Coincidentally, Shi Xuan had also practiced physical arts. Now that he had finished his meal and had nothing else to do, he should take a good look at how other physical cultivators train their bodies.

In a short while, the two had already faced off.

Shi Xuan immediately unleashed a move from the Concealed Edge Sword Technique, just like when he faced Youfu earlier. This was the purest and most direct strike in the Concealed Edge Sword Technique, seemingly simple but extremely difficult to master. The variations hidden within this move, the methods of simplifying complexity, were all the kind that looked easy but were difficult to learn. For the disciples of the Concealed Edge Sword Sect, this move in the seventh level was the one that most often stumped them.

When fighting Lai Youfu, Shi Xuan used this move as her opening move, which Lai Youfu failed to catch. Now, against Cheng Yi, she used the same move again, wanting to see how Cheng Yi would respond.

Cheng Yi reacted immediately the moment she drew her sword. Instead of confronting her head-on, he leaped into the air and dodged to the side. At the same time, a dark yellow halo appeared on his body, and he seemed to transform into a large shield radiating spiritual power.

Shi Xuan's sword energy was the same as before, without any change. However, Cheng Yi's approach was completely different from Lai Youfu's. His dodging movement avoided most of the sword energy attack, and the remaining small portion hit his body, which was glowing with a dark yellow aura, without causing him any damage.

Indeed, it's quite remarkable.

This was the first time Shi Xuan had ever seen someone cultivate their body to such an extent, and she immediately became interested. She used all the attack moves from the Concealed Edge Sword Technique. The Concealed Edge Sword in her hand was sharp and piercing, and every move had a sharpness that could pierce through everything.

It's clear that Cheng Yi isn't having an easy time dealing with this either.

The dark yellow color on his body never faded, as he kept concentrating all his spiritual power on the surface of his body to resist Shi Xuan's attack.

Shi Xuan noticed that Cheng Yi's dark yellow aura was distributed in a focused manner on his body. The aura was denser in the areas that needed to be defended, while it was much fainter in the areas far from Shi Xuan's attack.

It seems he can adjust his strategy based on the attacker's situation. After all, a cultivator's spiritual power is not unlimited. The key to a sustained battle is to achieve the greatest results with the least amount of spiritual power.

However, Shi Xuan did not have this problem. Her spiritual palace was several times larger than others, and she could store several times more spiritual power. In addition, when she was fighting, her spirit would absorb spiritual energy more actively to ensure her endurance in battle.

After using all the attack moves in the Concealed Edge Sword Technique, Shi Xuan had figured out the opponent's defensive tactics. Now she was curious about how such a powerful body cultivator could attack.

Shi Xuan then switched from offense to defense, seemingly having exhausted all his moves and having nothing new to offer, and adopted a defensive stance.

The transition was given a process and did not seem abrupt.

Seeing Shi Xuan's attitude, Cheng Yi on the opposite side was unwilling to give up such a good opportunity to attack.

He raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and a dark light shone brightly from it. This punch, carrying the force of tearing through the air and an immense sense of oppression, slammed into Shi Xuan. Wherever the fist passed, it seemed as if the air itself was being torn apart. Even the audience, who were far away, felt as if they could hear the sound of air being ripped apart.

Shi Xuan's pupils contracted slightly as she immediately assessed the power of the punch in her mind. This was Cheng Yi's first attack. Although Shi Xuan estimated in her mind that she could completely withstand this move, she still avoided the strongest part of the attack and raised her arm to block it, just to be on the safe side.

A strong gust of wind whistled past Shi Xuan's face, making her hair fly. Shi Xuan concentrated her spiritual power in her raised left arm to meet Cheng Yi's attack that came flying through the air.

The instant they met, Shi Xuan felt as if a giant hammer filled with spiritual power had struck her arm, causing her entire arm to feel numb.

Fortunately, her Sacred Bone Technique had already forged her bones and muscles into something incredibly tough. Although the blow surprised her, she was not injured.

Shi Xuan still respected this body cultivator in his heart. His body had been honed to an exceptional degree, possessing both offensive and defensive capabilities, making him seem like a flawless high-level magical artifact. It was truly remarkable for a body cultivator to reach such a level.

At the same time, Cheng Yi was even more surprised.

He had a distinct feeling that the person opposite him shared some striking similarities with him, as if she were also a body cultivator. The moment her arm touched him, he clearly felt a strengthening sensation unique to body cultivators; her entire arm was like a magical artifact, far beyond what ordinary cultivators could achieve.

Moreover, it would be extremely difficult for a cultivator at the eighth level of the Golden Core stage to withstand his attack with his bare hands, yet she did it with ease!

Who exactly is Shi Xuan? How many secrets does she still hold that are unknown to outsiders?

Therefore, it's clear that Ji Lie and Lai Youfu, who fought against her earlier, didn't lose because of bad luck!

After Shi Xuan received Cheng Yi's punch, the powerful force traveled from her arm to her entire body, and the Sacred Bone Technique made her body even stronger.

Since she completed the second half of the Sacred Bone Technique, she has rarely had such an opportunity to fight against a body cultivator and let a body cultivator "hammer" her a few times. Now is really a good opportunity to cultivate the Sacred Bone Technique.

Having figured out her opponent's strengths and weaknesses, Shi Xuan fought him with even more freedom. She was unable to use her offensive sword techniques anymore, and the battle turned into Cheng Yi's offensive, while Shi Xuan kept blocking and dodging.

The cultivators watching from the sidelines had already drawn their own conclusions about the battle between the two. Although Shi Xuan had a strong initial momentum, he lacked follow-through and was now being beaten so badly by Cheng Yi that he could only parry without being able to retaliate at all.

"Sigh, there's nothing to see here anymore, it's a done deal."

"I thought Shi Xuan would be something special, and I was looking forward to seeing her climb to the top. But now it seems she's just so-so."

"What kind of ability do you expect from a newcomer? Reaching 45th place is already impressive enough, let alone reaching the top. The person at the top is already at the second level of the Nascent Soul stage. Do you think someone at the eighth level of the Golden Core stage can defeat a Nascent Soul stage cultivator?"

"I said from the beginning that Shi Xuan's victory had an element of luck in it."

"I still prefer Cheng Yi. I love watching Cheng Yi's fights the most; they're so exciting!"

...

Only the members of the best squad remained unmoved. They knew their captain's abilities; she was only defending and showed no signs of attacking, which meant she had other plans.

Shen Wuyang listened to the cultivators around him pessimistically predicting Shi Xuan's downfall and sneered, "Getting fat first doesn't mean you're fat. It's not over yet. Don't jump to conclusions too early and you'll be proven wrong."

The cultivator standing nearby sneered, "Blind confidence! If your captain wins this round, I'll eat his sword!"