"Bang!"

 

Perhaps because he couldn't activate the sword technique, his strike was far less powerful than before. It hadn't even reached Xu Taiping when he merged with the blade's light, circling behind Ji Wuyou like a full moon, then slashing towards the back of his neck with another strike.

 

"You can't…"

 

"Whoosh!"

 

Ji Wuyou, who had turned around abruptly, stared at the blade shadow in front of him and suddenly let out a terrified shout. However, before he could finish his sentence, a streak of blade light swept past his neck.

 

"Bang!"

 

Ji Wuyou's voice came to an abrupt halt as a head rolled onto the ground.

 

From beginning to end, Xu Taiping's hand wielding the blade never hesitated.

 

Then, an indescribable pain surged towards him like a tide.

 

"Bang!"

 

He staggered, nearly collapsing, but instinctively used his blade to support his body.

 

At this moment, the arena fell into dead silence.

 

Because any cultivator who knew a bit about curses could easily tell that Xu Taiping had indeed been struck by Ji Wuyou's Twin Harm Curse.

 

But precisely because of this, they were even more puzzled and felt it was eerie.

 

"The Twin Harm Curse, if not mastered by an expert in curses, is unsolvable. The only possibility now is that Taiping has forcibly endured a pain ten times greater than what Ji Wuyou suffered," Dugu Qingxiao said with a very solemn face after pondering for a long time.

 

Not just him, most of the cultivators present had come to this seemingly absurd conclusion in their hearts.

 

"Ten times the pain of Ji Wuyou?"

 

Zhao Linglong still couldn't imagine it.

 

"How could a normal person endure such agony?"

 

Zi Yan also wore a face of disbelief.

 

"In this match, Xu Taiping defeats Ji Wuyou and earns the right to challenge the Seventh Peak," announced the voice of the examiner at the edge of the arena, transmitted throughout the Sword Control Platform via a sound transmission talisman.

 

This announcement pulled everyone out of their discussions, and they turned their gazes back to the bloodied young man staggering on the stage.

 

Regardless, the victor was indeed Xu Taiping.

 

And it was an impeccable victory.

 

However, Xu Taiping was somewhat dissatisfied.

 

He had hoped to gain some new insights through the duel with Ji Wuyou, to possibly reach the extreme state mentioned by Fairy Lingyue, but Ji Wuyou's Twin Harm Curse had disrupted his plans.

 

"Sigh…"

 

Xu Taiping let out a breath of slight regret.

 

"Taiping, don't worry, isn't there still one more challenge? And since you've won, you should be happy," Fairy Lingyue's voice suddenly echoed in Xu Taiping's mind.

 

"Mm!"

 

Xu Taiping nodded.

 

Then he raised his head, looking around for something.

 

Eventually, under the gaze of the audience on the surrounding cloud platforms, he set his eyes on the cloud pavilion where Zhao Linglong and the others were.

 

Seeing Zhao Linglong and the others, he grinned at them from afar.

 

Happy moments are naturally to be shared with those close to you.

 

Under the sunlight, the young man's blood-stained face was clean and pure with a smile, just like when they first met years ago.

 

Seeing this smile, everyone couldn't help but reveal a smile on their faces.

 

"Congratulations, Little Taiping."

 

Zhao Linglong's eyes inexplicably welled up as she looked at that face.

 

"Congratulations."

 

Dugu Qingxiao also showed a relieved smile.

 

Although he had not formally joined the sect, he had already acknowledged this junior brother in his heart.

 

"Don't be too quick to congratulate; the seven challengers still have to face the formal disciples of the Seventh Peak," Jin Hezhi suddenly said with a cold smile.

 

For some reason, he just didn't like the look of the young man on the stage.

 

"As long as one peak is willing to choose him, how he performs in the challenge is not important," Dugu Qingxiao retorted.

 

The selection of the Seventh Peak was actually over after choosing the seven outer disciples. The so-called challenge was a test for these seven by the Seventh Peak to pick the most suitable disciple from among them.

 

If one performed poorly, it could happen that no peak would choose them, and they would have to return to the base of the mountain.

 

"Our Seventh Peak will definitely choose him!" Zhao Linglong immediately added with a firm tone.

 

Now that Xu Taiping had passed the selection of the Seventh Peak, she would insist, even if she had to throw a tantrum, that her father choose Xu Taiping for the Seventh Peak.

 

"It's your business if the Seventh Peak wants to choose him, but our First Peak has the right to challenge him first," Jin Hezhi said with a faint smile.

 

"Jin Hezhi, are you really going to be so ruthless?" Dugu Qingxiao asked with a cold tone.

 

"Ruthless?"

 

Jin Hezhi turned his cold gaze towards Dugu Qingxiao and then said with a look full of resentment:

 

"Is it more ruthless than when your Peak Master killed my mother back then?"

 

Upon hearing this, Zhao Linglong, who had also intended to argue with Jin Hezhi, suddenly fell silent.

 

"Your mother was possessed by demons; my master did what he had to do, and he didn't want to!" Dugu Qingxiao did not avoid Jin Hezhi's gaze.

 

"Possessed? Who can prove my mother was possessed! And if it weren't for you back then, how would my mother have encountered that demonic seed?"

 

As if Dugu Qingxiao's words had touched a raw nerve, Jin Hezhi's face, which had been relatively calm, suddenly twisted, and his voice sounded like a roar.

 

However, his expression quickly returned to calm.

 

"In any case, as long as it makes you, as long as it makes your Seventh Peak uncomfortable, I, Jin Hezhi, am happy to do it," Jin Hezhi said while turning his head away with a smile.

 

He did not hide his hatred for the Seventh Peak and Dugu Qingxiao.

 

"Senior Brother, may I take on this challenge?" Ye Xuan, who was beside Jin Hezhi, suddenly stood up.

 

Hearing this, Zhao Linglong immediately became anxious.

 

Although Ye Xuan had also been in the sect for less than three years, with his Gold Spirit Bone, and particularly the Fire Variant among them, he had already broken through to the Gazing Abyss Realm. Not only did he possess the family's secret sword techniques, but he also mastered several Xuan-level techniques, and it was very likely that he had already mastered the Sword Control Technique.

 

This Sword Control Technique was not like Ji Wuyou's sword manipulation with qi; it was the true art of controlling a sword that could take an enemy's head from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

 

Such an opponent was not someone Xu Taiping could handle.

 

"Do you also dislike this kid, Junior Brother?" Jin Hezhi asked with a smile, looking at Ye Xuan.

 

He had originally intended to let Ye Xuan take the stage, and now that the latter had volunteered, he was naturally pleased.

 

"Senior Brother, you exaggerate. I just find his name hard to listen to. Taiping, Taiping, where is there peace in this world?" Ye Xuan sneered.

 

His personality had changed a lot in the three years since he joined the Qingxuan Sect.

 

A year after he arrived at the Qingxuan Sect, he received news that the Tianlang Kingdom had been destroyed by the Wei Kingdom, and the entire royal family of the Tianlang Kingdom had been slaughtered or captured.