t be a problem.


    Excited, Lu Yi used his mind to claim the reward. Immediately, a flash of sword light appeared in his consciousness.


    This sword light was extremely sharp and pure, as if it could cut through the darkness in his mind.


    Soon, a vast amount of profound information poured into Lu Yi''s mind—all related to sword intent.


    Lu Yi absorbed this information like a sponge, and his understanding of swordsmanship improved at an astonishing rate.


    After a moment, he fully assimilated the sword intent and slowly opened his eyes. A flash of sword light briefly flickered in them.


    He exhaled deeply, his heart filled with joy.


    No wonder sword intent was so powerful. Adding it to his ''White Cloud Sword Technique'' at the ''returning to essence'' stage would likely boost its power dramatically.


    If he used it with the technique at level 7 or higher, the effect would be even more overwhelming.


    Feeling excited, Lu Yi glanced at Bai Yulong and silently vowed, "I must defeat Senior Brother Bai Yulong again!"


    [Task]: Defeat Bai Yulong (Progress: 0/1)


    Reward: A strand of sword intent


    Accept? Yes/No


    Lu Yi grew even more enthusiastic.


    Perfect! It seemed he''d have to spend more time with Senior Brother Bai Yulong in the future.


    Feeling Lu Yi''s gaze, Bai Yulong turned and saw his friendly expression. For some reason, Bai Yulong felt a chill and asked, "Junior Brother Lu Yi, is something wrong?"


    Lu Yi silently accepted the new task and said with a grin, "No, nothing. I just think Senior Brother Bai Yulong has an extraordinary demeanor and looks very elegant."


    Bai Yulong''s eyes lit up. Smiling, he opened his folding fan with a snap. "Junior Brother Lu Yi, you are too kind. I like honest people like you!"


    Lu Yi replied seriously, "Honesty is my greatest virtue. After we enter the inner sect, we can spar more often."


    "Sure thing!" Bai Yulong said cheerfully.


    Jiang Fan, watching from the side, felt a bit puzzled. "Junior Brother Lu Yi, why do I feel like something about you has changed? Is it just my imagination?"


    Lu Yi froze and felt a jolt of alarm. He didn''t expect Jiang Fan''s intuition to be so sharp. He had just comprehended sword intent, and Jiang Fan already noticed something.


    Smiling, Lu Yi explained, "During my match with Senior Brother Bai Yulong, I had some insights. I must have improved a bit."


    Bai Yulong: "???"


    He looked at Lu Yi blankly, his mind full of questions.


    Wait... weren''t they fighting the same battle? Why did Lu Yi gain insights while he didn''t?


    Bai Yulong couldn''t figure it out, and Jiang Fan also felt helpless. "Junior Brother Lu Yi, your comprehension is truly enviable."


    Lu Yi laughed and said, "You''re too kind, Senior Brother."


    Just then, a loud bang echoed from the stage, and everyone looked up to see Li Yun being sent flying off the platform. He landed unsteadily.


    On the stage, Lin Wan''er stood with a pale face. Her arm bore two cuts, and blood was seeping out, but her expression carried a hint of triumph.


    Du Gufang announced, "Lin Wan''er wins."


    Li Yun looked frustrated, snorted coldly, and sat down silently, sulking.


    Lin Wan''er jumped off the stage, grinning. "Hey, Li Yun, how about that? Isn''t this young lady amazing?"


    Li Yun glanced at her smug face and became even more dejected, emanating the aura of a defeated man.


    Du Gufang then said calmly, "Take an hour to rest before we begin the top-three matches."