After some time passed.
Yu Liangping finally realized, after Yu Lin's explanation, that Yun Jin wasn't cheating at all, she had truly cleared each stage one by one.
A trace of disbelief flashed through Yu Liangping's mind.
Someone who had taken so long just to pass the first stage, yet cleared the later stages faster and faster?
This… what kind of situation was this?!
Yu Liangping clenched his teeth.
He understood now.
This woman did it on purpose.
She deliberately lagged behind, just to watch him make a fool of himself!
What a vicious woman!
The resentment in Yu Liangping's eyes deepened.
Just wait!
Once she leaves the sword domain, neither she nor Yu Songnian will be allowed to leave.
He won't be satisfied unless he chopped her into pieces to vent the hatred in his heart!
When Yun Jin successfully passed the fifth stage, exactly twelve hours had passed.
The first day was over.
She's just about to head toward the sixth stage.
When suddenly, a list appeared in the sky above the sword tomb.
"End of Day One. 195 people entered the sword tomb. 63 eliminated. 132 remain. Please continue to strive."
On the list, names were written from top to bottom, along with the number of stages cleared.
Currently, first place is still Ma Yuanwu.
He remained at the sixth stage, but among everyone, he's still the fastest.
Second place was Yu Songnian.
Third place was Feng Linglong.
These two had cleared the fifth stage almost back-to-back, slightly earlier than Yun Jin.
Yun Jin had caught up in the later stages and was now fourth, also having cleared the fifth stage.
After them, some people were still inside the fifth stage, while most were stuck at the third or fourth stages.
On the other path, Yu Songnian and Feng Linglong glanced at the list.
Feng Linglong looked at Yu Songnian and said, "Your talent is quite good."
Yu Songnian nodded, "Still acceptable."
If not for that strange illness, he would have already been dazzling long ago.
Unfortunately…
Both Yu Songnian and Feng Linglong weren't fond of socializing. At the beginning, they each focused on clearing their own stages and didn't speak much.
Later, however, they kept clearing stages one after another, traveling together along the way.
Gradually, some interactions formed, though compared to other people, it's still very minimal.
Feng Linglong glanced at Yun Jin's name, "Your junior sister's talent is still a bit worse than ours."
Yu Songnian immediately looked at her with a half-smile.
Is that so?
Feng Linglong looked at Yu Songnian in confusion.
Yu Songnian turned his head and said calmly, "If you can't surpass me, two days from now, you'll be eliminated."
Feng Linglong froze.
Three days later, only three people would remain.
Ma Yuanwu, Yu Songnian, plus herself, exactly the top three.
But what Yu Songnian meant…
Feng Linglong suddenly realized something and abruptly looked at Yun Jin's name.
It seemed that Yu Songnian had great confidence in his junior sister's talent and believed she would definitely catch up!
Feng Linglong's competitive spirit was immediately stirred.
She, too, had grown up being praised as a genius.
Now, with Ma Yuanwu ahead of her and Yu Songnian slightly faster, she could barely accept remaining in the top three.
But if even she fell out of the top three…
That would truly be humiliating.
Under pressure, Feng Linglong said nothing more and quickly headed toward the sixth stage.
Dramatically.
At the start of the second day, the leading few all gathered at the sixth stage.
From here on, each stage was harder than the last, and each would likely take a great deal of time.
Though they were all at the sixth stage, Ma Yuanwu's progress was clearly ahead. He might break through at any moment.
Yun Jin glanced at Ma Yuanwu, who was sitting cross-legged before the sixth sword, raised her eyebrow slightly, and felt a bit resentful.
Recently, the swords had become increasingly stingy. They barely let her "harvest" anything before throwing her out.
Otherwise, she could've continued cultivating inside a bit longer.
Yun Jin looked at the gravestone.
"Vast Expanse Sword."
"Vast Expanse Sword," Yun Jin muttered, "you wouldn't be this stingy too, right? We're not in a hurry, let's take it slow?"
She tried to negotiate, but the Vast Expanse Sword gave no response.
Yun Jin sighed, "Looks like another stingy sword."
She directly entered the sword dao space.
If nothing unexpected happened, this time she should obtain another fragment.
Though she still didn't know what the fragments were for,
After nine stages, she should have three fragments.
Or perhaps once the fragments were combined, something strange would occur?
She didn't know.
But as long as she kept clearing stages, she would eventually uncover the secret hidden within this sword tomb.
Misty waves rolled endlessly.
The Vast Expanse Sword's space was a vast ocean.
This was the second time a water-attribute sword dao space appeared.
Yun Jin silently held Tai'a Sword in her hand.
The sea was boundless, and towering waves appeared from time to time.
She responded using Azure Lotus Sword Technique, handling it with ease.
But this was only the surface-level test.
What about the core test?
Yun Jin continuously released her mental power, probing for the true challenge hidden within the space.
Suddenly.
She sensed something.
When the next wave surged forward, Yun Jin didn't resist. Instead, she leapt directly into the whirlpool.
The seawater was icy cold, and the whirlpool spun endlessly.
In an instant, Yun Jin was swept into the depths of the ocean.
A stone gate appeared before her.
With a light push, the gate opened.
Before her appeared a sword technique.
This sword technique was extremely profound and should originate from a De Level water-attribute sword technique.
Yun Jin tried various methods and finally realized, this test seemed to require her to break this sword move.
Breaking a sword move?
Yun Jin stood before the stone wall and pondered.
Among the five elements, those that counter water should be earth or wood.
Using an earth-attribute or wood-attribute sword move should make breaking it easier.
But Yun Jin had a feeling that breaking water with water might be even better.
She currently knew two water-attribute sword techniques.
Lotus Blossom Sword Technique and Azure Lotus Sword Technique.
Entering a state of enlightenment, Yun Jin recalled the sword moves one by one.
However.
Whether its Lotus Blossom Sword Technique or Azure Lotus Sword Technique, using fixed sword moves to break this move still felt lacking.
Yun Jin raised her eyebrow.
This meant she had to integrate everything to walk her own water-attribute sword dao.
Only by comprehending her own dao could she respond to all changes with constancy and break all sword moves under heaven.
This was somewhat difficult.
But, very interesting, wasn't it?
The water screen couldn't display the exact contents of the challenges.
Everyone only saw Yun Jin and Ma Yuanwu sitting motionless, and their expressions grew tense.
The current situation:
On the left path, only Yun Jin and Ma Yuanwu had reached the sixth stage.
On the right path, it was Yu Songnian and Feng Linglong.
If nothing unexpected happened, three of these four would enter the final contest.
Who would it be?
And Ma Yuanwu had led by a wide margin early on, but as the stages grew harder, his pace inevitably slowed.
Yun Jin, on the other hand, was getting faster and faster.
Could Ma Yuanwu…be overtaken by Yun Jin?
The atmosphere inexplicably grew tense.
Even Mu Lan watched intently.
Despite both being at the sixth stage, Yuanwu should still be well ahead.
That Yun Jin...
Absolutely couldn't surpass him!