“One more thing, I want all of you to give up immediately when it’s necessary!”

As these words were spoken, the murmurs among the crowd gradually subsided.

The old man’s gentle gaze swept over everyone before he explained.

“After all, it’s an arena competition, and it’s inevitable that some may not hold back.”

“That’s why every year, during the Centennial competition among a hundred Sects, quite a few disciples die on the stage. But this matter is somewhat unspeakable, and every Sect that participates in the competition tacitly accepts this.”

At this point, the old man’s face turned somewhat solemn as he said.

“You are all the future hope of the Great Xia Sword Sect!”

“Even if the Great Xia Sword Sect lacks resources, we elders can go out and hunt demon beasts. There’s no need to exchange your lives for it!”

“Do you understand?”

Everyone took a deep breath and responded in a deep voice: “Understood!”

The old man nodded slightly upon hearing this, then maneuvered the Cloud Boat to fly over the mountain range.

Roar!! Screech!! Chirp chirp!!

As the Cloud Boat skimmed over the mountains, the roars of various demon beasts could be heard from below.

Gradually, many other Cloud Boats began to appear around them.

Some of these Cloud Boats were even over a hundred zhang long!

However, just as everyone was marveling, a sudden beastly roar came from above their heads!

When everyone looked up, they saw a massive golden Cloud Boat, over one hundred and fifty zhang long, suddenly appear in the sky!

The huge Cloud Boat, with five decks, was pulled by six horse-like demon beasts, each with reins in their mouths.

The six demon beasts were all azure in color, each emitting an incredibly powerful aura!

Yet, on the top deck of that Cloud Boat stood a young man in white, hands behind his back, at the stern.

As the Cloud Boat passed by them, the young man, upon seeing Li Guanqi looking up, showed a hint of surprise, followed by a flash of sharpness in his eyes!

Lin Dong spoke in a shocked whisper: “What kind of demon beast is that… so majestic!”

Ye Feng, who clearly recognized the six demon beasts, said in a deep voice.

“Third-order demon beasts, Qingyun steeds!”

“Which Sect is this? Such grandeur!”

“To think that Qingyun steeds, comparable to Golden Elixir stage Cultivators, are used to pull the Cloud Boat.”

Li Guanqi also slowly retracted his Insight, contemplative.

Qin Xian, watching the Cloud Boat fly past overhead, spoke softly.

“The Xuanmen Hall, which is known alongside the Purple Sun Hall as one of the three Sects and six Halls!”

“Alright, let’s speed up as well.”

Whoosh!

With Qin Xian’s surging Primordial Energy poured into the Cloud Boat, its speed instantly surged.

After crossing the mountains, everyone saw a raging river, a thousand zhang wide!

In the middle of the river stood a towering pass!

As they drew closer, the plaque on the city tower of the pass finally became clear.

“Tianyu Pass!”

The colossal Tianyu Pass was situated between two high mountains, built over the river.

Behind it lay a vast city, Tianyu City.

By the time everyone arrived at Tianyu Pass, the surrounding peaks were already filled with densely packed Cloud Boats.

However, most of the Cloud Boats parked outside the pass were there just to watch the excitement.

Li Guanqi took a quick glance and noticed that there were at least three hundred Cloud Boats docked.

This meant that at this moment, Tianyu City must have gathered tens of thousands of people!

After their Cloud Boat passed the inspection, it flew straight over Tianyu Pass.

Below, many people in the city looked up at the sky, talking about their Cloud Boat.

Qin Xian said softly, “From now on, everything you do and say represents the Great Xia Sword Sect!”

“So remember, be cautious in your words and deeds.”

“But if someone who’s asking for trouble comes up, give them a good thrashing for me!”

Hearing the old man’s words, everyone laughed and chimed in agreement.

Soon, the Cloud Boat arrived at the back of Tianyu City.

From a distance, Li Guanqi could see three high mountains behind the vast Tianyu City.

The peaks had been flattened by great magical powers, leaving platforms nearly three thousand zhang in size!

Numerous Cloud Boats had already docked beside the three mountains.

As everyone disembarked from the Cloud Boat, arrangements for their accommodation had already been made within Tianyu City.

After all, the location of this Centennial competition was quite remote, and many people from the Sects had not yet arrived.

The leading elder greeted Qin Xian with a smile and a cupped fist salute: “I didn’t expect Elder Qin to lead the team personally this time.”

Qin Xian was slightly startled upon recognizing the person, then looked at the green-robed elder in front of him with some surprise.

“Ge Qing? Weren’t you always a loner?”

“Why now…”

The elder laughed heartily: “I used to enjoy solitude when I was young, but later I realized that in the outside world, strength and backing are important.”

“So I simply chose the best option, serving under the Northern Domain’s Heavenly King is quite good.”

Qin Xian looked nostalgic and said softly: “I never thought that Ge Qing, who was unruly in his youth, would start looking for support.”

“Hahaha, would you consider joining the Great Xia Sword Sect?”

The elder known as Ge Qing quickly shook his head with a laugh: “Forget it, I’m too old for that hassle.”

“These are your current disciples? Not bad at all.”

The elder glanced at everyone, his words slightly perfunctory.

Qin Xian didn’t say much, and the elder then said: “Alright, I’ll arrange for your accommodation first, right here in Tianyu City.”

“The competition is set for three days from now, so you’ll have to wait two more days.”

Everyone followed the elder on their Sword flight to their lodgings.

The inn had seven floors, yet they were only arranged to stay on the second floor.

After settling in, Qin Xian said softly: “You have two days’ time, you can wander around here as you please.”

After dinner, Li Guanqi and Ye Feng exchanged glances and sneakily prepared to go out.

Coincidentally, they ran into Zhong Lin just as they were leaving and reluctantly decided to bring him along.

Li Guanqi then simply said: “Let’s just call Dong over as well.”

But who would have thought that as soon as Lin Dong received the message, he exclaimed: “Are we going for Mortal Heart Refinement??”

They covered his mouth and hurriedly headed outside.

The night in Tianyu City was bustling, perhaps also because of the Centennial competition, with streets teeming with people and the noise of vendors never ceasing.

It was only then that everyone realized how quickly time had passed on the mountain.

Today was already New Year’s Day.

Bang! Bang bang!

The sound of firecrackers mixed with blessings for the New Year, and the group of four stood dumbfounded on the street.

“Seasons come and go, another year has passed, wishing everything goes smoothly.”

“Let’s go, brothers!”

Li Guanqi’s face wore a smile as he picked out a red jacket suitable for Yu Sui’an on the street side, saying softly: “Today is perfect for Mortal Heart Refinement!”

With that, he walked into Qingxiao Tower with Ye Feng, under the astonished gazes of Lin Dong and Zhong Lin.