It wasn’t just Wu Yi who was perplexed. Many Grandmasters were also lost in thought, more concerned with the future potential of this Cultivation Technique. ’If it could be strengthened all the way to the seventh-realm Grandmaster level...’

Zhuo Feiming, who had long known of Yu Fei’s background, wasn’t bothered by it. She knew he cultivated the Calamity Sword and was far from ordinary. ’But that’s how it should be,’ she thought. ’What’s truly powerful is never the Cultivation Technique, but the Martial Artist themselves.’

Many people didn’t realize this, and there was no way to explain it.

Take her own Vermilion Bird World-Burning Spear, for example. Among Grandmaster-level techniques, it was considered merely ordinary, but who would dare say her mastery of the spear wasn’t formidable?

A Cultivation Technique is like a seed. Its future growth depends on the Martial Artist’s talent. The mediocre follow the rules diligently, while only the strong can forge their own path.

The second day of the points challenge was noticeably more intense. The young prodigies fought more aggressively, and the trash-talk before nearly every match grew increasingly volatile.

The moment anyone showed a hint of weakness, they were immediately unseated by opponents lying in wait.

Meng Jun knew full well that these kids had simply been constrained by a peaceful environment. ’A group of children with such extraordinary comprehension—how could they possibly be meek little lambs? That’s just not realistic.’

After leaving the arena, Yu Fei went to the rest area. He had intended to ask for a few bottles of Green Bud to restore his Qi Blood, but to his surprise, the medic handed him a bottle of Vermilion Flower Honey instead.

This was what third-realm Martial Artists used to restore their Qi Blood, but for Yu Fei, it was just the right amount.

The only problem was that the Vermilion Flower Honey was incredibly sweet, with the potent flavor of honey water. Looking at the ingredients, the main one seemed to be honey from a domesticated species from one of the Border-Realms.

’The Border-Realms again...’

Yu Fei couldn’t help but ponder the structure of this world. It was something he had a hard time comprehending.

All his academic classes in middle and high school had clearly stated that they lived on a planet. With information about the Martial Dao being so restricted, he had always assumed this was a low-martial world. After all, judging from the Great Yu Martial Scripture, the Yu Kingdom had produced a significant number of Martial Saints over thousands of years of development.

If Martial Saints, the pinnacle of human combat strength, possessed world-shattering power, it would be far too dangerous for so many of them to coexist on a single planet. Therefore, he had concluded that Martial Saints probably weren’t that powerful.

That is, until he saw the Martial Saint Honglian, Zhuo Feiming, pierce a hole in the atmosphere with a single thrust of her spear!

A huge, black hole, through which you could see outer space!

Although the hole vanished not long after, Yu Fei was still puzzled.

’What in the world are the Border-Realms? And what is this Yuanmo race?’

He racked his brains but couldn’t make any sense of it.

As he was lost in thought, someone entered the rest area. It was none other than Zhang Xunyi!

The two of them locked eyes, saying nothing. Zhang Xunyi immediately turned to grab a supplement to restore his Qi Blood.

"For Inner Qi, right? Not bad. Take this Red Mist Wind Dew. Small sips, drink it slowly. It restores Inner Qi, but drinking too much at once will damage your meridians!"

The Red Mist Wind Dew was a purplish-red color. The bottle was about 600ml, slightly larger than Yu Fei’s bottle of Vermilion Flower Honey.

Zhang Xunyi took the supplement, stood still for a moment, then abruptly sat down next to Yu Fei.

"That dense barrage of scarlet Sword Qi at the end... what Cultivation Technique was that?"

He had hesitated for a long time, but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity. After his defeat, Zhang Xunyi had been snapped back to reality. ’I’ve been getting a little cocky lately,’ he realized. ’Or rather, I’ve been arrogant ever since I got here.’

He wouldn’t give up on challenging Yu Fei. Even though he had just lost, he felt his Void Wind Shadow Sword technique had become even more refined.

Yu Fei didn’t hide anything, as there was no need to.

"That’s the effect of a series of Cultivation Techniques. It’s called Formless Sword Qi. What about you? What’s the property of your Sword Intent?"

Having answered Zhang Xunyi’s question, he was now curious about his opponent’s technique as well.

Zhang Xunyi replied succinctly, "Phantom Sword Intent. Once the Void Wind Shadow Sword is cultivated to grand completion, you can master the move I used today. It can be purchased in the Scripture Pavilion for 3,000 merit points."

His voice grew subdued as he finished, because he was the one who had lost.

When Yu Fei heard it cost 3,000 merit points, he couldn’t help but stare at the thick-browed young man for a few extra moments. ’This kid is loaded!’

But Zhang Xunyi quickly explained, "My master redeemed it for me. I don’t have any merit points..."

"Oh."

On a long bench in the rest area, the two of them sipped at their drink-like supplements.

Zhang Xunyi did so because the medic had told him to, while Yu Fei did so because the Vermilion Flower Honey was so sweet it was almost cloying.

With nothing more to say to each other, the atmosphere became strangely dull and awkward.

...

When Ren Feng entered the rest area, he saw the two prodigies of the Sword Dao sitting on the same long bench, sipping their supplements in silent unison.

"Hey, you two!"

He then grabbed a bottle of Red Mist Wind Dew for himself, sat down on Yu Fei’s other side, and began to drink it leisurely.

Yu Fei felt trapped. ’So many empty chairs in the rest area,’ he thought, ’and these two just have to squeeze in right next to me. Unbelievable...’

"I ran into this girl with a vicious tongue. She totally got under my skin!"

Ren Feng lamented.

"So you lost, too?" Zhang Xunyi’s eyes lit up.

Ren Feng shot him a glance and said teasingly, "Of course... I didn’t!"

Zhang Xunyi fell silent again.

"That girl’s Body Technique is incredible, she’s impossible to pin down. She just runs around trash-talking nonstop. A lot of people lost just from being worn down by her!"

A long silence followed. Ren Feng began to regret sitting next to Yu Fei. ’This is like three guys going to the restroom and insisting on crowding into the same stall. No sense of personal space at all!’

A moment later, another expert walked in. He looked at the strange trio, grabbed a supplement for himself, thought for a moment, and squeezed in next to Ren Feng.

The bench, which wasn’t long enough to begin with, was now under even more strain.

Zhang Xunyi suddenly spoke up, asking, "You lost?"

The expert nodded. "Blasted my opponent to bits. Of course I won!"

"Then why did you nod?"

"Just for fun. Has anyone here actually lost a match?" The words were barely out of his mouth when he remembered that Zhang Xunyi had just lost to Yu Fei. He fell silent, quietly sipping his Red Mist Wind Dew.