Chapter 15 Unmoved

"Before the sunset ends, the battle shall be over, with me here, no one shall perish."

Feng Ziyang set a time limit, his sword light flashed, enveloping him as he flew beyond the Fengyun Platform, silently observing.

Sixth Grade Dao Fruit・Sword Immortal.

Magic practitioners could manipulate objects at the Eighth Rank, but to achieve controlling device flight, and to do so as effortlessly as Feng Ziyang, one needed to reach the Sixth Rank, specifically specializing in that path. And among those of the Sixth Rank who specialized in the Flying Sword Skill, there were only Sword Immortals.

"The Outer Elders peak at the Sixth Rank, and some are even at the Seventh Rank. This Senior Brother Feng is truly worthy of being the second-in-command of the Inner Sect," Jiang Li couldn't help feeling a sense of awe upon seeing this.

Meanwhile, below the Fengyun Platform, a group of Outer Disciples had already begun to stir.

The challenge had begun.

The Outer Disciples on the cliff looked at each other, scanning their surroundings, as if to see who would make the first move. Alas, many present had heard of Jiang Li's battle achievements, and for the moment, they all hesitated, not daring to be the first to brave the waters.

And this time, the Jiang family members did not come forward directly.

Time ticked away, and after two quarters of an hour had passed, someone finally couldn't hold back and made the first move.

"Outer Disciple Jiang Baichuan, here to learn from you."

After performing a good deed, Spirit Light shone, and two Featherweight Talismans were attached to Jiang Baichuan, lightening his body. Then, with a single step on the iron chains, he floated up to the Fengyun Platform like a soaring swallow.

The moment he landed, he already had two talismans in hand—he could tell by the runes that they were Ninth Grade Talismans・Geng Metal Talisman.

This talisman produced extremely sharp Geng Metal Energy, with its piercing power ranking among the highest of Ninth Grade Talismans, making it a talismanic practitioner's first choice. This Jiang Baichuan was, in fact, a magic practitioner housing a Daoist Dao Fruit.

"Senior Brother Jiang, please."

Jiang Li held his sheathed longsword in one hand while resting the other behind his back, with an appearance completely devoid of readiness, his body full of openings, not altering his stance even as he spoke.

Seeing this, Jiang Baichuan made a decisive move, and the talismans erupted with power.

He had also witnessed Jiang Li's battles the day before, and he knew how formidable Jiang Li was. Knowing that if it came to close combat, he absolutely could not match Jiang Li's fiery, forceful slashes, so he had decided to attack from afar right from the start.

The Geng Metal Talisman was activated, sending out two streams of golden light, shooting towards Jiang Li's shoulders with the swiftness of thunder catching one's ears off guard.

At the same time, Jiang Baichuan's hands grabbed two Thunderbolt Talismans, and his sleeves shook wildly, with other talismans already prepared for ready use—controlling, assaulting, blocking, protecting—no matter how Jiang Li responded, he had a strategy to counter it.

However, Jiang Li remained motionless.

As the Golden Light reached him, an invisible Qi Shield suddenly appeared, and the sharp energy from the Geng Metal Talisman ricocheted off as if they were mere copper peas frying in a pan, not even causing Jiang Li to budge.

"True Qi projection!"

There were exclamations from among the Outer Disciples outside the Fengyun Platform.

Even some Inner Sect Disciples watching the battle revealed a look of surprise.

"True Qi projection? No, that's not it," Luo Yi also looked surprised but then refuted, "It's some kind of Amulet technique."

He had sharply noticed a faint flickering of runes when the Qi Shield appeared and knew that projecting True Qi, whether as Sword Qi or Blade Energy, or using it to shield oneself, required at least the Eighth Rank—mere Nine-level Practitioners did not have sufficient True Qi purity to sustain such a straightforward yet power-demanding skill.

"He didn't use his full strength yesterday."

Upon realizing this, Luo Yi's expression darkened, and he was shocked by the profundity of Jiang Li's potential.

This ungrateful creature had such a deep foundation.

Though both were Daoists, some were merely qualified for the Promotion Ceremony by housing the Dao Fruit, using it to gain advancement; others had already developed their potential to a certain bottleneck and desperately needed the Dao Fruit to raise their limits and continue refining their skills.

It was like a test paper on which some Daoists scored sixty, just barely passing, while others scored perfect marks, intrinsically starting forty points higher than the rest, and still soaring ahead even when the score limit increased to a thousand.

Jiang Li was clearly the latter.

Luo Yi had actually guessed this point early on and had some estimation of Jiang Li's strength, but now he realized he had still underestimated him.

But let's leave Luo Yi's astonishment aside, as the fight on Fengyun Platform went on.

Jiang Baichuan, upon realizing the Geng Metal Talisman had failed, immediately triggered the Thunderbolt Talisman. Two rays of thunder light struck, while at the same time he flicked his sleeves, unleashing a rapid succession of talismans.

However—

Useless!

Useless!

Still useless!

An invisible Qi Shield blinked into existence again and again, with the thunder light exploding upon it, leaving nothing but a fading echo. The subsequent Thunderbolt Talismans, Sharp Gold Talismans, Fire Thunder Talismans, and so on, cascaded out like a tempest, creating a spectacular scene, yet all were in vain.

Jiang Baichuan didn't even need to move as he exhausted all of his attack talismans in rapid succession, his True Qi depleted severely, and he gasped for breath.

Jiang Li remained motionless as well, letting Jiang Baichuan's assaults wash over him. After the storm of attacks had passed, he stood calm and collected.

The outcome was clear.

Jiang Baichuan's face was pale, both from the excessive consumption and from shock. He looked at himself, then at his opponent, and finally conceded helplessly, "Junior Brother's divine power is admirable, I admire you."

With that, he activated the last bit of his True Qi and leaped down from the platform.

Upon seeing this, none of the disciples perched on the cliff dared to take the stage.

Qi Changsheng saw this, his eyes rolled, and he suddenly stood up straight, lips sealed tight, but his belly was rhythmically expanding and contracting.

"How does it matter if it's True Qi protecting his body? I refuse to believe that he can endure for so long without any depletion."

Suddenly, a voice spoke up.

Then, immediately another voice followed, "Exactly, no matter how profound Jiang Li's foundation is, he's still only Ninth Grade. How could he possibly maintain a True Qi shield indefinitely?"

"Maybe he's just putting on a strong front while secretly trying to recover his energy."

"That's right, I think so too."

"Me too."

The crowd of disciples on the cliff grew noisy, their morale surging.

"I'll go."

Finally, someone else stepped up to the platform.

"Outer Disciple Dingzhen, please enlighten me."

A quarter of an hour later, Dingzhen stepped down from the platform, gasping for breath.

"Outer Disciple Cai Zhiying, please teach me."

Half a quarter of an hour later, Cai Zhiying, drained of True Qi, was sent off the platform by a sword light from Feng Ziyang.

"Outer Disciple Yi Yang, here to learn."

A quarter of an hour later, Yi Yang stepped down reluctantly, nearly falling off the chain bridge due to severe exhaustion.

"He's sweating on his forehead now," Qi Changsheng noted, continuing his observation.

"There's no mistake, this time he must be close to his limit."

On the Fengyun Platform, Jiang Li silently circulated his power, forcing a droplet of sweat on his forehead.

Seeing this, the previously hesitant disciples eagerly came forward, unwilling to be left behind.

They reasoned that losing would only mean a penalty of two hundred good deeds, but if they could take advantage of an opportunity to win, that could bring a great windfall. The prospect of gain, far outweighing the risk, was enough to cloud people's rationality.

From early morning to the afternoon, more than twenty people took turns stepping up—hand skills, fist skills, swordsmanship, Fire Burning, Thunder Strike, Frost Freeze—all sorts of techniques were employed, yet not a single one could unsettle the standing Jiang Li.

Although Jiang Li seemed to barely hold on, his body swaying as if he could fall at any moment, he endured. Several hours passed, and he was still on his feet.