Four puppets against two puppets—although the four puppets might not be as strong as the two puppets, they were more than enough to hold off the two.

Zhang Yan could no longer contain his surprise; his eyes widened slightly, his expression one of utter disbelief.

How is that possible! Isn't she a sword cultivator? It's said she also has some skill in formations, so how could she have something like a puppet!

You should know that when his master passed these two puppets on to him, countless people in the sect were envious. Such precious items were almost a symbol of a weapon cultivator's status, and Shi Xuan took out four of them at once.

At this point, Zhang Yan couldn't help but feel envious, just like the people in the sect were envious of his puppet back then.

The six puppets exchanged over a dozen moves quickly. It was clear that Shi Xuan's puppets moved fluidly and reacted extremely fast. Although they were controlled by a Golden Core cultivator, they were in no way inferior to Zhang Yan's puppets.

It must have been made by a master!

Just as Zhang Yan was lost in thought while looking at the puppets on the field, Shi Xuan's second sword strike arrived.

Four puppets plus a swordsman—this formation was far beyond imagination.

No wonder that despite being a ninth-level Golden Core cultivator in a high-ranking position, few people dared to challenge her!

At this point, Zhang Yan was already beginning to regret his actions; he seemed to have underestimated the complexity of the situation.

This Shi Xuan is nothing like a Golden Core cultivator. Whether it's her combat power or what she possesses, she's on a completely different level from any Golden Core cultivator he's seen before.

In the blink of an eye, Shi Xuan's second sword was already upon him.

Zhang Yan reacted just like he did with the first sword strike, dodging while simultaneously summoning his magical artifact to defend himself.

Shi Xuan's sword thrust was slightly off-center, seemingly unintentional, merely a slip of the hand. But such a slight deviation made it easy for his opponent to dodge.

Zhang Yan felt that this sword strike was easier to dodge than the previous one, or perhaps it was weaker.

However, only the disciples of the Lianfeng Sword Sect noticed that Shi Xuan was acting strangely. They remembered the tactics she used during the first sect competition: feinting to the east while attacking in the west, a trick Shi Xuan always loved to employ.

Sure enough, just as Zhang Yan dodged in the direction Shi Xuan had thrown off course, a blinding pill awaited him in the direction he had dodged.

This pill wasn't actually that powerful for Zhang Yan, who was in the Nascent Soul stage. It only caused blindness in an instant, almost within two breaths. His vision was filled with white light, and suddenly he couldn't see anything.

Just then, he heard the sound of sword energy in the wind beside his ear. Shi Xuan had a third move waiting for him!

This is a series of consecutive moves! From the moment her first sword missed, she had already planned out a whole combo!

However, Zhang Yan was blind at this moment and could only rely on the direction of the wind to dodge, while also summoning his most powerful defensive magic weapon in case of emergency.

Two breaths may seem like an extremely short time, but in a battle of this magnitude, two breaths can be fatal!

Zhang Yan thought he had escaped unscathed, and that the rumors had already faded away.

But the instant he opened his eyes, a burst of silver light appeared before him, and a sword beam exploded without reservation in front of him.

Even when Zhang Yan failed, he still couldn't understand how he could have been defeated in such a short time.

He thought he had dodged the sound of the wind, but that sound was not the sound of sword energy at all. It was a first-tier magic weapon that Shi Xuan threw out the moment the blinding pill exploded, specifically to confuse the opponent. Sword energy, on the other hand, can be done without making a sound.

However, the first sword strike Shi Xuan made when he stepped onto the stage had a sound!

So, did she already plan every step after the very first swing of her sword?

How terrifying! How cunning!

However, it was too late to say anything at this point. Zhang Yan recalled what he had done on the stage; it seemed that his only attack was releasing two puppets, which were then completely suppressed by his opponent's four puppets.

He never thought he would lose before going on stage, and many people watching from below the stage also never thought that a Nascent Soul cultivator would lose to a Golden Core cultivator, especially one at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage.

Others thought Shi Xuan had a chance and predicted it would be a tough battle, but they didn't expect it to end so easily, as if they were fighting a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

There was a moment of silence outside the venue, followed by a burst of heated discussion.

"I told you Shi Xuan would win. Some people aren't meant to be challenged. Those in the front should be careful not to let Shi Xuan find you."

"It's all hindsight. I wonder who said before the fight that Shi Xuan was far inferior and that it would be too difficult for him to win."

"No, am I seeing things? It hasn't even been a quarter of an hour, and the Golden Core cultivator has already defeated the Nascent Soul cultivator?"

"Judging from Zhang Yan's expression, I was also surprised for him. He probably never expected to lose to someone at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage."

"Ha, I wanted to pick on an easy target, but I ended up kicking a hornet's nest."

...

Shi Xuan cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "You flatter me!"

Zhang Yan on the other side seemed to only then realize that he had lost just like that? Impossible.

In desperation, he blurted out, "Don't go, let's fight again!"

He probably felt he had lost unfairly and wanted to disregard this loss and play it again.

Shi Xuan looked at him with a half-smile, but didn't say anything.

Zhang Yan then realized he had lost his composure. He glanced at Shi Xuan, then abruptly turned and walked in another direction, leaving the training ground directly.

Cheers had already erupted across the Qian Yuan Continent, and the elders finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their respective homes.

Shi Xuan did not leave the stage. She stood there and announced loudly, "Qian Yuan Continent, Lianfeng Sword Sect, Shi Xuan challenges Lin Yuanqing, the ninth-ranked member of the Prodigy Ranking!"

These words caused an uproar in the audience.

Who is Lin Yuanqing? He is a master on almost equal footing with Yan Lingyi in the Ten Continents, and he is now at the second level of the Nascent Soul stage. He is usually very low-key, never showing off, and never challenging for higher positions, so his ninth-place ranking is generally considered an underestimation.

Shi Xuan announced her challenge to the ninth place here. Even if she had challenged the eighth or seventh place, people wouldn't have reacted this strongly. But she specifically targeted the ninth place.

"It's quite possible that she doesn't recognize Lin Yuanqing. Lin Yuanqing is rarely seen."

"I guess she wanted to get into the top ten and challenge the weakest one in the top ten, but she probably doesn't know that the ninth place is not his true strength."

"What a pity, I was really looking forward to seeing Shi Xuan keep winning, who knew she would be so desperate."

"Stop dreaming. No matter how powerful Shi Xuan is, she's only at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage. It's unrealistic to expect her to keep winning. The reason Zhang Yan lost is because he's a weapon cultivator, and his attack methods are too limited, which is why Shi Xuan was able to suppress him."

"I'm really looking forward to it, I want to see Shi Xuan and Lin Yuanqing's match!"

...