This man, in his thirties, dressed in a vigorous outfit, looked extremely capable,

From the mana aura emanating from him, it could be seen that his cultivation should be at the Middle-Stage Core Formation, akin to Zhou Xun.

However, Sword Cultivators and Thunder Cultivators are both known for their paramount battle power, today we shall see who is truly superior.

Facing a Sword Cultivator, Zhou Xun also grew serious at heart.

He was not entirely ignorant about Sword Cultivators; his good brother Wang Erniu was a Sword Cultivator, who even copied his cultivation technique "Celestial Essence Sword Technique" for Zhou Xun,

In his spare time, Zhou Xun would take it out to study it briefly, thus gaining some understanding,

He had even practiced the secret technique within it, the "Sword Shadow Unification Technique."

The reason was to prevent being caught unprepared when facing a Sword Cultivator in the future,

now it seemed that it would come in handy.

From the secret techniques he had practiced, it could be seen that Sword Cultivators attack extremely aggressively, battling across ranks was commonplace,

extremely hard to deal with,

The middle-aged man opposite Zhou Xun, even though only a Middle-Stage Core Formation Cultivator, to truly think of him as a Middle-Stage Cultivator would surely lead to great loss,

This man’s real battle power absolutely did not fall short of a Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivator.

Zhou Xun formed a hand sign with his hands, pat his waist, and with a flash of golden light, a golden disk transformed and fell into his palm,

It was precisely his Middle-Grade Defensive Magical Treasure, the Golden Jade Plate,

Slowly infusing mana into it, the Golden Jade Plate hummed, flying above Zhou Xun’s head, enlarging to over ten zhang,

then emitting a layer of golden light, enveloping Zhou Xun within.

Not only that, Zhou Xun also held a High-Grade Defense Talisman in his hand, ready to activate at any moment,

With him now at the Body Refining Seventh Layer, his physique comparable to a Great Demon, withstanding an attack from the Sword Cultivator opposite should not be an issue,

After ensuring his safety, Zhou Xun summoned the Profound Thunder Sword.

The Sword Cultivator on the other side appeared indifferent to defense, his mouth slightly opened, and a golden light flew out,

It was precisely a Sword Pill,

The middle-aged man’s hands formed a hand sign, pointing towards the Sword Pill,

a cyan-gold sword instantly manifested, it was evidently his Lifebound Spirit Sword.

From the subtle waves emanating from it, it was clear this sword was extraordinary.

The Cyan Gold Flying Sword hovered in front of the middle-aged man, its tip directly pointing at Zhou Xun,

At this time, the middle-aged man spoke expressionlessly:

"This flying sword of mine, named ’Sword Three’, will return with blood every time it is unsheathed!"

"Since achieving Core Formation, I have struck eleven times, killed nine Core Formation Cultivators, and defeated two, among them were two Late-Stage Cultivators,"

"Daoist friend, you look young, your cultivation isn’t easy, it’s better to withdraw early to avoid the pain of having a flying sword in your body!"

Hearing this, Zhou Xun grew more solemn in heart; this man wasn’t talkative but was evidently an Ascetic extremely dedicated to the sword,

So when he said this, it must truly be the case.

But how could Zhou Xun be the kind to avoid strong opponents,

Besides, since coming into the world, he had killed more than one Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivator already!

So he chuckled lightly and said:

"Since I started cultivating Dao, I have never had the habit of fleeing from battle!"

"I’ve long heard that Sword Cultivators are far superior to ordinary cultivators, today I shall take the chance to spar!"

With that, he formed a hand sign with his hands, and pointed towards the Profound Thunder Sword,

The Thunder Sword burst with light, instantly transforming into a blue lightning bolt, speeding towards the middle-aged man opposite,

As Zhou Xun struck, the middle-aged man also commanded his Lifebound Spirit Sword to meet the attack,

"Boom!"

The two flying swords collided, simultaneously flying back,

However, unlike the middle-aged man’s sword which flew back over a hundred zhang before stabilizing, Zhou Xun’s Profound Thunder Sword stabilized in just fifty zhang,

In this first bout, Zhou Xun gained the upper hand,

Seeing this scene, Zhou Xun did not intend to get entangled as before and immediately changed his hand technique,

He applied the Sword Shadow Unification Technique,

The Profound Thunder Sword instantly split into twenty-seven sword lights and then merged back immediately,

With the twenty-seven sword lights fused in, the Thunder Sword’s power greatly increased,

"Go!"

With a light point towards the middle-aged man, the Thunder Sword attacked again,

The power was several times greater than before!

Sensing this scene, the middle-aged man was greatly surprised, he forced out a mouthful of essence blood, spraying it onto his Lifebound Spirit Sword, 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

With the boost from the essence blood, the middle-aged man’s Lifebound Flying Sword also greatly increased in power, once again clashing with the Profound Thunder Sword,

"Boom!"

The aftermath of the energy scattered, rolling up dust and rocks.

Following that, a weak whimper was heard as the middle-aged man’s Lifebound Flying Sword flew back, spiraling and losing its spirit light,

Evidently suffering significant damage,

While Zhou Xun’s Profound Thunder Sword remained unscathed, under Zhou Xun’s control, it rose again, pointing towards the middle-aged man, ready to strike,

As the Sword Cultivator’s mind was one with his Lifebound Spirit Sword, the damage to the Spirit Sword also injured him,

Seeing Zhou Xun’s flying sword rise again, ready to attack, surprise struck him, and he hurriedly pleaded for mercy:

"I concede, please retract your flying sword!"

Hearing this, Zhou Xun looked towards the referee cultivator, stunned in the distance,

This young man then returned to his senses and loudly announced:

"The victor is Chen Ping’an!"

Hearing this, Zhou Xun smiled slightly, and then retrieved his Thunder Sword,

Thus, Zhou Xun successfully won five rounds of combat and secured a spot in entering the Secret Realm.

"Congratulations to Daoist Chen for defeating five opponents in a row, securing a spot!"

At this time, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe flew over, cupping his hands with a hearty smile.

"By luck, by luck!" Zhou Xun cupped his hands back,

"I am Anx Yudao, a humble Steward of the Righteous Alliance, today Daoist Chen’s brilliance has truly convinced me, so I’ve come to make acquaintances!"

"Daoist Anx’s name precedes you, I have long wanted to make your acquaintance, but feared disturbing you, today seems to be a stroke of luck!"

Zhou Xun laughed heartily.

"Forming a friendship with Daoist Chen is truly Anx’s great fortune, just regret that important matters call, preventing me from conversing freely with you, this is my communication secret talisman,"

"Once the magical combat matters conclude, I’ll seek you out again!"

said the middle-aged man, taking out a glittering blue talisman, handing it to Zhou Xun,

Zhou Xun likewise took out his own communication talisman, and after exchanging with the middle-aged man, they parted ways.

Having successfully secured the spot, with time still early, nearly thirty more stages outside the market were still in battle,

Su Qi, with good fortune, was already participating in his final battle at this moment, his opponent being an Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivator,

It seemed taking him down would be no problem.

Indeed, in just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Su Qi defeated his opponent, securing the seventeenth spot.

"Daoist Chen, seeing you come over so early, it seems you’ve secured your spot already,"

Zhou Xun heard this and smiled, nodding his head,

He said, smiling: "Yes, indeed, I have,"

"To have gained your acquaintance, Daoist Chen, is truly my fortune, only unfortunate that I have other duties to attend to and cannot stay,"

The middle-aged man said, taking out a sparkling blue talisman, handing it to Zhou Xun,

Successfully securing a spot, it was still early, with nearly thirty arenas outside the market continuing battles,

It seemed no problem at all for Su Qi to win his match.

Sure enough, within just a cup of tea’s time, Su Qi defeated his opponent and secured a spot.

Noticing this, Zhou Xun nodded with a smile,

Then they together went to observe other arena battles.

It wasn’t until nightfall that the forty spots were finally selected.

"""