Bao Gu followed Feng Yi back to Xuantian Sect and was about to return to her own place when she heard Feng Yi call her, “Bao Gu!”
She responded with an “Ah” and turned around to hear Feng Yi say, “Aren’t you going to see the Sect Leader?”
She thought for a moment and said, “Feng Martial Uncle, I think the recent beast attack on the village might be related to our Xuantian Sect.
Either the beasts are unhappy with our sect’s presence here and are taking it out on the defenseless villagers, or there’s a premeditated plan…”
A nearby disciple pondered and asked, “What kind of plan?
Hurting those villagers doesn’t harm our Xuantian Sect.”
Bao Gu asked, “What about luring the snake out of its hole?
Maybe they’re just testing us to see if we’ll come to the rescue.
If they attack again and we go to help, what if they ambush our disciples on the way?”
A young disciple in his early twenties said, “Then we won’t help.”
Bao Gu glanced at him and asked, “Not help?
Are you scared?
As a legitimate sect of immortal cultivation, if we ignore the beasts rampaging at our doorstep, don’t care about the villagers’ lives, or whether our own territory is peaceful, or how the beasts are wreaking havoc…”
She didn’t finish the harsh words.
Feng Yi said to Bao Gu, “Let’s go see the Sect Leader.”
With that, he led the disciples to the Xuantian Hall to report the recent events to Zi Tianjun.
Zi Tianjun pondered briefly and then summoned Hua Sheng, Feng Menglong, and all disciples above the Foundation Establishment stage to the Xuan Tian Hall.
Seeing all the disciples gathered, Zi Tianjun said, “Now that there are beasts rampaging outside the mountain gate, Xuan Tian Sect cannot sit idly by.
Feng Menglong, Hua Sheng, Bao Gu, you three are the strongest among the new generation of Xuan Tian Sect.
From today, each of you will lead five disciples to patrol in turns.”
Everyone present was surprised to hear Zi Tianjun compare Bao Gu’s strength to that of Feng Menglong and Hua Sheng, who were already at the Golden Core stage.
Many looked on with disdain.
Someone whispered, “I believe she’s the richest, but the strongest…
how strong can a Foundation Establishment second stage be?”
His voice was low, but all the cultivators heard it clearly, echoing the sentiments of the younger generation.
Even Feng Yi didn’t agree with Zi Tianjun’s words.
A disciple at the ninth stage of Foundation Establishment stepped forward and said, “Sect Leader, if you say Bao Gu is stronger than us, I don’t agree.
I am willing to spar with Bao Gu.”
Bao Gu’s eyes lit up, and she quickly said, “If you want to lead the patrol, I’ll give you my spot.”
The disciple arrogantly said, “Guarding the mountain gate is our duty, and I won’t refuse.
But without a spar, I won’t admit your strength is greater than ours.
I won’t take advantage of you; I’m willing to seal my cultivation to the Foundation Establishment second stage to compete with you.”
Another disciple stepped forward and said, “Senior Brother Feng and Senior Sister Hua’s strength was proven in the grand competition.
We’ve never seen Bao Gu participate in the competition.
The other day I invited her to spar, and she didn’t even respond.
If she’s considered one of the best among the younger generation, I don’t agree.”
Another disciple stepped forward and said, “Bao Gu is protected by many elders and Senior Sister Yu Mi, and has a ninth-stage beast as a guardian.
Saying she’s the strongest is understandable, but if you say her own strength surpasses ours, we don’t agree.”
Zi Tianjun said, “Since no one agrees, then let’s have a spar.
No one is allowed to hold back; show your strongest power.”
Bao Gu saw the reactions of her senior brothers and sisters and the expression of the Grandmaster, knowing that a fight was inevitable.
Although cultivation is a personal matter, and one’s cultivation level has nothing to do with others, the world of immortal cultivation respects strength.
Without strength, one is looked down upon.
Especially for someone like her, who possesses great treasures and is valued by the elders but has the lowest cultivation level in Xuantian Sect, it makes many senior brothers and sisters feel unbalanced and unconvinced.
She had faced life and death many times, encountering opponents whose strength far exceeded her own, like Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation stage experts.
She often relied on external forces to deal with them, rarely relying on her own skills.
Even when she did, it was a life-and-death struggle, never a fair competition with peers of similar strength.
For a moment, she didn’t know how to start.
With a nervous and uneasy heart, she followed her fellow disciples to the Xuantian Square outside the Xuan Tian Hall.
Zi Tianjun and Feng Yi stood at the top.
The disciples spread out and sat in a circle, leaving a wide open space in the middle.
Zi Tianjun turned to look at Bao Gu, who was lost in thought beside him, and said, “What are you daydreaming about?
Get down there.”
Bao Gu snapped back to reality with an “Ah,” looked at Zi Tianjun with a bitter face, and wanted to ask, “Can I not compete?”
She knew the answer was no, so she had to brace herself and walk to the center of the field, taking out a Golden Core stage sword from her storage bag.
As soon as Bao Gu entered the field, several senior brothers stepped forward to spar with her.
A disciple at the seventh stage of Foundation Establishment cupped his fists and said, “Senior brothers, my strength is the weakest, so let me go first.”
The others had no objections and jumped back.
The seventh-stage disciple cupped his fists to Bao Gu and said, “You go first.”
Bao Gu held the Golden Core stage sword, staring blankly at the senior brother, unable to find the feeling of fighting.
She was so nervous that she couldn’t even remember her combat skills, let alone how to wield the sword.
Feng Yi secretly transmitted a message to Zi Tianjun, asking, “Sect Leader, can she do it?”
Zi Tianjun watched Bao Gu in silence.
Time passed bit by bit, and Bao Gu still stood there dumbfounded.
The seventh-stage disciple impatiently asked, “Are you going to make a move or not?”
Bao Gu hesitated and said, “Why don’t you go first?”
The seventh-stage disciple, growing impatient, immediately said, “Then be careful!”
He used his combat skills and thrust his sword towards Bao Gu.
His seemingly simple thrust was accompanied by a fierce sword aura.
With a flick of his wrist, the sword in his hand emitted a sword cry, splitting into seven sword shadows that simultaneously targeted Bao Gu’s seven vital points.
Bao Gu tapped her toes on the ground and quickly retreated.
The sword shadows pursued her relentlessly.
Both moved at high speed, and Bao Gu was about to reach the edge of the field.
Someone shouted, “Bao Gu, if you retreat any further, you’ll be out of bounds and lose!”
Startled, Bao Gu quickly flipped in the air, using her Void Stealth Technique to disappear into the void and reappear on the other side of the field.
The seventh-stage disciple missed his target and suddenly lost sight of Bao Gu, only to sense her reappear several feet behind him.
He frowned, stood with his sword, and said, “Sword Formation!”
The sword in his hand transformed into seven swords, flying towards Bao Gu in the Seven Stars formation.
Bao Gu knew little about formations and was momentarily at a loss on how to break the sword formation when she saw the seven flying swords.
She intended to use the Void Stealth Technique to dodge again but found that the seven swords seemed to have locked onto her.
The seven swords came fast and fierce, about to reach her.
She used the Void Stealth Technique again to disappear into the void and reappear on the other side of the field.
As soon as she emerged, she felt the sword aura behind her, indicating she hadn’t shaken off the pursuit of the seven swords.
The seven swords followed her into the void and out again.
This was a common aura-tracking technique.
The seventh-stage disciple shouted, “Seven Swords Unite, Break!”
The seven swords instantly merged into one, crashing towards Bao Gu with overwhelming force.
It seemed the outcome was decided.
Bao Gu felt the sword, carrying an endless sword force, coming at her.
The distance was too close, and she had no room to retreat or escape.
Seeing she was about to be struck and severely injured, in desperation, she could only channel the spiritual power from her dantian into the sword in her hand, desperately swinging it at the sword already at her chest.
She wielded the sword like the wind, slashing at the sword in front of her with the Golden Core stage sword in her hand.
The spiritual power surged from her dantian like rolling waves, continuously pouring into the Golden Core stage sword.
Her body moved in sync with the sword’s swings.
A fierce sword intent emanated from her, and she moved like a dragon emerging from the water, spinning and turning in place.
The sword in her hand clashed with the sword in front of her, creating countless sparks.
The sword at Bao Gu’s chest was struck by the fierce attack, trembling in place.
The sword aura on the blade was forcibly broken, followed by one crack after another.
The cracks spread from the gaps, and within a few breaths, the Golden Core stage sword was shattered and fell to the ground.
Bao Gu continued to swing her sword, slashing several more times, only to hit the sword fragments.
Realizing something was amiss, she quickly retreated and looked closely, seeing a pile of sword fragments on the ground.
The seventh-stage disciple cried out in pain, “My sword!”
Bao Gu quickly looked at her own sword, expecting it to be full of nicks, but found it completely intact.
Feng Yi frowned thoughtfully.
Although Xuantian Sect cultivates sword intent, emphasizing forming sword styles with sword intent rather than fixed sword moves, every swordsman has their own way of wielding the sword.
However, Bao Gu’s swordplay seemed chaotic and without pattern, clearly a random hack.
But if it was truly random, it was too smooth, like flowing water, with sword intent continuously pouring out, wave after wave, until the opponent was shattered.
Zi Tianjun quietly said, “It has the rudiments of the Thirteen Dragon Cloud Styles.”
He announced loudly, “In this sword match, Bao Gu wins.”
Bao Gu held her sword, feeling she had won somewhat inexplicably.
She thought it must be because her sword was of better quality than her senior brother’s.
The seventh-stage disciple was unconvinced by his defeat, but with his sword broken, he had no choice but to admit defeat.
Another seventh-stage disciple stepped forward and said, “I am willing to spar with Bao Gu.”
He said to Bao Gu, “Please take a moment to meditate and recover your spiritual power.”
Bao Gu checked her dantian and found she hadn’t used much spiritual power, so she said, “I don’t need to meditate.”
