"Hmph! You coward, hiding your face!"

"I am Shen Rongguang of the Tian Nan Shen Clan. I’d advise you to know what’s good for you and get off the stage yourself. It’ll save you the embarrassment later!"

Shen Rongguang swaggered across the stage to stand before Shen Changchuan, his gaze arrogant as he spoke boisterously.

His every word dripped with condescension.

This wasn’t just some brainless, random taunt.

It was because...

he was more than ninety percent certain he would win this fight.

This was no exaggeration.

It was a fact.

In the Immortal Cultivation Realm,

Cultivators from the cities were generally far more formidable than those from the countryside.

Likewise, Cultivators from major families were stronger than most of the Loose Cultivators out in the world.

This was determined by their respective circumstances.

For example, a Cultivator from a major family,

even one from a branch family, had access to resources like Cultivation Experience that were far beyond the reach of any Loose Cultivator, giving them a higher starting point and a greater advantage.

Setting aside everything else, just look at the mastery of Magic techniques.

A Cultivator from a major family could consult with their elders and predecessors to obtain a rational set of Cultivation Techniques. While practicing their Magic, they could receive guidance from within the family and access annotated Cultivation Experience from past members in the Scripture Pavilion for that specific Technique.

This allowed Cultivators from major families to reach a deeper level of mastery simply by focusing and dedicating enough time and effort.

In comparison,

what about the Loose Cultivators of the outside world?

Unless they were one of the very few with Heaven-defying luck—who might, for instance, discover a predecessor’s cavern residence and soar to new heights by obtaining a profound legacy, or receive guidance from a great personage and investment from a major power due to their outstanding talent—

they were otherwise doomed to a life of toil, scrambling day and night just to earn enough Cultivation Resources.

Many of them lacked the time and resources to even advance their Cultivation Realm. How could they possibly spare the Spirit Stones to purchase powerful Magic Techniques?

For people like them, mastering even three to five powerful combat Magic Techniques was already considered an impressive achievement!

Furthermore, during their Cultivation of Magic, the lack of guidance from predecessors on the proper methods meant they could easily go astray. This often led to their Magic Cultivation getting stuck at a bottleneck, unable to advance even an inch.

Unless one possessed extraordinary Comprehension, it was nearly impossible to cultivate a Magic Technique to a deep level.

This was an unchangeable reality.

In recent years, Shen Rongguang had traveled far and wide with his big brother Zhongshan, gaining some worldly experience and a clear understanding of this situation.

More importantly, they had arrived at this Wu Family Collection two or three months ago and had stayed for some time. He had an even better grasp of the skill level of the low-to-mid-tier Cultivators in this remote and Barbaric Land.

This place was even more barren and backward than the countryside near Tian Nan City.

What kind of expert could possibly emerge from a place like this?

Thus, Shen Rongguang naturally felt psychologically superior to the local Cultivators.

And what elevated this psychological advantage to an even higher level...

was the fact that the Shopkeeper from the Wanghu Commerce Association had already colluded with him.

Due to the other party’s scheming, their ace fighter would not be able to make it.

At the same time, most of the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer Peak experts near Wu Family Collection had been bought off or warned away.

The best his opponent could possibly hire would be some second or third-class nobody.

Under such circumstances,

how could Shen Rongguang not be filled with pride?

In his eyes,

this arena battle was already won before it had even begun!

’A mere second- or third-class local...’

’How could I possibly lose?’

With such arrogance,

it was all perfectly normal.

"Shen Rongguang? Never heard of him."

Shen Changchuan remained outwardly impassive, showing no reaction to Shen Rongguang’s words.

Inwardly, however, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

’Though the internal struggles of the family are fierce,’

’there is one ancestral rule that has always been upheld and has never changed.’

’And that is, the family’s more outstanding disciples will receive a greater share of the resources.’

’Within the family,’

’a small competition is held every year, followed by a large one every three years.’

’The amount of Cultivation Resources the family invests in its disciples is determined by their performance in these competitions.’

’And the reason that one fellow ended up "committing suicide" with seven stab wounds to the back was most likely related to his excellent performance and high ranking in the triennial family competition.’

’But the matter was too complicated, and the Shen Changchuan of that time didn’t dare investigate too deeply.’

’Because of that incident, however, I made a point of learning about the family’s competition system.’

’As a result, I’ve heard of the more powerful disciples currently in the Shen Family.’

’At the very least,’

’this Shen Rongguang’s name is not among the names of those formidable Shen Clan disciples.’

However,

as Shen Changchuan’s gaze swept past Shen Rongguang to the few Shen Clan members supporting him below the stage, his eyes narrowed slightly on one particular figure.

’Is that... Shen Cunrui? What is that kid doing there?’

Although he was somewhat surprised,

Shen Changchuan concealed it well. No one noticed a thing.

Meanwhile,

faced with Shen Changchuan’s "indifference,"

Shen Rongguang felt insulted.

A mere country bumpkin dared to treat a member of the Shen Family like he was nothing?!

He was so furious he laughed.

"Very good!"

"If I let you walk off this stage on your own two feet, then I, Shen Rongguang, will write my name backward from now on!"

Shen Changchuan focused his Heart Spirit, but his expression remained calm. He simply said flatly,

"Talk is useless. Let’s begin."

"Hmph! You’re courting death!"

With a cold snort, the enraged Shen Rongguang wasted no more time. His hands fluttered like butterflies.

A gleam of Magical Power flashed in his hands, instantly coalescing into a sharp, three-foot-long sword that hovered in the air before him, glinting with a cold light.

From the moment he formed the hand seals for the Technique to the Gathering Sword Technique forming the Magic Sword, less than a single breath of time had passed!

A look of pride appeared on Shen Rongguang’s face.

’This is the advantage of being a disciple from a major family, of having someone to teach and guide you!’

’If it were any other ordinary Cultivator, even if they had cultivated the Gathering Sword Technique, it would take them at least two or three breaths to go from chanting the Technique to condensing a Magical Power Light Saber.’

’That time difference is enough to decide the outcome of a battle!’

’A mere country bumpkin dares to be so arrogant!’

’He probably hasn’t even finished chanting his Technique, so where does he get the confidence to fight me?!’

Shen Rongguang thought coldly,

deciding to instantly defeat this fool who didn’t know what was good for him with a single blow,

and teach him a profound lesson.

However,

the moment he looked up,

several three-foot-long Wind Blades had already torn through the air, appearing high above him.

With lightning speed, they came slashing down at his head!

"What?!!!"

The sudden turn of events made Shen Rongguang’s expression change in horror.

’How can he be so fast?!’

But in the face of crisis, Shen Rongguang had no time to think.

He could only instinctively raise his fingers, still forming the hand seals, and command the Magic Sword to block.

In an instant, the Magic Sword hovering before him shot upward like a Wandering Dragon, whistling as it slashed toward the incoming Wind Blades!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The light of the Magic Sword and the Wind Blades clashed head-on, creating a violent collision and a deafening roar.

At almost the same time,

a powerful explosion of Magical Power erupted. A shockwave of air, visible to the naked eye, swept outwards, and the entire stage trembled violently.

The Magic Sword created by Shen Rongguang’s Gathering Sword Technique consecutively shattered two of the Wind Blades.

But now,

after destroying two Wind Blades, the light of the condensed Magical Power sword had completely dimmed.

If one looked closely, they could see that the once-crystalline blade was now covered in a dense web of tiny cracks!

After directly confronting and breaking two Wind Blades, the Gathering Sword Technique had clearly reached its limit!

Sure enough,

as the third Wind Blade slashed down,

the phantom of the longsword instantly disintegrated!

It was crushed like a dead branch!

The remaining Wind Blades followed close behind.

Unobstructed, they struck the still-reeling Shen Rongguang like lightning.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Several more muffled explosions rang out as bursts of Magical Power swept forth, kicking up a gale that extended for dozens of feet.

Shen Rongguang’s figure staggered backward,

taking seven or eight steps back!

At that moment, however,

his body was covered by a faint white light screen, incredibly dim and filled with a dense web of fine cracks.

The source of this Magical Power light screen was a Heart-Protecting Mirror hanging on his chest!

It was a Magical Artifact,

a defensive Magical Artifact!

The moment the Wind Blades crashed down on him, the power of the Heart-Protecting Mirror activated, blocking the terrifying attacks.

It saved Shen Rongguang from a grievous injury.

Even so,

his situation was by no means good!

Taking three Wind Blade Techniques head-on in such a short time, with their powerful force erupting one after another, had nearly destroyed the Magical Power circuits within the Heart-Protecting Mirror. Its Spiritual nature had also been severely damaged.

If he wanted to use it again, he would have to pay a considerable price to repair it after the battle!

But,

how could Shen Changchuan possibly give him time to catch his breath?

The very moment Shen Rongguang was knocked back and his Heart-Protecting Mirror was damaged,

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

The still-shaken Shen Rongguang had not yet recovered from this sudden turn of events,

when five consecutive crimson, basketball-sized Fireballs, wreathed in scorching heat that sent waves of warmth across half the stage, came hurtling down toward his head once again!

The attack was too fast, too ferocious! Shen Rongguang had no time to even breathe!

This time, he had no way to defend himself!

BOOOOM!

Accompanied by a violent roar, the flame storm from the colliding Fireball Technique engulfed his figure in an instant!

In the blink of an eye,

a figure, charred black from head to toe, fell from the stage like a rag doll.

All of this took a long time to describe,

but in reality, from the moment Shen Rongguang made his threat and attacked to the moment Shen Changchuan defeated him,

less than five breaths had passed.

The surrounding area, which had been bustling with noise,

filled with people discussing who would win or lose, or betting on how many moves one could withstand,

was as if someone had pressed the pause button.

A sudden, deathly silence!