Half a month later.
Inside Fallen Phoenix Mountain, beneath the Dao Discussion Platform.
Besides Chizhu Prison and the Beast Prison, there was another facility: the Technique Testing Palace.
In the past, it had not gone by this name; it was called the dueling platform.
However, with the opening of the Dao Discussion Platform, the dueling platform had been expanded and partitioned into spacious chambers, collectively designated the Technique Testing Palace.
The purpose of these small halls was to be rented out.
They provided residents of the inner city a place to test spells and hone their methods of self-defense.
The rental fee was not particularly steep, starting at one spirit stone with no upper limit, charged according to time.
If one wished to hire a disciple of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect from the Sword Pavilion as a sparring partner, the price jumped straight to a starting fee of a hundred spirit stones.
Lately, Technique Testing Palace No. 7 had practically been booked solid.
Every morning during those two or three shichen, someone was always inside.
And not just one person, but two.
At this moment, if anyone were to step into Hall No. 7, they would hear various shouts and battle cries echoing from within.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Emerald brilliance swirled and circled, gliding like flying fish through water.
A closer look revealed seven wooden flying daggers—one large, six small.
His expression solemn, Luo Chen stared intently at the man opposite him, pinching an incantation gesture with a sweep of his hand.
"Combine!"
The seven daggers instantly formed a formation, whirling forward like a slicing tempest.
"Come on, then!"
A loud shout erupted from across the room, followed by a burst of dazzling golden light.
The two clashed. The tempest of emerald blades held out for three breaths before suddenly shattering.
The seven blades plummeted unsteadily to the ground like birds drenched in a downpour.
Seeing this, Luo Chen remained unperturbed.
In truth, for a mere mid-grade artifact to withstand a high-grade artifact for three breaths was already an enormous success.
And this was under the condition that his Grandmaster-level Attraction Art allowed him to rapidly assemble the dagger formation.
For an ordinary person, they would not even have had the time to condense the blade formation before being routed by that golden light.
"Brother Qin, watch out!"
He slammed a palm onto the floor, and vast patches of green vines erupted from the ground.
Slithering like agile serpents, they lunged flexibly toward Qin Liangchen.
Once entangled, what awaited his opponent would be immense strangling force.
Qin Liangchen laughed heartily and drew back. At the same time, he scattered his hand forward, unleashing a broad sweep of golden light.
Upon contacting the golden light, the green vines were continuously shredded.
Not only that, a cluster of golden light broke away and shot rapidly toward Luo Chen.
Maintaining steady breathing, Luo Chen calmly watched the incoming golden lights. Looking closely, one could see that they were slender golden needles.
The golden needles moved with extreme speed, arriving before Luo Chen in an instant.
Yet not the slightest panic showed on his face. Tapping the ground with his toes, he pulled back and soared backward like a roc.
The rain of golden needles pursued; he retreated.
They chased again; he dodged once more!
Despite the sheer velocity of the golden needles, they could not touch the hem of his robe.
Qin Liangchen chuckled and chided, "Your movement technique is way too nimble! You're even half a step better than the late Ravine-Leaping Tiger."
Speaking, he recalled the golden flying needles.
Floating in midair, Luo Chen held his hands in loose grips.
In an instant, ten tiny sparks abruptly appeared, glowing brightly like fireflies.
At this sight, Qin Liangchen's expression turned slightly grave. Reaching out, he cast forth an earthy-yellow greatshield.
"Come on, let me see how much your Dancing Fireflies has improved!"
Luo Chen said nothing, simply thrusting his hands forward in an unadorned motion.
The ten sparks shot forward abruptly.
As they flew, the sparks swelled continuously, expanding to the size of washbasins by the time they reached the greatshield.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Successive explosions rang out, the tremendous concussive force driving Qin Liangchen backward step after step.
Suddenly, Qin Liangchen's gaze narrowed.
Reflected in his eyes, one spark had curved around the greatshield's defensive perimeter, swooping in from his flank!
"You rascal, how insidious!"
Cursing under his breath, he instantly activated a talisman.
A glistening blue water arrow shot forth, colliding head-on with that spark.
Hiss—
The moment water and fire intersected, blistering heat erupted.
Scalding steam billowed outward.
Qin Liangchen backed away, feeling a searing sting across his face—scalded at close range by the high-temperature steam.
Grimacing, he caught sight of another ten sparks appearing in Luo Chen's hands from the corner of his eye and could not help shuddering.
"No more, no more! That's enough for today!"
Luo Chen promptly dispelled the Dancing Fireflies, displaying effortless control and natural grace.
"Phew!"
He exhaled a breath of turbid air. His expression was no longer so stern, melting into a smile.
"Brother Qin, this counts as my win today, doesn't it?"
"Fine, it counts as your win, brat! That scalded like hell!" Qin Liangchen cast the Healing Art on himself as he grumbled, "I've realized you're getting more and more cunning. You never revealed before that your Dancing Fireflies could change direction!"
Generally speaking, low-tier spells were merely outward manifestations of spiritual energy from within the body.
Without spiritual sense, low-tier cultivators usually cast spells that flew straight ahead.
Such was the case with the Fireball Art, Water Arrow Art, Golden Spear Art, and so on.
Only a few spells, like the Quagmire Technique or Entangling Art, could introduce variations, and even then only within a fixed area.
Yet just now, among Luo Chen's ten fireballs, one had not only avoided expanding in size, but had also flanked Qin Liangchen's defenses under the cover of the other nine.
Had Qin Liangchen not possessed rich combat experience and instantly activated a water-attribute talisman, he likely would have suffered severe injuries.
And it was precisely because he had been forced to use a talisman that he conceded defeat this time.
Of course, this certainly was not Qin Liangchen's full strength.
Luo Chen smiled. "It's not that I'm cunning. It's just that you suppressed your cultivation to the seventh level of Qi Refinement, Brother Qin, and aren't quite used to fighting with such low amounts of spiritual energy."
Qin Liangchen shook his head. "It's not that I suppressed my cultivation. It's that this newly attached hand can only handle this level of combat right now."
He swung his right arm. Tinctured with flesh tone and flecks of metallic luster, the arm carried a distinct sense of incongruity.
This was the replacement arm the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had agreed to attach for him.
In exchange, he had given up the spoils he rightfully earned: the sword pellet and Bai Qi's storage bag.
Ever since his arm had been attached ten days ago, and after a brief period of recuperation, he had been anxious to regain his peak condition.
Therefore, he had booked Technique Testing Palace No. 7 and pulled in Luo Chen—who also needed to practice spells—to spar here every morning.
At first, he had been able to completely suppress Luo Chen.
Gradually, however, he began to feel outmatched.
Today, he had resorted to two artifacts and a Water Arrow Talisman just to avoid losing outright on the spot.
Meanwhile, Luo Chen had only used a single set of mid-grade artifacts.
Luo Chen's progress was truly terrifyingly fast.
"It's truly a waste for a brat like you to be a rogue cultivator."
Qin Liangchen rubbed his face, making sure the burns were completely healed.
"Casting the Fireball Art and Entangling Art effortlessly at your fingertips, and with such power that you can threaten a cultivator of the seventh level of Qi Refinement...
"With such talent for magical arts, you ought to join the Five Elements Divine Sect!"
The Five Elements Divine Sect was a great sect boasting Nascent Soul True Persons, monopolizing an entire domain.
Renowned for mastery over the five elements' magical arts, their fame spanned the Thirty-Six Domains of the Eastern Wasteland.
Luo Chen smiled faintly. Perhaps!
Yet the Five Elements Domain was far too distant from the Jade Cauldron Domain.
Even if he wanted to seek apprenticeship and enter the sect, there was simply no way.
Some might hope to enter the sect through Spirit Source Studio, an affiliated business of the Five Elements Divine Sect, but unfortunately Spirit Source Studio offered no such pathway.
The Five Elements Divine Sect was a massive sect built on family lineages, recruiting disciples primarily from within.
Even when recruiting from the outside, they strictly limited candidates to within the Five Elements Domain.
Reportedly, this was tied to several secret inheritances of great divine abilities within their sect; disciples recruited from the outside were often married into—either by marrying a daughter into or marrying as a matrilocal son-in-law into—one of the several prominent clans.
Luo Chen reached out a hand. Empowered by the Grandmaster-level Attraction Art, the seven Jasper Sabers scattered across the ground returned to his grasp like swallows darting back to their nest.
Fiddling with the small wooden sabers, Luo Chen frowned. "Brother Qin, those new artifacts you bought don't seem to suit your hands very well."
Qin Liangchen sighed helplessly. "I used to fight in a sweeping, open-and-shut style, using a war mace and Jade-Severing Gloves. But they were all destroyed in the battle on the Dao Discussion Platform. Quality high-grade artifacts are expensive, so having this set of Ruyi Golden Needles and the earthen shield is already pretty good."
The Ruyi Golden Needles numbered seventy-two in total, an exotic artifact.
Immense in power, blinding in speed.
It was only because Luo Chen's footwork was exceptionally fast; ordinary people truly could not block the Ruyi Golden Needles.
However, it clashed entirely with Qin Liangchen's combat style.
Luo Chen could not help asking, "Doesn't the gang have several high-grade artifacts set aside specifically to reward those with merit? Is Gang Leader Mi unwilling to give you one?"
Qin Liangchen's expression grew serious. "Watch your words. For my merit, that Foundation Establishment Pill alone is reward enough."
"Yet that Foundation Establishment Pill hasn't ended up in your hands either!" Luo Chen rolled his eyes.
"It's fine for Old Man Mi to keep it safe for me. With my current strength, I couldn't protect that Foundation Establishment Pill anyway. Besides!"
Qin Liangchen smiled proudly. "My son is a disciple of the Luoyun Sect. Would he dare renege on what belongs to me?"
Fine, as long as you know what you are doing.
Luo Chen shrugged and stowed the Jasper Sabers into his storage bag.
The two walked out while chatting and laughing.
Before they could take many steps, however, someone came rushing up from behind.
"Qin Liangchen, pay five more spirit stones!"
Qin Liangchen's eyes widened. "Say what?"
Wearing the uniform of a Sword Pavilion disciple, the man snorted. "You two wrecked Technique Testing Palace No. 7 so badly today that it exceeds ordinary damage standards. So you have to pay extra spirit stones!"
"Damn profiteers!" Qin Liangchen cursed and handed over five spirit stones.
Watching this, Luo Chen also felt a twinge of pain for his wallet.
For those few hours in the morning, Brother Qin had already paid dozens of spirit stones, and now he had to pay even more.
The Jade Cauldron Sword Sect was utterly shameless when it came to raking in wealth.
As the two walked outside, they recounted the money-grubbing tricks of these great sects, cursing their shamelessness.
Stepping out of the Sword Pavilion, they saw that jade wall.
Qin Liangchen slapped Luo Chen on the back.
"Are you really not going to take part in the mid-stage Qi Refinement battles?"
Chapter 67