“I lost. I did my best, but I still lost,” Jian Wushuang said helplessly.
He indeed did his best. Even after using Fiery Wind Sword Essence with his full power, he was still ten meters behind.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jian Wushuang returned to the edge of the corridor with Baili Chen.
A large number of disciples were staring at them excitedly.
“You two did an excellent job,” said the Palace Master White. “Baili Chen, your strength has improved a lot compared to three years ago.”
“You exaggerate Palace Master. I was lucky to be ten meters ahead this time. After all, this was the first time Jian Wushuang went through the Heavenly Palace. He is not quite familiar with it yet. If he tried again, I might not be his match. His strength is greater than mine,” Baili Chen said.
Hearing this, the surrounding disciples were stunned.
They did not expect that Baili Chen would admit that Jian Wushuang’s strength was greater than his.
Everybody knew that Baili Chen ranked 2nd on the Earthly Dragon List, while Jian Wushuang… How old was he?
“I lost, and this is the truth. Even if we fought one more time, I would still lose,” Jian Wushuang smiled and said.
“Alright, you two are done fighting, so now it’s time for the competition. There will be seven winners selected during the competition. Let’s go.” Hearing what Palace Master White said, the disciples returned to Martial Arts Practice Field again, and threw themselves into the competition.
The combat over the remaining seven recommendations would be much crueler.
It was a competition where everyone had to depend on their own strength. Only the seven strongest people would be allowed to attend the selection battle.
Yang Zaixuan walked directly towards Luo Ang with a cold face.
“You are Luo Ang, right? Your recommendation chance will be mine,” Yang Zaixuan said coldly.
“How ridiculous,” being immediately enraged, Luo Ang threw himself into the fight with Yang Zaixuan.
Only a few minutes later, this fierce battle ended.
The result amazed nearly all the disciples of Dragon Palace.
Luo Ang lost, again. First, Jian Wushuang beat him, now Yang Zaixuan was the second one who defeated him.
Although Yang Zaixuan was not able to defeat Luo Ang within three moves like Jian Wushuang, he had overpowered Luo Ang throughout the whole match, without any suspense. It was obvious that Yang Zaixuan’s battle strength was much greater than Luo Ang’s.
“The top 10…Yang Zaixuan’s strength is strong enough to rank in the top 10 of the Earthly Dragon List!”
“We have one more powerful person!”
“Ha-ha, how unfortunate for Luo Ang. After all, he is ranking 14th on the Earthly Dragon List, but he was defeated by two people in the same today, being ‘overpowered’ by both of them.”
Hearing the disciples discussions, Palace Master White and the others were happy and surprised.
Yang Zaixuan was strong enough to be in the top ten of the Earthly Dragon List, which meant that they might get one more spot in the Easternmost Hunt this time. So of course, they were happy.
Other than Yang Zaixuan, there was one more excellent newcomer who caught their attention.
This person was Su Rou!
“This lady…”
“Her swordsmanship is so odd!”
“She has defeated three seniors in a row. One of them even ranked 29th on the Earthly Dragon List.”
While the disciples were discussing this, Su Rou defeated the fourth senior. So she had a very good chance of receiving a recommendation.
Among the four newcomers who attended the competition this time…
Jian Wushuang, Yang Zaixuan, Su Rou, and Su Lie. Other than Su Lie, the other three would receive a recommendation. On behalf of Dragon Palace, they could attend the selection battle held in Tianzong Dynasty next month.
“Ha-ha, you three are really excellent, you are definitely my siblings,” Wang Yuan smiled and said proudly, “especially Wushuang, you were so formidable when you competed with Baili Chen. Everybody knows he is ranked 2nd on the Earthly Dragon List!”
“But I was still defeated,” said Jian Wushuang, shaking his head. He was not proud or happy at all.
He thought after two years of earnest cultivation in the Sword Tomb that his strength would be enough to look down on the Earthly Dragon List. But obviously, he was wrong.
Even Baili Chen, who was ranked 2nd, was so hard to defeat. Not to mention Xue Yun who was ranked 1st. Since he was slightly weaker than Baili Chen, how much stronger was Xue Yun?
“The selection battle next month will gather experts from everywhere. Xue Yun is a peerless genius that Blood Feather Tower elaborately cultivated. He will definitely attend it as well, which means he will probably fight with me.” Jian Wushuang was worried and thought.
Three years ago, Baili Chen and Qing Cang teamed up to fight against Xue Yun, but they were only able to reach a draw.
However, Xue Yun was just in the Profound Gold Core Realm at that time.
Now, three years had passed. What level was Xue Yun’s strength at?
Jian Wushuang squinted his eyes slightly.
If he fought with Xue Yun right now and didn’t use the Soul-taking Secret Skill, he had no confidence that he could win.
“There is only one month left before the battle!”
“I must find a way to enhance my strength in this remaining month!”
A light flashed in Jian Wushuang’s eyes.
After the ten recommendations were confirmed, Jian Wushuang left the Martial Arts Practice Field and went directly to Secret Pavilion. Once there, he exchanged for plenty of First-class Heavenly Spirit Pills.
Afterwards, he devoted himself to earnest cultivation for one month.
During that whole month, he had locked himself in the room, without even stepping outside of the door.
Yang Zaixuan and Su Rou were also in earnest cultivation.
They all knew that there was only one month left before the match. Any improvements during this month would increase their chance of winning in the selection battle.
Wang Yuan suffered the whole month, because everyone was cultivating in isolation at the same time. So he could not find anyone to drink with.
In a flash, one month had passed.
On the bed in his room, Jian Wushuang’s eyes, which were originally half-closed, suddenly opened. At the same time, a foul air was exhaled from his mouth.
“I have swallowed 30 First-class Heavenly Spirit Pills this month, one each day. It’s such a luxury. Although a great deal of the Heavenly Spirit Pill’s efficiency was wasted, it helped my cultivation reach the peak of the Profound Gold Core Realm!”Clenching his hands tightly, he could feel that his power was much stronger than one month ago. Jian Wushuang smiled.
Earlier, in the Sword Tomb, his cultivation had already reached the Profound Gold Core realm, only a small distance from the peak of the profound level.
Plus, he had been cultivating tirelessly this month, while swallowing a large number of First-class Heavenly Spirit Pills. It would be unreasonable if he did not reach the peak of the Profound Gold Core Realm.
“In addition, I finally grasped the Eighth Move of the Formless Sword Art,” Jian Wushuang smiled and muttered.
The seventh move of the Formless Sword Art could only be displayed by someone with a good comprehension of the Gale and Raging Fire Sword Essences. Combining them was unnecessary.
While the Eighth Move required those two essences to be combined before it could be used. This move could really help Jian Wushuang raise his strength to a new level.
“It’s a pity that I was still unable to combine three sword essences, even after this month of cultivation. Otherwise, I would be even more prepared,” Jian Wushuang muttered in a dissatisfied tone.