"He is?" Jiang Li thought for a long time, but still could not figure out who the other party was, so he asked Yan Hong beside him.

"He's Qi Tianya, a disciple of our batch. It's just that he's a genius with a top-grade spiritual root! He became an inner sect disciple as soon as he joined the sect and even entered the Heaven and Earth Hall. He's very impressive."

Yan Hong often mingled in the trading area with a lot of people and was well-informed. In order to do business that could earn money, he naturally could not lack information in all aspects.

Therefore, unlike Jiang Li who was always occupied by various cultivation plans, Yan Hong had already become a know-it-all in the past half a year after he entered the sect.

However, when Yan Hong spoke of him, his tone was sour and slightly mocking.

"Qi Tianya… I seem to have heard this name before. But if he's from the Heaven and Earth Hall, could he be a disciple of the Valley Master?"

Jiang Li was so familiar with Yan Hong, so he naturally understood what he meant. They were both at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm, so what was there to be arrogant about?

After Yan Hong's repeated reminders, Jiang Li recalled that he had indeed seen this person when he had first boarded the sect's flying ship.

However, at that time, the other party had only put on that arrogant expression because he looked down on outer sect disciples like them.

He did not expect that he would treat everyone, including these inner sect senior brothers, like this.

"No, he's the disciple of another elder of the Heaven and Earth Hall."

Yan Hong's words were very calm, but his expression clearly said that he was not worthy. It seemed that the EQ of that genius of the same batch was quite low.

From the situation of Qi Tianya sitting at a table alone, there were not many inner sect disciples who were willing to bear with him.

This was especially true when compared to his senior brother, Chu Yunxuan. In comparison, he appeared even more ignorant. The Eldest Senior Brother was so strong and yet still so humble. Wasn't this guy's spiritual root just a bit better? Who was he to put on a long face every day?

Jiang Li nodded and did not say anything. He only thought that perhaps he and the other party would be placed together in the upcoming sect competition.

The two of them were at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm, so it was likely to happen. He shook his head, finding it funny.

He casually took out two black pills from a small porcelain bottle and stuffed them into his mouth to chew. A sweet taste of the sea lark fruit slowly filled his mouth.

Senior Sister Little Four was indeed as she had said. She was a true alchemy genius. This was the Hundred Flavors Pill that she had invented herself.

This thing could refine various food dishes into pills, almost perfectly retaining the flavor and nutrition within.

He could bring it along with him. Although it was not considered a medicinal pill and did not have any special effects, this thing was delicious.

Out of the tens of thousands of kilograms of meat scraped off the Dragon Tortoise's body, other than having a barbecue party with the fellow disciples of the Demon Vanquishing Hall, the remaining few hundred kilograms were also made into Hundred Flavors Pills by Little Four.

Jiang Li, Yan Hong, and a few disciples of the Demon Vanquishing Hall gathered at a table. After sharing a few Hundred Flavors Pills as snacks, the martial arts competition finally officially began.

There were a total of 272 Qi Refinement realm disciples participating in the sect competition this time, and a total of 43 Foundation Establishment realm disciples.

Under the condition of age restrictions, to still have so many disciples registering showed that the Scripture Storage Valley's inner sect was indeed second to none in the Great Mountain Region.

There were only ten grounded arenas. Just for this first round alone, each ring had to accommodate 13 to 14 rounds.

There was no need to mention the floating battle arena above. If two people fought at once, it would still take 21 rounds to complete.

He estimated that the first round of the Martial Competition would take at least two days to end.

On this side, female cultivators from the Rejuvenation Hall who did not participate in the martial arts competition acted as staff members. Soon, all the disciples who participated in the martial arts competition received a bamboo stick with a name and number engraved on it.

Jiang Li, No. 271.

When Jiang Li received the bamboo skewer, black lines could not help but appear on his forehead.

He looked at Qi Tianya who was sitting not far away. The other party's expression was no different from his, he had clearly gotten No. 272.

Jiang Li was speechless. The other 270 disciples were clearly all at the late-stage Qi Refinement realm… What was the point of arranging them according to cultivation level?

He pursed his lips helplessly. However, this number was not completely useless. The only thing that made Jiang Li feel gratified was that the order of the battles on stage was completely opposite to the number on the bamboo stick.

In other words, he could go on stage to finish the battle in the first round. He did not need to wait two days like his senior brothers who had drawn a single digit lot.

Under the guidance of the disciples of the Rejuvenation Hall, the disciples between 253 and 272 entered the ring according to their number.

Jiang Li and Qi Tianya happened to be the first ring with the letter "A".

Two mid-stage Qi Refinement realm disciples could be considered the two oddities of the martial arts competition. Although their cultivation levels were low, they attracted the attention of many people below the stage.

Especially the tens of thousands of outer sect disciples who were clearly not involved in the sect martial arts competition, they were the most excited.

The disciples below the stage started to discuss animatedly. Many disciples who knew Jiang Li and the other party's identities even started to speak with assurance and analyze the outcome of the battle between the two.

Jiang Li had only been an outer sect disciple a few months ago. In fact, many disciples had even come to greet him after he had been promoted to the inner sect. Logically speaking, they were naturally more inclined to hope that Jiang Li would win.

Moreover, Jiang Li had seized the only victory in this year's Outer Sect Grand Competition as a new disciple, and he carried some legendary story that others took delight in talking about. There were many people who supported him to win.

As for Qi Tianya, who was an inner sect disciple as soon as he entered the sect, not many people knew him. However, a top-grade spiritual root was enough to make most of the outer sect disciples gasp in jealousy.

According to incomplete statistics, every year, for five nights out of the first ten days on average, an outer sect disciple who had just entered the Scripture Storage Valley would dream that they had a top-grade spiritual root.

The other five nights were spent enviously thinking about this.

Under such circumstances, top-grade spiritual roots were naturally deified in the outer sect. Even if they had not even met Qi Tianya before, his spiritual root talent was enough to let them classify him as an invincible opponent.

The onlookers below were in a heated argument, but the two people on the stage appeared very calm.

Jiang Li was still chewing on the "candy" in his mouth, while Qi Tianya was still hugging his sword.

Dong!

It was not until the referee beside the ring sounded the gong that they finally looked at each other.

"Heaven and Earth Hall, Qi Tianya."

"Demon Vanquishing Hall, Jiang Li."

The two of them first politely reported their names.

Jiang Li had a smile on his face and wanted to say a few polite words between fellow disciples. However, before he could say it, Qi Tianya spoke arrogantly.

"You, attack first. Otherwise, you won't have the chance anymore!"

Jiang Li was stunned, and he politely lowered his cupped fists.

Jiang Li almost laughed when he heard this. Did this fellow really think he was invincible?

"Then… as you wish."

A breeze blew past. Qi Tianya, who was still immersed in his "powerful strength", suddenly opened his eyes wide. A drop of cold sweat involuntarily rolled down his forehead.

This was because Jiang Li who was standing in front of him earlier had already vanished, and the words 'as you wish' sounded out from behind him!

Bang!

Jiang Li kicked his opponent's butt from behind.

To be honest, Jiang Li felt that Qi Tianya was indeed the most troublesome among the 271 Qi Refinement disciples.

Because he was only at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm, Jiang Li had to restrain his strength very much in order to avoid accidentally killing him!

Amidst the crisp sound of bones breaking, Qi Tianya's hip was violently deformed. His tailbone and pelvis were instantly deformed and broken under the collision of the huge force.

The insufferably arrogant Qi Tianya, who was holding a longsword in his hand, instantly fell to the ground. Moreover, his momentum did not stop as he slid forward quickly in a pathetic posture.

The clothes tore apart as they slid, leaving a large amount of blood stains on the reinforced arena.

It was not until he slid to the edge of the ring and half of Qi Tianya's body was already hanging outside that he finally stopped and was not directly eliminated.

However, judging from his deformed lower body, he clearly could not stand up.

"Senior Sister, I think we can announce the results."

Jiang Li felt that he had already used very little strength. He even attacked the lower body with the thickest soft tissue and the least possibility of injuring him permanently. However, he did not expect that he would still kick the other party to this extent.

However, there were countless spirit pills and wondrous techniques in the cultivation world. If treated properly, it should not leave any repercussions of urinary incontinence on the other party.

The female cultivator from the Rejuvenation Hall nodded. She also knew Jiang Li, the young arena master of the Demon Vanquishing Hall, and was not surprised by this result.

She was also prepared to announce the results early and then rescue the injured, just as she often did.

"Battle Arena A, first match, winner…"

At this moment…

Clang!

A flying sword flew out of Qi Tianya's body and tore through the air towards Jiang Li.

It seemed that he was still unwilling to admit defeat. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He pointed his right hand that was covered in blood like a sword and aimed at Jiang Li from afar.

He moved the flying sword to pierce the opponent's heart!

In terms of sword cultivators, the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak was naturally the most powerful. However, it was not that other cultivators did not use flying swords or sword-type treasures.

On the contrary, in the region of the Great Mountain, the frequency at which cultivators used sword-type artifacts was quite high. It was just that they were not as strong as the Shu Mountain sword cultivators.

Ding!

When faced with the flying sword that shot over, Jiang Li casually stretched out his hand and pinched it as if he was crushing a tree branch, and he only used his index finger and thumb to crush the flying sword in his hand.

The quality of this flying sword was not low. Although it could not compare to the Shu Mountain's flying sword, it was definitely of excellent quality. It should be a treasure bestowed by the other party's master.

"The sword is a good one, but it's such a pity to have it in your hands."

Buzz~

The flying sword was pinched by Jiang Li and was still buzzing and vibrating non-stop. Qi Tianya's sword fingers, which were lying on the ground, almost started to bleed. He desperately urged the flying sword to try and break free from Jiang Li's fingers.

Jiang Li glanced at him, and then he flicked his other finger towards the sword. The flying sword immediately shook violently and let out a sound before the dazzling flowing light on the sword instantly vanished.

The spiritual qi in the flying sword was forcefully scattered, and it also suffered considerable damage. For a time, it sank into silence like a piece of scrap iron. No matter how Qi Tianya urged it, it no longer moved.

"How is this possible! What did you do to my flying sword?!"

"Move! Move! Hurry up and move!"

Jiang Li walked step by step to Qi Tianya's side. The other party glared at him with reddened eyes, and tears of unwillingness and injustice could even be seen in his eyes.

He seemed to be blaming Jiang Li for not following his script as the main character.

"Is it my fault?" Jiang Li shrugged indifferently, and then he kicked his opponent off the arena.

"Battle Arena A, first match, the winner… is the Demon Vanquishing Hall's disciple, Jiang Li!"

Jiang Li casually tossed away the flying sword in his hand as if it was trash, and he left the combat ring under the stunned gazes of the outer sect disciples.

That flying sword was given by the other party's master. Since they were from the same sect, there was no need for him to be greedy over such a small gain.

"So… so… so powerful. Did you see that? Jiang Li won."

"I saw it, but I think I was hallucinating."

"I think so too. Did Senior Brother Jiang Li grab the flying sword just now? Can someone tell me how a physical body can grab a flying sword?"

"Moreover, Senior Brother Jiang Li seems to be able to teleport. He instantly arrived at the other side of the arena just now. How did he do that!?"

A group of outer sect disciples chattered as they gathered together and discussed with one another. They tried to use their shallow knowledge to speculate exactly what kind of spell technique Jiang Li had used to achieve such an effect.

Compared to the outer sect disciples watching the commotion, the inner sect disciples and sect elders saw through the act.

"Old He… what's up with your disciple?"

"Is he really only in the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm? With that physique, how many demon beasts have you stuffed into his body?"

"That's not right. Old He, you've only taken this disciple in for a few months, right? How has his cultivation level increased so quickly? Looking from his aura, he will probably reach the late-stage in a few days. Did you feed him pills every day?"

On the floating Long Clear Hall, a group of elders were attracted by the crushing battle on Jiang Li's side.

Those disciples did not understand what happened, but as high-level cultivators, they were not blind.

Jiang Li had run to Qi Tianya's back just now and kicked carefully. Then, he grabbed the flying sword and scattered the flying sword's spiritual qi. This series of actions did not expend any of his spiritual qi at all. It was a situation created by pure physical strength.

This was extremely exaggerated, because just a few months ago, the weak Jiang Li had become Elder He's disciple before their eyes.

"Junior Brother He, how many blood tattoos have Jiang Li already drawn?" At this moment, the Valley Master of Scripture Storage Valley, Daoist Wushe, asked.

As expected of the Scripture Storage Valley Master, his perception was really extraordinary. He hit the nail on the head.

"Senior Brother Wushe, that kid is already at the fourth blood tattoo." Elder He replied, but the smile on his face could not be concealed no matter what.

"The fourth one… looks like it was the right choice to let you take in this disciple. If it was anyone else, his talent would probably be wasted."

The Beast Blood Diagram was one of the four strongest ancient inheritances in the Scripture Storage Valley.

Its might was only inferior to the Dao Technique of the Valley Master's lineage, "Square Heaven Seal".

In a short period of time, Jiang Li had already drawn the fourth blood tattoo. This meant that he was extremely compatible with the Beast Blood Diagram.

The faster the beast blood tattoo disappeared, the faster the speed at which he absorbed the demon beast's power. This was an even more effective method than swallowing medicinal pills.

Therefore, although Jiang Li's speed of improvement was still unbelievable, with this explanation, it was not so hard to accept.

All the sect elders smiled sourly in their hearts as they congratulated Elder He regarding the disciple he had taken in.

Only Qi Tianya's master from the Heaven and Earth Hall had an ugly expression on his face.

This disciple with a top-grade spiritual root had been taught by him for more than half a year. Yet, against the medium-grade spiritual root disciple, Jiang Li, that Elder He took in for a few months, he lost terribly. This made him feel very embarrassed.

Moreover, it was one thing for his disciple to lose like this, but his personality was also terrible. He had offended many people in the inner sect and it really made him worry a lot.

No one came to carry him away after lying on the ground for a long time. It could be seen how bad his social relationship was.

This master of Qi Tianya had never thought of standing up for his disciple and finding trouble with Jiang Li.

The other party's master was the Head Elder of the Demon Vanquishing Hall. Why would an ordinary elder like him to do such a thing, was he tired of living?