“The first round of the competition begins now, please have the disciples of the Sixth Peak come up to inscribe.”

After a short while, as the disciples of the Sixth and Seventh Peaks stepped onto the sword platform, the Black Dragon Elder immediately announced the start of the competition.

“I am Zhou Ao of the Sixth Peak, greetings to the Black Dragon Elder.”

As expected, the first to be sent out from the Sixth Peak was Zhou Ao, the weakest among them.

“Second Senior Brother, judging by Zhou Ao’s cultivation level, he can probably only choose an iron weight of about a hundred pounds, right?”

Zhao Linglong commented as she watched Zhou Ao selecting his iron weight.

“Considering he still can’t perform Sword Flight, the weight he can choose is indeed around a hundred pounds.”

Senior Brother Qingxiao nodded in agreement.

“Junior Brother, how much weight did you manage to carry on your flying sword yesterday?”

Hearing this, Zhao Linglong immediately turned to Xu Taiping.

“Sixty pounds.”

Xu Taiping answered truthfully.

To prepare for today’s competition, they had gathered at the Seventh Peak’s sword testing platform and each tried out the carrying capacity of their flying swords. Xu Taiping’s sword could only carry sixty pounds of weight.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t carry more, but beyond that weight, his head would start to feel heavy and dizzy, with a constant buzzing in his ears, making it impossible to control the sword smoothly.

According to Senior Brother Qingxiao, these symptoms originated from the cultivator’s soul and were known as Soul Cry.

When a cultivator uses Sword Control to fly, their soul is actually connected to the sword. If they put too much weight on the flying sword without prior adaptation, or if the sword suffers a heavy blow, it can cause the symptom known as Soul Cry.

To alleviate this condition, there was no better way than to practice day after day, which would allow the flying sword to carry more weight and withstand stronger impacts.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if a cultivator could control a sword, it would take two to three years or even longer to master Sword Flight.

This was why the fourth match of the Seven Peaks competition was known as a test of endurance.

Because in the end, this competition often came down to the cultivator’s endurance against the pain of Soul Cry.

“If Zhou Ao hangs more than a hundred pounds of weight later, Taiping, just concede. It’s your first time participating in the Seven Peaks competition, and there’s no shame in that.”

Senior Sister Jiang Zhi spoke softly to Xu Taiping.

“If possible, I’d still like to give it a try before conceding.”

Xu Taiping thought for a moment and replied seriously.

He couldn’t bring himself to concede without even trying.

“That’s also good.”

Senior Brother Qingxiao nodded at this time.

They suggested Xu Taiping concede directly to avoid the ridicule of disciples from other peaks, as the symptoms of Soul Cry could cause one to lose composure if not endured. But since Xu Taiping himself didn’t care, they had nothing to worry about.

“Then treat this competition as a part of your cultivation and training. As long as Soul Cry doesn’t last too long, it won’t cause substantial harm to the soul.”

Senior Sister Jiang Zhi had no objections.

“Way to go.” Zhao Linglong then winked at Xu Taiping and whispered encouragement.

“Disciple Zhou Ao of the Sixth Peak has chosen an iron weight of a hundred and thirty pounds.”

At this moment, the voice of the Black Dragon Elder rang out again.

Upon hearing this, everyone from the Seventh Peak, except for Xu Taiping, exchanged surprised glances.

“A hundred and thirty pounds, has this kid gone mad?”

Zhao Linglong exclaimed in surprise.

Based on their understanding of Zhou Ao, his flying sword could at most carry a hundred pounds. Suddenly increasing it to a hundred and thirty pounds seemed abnormal.

Their gazes simultaneously shifted towards the disciples of the Sixth Peak.

To their surprise, the Senior Sister of the Sixth Peak and several Senior Brothers also wore expressions of astonishment.

Clearly, the weight Zhou Ao reported to the Black Dragon Elder was also unknown to them beforehand.

“Could it be that Zhou Ao is acting out of spite against me?”

Xu Taiping wondered.

“Although Zhou Ao is a bit sharp-tongued, he’s not that petty. Besides, it was him who offended you first, Taiping.”

Zhao Linglong was equally puzzled.

“Let’s see if he can even hang that iron weight first.”

Senior Brother Qingxiao shook his head.

He didn’t understand why Zhou Ao harbored such strong animosity towards Taiping.

At that moment, Zhou Ao unsheathed the treasured sword he carried on his back with a “clang.” The sword radiated strong spiritual energy fluctuations, clearly no ordinary item.

Then, with a humming sound, Zhou Ao controlled the flying sword and flew it in front of the Black Dragon Elder.

Without a word, the Black Dragon Elder tied two iron weights, one large and one small, linked together with a thin steel cable, to the flying sword.

The moment the iron weights were hung, the spiritual energy fluctuations on the flying sword intensified, emitting a continuous “humming” sound, and the blade wobbled as if it was about to fall.

Zhou Ao, who was controlling the sword, began to tremble violently, his arm that was pointing the sword seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, slowly pressing downward.

“Hmph!”

However, with a grunt from Zhou Ao and a ferocious yell, his hand suddenly lifted again.

Following that, the flying sword, which had almost touched the ground, suddenly soared upwards.

Despite its slow speed, it eventually reached the bare spot on the opposite cliff and began to inscribe the Qingxuan Sect’s Seven Laws stroke by stroke.

“The first law of the Qingxuan Sect’s Seven Laws: those who harm their fellow disciples shall have their Spiritual Bones extracted and be cast into the mortal… world!”

Zhou Ao loudly recited as he controlled the flying sword, swiftly inscribing the words on the cliff face.

Finally, to the amazement of everyone, Zhou Ao completed the inscription of the Seven Laws.

Even the people of the Sixth Peak were surprised, not expecting Zhou Ao to be able to carry a hundred and thirty pounds.

Then, with a “plop,” Zhou Ao, soaked in sweat, suddenly knelt on the ground, gasping for air.

The fact that a cultivator of the Gazing Abyss Realm showed such exhaustion revealed the terrifying pain of Soul Cry.

After recovering a bit, Zhou Ao suddenly looked up, his gaze directed towards a Cloud Pavilion, his face revealing a smug smile.

Following his line of sight, one could see Xu Ziyan and Lin Buyu sitting on that Cloud Pavilion.

Then, he turned his head towards Xu Taiping’s position and provocatively said:

“Xu Taiping, do you dare to fight me head-on as soon as you step up?”

Many disciples of the Qingxuan Sect on the Cloud Pavilion were familiar with the name Xu Taiping, so when they heard Zhou Ao’s challenge, there was a sudden uproar around the pavilions.

He hadn’t expected Zhou Ao to also have a grudge against Xu Taiping.