The Grand Disciple Tournament progressed rapidly.
With barely two hundred Foundation Establishment disciples participating, the early matches were run across four parallel floating platforms in the center of the valley, filling the air with four distinct, clashing storm fronts of Qi.
Lin Yao stood on Arena Three. Across from her, Sun Yuan, a disciple of Tiger Peak, drew his heavy iron saber. His 2nd-stage Foundation Establishment aura pulsed aggressively, heating the air around him.
"White Lotus Peak," Sun Yuan sneered, resting the flat of his blade on his shoulder. "I heard your peak master got lucky and formed a Foundation, but a trash peak is still a trash peak. Surrender now, girl, before I break your training sword and leave you crawling."
Lin Yao's face hardened, her eyes turning icy as she tightened her grip on the leather-wrapped hilt. In her mind, she remembered Su Ming's simple advice.
"Do not delay. Win quickly and cleanly."
"Begin!" the referee elder shouted.
Sun Yuan roared, stepping forward with heavy, earth-shaking strides. His iron saber flashed with thick, yellow earth-qi. He swung downward, aiming a split-second strike at her shoulder, intending to end the fight in a single show of brute force.
Lin Yao did not wait. As the heavy blade came down, she stepped forward. Her body blurred, her feet gliding across the stone as she unleashed the Cloud Chasing Sword Technique. Her speed, backed by her consolidated 8th-stage Foundation Establishment base, was far beyond Sun Yuan's expectations. Before his saber could even complete its downward arc, her sword had already bypassed his guard.
'Clang!'
A sharp, cracking sound echoed across Arena Three. The steel blade struck Sun Yuan's wrist with precise force, instantly shattering his grip on the saber. The heavy iron weapon flew from his hand, clattering against the white stone. Before he could draw back or gasp, the tip of Lin Yao's sword was pressed firmly against his throat. The wind from her sudden momentum blew his hair back, leaving him frozen in shock.
Sun Yuan stood rigid, sweat dripping down his temple, his throat dry as he stared at the unyielding steel.
"Arena Three, winner: Lin Yao of White Lotus Peak!" the referee declared.
Because the match had ended in a blink, and the attention of the crowd was heavily divided among the other three parallel arenas, almost no one noticed. A few nearby outer disciples blinked, confused by how quickly the Tiger Peak disciple had fallen, but they quickly turned their attention back to the flashier fights.
Sun Yuan stumbled back, his face red with humiliation as he picked up his saber and spat a mouthful of dirt. He glared at her, but under the indifferent chatter of the crowd, he could only retreat in silence. Lin Yao sheathed her sword, bowed to the referee, and walked back to White Lotus Peak's gallery section without a single word.
On the other three parallel arenas, the matches continued.
On Arena One, outer disciple Guan Feng stood with a calm, focused gaze. When his opponent charged, Guan Feng drew his blade in a fluid arc. A sharp wave of blue sword aura sliced through the air, cleanly cutting his opponent's staff in half. The youth fell backward in shock, staring at his stump of a staff before yielding.
On Arena Two, Ye Han moved like a silent shadow. Her opponent, a nimble wind cultivator, threw a flurry of rapid palm strikes, but Ye Han slipped through the gaps in his form with ghostly agility, her faded robes fluttering as she tapped him on the chest, sending him tumbling off the ring.
On Arena Four, Chen Yang stood like an iron pillar. His opponent, a spearman, thrust a steel spear directly at his chest. Chen Yang did not dodge. He gritted his teeth, his skin taking on a dull metallic sheen as the spear tip struck his chest with a dull *thud*, failing to pierce even his skin. With a grunt, Chen Yang lunged forward, throwing a heavy punch that shattered the spear shaft and knocked his opponent flat on his back.
During the brief intermission before the quarter-finals, Elder Song of Heavenly Sword Peak walked through the outer peak seating gallery. He approached Su Ming's gallery section, his long white robes rustling in the breeze.
"Acting Peak Master Su," Elder Song said, bowing slightly. "Your disciple's swordplay is remarkably refined and clean. However, White Lotus Peak lacks the inheritances and resources to guide a sword cultivator to the higher realms. If you allow her to transfer to Heavenly Sword Peak, she will receive the finest guidance and resource allocation the sect has to offer."
Su Ming smiled gently, his eyes relaxed as he leaned back. He turned his gaze toward Lin Yao, who stood quietly behind him, her hand resting on her sheathed sword. "What do you think, Disciple Yao? It is your path. You choose."
Lin Yao stepped forward, her voice quiet but carrying an unshakeable weight. She bowed deeply to Elder Song. "Thank you for the kind offer, Elder. But a teacher for a day is a teacher for a lifetime. Since the day my master took me in, I have been the eldest disciple of White Lotus Peak. I will not go anywhere else."
Elder Song sighed, looking at her determined expression. He bowed to Su Ming. "A pity. But I respect your loyalty." He turned and walked back to his peak's grand section.
As Lin Yao kept on winning her matches, she soon moved to the quarter-finals and won her match against a disciple from the Alchemy Peak swiftly.
***
With the arrival of the semi-finals, the four parallel platforms were deactivated. The remaining matches transitioned to a sequential, one-by-one format on the single, massive central floating arena.
Soon, it was time for Lin Yao. She stepped onto the stone platform under the gaze of the entire sect. Her opponent was Zhao Tie, a senior disciple of Martial Peak. Zhao Tie was a 5th-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, his chest broad, holding a heavy black iron spear that hummed with dense martial force.
"Begin!"
Zhao Tie moved instantly, his spear thrusting forward like a striking dragon. The martial force coating the spear tip created a crushing pressure, tearing the air with a high-pitched whistle.
Lin Yao parried the strike, but the sheer weight of the impact sent a jarring vibration up her arms. Her hands numbed instantly, and her teeth gritted as she was forced back two steps, her boots scraping loudly against the stone. Zhao Tie did not give her room to breathe. He spun the spear, unleashing a flurry of heavy, sweeping strikes that pressed her toward the edge of the arena. Her chest heaved, sweat dripping down her chin as she barely deflected each blow.
She realized that pure speed and swordplay would not break his heavy defense.
Remembering Su Ming's instruction to win cleanly, she focused her mind. As the black spear lunged directly for her chest in a final, decisive thrust, she stepped sideways, her eyes narrowing.
With a mental pull, she coated her blade in a thin, thin thread of her nether flame.
*Clash!*
She slashed downward. The moment her sword met the iron spear, the dark trace of the Nether Flame erupted. The dense martial force coating the spear melted like wax under fire. Zhao Tie felt a sudden, freezing chill wash over his meridians, his hands instantly numbing as the spear was violently knocked from his grip, clattering away.
Before he could recover, Lin Yao stepped in, delivering a quick, firm strike to his chest with the back of her sword. The impact sent him flying backward off the arena. Zhao Tie landed heavily on the grass below, panting, clutching his chest in shock as the cold residue of her Qi dissipated.
"Central Arena, winner: Lin Yao!" the referee elder announced, his own voice holding a trace of surprise.
For a moment, the entire valley fell dead silent. Then, a massive, roaring wave of commotion erupted from the crowd.
"Zhao Tie lost? A disciple of Martial Peak was defeated so easily?"
"And she is from White Lotus Peak! The dead outer peak with no disciples!"
Thousands of eyes turned, locking onto the quiet girl in white robes. The whispers rose like a tide. Even in the grand gallery, several Peak Masters leaned forward, their eyes narrowed as they stared at her sheathed blade. The dark trace of the flame had vanished in a split-second, but its cold, destructive essence had not escaped their senses.
At the center of the gallery, the Sect Master, Jun Tianya, slowly opened his eyes. His gaze shifted down from his throne, focusing on Lin Yao for the first time with a look of deep, quiet interest. The air in the gallery grew slightly heavier as the leader of the four overlord sects took notice.
In the final semi-final match, Guan Feng faced Lin Yuying. Guan Feng fought desperately, his face pale and eyes bloodshot as he unleashed his full sword aura, cutting through the air like daggers. But Lin Yuying remained serene.
With a wave of her sleeve, the Frost Phoenix bloodline manifested. A wave of absolute, freezing cold rolled across the platform, instantly freezing Guan Feng's sword aura mid-air and encasing his boots in ice, forcing him to yield.
The grey-robed elder stepped onto the platform, his voice echoing across the silent valley.
"The final match of Group Two: Lin Yuying of Heavenly Cloud Peak versus Lin Yao of White Lotus Peak!"