Wait a minute, where is my master?

Jin Xu's expression was serene as he glanced at the light screen above the chessboard.

Seeing the clear display of "Black wins, White loses,"

he lightly clenched his right hand, extinguishing the strand of golden thunderbolt within it.

During his previous breakthrough, the little Taoist had sensed that he could summon the Hand Palm Thunder out of thin air, rather than being constrained to only condensing it in his palm.

Thus, with a thought, he realized he could combine this method with his exceptionally strong Spiritual Sense to strike wherever he pointed.

And so, the move "Hand Palm Thunder - Heavenly Flying Immortal Edition" came into being.

"Looking at the results so far, it seems quite good. It's just that the first time I used it, I gathered a bit too much Spiritual Power. Next time, I could use a little less,"

Jin Xu mused silently within as he stepped away from the chessboard.

The cultivators of the black side reacted differently upon seeing the little Taoist leave.

The two women were accustomed to such situations; whatever their young master/temple master did, they would not be too surprised, and they immediately followed behind Jin Xu.

Zhao Dabao, having not seen the little Taoist for over a month, was slightly unsettled, but he quickly adjusted and followed with a beaming smile.

The remaining Blazing Sun Sword Sect cultivators, however, were completely baffled, not understanding how they had unwittingly become the victors.

...

Second Layer of Qingmu Secret Realm.

Outside the chessboard.

Jin Xu was the first to step out, followed closely by the two women and Zhao Dabao.

After emerging, he scanned his surroundings, searching for the amber-colored little calf.

However, the calf was occupied with inspecting the damages within the chessboard, so the little Taoist did not find it.

After a while, Lu Yiqian, slightly disoriented, led the disciples of Blazing Sun Sword Sect out as well.

Not ten breaths had passed when everyone outside saw the amber-colored little calf, with a frown and a blank expression, leading the disheartened cultivators of Pan Shi Valley out from the white side of the chessboard.

Spotting the three-inch-tall calf, Jin Xu's eyes brightened, and he hastened toward it.

At this moment, he simply wanted to exchange for the Seven-orifice Exquisite Heart Fruit and then head to the third layer of the Secret Realm.

...

Let's leave this man and calf aside for the moment.

First, let's talk about Qiu Li, the chief disciple of Pan Shi Valley. After he stepped out from the black and white chessboard, he walked straight towards Lu Yiqian.

Although the Golden Thunderbolt was controlled with incredible finesse, with all of its force concentrated on the white Crystal Soul and not harming his nineteen sect mates in the slightest,

Qiu Li still wanted to question the people of Blazing Sun Sword Sect—whether they had cheated by bringing a sword pellet containing a strike's worth of power from the sect's Ancestor into the Secret Realm!

As for the three unfamiliar faces, Qiu Li didn't even consider them.

Known powers in the Nine Provinces Realm were few, and the only ones capable of emitting a Spiritual Power fluctuation that instilled such dread were either the Ancestors of the Four Great Immortal Sects or certain individuals from Kunlun Immortal Palace!

Oh, right, there was also a royal uncle from the Great Xia Dynasty.

But this place was only accessible to those below the level of Divinity Transformation, and Great Xia had not sent anyone to participate in the Qingmu Secret Realm this time.

So Qiu Li didn't even think of Jin Xu and the other two, and instead, directly confronted Junior Master Lu Yiqian.

"Are you Lu Yiqian from Blazing Sun Sword Sect? Bringing such high-level deadly weapons into the Qingmu Secret Realm—isn't that a bit too much!"

All the Four Great Immortal Sects had Ancestors with comparable strengths and levels of cultivation. If elite disciples of a sect always carried such high-level life-saving artifacts, not only would it not serve the purpose of honing the disciples but would also invite criticism.

So by unspoken agreement, the life-saving artifacts provided to disciples below the Void Refinement Realm were capped at the level of Divinity Transformation.

Of course, if the sect's disciples had their own fortuitous encounters, that would be a different matter.

As for above the Void Refinement Realm...

If you've surpassed the Void Refinement Realm, you'd be a top figure wherever you go in the Nine Provinces Realm, and since the sect has nurtured you for so long, it's time for you to give back to the sect.

Therefore, above the Void Refinement Realm, the sect doesn't intervene.

"What? Hit a nerve, so you're too guilty to speak?"

At this moment, Qiu Li was still in the state of his Ancient Mountain Spirit Clan's bloodline activation, and his temper was more volatile than usual. Seeing that Lu Yiqian was silent, he not only questioned aloud but also attempted to grab his collar.

With such an attitude, no matter how the Junior Master reacted, the disciples from the Blazing Sun Sword Sect behind him didn't agree with it at all, they all drew their swords and surrounded him.

After all, the assessment had already ended, and the second layer of the secret realm didn't restrict a fight to the death.

If you were to die at the edge of the chessboard, the monitors wouldn't interfere with you, as long as you didn't interfere with the assessment.

That group of bald cultivators in the distance with worried frowns and dejected postures were annoyed and confused about how they lost.

Suddenly seeing their senior brother about to be encircled by the other party, they quickly rushed over.

Those cultivators from Pan Shi Valley who hadn't followed Qiu Li into the chessboard were now squeezing out from among the loose cultivators that had gathered to watch the excitement.

For a moment, both sides were poised for combat, as if they were ready to fight outside the arena once again.

Now the loose cultivators at a distance, while watching, dared not openly place bets, but were discussing quietly at a farther place, aiming to enjoy the spectacle.

"Lu Yiqian, are you planning to keep silent until the end, or are you pretending to be mute?"

By this time, Qiu Li's hand was already grabbing the collar of the Junior Master from the Blazing Sun Sword Sect, but the other party was still solemn and silent.

This made Qiu Li wonder if the man in front of him really couldn't speak.

The sword cultivators from the Blazing Sun Sword Sect were also somewhat confused at this time; their Junior Master wasn't a coward, so why was he silent in the face of provocation from Pan Shi Valley's cultivators?

"Fellow daoist, I will definitely give you an explanation for the assessment matter later, but could you let go of me first? I have some urgent matters to attend to."

Lu Yiqian's expression was serious, and he chose to communicate telepathically instead of speaking out loud.

"A true man should speak openly and uprightly. You're telepathically telling me to let you go, but what if you run away?"

Qiu Li gave no face to the other party, directly exposing the silent communication, and even leaned his face closer.

"Fellow daoist, leave some leeway in life, so we can meet again in the future. If you let go now, I... owe you a favor."

Lu Yiqian clenched his teeth and telepathically communicated again with Qiu Li, while his eyes uncontrollably glanced at the other's blue-tinted bald head.

"Ha, spit, do I, the leading disciple of Pan Shi Valley, need your favor!"

"Are you truly not letting go?"

"As long as you clarify whether you used the Ancestor's techniques from the sect, I will let you go!"

The two of them, one communicating telepathically, the other speaking out loud, created an extremely bizarre scene, as if Qiu Li was talking to himself.

"Alright, if that's the case, then apologies, but I must!"

Lu Yiqian communicated telepathically for the last time.

His expression was solemn, his lips parted slightly.

"Kou Qu~~!"

A filthy torrent gushed out along with the sound of retching from his mouth, and because they were too close, Qiu Li, despite dodging, still got thoroughly drenched.

Such an unexpected turn left the cultivators from the Blazing Sun Sword Sect bewildered.

The cultivators from Pan Shi Valley who had come to support their senior brother were also stunned!

Including the loose cultivators watching the commotion from afar, and Jin Xu, who was talking to a little amber-colored bull.

Everyone was flabbergasted!