"M...many thanks, Daoist, for sparing my life!"

He immediately formed a hand seal, groaned softly, and forcibly severed his connection with the Storage Bag.

Zhou Xun watched all this expressionlessly; if not for this being a competition, the old man would have already perished by now.

Seeing this scene, the spectators watching nearby were all shocked.

From the old man’s first move to Zhou Xun’s counterstrike, it only took a single move for Zhou Xun to defeat the old man, and only twenty breaths had passed.

"Is this the power of a Thunder Cultivator?"

Such thoughts arose in the hearts of the crowd.

One must understand, the old man wasn’t weak; among the numerous Loose Cultivators, he was considered among the top.

His use of the Instant Golden Blade Talisman caused a cold sweat to form on the backs of most cultivators; they believed that facing such a move, it would be incredibly difficult to fend off.

Yet Zhou Xun effortlessly neutralized it with an easy strike, as if casually strolling through a garden.

Then, summoning his Magical Treasure with a single move, he had the old man defeated.

All could see that if Zhou Xun hadn’t held back, the old man would have lost more than just an arm, but his entire life!

So, people gradually started distancing themselves from here; faced with such a formidable person, they indeed lacked the confidence to defeat him.

The referee cultivator in charge of Zhou Xun’s arena was also full of astonishment, immediately retreating another two thousand zhang,

while clutching a Defense Magical Treasure in his hand.

He thought to himself that even at this distance, if Zhou Xun decided to attack him, he would not escape unharmed!

Clad in a brocade robe, the middle-aged man naturally witnessed this scene, his expression extremely serious. Even for him, facing Zhou Xun’s attack head-on wouldn’t be a simple task, 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Moreover, it was clear that the Thunder Sword used earlier was taken out from the Storage Bag,

which meant that the Thunder Sword was not a Lifebound Magical Treasure, but an ordinary Magical Treasure.

For it to have such power without being a Lifebound Magical Treasure,

this young man’s strength certainly wasn’t below that of a Peak Core Formation Cultivator. Such a Loose Cultivator was destined for great achievements in the future, and the thought of forming ties arose in his mind,

deciding to approach him for recruitment after the tournament ended.

After Zhou Xun defeated the old man, he waited for several dozen breaths, and no one else challenged him.

"A misstep, should’ve held back earlier!"

Zhou Xun sighed, then turned his gaze towards the other arenas.

He saw Spirit Lights fluttering and intense battles occurring all around, though some areas remained relatively quiet,

like the one where "Old Demon Chi Youu" expressed, and other areas where cultivators were, uncertain if they quickly dealt with their opponents like him,

or if no one dared to challenge them at all,

Zhou Xun guessed it was the latter,

since a common trait among these arenas’ owners was that their cultivation was at the Peak Core Formation stage.

Early to Middle-Stage Core Formation cultivators naturally wouldn’t face Peak Cultivators head-on in a battle where the weak surpass the strong,

and Peak Core Formation cultivators had many Early to Middle-Stage arena masters they could handle before focusing on those at their level.

Moreover, most cultivators tend to pick the easy ones first, naturally avoiding self-inflicted hardship.

So these few cultivators likely had to wait until the day ended,

or until a few spots were left before anyone dared to attempt a challenge.

On the other side, Zhou Xun’s friend Su Qi was facing a difficult battle,

and his opponent was also a Middle-Stage Core Formation Cultivator, the two fighting back and forth for dozens of rounds, without a decisive outcome.

At first, Zhou Xun thought Su Qi met a tough competitor but gradually realized something else,

It turned out Su Qi would always hold back just when he was about to defeat the opponent, continuously prolonging the fight, making it appear extremely tough.

"Heh, this kid is rather clever!"

By showing weakness, subsequent challengers wouldn’t hesitate to strike!

If Zhou Xun was right, when the second round on the other arenas was wrapping up, Su Qi finally managed to barely defeat his opponent.

Then, soon enough, a second challenger approached him,

by then, of the forty arenas, the first round of battles was mostly finished, with only a third of the arena masters replaced.

After all, those initially daring to become arena masters were naturally confident in their abilities.

Among the over three hundred Core Formation Cultivators who participated in the battle (along with over a hundred more who rushed over after hearing the news),

Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivators mostly occupied an arena, taking up nearly half of the spots.

For the rest, most were Middle-Stage Core Formation Cultivators.

But as for Early-Stage, only three remained.

It’s evident that these three likely wouldn’t last long before being pushed out by other cultivators.

Just as Zhou Xun was preparing to continue watching the battles,

a figure flew in front of him, clearly intending to challenge him.

Regarding this, Zhou Xun was naturally pleased.

His opponent for the second round was a tall, elegant-looking middle-aged man with a Middle-Stage Core Formation Cultivation.

This person was not among the crowd spectating earlier, which was why he chose to challenge Zhou Xun.

This time, Zhou Xun learned from his previous lesson and did not strike swiftly; instead, he adopted Su Qi’s strategy, engaging in an entangling battle with the middle-aged man, employing an even more aggressive approach,

Pretending to be at a disadvantage, each time he was about to be defeated, he’d flicker away to another spot.

Initially, the middle-aged man thought his opponent was simply performing extraordinarily, taking the opportunity to continue his attacks,

but every time he was about to secure victory, the opponent always managed to react just in time, thwarting his winning strike.

Feeling extremely vexed,

However, with each instance being the same, he recognized something odd.

It appeared his opponent was deliberately holding back, and finally, unable to hold his curiosity, the middle-aged man sent a telepathic message to Zhou Xun:

"Daoist, what is the meaning of this? Do you look down on me, Li? Why not use your true strength?"

To this, Zhou Xun naturally paid no heed!

The man’s strength was even inferior to the previous old man’s; if not, he might indeed have to wait until evening.

At that moment, the brocade-robed middle-aged man happened to arrive at Zhou Xun’s arena, seeing the elegant middle-aged man pressing Zhou Xun,

and was taken aback,

"Among the Loose Cultivators, are there truly such prodigies?"

After all, in his eyes, Zhou Xun was capable of rivaling a Peak Core Formation Cultivator. For the elegant middle-aged man, with the same Middle-Stage Core Formation Cultivation,

to be pressing Zhou Xun, his talent must be even more extraordinary.

But he quickly noticed something was amiss,

because the spells and Divine Techniques Zhou Xun used up to that point were quite ordinary, a stark contrast to that sword strike earlier.

With a slight bit of thought, he understood Zhou Xun’s intent, and couldn’t help but laugh,

"He has learned to be wise!"

He immediately ceased watching the battle.

At this point, Zhou Xun and the middle-aged man had already fought over a hundred rounds, which he deemed sufficient, so Zhou Xun seized a mistake made by the middle-aged man,

unleashed a Thunder Strike Skill, and defeated the middle-aged man!

The middle-aged man, indignant, proclaimed he wanted to battle Zhou Xun another three hundred rounds, but was eventually dismissed by the referee cultivator’s odd gaze.

With the middle-aged man setting the example, another challenger soon appeared for Zhou Xun,

using the same tactic, Zhou Xun ’struggled’ to secure victory,

then came the fourth round,

until the fifth round, Zhou Xun finally encountered a tough opponent—a newly arrived Sword Cultivator!