Time passed by gradually and in the blink of an eye, a day had passed.

The lights of the Ten Formations Pagoda’s formation patterns shone repeatedly through the day.

The first row on the Ten Formations Stele still had a blank column where the name was supposed to be.

By the time the last person was sent out of the Ten Formations Pagoda, there were still no changes on the Ten Formations Stele.

Not to mention the many trial disciples gathered before Array Peak, even the four peak masters looked to be slightly disappointed.

“Just who is that person? Why is he not here?”

“Could that person truly think nothing of fame at all?”

The disciples were at the peak of their curiosity towards the mysterious challenger such that they were getting anxious about it.

Xuan Yi stood up and declared, “The face-off is over. The victor is Zhong Wen, disciple of Array Peak.”

Sparse cheers rang out through the crowd.

Everyone knew that the reason why Zhong Wen could obtain the number one position was because the mysterious challenger had not appeared.

At that moment, Zhong Wen looked at the Ten Formations Stele and smiled bitterly too.

His title as number one of Array Peak this year was probably the least convincing.

The five peak masters were the first to leave.

In midair, Wen Xuan was still disgruntled and asked, “Xuan Yi, stop leaving us hanging. Just who is it?”

Xuan Yi smiled and did not reply. After pondering for a while, he asked, “After the five peaks face-off, where are you guys intending to set the location for the fight between Su Zimo and Feng Haoyu.”

“The location doesn’t matter since the outcome will not change,” Wen Xuan replied indifferently.

Xuan Yi shook his head. “This match is the focus of everyone’s attention. In fact, the hype might not even be less than the five peaks face-off itself. We had better take it more seriously.”

“Su Zimo is forbidden from entering Spirit Peak so we can’t use the spirit arena there. Since Su Zimo is a disciple of Weapon Peak, it wouldn’t be appropriate to hold it there either. That leaves us with the spirit arenas of Talisman, Array and Elixir Peak,” The brown haired youth said.

Xuan Yi suddenly said, “Let’s hold it at Array Peak then.”

“Alright,” Wen Xuan nodded.

The other peak masters did not have any objections and so the matter was settled.

…

Each year, Spirit Peak’s face-off was always placed on the last day. It was also the most valued event of the sect and all the cultivators.

Be it array formations, talismans, weapons or elixir refinement, their ultimate goal was to raise the fighting strength of a cultivator.

The cultivation world was a place where it was survival of the fittest and the strongest reigned supreme!

The degree of cruelty was even more brutal than the jungle mountains where fierce beasts were rampant. This was also the reason why Die Yue had Su Zimo survive in Cang Lang Mountain Range for a year.

Now, Su Zimo had barely just stepped foot into the cultivation world and had yet to truly explore it and experience the threats within.

Fifth day, Spirit Peak face-off.

Almost all disciples of the five peaks were present. Many inner sect disciples who were in seclusion and even some elders turned up as well.

The rules of the face-off were simple. Sect disciples would head up to draw lots for one on one fights. Finally, the eventual winner of the brackets is the number one of Spirit Peak!

Even though Feng Haoyu had lost consecutively in the Weapon and Elixir Peak face-offs, he was still the one who received the most cheers during the Spirit Peak face-off.

At the same time, all five peak masters thought the most highly of him too.

In the process of competing with his opponents, Feng Haoyu had indeed displayed the strength expected of him.

He won consecutively from the start to the end and no one posed much of a challenge to him.

Many disciples had heard that he was already cultivating one of the three major secret skills of the sect – Ethereal Sword – and wanted to catch a glimpse of its glory during Spirit Peak’s face-off.

However, Feng Haoyu did not use it at all.

Other than Feng Haoyu, Leng Rou’s performance was rather shocking too.

Even though she did not possess an inferior-grade spirit weapon, she had a firm foundation in sword wielding. Coupled with her talisman usage, she defeated many strong opponents of Spirit Peak.

Leng Rou’s flying sword carried a chilling aura. If one was careless and made contact with the sword, they would be covered in a layer of frost, reducing their mobility.

Of course, little fatty was still the one who surprised everyone the most.

He was only at Level 9 Qi Condensation and did not have much of an advantage in sword kinesis.

However, with the help of the inferior-grade gigantic axe given to him by Su Zimo and his powerful body tempering technique, he had managed to close the gap and obtain victory against quite a number of Perfected Qi Refinement Warriors.

The final battle was still between Feng Haoyu and Leng Rou.

Even though Leng Rou deployed a myriad of different talismans, Feng Haoyu was still stronger in terms of sword kinesis.

With the aid of his wind spirit qi, Feng Haoyu’s flying sword was more agile and graceful than anyone else. It was quite an eye-opener.

Before sunset, Spirit Peak’s face-off was over.

As expected, Feng Haoyu was number one of Spirit Peak!

Leng Rou was number two.

Little fatty actually obtained third place.

The prize for the number one of Spirit Peak was also the most generous. Not only was Feng Haoyu awarded with many spirit stones and contribution points, he could also choose an elixir from the Elixir Chamber, an inferior-grade spirit weapon from the Spirit Weapon Chamber and a Grade 1 talisman from the Talisman Chamber.

“Hehe, seems like someone will be crushed by Senior Brother Feng tomorrow.”

“That’s right. Even people like Leng Rou and Senior Brother Li who are at Perfected Qi Condensation lost to Senior Brother Feng. There’s no way Su Zimo is a match with his Level 8 Qi Condensation.”

After the Spirit Peak face-off, no one had confidence in Su Zimo.

“That Feng Haoyu had managed to obtain the number one of Spirit Peak with much ease. He did not even use his full strength,” The brown haired youth chuckled.

Wen Xuan could not contain his smugness as he nodded. “I’m never wrong in my judgment. If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have pleaded with the sect master personally to let him learn our sect’s secret skill in advance.”

“To be fair, someone like Feng Haoyu with a wind spirit root is truly the best candidate to cultivate Ethereal Sword,” The cold-faced lady nodded.

Wen Xuan laughed. “Before this battle, I already told Haoyu that if he were to win his fellow seniors and juniors using the secret skill, he would have lost even if he got number one since no one would be convinced of his victory.”

“Not bad, Haoyu had not let me down.”

The disheveled old man remained silent and looked slightly worried.

The stronger Feng Haoyu was, the worse Su Zimo was going to be defeated tomorrow.

As his beloved disciple, he could not bear to see Su Zimo suffer such a blow.

“Wen Xuan, give me some face. Why don’t you tell Feng Haoyu to forget about the battle tomorrow?” The disheveled old man suddenly said after much hesitation.

Given his status, the fact that he was saying something like that to plead for mercy for a disciple was extremely rare.

Xuan Yi, the brown haired youth and cold-faced lady remained silent.

It was inappropriate for them to interfere in something like this.

Wen Xuan remained silent for a moment before replying, “The arrow is already on the bow and has to be shot. I can’t do anything about this matter.”

“But…”

Right as the disheveled old man was about to continue, Wen Xuan frowned and cut him off, “Su Zimo won Haoyu twice in a row but Haoyu’s not even allowed to win one? Your disciple is dear to you but mine isn’t dear to me?”

With that, Wen Xuan turned to leave and left the four of them alone.

Slightly awkward, the disheveled old man sighed.

The brown haired youth coughed gently. “Don’t blame him. Wen Xuan had poured too much effort into Feng Haoyu. Even though he did not say anything, he’s definitely feeling upset about Feng Haoyu’s two consecutive losses. It’s only normal.”

Xuan Yi patted the disheveled old man’s shoulder and comforted him. “It’s alright. It’s good to let Su Zimo suffer some setbacks too. His future achievements might not be any weaker than Feng Haoyu’s.”

“The road ahead… is still long,” Xuan Yi’s eyes flickered mysteriously as he said that.