"Bai Zichen, I’ll give you that, you’re impressive. You even defeated a Golden Silk Black Bear that was halfway through its advancement... But you can’t even move now. The final victor will still be me!"

Xiong Baishan said through gritted teeth, his face contorted.

From the looks of it, the Silver-Striped Black Bear had accumulated a profound amount of Essence Blood. With a few more decades, it would have had an excellent chance of advancing to a Golden Silk Black Bear.

A Tier Two Spirit Beast has a long lifespan and could serve as a Cultivation Family’s Clan Guardian Spirit Beast, ensuring a century of prosperity for the clan.

Bai Zichen ripped off his tattered Daoist Robe, revealing the thin Inner Armor beneath. On it were several distinct claw marks from the bear.

"Sorry to disappoint you. Even with only half a life left, beating you won’t be difficult."

Bai Zichen touched his Hundred-Refined Celestial Silk Robe, a trace of fear lingering. At the critical moment, the Inner Armor had taken the blow, absorbing a significant portion of the damage.

Otherwise, he would have been disemboweled.

Xiong Baishan whipped out a stack of Talismans. He cast several long, thin, finger-wide gray Talismans, sending them flying toward the Golden Sparrow Sword and the Ink Bamboo Sword.

"These are the Sealing Spirit Talismans I prepared especially for you! Without your Flying Swords, I’d like to see how you’re going to beat me!"

Tears welled in the corners of Xiong Baishan’s eyes. Sealing Spirit Talismans could suppress the Spiritual Power of Magical Artifacts and immobilize Treasures, but their activation requirements were stringent.

As it was, one of the two Flying Swords was still embedded in the dead Golden Silk Black Bear, while the other had been flung to the opposite corner of the arena.

Both were far from their master, giving the Sealing Spirit Talismans the perfect opportunity. Five or six of the Talismans slapped onto each Flying Sword, covering them completely.

Bai Zichen made a beckoning gesture with his hand. Just as he’d feared, his connection to the two Flying Swords became faint and tenuous.

If he could either spend some time or close the distance to the Flying Swords, he could easily break the Sealing Spirit Talismans’ effect.

But Xiong Baishan had already manifested his Treasure Pagoda. The ground shook with each slow and steady step he took, and it was clear he wouldn’t give Bai Zichen that chance.

Bai Zichen slapped his storage pouch, and another wooden sword appeared in his hand. He used it as a crutch to push himself to his feet.

To Xiong Baishan’s utter disbelief, Bai Zichen raised the sword, and a flash of Sword Light blasted a crack into his Treasure Pagoda.

Xiong Baishan scrambled to reconnect his Three Treasures Exquisite Pagoda to the arena, but the milky-white Sword Light, brimming with a righteous aura, struck again and again from clever angles. It forced him to defend, interrupting the process and making him start all over each time the Pagoda took a hit.

After several such exchanges, the spectral image of the Treasure Pagoda was already riddled with cracks.

SHATTER!

The Treasure Pagoda shattered, and the Demon Suppression Peach Wood Sword came to a halt just above Xiong Baishan’s head. A trickle of fresh blood ran down his forehead.

"I... concede."

Xiong Baishan’s face was ashen, his chest heaving as he forced out the words.

’How could any Qi Refining Cultivator possibly have three Flying Swords on him?’ he thought, bewildered. ’Even dedicated Sword Cultivators usually only have one main Flying Sword and a backup!’

Elder Zhang instantly appeared in the air above the arena. He had been supervising the entire time, responsible for intervening at critical moments to save the combatants from fatal injury.

But the battle had been full of sudden twists and turns, the situation changing so rapidly that on two occasions, he had been a fraction too slow to intervene when he’d intended to.

"The winner: Bai Zichen!"

After confirming that neither of them was in grave danger, Elder Zhang used an Amplification Technique to announce the result to the entire assembly.

"If any Inner Sect Disciple objects and wishes to issue a challenge, you may come to the stage now. The next match will be held in one hour. There can be no more than three challengers. If more than three volunteer, they will be chosen based on their seniority in the Inner Sect."

Bai Zichen paid this no mind. He immediately consumed a Qi Recovery Powder and began slowly circulating his Chang Chun Skill to accelerate the recovery of his Magical Power.

He had a mental list of the remaining Inner Sect Disciples.

Aside from two at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, the rest all had a Sixth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation.

’As long as they don’t have any special Secret Treasures, I have the advantage in Realm,’ he thought. ’I’m not afraid of them in the slightest. It’ll just be a matter of a few sword strikes.’

"Junior Sister Tan, don’t cause trouble!"

Chen Wei grabbed the restless Tan Qin. She knew the girl had been spoiled by her family since childhood and always acted on a whim, never considering the consequences.

"There’s such a huge gap between your Cultivation and his. Don’t tell me you’re actually planning to go up there and stage some grand upset of the weak defeating the strong?"

"Don’t be fooled by how exhausted Bai Zichen looks right now. He wouldn’t need even ten sword strikes to beat you. Don’t go up there and humiliate yourself."

"Besides, there’s no benefit even if you win. You’d be obstructing his path to advancement and making a powerful enemy for no good reason. It would be one thing if he were the only one who signed up this year; losing a Combat trial because you’re not skilled enough is just how it goes. But in a situation like this, a battle between two titans, very few people would step onto the stage now unless they had a deep-seated grudge."

"What goes around, comes around. Junior Sister, if you break the unwritten rules of the Inner Sect Disciples today, then in a few years, when it’s your turn for the True Inheritance Trial, Elder Tan will have no grounds to intervene on your behalf, even if you’re challenged three times in a row."

Tan Qin glanced around and saw that, sure enough, the two senior martial brothers from the Inner Sect who were at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer remained firmly in their seats, showing no intention of going down to the stage.

She could only pout and sit back down, looking aggrieved. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"The time for challenges has passed. The new True Disciple is... Bai Zichen!"

After shouting the name three times with no one coming forward to challenge, Elder Zhang formally announced the conclusion of the True Inheritance Trial.

Bai Zichen opened his eyes in surprise. He hadn’t expected that not a single Inner Sect Disciple would challenge him. He had worried for nothing.

"Nephew Bai, your future is boundless! A True Disciple at your age... you will surely walk the same path as us in the future. Tidy yourself up and go see Senior Brother Liang. He’s waiting for you up there."

Elder Zhang walked up and patted Bai Zichen’s shoulder with feigned familiarity.

’It’s true,’ Bai Zichen thought. ’For an eighteen-year-old True Disciple, it isn’t demeaning for even a Foundation Establishment Elder to lower themselves to build a connection.’

"Since Junior Martial Uncle Liang has summoned me, how could I dare refuse? I shall go and pay my respects as soon as I’ve changed my clothes."

Bai Zichen turned and bowed to the audience in all four directions, thanking them for attending the ceremony.

In the stands, some people were already filing out. A smaller group waited for Bai Zichen to leave the stage, hoping to strike up a conversation and form a connection. The majority, however, were still in their seats, discussing the battle that had just ended. Seeing his gesture, they all returned the bow.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bai Zichen caught sight of Xiong Baishan. The man staggered over to his Companion Bear Beast and fell to his knees before it.

Before the match, he had been full of life and swaggering with confidence. In contrast, his figure now looked stooped and utterly dejected from behind.

"Junior Brother Bai... he actually did it..."

Even now, Lang Zhongping was still staring blankly at the arena, not even reacting as boiling water from his teacup splashed onto his hand.

He put himself in Bai Zichen’s shoes. If he had been on that stage, even at the peak of Qi Refining Great Perfection, he wasn’t sure he could have defeated Xiong Baishan, let alone push the Bear Beast to attempt a forced advancement as a last resort.

’We’re all Inner Sect Disciples, yet the gap is this massive...’ Lang Zhongping thought. ’Some people are just born to be the protagonist. A talent like that can’t be hidden.’

"Zhong Ping, you mentioned earlier that you were acquainted with Nephew Bai?"

Elder Jin asked suddenly, stroking his round belly as he watched Bai Zichen descend from the arena.

"Yes. Junior Brother Bai and I had a very pleasant chat. In fact, that Flying Sword he used near the end of the fight? I’m the one who helped him procure it."

Lang Zhongping was quick to sing his own praises, even though the two had only met once.

"Mmm... you should visit him more often when you have the time. This Nephew Bai has likely caught *that person’s* eye."

Elder Jin gestured vaguely toward the main private booth above them, his eyes narrowing into thin lines as he smiled.

"Next time Nephew Bai visits the Market, remember to bring him to see me."

"Understood. The next time I see Junior Brother Bai, I will convey your wishes, Junior Martial Uncle Jin."

Lang Zhongping nodded respectfully, sighing to himself. ’After a single trial, Bai Zichen’s status in the Sect is already on a completely different level.’

’Thankfully, I was quick to act and established a good relationship with him beforehand,’ he mused. ’Otherwise, now that Bai Zichen is the man of the hour—so much so that even Elders are vying for his attention—a mere Steward like myself might not have even gotten the chance.’