Jeers immediately erupted from all directions, turning Jiang Hongran's expression increasingly unsightly.

"Jiang Hongran, if you don't have the guts to wager, then don't bring it up in the first place. Stop wasting everyone's time and start the fight already!"

Aside from Liu Wuxie, Jiang Hongran had no shortage of rivals within the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Seeing him cornered, they naturally seized the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

Others quickly chimed in. "Mentor Jiang, why are you hesitating? This battle is practically a guaranteed victory!" They didn't particularly care who won or lost. All they wanted to see was how things would unfold.

After all, no one had forgotten the seven-colored pill cloud Liu Wuxie had produced not long ago. When Wen Qi learned of that matter, his killing intent toward Liu Wuxie had only deepened.

Voices urging him echoed throughout the plaza. If Jiang Hongran continued to hesitate, it wouldn't be long before he became the target of everyone's ridicule.

Liu Wuxie remained completely calm. As long as the opening move succeeded, everything else would naturally fall into place.

"Fine, I'll accept your condition. But if you lose, I want your alchemy technique," Jiang Hongran said through gritted teeth, finally agreeing to stake the Indigo Moon Essence.

"Then let's begin," Liu Wuxie said calmly, signaling that the assessment could proceed.

Yu Hongsheng stepped forward and burst toward Xiang Rulong with astonishing speed.

Xiang Rulong snorted coldly. "What arrogance!"

His physique was somewhat unique. Under normal circumstances, he should have broken through to the second-level True Immortal Realm long ago. However, Liu Wuxie had repeatedly instructed him to suppress his cultivation to build a stronger foundation.

With a thunderous boom, Xiang Rulong shot forward as well. This wasn't their first confrontation, and both were thoroughly familiar with the other's methods.

As the battle began, Xiang Rulong showed no intention of meeting force with force. Instead, he relied on his footwork, weaving constantly across the arena and effortlessly evading dozens of Yu Hongsheng's attacks.

Had this happened in the past, Xiang Rulong would have looked utterly miserable even if he managed to dodge.

"Quick, look at Xiang Rulong's footwork! Why have we never seen him use that before?" Students who had once shared the same class with him rose from their seats one after another. None of them had ever witnessed such a movement technique from Xiang Rulong, especially one that appeared so profound and unpredictable.

Unable to land a decisive blow, Yu Hongsheng gradually grew impatient. As his attacks alternated between haste and restraint, flaws began appearing more frequently within his offensive rhythm.

Meanwhile, Xiang Rulong remained calm and collected. Even when there were clear openings, he deliberately chose not to capitalize on them, leaving countless spectators baffled.

"What is Xiang Rulong doing? He intentionally passed up several perfect opportunities to counterattack!"

In real combat, opportunities often vanished in the blink of an eye. Yet Xiang Rulong repeatedly let them slip by.

A sense of unease rose in Jiang Hongran's heart. He suddenly felt as though he had unknowingly stepped into another trap. Although Yu Hongsheng appeared to hold the advantage on the surface, he couldn't convert that advantage into a victory.

And the moment that advantage disappeared, defeat would inevitably follow.

"Xiang Rulong is using Yu Hongsheng to temper his combat techniques," a second-grade mentor said after seeing through the situation.

"What?!" people exclaimed in shock. The revelation completely overturned their understanding. A first-level True Immortal was actually using a second-level True Immortal as a whetstone to temper his skills.

Countless people looked at Liu Wuxie. Everyone knew Ye Linghan had remained in seclusion over the past several days, which meant Liu Wuxie had personally guided the students during that time.

Speculation instantly rippled through the crowd.

"Could Liu Wuxie be the descendant of some great figure?" After all, mystery had always surrounded Liu Wuxie's origins.

Despite repeated investigations, they could uncover only five individuals named Liu Wuxie within a radius of ten thousand miles. Yet across the boundless Celestial Realm, there were undoubtedly many more people bearing the same name. Tracing his true background would be anything but easy.

Yu Hongsheng's attacks grew increasingly frantic, and his state of mind gradually destabilized after failing to secure an opening for so long.

"Xiang Rulong, how long are you going to keep dodging?" Yu Hongsheng snapped.

After all, Xiang Rulong had spent the entire battle evading his attacks and had rarely launched a counterattack.

"Since you're so eager, then I'll oblige!"

After several hundred exchanges, Xiang Rulong had already accomplished his objective. His footsteps shifted lightly, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared before Yu Hongsheng.

His right leg blurred into a shadow as he lashed it outward, sending Yu Hongsheng flying before he could even react. The sudden turn of events caught every spectator off guard.

A thunderous crash echoed through the arena as Yu Hongsheng traced a long arc across the air before smashing face-first into the ground. Relying on the force of the impact, he bounced back to his feet, but his face was already a bloody mess.

"Xiang Rulong, I'll kill you!" Yu Hongsheng roared. His sword flashed repeatedly, unleashing one bizarre and sinister technique after another in an endless torrent.

Facing the incoming assault, Xiang Rulong remained as steady as a mountain. This time, however, he no longer retreated. Instead, he pressed forward and met the attacks head-on.

Every strike Xiang Rulong unleashed was precise and purposeful, seamlessly following the rhythm of battle and reflecting an astonishing level of combat experience. During this period, Liu Wuxie had repeatedly used the students as sparring partners while refining his blade techniques.

Day after day, the students struggled beneath Liu Wuxie's terrifying blade arts, and that constant pressure had tempered their battle instincts to an extraordinary degree.

Yu Hongsheng retreated repeatedly, his techniques completely suppressed by Xiang Rulong.

"What incredible combat skill!" The surrounding students cried out in astonishment.

In just a few dozen days, Xiang Rulong's combat ability had improved by several dozen times.

The students all turned toward Liu Wuxie, hoping to read something from his expression. "Could Liu Wuxie really be that skilled at teaching?"

"If Xiang Rulong wins, I want to transfer into his class as well."

The same thought surfaced in the minds of many students, and the desire to join Liu Wuxie's class quietly began to take root.

Xiang Rulong's sword slashed diagonally through the air, splitting into three afterimages. The three sword shadows left bloody marks across Yu Hongsheng's neck, chest, and waist.

"You've lost!" Xiang Rulong declared. He had shown mercy. Had he used just a little more force, Yu Hongsheng would already be dead.

Yu Hongsheng stood there with a dejected expression, unable to accept such a humiliating defeat. His cultivation was clearly superior, yet he had been suppressed from the beginning.

After finally venting the resentment that had accumulated within him over the past year, Xiang Rulong returned proudly to his seat. The moment that burden left his heart, his aura surged, and he broke through directly into the second-level True Immortal Realm.

Liu Wuxie asked with a smile, "Mentor Jiang, shouldn't you hand over the Indigo Moon Essence now?" After investing so much effort into nurturing Xiang Rulong, he had finally begun collecting the rewards.

The surroundings fell utterly silent.

No one spoke.

Everyone had anticipated Yu Hongsheng to emerge victorious, but Xiang Rulong had claimed the victory instead. The outcome had caught the entire crowd by surprise.

Without saying a word, Jiang Hongran withdrew a palm-sized porcelain bottle from his interspatial ring, his face full of reluctance. The bottle naturally contained the Indigo Moon Essence, but with so many witnesses present, he couldn't afford to break his word. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it toward Liu Wuxie.

After receiving the Indigo Moon Essence, Liu Wuxie put it away rather than refining it on the spot.

"I want to challenge Cheng Wende!" Another student stepped forward from Jiang Hongran's side.

After accepting the challenge, Cheng Wende strode onto the same arena where Xiang Rulong and Yu Hongsheng had fought moments earlier.

"Mentor Jiang, would you like a chance to win back the Indigo Moon Essence?" Liu Wuxie asked casually. He intended to seize every resource available to him. The only thing restricting his cultivation was a lack of resources. With his talent, bottlenecks were virtually nonexistent as long as he had sufficient resources.

Jiang Hongran's eyes immediately brightened. He hadn't expected Liu Wuxie to offer another wager.

"How do you want to bet?" he asked, his eyes already tinged red.

The Indigo Moon Essence was crucial to his future breakthrough into the Origin Immortal Realm, and he was determined to recover it no matter the cost.

"If you win, you can have the Indigo Moon Essence back. If I win, you only need to give me two hundred thousand immortal stones," Liu Wuxie said. He knew Jiang Hongran possessed few treasures of equal value, but immortal stones were another matter.

A bottle of Indigo Moon Essence was worth far more than two hundred thousand immortal stones, making this wager appear heavily tilted in Jiang Hongran's favor.

"Very well!"

Jiang Hongran agreed without the slightest hesitation.

The battle erupted the moment both sides settled the wager. Unlike Xiang Rulong, Cheng Wende fought with overwhelming aggression from the outset. Since his opponent shared the same ninth-level High Immortal cultivation, there was no need for caution or probing. In merely three moves, he defeated his opponent cleanly.

The crowd was thoroughly shocked by this result.

"How is this possible?! How can their combat strength be this powerful?" Virtually everyone in the Azure Flame Dao Hall was familiar with one another's abilities.

Yet after only a few dozen days apart, Xiang Rulong and Cheng Wende seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.

Cheng Wende's opponent's eyes turned bloodshot with fury, but there was nothing he could do except stand there and accept the outcome.

When Liu Wuxie's seemingly harmless gaze drifted toward Jiang Hongran, many people couldn't help feeling a chill run down their spines.

Jiang Hongran honored the wager without argument. He took out two hundred thousand immortal stones. He tossed them to Liu Wuxie before dropping heavily into his seat with a dark expression. Clearly, he had no intention of sending any more students to challenge him.

The remaining challenges unfolded between the other classes, while Ye Linghan's class became spectators. Although every battle drew cheers from the crowd, Liu Wuxie gradually lost interest. Fights at this level could scarcely capture his attention.

As time passed, the martial cultivation exchange gradually neared its conclusion by late morning.

The various classes exchanged victories and defeats, but strangely enough, no one challenged Ye Linghan's class again after Jiang Hongran's consecutive losses.

Two students stepped forward from Tu Zhengbao's class. "Zhang Hua, Wang Zhuang, we challenge the two of you in spiritual arrays!" It was obvious they had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang had once belonged to that class. Ever since transferring to Liu Wuxie's side, those two students had been searching for a chance to teach them a lesson. Today, they had finally gotten their opportunity. Not only did they intend to defeat the pair, but they also wanted to prove who the true authority in spiritual arrays really was.

Liu Wuxie could refuse challenges in other fields, but not this one. After all, Ye Linghan's class specialized in spiritual arrays. As for the alchemy, talisman, and blacksmithing competitions that would follow later, participation remained optional.

"My thoughts exactly!"

Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang immediately rose to their feet and headed straight for the spiritual array arena.

Tu Zhengbao's gaze settled on Liu Wuxie, while Liu Wuxie calmly returned his gaze. Without exchanging a single word, both men instantly understood the other's intentions.

"Liu Wuxie, do you dare wager with me?" Tu Zhengbao asked before Liu Wuxie could speak.

"How does Mentor Tu wish to wager?" Liu Wuxie asked, deliberately putting on a cautious expression. That subtle display naturally fell into everyone's eyes, including Tu Zhengbao's.